The Painted Skin Rogue appears ferocious but has a fragile will.
Although their rank is not low, their fighting spirit is far inferior to that of the black-armored soldiers of the Jing'an Army.
This is not because they have low combat power, but because from the moment they were born with intelligence, they have been in the position of predators.
They have seen people wailing and begging for mercy, and have unleashed their own ferocity and cruelty, but they have never experienced a bloody battle to the death.
Intelligence can only give them the ability to think, but cannot give them fearless faith.
When they had no intelligence, they could fight fearlessly; but after gaining intelligence, they changed, becoming aware and timid.
Therefore, when they saw their companions being beaten to pieces, they couldn't help but feel terrified and subconsciously called for help like humans.
"Run, run quickly, find the police to catch this murderer."
The Painted Skin Rogues have been disguising themselves as humans for too long, or in other words, they have been living like humans since they were born with intelligence, so their behavior is naturally influenced by humans.
At this moment, they just wanted to escape from the deserted alley as quickly as possible and go to the street to call for help, so that Zhou Yuan would not dare to commit violence in public.
But they were wrong. People would scatter when they see a vicious person, so how could they stand up and help a scoundrel they didn't know?
Besides, Zhou Yuan has the maximum level of the walking skill, and his movement speed is much faster than these painted-skin scoundrels.
"Bang!"
The ball exploded, the ghost wailed, and the soul-devouring blood flame attached itself to another object, burning with a crackling sound as if it had touched grease.
"Help! Someone's killing someone."
The only remaining 【Level 7 Painted Skin Rogue】 had just run out of the alley when he was pulled back by a strong hand.
It was crying and scratching at the brick corners of the wall with all its strength, wailing for help to the passing vendors.
But the thug in the alley had no intention of letting it go. He exerted force and broke the skin on its finger. Black mist that looked like blood flowed out from the broken wound.
"That thief, please stop committing crimes. The government officials are coming soon."
"Bang!"
With a loud bang, a sturdy young man poked his head out from the alley.
As expected, there are not so many coincidences in the world. The bluffing old man is just a 【Level 6 Painted Skin Merchant】.
"Old man, are you selling dates? Bring one over here and let me taste it. If it's sweet, I'll buy some."
"You, you, you... I don't want to do business with you. If you want to eat it all, take it, but don't kill me."
"What nonsense are you talking about, old man? I am a gentleman, how could I harm your life?
Could it be that his eyesight is blurry and he has gone hysterical, mistaking me for the evildoer?"
"Come, come and see if there's anyone in this alley. I'm just here to relieve myself, and I can't let you tarnish my reputation."
Zhou Yuan grabbed the painted skin vendor and walked into the alley, scaring the painted skin vendor so much that he trembled all over and kept begging for mercy.
"My dear, please spare my life. I didn't see anything. I have children and grandchildren to support at home. I can't lose my life in vain."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll be really angry. Look, this alley is so clean, there's no bad guy here."
Four evil spirits hiding in the shadows of the corners wailed continuously, and the soul-devouring blood flames continued to burn their evil spirits.
"Save me, brother, save me."
"Brother, give me a piece of skin. It hurts so much."
Under Zhou Yuan's pressure, the Painted Skin Merchant didn't even dare to look at the evil spirits. He just casually looked around the alley and nodded repeatedly.
"My dear, I am hysterical. There is nothing in this alley. You are definitely not a bad person."
"Did you see clearly?"
"Look carefully. It's broad daylight. I can't be wrong."
"That's good. Now go. Don't run around in the alleys anymore. If you run into a real bad guy, it will be hard to say what will happen."
"That's right, that's right. Thank you for your guidance, my dear."
The painted skin vendor stood on tiptoe with trembling legs and fell out of the alley step by step.
The ghost's wailing suddenly subsided, and after two more steps, there was no sound at all.
"God damn it, why did you provoke this evil spirit? If a fight really breaks out, how can the singing, selling goods, and smiling people be a match for the bloody warriors?
