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Chapter 161: Bizarre Death

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Such a peculiar sensation caused her some perplexity.

A staunch materalist, Zhao Zhenzhen didn\'t usually trust in intuitions or sixth senses. She believed such instincts were the result of accumulated experience rather than inexplicable premonitions. However, her expertise lay in political work and disciplinary enforcement, not combat. She lacked the experience to interpret this foreboding feeling correctly.

Despite being perplexed, Zhao Zhenzhen didn\'t halt her approach. She was, after all, on a mission that she knew might lead to her demise. After three (Earth) days in this dangerous place, it was time for her alter ego "Von Alphonse" to make a final bow.

As she bravely faced the prospect of death, Zhao Zhenzhen was unexpectedly halted by a call.

Three gaunt young men, dressed in tattered clothes, peeked out stealthily from a dilapidated hay barn. They waved frantically at her, uttering incoherent noises, seemingly urging her to come over.

Had it been a player in this scenario, such an encounter might be greeted with excitement as a potential hidden quest, but that definitely wouldn\'t be so for Zhao Zhenzhen.

She could tell at a glance that these young men were denizens of the impoverished slum, probably trying to warn her of an ambush.

Indifferent to the threat of an ambush, Zhao Zhenzhen simply made a shushing gesture at the trio and continued forward.

The three young men in the barn, now frantic, gestured more desperately but could only watch helplessly as the burly cloaked man strode toward danger

The first to make a move were the gang thugs.

These gang members were a diverse and unruly bunch with little to no discipline, and their attempt at an ambush was hardly covert. They had brazenly displaced some residents in the outskirts of the slums, occupying their homes to await their quarry\'s arrival.

As the alleged "Salt Bandit" entered the slum and approached the alleyway, the gang members couldn\'t contain themselves and sprung their trap.

Faced with over ten onrushing men Zhao Zhenzhen calmly set down her backpack.

The backpack contained eighty 100-gram packets of salt, weighing about eight kilograms in totala manageable load, but enough to impede her movements given the limited strength of an undead.

Once she set aside the backpack full of salt, Zhao Zhenzhen didn\'t hesitate to turn and run.

She knew better than to confront such overwhelming odds, especially given her limited combat skills. Besides, these men didn\'t seem like they were from the church, so there was no point in risking an unnecessary confrontation.

Gang members, who reveled in this sort of chase, pursued her with boisterous cries. Someone picked up the backpack and took a look before hollering, "It\'s all salt!" and the chasing bunch\'s excitement intensified.

"Catch him!"

"Don\'t let him run!"

"Make sure to not kill him! Boss will go mad if we don\'t get the salt this fella is hiding!"

Zhao Zhenzhen was unable to understand the local tongue, but her great deduction skills allowed her to comprehend the situation: loose-lipped denizens of the slums spreading the news of salt being given away had attracted attention.

Let alone this chaotic world; even back on Earth several decades ago, where societal order was still a mess, the adage "wealth should not be flaunted" wasn\'t just a mere saying but a lesson steeped in blood.

Back then, due to inadequate grassroots management and the insufficient reach of public authority into every aspect of society, dangers lurked everywhere. From bandits in rural areas to city dwellers being robbed of their gold earrings, tearing their earlobes in the processthese incidents were tragically common, leading many tearful victims to police stations.

Zhao Zhenzhen\'s illusory disguise may have appeared bulky and cumbersome, but in reality, she was merely a skeleton weighing 30 kilograms. Eluding her pursuers was more than easy.

However, fleeing now would make it challenging for the church\'s men to "track her down."

Even street thugs have managed to find me; it\'s only a matter of time before the church\'s informants catch wind of this, she mused.

With that thought, she decided to feign clumsiness and panic, darting about through the sprawling slum, resembling a rat desperately fleeing through a maze.

Meanwhile, the more patient and discreet night watchmen observed this frustrating spectacle from their hiding spots.

"Isn\'t this fellow capable of handling sealed artifacts? How can he struggle against mere street thugs?" a bewildered night watchman muttered.

"Maybe he\'s just all style but no substance?" another guessed.

Observing the Salt Man\'s surprising agility, the third night watchman remarked, "He\'s quite nimble for his size."

"Alright, enough chatter," their leader interjected. "We can\'t let Von Alphonse fall into the hands of those ruffians. Move out."

The church\'s bounty on "Von Alphonse" wasn\'t just a retaliatory measure; his ability to contain a sealed artifact overnight was alarmingly impressive. Subduing and then re-educating him for the church\'s service was an appealing option. As long as they could seize him, the church had tons of methods to re-educate disobedient dissidents into pious zealots.

Utilizing the gang members as an unwitting front to assess the threat level of "Von Alphonse," the four night watchmen sprang into action, swiftly encircling Zhao Zhenzhen as she scampered in a desperate attempt to escape.

As Zhao Zhenzhen clambered over a heap of trash, long unattended and reeking of decay, the leader of the squad and one of his men simultaneously closed in from opposite directions. The other two night watchmen quickly sealed her only path of retreat.

One of them, brandishing the emblem of the church, turned to the relentless gang members and barked authoritatively, "Stop! Do not interfere with the church\'s affairs!"

The gang members, caught up in the frenzy of the chase, skidded to a halt, their aggression cooling as they recognized the unmistakable garb of the night watchmen. The sight of the church\'s insignia further calmed their fervoreven the most unruly of street thugs knew the limits of whom they could provoke.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhenzhen, now surrounded, caught sight of the garb of the men in front of her. Exercising caution, she cast an Identify, and upon verifying that they were the objective, she swiftly drew her steel knife and lunged at the highest-ranked night watchman.

