Chapter 488: Lute's Insurance
Chapter 488: Lute’s Insurance
Fifteen minutes earlier, seven kilometers west of the Explosive Tunnel.
Suddenly, a strange voice called out from the roof of Golden Maggot No. 1’s vehicle: “Stop thinking… You’re like clock hands, spinning endlessly in place. Without finding the caster, you’ll never escape…”
Before the words faded, Xiao Tan and Matcha Su inside the car grew uneasy.
But this time, Xiao Tan didn’t rush to slam the brakes. After all, this was just an ordinary voice—no horrifying ghostly apparitions, no urgent 1990s Hong Kong horror movie soundtrack like Deng-deng-deng. Thus, it was still within Doctor Wang’s psychological tolerance.
“Who’s up there?” Xiao Tan raised his voice slightly, asking warily.
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Matcha Su through the rearview mirror while gradually slowing the vehicle.
Matcha Su reacted swiftly, immediately pressing several buttons to activate the roof-mounted weapon.
“I’m R2-Lingfeng,” Ling Feng replied. “I’m here to help you escape.”
“You’re a derivative being?” Xiao Tan asked instinctively upon hearing the name.
“Correct,” Ling Feng replied calmly.
“Hold on—” Xiao Tan quickly gestured to Matcha Su behind him, signaling her to hold back. “I remember… Feng Bu Jue mentioned you before.”
“Yes,” Ling Feng confirmed. “I once infiltrated a Sandbox and aided Feng Bu Jue.”
“Hmm…” Xiao Tan pondered briefly, finding the explanation credible. “Alright, I understand. Should I stop the car so we can talk?”
“Hey! You’re buying his words that easily?” Matcha Su whispered a warning from the backseat. “What if he’s a fraud—?”
“If I could silently reach this car’s roof,” Lingfeng interrupted, “I could’ve just as easily launched a surprise attack while you were unaware or left a nuclear bomb here before vanishing without a trace. Does that hypothetical scenario ease your doubts?”
As Ling Feng spoke, Xiao Tan had already stopped the vehicle. Moments later, a figure flipped over and landed on the street ahead.
R2-Lingfeng’s basic appearance mirrored his look in South Park, though this time he wore a thick protective suit. At a glance, he resembled a Michelin Man.
“I’ll be brief,” Ling Feng said, standing before the car. “This ‘cyclespace’ began the moment I entered your hundred-meter radius. Therefore, I deduce this isn’t a mental interference ability but a tactic to warp and connect physical spaces. That’s why the caster waited until I was with you before intervening.” He paused. “To my knowledge, this is a specialty of the Shi Guan. Among the Twelve Shi Guan, aside from Samo Di Er imprisoned on Chu Mo Island, the one most skilled—and fond—of such methods is Te Wei’er.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Don’t know him.”
Xiao Tan and Matcha Su replied in unison.
“No problem,” Ling Feng said generously. “Please listen carefully. First, imagine this: the street before you, though seemingly straight, is actually the outer edge of a twelve-pointed star, with twenty-four sharp reversals along its path.” He pointed at the alleyways. “Those side streets are clues. Every twenty-fourth intersection you pass completes a cycle, returning you to your starting point.”
“You figured this out?” Matcha Su asked. “Wait… Earlier, you said you’re a ‘derivative being’?” As a mainstream guild Classplayer, her curiosity was natural.
“Regarding my own nature, I regret I cannot elaborate,” Ling Feng halted her curiosity deftly, resuming his explanation. “In any folded space, there are gaps—these gaps are the key to breaking through, typically where the caster hides.”
“Like the ‘formation eye’ in a Formation?” Xiao Tan interjected.
“Precisely,” Ling Feng confirmed. “I’ve observed this area from the car’s roof long enough to decipher its rules. Now, I’ll guide you out.” He raised his arm, pointing ahead. “The twelve-pointed star has four ‘hexagram intersection points.’ By entering the alley ahead and following specific turning rules, we can reach one. Based on my memory, this intersection lies closest to our cycle’s starting point—offering the highest probability of escape.”
Hmph!
Ling Feng’s words were cut short as a blade suddenly pierced his chest.
Xiao Tan reacted instantly, astonishment flashing through him as his body moved on instinct—launching his fist-blade through the windshield to help.
“No need.”
Unexpectedly, Ling Feng raised one hand, fingers spread, signaling Xiao Tan to hold back.
“I can handle this myself.” Ling Feng’s expression turned chillingly cold.
The next moment, he twisted his body, snapping the blade that pierced him.
Behind Ling Feng, a monstrous shadow had appeared. A humanoid creature cloaked in a long robe, its arms covered in coarse fur, and its face half-human, half-bear. Most strikingly, its fur pattern was zebra-like.
