Chương 8: Gain initial favor with Qinglin.

Lu Chen arrived in Stone Desert City.

The streets were bustling with people, mostly mercenaries.

He walked down the street, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

A commotion arose ahead.

A group of mercenaries stood together, dressed in uniform khaki robes with the character "sand" embroidered on their chests.

Members of the Sand Mercenary Group.

In the center of the crowd, a young girl is taking care of several injured people lying on stretchers.

The girl was young, wearing a light blue old dress, and had a pretty face.

Deep within her pupils, three tiny emerald green dots could be faintly seen.

Green Snake with Three-Flower Pupils.

The wounded men had the insignia of the Mo Tie Mercenary Group embroidered on their chests, their bodies wrapped in bandages, and their faces were pale.

"Little girl, you're quite pretty."

A mercenary from the Sand Mercenary Group spoke up, looking Qinglin up and down.

"What's the point of serving these good-for-nothings here? You might as well come back with us."

Qinglin took half a step back.

"I... I'm not going."

"Not going? That's not up to you."

The mercenary reached out and grabbed Qinglin's arm.

"stop."

A wounded member of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group struggled to sit up from the stretcher and stood in front of Qing Lin.

The mercenary raised his leg and kicked the injured man hard in the chest.

The injured person fell backward, hitting the back of their head on the ground.

The other members of the Sand Mercenary Groups swarmed forward.

A wounded soldier was pulled off the stretcher and punched several times in the face.

Another wounded soldier tried to raise his hand to block, but his arm was crushed and he screamed in agony.

Qinglin shouted loudly, his voice trembling.

"Stop!"

Nobody paid any attention to her.

The lead mercenary grabbed the oldest wounded soldier and stabbed him in the stomach.

The blade sank into the flesh with a dull thud.

Blood and foam gushed from the wounded soldier's mouth, his eyes were still open, but his body had gone limp.

Qinglin's face turned pale instantly.

She froze on the spot, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

"I told you to just come with us, why all this trouble?"

The lead mercenary wiped the blood from his dagger on the dead man's clothes and turned to walk towards Qinglin.

He reached out and grabbed Qinglin's wrist.

"Get out of the way."

A voice came from outside the crowd.

Several mercenaries from the Sand Mercenary Groups turned their heads at the same time.

Lu Chen stepped out from behind the crowd.

He wore a black cloth robe on his upper body and a thick snake tail on his lower body, the dark green scales gleaming with a cold light in the sunlight.

"Snake-man?"

The leading mercenary sized him up.

"They've got some nerve coming all the way to Stone Desert City."

Several mercenaries behind him also surrounded him.

"Brother, the snake-man is full of good stuff."

A mercenary stared at Lu Chen's snake tail, his eyes revealing greed.

Another mercenary chimed in.

"Snake gallbladders are also valuable; they can be exchanged for a lot of gold coins on the black market."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

The leading mercenary raised his chin.

"Kill him."

The mercenaries exchanged glances and then charged toward Lu Chen at the same time.

The mercenary at the front drew a short knife from his waist and stabbed Lu Chen in the chest.

Lu Chen stood still, his feet not moving an inch.

He raised his right hand and slapped the mercenary in the chest.

His body crashed onto a street stall, shattering the wooden frame with a loud bang.

A mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, he convulsed once, and then stopped moving.

The second mercenary rushed up right after.

Lu Chen struck again.

The mercenary flew sideways and crashed into the earthen wall by the roadside, cracking the wall in several places.

He slid down the wall, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle, and died on the spot.

The third mercenary stopped in his tracks when he saw the fate of the two men before him.

He wanted to quit.

But it was too late.

Lu Chen struck out with his palm from a distance.

The mercenary's chest caved in, and he flew backward, crashing into a hitching post.

The stone pillar broke into two pieces at the base.

He fell into the rubble, a large pool of blood gushing from his mouth. He kicked his legs a couple of times and then stopped moving.

In the blink of an eye, all the members of the Sand Mercenary Group lay on the ground.

None of them were still breathing.

The streets were deathly silent.

The onlookers quickly retreated several feet, and everyone's gaze towards Lu Chen changed.

One palm strike kills one.

Lu Chen withdrew his hand and his gaze fell on Qing Lin.

Qinglin was also looking at him.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and two tear streaks ran down her face.

Her lips were still trembling slightly.

"What... what's your name?"

"Qinglin asked."

"Lu Chen".

"Sir, I don't know how to thank you."

Just then, a notification popped up in front of Lu Chen's eyes.

[Task triggered. Initial favorability gained from Qinglin towards the host.] [Upon completion of the task, you will receive one opportunity to duplicate the item.] Lu Chen's gaze lingered on the prompt for a moment.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

One additional copy opportunity.

This was an unexpected delight.

He considered it in his mind.

Saving her once might not be enough to increase her favorability enough to complete the mission.

We need to add something else.

Lu Chen pulled himself out of his thoughts and glanced at the wounded soldiers of the Mo Tie Mercenary Group on the ground.

Their situation is worse than before.

They were beaten up again by the Sand Mercenary Group, and several of their wounds were reopened.

The bandage was soaked in blood and was still dripping blood.

Someone was lying motionless on the ground, their chest barely rising and falling.

Someone was clutching their broken arm, their face turning blue with pain.

If left unaddressed, they won't last much longer.

"I can help treat their injuries."

Lu Chen spoke.

Qinglin suddenly raised her head.

"Really?"

A glimmer of light appeared in her eyes.

"Um."

Lu Chen nodded.

"That's great, thank you."

Qinglin said repeatedly.

Lu Chen didn't say anything more, and walked over to the wounded soldiers and squatted down.

He activated the fighting spirit within his body, gathering his power in his palm.

Lu Chen placed his palm on the shoulder of the first wounded soldier.

Battle energy flowed from his palm and slowly entered the other person's body.

The wounded soldier's face was as white as paper, and his lips had turned black.

As his battle qi was injected, a little color slowly returned to his face.

My breathing became more even.

"Thank you, sir..."

He spoke with difficulty, his voice so weak it was almost inaudible.

Lu Chen didn't say anything, got up and walked to the next person.

"Thank you, sir. If it weren't for your help, we would all be dead here today."

"We have no way to repay your great kindness and virtue."

Lu Chen waved his hand and said calmly, "It's nothing serious, I'll be fine after some rest."

Qinglin stepped forward, looked at Lu Chen, and was about to say something when...

Just then, the system notification popped up again.

It immediately appeared before Lu Chen's eyes.

[Task complete. You have been awarded one copy opportunity.] [Should we perform random copying immediately?] Lu Chen's lips curled up into a smile.

He pondered in his mind, wondering what he could possibly replicate this time.

"Copy it immediately."

Lu Chen silently recited in his heart.

[Start random copying.]