–Get ready, I’m starting!–
The man’s arms bulged with thick veins as he let out a thunderous roar, gripping Yang Zicang’s legs with both hands and swinging him full circle on the spot.
The people on the opposite platform, trapped in a life-or-death crisis, caught a glimpse of the pair’s stunt on the treacherous bridge, their terror instantly spiking through the roof.
That was a cliff of god-knows-what height, yet they dared to pull such a move—truly a pair of reckless bastards who had no idea how to die!
[10 anonymous investors withdrew 157.4N and took their share of the dividends.]
–Haah!–
With a fierce roar, Yao Chiming’s momentum surged as Yang Zicang instantly leaped up, charging toward the high reaches of this dim, profound, and vast cavern space.
A beam of sunlight skimmed across his fish-like silhouette, the weightlessness in his ears rapidly fading, followed by the howling of the wind.
[Trajectory Deployment!]
Yang Zicang’s body abruptly accelerated, diving down from the heights in a steep descent.
The worm that had just devoured a woman raised its head, gazing toward the distant creature plummeting toward it. The golden glow gripped in Yang Zicang’s hands exuded an intense threat.
The monster immediately arched its body like a cobra, its mouthparts spewing a stream of dark green pus at the figure.
The fluid split across the sky, dispersing dozens of meters beyond the platform.
[Ang Xiuxiu withdrew 500N and divided the profits.]
In an instant, the Chronos on his hand lost two thousand years.
The number visible only to Yang Zicang on his chest plummeted, injected into the weapon in his hand.
Before his body touched the dispersing curtain of green liquid, he eerily traced an S-shape!
{What the hell!}
[Ang Xiuxiu wants to reinvest 500N for me.]
[Zhao Minyuan wants to invest 20N for me.]
[James wants to invest Another 21.5N…]
A torrent of feedback flooded in like a dam breaking.
–Screw this!–
As Yang Zicang’s figure closed in on the upright monster’s mouthparts, his body defied physics, pulling out a parallel afterimage and swiftly landing on its back.
–Pfft!–
The golden broken blade pierced the worm’s skin with a savage force, and a jet of green fluid burst out.
Splash! The agile figure, exuding unparalleled momentum, slashed down along its spine!
Bam, splat, splat, splat!
The golden broken blade, like a divine weapon that could slice iron as if it were mud, slid from the monster’s head all the way to its tail in an instant.
The false flames on the sword shifted from gold to silver.
The moment he landed, Yang Zicang leaped up and shot away like a rocket, just as the fluid rained down over his head.
–Run!–
The last three members of the Monster Hunters Alliance each grabbed a newcomer and sprinted toward the open ground opposite the monster.
–Boom! Boom! Boom!–
The monster’s spine burst open from top to bottom.
The cavern echoed with its agonized screams.
The monster collapsed onto the platform, writhing in struggle. The fleeing few felt their speed suddenly double, at least, and they charged toward the severed bridge with steadier strides.
The four newcomers who had inhaled the toxic gas instantly aged rapidly. One of them, while inhaling a second time, crumbled into a withered, skeletal form mid-stride and broke apart as he fell.
The minds of the remaining few had long since gone blank; now, they were running purely on instinct.
But that didn’t stop them from seeing the descending, maniacal figure, piecing together with their last shred of sanity that Yang Zicang was a superhuman who could save them.
{Bro, I’m sorry about earlier. When’s your next challenge against a monster of this level?}
[Fuck off!]
The seven ran across the narrow bridge, leaving the toxic gas far behind.
That area would be unapproachable for some time—wherever these monsters’ decaying bodies spread is a dead zone.
After running dozens of meters, their pace slowed.
–Captain Yao was damn right. You’re really just as strong as… that man. Maybe even crazier than him.–
–That man?–
Having sated his bloodthirsty craving, Yang Zicang calmed down a little. He looked at the member of the Monster Hunters Alliance before him.
–It was our former captain, Zhao Anlong. You should have heard his name.–
–Sorry, I’ve never heard of him.–
After arriving near the spot where the monster had previously spewed corrosive mucus, the group came to a halt.
The moment they stopped, the three newcomers crouched on the bridge, not daring to stand up. Among them, the old woman covered her face and wept bitterly.
–Cry. If you can still cry, it means you haven’t gone mad yet. At least that’s good news.–
The woman with a ponytail and a sword strapped to her back sat on the bridge’s edge, dangling her legs, gasping heavily.
[I harvested 72.1 years]
Yang Zicang, his head throbbing with pain, sensed the number condensing within his halo: 657.3N!
By the time he finally broke through the monster’s tail area, the creature had already redirected many Chronos, gathering them there. In the end, not only was all the Amplified Chronos used up, but the Principal was also wiped out by ninety years.
In just a single second, ninety years were gone. Fortunately, the back of that massive worm-like monster was already completely torn open.
Yang Zicang had come to loathe those who pulled their investments at the crucial moment. In particular, a certain guy named Ang Jixiu was now firmly on his blacklist.
–Thank you. Are you someone who just joined our alliance?–
–No, I received your help before. I was just pulled in by Captain Yao to lend a hand.–
The three of them glanced at Yang Zicang.
Help—just helping, nothing more!
This man’s performance was far too self-sacrificing. He could have left after hunting down a single monster, but he chose to charge in.
Who else could do that?
｛Your performance is astonishing.｝
It was Luo Xin’s voice.
