Lin Feng didn't stop, but his heart stirred slightly.

With a hundred thousand Awakened, there weren't enough monsters to go around. Resources were completely monopolized by upper-tier guilds and lords.

Low-level laborer Awakened could only scavenge for food in the cracks like ants.

To put it bluntly, the ecology around Zhenyue City was a pyramid: the top tier ate meat, the middle tier drank soup, and the bottom tier had to fight for even the bone scraps.

He continued running forward, slowing down suddenly as he passed a fork in the road.

A flag of the Azure Wolf Gang was planted by the roadside, and behind it stood a dilapidated tent.

A circle of dark red powder was scattered around the tent, glinting with a rust-like color under the sunlight.

A Grey-Furred Rat poked its head out from the grass. Just as it got within thirty meters of the powder, its nose twitched twice, and it turned and fled.

In the wild fields several hundred meters behind the tent, a few low-level monsters wandered.

Lin Feng's gaze swept over and suddenly stopped. Among that group of monsters lay a familiar figure: a Thorn-Spine Pig.

It was nearly four meters long, its grey-black bristles standing up like steel needles, with a row of bony protrusions on its back extending from the top of its head to its tail.

It lay lazily in the sun with its eyes closed, its mouth slightly open to reveal a set of yellow teeth. Saliva dripped from the corner of its mouth, soaking a small patch of ground.

Standing at the fork, Lin Feng looked at the Thorn-Spine Pig, filled with a myriad of emotions.

The first time he entered the Nightmare World and was transported to the wilderness, the first monster he encountered was a Thorn-Spine Pig.

Back then, he was only Level 1 and had nothing but a wooden stick. When he saw that fellow, he was so scared he lay flat in the mud, not even daring to breathe for fear of being discovered.

And now? He was Level 29, wearing a purple set, and his Strength had broken past sixty.

Lin Feng stepped forward. Inside the tent, several laborer Awakened were resting.

Hearing movement, one person poked his head out. Seeing a figure walking straight toward the Thorn-Spine Pig, he was about to shout a reprimand when he suddenly caught sight of the spear on the man's back.

He swallowed the words back down and shrank back into the tent, only daring to peek out through a gap.

Lin Feng walked up to the Thorn-Spine # Nоvеlight # Pig and stood five meters away from it.

The Thorn-Spine Pig's nose twitched as it caught an unfamiliar scent.

It opened its eyes, its small, cloudy eyes seeing the figure standing before it.

In that instant, its pupils constricted violently. It wasn't because it recognized this person, but because it felt the aura emanating from him.

It was the kind of aura that only came from having hunted countless powerful creatures, from having walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood—an aura thick with killing intent.

The Thorn-Spine Pig's body froze, its bristles standing on end, but not out of anger—out of terror.

Its four legs trembled, its belly pressed to the ground, and its chin rested in the dirt. Its eyes stared fixedly at Lin Feng as it let out a low, warbling wail.

Then it closed its eyes, its body slumped to the side, and it lay directly on the ground, playing dead.

Seeing this two-meter-long, five-hundred-kilogram Thorn-Spine Pig playing dead in front of him, Lin Feng couldn't help but laugh.

This fellow was a full size larger than the first one he had encountered, but its level of cowardice had multiplied several times over.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a gruff voice suddenly came from behind: "Where did you come from, kid? Don't you know this is our Azure Wolf Gang's territory?"

Lin Feng turned and saw several men wearing the standard leather armor of the Azure Wolf Gang running over, panting.

They had likely been patrolling in the distance and rushed over when they saw someone intruding into the resource point.

The leader was a man in his early thirties with a square face and a thick beard. He carried an iron axe and looked furious.

Three people followed behind him: one with a spear, one with a bow, and one empty-handed.

The four of them cursed as they ran: "Which blind fool dares to trespass on a Azure Wolf Gang resource point? Tired of living?"

"Get lost right now, don't force us to get physical!!!"

"If you touch a single thing here, you won't be able to pay for it!"

When they ran to within twenty meters of Lin Feng, they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

The square-faced leader saw the equipment on Lin Feng's body and the dark red spear on his back.

His face turned from flushed red to deathly pale, and he nearly dropped the iron axe in his hand.

The three people behind him were also stunned, mouths agape and eyes wide, as if someone had cast a freezing spell on them.

The square-faced man was the first to react.

He threw down his iron axe and knelt with a 'thud,' his voice trembling: "Big brother! Great lord! We were blind and failed to recognize your greatness.

May you be magnanimous... no, please stay your hand and just let us go like we're a puff of wind!"

The three behind him also hurriedly knelt, some kowtowing and others cupping their fists, shouting in a mess: "Great lord, spare our lives!"

"We're just laborers, we didn't mean to offend!"

"You are a great man of broad mind, please don't lower yourself to our level..."

The empty-handed middle-aged man's eyes reddened, and he said with a sob: "Great lord, we have elders and children to support, and we rely on this little bit of income every month to survive.

If you make us lose our eligibility for the Nightmare World, our whole family will have to starve... please, consider it an act of charity.

Let us off, and we wish you three wives, ten fat sons, a life of a hundred years, and top-tier equipment drops every day!"

Lin Feng's lip twitched, and he couldn't help but complain in his heart: A life of a hundred years? Is that a blessing or a curse for an Awakened?

He didn't care to argue and simply asked calmly: "Were these resource points assigned to you by Zhenyue City, or did you occupy them yourselves?"

The four exchanged glances, and the square-faced man quickly replied: "This area was assigned to the Lingyun Guild by Zhenyue City, and the Lingyun Guild then subcontracted it to us.

We turn over a fixed quota of resources to the guild every month, and only what's left is ours.

Great lord, we really follow the rules, we didn't occupy the land privately..."

Lin Feng nodded. Lingyun Guild, one of the three top guilds in Zhenyue City.

It seemed Zhenyue City's control over the surrounding resources was very strict; even a tiny resource point had to be subcontracted through layers, with each layer taking a large cut.

Bottom-tier Awakened worked themselves to death, and in the end, what fell into their hands was nothing more than some leftovers.

He lamented, "Outsourcing exists everywhere."

Then he turned around and walked out.

After two steps, he stopped and said without looking back: "Next time, look clearly before you start cursing."

The four knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, the great lord is right to lecture us!

Thank you, great lord! We wish the great lord finds gold equipment as soon as he steps out and gets a Class Change Book with every monster kill!"

Lin Feng walked out of the Azure Wolf Gang resource point, stepped back onto the road, and sped off toward Zhenyue City.

Behind him, at the resource point, the four laborer Awakened slumped on the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

The square-faced man wiped his sweat and cursed under his breath: "Scared the life out of me... Damn, why would such a big shot pass through a poor place like ours?"

The empty-handed middle-aged man picked up the iron axe from the ground and smiled bitterly: "Since he let us go, we should be thanking our lucky stars.

Let's get to work; today's patrol time isn't over yet."

The Thorn-Spine Pig was still playing dead, motionless as if it were truly deceased.

The road stretched out beneath his feet, Zhenyue City drew closer and closer, and Lin Feng's pace did not falter.