Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 162
Meng Bie really did deserve to be the one who had led this little squad all the way up to S-class. Even with a god-tier player beside him, someone whose air was almost divine, making one instinctively trust or even willingly revere him, Meng Bie still didn’t dare place his full faith in him.
While the teammates all followed Bai Zhou forward, Meng Bie doubled back to the mouth of the alley they had just passed, stuck his head out, and scanned the otherwise deserted street.
He possessed a special tracking skill and had clearly looked everywhere earlier; he had sensed no one at all.
A few moments later, though, he definitely sensed something.
Someone was walking toward him from not far off. Yet that person looked utterly ordinary, just a run-of-the-mill player. His face was deathly pale and his legs shook as he walked, like a lone player who had accidentally been dragged into this game.
Could this be the one lying in ambush to kill us? Impossible!
But very quickly Meng Bie realized something was off.
A figure drifted out soundlessly from behind a ruined building like a ghost. It was another god-tier player and from the Peach Blossom Legion at that!
It seemed this god-tier player had some kind of special concealment power. Meng Bie’s ordinary skill for detecting people nearby had been completely nullified!
The god-tier player, now revealed, raised his gun and aimed at that terrified player.
The player instantly fell to his knees. “D-Don’t kill me!”
“Then put on a green wristband.”
He tossed a green band in front of the man. The god-tier player’s gaze turned thoughtful and actually slid toward the alley mouth where Meng Bie was hiding.
Meng Bie’s heart leapt into his throat. Fortunately, before the man could look over, a hand seized Meng Bie’s shoulder, yanking him backward into the blind spot of that god-tier player’s line of sight.
The hand on his shoulder released. Off-balance, Meng Bie stumbled and nearly fell.
Supporting himself on both hands, half-prostrate on the ground, he looked up to see Bai Zhou gazing down at him with an extremely cold expression. “If you want to stay here, I’ll take the others and leave.”
“I-I’m coming!” Meng Bie swallowed hard. “I’ll do whatever you say!”
……
Some time later, elsewhere…
Gao Shan shielded Yin Jiujiu and the other four as they put distance between themselves and the territory the Peach Blossom Legion had seized, trying to make their way back toward Purple Mist Mountain.
That, however, was clearly no easy task.
Both the Peach Blossom and Feidu had people coming. After securing their respective turf, they rapidly expanded by coercing other lone players.
Still, their little group had made gains of its own, continually persuading scattered newly-minted S-level players to join them. Their ranks now totaled nine.
Leaving the main road, Gao Shan first told Yin Jiujiu and the others to find a place to hide while he, in purely spectral form, went out to reconnoiter.
He had barely taken a few steps when three people wearing purple wristbands appeared head-on.
Glancing at the street sign on the main road, Liuguang Street, Gao Shan immediately doubled back and said to Yin Jiujiu and the rest, “Looks like we’ll have to find somewhere along this street to hole up. No idea whether there’s a usable basement…”
At his words, all their faces clouded.
Yin Jiujiu couldn’t help asking, “So… we’re getting surrounded too. Peach Blossom is pushing in from the east and Feidu from the west. We’re trapped on this street. How do we break out?”
For the moment Gao Shan had no good answer.
His speed wasn’t enough to dodge bullets. Not long ago he and Yun Xiangrong had merely staged an act, wasting a few Peach Blossom’s bullets.
During their flight, whenever they’d run into isolated enemies, he could force himself into corporeal form to draw fire, buying Yin Jiujiu and the others time to slip away.
But if they got caught in a pincer… a bunch of weapon-less players like them would be fish in a barrel.
Yin Jiujiu’s question stumped Gao Shan.
After thinking a moment, she asked again, “How far off are they?”
“About thirty minutes,” Gao Shan said. “They’re not marching straight here. They move as they go, searching each building for strays.”
“Then maybe we still have time to hide… Let’s look for cover first. At this point it’s one step at a time,” Yin Jiujiu said, scanning the street. “Luckily there are plenty of buildings. We’ll check them one by one.”
Remembering something, Gao Shan pulled out the scale and, as Zhou Qian had taught him, summoned the little dragon.
“Little Dragon?” Gao Shan asked, “You can explore, right? Can you quickly find us a relatively safe spot on this street?”
“Yip!” The little dragon nodded. It hopped from Gao Shan’s palm to the ground, lifted its tiny feet to set off and suddenly sensed something. It turned back to Gao Shan.
Its tail curled up and pointed. “Ah, woo-woo!”