Naturally, this was Shi Guan Te Wei’er. His weapon—a bizarre sword three meters long and one inch wide. Its hilt connected directly to a circular base, making it resemble a massive pendulum when placed flat. The protruding edge from the circular end only added to its strangeness.
Of course, its shape mattered little now… Ling Feng had already broken it.
“You coming out yourself saves me trouble,” Ling Feng said coldly, turning to face him.
“Since you’ve seen through my technique,” Te Wei’er replied, “fighting here or there makes no difference.”
“Hmph… True enough,” Ling Feng suddenly chuckled. “No difference…”
Meanwhile, on Lute’s battlefield.
A bulky figure charged into the fray, moving with lightning speed despite its girth. Blades flashed, and one after another, the Level-3 derivative beings fell, unable to resist.
Lute reacted immediately, forming six hexagonal prisms of metallic snowflakes before her, unleashing rapid-fire beams. The near-instantaneous attacks pursued the intruder—but not a single hit landed.
“Long time no see…” Twenty-Three halted after dodging the beams, a bloodstreak now marking her pale cheek. She wiped the blood with her thick sleeve, glaring at Lute’s fourth morphology. “You’ve changed a lot, Lute.”
Within seconds, Lute analyzed the purpose of Twenty-Three’s “spacesuit” and deduced its origin.
As they spoke, more derivatives emerged around them. Within moments, sixty to seventy figures stood scattered across the streets and buildings. The batch Twenty-Three had eliminated was merely a drop in the bucket.
“So… you arrived through *?” Lute observed.
“‘You’?” Twenty-Three’s expression shifted. Two seconds later, realization struck. She called out loudly, “Chi Tie, what’re you doing?”
The next moment, a manhole cover nearby flew open. Chi Tie’s disheveled head popped out: “Repairing my heart and electrocuting it.”
“Sigh…” Twenty-Three exhaled deeply, frustration evident. “Are you done yet?”
“Just finished!” Chi Tie replied, leaping out of the manhole. His wounds were gone, though thick yellowish demon-vines now clung to his chest and back.
“These scenario pollutants are handy. Just switch modes, and—”
“You ditched your protective suit?” Twenty-Three interrupted.
“Eh…” Chi Tie hesitated. “It was too restrictive for combat, so I took it off.” He paused half a second. “Don’t worry, I hid it securely. I’ll retrieve and wear it again before we leave.”
“Hmm… ‘Yi’ certainly has a rough time…” Twenty-Three sighed again, “If you were my subordinate, I’d have executed you already…”
“No need. I’ll handle it,” Lute coldly interjected.
Before her words faded, a sudden beam of light erupted, swift as lightning and thunderous as a storm.
Yet…
The beam veered wildly off course—so much so it struck an ally instead. A Level-3 Derivative Being caught the blast, his head blown clean off.
“What?!” Lute exclaimed, stunned by the scene.
This outcome, however, wasn’t Lute’s error but the result of external interference. At the exact moment Lute intervened, Shiva had also activated the Celestial Dance Hourglass’s Stone Disc, unleashing an energy cannon at the crystalline prism in front of her. This strike threw Lute’s aim severely off.
“I knew it… there had to be a weakness,” Shiva declared with smug satisfaction.
As the eldest of The Gods, Shiva had fought in countless battles. Back when he played large-scale raid Mmos, he’d faced countless bosses with lengthy combat phases, zero tolerance for mistakes, and patterns so complex they demanded split-second reactions. A man tempered by such trials was truly unmatched.
Shiva instantly realized intercepting the beam was impossible—at least for his reaction speed. But he was certain there was a hidden weakness in the opponent’s rigid, repetitive combat style. The problem was the beam’s overwhelming intimidation factor, which blinded others to its flaw.
“That beam attack is indeed fast,” Shiva explained to his teammates, “but as a ranged attack, it requires aiming.” He raised his arm, pointing at Lute. “Her form cleverly conceals her targeting intent. No eye movement or preparatory motions before attacking… yet there’s one detail—the crystalline prisms she gathers.” He paused. “Her ‘aiming’ is completed as the energy concentrates. While the naked eye can’t tell who she’s targeting, disrupting the prisms within those two seconds creates the scenario we just saw.”
“Ah! So that’s it!” Brahma’s face brightened, immediately confident. “Then leave it to me. Big bro, you keep her suppressed with the Celestial Dance Hourglass, and I’ll send her to—”
He never got to say the last word, “west,” because in that instant, six dark rays shot from the six corners of the massive metallic snowflake.
These six attacks had no warning at all. Within a second, Lute unleashed an entirely new technique, precisely shattering the six Stone Discs of the Celestial Dance Hourglass.
