Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 867 - 617 No More Human Emperor?_2

After the brief panic at the start, the Wild Wolf gritted his teeth against the pain in his abdomen and continued to reach out, determined to subdue the strangely humiliating unfamiliar man.

Bai E, realizing his attack hadn't been as effective as he had planned, took half a step back, his gaze tinged with contemplation.

Truthfully, Bai E did not place much trust in the voice claiming to be his system.

The thing that truly unsettled him was how this system—the very foundation he had relied on for survival since coming to this world—was now being blatantly called out by someone.

It made him feel like every aspect of himself had been stripped bare, his actions until now nothing more than the laughable movements of a puppet on strings.

But really, what did it matter?

Without the system, would he no longer know how to live?

Without the system, would he be incapable of improving?

As he thought to himself: starting from scratch was nothing to fear.

After all, with the system's help, he had already seen places most people could only dream of and reached heights unattainable for others in their lifetime.

Even if all of that was taken away, at least he remained. His will remained.

And now, he had verified another truth...

Perhaps his experience still remained as well.

The only thing missing was that past invincible power.

Speaking of his former strength—back then, one full-force elbow strike from him would have turned a half-mechanical man like this into scrap metal. If that didn't happen, then credit was due to the robustness of his engineering.

Looking at his own fist, Bai E's gaze took on a rare hint of nostalgia...

How long had it been since he'd last relished this visceral, bone-crushing sensation?

"Hey! Look me in the eye, you bastard!" the burly man roared in fury at being ignored.

His massive hands advanced toward Bai E in an attempt to grab him, confident he now knew the man's strength wasn't all that imposing. He was fully prepared to claim victory in this fight.

Anyone striving to survive in Freeport must have such quick reflexes!

"..." Bai E's lips curled up slightly, a peculiar sense of ease and pleasure washing over him.

The first strike after losing his system—he felt that his every move now flowed more naturally, guided purely by instinct.

In the past, anything he did seemed like there was a faint film separating him from his actions, leaving him strangely detached from it all. ƒreewebɳovel.com

That sense of precise control, always overseen by the system, carried an undercurrent of alienation.

But now... this incoming crisis, so up-close and personal, felt like reality truly come alive.

Stimulating, exhilarating... intoxicating.

Bai E's eyes narrowed slightly, his blood surging.

As the burly man's massive hands lunged for him, his body—like a slumbering beast suddenly awakened—let out its first primal roar to the world.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In a whirlwind of dizzying motions, the Wild Wolf's hands and feet—all poised to strike—were swiftly restrained ahead of time. His seemingly strong and agile physique was reduced to a helpless state, effortlessly subdued by the not-so-muscular man.

A brawl between two vastly differing physiques ended in an unexpected and unconventional outcome.

The crowd watching nearby was instantly dumbfounded...

They had anticipated difficulties in catching the target of this so-called "big job," but none had expected it to be this challenging.

"The Wild Wolf might not be a top-notch fighter, but he's not someone who'd be subdued so easily, right?"

"No kidding! Even I would need a while to take him down solo! How on earth did this madman get subdued in a flash?"

Among the spectators—those who fancied themselves capable fighters—none dared claim they could face the Wild Wolf head-on with such ease.

Even those confident enough to best the Wild Wolf had never engaged him in a fight to the death.

After all... the Wild Wolf had the backing of the Dagger Society, a troublesome local gang.

And now, this reasonably skilled henchman had been subdued effortlessly by a man who didn't seem all that imposing, with hardly any signs of struggle. It was a display of technique that clearly crushed the Wild Wolf outright.

With this realization, some eyes turned blazing hot.

"If that's the case, the chances look even better now!"

"Exactly... Someone with skills like his couldn't possibly be unknown in Freeport. Could he really be the big job the Dagger Society has been hunting down recently?!"

The speaker licked his lips greedily, glancing around. "Ladies and gentlemen, I know we've had some petty disagreements, but maybe now's the time for us to join forces."

In their half-lived lives, opportunities to connect with the Peak Alliance might only come once. Missing this one and they'd remain nothing more than wandering scavengers scouring scraps in the vast Star Sea!

"Ladies and gentlemen! I want a Merchant's Pass." The man's voice dripped with coercive allure. "And the chance is right in front of us!"

At his rallying cry, the response was unanimous.

"I want a Merchant's Pass too!"

"No kidding! Who doesn't want a Merchant's Pass? Without the Peak Alliance's endorsement, we're nobodies no matter where we go!"

The first speaker continued his fervent incitement, "If we team up this once, who knows, tomorrow we might even be comrades in the same trading crew! We'll fly our own merchant ship across every Stellar District in the galaxy!"

The briefly conjured vision of the future ignited hot blood. Suddenly, everyone's gaze at the stranger in the center turned predatory—like wolves with glowing green eyes.

"Then seize this opportunity! The Wild Wolf is possibly just the scout meant to stall the target. The Dagger Society's reinforcements are likely already on the way. If we want to hijack this big job, now is our only chance!"

"Surround him! Don't let him get away! Whoever catches him, it's everyone's shared accomplishment! Later, we create the merchant crew together! Every brother here would be one of us!"

"Right! We absolutely can't let this big job escape to the commercial district! The Dagger Society has connections there—we wouldn't dare make a move! Here is our only chance!"

"Attack!"

...

The sharp pain in his arm kept the Wild Wolf from struggling aggressively.

The mad-dog temper he was infamous for had turned meek and humble, fitting for a situation where he was entirely at someone else's mercy.

"Sir… Sir! My apologies! I didn't realize who I was offending earlier. Please, be magnanimous and forgive me!"

Living in the underworld meant knowing when to yield—flexibility could be the key to survival.

The Dagger Society wasn't something he'd bring up lightly unless the timing was just right.

For all he knew, this unfamiliar man might simply be passing through Freeport without setting roots.

If the stranger were to kill him without a second thought and move on, the Dagger Society wouldn't cross the vast Star Sea to avenge him.

Getting a proper "Star Burial" might take some twisted sense of brotherly loyalty, but more likely his body would be dumped from the gravitational outskirts of the Satellite City, left to drift as a frozen corpse in the void… or perhaps no one would care at all?

In Freeport, life was the cheapest commodity.

Pressing down on the burly man, Bai E gained a faint understanding of his current strength—

His basic physical attributes were likely similar to his early synthetic-human days, yet his years of honed combat techniques had seemingly become muscle memory.

Even without the system running the show, his moves felt freer, more intuitive.

'This sensation... isn't bad either, is it?'

Bai E tightened his grip slightly, provoking a sharp intake of breath from the burly man.

Calmly, he asked, "Why did you come after me?"