Chapter 259: Brothers (Fifteen)
Chapter 259: Brothers (Fifteen)
The man was tall and broad, his right arm a metallic construct that slowed his movements. His attacks, though powerful, were straightforward and easy to evade.
Feng Bu Jue, enhanced by his skills, had a massive advantage in dynamic vision, reflexes, and speed. To him, his opponent’s motions seemed painfully slow and simplistic.
“Are you one of the five mechanical corps subaltern officers?” Feng Bu Jue asked while dodging the assault. He still hoped to reason with the man.
“Hmph… Asking questions you already know the answers to,” the man growled, missing his strike before pivoting to attack again.
“I don’t know what you think,” Feng Bu Jue said, maintaining his high-speed evasion without breaking a sweat, “but believe me—I mean no harm. Stop this fight, and I swear I won’t attack.”
“No harm?” the man snarled. “You slaughtered my subordinates alongside the Xingzu Clan. Do you think I’ll fall for your lies now?” He roared, switching tactics as he swung his arm and launched his entire body forward like a battering ram.
“If words won’t work, then there’s no choice,” Feng Bu Jue muttered, watching his opponent close in. “I’ll just use a random skill—no idea which one it’ll be—and teach you a lesson.”
To Feng Bu Jue, the enemy’s only real threat was his mechanical arm. Without that, his strength was only slightly above average. As long as he avoided direct clashes, Feng Bu Jue’s odds of victory were over 90%.
“Here’s a move!” Feng Bu Jue vanished, reappearing behind his opponent in an instant. He threw a punch, activating his title skill.
He aimed for the upper-right side of the man’s back, near the shoulder—a non-vital spot. Even if the random skill’s power was strong enough to pierce through the body, it wouldn’t damage critical organs. At best, it might disable the mechanical arm.
Feng Bu Jue held back deliberately. He thought, Killing him gains me nothing. If he won’t listen, I’ll just knock him out and talk later.
Unexpectedly, Feng Bu Jue heard a system prompt he’d never encountered before:
【Your randomly activated skill “Purgatory Unparalleled Thermal Wave Cannon” has consumed all current stamina value. Overloading this skill has caused a 50% vitality value loss.】
“What the hell?!” Feng Bu Jue’s mind reeled. After refilling his blood in the second-floor bathroom, he’d already lost 15% vitality during the crash. Then using his spirit sense body technique drained more. Now, losing 50% at once left him reeling. He immediately canceled the skill.
But he didn’t need to keep it running anymore. The enemy had been reduced to dust by a devastating shockwave, not a drop of blood left.
The destruction didn’t stop there. The residual energy surged forward, obliterating the wall directly opposite the room’s entrance. That wall should’ve been indestructible—it marked the boundary of the scenario map, beyond which lay empty space.
Yet it shattered. The seemingly solid stone crumbled in seconds. A blinding burst of colliding energy erupted, forcing Feng Bu Jue to shield his eyes.
When the light faded, he saw a massive hole in the wall—over a meter in radius. White data streams surged from the breach, slowly repairing the scenario’s edge, restoring the stone wall.
“What kind of skill is this?!” Feng Bu Jue exclaimed, collapsing to the ground as his stamina drained completely. “No way… Could a level 27 player really unleash an attack this devastating?”
He wasn’t wrong.
The skill’s description for 【Here Comes a Move】 included a crucial line: The randomly selected skill’s effect will not exceed the player’s level or capability limits.
In other words, a level 27 player using physical techniques and spirit sense body technique in tandem could indeed unleash such a strike.
Yet across the entire Terrifying Paradise, only one person—tian tian gui xiao—had ever pulled off such a feat before level 30.
Incidentally, Feng Bu Jue’s randomly selected skill already existed in the server, albeit in a consumable version.
【Name: Purgatory Unparalleled Thermal Wave Cannon】
【Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, disappears after one use】
【Skill Category: Martial Arts】
【Effect: Instantly obliterates any enemy, leaving no trace】
【Consumption: Stamina Value 2500】
【Learning Condition: Martial Arts Proficiency A】
【Background: King-Style Internal Kung Fu Ultimate Art, one of the most powerful martial arts skills, capable of miraculous destruction.】
Typically, players under level 30 couldn’t reach Martial Arts Proficiency A—top experts barely scraped B-level.
But a few exceptions existed. Some players, even without using spirit sense body technique, matched or surpassed Feng Bu Jue’s physical prowess. Only these monsters could elevate their martial arts proficiency to A before level 30.
It wasn’t about game time or real-life martial arts experience. It came down to raw talent.
