Chapter Seven: The Chopsticks of the Chopstick Hero

Wang Tiecheng truly lived up to his reputation as a man who had seen battlefields in Africa. He gave Shen Ye no opportunity to speak, nor did he waste any unnecessary movements. He simply drew his gun.

Over half a year ago, the crime boss Lu Youwei from County N had also drawn a gun against Shen Ye, injuring him. Although Lu Youwei was a formidable figure in the underworld, he rarely handled firearms, so his draw was slow—every movement took considerable time. If it weren’t for Shen Ye being a novice at the time, he would never have been shot.

But Wang Tiecheng was different. He had spent years in Africa, fighting as a mercenary. His gun-drawing speed was leagues faster—from the moment his hand moved to the gun, to the bullet leaving the chamber, the time elapsed was exceedingly brief.

In this world, the fastest draw was said to belong to Bob Munden, clocked at 0.0175 seconds—but that was achieved under highly specific conditions, not in real combat. In actual battle, such speed was impossible. The globally recognized fastest real-world draw is about 0.4 seconds, enough to kill. The Chinese military’s standard is a draw and fire within two seconds; that is considered competent.

Wang Tiecheng, hardened by years of practice in Africa, could draw in one second—already incredibly fast. If his opponent had been the rookie Shen Ye from Lu Youwei’s encounter, he could have severely injured or even killed him.

But now, his opponent was the present-day Shen Ye.

Shen Ye immediately noticed Wang Tiecheng’s draw. What should one do when facing an opponent’s gun? Shen Ye was someone adept at absorbing combat experience and growing rapidly. After his encounter with Lu Youwei, he had considered how to handle gun-wielding opponents in the future. Ultimately, he decided to confront ranged attacks with his own ranged attacks.

His method was to throw chopsticks as projectiles—though needles or knives could work as well. Yet, in modern society, throwing knives would easily attract police attention, whereas chopsticks, ubiquitous and innocuous, were readily available and unlikely to arouse suspicion. So he had spent considerable time honing his chopstick-throwing technique.

Shen Ye, moving with extraordinary speed, drew a chopstick and hurled it directly.

In terms of practiced skill, Shen Ye’s throw wasn’t as polished or time-efficient as Wang Tiecheng’s draw. After all, Wang Tiecheng had been taught by firearms experts and tempered in the African battlefields, while Shen Ye trained on his own without guidance from masters.

But Shen Ye had a tremendous advantage: he was now a third-level hero, with an agility of 3.1.

What does 3.1 mean? In terms of speed, it’s three times that of a normal person.

When the action truly ignited, it could only be described as lightning-fast.

Whoosh!

As Wang Tiecheng’s gun leveled in his hand, ready to fire, the chopstick had already pierced his throat.

This battle didn’t involve multiple moves or elaborate tricks—it was decided in a single instant.

Life and death were resolved.

Wang Tiecheng clutched his throat. He had just returned from Africa, believing that his mercenary skills would let him dominate the urban landscape of his homeland. Yet, his first fight upon returning ended with him kneeling before a masked stranger.

His consciousness faded into darkness, and with a thud, he collapsed onto the floor.

...

Shen Ye wiped his brow, though no sweat was there. The fight had lasted only a moment, pure speed against speed, yet it was perilous in the extreme. When masters clash, victory hangs by a thread.

Yet what intrigued Shen Ye wasn’t the battle itself, but the result revealed by his Eye of Justice when he probed Wang Tiecheng.

“Wang Tiecheng, originally a Chinese university student, suddenly left for Africa as a mercenary. In the warlord chaos, he killed over a hundred people. However, killing enemy soldiers in non-aggressive warfare does not count toward evil value. But he also slaughtered four civilians, earning him an evil value of twelve.”

Killing enemy soldiers in non-aggressive warfare does not accrue evil value? That made sense—on the battlefield, one’s actions are often beyond one’s control; killing is unavoidable. But slaughtering civilians increases the evil value.

As Shen Ye pondered this, he felt a surge of warmth flow into his body. His eight hundred muscles, which already felt trained to their limits, began to grow once more. Each muscle’s strength increased by twenty percent, leaving him wondering if muscles truly had no limits—could they grow indefinitely?

At the same time, his attributes greatly improved.

They were now as follows:

Shen Ye, hero, first-tier profession.

Level: Four.

Faction: Justice.

Base attributes:
Mental Power: 3 (Normal adult male is 1. The higher the mental power, the stronger the spells, and memory is correspondingly enhanced.)
Strength: 6 (Normal adult male is 1.)
Agility: 3.9 (Normal adult male is 1. Note: The higher the agility, the faster both movement and attack speed.)
Defense: 5 (Normal adult male is 1. Note: Higher defense means less damage taken when attacked.)
Constitution: 5 (Normal adult male is 1. Note: Higher constitution means better endurance and faster recovery from injury.)

The comprehensive boost in every attribute was exhilarating! It felt as if he could punch through anything before him. His mental energy surged beyond belief, his vitality astonishingly strong.

Yet one headache remained.

Rising from hero level three to level four had required killing the human trafficker Li Jinguo, two juvenile offenders, Old Beggar Lu, several petty thugs, and now this African mercenary—a sizable accumulation to advance.

But to ascend from level four to level five would clearly not be easy. Nonetheless, he desperately wished to reach level five, for at that stage he would gain his profession’s first active attack skill—Mighty Strike.

Mighty Strike’s description read: “Unleash your full power, producing a superhuman force that breaks through all obstacles and shatters everything.”

What a domineering description.

Casually rotating his wrists, causing his bones to crackle, Shen Ye finally turned to Qin Yan at his side. “Young Master Qin, the mercenary you hired is dead. Now it’s your turn. Are you ready to die?”

(It’s Monday morning again, a new week, time to climb the new book rankings. Begging for recommendation votes! Please throw your recommendation votes here, thank you!)