Evening time.
An Ya walked out of the room on the third floor, tears still visible on her face.
The elder had already passed away.
But he left with a smile, departing very peacefully.
In his own words: I almost forgot what it feels like to breathe so freely and easily.
While An Ya was happy for her father, she was still very sad and mournful.
Suddenly, she recalled her father suddenly waking up, seemingly right after Andrew held his hand?
She couldn't help but ask, "Where is Andrew?"
"Brother Andrew has already left."
The little boy, who was about to go play when Andrew arrived, said.
Andrew waited for the boy to return and planted the final "Seed of the Water Spirit" in him before leaving the Living People Cemetery.
An Ya asked the boy, "How are you feeling today? Has your cough gotten better?"
The little boy shook his head, "No, it's still the same..."
An Ya patted the boy's hair and looked at the others in the first-floor hall.
Everyone looked the same as they did before Andrew's morning visit, with no signs of improvement.
"So, was I overthinking it?"
An Ya frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.
...
...
At the same time, Andrew was already on his way back to the temporary camp.
It was probably the best moment since his arrival in this Flame Realm!
Firstly, he had done a good deed again.
The 'Seeds of the Water Spirit' he had planted would likely all burst open within a day or two. By then, all the patients would be healed, no longer tormented by chest burning pains!
Secondly, Andrew felt:
When the Seeds of the Water Spirit burst forth, it would probably unlock a new magic skill!
He had this strong feeling!
And thirdly—
The one he planted in An Ya's father worked "immediately," unlike the others that "activate later."
At the time, he didn't think much, only wondering if it could heal the elder.
The result was that he successfully unlocked a one-time-use magic artifact from the "Tear of the Water God"!
A combat type magic artifact.
Its name is: 'Water Needle' from the Fingertip Series Magic.
Although it can only be used once, it is at least a combat magic.
—This is the main difference between the current version of himself and the one who left the camp in the morning.
Finally, I'm no longer a combat-inept piece of trash! Although this level is certainly still not enough to deal with Humboldt, the shadow over my heart has indeed faded somewhat: The Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method is truly feasible and useful.
"In that case, is there any fire extinguishing business left in Wildfire Town?"
Andrew couldn't help but ponder as he walked, "Before Humboldt's prophecy deadline arrives, the more fire extinguishing business, the better!"
"Why are you running, what's the rush?" a voice suddenly laughed loudly, "Do you think you can get away?"
Andrew froze.
This voice is... Raymond?
Andrew couldn't help but frown, letting out a snort. He had been so busy at the Living People Cemetery that he almost forgot about Raymond causing trouble for him on the way there in the morning.
"Forget it... What I need to do now is extinguish fires. Raymond doesn't count as a fire, so it's best not to have any additional complications."
Andrew shook his head, planning to continue forward, grabbing a bite to eat at the temporary camp first. He hadn't eaten all day and was now starving.
Then, following Raymond's voice, another voice rang out intermittently, "Please, don't do this..."
It was a girl's voice, sounding about his age.
Then he heard the thugs' mocking laughter, whistles, and the girl's terrified, desperate screams and cries.
"..."
Andrew gradually stopped, silently remaining in place.
The sun was setting, the residual warmth of the sunlight falling on Andrew.
He could now hear the sound of clothes being torn, followed by men's grotesque laughter.
He could easily guess what kind of scene was unfolding!
"Hmm, this Raymond is utterly sycophantic to Humboldt, displaying exactly a henchman's face. Why not take care of him first, and it'd be like cutting off one of Humboldt's claws in advance?"
Andrew sighed, "Mainly, I really can't stand this kind of situation."
Silently, he turned and headed in the direction of the noise.
Although there was certainly risk involved, the rescue mission was probably quite challenging.
But... he was no longer the powerless pushover he was in the morning.
Andrew's eyes glinted with a faint hint of a killing intent.
The setting sun cast slanted beams.
This was in a half-abandoned, remote street in Wildfire Town.
A petite yet very voluptuous young girl was cornered by the wall.
Her clothes were roughly torn halfway off, her hair disheveled, hugging her arms as she was forced into a corner.
Though she stood under the sunlight, she trembled in fear!
Before the girl stood Raymond and his gang of lackeys.
"Wow, what a nice figure."
Raymond stood with his back to the sun, grinning wickedly, not in a hurry at all.
After all, it's not the first time he's done something like this.
"Ah, this little town of Wildfire is ultimately too boring, I have to find my own fun," Raymond felt it was really difficult, "Can't just run outside the town to fight desolate beasts, can I? Can't beat them."
