–I… I…– Xiang Xingyan trembled all over, –You… your Nen ability?–
–Where is the one who gave the order?–
A cold-faced young man appeared beside him, seeming to come from nowhere. Xiang Xingyan, his legs weak and his mind in a daze, stammered:
–It’s… it’s Xiao Xun. In the tallest building in that direction.–
Watching the ashen-faced man raise an arm to point into the distance, Yang Zicang patted him lightly on the shoulder. The gigantic mouth that had enveloped him suddenly snapped shut and wrenched upward, dragging out a phantom silhouette.
[The training in my dreams was inherited, and it seems part of my mind has come along too.]
Yang Zicang felt calmer than before. He cast a fleeting glance at the man, who collapsed like a lifeless log.
The Paleshade Wyrm was savagely tearing apart and devouring its writhing Nen body.
–Xiao Xun, is it? A pity this isn’t a dream, or I wouldn’t bother with the likes of you.–
Yang Zicang strode out unhurriedly, heading in the direction Xiang Xingyan had indicated.
High up in the night sky, within a cloud of mist-like diffusing chill, the twin cartoon figures hidden there gradually dissolved.
……
The luxuriously decorated room blazed with brilliant lights.
In the large swivel chair, a man holding a wine glass laughed heartily while patting the back of the delicate woman straddling in front of him and said to the person across the large desk:
–That dumbass Xiang Xinglong was actually taken down several men in just one encounter by Yang Zicang and his two cronies; how useless.–
–One encounter? How could it be that tragic? Yang Zicang might be skilled, but he’s just a greenhorn without much combat experience.–
–He always loves to pull sneak attacks; I reckon this time Yang Cice caught him with his curve-shooting skill and took him out, Chief Xiao. Where did you hunt down this new sweetheart of yours?–
–Heh heh, what, you wanna give a try? Just wait a while.–
Seeing the conversation was about to veer into another topic again, Shao Min stood up from the sofa beside them, stretched lazily, and walked toward the door.
–Hey, brother Shao, where are you headed? We’ve gotta rely on you to liaise with the bosses, you know.–
–Just going out for some air. Keep chatting.–
Another person on the sofa said, –Seen that bastard named Xiang manage to escape?–
–I’ve got an eye on it, big bro. I’ll feel more settled checking in from outside, hehe, you guys have fun.–
Shao Min chuckled, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and pushed the door open to step out.
Yang Cice was astonishingly fierce after all.
That guy sure knows how to bluff. He’d fooled everyone.
Glancing back at the oversized door, Shao Min let out a cold laugh and made his way toward the pitch-black staircase.
……
The drifting clouds that had obscured the moonlight dispersed, once again illuminating this broken city.
On the upper floor of that dilapidated skyscraper, a faint glow of light shimmered.
In this world where every inch of land is priced at a premium, this area, too, remains a sought-after destination people flock to for fine living.
Yang Zicang strode along the street, a flicker of motion flaring across his chest as he contacted Chu Jiang, the latter’s shoulder now wrapped in bandages after some unknown fight.
After inquiring, Yang Zicang murmured softly under his breath.
–Once an organization is established, the team will have what amounts to a public storage pool for Chronos— nothing more than five thousand years bound within a single cell.–
On the other end of the line, Chu Jiang replied.
–{_Would you like to join us? Even temporarily joining the team works. I can assist you in saving, allocating, and managing InvestChronos—that’s what I’ve always been doing.}_-
If it was merely a matter of transferring Invest, clearly someone else was more suitable. Moreover, his bond with that person had already spanned a thousand years.
Yang Zicang let out a chuckle.
[I have obtained full authority over 2000N Chronos from Yang Zicang’s Invest, valid for one month.]
Chu Chiang’s heart jolted.
–{_Where did you get that?}_-
[Have this two thousand put away by your side for now. If possible, pass it on to Xiaoyu and the others for me.]
……
Inside the recreational vehicle, Yan Yi stared intently at the nest, yet dozens of hours passed without a single person from the monster faction appearing.
–What the hell are those guys thinking? Waiting for that so-called ‘Defender’ to hatch itself out or something?–
Bang! The car door was pushed open.
A woman with a ponytail panted:
–I just got some intel—several top fighters from the Male Heroes Alliance are in our A-level intersection zone.–
–What the hell?–
Yan Yi stood up, staring at the woman’s face in shock.
–The Male Heroes Alliance wants to break into our Hubville? Damn it, those bastards—I knew they weren’t up to any good! Who’s backing them this time? There are only so many Quads.–
–Looks like the Goddess Alliance.–
–That team that applied for Zhao Anlong’s A-level frequency crystal?! Screw their grandmas, those animals. This time, I’m really pissed off.–
Even few of our own people had managed to enter Hubville. If those monster faction bastards crashed in through our own city’s gate, the shame for our faction’s headquarters would be off the charts.