Following the direction of the tail, Gao Shan saw a building that looked like a church.
“You want us to go there?” he asked.
“Yip!” The little dragon nodded vigorously, then pushed off hard and shot toward the church.
Rather than head for the front door, the little dragon went to a side window.
Gao Shan, Yin Jiujiu and the nine others gave chase. They saw the window pushed open from inside, and then a pair of long, slender hands reached out.
“Yip.”
The little dragon seemed displeased.
“You did well. Zhou Qian will praise you.” A voice came from inside the church.
“Mm.” The little dragon flicked its tail, awkwardly hopping into those hands.
The owner of the hands cradled the dragon, leaned halfway out the window…
Outside, Gao Shan and Yin Jiujiu found themselves staring at Bai Zhou. “You?!”
Bai Zhou nodded. “Come in.”
Inside the church, Gao Shan saw two groups behind Bai Zhou. One had six people, all wearing orange wristbands. The other had three, each with a different color band.
Counting Gao Shan, after the two parties merged there were now nineteen players present.
After estimating the headcount, Gao Shan looked to Bai Zhou. “We’re hiding in this church?”
“Sure. We just scouted the place,” Bai Zhou replied. “There are several basement levels. It’s a former crime scene.”
Yin Jiujiu, behind Gao Shan, tilted her head at the church’s cross. “What kind of crime?”
“Probably the priest, but we’re not certain yet. I just arrived,” Bai Zhou said. “I only saw that the cross here is upright, while the ones below are inverted.”
There was no time to dig into the details of the case. Gao Shan was anxious about Zhou Qian’s situation. “If we’re trapped here, what about Zhou Qian? Feidu and Peach Blossom will be here soon. We can’t get out. Over there he’ll—”
“We’ll be surrounded, and so will he,” Yin Jiujiu said, frowning in thought. “Since we lack weapons, if they mean to kill us, we’re dead anyway. We might as well fight, carve a bloody path, and storm back to Purple Mist Mountain!”
Hearing that, the player named Meng Bie hurriedly said, “Sister, you’re that gung-ho? Let’s think this through!”
Another chimed in, “Right, and who is this Zhou Qian, anyway? If we’re each surrounded, why should we charge to him instead of him to us?”
No sooner had he spoken than he caught himself, turning to Bai Zhou. “Uh? Boss, the one you said would lead us to victory, the one we have to protect…is…”
He never finished, probably because Bai Zhou’s glance was too icy.
He rubbed his hands, cursing his loose tongue, about to mend matters, when Bai Zhou said, “This street is now our position. Since that’s so, everyone go out and gather clues. Except for this church, every building need people.”
He looked around at the players and swiftly formed teams. “You have fifteen minutes. After fifteen, everyone regroups.”
“But the two legions will be here any minute…” Meng Bie protested. “We—”
“Exactly,” Bai Zhou said. “That’s why you have only fifteen minutes.”
“But—” Meng Bie began again, only to see a flash of cold light: the Tang sword, Dawn, was now in Bai Zhou’s hand.
Peach Blossom and Feidu had bullets.
Bai Zhou had his Tang sword. That alone was enough to deter them all.
Meng Bie’s chest went cold. “If they capture us, we’ll just be labor for them. You’re not planning to enslave us too… Are you really any different from them?”
At that, Gao Shan and Yin Jiujiu instantly stepped in front of Bai Zhou.
Even Meng Bie’s own teammates moved a step toward Bai Zhou instead of him.
Someone tried to reason with Meng Bie. “Meng Ge, think about it. If he wanted us dead, he’d have done the chicken-and-monkey thing like Peach Blossom. He hasn’t.”
“Yeah, and I’ve heard someone say before that her sister was a god-tier player and 137 helped her in an instance. 137’s no villain!”
……
Bai Zhou offered no further explanation.
“You now have thirteen minutes.”
With that, he lifted the little dragon in his left palm, staring into its eyes. “I’m too far from Zhou Qian to link our mindspace directly, but I can through you.”
As the product of both men’s spiritual power, the little dragon connected their inner worlds and could be perceived by them simultaneously, a bridge of sorts.
The Peach Blossom Legion hadn’t just activated a sealed instance at Blue Harbor City; they had somehow obtained a trove of information about it, seizing the upper hand at once.
Feidu, likewise, either they had a mole in Peach Blossom or some other source, but they too knew crucial intel and cornered many weapons for themselves.
The contest among factions was really a contest of information.
Whoever held more intel seized the initiative.
