Chapter 487: Dead End
Chapter 487: Dead End
"Heh heh heh... This is quite the twist..." Wooly chuckled in the conference room, watching the live broadcast screen. "The one nobody bet on actually became the key player..."
"Hmph... Mortals do have a knack for unexpected surprises, don't they?" Wen Sent replied.
Xi De cracked his knuckles while calculating, "So... the margin of error's been eliminated now, right?" He paused. "The mission of Xu Huai Shang, who failed to reach the finals, and Yama, who already consumed his [dragon slave], has been completed by Tian Ma Xing Kong alone."
"Heh heh heh... Not quite", Wooly countered. "Actually, that 'top ten' list was just an insurance policy to boost success rates. We comprehensively evaluated each player's skills, items, inherent abilities, and behavioral patterns, then selected ten individuals to handle Lute's ten morphologies." He explained, "Theoretically, it wouldn't matter if none of those ten reached the finals. As long as some player, derivative being, or Npc could personally defeat all of Lute's forms, the outcome would remain the same."
"I wonder... what if your scenario encounters minor glitches that let Lute's plan succeed?" Xi De asked.
"Heh heh heh... Then it would get even more interesting..." Wooly adjusted his glasses. "What would happen to the human world..."
"Hey, you didn't answer my question at all!" Xi De snapped. "You're acting like you don't care what happens to this world!"
"This is exactly his sadistic charm", Wen Sent interjected. "Since this isn't a task from Satan himself, whoever wins is fine with him. He doesn't care about the outcome." He scoffed. "First, he told Lute, 'This is your Origin stage, go wild.' Then after rigging the groups in the [Butterfly Arena], he went to Feng Bu Jue and spilled the beans..."
"Hmph... Got me figured out, huh?" Wooly acknowledged.
"Obviously", Wen Sent said. "Saying you negotiated with Feng Bu Jue to prevent him from digging deeper into the Wang family secrets was obviously just an excuse. Did you think Ximen wouldn't see through it? He just chose not to confront you." His fingers tapped casually on the table. "Heaven's lot... still paranoid after their recent borderline move... too nervous to question your similar antics. They don't realize it's all just you playing dumb and going with the flow."
"Heh heh heh... Fair enough", Wooly admitted. "Actually, it doesn't matter if they see through it. No matter how the game is set, 'whether the process is thrilling or not' is what truly matters, isn't it?"
"Perhaps", Wen Sent gave Wooly a meaningful look before returning his gaze to the screen.
...
Back at the battlefield...
Silver-white fist-waves rained down from the sky.
Lightning-fast winds surged like rolling thunder, electricity and clouds swirling.
The same Tianma Liuxing Fist technique had been vastly enhanced in power and precision. Each fist-wave struck its target - the two Lutes - without a single miss, no wasted energy.
Lute's fifth and sixth morphologies were trapped within a curtain of light, their forms dissolving into liquid. The Twin Mode was helplessly resolved.
However... After releasing his final Meteor Strike Fist, Tian Ma Xing Kong exhausted his entire cosmos and ceased breathing.
"Not bad at all, little star guy", Meng Jing Chan remarked while slashing enemies with his sword. "We're starting to look bad for dragging this out like this."
"Yeah... It's pretty embarrassing to take three against one and still struggle", Kuangzong Jianying agreed. "How about... you two take a break."
"You could've said that earlier!" At Chi Tie's words, he immediately faked an attack and exited the battle without hesitation.
Truthfully, he'd wanted to stop fighting for a while now, but worried about leaving those two players defenseless after his withdrawal, he kept covering them.
Obviously, Lute's previous strike piercing Chi Tie's back had caused more damage than superficially apparent. If compared to something, his injuries were like a computer with corrupted system files - continuing to run programs would lead to sudden crashes at any moment.
"Then I won't be polite", Meng Jing Chan followed suit, quickly leaping away.
