"I didn't expect the Yanhai City equipment to be this realistic." Xu Zihao, a regular user of such equipment in Xiadu, knew better than anyone the differences between various systems.
He then looked at Kuanglong beside him. "Big guy, don't cry later." Regardless of the situation, pre-match banter was a must.
Kuanglong didn't pay attention to Xu Zihao, waiting patiently.
Next, they noticed Lin Fan seemed a bit lost, as if he had just called out to someone. However, this didn't matter to them. Their focus was solely on each other. Not with affection, but with a competitive spirit. Men always like to compete. Even in public baths, their eyes scan every other bather, taking mental measurements and smirking with a sense of superiority.
Inside the training ground, the members stared intently at the large screen, anticipation etched on their faces.
Soon, exclamations erupted.
"An eighth-level evil creature! That unknown guy projected an eighth-level evil creature! Has he reached eighth-level strength at such a young age?"
"No way, but look, the screen shows him as only seventh-level."
"Then he's a genius, capable of fighting above his level."
"Terrifying."
The scene before them was shocking. Even graduates from the four major academies needed a team of four, working in perfect coordination, to face an evil creature of the same level. They hadn't expected to encounter such a genius.
"Look at Kuanglong!" someone shouted, pointing at the screen. An eighth-level evil creature had appeared.
"Amazing! Kuanglong is also a seventh-level expert, and he also formed an eighth-level evil creature!"
The Yanhai City special department had many talented individuals, and Kuanglong was one of them. A graduate of the Buddhist Academy, he possessed natural divine strength and a deep passion for cultivation, earning him considerable fame.
Countless members looked at him with admiration. He was truly powerful.
Inside the virtual space, Xu Zihao said, "Not bad. I didn't expect your evil creature to be so powerful." He hadn't anticipated such strength from the big guy. Of course, being younger, he felt he still had an advantage over Kuanglong.
Kuanglong replied, "All show, no substance. Your evil creature seems to be speed-based. It's too weak."
"Bullshit," Xu Zihao retorted.
He looked at Kuanglong's evil creature, which resembled a gorilla he'd seen before, a power-type. It was indeed troublesome, but he wasn't one to give up easily.
"Why doesn't he have an evil creature?" They looked at Lin Fan with confusion. They knew he was strong, having seen the live broadcast, but now he didn't even have an evil creature. Could it be...? Yes, doubts arose.
Outside, people murmured, "Why hasn't he formed an evil creature?"
"I don't know. Someone who single-handedly resisted the evil creature army should be able to form one."
"Do you think maybe he didn't actually resist the army?"
"Nonsense! Don't doubt my idol, or I'll beat you up!"
"Then explain the current situation."
The members who idolized Lin Fan were momentarily speechless.
The staff were bewildered. The data on the screen showed him as an ordinary person, but that was impossible. How could someone who repelled the evil creature army be ordinary?
Just then, a cry arose from the crowd. "Look..."
Everyone looked up, puzzled.
Inside the virtual space, a distorted black curtain appeared in the distance, like a shattered screen, flashing with various colors. This had never happened before.
"Is the Yanhai City equipment this broken?" Xu Zihao muttered.
Then, both Xu Zihao and Kuanglong frowned. A figure emerged from the distortion, not resembling an evil creature, but more like a human silhouette, lacking facial features, formed entirely of black and red data.
"What kind of evil creature is this?" They had never seen anything like it. They could only conclude that the equipment was malfunctioning.
Suddenly, the black-red figure roared with a piercing shriek, unleashing a powerful shockwave. A white light engulfed the screen.
Their evil creatures instantly shattered, dissipating into data. Xu Zihao and Kuanglong felt a heavy force.
Bang!
Their consciousness faded, their bodies fragmenting into data like the evil creatures, vanishing into nothingness.
Back in the training room, Xu Zihao and Kuanglong abruptly opened their eyes, vomiting blood. The pod-like devices opened, revealing their pale faces and terrified eyes.
