Can I get the good stuff?

With this in mind, Chen Zhou grabbed Zhao Jing, turned around, and walked into the next room, saying:

"Don't come in if you don't want to see your son's body."

Although County Lieutenant Xiao's expression was grim, he remained outside obediently.

The same was true for the Black Tiger Gang.

If Chen Zhou had taken an ordinary person hostage, they could have easily shot both him and the captive dead. But since he had chosen to capture the county magistrate’s son... that was a different problem.

Inside the room, Chen Zhou stood firm while, outside, the Black Tiger Gang's deputy leader approached County Lieutenant Xiao and said, "Brother Xiao, I didn’t expect the government to send out crossbowmen."

Crossbowmen were usually only dispatched in dire situations. This time, however, it didn’t seem that serious.

"We had no choice. Young Master Zhao is in danger—how could we afford to be careless?" County Lieutenant Xiao replied in a deep voice.

As soon as he had received word of the incident, County Magistrate Zhao had flown into a rage and immediately mobilized all the crossbowmen under his command.

"If you ask me, there’s no need for all this trouble," the deputy leader chuckled. "With your Second Realm Fifth Stage cultivation, Brother Xiao, you could just rush in and capture him yourself. Why make such a big fuss?"

"Deputy Leader Lin, you must be joking. Didn’t he kill several of your men in the street? Since our skills are about the same, why don’t you rush in and take revenge yourself?" County Lieutenant Xiao replied with a wry smile.

Neither of them was foolish. They had already investigated Chen Zhou’s background thoroughly.

Ordinary civilians had no martial training, yet the guards and Manager Zeng had been slaughtered with ease. That alone proved how dangerous Chen Zhou was.

Especially Manager Zeng—his martial arts skills were so refined that even in a one-on-one fight, it would have taken time to kill him.

The whole situation was bizarre. If they rushed in recklessly, they could end up losing their lives.

"Haha, so you also realized there’s something strange about this kid?" Deputy Leader Lin grinned. "But we can’t just keep standing here forever..."

"I have a plan," Xiao said, lowering his voice. "It was difficult to execute before, but now I see an opportunity..."

Hearing the sinister tone in his voice, Deputy Leader Lin’s eyes gleamed. "Tell me more."

......

Chen Zhou entered a study room, and the surrounding bookshelves were filled with books.

The area of ​​this study room alone is larger than the house he had once bought with a loan in his previous life.

The lives of the wealthy, whether in ancient times or modern, were always luxurious.

He sat down in the armchair at the center of the study while Zhao Jing knelt beside him like a dog

"Brother, I swear on my life—if you let me go, I won’t pursue any charges against you. I’ll even give you a hundred taels of gold!" Zhao Jing pleaded.

"If you speak again, I’ll rip out your tongue," Chen Zhou said calmly.

Zhao Jing immediately fell silent, lowering his head like an obedient pet.

Chen Zhou took a deep breath. He was clearly at a dead end now, but he had no regrets. At the very least, he felt an exhilarating sense of freedom.

To live without restraint—to do whatever he pleased—that was what it meant to truly be alive.

Now, he turned his focus to the "Record of Merits," eager to see what kind of martial arts talent he had awakened. Maybe this is the key to his comeback.

The book had already recorded a long string of text:

[Your awakened martial arts talent is: The Fourth Calamity (Upgradeable)]

The Fourth Calamity?

Chen Zhou was stunned. Wasn’t this a concept from his past life? How did it appear in this world?

Curious, he read further:

[The Fourth Calamity (Upgradeable) – A survival talent.]

[Once activated, you will gain a "health bar."]

[Your health depends on your physical strength.]

[When you are attacked, you will not be injured. Instead, your health will decrease.]

[When your health reaches zero, you will die.]

[Note: This is a unique ability that only an outsider may possess. Use it wisely to protect the people and serve justice.]

Reading this, Chen Zhou’s breathing quickened.

A health bar… wasn’t this something straight out of a video game?

No wonder it was called The Fourth Calamity!

As excitement surged through him, he suddenly felt a powerful force awaken within his body.

He couldn't wait any longer. [The Fourth Calamity – Activate!]

There was no dramatic transformation—no earth-shattering special effects—just a simple red bar appearing in the lower-left corner of Chen Zhou’s vision. His health bar.

Since he wasn’t injured, it was currently full.

"So this is my health bar?" Chen Zhou muttered, inspecting it closely. "Looks pretty short… Hopefully, I don’t drop dead after taking a single hit."

He muttered to himself, never expecting that he would awaken such a martial arts talent that was incompatible with this world.

But it fit his identity as a time traveler perfectly. No wonder this talent belonged to him alone—only someone from his world would understand its significance.

If this ability could be upgraded over time, could he one day achieve immortality?

With this talent...he can now totally make a comeback!

A plan began forming in his mind. But before he could act—

BOOM!

Two explosive sounds erupted almost simultaneously!

In front, County Lieutenant Xiao broke through the wooden door and rushed into the house. His sleeves fluttered, his eyes were sharp, and he clenched the long sword in both hands and chopped it down towards Chen Zhou's head!

From behind, the window suddenly shattered—Deputy Leader Lin flew in at high speed!

They had launched a coordinated ambush, attacking from both sides!

Chen Zhou’s eyes burned with determination. He stepped forward—toward County Lieutenant Xiao.

With The Fourth Calamity activated, there was no reason to retreat!