Earlier, during the battle against D1-Long, Shiva had already used up the fire Stone Disc. Thus, his Celestial Dance Hourglass now had only the final “earth” Stone Disc remaining.
“Where were you trying to send me again, big guy?” Lute mocked.
“Hmm… her efficiency at shutting me up is brutal… faster than me finishing my entire analysis…” Shiva inwardly ranted, though his face remained calm and composed. “You’re called Lute, huh… Hmph. Interesting. I’ve got plenty of tricks left. Don’t think shattering my psionic weapon means you can rest easy…”
“You want to pull out your Rocket Launcher? Go ahead,” Lute interrupted. “I know every item in your satchel, every skill on your skill bar.” Her tone dripped with disdain. “I also know how much vitality value, stamina value, and spirit energy value you and your three companions have left…” She paused, waiting for the reaction from The Gods’ four heavenly kings. Finally, she added darkly, “Hmph… Your Terror Value is rising. Shall I interpret that as astonishment and fear?”
“Chi Tie, cover them four and hold out as long as you can…” During the one or two minutes of dialogue, Twenty-Three had assessed the four players’ conditions. With a resigned decision, she added, “I’ll be the one to engage Lute…” Her expression grew solemn. “We must not fall before ‘he’ arrives.”
“Foolish,” Lute scoffed. “Twenty-Three, you know yourself—you’re no match for me. Why go this far?” The voice from within the metallic snowflake grew clearer and sharper. “Also… Did you really think I’d waste time fighting you? Haha…”
A chilling laughter pierced every player’s ears: “This scene was already foreseen. Though the deaths of Long and Kai Duo were unaccounted for… your deaths have already been laid bare before me.” She paused two seconds, then steadied her tone. “Twenty-Three, before coming here, you were dealing with my second-tier subordinates, weren’t you? Hmph… Now, your order is to ‘pin me near the Explosive Tunnel.’”
Twenty-Three’s expression didn’t change. She kept her focus on Lute, ready for any sudden strike.
“I know what Zero can do,” Lute continued. “But he seems to have underestimated what I can achieve…” At that moment, a human face emerged on the metallic snowflake’s surface, bearing a menacing grin. “The future he ‘saw’ no longer exists… Because…”
“It seems… I’ve arrived right on time.” Suddenly, a woman’s voice system activated.
Twenty-Three and Chi Tie’s faces paled. In Zero’s orders, this sudden turn of events had never been mentioned.
From the northern side of the battlefield, a woman approached. Her appearance and attire were utterly ordinary, the kind of generic Npc found in any game.
Yet the code revealed… she was Lute—the fifteenth morphology, the weakest variant of Lute.
“Unexpected, aren’t I?” The slowly advancing Lute carried a motionless youth on her shoulder—Tian Tian Gui Xiao. “Actually, it’s quite simple…” She spoke emotionlessly. “I left myself one last insurance.”
Nearby, the fourth morphology of Lute picked up the thread: “After entering this scenario, I immediately split a portion of my power, hiding it at the edge of this Space…
I calculated all the unlikely defeat scenarios… including the variables from the lord of demons, your Z Organization, and the players…
Even if the worst happened… that ‘me’ at the Space’s edge could forcibly shatter the scenario’s Exterior and flee back to the ‘desktop.’
And if everything went smoothly… Heh…”
The fifteenth morphology Lute now stood beside them, continuing, “Zero must have told you… pin me here until Tian Tian Gui Xiao and Mad Bu Jue arrive, and I’ll be defeated.” She shook her head, dropping Gui Xiao to the ground. “Hmph… Sorry, I saw that future too. So… I’ve already planned ahead… and strangled it.”
The fourth morphology Lute smiled, her voice growing colder: “Now, Twenty-Three… What will you do? I know… you’re special. Even if your logic circuits urge you to ‘flee alone and abandon everyone,’ you might not follow them…”
As Lute spoke, the fifteenth morphology raised her arm, touching the giant metallic snowflake. In the next second, she transformed into liquid metal, swiftly merging into the main body.
Simultaneously, the Origin Derivative Beings scattered throughout the city finally gathered here. Excluding the fallen, exactly a hundred remained.
Though all were below Level-3 and not enhanced through mutation, they were more than sufficient to eliminate The Gods’ four players and the injured Chi Tie.
“You’re right…” Twenty-Three, after a long silence, finally replied. “All of it…” She paused. “The situation’s completely under your control… We’ve practically lost all hope.”
“Practically?” Lute snorted. “You’re confirming it’s not ‘absolute’?”
“No…” Twenty-Three said. “That’s why I’ll wait. I believe… ‘he’ will find a way.”
(End of Chapter)
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