https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-26-The-Mysterious-Shadow-City-Part-3-/13509873/
Chapter 27
Chapter 27
When the darkness fell moments ago, Lonely Girl let out a shriek. Gudu Xiaoge was scared too, but since his girlfriend was clinging to his arm, he couldn’t very well scream along with her. He forced himself to sound calm as he told Jimo, “Don’t worry. I’m here.” The truth, though, was that Gudu Xiaoge—level 7 and lacking even a basic weapon—was barely surviving himself.
He and Jimo had queued up for multiplayer training mode together from level 1. After hitting level 5, they’d tried a team survival scenario once, but both died. Still, Gudu Xiaoge had contributed slightly more than Jimo, so when other players cleared that scenario later, he’d gained a bit more experience. They tried team survival again, but failed to clear it and died once more. Now, one was level 7, the other level 6, both under-equipped, unskilled, and fighting monsters barehanded.
By now, many readers have probably figured it out. Long Ao Min was assigned to this team on purpose. Among the hundreds of players queuing simultaneously, why did this particular group of five form? Because the system had judged Gudu Xiaoge and Jimo as weaker players based on their past performance.
To give them a boost, the system added Long Ao Min—a level 10 player with considerable strength—to their team. But to balance the overall difficulty, it also included two lower-level players who, while individually weak, had strong track records in clearing scenarios. This created a team of five with a total level sum of 33 and an average of 6.6—perfect for a level 36 scenario’s difficulty.
To put it simply, the system had created an opportunity for Gudu Xiaoge and Jimo to cling to stronger allies, hoping they’d clear a scenario and avoid dying too many times—a fate that might leave them with lasting psychological trauma.
“What was that just now?” Long Ao Min blurted out. It was more a reflexive question than an actual request for answers. He just felt uneasy in the eerie situation and wanted to hear others’ opinions.
Unexpectedly, Feng Bu Jue answered calmly, “There are three possibilities. I’ll explain later.”
Wang Tan Zhi didn’t scream this time, but his face was pale, his voice trembling. “Wh-Why are we doing this? The subway turning off the lights was bad enough… But now, in this pitch-black night—turning off the lights too?! Trying to scare us to death?!”
“The real scare is over there,” Feng Bu Jue said flatly, pointing behind Wang Tan Zhi.
Tan Zhi stiffened his neck and turned around. At the same time, Long Ao Min, and the distant Lonely Girl and Jimo, all saw what Feng Bu Jue indicated.
The last aberrant infant had climbed onto a bus roof and let out a shriek. Its appearance had changed—skin turned pitch-black, eyes glowing green, teeth elongated into fangs. While its body size remained the same, its scythe-like arms and beastly legs had nearly doubled in length. Standing upright, the monster now reached nearly 1.6 meters tall. Its scythe arms had an attack range far exceeding a human’s arm span.
Wang Tan Zhi swallowed hard, glancing at the fruit knife in his hand, then at the monster’s blade-arms. A sense of inferiority welled up inside him.
“It seems it evolved after eating that exotic sweet,” Feng Bu Jue remarked, descending from the vehicle with his pipe wrench.
“I’ll draw it down head-on. You attack from the sides when it’s distracted,” Long Ao Min said, already advancing. He couldn’t afford to joke around like Feng Bu Jue.
Unfortunately, Long Ao Min’s tactic failed. The aberrant infant either understood human speech or possessed far higher intelligence than they’d assumed. It ignored him completely, crouched, and sprang. Its hooves left dents on the bus roof as it soared through the air in a parabolic arc, leaping over the three men to target Lonely Girl and Jimo beneath a streetlamp.
Long Ao Min desperately wanted to use his earlier skill to help, but he couldn’t. The Lightning Charge ability granted by his Valiant Charger title consumed 30% of his maximum stamina and had a one-hour cooldown.
Leaving the intricacies of the title system aside, the only ones who could save Lonely Girl and Jimo now were themselves.
As the aberrant infant descended, scythes slashing downward, the three men sprinted toward them. But the monster moved like a boulder launched from a trebuchet. With its enhanced leaping power, its aerial movement was impossible to match on foot.
“Run toward us! Lower your heads!” Feng Bu Jue bellowed.
This command was crucial. Retreating or dodging sideways would leave at least one of them vulnerable the moment the monster landed. Standing frozen or trying to block would only hasten their deaths. Their only chance was to charge forward, ducking beneath the attack, then closing the distance to Feng Bu Jue’s group during the monster’s brief recovery time.
In this life-or-death moment, a firm command cut through panic. Lonely Girl instantly grabbed Jimo and dashed forward, heads bowed.
The aberrant infant struck—its scythes slicing empty air as the pair slipped beneath it, emerging behind. The monster snarled, pivoted, and gave chase, closing in within seconds.
But luck turned against it. A muscular figure charging from the opposite direction intercepted the monster, flashing past to block its path—a gray metallic shield as solid as iron.
The reinforced scythe arms slashed furiously, sparking against the shield’s surface without leaving a single scratch. The monster’s attacks gradually slowed, as if realizing continued strikes would only dull its blades.
[Name: Ultron Shard]
[Type: Armor]
[Quality: Fine]
[Defense: Strong]
[Attribute: Refraction]
[Special Effect: None]
[Requirements: Martial Arts Proficiency E, Level 8]
[Note: A remnant from a destroyed Ultron unit, originally thumb-sized. Reforged with secondary adamantium into this shield. While anecdotal evidence suggests it’s slightly superior to mass-produced variants, experiments show no significant data differences.]
This shield’s attributes were formidable. Compared to Feng Bu Jue’s pipe wrench, it was far more effective in the game’s early stages. The aberrant infant abandoned breaking through Long Ao Min’s defense, attempting instead to bypass him using speed. But it had wasted too much time. A man in a black steel helmet, clutching a fruit knife, had already circled behind it.
Wang Tan Zhi, weapon underwhelming and nerves shaky, hadn’t dared attack head-on. Now, slipping around a vehicle, he’d crept behind the monster. He raised his weapon and stabbed downward—straight into its cervical vertebrae. Whether this choice—aiming to paralyze rather than kill—was a medical student’s instinct, no one could say.
A guttural screech erupted as black pus-blood sprayed, splattering Tan Zhi’s face. Yet the monster still writhed, refusing to die.
Then, from the side, a pipe wrench struck like a blade, plunging into the aberrant infant’s left eye socket…
(End of Chapter)
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