Fortunately, that warrior couldn't see through our skin, otherwise I would have to give up today."
The painted skin vendor didn't dare to stay. He gritted his teeth and controlled his legs to run out of the alley quickly. He didn't dare to take a sneak peek until he reached the corner of the alley.
At this glance, it saw the ferocious smiling face in the alley, and it almost scared itself to death.
"What are you afraid of? I'm not a demon."
The reason why Zhou Yuan did not kill the painted skin merchant was that he did not want to force the painted skins to encircle and suppress him with all their strength.
Being able to kill the Painted Skin and being able to see through the Painted Skin's disguise are two completely different things.
Being able to kill only proves that he is strong, and the Painted Skins can only avoid him; if he can see through the Painted Skins' disguise, both sides will have no room for maneuver.
The Painted Skins must kill the beings who see through their disguise at all costs, otherwise they will not be able to survive in the city.
Therefore, the moment Zhou Yuan saw the painted skin vendor, he explained everything to the painted skin vendors, allowing them to continue to maintain their disguised sense of security.
"It seems like our roles are about to be reversed."
The four painted-skin scoundrels and one painted-skin vendor made Zhou Yuan see how anthropomorphic they were.
This is good news. The more anthropomorphic they are, the more fear they have in their hearts, and the looser the group's fighting power becomes.
If they were not very intelligent and rushed towards him all at once, Zhou Yuan would have actually run back to the military fort to hide.
But now there is no need for that. The painted skins have learned everything about humans, including having their own thoughts and bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
"It's been so long, and no support has arrived yet.
It seems that the Painted Skins are not a war group like the Jing'an Army, but a broad organization with a gang-like nature."
Zhou Yuan came out of the dark alley, climbed onto the roof of a nearby courtyard, and lay there waiting for about half an hour, but he did not see any group of Painted Skins entering the dark alley.
If the soldiers of the Jing'an Army were killed, the nearby patrols and military camps would definitely be alerted and the entire army would be under martial law.
The Painted Skins obviously only learned the lifestyle of the residents of Jing'an City, and failed to learn the powerful weapons such as military preparations for war.
"Indeed, it would be so nice to live in seclusion in the city and enjoy life. Why would you invite hardship like living in a fortress and undergoing high-pressure training?"
Zhou Yuan waited for a while, and after discovering that he could not detect the Painted Skin's group reaction ability, he opened the attribute panel to check his gains.
The four Painted Skin Rogues provided him with 280 experience points, an average of 70 points per person.
In addition, there are 1 special item 【Painted Skin Rogue】, 2 pieces of Yin Fluid, and 4 skinning knives.
【Props: Painted Skin Rogue】
【Use: It's hard to paint the body, but it's difficult to paint the skin. After using it, you will become a rogue with painted skin, but you can't change your height and weight.】
【Note: When hit hard or cut, the painted skin will be damaged, which can be repaired with Yin fluid.】
【Item: Yin Effusion】
【Introduction: Yin spirits enter the skin, Qi condenses into liquid, like blood and flesh, filling the skin sac.】
【Use: Quickly restores a small amount of Qi, superimposes the 'Yin-Cold' state, and while continuing to lose blood, alleviates negative states such as coma and temptation.】
The effects of the Painted Skin props are somewhat special, and the effect of the Yin Fluid is also pretty good.
However, Yin Jiye is just an object, not a medicine. If you want to use it, you must be prepared for the Yin and cold to enter your body.
If an ordinary person gets one, he probably won’t have time to feel the Qi and will get seriously ill first. If he gets two, he may even die.
This thing is a poison that exchanges blood for mana, and is far less useful than the Yuzhen Powder produced in the military camp copy.
“Just because it’s not easy to use doesn’t mean it can’t be used. These painted skins are also valuable.
As long as it is valuable, warriors, nobles, and the imperial court will most likely take the initiative to exorcise demons."