Chapter 39: Kill? Solve? A Reputation Event

Fang Zhen’s gaze fell on the man behind Mayor Ande.

The man who had shouted so shrilly was about forty years old. He was taller than Ande, though only by a few centimeters, and had a thin build. His clothes weren’t the sort typically worn by the townsfolk; they were reinforced with leather armor at the elbows, knees, and groin.

He had a fierce-looking face with a sharp nose and shifty eyes that gave him a cunning air. He didn’t look very honest, and his expression was a perpetually unnatural, forced smile.

A sheathed short sword also hung at his waist.

Fang Zhen sized the man up.

When the man felt Fang Zhen’s gaze upon him, he took a provocative step forward.

"You’re lying. You’re a liar, not some ’sir’," the man repeated, his voice shrill.

Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"State your name. Who are you? And on what grounds do you question me?" Fang Zhen asked.

Fang Zhen’s tone remained perfectly calm; he wasn’t speaking like an accused man trying to defend himself.

On the contrary, Fang Zhen’s words were calm, composed, and carried an air of authority. It was less like he was being questioned and more like a judge or sheriff conducting an inquiry.

Seeing how composed Fang Zhen was, the man with the short sword frowned. His shifty eyes scanned Fang Zhen from head to toe, as if his calmness made the man deeply uncomfortable.

"I am Rex, and I don’t believe you could have killed all the goblins by yourself," Rex said.

As Rex spoke, he took a step forward, turning sideways to Fang Zhen.

Rex pointed his left hand at Fang Zhen, but turned his face to the crowd of Redstone Town residents. His shrill voice rang out, "Look at him! He isn’t wearing Iron Armor, and he isn’t using a Knight’s lance."

"He doesn’t even carry a proper sword—just a dagger."

"The goblins in the Dark Forest travel in packs. Even experienced Mercenaries can’t guarantee safe passage through the Dark Path. It takes a group of at least four or five Mercenaries to have the strength to make it through that path."

"What’s more, that band of goblins has an exceptionally strong leader who wields a Wolf Fang Club—he can kill a horse with a single swing!"

After finishing, Rex looked at Fang Zhen and scoffed, "And this man has the gall to boast that he single-handedly wiped out the entire Goblin Tribe. Do you believe that?"

"He’s lying!"

"He’s not a Wandering Knight, and he’s not some bullshit ’Martial Artist’—I don’t even know what that word means! He’s just a fraud!"

Rex’s words sent the onlooking residents of Redstone Town into an uproar.

Fang Zhen frowned slightly.

He could already hear scattered voices in the crowd muttering the word ’fraud’.

Fang Zhen glanced at Rex.

At that moment, Rex’s face wore a smug expression.

’Is this guy targeting me? There has to be a reason, right?’

’Did my arrival somehow harm his interests?’ Instead of panicking, Fang Zhen began to analyze the situation.

Seeing the tide of public opinion beginning to turn, Fang Zhen decided he had to do something.

He didn’t care what Rex thought of him.

Having experience with public debates, Fang Zhen knew very well that a real debate wasn’t about convincing your opponent, but about convincing the audience.

These people were the public. The first rule of public debate isn’t to persuade your opponent, but to sway public opinion to your side. That was how you ensured your safety, gained more support, and achieved your goals.

Fang Zhen didn’t dare treat his next words and actions lightly.

According to the dungeon information for the Redstone Town Mine, the main enemies were supposed to be Kobolds.

But if this Nameless World was, as Fang Zhen suspected, not a purely constructed game but a world that operated on its own real logic, then he had to be extremely careful with his words and actions in response to Rex’s challenge.

It was obvious that if he handled this poorly and the townsfolk and the Town Mayor branded him a fraud, it would seriously damage his reputation in Redstone Town.

Anyone with even a little gaming experience knew that your reputation in a region had a huge impact. At best, it affected prices for supplies and shopping; at worst, it could be a matter of life and death.

Fang Zhen still remembered the painful lesson from a certain game where he had killed just one chicken and ended up being hunted by the entire village.

But now Fang Zhen was clearing this dungeon in person, so he couldn’t afford a single mistake. His reputation in Redstone Town could not be allowed to fall. There were no save files here, and no gentle "Game Over" message like, ’Victory and defeat are but a part of war. Please try again, brave hero.’

One misstep would, at best, increase the dungeon’s difficulty and, at worst, threaten his very life.

But he couldn’t just kill Rex—Fang Zhen wasn’t that bloodthirsty or reckless. Besides, doing so would probably turn his name red.

On the other hand, handling this problem well could lower the dungeon’s difficulty and increase Fang Ze’s chances of survival. The stakes were huge, no less than an actual battle.

Fang Zhen took a deep breath and decided to face Rex’s accusations and challenge head-on.

"Your words reveal your shallowness and ignorance. You know nothing of true power." Fang Zhen glanced at Rex, his calm voice tinged with coldness. "I refuse to speak with someone of such limited understanding. The facts will speak for themselves."

"You!" Rex didn’t seem to understand all of Fang Zhen’s words, but he could certainly feel the disdain and contempt in his tone. He grew flustered and enraged.

"Wait, everyone! Stop arguing," Ande said.

Mayor Ande looked conflicted, unsure of who to believe.

Fang Zhen calmly looked at Mayor Ande and said, "Send someone to the Dark Forest to take a look, and everything will be clear."

After a moment’s thought, Ande turned to one of the townsfolk. "Fast-legged Ethan, go to the Dark Forest and see for yourself. You’re a fast runner; even if the goblins are still there, they won’t be able to catch you."

A man of about thirty stepped forward from the crowd. He was 1.6 meters tall—considered tall among the townsfolk—and very thin.

He gave a cry of assent and turned, sprinting back down the road Fang Zhen had come from. He was indeed very fast.

As Fang Zhen watched Fast-legged Ethan run towards the hill, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

’The white Light Gate is still there,’ he thought, suddenly alarmed. ’This Fast-legged Ethan isn’t going to accidentally stumble through it and end up in my living room, is he?’

A moment later, Fang Zhen took a deep breath and calmed down.

’Don’t panic when something happens. Panicking is useless. First, think.’

’Last time, at the end of the Dark Path, I began to suspect... was that invisible wall at the dungeon’s exit meant only for me?’

Fang Zhen remembered the invisible wall he encountered when finishing the Dark Path dungeon.

At the time, he had felt that perhaps this "real-life dungeon game" had changed *him*, rather than forcibly gamifying the entire world.

Of course, this was just a guess.

There were two possibilities: one, this was a gamified world. Two, this was a real world, but some mysterious and powerful force had presented it in a gamified way.

Fang Zhen wanted to test it, but he never had the chance.

And now, Fang Zhen was a little worried about Fast-legged Ethan running to the Light Gate, passing through it, and entering his living room.

’But, looking at it from another angle, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for a field test?’

With this thought, Fang Zhen calmed down considerably.

He turned and looked back at the road he had come from.

Fang Zhen realized the slope of the hill was angled toward the town. From their position below, the line of sight was wide open—he could even see the white Light Gate at the top of the hill.

Seeing this, Fang Zhen raised an eyebrow as a plan began to form in his mind.

’I’m starting to suspect that either only I can use the Light Gate, or only I can see it.’

’The view of the hillside is so clear. I can test it directly,’ Fang Zhen thought.

He turned his head, his gaze quickly scanning the crowd before landing on the freckled boy who had earlier taken a Copper Coin to fetch the Town Mayor.