–Hurry! He’s out of Chronos again—grazed by him, and you’ll scatter to ash!– Boboli rose nervously, shouting.
–Shut it! I’m calculating.–
Morris glanced at a few faintly glowing bills beside him, wondering, How many seconds can these buy?
[Yang Zicang refunds me 9999N.]
[I invest 9999N in Yang Zicang.]
The Pale Shade Wrym had been holding Matt Chao’s psychic essence below, the massive sapphire Time Cage crashing down indeed not scratching it in the slightest.
……
The man Syn-Linked with Lu Zhishen gazes tensely at the other side.
–Good thing the Nightmare Emanation Dragon’s distracted digesting Matt Chao and ignoring Lu Zhishen. Don’t invest in him yet to erase him. Wait and see.–
–Damn it, this Yang Zi Kang! He’s already grown to such heights.–
The man spat out bitterly.
A tall, dignified silhouette stood before him, the cap-wearing man who was like Zhao Yun spoke indifferently:
–That’s just how this world works; a peaceful life can turn upside down overnight. While Yang Zicang hasn’t yet set foot into this A-level Crossing zone, let’s move ahead with our plan.–
–Lyu Bu, your symbiotic Nightmare Emanation—is it here already?–
The man named Lyu Bu turned to look at Cao Pi-no and Zhou Yu within the intersecting scene.
–Alright, notify everyone. After three counts, simultaneously eliminate all monsters, then kill Zhou Heng.–
Zhou Yu nodded, and a red light radiated outward from his chest.
–Three, two, one.–
Buzz, buzz!
As the Xiongying Division wiped out the monsters in unison, the terrain of the barren wilderness within the A-class intersection expanded more than tenfold in an instant!
These terrain fragments spread out everywhere like puzzle pieces.
The landscape began to converge!
……
[Yan Yi wishes to conduct a Pro-Invest for me.]
[Yan Yi wishes to conduct a Pro-Invest for me.]
[Yan Yi wishes to invest Chronos 10N under my authority.]
Yang Zicang, having engaged Lu Zhishen in an instant where a large amount of Chronos neutralized each other, frowned. He had no idea who kept requesting to contact him, clearly trying to communicate.
But he was currently cooperating with Morris; if he severed the Syn-Link, he might be killed by Lu Zhishen in the next instant.
The Paleshade Wyrm floated below; if it surged forward, the opponent might instantly gain over ten thousand years of Chronos and leave this place.
–Yang Zicang, the headquarters says that all the elites of the Xiongying Division are clashing with the headquarters’ experts inside the A-class intersection!–
After Yan Yi’s Invest request vanished, someone in the crowd below shouted like a voice-transmitting trumpet.
Yang Zicang swept his spear across, and Lu Zhishen leaned back at the waist to evade the strike. From the initial clash of force, he had now shifted to relying on dodges.
[I have returned Morris’s 5000N Invest.]
[I have obtained Morris’s 5000N Invest.]
What a relief—he’d simply taken a nap and spawned a major mogul.
Bang!
Yang Zicang seized the moment and struck Lu Zhishen’s thigh with his spear.
The millennia-long boost to Chronos’s principal was once again entirely nullified, but the sheer force still sent Lu Zhishen sprawling to the ground.
……
On the other side, Morris was drenched in sweat, his palms clammy, fixated on the battle unfolding in his perception. Boboli, whispering beside him, almost mumbled to himself:
–Mm-hmm, right, sell two copies this time. Oh, three works too—doesn’t matter how many I’ve got.–
–Yeah, right now it’s urgent. No, no credit. Mm-hmm, move it along.–
–You know full well what they’re worth, mm-hmm. All decades of training experience packed in. Use them and become a Grandmaster instantly. Five thousand? That’s way too little. Keep wasting my time, and I’m hanging up.–
……
Inside the A-Class Crisscross Zone.
Granny Wolf, executing the Invest, was already drenched in sweat.
–There’s an Invest guru backing Yang Zicang!–
Beside Granny Wolf, the calculator emitted a red glow, irritated, opening its eyes to scan the surroundings, resigned to letting the human’s fingers scramble all over its keys.
–There’s no end to this. No matter how we fight, we still need Chronos for battle.– Grandma Wolf spoke almost with a roar.
–That Chronos of Yang Zicang is like a bottomless pit. There must be a huge Chronos consortium behind him!– Another person cursed bitterly.
–Everyone, prepare. We’re refinancing again. Damn it all!–
–How about we… send Old Lu away?–
The group exchanged words while probing the enemy in their tentative fight.