Yan Yi shot out a light beam, contacting the few brainiacs holding down the fort at the monster rat intersection zone.
A few words in, that someone on the other end, always cool and composed, suddenly turned pale.
……
The tall building loomed ahead. Yang Zicang halted his steps and ducked behind the pillar of another building. The Moxel on his chest flickered outward again.
[I will consume 0.1R every ten seconds for Syn-Link.]
This Syn-Link wasn’t free this time.
Soon, the man on the other side, clad in pajamas and wielding a wrench to assemble a bed, answered the call.
{Ah, buddy! Am I seeing things?}
[If I’ve acquired a large amount of Chronos in a short time, how should I distribute them to avoid their disappearance?]
{Easy, invest them in me. That’s what my Moxel is for.}
After he said that, a sudden mental whisper of a Moxel appeared in Yang Zicang’s mind.
[Morris has activated the automatic investment service for me, so I can invest any Chronos for you at any time.]
{We’re waiting for you over here. Popoli wants to treat you to a feast—he’s been missing you for hours now.}
Yang Zicang lifted his head, glanced at the building ahead and the few lights on the upper floors, then let out a cold smirk.
[If things go smoothly, it shouldn’t be long before I meet up with you guys.]
{Really?}
The circular crest on the youth’s chest emerged, Quad flickered, and his silhouette accelerated as he charged into the building, scaling several floors in an instant.
……
Upstairs, in the darkness.
Two guards sat by the window, playing cards by moonlight, when a figure suddenly stood beside them, unbeknownst to when they had arrived.
–Who’s there!–
Their expressions instantly showed panic. One of them was about to activate Moxel, his mind violently churning. The man in the blue vest felt as if he were suffocating, his body and mind tense, merely sitting on the ground yet feeling like he was about to collapse from dizziness a thousand feet up.
–H-how can there be seawater, sea…–
A white phantom materialized, lunging at him with biting fury.
[I harvested 1226.7N]
Yang Zicang looked at the other person: –Is Xiao Xun up there?–
–Yes, on the twenty-first floor.–
Flash! Paleshade Wyrm shot upstairs like lightning.
Xiao Xun suddenly received word of his Invest failing.
His eyes trembled violently; he flung the woman on top of him to the ground and stood up: –Damn it!–
[The murmuring night.]
Zing~
Everyone in the room instantly felt a suffocating sense of disillusionment around them, as if nothing was real.
[I lost 1N of Invest.]
In the room upstairs, one man sat up abruptly from the sofa, face paling.
Just as the red triangle on his chest began to spread, a sudden, immense mental pressure crashed down, making him tremble uncontrollably.
{Xiao Sun, is something the matter?}
–Matt Chao, can you…–
The man who borrowed the name –Sun Xin– from the –Water Margin– had fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead, a profound sense of dread surfacing…
To encounter… that kind of attack right here on this high-rise？
{We’ve just finished counting the overlapping zones here. What, you’re already done on your end?}
–No, it’s a psychic attack!–
The others on the Syn-Link across from him heard this and looked over gravely.
–Ah!–
Amid a scream, Xiao Xun, who had his back to the door, collapsed into his chair in terror, staring limp and horrified at the eerie pale-white creature that appeared before him.
–A nightmare, an evil nightmare—how could such a nightmare be born!–
A beam of light refracted upward.
[Yang Zicang wants to perform a Pro-Invest on me.]
It’s Yang Zicang! Realizing this, Xiao Xun turned deathly pale with fear.
[Who sent you to assassinate me.]
The Paleshade Wyrm extended its head, its massive, semi-translucent eyes looming right before Xiao Xun’s breath.
Within the monster’s pupilless gaze, like an oval gem, Xiao Xun clearly saw the –ancient flames– diffusing. It was like a chaotic, primordial vortex, threatening to pull his consciousness in and merge it into itself.
–It’s… Matt Chao.–
Bang! Two figures inside the room shattered the glass and leaped from the high-rise, plunging down in one bound.
[How many Chronos do you have.]
The most precious Chronos was at stake; Xiao Xun jolted awake.
–Yang Zicang is coming to kill us!–
Red phantom projections materialized rapidly in his hands, swinging toward the creature’s head—a monster standing half as tall as a man—directly ahead.
The phantom slithered like a serpent, cutting past him as its head lifted and lunged to bite. Xiao Xun felt his surroundings turn surreal and dreamlike, yet the mental agony of distortion was searingly real.