“After all this time, the first person I meet who can talk gets obliterated by this skill…” Feng Bu Jue sighed, lamenting his luck. At a moment when he didn’t need to kill, he’d randomly triggered the most absurdly overpowered move. “Even tearing a hole in the scenario map? That’s ridiculous…”
Still, Feng Bu Jue didn’t dwell. His curiosity quickly shifted to the wall’s white data streams, still repairing the breach. He studied them, hoping to glimpse the world beyond the scenario.
Suddenly, a face emerged from the streams.
A man’s head, partially obscured by the glowing white data like a luminous mask, peered out.
“Hey, do you even know what you’ve done?” the face spoke. “With your current strength, crossing the ‘rift’ would tear you apart in under three minutes.”
Feng Bu Jue froze at the voice. Two seconds later, he recognized it from his memory attic. “So it’s you…”
“Hmph… Yep. Last time, I left in a hurry without introducing myself,” the figure chuckled. “I’m now a secondary derivative being—K2-Chieh T'ieh. Long time no see, Mad Bu Jue.” He raised a hand, making a strange gesture. Instantly, Feng Bu Jue’s stamina recovered to 50, letting him stand.
“Let me come over and check it out,” Feng Bu Jue said, pushing toward the breach.
“You don’t listen, do you?” K2-Chieh T'ieh’s arm, wrapped in light, emerged from the wall. He pressed a hand to Feng Bu Jue’s shoulder, halting him. “I’m saving your life.”
“I’ll go for three minutes at least,” Feng Bu Jue insisted, but K2-Chieh T'ieh effortlessly held him back.
“I knew you’d say that,” K2-Chieh T'ieh laughed. “But I can’t let you. Some ‘big characters’ here care about you. Don’t throw your life away recklessly. Also, I want another fight. But on fairer terms. Right now, you’re pathetically weak. This data is more than enough to crush you.”
As he spoke, the data streams accelerated repairs, the hole shrinking rapidly. “The Inner World isn’t a tourist spot. For players, it’s a hundred times more dangerous than any scenario.” He withdrew his arm and head. “Mad Bu Jue, if you want to see our side, master the 【Soul Intent】 first. Only when you can observe this virtual world from another perspective will the real game begin.”
He finished speaking, his face completely retreating into the unknown space across from him. At that moment, the data stream swiftly sealed itself, restoring the wall to its original state.
Feng Bu Jue stared at the wall for a full ten minutes. K2-Chieh T'ieh's words contained too much information, requiring careful digestion.
"Beautiful..." After a long silence, Feng Bu Jue spoke happily, his face beaming. "This setting is absolutely brilliant. It makes me eager to dive into the later stages of the game."
The incident of accidentally killing an unknown Npc had already been pushed to the back of his mind. At this moment, Feng Bu Jue's thoughts had completely flown elsewhere. He even felt... the outcome of this scenario no longer mattered much. After witnessing that scene, he felt it was worth the trip regardless.
Stepping out of the red room, Feng Bu Jue rested briefly in place, allowing his vitality value to naturally recover to 30% and his stamina value to hover around 160. Before the scenario judged him as passive play, he set off again, pushing open the yellow iron door.
The iron bar had already been destroyed, leaving him with only 30% vitality value to risk his life. He prayed silently that this wouldn't be one of those scenarios where each of the six rooms contained combat encounters. Without consumables, that would likely spell disaster.
Fortunately, the yellow room appeared to hold no danger. It was simply a room resembling a chemical warehouse. Inside, numerous iron shelves and glass cabinets were filled with potions, powders, and various raw materials. These items varied in appearance and containment chambers, but shared one common trait - they were all trash. Feng Bu Jue couldn't see any item descriptions when picking them up, indicating they were useless to players, mere decorative props.
After searching briefly without finding any valuable artifacts, Feng Bu Jue prepared to leave when another CG sequence was triggered.
......
"Brother... if we continue like this, we'll eventually be arrested... no, killed!" Āndélǔ said passionately to Ā Sè.
"There's nothing to worry about." Ā Sè stood with his back to his younger brother at the doorway, skillfully selecting materials from the glass cabinets and placing them into a small cart beside him. "We've killed those who needed killing, locked up the rest. Even the Royal Alchemists' Corps fell to us, didn't they?"
"But..."
"Don't speak such foolishness. We've long passed the point of no return." Ā Sè interrupted Āndélǔ. "You were the one who said you'd help me find a way to become human, weren't you? At this point, even if we regret or fear, we can't wash away the blood on our hands." He said calmly, "Since we've come this far, we'll proceed as planned. Besides the two armed alchemists killed on the spot and that bounty hunter 'Kongque,' we still have one alchemist and five mechanical squad lieutenants in custody. That's enough... As usual, we'll separate them, feed them our special nine-day 'diet,' then begin the experiments."
