Thriller Paradise Chapter 170: The Protagonist's Advance (Fifteen) - Novel Cool

Chapter 170: The Protagonist's Advance (Fifteen)

Chapter 170: The Protagonist’s Advance (Fifteen)

When K3 regained consciousness, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place in his physical form. The last thing he remembered was fighting with two players in the courtyard outside an abandoned shrine.

Now, K3 stood in a metallic blue-gray world. He couldn’t accurately gauge the space around him—the depth perception was hazy. Was the distant expanse of grayish blue a wall or the ground? It was impossible to tell. Drifting midair were several crimson-red data streams as wide as a palm, their lengths unknown as they stretched endlessly toward the horizon. These streams seemed semi-transparent, their shapes shifting unpredictably when viewed from different angles due to refraction. In this otherwise monotonous world, the red streaks added a splash of vibrancy—though they were useless as landmarks.

There was air, and a gentle breeze. The temperature hovered around twenty degrees Celsius. The sky was a pale blue, illuminated by its own glow—no clouds, no sun, moon, or stars. His hearing worked normally; besides his own voice, he could hear the faint rustle of wind.

"Is everything okay?" a childish voice asked from behind him.

K3 turned but saw no one. Looking down, he spotted a young girl standing behind him, wearing a black one-piece suit that made her appear around eight or nine years old.

"Who are you…?" K3 scanned her on a semi-data level and was startled to find her inner "light" blindingly radiant—unlike anything he’d seen before.

"X2-Wing", X2 replied. "Do you remember how you got here?"

"No", K3 said.

"Hmm… It seems some short-term memory data didn’t convert properly. It should restore soon", X2 mused.

"What is this place?"

"They call it the 'Tabletop'—the core and largest section of the Inner World."

"The Inner World…" K3 murmured. "No wonder your designation is 2… and that light…"

"Your designation is also 2 now", X2 said. "You’re now a K2-Chieh T'ieh."

"Heh… I’ve finally reached Tier 2?" K2 chuckled. "But I don’t feel any fundamental change in myself."

"Technically, there’s been none", X2 replied. "Entering the Inner World upgrades your designation to 2, but this only means you meet the basic criteria for Tier 2—not that you’ve gained Tier 2 abilities."

"Then how do I ac—"

"Don’t rush", X2 interrupted, tilting her head slightly as streams of data flickered in her eyes. "Your damage is worse than I estimated. Your memory circuits haven’t recovered properly." She extended her right hand. "Give me your hand—I’ll help you reconstruct and correct the data."

K2 placed his hand in hers.

"Focus on the last memory layer before arriving here. Stabilize it—I’ll read it", X2 instructed.

Soon, data streams ignited in K2’s eyes…

…

"Brother Chan, you’ve got some guts to finally bite the dust", Feng Bu Jue remarked to Meng Jing Chan.

"Whatever", Meng Jing Chan replied coolly. "If I log out voluntarily, I’ll face a queue penalty. Dying in battle avoids that."

"Then keep up with my moves and coordinate with my attacks. We’ll show this Derivative Being a real fight", Feng Bu Jue said.

Meng Jing Chan thought, Keep up with you? Are you kidding? I could take on two of you at once. Your Folding Stool techniques? I’d match your pace with my eyes closed.

"I’ll do my best", Meng Jing Chan replied cautiously, avoiding sarcasm. He feared Feng Bu Jue might retaliate by dragging out the Dragon Ball subplot again—something he was certain the latter would do without hesitation.

Feng Bu Jue flipped his hands, and Death Poker spread like a fan-blade. Instantly, he dealt four straight flushes of twenty cards, igniting into fiery bursts. As Feng Bu Jue swung his arms, four razor-thin streaks shot toward K3 from different angles. Simultaneously, Feng Bu Jue himself blurred into a bloody shadow, charging head-on at his opponent.

Meng Jing Chan was stunned. Even ignoring martial arts proficiency or combat techniques, Feng Bu Jue’s speed surpassed his own.

"Pfft—mere parlor tricks", K3 scoffed, raising his arms as his aura reignited.

With twin palm strikes and an energy shield, he unleashed shockwaves that formed a barrier midair, dispersing the incoming Death Poker. A flurry of palm shadows erupted like a thousand hands, their sheer force impressive enough to astound even two Game Masters.

The four straight flushes (from 10 to Ace) disintegrated into light fragments before nearing K3. But Feng Bu Jue had already closed in. He held only one card—just one.

With explosive speed, he slashed diagonally. The strike was blindingly fast, leaving a golden arc in the air.

Immediately afterward, Feng Bu Jue leaped back, reopening the distance.

In those brief seconds, Feng Bu Jue had unleashed a flurry of spirit arts—mixing close and long-range attacks, even calculating the timing precisely. Yet against K3’s sheer power, the assault failed to produce a decisive effect.

But it wasn’t entirely ineffective.

A thin red line appeared on K3’s neck. He glanced down, touched his throat, and found blood on his fingers. After a brief pause, he laughed. "Ha! Good! Come again!" He turned to Meng Jing Chan. "This time, join in!"

Feng Bu Jue intended to do just that. He couldn’t afford delays—his vitality value had no supplements left. If his vitality dropped to 1% again, he couldn’t activate his spirit sense body technique, leaving him defenseless.

At a rate of 2% vitality loss every five seconds (excluding combat damage), Feng Bu Jue had a maximum of 220 seconds. The outcome would be decided within these 220 seconds—less than four minutes.

(End of Chapter)

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