With several steps, he dashed out nearly thirty meters before stepping onto the air and twisting sideways, catching Tian Ma Xing Kong mid-fall.
Unfortunately, Meng Jing Chan soon realized he'd desperately caught... nothing more than a corpse.
"Kuangzong Jianying... You've overestimated yourself too much", Kai Duo's eyes beneath his goggles grew increasingly murderous. "Even more infuriating... those two actually believed you could handle me alone." He snorted coldly. "Just who do you think you are..."
As Kai Duo finished speaking, his twin swords immediately unleashed layer upon layer of radiant light, sword qi screeching through the wind.
Kuangzong Jianying remained unfazed, his form as swift as a dragon, evading and blocking each attack with unpredictable sword techniques.
The residual force from Kai Duo's attacks carved countless deep trenches into the surrounding ground and walls, yet failed to scratch Jian Shao even slightly.
"Hmph... This feels much easier now", Kuangzong Jianying smirked mockingly. "Your combat style is simply too shallow. If not for your decent speed... you wouldn't even be worth looking at..."
Jian Shao's words struck the nail on the head, directly pointing out J1-Kai Duo's fatal weakness. Indeed, Kai Duo possessed speed even Lute couldn't match, but his combat techniques were actually quite mediocre. Chi Tie's previous strike that sent him flying served as perfect proof. Since they had fought before, Chi Tie naturally understood Kai Duo's patterns. This time, Chi Tie tested him briefly and confirmed... it was still the same old tricks.
Someone like Kai Duo was exactly what Kuangzong Jianying specialized in handling.
When it came to close-quarters maneuvering, Kuangzong Jianying was undoubtedly an elite expert. Even Feng Bu Jue, who originally held the speed advantage, had been completely dominated. If not for his psionic weapon awakening in time, Feng Bu Jue would've been eliminated much earlier.
Now facing Kai Duo one-on-one, Jian Shao moved even more freely. Experienced veteran Meng Jing Chan had withdrawn precisely because he recognized this.
"Not worth looking at, huh..." Kai Duo muttered darkly. "Then watch this carefully..."
As his words fell, his figure vanished.
In that split second, Kai Duo had actually... disappeared.
"Instant Teleportation?" Kuangzong Jianying's first thought.
But he was wrong.
Shishishish...
Relentless, indiscriminate cleaves radiated outward from the point where Kai Duo vanished at impossible speeds.
Suddenly, the entire half-street area erupted in violent gales, dust and sand swirling.
Jian Shao was indeed mistaken. While his opponent's conventional combat skills were firmly suppressed, this brute-force approach was exactly what he couldn't handle.
This was where the capability gap between a player and a Level 1 derivative being became most blatantly evident. In raw power and speed, they were in completely different realms.
Kuangzong Jianying's expression turned grim as he frantically swung his sword to counter the onslaught.
Yet... flesh and bone, a mere few-inch blade, could never withstand such brutal force. The gales sliced through, splitting earth and stone. Countless bloodied wounds erupted across Kuangzong Jianying's body. Like being devoured by piranhas, he stood within the gales, his body shredded.
As the gales subsided, the figure reappeared.
"Hahahahaha..." Kai Duo finally exhaled deeply after releasing his technique, breaking into laughter. "See how you keep swaggering now! Ha!"
Pak!
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on Kai Duo's head. His laughter abruptly ceased.
Then, the hand's owner gripped Kai Duo's head like a basketball, lifting him up and twisting him 180 degrees.
Kai Duo's gaze shifted sideways, quickly revealing someone - a blood-soaked woman.
You see... over ten seconds earlier, Caibu Painotafraid noticed Jian Shao's peril and rushed to help.
After sweeping away four or five derivative beings attacking her with her Enhanced Heavenly Thunder Mallet, she recklessly charged forward.
Unfortunately, she failed to save him, and suffered multiple ranged attacks from behind, leaving her critically injured.