–What about Matt Chao, then?–
–Don’t you get it yet? That guy doesn’t care about revenge at all. He’s using Matt Chao as leverage to dangle Lu Zhishen!–
–Matt Chao is done for.–
–Are we really going to send Lu Zhishen away? But it was so hard to finally get a chance to take in a Resistance Fighter. If he leaves, what do we do about the Resistance?–
Zhou Yu roared in fury, carrying the fan-like Nightmare Entity:
–Our plan was flawless, perfect, and then Yang Zicang has to barge in out of nowhere! Old Lu, I told you not to label me Zhou Yu. Zhuge would’ve been so much better. If worse came to worst, could’ve gone by Kongming Lantern. Now look what a mess this title has made.–
Boom… boom… The earth quaked. Across the field, the Quad flickered and raised a towering wall like a fortress.
Lyu Bu strode out and said: –Zhou Heng, come out and face your death.–
–If I die, no one else lives either,– a distant voice came from behind the wall. –I’ll go all out to help Yang Zicang destroy your containment. The out-of-control Defenders will level this city! Not a single moth or ant will survive!–
–That’s a bit much,– Tong Wenqi muttered softly beside Zhou Heng, curling his lips.
Lyu Bu stared silently at the opposing side, his aura heavy and sluggish like the ebb and flow of the tide.
–Still thinking it over? Every second costs us millennia of Chronos,– Zhou Heng added.
Over on Yang Zicang’s side, he was locked in a hair-raising war of Chronos with Lu Zhishen.
Each attack spanned tens of thousands of years, a quantity ordinary people dared not imagine. It was baffling how that guy, who had only shown up a few days ago, managed it.
Under his cap, Lyu Bu wore a resolute expression and let out a contemptuous laugh as he spoke:
–So even you, Zhou Heng, get to say something like that one day. Seeing you in this state makes this whole trip worthwhile.–
Both sides were teetering on the edge of open conflict, but Zhou Heng chose not to rise to the bait and provoke the enemy. After all, they were dealing with someone who coexisted with nightmares; the slightest misstep could set off an emotional explosion.
At this very moment, Yang Zicang had unknowingly become the fulcrum maintaining the fragile equilibrium between the two factions.
With a glance toward Lyu Bu, Zhou Yu hoisted the electric fan and said, –Let Yang Zicang leave, and we’ll give you the frequency crystals.–
Someone at headquarters scoffed but refrained from provoking further.
……
Soon, a voice from below called out to Yang Zicang, listing the benefits the headquarters would offer: an A-level intersecting zone slot, a long-term private residence in Hubville, monthly Chronos deductions offset for three people, priority equipment selection, and food and luxuries sourced from Earth.
Nearly every single item was something everyone here dreamed of possessing.
–Get lost!–
Yang Zicang struck Lu Zhishen with his blade once more—this was already the eighteenth or nineteenth thrust!
The people below trembled and urged, panic-stricken: –Containment has failed; the defender will no longer be open to communication. He will slaughter everything. For the sake of tens of thousands of lives, stop, Yang Zicang!–
Yang Zicang’s gaze had been consumed by madness.
[I returned 5000N to Morris.]
[Morris invested 2340N for me.]
–Calm down—this is for the best for everyone,– Lu Zhishen said, dodging continuously as he tried to create distance.
Yang Zicang’s heart tightened. He had grown accustomed to receiving the same amount back as soon as he returned it, but this time, he didn’t gain the same Chronos in return.
Morris’s Chronos had also run dry.
To have sustained such immense consumption up to now was no small feat.
Yang Zicang glanced overhead, feeling as though the Assessor was watching him.
Was this battle unwinnable?
Yet at that moment, he saw Lu Zhishen, who had retreated two steps, as his aura Armor shattered under the unbearable strain!
His Core’s defense was gone. Once again, killing intent surged within Yang Zicang.
Suddenly, the entire nest rumbled violently, and the Resistor’s deep, terrifying voice echoed in everyone’s ears.
[Kill him!]
Through psychic perception, all knew exactly who –him– referred to.
A devilish smile crept onto Yang Zicang’s face as he glanced at the weapon in his hand.
[Thanks, Morris.]
{Hold on, Chronos should be ready soon—Bobo Li is auctioning it.}
[It’s fine, I still have some reserves.]
Beneath the cascade of red shadows blanketing the nest, the bald giant warily eyed the young man across from him.
Seeing Yang Zicang genuinely pause his assault, Lu Zhishen assumed the young man was reconsidering his proposal and thus halted his own movements. If this containment failed, the Resistor would raze the city.
If it really came to that… the man turned his head, glancing down the passage where at least thirty to forty people were locked in chaotic combat.
Yang Zicang severed the connection to Morris, and suddenly, with a swing of the longsword in his hand, he thrust it straight at Lu Zhishen without any enhancement whatsoever.
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