[How could this be… I had so much Chronos…]
That single fixation consumed Xiao Xun’s mind as his limp gestures slackened.
[You didn’t defend your consciousness. No one can defend theirs.]
On the sixth floor, Yang Zicang felt the Syn-Link projection blur in an instant.
[I’ve gained 6741.5N!]
In a single zigzag trajectory, he lasered straight toward Liang Xi, instantly transferring over six thousand years of Chronos via Invest. Then, he severed the linked and re-established a connection to Morris.
……
Two figures plummeted from above!
Under the gaze of a frightened comrade, a golden flash flared from Yang Zicang’s chest.
[I, the Great Quad Zealot, shall quadruple-enhance all Chronos!]
He flicked his fingers; two scarlet projectiles hummed outward. Just as the pair was about to land, they realized in terror that their bodies had been inverted and were tearing back toward the hallway!
–Ah!–
–No!–
The tumbling figures each made contact with the two crimson glints.
[I obtained 4371.10 N from investing in Morris.]
{Pfft, Boss ZiCang!}
In the fleeting Syn-Link image, Morris, who had just arrived at the bar downstairs, spat out a mouthful of beer.
That guy asked me not long ago, and now he’s got so many Chronos credited to his account!
……
Bang, bang! The two mannequins exploded like blooming flowers, then withered away like fading fireworks.
Those above who were about to jump, seeing this, dared not risk it. The effects of Yang Zicang’s Moxel ability surfaced in their minds.
—Yang Zicang, QuadMoxel, Ability One: Acceleration and trajectory control, range approximately 20 meters; Ability Two: Wind domain shield.
–We can’t jump; that bastard has set an ambush for us below!–
The people in the room stared in terror at Paleshade Wyrm. Now, there was an –Ability Three– to contend with.
Paleshade Wyrm’s body swept across.
Phantom afterimages, resembling themselves, suddenly appeared on the two individuals attempting to rush out of the room, suppressed by Paleshade Wyrm’s maw, then torn apart and devoured.
……
Matt Chao’s solemn voice echoed in Sun Xin’s heart.
{That thing must be a malevolent, parasitic thought entity. It’s a form of true descent! It’s psionic attack!}
Matt Chao, still far away, realized how his platform was being extracted.
This was a nightmare that specifically fed on psychic constructs!
It must have been that the psychic nightmare discovered his mental platform and devoured it. No wonder his spiritual energy was damaged—looks like Yang Zicang had run into quite an formidable person.
–I’ve never heard of such tactics among the monster hunter faction. Is the owner of this psychic nightmare also new here?–
In Class A Intersection Zone, Matt Chao calculated silently—if things continued like this, the monster hunter alliance, always kept in check, would soon surpass their side.
–Chao Ge, can you… come over?–
The man named Sun Xin by the Xiong Ying Group barely controlled Chronos wielded in his hand.
{We’re at a critical point, too.}
In Sun Xin’s Syn-Link, Matt Chao’s side was entering the massive intersection zone that appeared in the second act, with monsters that looked utterly terrifying.
{How much Chronos do you have?} Matt Chao asked.
–Around two thousand one hundred years and a few days.–
[Matt Chao wants to perform Pro-Invest for me.]
[Zhao Yun wants to perform Pro-Invest for me.]
[Zhou Yu…]
[Cao Pinuo wants to perform Pro-Invest for me…]
[Little Red Riding Hood wants…]
In less than a second, rows of Invest requests appeared.
[Accept all!]
[I gained a total of 7,899 N from the Investment.]
Sun Xinhao, never having experienced this before, felt his boldness surge.
The psychic pressure of Shenyin no Yoru was somewhat offset by his surging excitement, and at this moment, golden-red phantom flames emanated from his body, like crimson reefs withstanding a storm within the room.
Moxel flickered as Sun Xin stepped forward!
Behind him remained an outline of violently fluctuating air, resembling himself, like an opened human-shaped coffin; peering through the gap, something seemed sealed inside.
Suddenly, a bound human figure bulged out through the gap, unleashing a piercing shriek from beneath bandaged lips!
–Yaa~–
The shrill sounded like twisted, grating glass, and the several people still mentally afflicted by the psychic pressure instantly felt a splitting pain in their heads.
Paleshade Wyrm turned its gaze around.
Sound waves rolled outwards; at first, it was only ear-piercing shrieking, but as the waves spread over most of the room, the building began to thunderously vibrate in resonance.
Crack! Crash!
Within the room, items like glass bottles, the tea table’s glass top, and ceramic cups instantly shattered.
On the floor, several disheveled individuals moaned in agony, clutching their ears and curling up; from one person’s nostril, blood began to flow.
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