｛Your name is Zicang, right? If there’s ever a chance, I hope we can have a good drink together. It’s been a long time since I’ve met someone like you.｝
[That’s fine. But rather than a drink, I’d prefer that child be saved. He’s just trying his best to survive.]
｛Haha, so you’re the one who Invested in Liang Xi. No wonder. Fine, fine. If you want to help him, come over to my side. Let me see if you have the capital to save others in this world. If you earn my approval, I’ll go with you to bring him back.｝
[Luo Xin intends to convert his temporary Invest of me into a full Chronos Invest, requiring only a monthly share of ten percent of the dividends I earn.]
–I refuse.– Yang Zicang muttered in his heart.
No one chose to withdraw their investment at that moment, but some investors within tens of miles nearby were already in an uproar.
–This guy is really impressive. It would be great if we could contact him every time he goes into battle.–
–But his ability is just Wind Shield—pretty weak, you know. Are you sure you want to entrust the life you’ve earned to a lunatic like that? If it were me, I wouldn’t even think about such a thing.–
–Having someone like him appear in our area this year might boost our ranking next year. Let’s try to get him into that place sooner…–
Some who were closer had already set off to hurry toward him.
They brought along things like ladders, ropes, and planks to help, aiming to get familiar with this man and learn more about him.
–It seems his ability is Wind Field—what a shame. It overlaps heavily with Force Field Barriers.–
–But still, he’s a Quad, after all. That’s better than an ordinary Triangle, no matter what.–
The images in everyone’s perception gradually faded, with Chronos sending feedback.
Yang Zicang voluntarily ended this round of Chronos financing.
……
It was already dark when he returned to the base camp. The growing crowd swarmed around him, the camp buzzing with noise.
After several rounds of welcome and thanks, Yang Zicang drank the low-concentration salt-sugar water that Mu Xiaoyu thoughtfully brought over and then entered the large bathhouse to soak.
Being able to soak in a bath and relax in such a dangerous world was incredibly comfortable, nearly lulling his exhausted body and mind to sleep on the spot.
Yao Chiming and another team member who had just returned also wrapped towels around themselves and joined him, the three of them leaning against the edge of the pool like that.
–Are we really giving up on those people who were dragged away by the monsters?–
Yang Zicang, leaning against the edge of the pool, gazed at the rock ceiling and said.
The emotional turmoil inside him was still raging at this moment.
–Down there is the monsters’ lair. Once those guys have been used by the monsters, they’re worthless. Even if we tried to save them, it should be too late.–
Yang Zicang already knew that for the Nightmares, anyone who hadn’t cultivated a Moxel was just a scarce resource; the certain aura they emitted could speed up the Nightmares’ birth rate.
It’s like how an egg just sitting there won’t hatch into a chick, but once appropriate conditions for incubation are in place, it rapidly gives birth to new life.
After a moment’s thought, Yao Chiming continued:
–Those monsters are actually left here on purpose to constantly generate Chronos, but… after the former leader vanished, we had no ability left to completely clean them up.–
「……」
After leaving a speechless pause, some awkwardness and silence spread through the large bath.
–So many people are born into this world every day?– Yang Zicang asked.
–No, only once a month, on this day—because today is the full moon. Sorry, that’s not quite accurate either; we’re just used to calling it by Earth’s terms. Precisely speaking, today is the mid-month, the sixteenth day of May.–
–Full moon isn’t wrong, though—after all, the moon here never loses a single tooth.– Another person chimed in.
Yang Zicang, now sitting upright in the water, turned to look at them.
–It’s always round, a flawless pure white, with no cratered shadows.–
……
One squad after another threaded through the shattered city, rescuing life after bewildered, fearful, desperate life.
–All units, be advised: a Moon-Shadow-Class Nightmare is about to break through from the A-level alien dimension!–
Boom—rumble.
The ground quaked as a colossal beetle-like monster burst through the building, soaring into the sky, whipping up a fierce gust of wind.
Yet within seconds, several figures vaulted into the air in bizarre ways—motorcycles launched from hundred-meter-tall rooftops in the pitch darkness.
–Ha! Watch this!–
Beneath the round moon, a youth with a blue sweatband tied across his forehead kicked off from behind the motorcycle, shooting into the heights.
He drew the longsword at his back, golden radiance slashing and plunging into the carapace-beast’s body.
Simultaneously, several steel cables shot up from other motorcycles, piercing into the beetle monster’s body beneath its flank. Like climbers scaling a shifting mountain, they quickly ascended along the ropes.
The discarded motorcycles were falling in parabolic arcs towards the ground when something like parachutes burst open with a rustling sound.
–Moxel is deployed!–
[Obtained from Pioneer Group: Invest…]
[Obtained from Mountain Folk Group: InvestChronos…]
[Obtained from Aoling Legion: ChronosInvest…]
Boom! Boom!
The colossal beetle barely struggled before plummeting from the sky.
As these figures leapt off its body, they pulled open the packs on their backs, and gliding foldable wings snapped open with a whoosh.
–Another nightmare beast—eliminate it!–
–Whoo-hoo! Our air cavalry is invincible, haha!–
Bang! The instant the beetle crashed to the ground, all its vital essence converged, and a scarlet ray shot from the crack in its abdomen, piercing space toward those figures.
–Ah, watch out!–
High above, a force field unfolded like a giant umbrella.
But the two people outside the force field had no time to react and were instantly reduced to ashes.
Countless similar battles were unfolding across various parts of this ever-changing city.
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