So, bullying ordinary people is much more enjoyable!
"Right, I remember you live opposite the Living People Cemetery at the town entrance, right?" Raymond stared at the girl, suddenly thought of something, and pretended to be generous, "Just answer one question for me honestly, and I'll be gentle with you, how about that? Haha, don't be afraid."
"My question is simple: Today, did the 'Warm Fire Commerce Association' team pass by the town entrance—"
"Hey..."
A cold voice suddenly came over.
Raymond was startled, turned his head to look.
His henchmen also looked over.
Then they couldn't help but show a strange expression.
They saw a person standing under the setting sun, casting a long shadow.
That long shadow stretched over, extending right in front of Raymond and his lackeys, like a huge stick ready to knock them all down!
Andrew stood at one end of that shadow, coldly said, "Let go of the girl."
"..."
There was a moment of silence at the scene.
Raymond and his lackeys looked at Andrew with a quirky expression, as if they'd seen something or someone unbelievable.
Then someone suddenly... burst out laughing.
"Oh, the hero Andrew wants to play the hero again!"
Raymond's lackeys, as if they'd heard some super funny joke, soon couldn't help but laugh wildly, "But seriously... don't you have any self-awareness? We aren't even looking for trouble with you, yet you come to get yourself killed?"
Raymond laughed too.
Thinking, there's a path to heaven but you don't take it, yet you barged into the doorless hell? Since you've delivered yourself to me... I won't be polite!
With a casual gesture: "Grab him, I want to play with this in front of him."
Then he turned back and looked at the girl again.
Took off his jacket and walked towards her.
This is a bully.
It's not just about going around and extorting protection money, far from it. It's about being truly reckless and doing whatever you want!
Flame Realm is vast, and although Wildfire Town is situated at the very center of the Inner Sea Desert, and the Inner Sea Desert is the center of Flame Realm, geographically speaking, Wildfire Town is actually the center of this Flame Realm.
But at the same time, Wildfire Town is also one of the most backward and remote places in Flame Realm.
And it's this kind of Wildfire Town, that today welcomed an unusual delegation——
Miss Barbara of the Warm Fire Commerce Association, personally led the delegation here.
Raymond, who always likes to curry favor, how could he miss such an opportunity?
"So originally today, I planned to go and entertain the Warm Fire Commerce Association's delegation, seeing if I could win some favors, find a chance to stand out."
While taking off his jacket, Raymond cursed internally, "But damn it, I got rejected by that old fool Humboldt!"
Thinking of this, Raymond became increasingly displeased, with a kind of violent emotion brewing in his chest: "Today I need to vent my anger!"
At this moment, one of Raymond's henchmen walked up to Andrew.
This person was grinning, obviously not taking Andrew seriously: "Come, come, I'll play with you first."
Unexpectedly, he threw a punch that directly landed on Andrew's face!
Andrew staggered backward. Then the laughter from the lackeys became even louder.
Yet as they laughed and laughed, gradually, they couldn't laugh anymore.
Then they all stopped laughing.
This made Raymond a bit curious, turning back to glance again.
He saw——
The lackey who hit Andrew's face swayed and fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then stopped moving.
Silently, blood spread out from beneath him.
"Alright, I'll play with you."
Andrew looked at the lackey's body and thought to himself.
Aside from him and the guy dead on the ground, no third person saw: As Andrew got punched in the face, he deftly pointed a finger at the opponent's throat in return.
The magic artifact "Water Needle" had quietly activated.
On the surface, it seemed like a faint, almost invisible water-blue glow had surfaced on his forefinger. It looked like a semi-transparent blue finger sleeve.
In reality, this unremarkable blue glow had made Andrew's finger as sharp as a razor's edge.
That finger directly pierced through the opponent's throat.
Leaving a deep, bloody hole on the opponent's neck.
The ease of it was like a hot knife through butter.
Andrew himself hadn't expected the "Water Needle" to be so powerful!
So, after successfully landing a hit, he immediately withdrew his hand and stuffed the finger clad with the "Water Needle" into his sleeve to hide it.
At the same time, he raised the other hand to wipe the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth. His lip had been slightly busted by the punch.
The girl looked over, huddled and full of plea in her eyes.
Raymond paused in his steps toward the girl, looking back at Andrew, gradually furrowing his brow.
A small lackey shouted in surprise, "Andrew, you—!"
"What do you mean, 'you'?"
Andrew slightly gritted his teeth, "Please don't make me repeat it a third time— I said, let go of the girl!"