My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

Meanwhile, amidst the verdant medicinal herb fields layered upon layer in the Emerald Mountains.

Two figures are strolling along a carefully paved stone path.

Upon hearing footsteps, the farmers working in the fields looked up.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, she immediately broke into an even brighter, almost formulaic, happy smile.

Then they continued to work diligently, their movements precise and efficient, seemingly tireless.

One of them was Bart, the city lord of Orl, who looked gentle and refined but had a sickly appearance.

Walking beside him was a middle-aged man dressed in light silver-gray armor and wearing a knight's greatsword at his waist.

He wore the insignia of the White Tiger Knights on his chest.

This person was none other than Bai Rong, who had once tried to invite Lin Mo to join the Knights in Ancient Wood City.

As one of the captains of the White Tiger Knights, he was responsible for patrolling various cities in the western border.

Since leaving Ancient Wood City last time, I haven't stopped, and now I've just arrived in Or City.

Bai Rong's gaze swept over the smiling villagers in the fields, and his brows involuntarily furrowed.

This wasn't his first time in Orléans, and each time he came, this strange sense of harmony made him uncomfortable.

"Lord Bart,"

Bai Rong stopped in his tracks, his voice low and undisguised, filled with scrutiny.

"Your actions...are they really not harmful to these people at all?"

Upon hearing this, Bart gave a helpless smile on his pale face.

The expression on his face suggested that he thought the other person was making a mountain out of a molehill.

He shrugged, his tone relaxed.

"Lord Bai Rong, you are overthinking it. You know my abilities. Theoretically, the [Heaven-Stealing Hand] can steal everything in the world; I merely stole some trash from them..."

Bart paused at this point.

His gaze swept over the people in the fields, his eyes seeming to admire his own work.

"Sadness, anger, jealousy, laziness, resentment... these negative emotions are like garbage piled up at home. I clean them up, and naturally only happiness, satisfaction, and focus remain. Work efficiency improves, and life becomes happier. What harm could there be?"

He pointed to the farmers who were working hard with smiles on their faces.

"Look, this guy's mother passed away yesterday, but he still came to work happily today."

"That guy over there, even if his son is starving to death, he won't leave Orl City."

"If they're happy, the production and quality of medicinal herbs in Orl City will increase year after year, taxes will be collected in full, and there will be zero crime for many years. Isn't this a good thing for the empire and the royal family?"

Bai Rong's brows remained furrowed.

Bart's divine attraction ability, "The Hand of the Sky Thief," is indeed bizarre and powerful.

He can steal not only physical objects, but also abstract concepts.

Emotions, loyalty, and even a bit of luck.

This is even though Bart's talent is so poor that he can only level up to level 20.

If his level continues to increase, who knows what else the Heaven-Stealing Finger might steal.

It was precisely because of this ability that Bart was able to recommend himself to the royal family and become the lord of this medicine garden town.

After taking office, he began to implement an emotional cleansing campaign for all the people in the city.

Year after year, day after day, steal away negative emotions, leaving only happiness and obedience.

Over time, these people became exceptionally docile and efficient.

They also lost normal emotional fluctuations and independent thinking, like a carefully programmed puppet.

All he knew was to work hard and maintain a smile and loyalty to Lord Bart.

But the royal family didn't care about this; on the contrary, they praised and commended them.

After all, what those people want most is a group of cowards who won't fight back.

Bai Rong felt helpless about this.

Even after he became one of the captains of the White Tiger Gang.

But they still had to obey the royal family.

"You...be careful, don't go too far."

That's all Bai Rong could say.

However, Bart felt somewhat wronged when he heard this.

"Too much?"

Bart chuckled and shook his head: "Lord Bai Rong, I'm very law-abiding. I can't steal from merchants coming and going; that would be cutting off my own livelihood. I also wouldn't dare to easily lay a hand on mercenaries and adventurers passing by; it wouldn't do me any good if word got out. Tell me, how much more outrageous could I possibly be?"

As he said this, he seemed to remember something.

He sighed with a hint of disdain and pulled out an antique-style spatial ring from the sleeve of his seemingly ordinary robe.

"Look, just this morning, a young man in black robes came to town, saying he was introduced by Liu Yishou to pick up medicine. I thought he was some low-key rich kid or a powerful figure hiding something good. But what happened?"

He twirled the ring on his finger, looking disappointed.

"While he was chatting with me about the teacher's recent situation and relaxing, I casually borrowed the ring he hid the deepest on his body to take a look, only to find it was completely empty, just a tattered piece of paper! He was so poor, all my efforts were wasted."

As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and the iron ring flew into the air, its contents sliding out under his mental guidance.

That was Zhou Xiaomei's liver cancer diagnosis report!

The rough printing paper was covered with familiar Chinese characters, English abbreviations, and medical images.

Bart didn't even bother to look at it closely, casually pinching a corner of the paper and tossing it around as if he were about to throw it away as waste paper.

They were about to throw it into the ditch in the nearby medicinal herb field.

"These things take up space..."

Other ways to eat.

Right now!

"Um?!"

Bai Rong's expression suddenly changed!

A frenzied warning from an almost instinctive sense of danger, honed through long years of combat!

He turned his head sharply, looking towards the direction outside Orl City, and his right hand instantly pressed on the hilt of the knight's greatsword at his waist!

A terrifying killing intent that sent chills down his spine was sweeping in from that direction at an incredible speed.

Like an invisible tsunami, it instantly engulfed the entire Emerald Mountain Range!

In the medicinal herb field, the smiles of the ever-smiling villagers froze on their faces for the first time.

His movements froze, and his eyes revealed instinctive fear and bewilderment.

Even the chirping of birds and insects in the mountains came to an abrupt halt!

Bart also sensed something was wrong; the tangible, chilling killing intent instantly drained the last trace of color from his pale face.

His fingers, which were holding the lab report, froze in mid-air. He looked at Bai Rong with surprise and uncertainty: "Lord Bai Rong? This is...?"

He hadn't finished speaking.

The air ahead seemed to distort like ripples on water.

The next moment, a figure in black robes appeared without warning, just inches away from Bart, as if tearing through space!

fast!

It's almost at its limit!

Even Bai Rong only saw a blurry black line flash by in his field of vision!

The black line pierced precisely through Bart's wrist, which was holding the paper.

Then it landed in front of the two of them.

The figure of a young man dressed in a black robe, with a pink and white spider perched on his shoulder and a cold gaze, was revealed.

Bai Rong felt that this person looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, with that black robe and aloof demeanor...

However, before he could think about it, he heard Bart's agonizing screams, like a pig being slaughtered!

"Ah—!!! My hand! My hand!!!"

Bai Rong turned around abruptly, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints!

A smooth, mirror-like cut appeared on Bart's left wrist!

His entire left hand was severed at the wrist, and blood was gushing out like a fountain.

Bart was in excruciating pain, his face contorted, tears streaming down his face, as he rolled on the ground screaming in agony, clutching his broken wrist.

The severed hand was now held in the hand of the young man in black robes.

The young man's gaze never left the paper in the severed hand.

Only then did Bai Rong's memory seem to be struck by lightning!

"It's you! Lin Mo!"

Bai Rong cried out the name in disbelief.

He never expected that he would leave Ancient Wood City in just a few days.

I will meet this genius boy here.

Moreover, the strength and terrifying killing intent displayed by the opponent were completely different from what they had shown before!

Lin Mo then glanced at Bai Rong indifferently, his eyes showing no ripples of joy at reuniting with an old friend, only a bone-chilling coldness.

His gaze returned to Bart, who was groaning in pain on the ground.

"You touched something you shouldn't have."