He paused, then continued, "At this stage, ordinary test subjects hold little value. We need someone at least at the bounty hunter's level to make progress. These six arrived just in time. With them, we can remain hidden for two full months while the experiment runs. By then, the storm will have passed."
Ā Sè finished gathering his materials, turned around, and pushed the cart toward the door. "Looking on the bright side, maybe we'll succeed before using all six subjects?"
"Even so... they'll all have to die in the end..." Āndélǔ asked with a furrowed brow.
"Yes." Ā Sè's answer sent chills down the spine. "We can't possibly let them go... However, the remaining few won't have to endure the pain of experimentation. They'll die quickly." Pushing the cart, he passed his brother and left the room.
......
"The purpose of this alchemy... is to transform Ā Sè of the Xingzu Clan into an ordinary human..." Feng Bu Jue muttered, exiting the yellow room and heading toward the adjacent blue iron door. "That previous vision must have shown the results of their alchemy. Whether Ā Sè successfully became human remains unclear, but Āndélǔ certainly suffered significant harm..." He reached out and pushed open the blue room's door. "Perhaps Ā Sè concealed the true cost of this transformation, tricking his brother into bearing it? Or maybe... even Ā Sè didn't anticipate the outcome."
"From the opening CG, both possibilities seem valid. After all, they're brothers. Whether intentional or not, Ā Sè must feel some guilt over what happened to them."
The blue room appeared to be a special cell. Ritual arrays covered all four walls, ceiling, and floor. No beds were present, but each corner held an iron pillar with attached chains and shackles.
"This must be where prisoners with combat power beyond ordinary humans are kept." Feng Bu Jue approached a corner, using a magnifying glass to examine the iron pillar. He noticed the same ritual array etched into the chains and shackles. "These arrays should prevent escape through brute force... but." He crouched to inspect the floor, finding no traces of food. "No food slots, no plastic buckets, and those four corners reek of urine... So, prisoners here receive no food or water, chained in corners. Once half-starved, they're moved to ordinary cells and fed our 'special diet,' leaving them too weak to escape."
Feng Bu Jue wandered the room, occasionally pausing to test if another CG sequence would trigger. After five minutes with nothing, he resorted to his tapping search method.
Unexpectedly, this time it worked.
The four iron pillars were roughly bowl-thick, covered in rust. At first glance, nothing seemed unusual except the ritual arrays. Feng Bu Jue tapped each inch with his pipe wrench, discovering a dent on one pillar. Located a meter high on the wall-facing side, the spot caved in slightly when struck.
Applying more force, Feng Bu Jue created a small hole. Using pliers to widen it to fist size, he reached inside and retrieved a hidden artifact.
[Name: Glass Eye]
[Type: Plot-Related]
[Quality: Common]
[Function: Unknown]
[Can Be Taken Out of Scenario: Yes]
[Background: A remarkably realistic eyeball]
"Alright, next room." With the item secured, Feng Bu Jue left the blue room, heading toward the black iron door across the corridor.
This time, he hesitated before entering. The black room... was completely black.
The red, yellow, and blue rooms had all been bathed in colored light from unknown sources. This black room was no different - pitch black darkness filled it, artificial corridor lighting failing to penetrate. The doorway seemed veiled by a black cloth.
As Feng Bu Jue debated the risks of entering, laughter echoed from within.
The laughter was eerie. The voice itself was sharp, yet the laughter boisterous and hearty.
To illustrate, the contrast was like someone like Lin Zhiling (a famously feminine celebrity) roaring through a warrior's ballad.
"Whoa!" Feng Bu Jue leapt back, instinctively summoning his Death Poker to prepare for battle. "What demon dares approach!"
Suddenly, the darkness within the room receded like a retreating tide, gathering toward the center and allowing corridor light to spill inside.
Peering from the doorway, Feng Bu Jue saw the room's volume matched the previous three, yet completely empty. The darkness, now solidified into a physical form, stood at the center.
Soon, the shadows coalesced into a black figure, its outline and posture eerily reminiscent of a long-deceased pop star.
"This is..." Before Feng Bu Jue could formulate a response, a familiar Bgm suddenly played in his ears. The unmistakable rhythm of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" filled the air. As the music began, the black figure started "walking backward", performing the moonwalk straight toward the doorway.
(End of Chapter)
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