Zhou Qian lacked the sprawling networks of those legions, but at least the little dragon and Gao Shan were his secret weapons, letting him slowly turn disadvantages into advantages.
One by one, the others left the church to probe the rest of Liuguang Street as assigned.
Bai Zhou, still staring at the dragon, said, “Focus, Little Dragon, let me see him.”
The dragon blinked twice, obediently quieting down. Its tail curled around Bai Zhou’s wrist.
Staring at the dragon before him, Bai Zhou opened his eyes in the mental realm and saw Zhou Qian smiling back. But sweat beaded Zhou Qian’s brow, and he was running, clearly looking like he was in trouble.
“How’s it over there?” Bai Zhou asked.
“Someone’s chasing me,” Zhou Qian replied. “But I’m wearing a white wristband. They don’t know what it means, so they only dare capture me alive, not kill me outright. Hold on, Zhou Ge, I’ll—”
“I’ll come find you.”
“You come here right away.”
The two spoke almost the same words at the same time.
Zhou Qian laughed. “Zhou Ge, give me another twelve minutes, then I’ll come.”
“Why?” Bai Zhou frowned.
“These props are bullshit,” Zhou Qian said. “If I head over now I’ll drag both legions straight to you. Better let your side finish searching the street first.”
“How many chasing you? Your safety comes first. If anything goes wrong, come immediately.”
“Mm. Got it.” Zhou Qian waved. “Wait for me.”
When contact ended Bai Zhou patted the dragon’s tail. It was time to explore the church. The tail slipped from his wrist, but the dragon didn’t jump away at once.
Its bright eyes were fixed on him as it voiced a worried “Yip?”
Knowing it was worried for Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou stroked its head. “He’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Rrm!” Reassured, the dragon hopped from his palm and bounded for the basement first.
Twelve minutes later.
Everyone regrouped in the church.
They had indeed made it through that quarter-hour unscathed. Even Meng Bie had nothing to say now.
But soon the footsteps and clamor outside far exceeded their expectations…
As though some disturbance on Liuguang Street had drawn everyone here.
What kind of disturbance?
Catching some shadow in the corner of their eyes, Gao Shan, Yin Jiujiu, Meng Bie, and the rest all looked in one direction. The first to turn was, of course, Bai Zhou.
He pressed his lips together, squinting through the stained-glass skylight to see something shaped like a black butterfly darting toward them.
Everyone but Bai Zhou was startled.
Black butterflies were rare, and their appearance always seemed to herald something evil, dark, and unspeakable.
Bai Zhou drew his blade in a flash, raced up the side stairs to the second floor, vaulted from the railing, shattered the glass, and leapt outside.
Shards rained down into the first-floor hall. Everyone scrambled aside, then looked up through the hole in the stained glass.
That blade-wielding figure seemed not only to smash the glass but to shatter some invisible shackle as he soared into mid-air. He quickly sheathed the blade, spread his arms, and the black butterfly plummeted into his embrace.
The butterfly’s wings vanished strangely, revealing a man whose arms closed firmly around Bai Zhou’s neck. Bai Zhou, with one arm around the man’s waist, landed atop the neighboring eaves.
That man was, of course, Zhou Qian.
On the rooftop at the church’s peak…
Held in Bai Zhou’s arms, Zhou Qian smiled up at him. “Zhou Ge, that was awesome.”
Bai Zhou looked him over carefully. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Zhou Qian lifted Bai Zhou’s arm. The sleeve was slashed and his elbow terribly red. “But you—”
Zhou Qian didn’t finish, because people were already climbing onto the roof.
Just as he’d expected, that mysterious item had indeed drawn both legions here.
Heading the Peach Blossom side was Ke Yuxiao; for Feidu it was the very Xu Yang Zhou Qian had met not long ago.
Xu Yang spread his hands at Zhou Qian. “Well? I told you, you’re dead no matter what. You only had three bullets, right? And you’ve probably used some. You probably don’t even have three left?”
Zhou Qian’s expression didn’t change. He murmured to Bai Zhou, “Zhou Ge?”
Without another word, Bai Zhou handed him the gun. “All three bullets are here.”
“Good.” Zhou Qian took the gun, stepped from Bai Zhou’s embrace, planted himself on the eaves, and smiled first at Xu Yang, then at Ke Yuxiao.
Then he lifted the gun and aimed it at the sky.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots rang out. Zhou Qian had pulled the trigger three times.
Incredibly, all three bullets were fired straight into the sky.
He had just thrown away all three rounds!
The author has something to say:
The young couple doing the idol-drama cling-cling~
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