This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 228 New Teammates.

“…Bai Yu?” He called out the guy’s name in disbelief.

White hair, white eyes, white clothes—that was none other than Bai Yu, the assassin I had met once before.

We're not even buddies, we only met once, and you actually followed me here?!
What did you use to win me over? Your legs? Oh, they really were your legs…

I was driving!
Upon seeing Nie Weiyang, Bai Yu's face also revealed a hint of despair: "Why do you keep changing places!"

“…Huh?” Nie Weiyang was taken aback. The next moment, he got the answer from the other party’s thoughts, and the other party also spoke.

“Every time I track your location, you’re never in the same place!” Bai Yu’s mentality collapsed: “It’s been a month! A month! I’ve been following you every single day! Can’t you stay in one place for more than eight hours?!”

“…I really don’t have that habit,” Nie Weiyang replied sincerely.

That's obvious. Aside from sleeping and handling business, he rarely stays in one place for more than four hours. Even when he sleeps… his usual sleep time is only five to six hours…

For a moment, Nie Weiyang felt a faint sense of guilt. He really hadn't expected the other party to follow him directly.

What incredible drive!
Looking at Bai Yu's face, which was exceptionally pale from the long journey, and his pure white pupils that seemed to be burning, Nie Weiyang was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

The other party's persistence was beyond imagination, and the tracking method was also quite peculiar—not real-time, but with a delay, which explained why he could always feel a faint sense of being watched, yet could not pinpoint the source.

Bai Yu caught his breath and straightened up.

The initial breakdown on his face quickly faded, replaced by a deeper, almost desperate seriousness.

He wasn't truly angry; chasing after him was his own choice, and had nothing to do with Nie Weiyang. He was even somewhat bewildered by the source of his almost obsessive motivation—was it the world-renowned title of first kill? Was it the unfathomable power rumored to be there? Or was it simply because of that one glance from that person standing in the sunlight on that bridge?
He unconsciously rubbed his fingers together in his large pocket, his fingertips icy cold.

Memories were pulled back to that initial moment when the world collapsed and everyone was struggling to survive. Hunger, fear, and death were ever-present companions, and as he lay in the mud and filth, almost giving up, that cold system announcement struck the minds of all the survivors like a thunderbolt.

Nie Weiyang.

This name, like a brand, was etched into the cornerstone of the new era from that moment on, and also into the hearts of everyone who heard it.

Subsequent announcements and rumors gradually pieced together an image of him: powerful, upright, serious, and benevolent. He was efficient, possessed uncanny abilities, and was a paladin—a hidden class. News from Central Continent said he killed the BOSS within ten minutes of arriving, even causing a delay in the announcement… He had close ties to the authorities, possibly even being an official himself. He roamed dangerous places, tracking down the mysterious and terrifying world BOSS, 'Administrator Two'. And almost everyone who had contact with him spoke highly of him.

It's so perfect it's almost unreal.

But what if... what if this is true? At least, part of it isn't fake?

Bai Yu's heart skipped a beat. If there really was such a powerful person in this world who seemed to follow some kind of justice, then perhaps... there would be a tiny chance that the deepest desire he suppressed in his heart, that almost untouchable extravagant hope, would exist.

"Nie Weiyang." Bai Yu's voice was somewhat hoarse as he looked directly into the other man's inhuman, scarlet eyes: "Are you... working for the government?"

Are you doing all this because of external regulations?

"No." Nie Weiyang's answer was crisp and clear. Bai Yu's eyes lit up almost imperceptibly for a moment.

"Then why did you do those things?" Bai Yu pressed, his voice becoming more urgent. "It's those things, helping people, saving people, and so on." His language skills seemed poor, and he couldn't describe his thoughts in detail, but he believed Nie Weiyang understood.

Nie Weiyang tilted his head, seemingly finding the question somewhat strange: "I think..."

The reason is simple, yet powerful: I do it because I want to.

Bai Yu's face brightened instantly, a glimmer of hope flashing across his pale face. He took a deep breath, as if gathering all his courage, and asked the question that had lingered in his heart for so long:
Have you ever seen a criminal trafficker?

Nie Weiyang's expression instantly turned serious, and his peaceful aura vanished: "I've seen you before. What's wrong?"

He had gleaned some fragmented and heavy images from the other person's turbulent emotions, but he needed Bai Yu to say them aloud.

"Do you hate criminals?" Bai Yu lowered his voice, with a cautious probing tone, as if confirming the final result.

"..." Nie Weiyang remained silent for a moment. Smugglers, these 'players' who walk the gray area of ​​the new era, trade everything—supplies, intelligence, even human organs and the essence of the soul—and regard all of this as resources and wealth. Even without what happened before, he could never have liked these guys.

"I don't really like it." He finally gave a relatively neutral assessment, then asked in return, "So, what's up?"

Bai Yu got his answer, and his last bit of hesitation vanished. He looked up, and the faint light floating on Nie Weiyang's body was reflected in his pure white irises, yet it seemed to bear endless darkness.

“There was a sin dealer who bought my parents’ souls, my sister’s heart, and my freedom.”

His voice was unusually calm, a calmness that sent chills down your spine. He paused, as if recalling that desperate moment. Then he added, "With a few pieces of bread."

Nie Weiyang tightened his grip on the handlebars.

“It seems like we did it voluntarily, but the reason was,” Bai Yu’s voice was devoid of resentment, only a resigned weariness: “we ended up in the same place as him, and for those few days, he didn’t let us eat a single bite of food. We had no choice.”

The wind in the forest seemed to have stopped. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, but it couldn't dispel the heavy atmosphere.

Looking at the young assassin with white hair and white clothes in front of him, Nie Weiyang finally understood where his extraordinary persistence came from.

His pursuit of Nie Weiyang was not out of admiration for the strong, but rather a desperate act of grasping at straws by someone who had lost everything and was burdened with a deep-seated hatred.

“So,” Nie Weiyang asked slowly, “what do you want to do? Redeem the price, or…”

“I’m going to kill him,” Bai Yu said.

His limited language skills allowed him to express his needs directly.

“If you help me kill him, I’m yours. I’ll do anything for you. They say you’re a good person, I don’t know, I want to try.”

(End of this chapter)