They collapsed onto the floor, writhing in agony. The floor quickly became soaked with their sweat.
The staff were stunned. This had never happened before.
The person in charge of the training room rushed over upon hearing the news. After inquiring about the situation, he was equally dumbfounded. Such a thing had never occurred since the equipment was introduced. Even if a member encountered an overwhelming force in the virtual space, the connection would be automatically severed at a critical point, and the physical body would experience only minor pain due to bioelectricity. What was happening now?
"What's the status of the equipment?"
"Everything's normal."
"This is normal?"
"Really normal," the technician insisted.
The person in charge had only one thought: They must have been disconnected from the virtual space before they could react, and the pain they were experiencing was likely the agony of death.
"Look at the screen! Lin Fan is still inside!" shouted a member.
Everyone looked up again.
Inside the virtual space, the white light dissipated. Lin Fan found that the two who had been with him had vanished. The faceless black-red figure walked towards him, slowly, step by step.
It stopped before Lin Fan, and although it had no eyes, an invisible gaze seemed to lock onto him.
"Hello, may I ask where this is?" Lin Fan extended his hand in a friendly gesture, hoping to learn something.
Let's call the black-red data figure "Black-Red" for simplicity.
Black-Red raised its hand slowly, but with a blur of motion between its fingers. In an instant, the blur vanished, and it punched Lin Fan.
Bang!
Lin Fan raised his hand to block the punch. The force was immense, the impact ripping through the air beside him, creating two black trails filled with flickering green data. The virtual space was made of data, and now its outer layer was being torn, revealing its inner workings.
"What are you doing?" Lin Fan asked.
Black-Red's fists rained down on him like lightning, forcing Lin Fan to retaliate. They stood their ground, exchanging blows, shaking the ruined city. Outside, the observers saw the screen flicker with static.
Boom!
Black-Red was sent flying. So was Lin Fan.
"This feeling..." Lin Fan pondered with a blank expression. The fight had evoked a feeling he'd never experienced before, like the first taste of cola, gradually becoming a habit he couldn't forget.
Lin Fan spun in the air, landing firmly on his feet. Black-Red did the same. Their movements mirrored each other, even their fighting styles.
"You're strong, but I'm not weak either. I love cultivating. I've believed in my ability to cultivate since I was young. Old Zhang also helped me with acupuncture. I'm not weak at all."
Lin Fan vanished, engaging Black-Red in close combat. The impact of their blows echoed through the virtual space. The ruined cityscape fractured, revealing more and more green data. If this continued, the entire city would disappear, replaced by raw data.
Bang!
The fight intensified. This was a sensation unlike anything Lin Fan had experienced.
As he was sent flying again, Lin Fan looked up at the sky, a strange expression on his face.
"This feeling... what is it?" He felt exhilarated, more so than when drinking cola. The pain excited him, his blood boiling.
"What is this feeling?"
Lin Fan landed with a thud, cracking the ground. He then shot towards Black-Red like a streak of light, his attacks pure and direct, devoid of any fancy techniques.
With each blow, Black-Red's body rippled like disturbed water, its data seemingly unstable.
Their movements were too fast to follow, leaving only afterimages.
The observers were dumbfounded, speechless at the spectacle. If they could speak, they would have simply said, "This is insane."
The person in charge paced anxiously, trying to cut the power to the equipment. But he hesitated, fearing the mental impact on Lin Fan.
Just then, a technician cried out, "It's bad! The equipment is smoking!"
"What?" The person in charge was shocked.
"The data flow has reached its limit. The equipment can't handle the high-speed operation." The technician had never seen anything like it. Like the person in charge, he was at a loss.
The static on the screen intensified, the image blurring. The engrossed members groaned in frustration.
"Fix the tech! Fix the tech!"
The technicians stared blankly. There was nothing to fix. It was about to explode.