"Shortstack... I've been tolerating you long enough", Fearless now stood disheveled and battered, her pretty face fiery red like blood, eyes blazing with murderous intent. "If you have the self-awareness to feel guilty about breathing the same air as us, go kowtow in some corner... Maybe I'd forgive you..."
“Put me down!” Kai Duogoggles loathed being lifted off the ground, and without hesitation, he lunged forward with both swords aimed straight at the opponent’s throat.
Fearless barely evaded the attack by tilting his neck sideways, but both sides of his neck were still sliced open, blood gushing like a spring.
“Fine… as you wish…” Fearless snarled, his face contorted in fury, completely unfazed by the pain.
As he spoke, he casually flung the Enhanced Heavenly Thunder Mallet in his left hand aside. Then, with both hands free, he executed a deadly technique in an instant!
The move was called the Spinning Double-Arm Immobilization Neck-Smash.
No skill description was needed… because this wasn’t a skill. It was merely one of countless techniques Caibu Painotafraid had practiced countless times with Jian Shao.
In short, J1-Kuai Duo, a Level-1 Derivative Being, was defeated instantly by this classic Wwe maneuver.
And yet, Caibu Painotafraid didn’t manage to stand up after unleashing the attack either.
……
On the other side of the battlefield, after setting down Tian Ma Xing Kong’s corpse, Meng Jing Chan rushed to Fei Chai Shu’s side, joining him in combat.
With Hong Hu dead and Chi Tie temporarily retreating, the two of them were now the last remaining fighters on the field. Earlier, both had witnessed Kuangzong Jianying and Caibu Painotafraid fall one after another, but they were powerless to intervene.
Never mind how many times Lute could resurrect—just surviving the relentless assault from over a dozen Level-3 Derivative Beings around them was already uncertain.
Fortunately… a turning point arrived just in time.
Suddenly, four figures burst forth, their movements as swift as lightning, intervening with a thunderous presence.
They stormed into the fray from outside the battle circle, quickly scattering the surrounding Derivative Beings and reversing the situation once more.
“Finally…” Fei Chai Shu exhaled in relief as reinforcements arrived, immediately dropping to one knee, panting heavily.
After such an extended period of continuous combat, fighting ten enemies at once, Fei Chai Shu was utterly exhausted. His ability to resurrect via sunglasses couldn’t be used repeatedly within a short timeframe, leaving him unable to sustain further injuries.
“Sorry, we ran into some tough enemies on the way and were delayed…” Shiva replied while scanning the area. He glanced at the mangled corpses around them, and from the guild emblems, he quickly deduced who had already perished.
“Even Xiao Wen Cang Tian is gone…”
“It’s not just Xiaozhu… Even our Zui Wo Chang Ran has fallen.” Meng Jing Chan, finally catching his breath, lit a cigarette. “But the corpse was too shattered for you to see.”
Shiva’s expression darkened slightly. He paused for a few seconds before asking, “Where’s Gui Xiao now?”
“He flew away.” Meng Jing Chan replied, pulling out a beer and taking a swig. “Burps… Hopefully, he’s still alive and will return eventually.”
“As do I…” Lute’s voice echoed again, this time filled with skepticism. “Doubt it deeply.”
This time, her appearance had transformed into a massive, metallic snowflake.
“What is this?” Shiva asked.
“This is the leader of the Derivative Beings we encountered earlier,” Fei Chai Shu explained. “To be precise… she has multiple morphologies, changing into a new form every time she’s defeated.”
“So this is…” Shiva began.
“The fourth morphology.” Lute answered herself, cutting Fei Chai Shu off. “And your Apocalypse…”
“Hehehe…” Fei Chai Shu chuckled dryly, then suddenly surged forward without warning, shouting, “Magic Containment Wave!”
The attack was astonishingly sudden; no one had detected the slightest hint before the green glow erupted.
In truth… Fei Chai Shu’s brief moment of relaxation moments ago was merely a ruse to lull his opponents into a false sense of security. His eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, had never ceased monitoring Lute’s movements, even during the solitary onslaught from his enemies.
