Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

This brings us to what Song Yuan and Qiao Ran's original plans were when they parted ways:

"The three of them should be acting separately, but I have a new idea. I'll take care of Xu Jian, and you guys take care of Wang Daqiang and Fu Zhengyang."

Song Yuan didn't understand why he would think that way at the time:

"With your fighting ability, even with An Xiaomei assisting you, you'd have a hard time taking down Wang Daqiang. How are you going to deal with Xu Jian?"

Qiao Ran waved her hand: "Oh, it's not a matter of strength. I don't know about that player named Xu Jian's talent and skills, but to be honest, his character is pretty good. If I were to encounter him, there might be room for negotiation."

Upon hearing this, Song Yuan also recalled that in An Xiaomei's description, Wang Daqiang, that disgusting man, had tried to grope her, and Xu Jian had said at the time, "That's unethical." From this, it can be seen that his nature is probably not so bad.

It's important to understand that within a guild, all star members are not equals; there are hierarchical distinctions in status. Xu Jian falls into the lower tier among the star members.

Because his obedience is too poor. Always talking about morality before killing is a major taboo in dungeons. You may be kind to others, but they might not be kind to you. You might help someone, and they might betray you next time—that's the norm among players.

Xu Jian is one of the few big, simple-minded players who hasn't lost his moral compass. Since he has morals, he can be manipulated!

Qiao Ran blinked confidently: "Let me negotiate with him. If that doesn't work, I'll just run away. You know my talent; I have a real advantage when it comes to escaping~"

In the end, Song Yuan agreed to the plan. Her reasoning was that going toe-to-toe with Xu Jian without weapons would likely end in a very dire situation.

You could tell just by watching her fight against Fu Zhengyang. Look how low her health bar dropped!

So Qiao Ran headed alone from Building 8 to Building 2. Before encountering Xu Jian, he even made a special effort to change his appearance:

Player "Qiao Ran" purchased 3 "Item Health Packs"

Qiao Ran, who was originally in good health, suddenly vomited blood and turned pale. He slowly moved along the wall, waiting for Xu Jian to come and find him in Building 8.

Xu Jian had a decent luck score of 61 points. While not as lucky as An Xiaomei's 88, it was still quite good. He was stopped once by the NPC "Heartbroken Wife," which deducted 20 points from his spirit, but the rest of the journey went smoothly. Upon arriving at Building 8, he encountered a "dying" Qiao Ran.

"Hey?! I finally found you, pretty boy. Stand right there and don't run away!"

When Qiao Ran saw him, he turned around in a panic and symbolically ran two steps forward. Xu Jian easily caught up with him, picked him up like a mouse, and casually threw him to the ground.

Qiao Ran immediately coughed up blood, lost all ability to move, and clasped her hands together, begging for mercy:

"Spare me! Boss, spare me... I was just attacked by a monster, I'm dying..."

Xu Jian, carrying his twin swords, squatted down and spat:

"Ha, you look like you're about to die, even a ghost wouldn't bother with you!"

He held the blade to Qiao Ran's neck, his expression complex.

"The guild leader ordered me to bring you before him so he could deal with you, but I'll pretend I didn't hear him today and give you a quick death. You have nothing to blame me for if you die; when you get to the underworld, go and apologize to our guild leader's nephew!"

Qiao Ran appeared to be in despair, her long eyelashes drooping, weakly coughing up blood while covering her mouth. In reality, however, a slight smile played on her lips: As expected, Xu Jian had disobeyed Fu Zhengyang's orders.

Fu Zhengyang's methods of executing rebels were notorious within the three major guilds. This was all due to his special skill, the [Domination Whip]. He liked to wrap players up like dumplings, then let the barbs on the whip pierce their entire bodies, slowly secreting a corrosive liquid, melting them away bit by bit amidst their screams.

Furthermore, the execution lasted an extremely long time. The players being executed remained conscious throughout the entire process, watching their bodies slowly melt into a pool of blood amidst excruciating pain. Most people would have collapsed before the torture was even over.

Xu Jian disliked this torturous method. Even if Song Yuan and Qiao Ran killed Fu Zhengyang's nephew, they killed him quickly and decisively by slitting his throat.

Out of a sense of morality, even if he would be punished by Fu Zhengyang, he would not hand over the two players to Fu Zhengyang. He might as well kill them himself, which would be a good deed.

Qiao Ran said weakly, "Ahem... Big brother, I know you are a man of principle. I have a few last words before I die. Can I say them? After I say them, I promise to die obediently."

This request wasn't unreasonable. Xu Jian readily agreed:

"Okay! But hurry up and tell me, don't try any tricks! Don't think that begging for mercy will make me let you go."

Qiao Ran nodded, her eyes blurry with tears, took a soft breath, and began to chant:

"Brother, before you did anything for Vice President Fu, did you watch our or his nephew's livestreams? If you did, you'd know we're all on the wanted list. Vice President Fu isn't exactly a benevolent person, so how good could his nephew be? Of course, I'm not trying to mock your boss. I'm just saying that, given our status, He Xiao would have shot us dead before we even left the dungeon, regardless of whether we passed or not, to show that offending his guild would never end well. Besides, at that time, his mental strength was almost zero, and he was practically turning into a monster. We had no choice but to give him a quick death. Yes, the competition between players in dungeons is that cruel. I understand your grief now, but after my explanation, could you consider letting me go? I can give you the materials I have. How about that?"

Xu Jian had assumed Qiao Ran would simply say a few words to her parents and relatives, then die instantly. The unexpected long explanation left him completely bewildered. His first reaction was that Qiao Ran was toying with him, and in his anger, he gripped the knife and brought it a few inches closer, but didn't actually strike.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Don't think I'll listen to your excuses. Who knows if what you're saying is true! Didn't you say your last words? Show some concern for your parents, your wife, and your kids!"

"Cough cough... That's all, these are my last words."

Qiao Ran lay on the ground, her tone as sincere as could be:

"It's not easy for us ordinary players. Brother, you've been in Midnight Ghost for almost half a year now. You know better than me whether what I'm saying is true or false."

If you really do kill me with one blow today, then I thank you, because you're a good person. Dying at your hands would be a death without regrets.

The more he talked, the more Xu Jian felt like he wasn't human. He was even finding it hard to bring himself to do it.

"You...you...you!"

Qiao Ran closed his eyes, quietly awaiting his death. In reality, he remained constantly vigilant; if Xu Jian still intended to kill him after hearing his explanation, he would use a teleportation item to dodge and then escape.

"Tsk... Fine! Go away! Get lost!"

Xu Jian struggled for a long time, gripping the knife, but finally gave up. He stood up, waved his hand, and dismissed Qiao Ran.

"Even if I don't touch you, the two of you won't survive long in this dungeon. We have all four types of materials here, so letting you live a few more hours won't make a difference. Go on, go on... just pretend I never saw you."

Qiao Ran thought to herself, "Four kinds of ingredients? Why four kinds? Could it be that An Xiaomei has a problem?!" But she didn't show it on her face.

"Thank you, brother! You're so kind. If you ever need our help in the future, just let us know. We can only survive longer if we support each other, don't you think?"

"Tch, you two are so weaklings you can barely take care of yourselves, why would you need to help me? Oh right, before you leave, give me all the materials you have on you...!"

Before he could finish speaking, a whip suddenly appeared from somewhere, grabbed Qiao Ran by the neck in front of Xu Jian, and pulled him over.