"Fool!" the leader of the night watchmen squad cried out, infuriated that this seemingly weak man, who couldn\'t even deal with street thugs, would dare attack him.

He swung his blade toward Zhao Zhenzhen\'s shoulder, aiming to incapacitate rather than to kill, hoping to subdue her for the church\'s cause. However, for Zhao Zhenzhen, a mere Lv 3 entity without armor, a non-lethal blow from a "Lv 6 boss monster" proved fatalher health bar was instantly depleted.

Zhao\'s expression turned to one of relief as she dissolved into a burst of white light and vanished.

Night watchmen squad leader: "??"

Night watchmen A, B, and C: "???"

The many thugs on the street: "????"

The denizens of the slums hiding in their homes and watching in secret as well as Johan\'s bunch, who had cautiously sneaked over, were astounded as well.

The night watchmen squad leader sheathed his slightly nicked blade and turned to look at his subordinates, their confusion mirroring his own.

Night watchman A, who was closest to him, cautiously took half a step back, then another.

Night watchman B and C also silently distanced themselves from their leader.

Causing a living, breathing being to disappear in a flash from a strike wasn\'t something ordinary power could achieve!

The leader, acutely aware of the situation, stammered, "I-I I don\'t know. I don\'t know what happened either. You all saw it, I just wanted to subdue Von I didn\'t attack with the intention to kill!"

Overhearing the exchange, a gang member blurted out without a second thought, "Von Alphonse? The Salt Bandit is the church\'s wanted criminal, Von Alphonse?"

"No wonder the night watchmen came"

"Hey, hey, this doesn\'t make sense. What sort of ability can reduce a person to nothingness with a single strike? Are they really night watchmen?" a street thug exclaimed in panic.

These words incited fear among his fellows, and they scattered like frightened animals, seeking safety in the shadows

Night watchmen A, B, and C, who couldn\'t flee, slowly regrouped, eyeing their leader cautiously.

Night watchmen squad leader: ""

Despair was written all over his faceif it had been someone else who had performed this feat, he would surely find that person dubious too!

"Let\'s return and report this," the squad leader forced himself to remain steady. "There\'s something wrong with Von Alphonse. I suspect he isn\'t a normal human, perhaps some strange monster, or perhaps a summoned malevolent specter."

Night watchmen A, B, and C didn\'t say a word, just staring at their squad leader in silence.

A monster or undead entity running a photography studio, performing exorcisms and containing sealed artifacts, and even coming to the slums to distribute salt to the poor Such a tale would seem too far-fetched for even a three-year old toddler to believe.

In frustration, the squad leader howled, "What are you all looking at?! The problem definitely lies with Von Alphonse! It can\'t be my fault!"

The faces of his subordinates paled, and they hurriedly lowered their heads.

As the carriage of the night watchmen retreated, the denizens of the slum emerged from their hiding spots, faces etched with shock and disbelief.

"The Salt Man was killed by the church"

"His name was Von Alphonse, huh"

"Oh heavens, what did the Salt Man do to deserve such a fate from the church!"

The next day, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the slums outside the city, the horse and mule market, the southern districts, Saint Joseph Street, Marley Street market, and other areas where there were street gangs and working-class folk.

These whispers spoke of a shocking incident: The church\'s night watchmen had slain Von Alphonse, the benevolent "Salt Man."

Previously, the church dispatching men to capture Perfect Dream Portrait Studio boss, Von Alphonse, wasn\'t a secret, quite a number of affluent city folk vaguely knew that this person was an exorcist.

Additionally, players with makeup skills hadn\'t just assisted the city\'s middle-class women but had also made a name for themselves on Saint Joseph Street, enhancing the aesthetics of nightlife patrons.

As such, Von Alphonse\'s persona began to take on an air of mystery and intrigue as the gossip spread.

The complex narrative around "Von Alphonse" and his entanglements with the Church of Lady Gold Coin started taking a fantastical turn. Within days, the rumor mill churned out scandalous talesthe night watchmen\'s squad leader, who had slain Von, supposedly had a beautiful daughter, and Von, having once run a photography studio catering to middle-class ladies, was inevitably linked with her.

Regardless of which world they were from, people always relished sensational stories, especially ones tinged with romance and intrigue.

As the Church of Lady Gold Coin fumed over this infuriatingly unsolvable issue, the Radiant Sun Church branch in Saint Joseph Street received a letter of challenge from the lord of Weisshem, Charlie Rex.

The Radiant Sun Church\'s efficiency contrasted starkly with that of the Bartalis family. Just two days after Benn Hamn Walton, the commander of a cavalry unit of the Radiant Sun Church\'s Inquisition, went missing, the church had sensed something amiss.

By the third day, the Radiant Sun Church\'s bishop gathered all the officers from Walton\'s command, informing them of the situation, appointing a deputy commander to temporarily lead, and obtaining maps of Weisshem from Indahl city hall to formulate a rescue plan.

At the same time, the Radiant Sun Church began to pour money into hiring countless money hungry and lawless individuals from the city, sending them to Weisshem to gather intelligence.

Weisshem\'s response was equally decisive. After apprehending several amateur spies from Indahl, they boldly issued a letter of challenge to Walton\'s Inquisition cavalry unit.

Charlie Rex, as a follower of the black mage Yang, demanded the Inquisition\'s knights take responsibility for breaching their peace agreement. He expressed an uncompromising stance that a mere apology would not suffice to quell the outrage caused by this unprovoked violationthe matter had to be settled by combat, with the losing side paying substantial reparations.