The memory of Zui Wo Chang Ran’s final, desperate strike was still vivid.
Fei Chai Shu knew that if he could trap Lute using the Magic Containment Wave, the battle would end immediately. This was a gamble worth staking his life on.
Boom — the sound of energy striking a target announced the Magic Containment Wave’s impact.
But… Fei Chai Shu’s face paled instantly.
Because he hadn’t hit Lute. He’d struck a common Level-3 Derivative Being instead.
This Derivative Being from Origin, standing close to Lute, had leapt forward to intercept the attack as the Magic Containment Wave’s light wave surged toward her.
“Damn…” Fei Chai Shu muttered, realizing he couldn’t alter the course of the attack once it had already landed. He had no choice but to follow through.
He clenched his palms, then thrust outward, hurling the Derivative Being into the Electric Rice Cooker.
Fei Chai Shu had intended to rush over and slam the lid shut, but unfortunately… his vitality value had just dropped to zero.
“A-…p-…p… sorry…” Fei Chai Shu couldn’t even form a complete final sentence. Stumbling, he collapsed to the ground, his sunglasses shattering.
Meng Jing Chan swiftly turned, stepping forward to seal the Electric Rice Cooker shut.
“Ah… so be it…” he muttered.
Buzzzz —
“Remove your foot…” Lute’s voice resonated from the giant metallic snowflake as a palm-sized hexagonal light prism formed before her, emitting a buzzing sound. “...Now!”
Zhiiiing —
A beam of light shot from the prism with a piercing noise.
By the time Meng Jing Chan realized it, the lower part of his right leg had already been severed…
The speed of this beam must have been unimaginable to leave even Brother Chan unable to respond.
At this moment, Meng Jing Chan actually laughed — a carefree, unrestrained smile.
“Heh… run… away…” he said, taking another swig of beer.
In that instant of losing his leg, Meng Jing Chan had already understood many things. Hence, he spoke these final words.
Zhiing — another sound followed.
A massive hole, the size of a bowl, suddenly appeared in Meng Jing Chan’s chest. Even if both legs were intact, he wouldn’t have had time to evade this attack.
“Was Kai Duogoggles also killed…” Lute mused. “It seems you all truly have some skill. Fortunately, I’ve already made preparations…”
The Gods’ four-player team had just arrived, completely failing to understand her words. Of course, even others would likely struggle to grasp their meaning.
The “preparations” Lute referred to were none other than the surrounding Level-3 Derivative Beings.
They hadn’t arrived due to sensing the battle’s commotion — if that were the case, they would’ve come during Lute’s fight with the lord of demons. In fact… these Derivative Beings had obeyed Lute’s orders.
Back when Lute launched Tian Tian Gui Xiao into the sky, she had said, “Since it’s decided to be you… things just became simple.” At that moment, she silently issued a command to all Origin’s Derivative Beings across the city — to immediately eliminate or evade current enemies, whether players or Npcs, then swiftly return to assist in the battlefield east of the Explosive Tunnel.
That moment was shortly after Chi Tie’s appearance, during the players’ consecutive defeats of her first two morphologies.
Although Lute had already severely injured Chi Tie during her first transformation, she had still kept this contingency plan… primarily to prevent scenarios like the Magic Containment Wave, eliminating any theoretical chance of failure.
Thus, the current situation unfolded.
The Gods’ four players were no longer in optimal condition. During their journey here, they had intermittently faced attacks from a Level-2 and multiple Level-3 Derivative Beings, depleting significant skills and vitality values.
Now, surrounded by over twenty enemies, including Lute’s fourth morphology, they were in a dire predicament. Moreover… more Derivative Beings from the city were continuously arriving. Within the few minutes since the four players’ arrival, the enemy had gained five or six additional members.
As for Chi Tie… he had vanished without a trace since earlier, hiding somewhere unknown to heal.
In this desperate situation… suddenly…
(End of Chapter)
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