“Holy shit! You guys really charged into the Metropolitan Police Department? Then… you started up a tank and drove it through the street of Tokyo?”
Qiao Qiao stared at Roddy.
Roddy was showing a delighted expression. “Wahaha! I will never, ever forget that feeling! Do you know how it feels to use a tank to flatten a police car? Hahahaha! There is also Bei Tai, he used an artillery to blast an armoured explosion-proof vehicle off its wheels!
“We drove the tank into a shopping mall, cutting a way through without opposition! Whenever we saw a luxury boutique, we’ll smash through them! There’s Chanel, Gucci, Hermes… in the end, we broke our way out through an LV store!”
Hearing about their adventures, Qiao Qiao’s eyes glittered – this Big Miss has quite a violent side to her character.
“If I had known, I would have gone with you!” Qiao Qiao sighed. “I was unable to participate in such an enjoyable matter.”
“That is enough, stop talking about that,” Chen Xiaolian wore a grim expression. “Everyone, come over. We need to discuss our next step.”
After everyone sat down, Chen Xiaolian produced the miniaturized energy source and placed it on the table. He slowly said. “We have encountered a problem. The target energy source displayed by the system belongs to a very powerful team. We cannot afford to challenge that team.
“Here is the problem… we need to collect five of these energy sources before the countdown ends. That is why… I want to hear your opinions. Do you all have any good opinions?”
“It is as you said, the enemy possess a Thunderstorm Tank. That means we simply do not have the means of opposing them. Against such a powerful opponent, retreating is the better option,” Lun Tai was the first to speak out. Frowning, he continued. “No need to smash eggs against a rock.
“As for the quest, perhaps we could go about it using another method.”
“What method?” Bei Tai asked.
“The most basic way,” Lun Tai replied. “Search using manpower.”
“Search using manpower?” Several of them were surprised.
The only one who was able to maintain his calm was Chen Xiaolian. He sighed. “I was thinking about that as well. Before we can come up with a better method, using manpower to search is the best option. There should be a high number of Players and Awakened ones within Tokyo City. We can only move out to search and test our luck. If we can find a weaker target to fight, this method may become our chance to ride through this difficult time.”
In truth, Chen Xiaolian did not completely agree with Lun Tai’s opinion of ‘smashing eggs against a rock’.
Although the might displayed by the Thunderstorm Tank was astonishing, Chen Xiaolian did not feel that they were powerless to fight back! At the very least… Bai Qi that he acquired from the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang gave him a great deal of confidence!
Only… in order to snatch just one energy source, there was no need to take such a big risk. The cost performance would be too low – if they were able to snatch five energy sources in that one fight, then Chen Xiaolian might actually go for it!
…
“We will have to depend purely on luck,” Roddy smiled bitterly.
“We do not have a better way,” Chen Xiaolian frowned.
At that moment, Chen Xiaolian suddenly felt someone tugging his hand. He turned around to see Soo Soo looking at him with widened eyes.
“Oppa.”
“Hmm?”
“Outside… someone seems to be watching us,” Soo Soo’s eyes were wide open as she pointed at the window.
“… what?”
Chen Xiaolian quickly turned his head. His face changed! The same was true for the rest of the people within the room!
A figure was quietly suspended in the middle of the air outside the glass wall windows!
That was clearly a human-shaped Mech armour, a smaller version to fit a human soldier. Behind the figure, there were turbines emitting faint orange flames.
Most importantly, using some kind of secret technology, this figure managed to approach the window without making any noise! The turbines spouting off orange flames were not making any noise at all!
The figure outside was wearing a helmet with a visor below, masking the figure’s face completely. Only the figure’s pair of eyes was visible as they coldly observed everything within the room.
Chen Xiaolian noticed that the figure was staring at the huge energy source located on the floor!
Time seemed to have frozen for one whole second before Chen Xiaolian made his reaction. He shouted loudly. “Enemy attack!”
After shouting, he grabbed onto Soo Soo and Qiao Qiao, falling forward onto the floor!
At the same time, the figure outside the window raised a hand, placing a palm onto the surface of the window…
Boom!
A powerful shockwave suddenly rippled outwards! The huge glass wall window imploded!
The powerful shockwave turned the entire room upside down! The one closest to the window was Lun Tai. The shockwave threw him backwards until he smashed onto the wall! Bei Tai roared, instantly summoning out an M16 in his hands and he fired it at the figure hovering outside.
A concentrated hail of bullets flew forward, but white dots suddenly appeared before the figure. All the bullets that came in contact with her body were repelled!
Next, the figure raised a hand to point at Bei Tai, sending out a shockwave beam that sent him crashing through the living room and into another room!
…
Nicole flew into the room at incredible speed. After charging into the room, she did not move towards the energy source on the floor. Instead, she quickly shot towards the table.
The miniaturized energy source that Chen Xiaolian managed to snatch was there!
Suddenly, a black shadow slammed into her head-on!
Bang!
Nicole flew out, smashing through the walls into a suite and into the bedroom!
Chen Xiaolian stood by the windows, the Bone Crusher Axe in hand, gasping heavily.
Before Chen Xiaolian could do anything, Nicole had already shot out! All Chen Xiaolian could see was a blur as Nicole grabbed onto Chen Xiaolian’s axe. The two of them wrestled and Chen Xiaolian bellowed out… however, the flames emitted by the turbines behind Nicole had turned red in colour!
With a “bang”, Nicole pushed Chen Xiaolian back by about 3 or 4 metres, smashing him onto the walls and breaking right through it!
“Bastard!”
Qiao Qiao had already climbed up. Watching what was happening, her eyes turned red and she moved to grab the room’s coffee table.
Big Miss Qiao raised the 2-metre long coffee table with just one hand and she brandished it against Nicole!
The table slammed onto Nicole’s back, breaking into pieces and causing Nicole’s body to stagger. Nicole let go off Chen Xiaolian and turned around, staring coldly at Qiao Qiao. By then. Qiao Qiao was already moving to grab a stand lamp beside her. The opponent charged at her!
Nicole intercepted the stand lamp and the turbines changed colour again, increasing the power output. Qiao Qiao was lifted off her feet and was thrown into the washroom!
Nicole twisted the metal stand lamp and tossed it onto the floor.
By then, Chen Xiaolian had already climbed out of the rubble. Wielding the Bone Crusher Axe, he pounced forward.
Nicole turned around and raised a hand against Chen Xiaolian. A red beam of light shot out from her palm!
The light fell upon the Bone Crusher Axe and the metal handle abruptly heated up, turning red in colour!
Chen Xiaolian’s palm felt pain and he cried out. He was unable to hold on to the axe and it fell onto the floor. At that moment, Nicole picked someone up from the floor and quickly retreated through the broken glass wall windows. She then hovered outside the building.
She held onto the person’s ankle, carrying this person upside down with her hand. The person struggled while screaming wretchedly. It was none other than Roddy!
Chen Xiaolian saw that the other party has caught onto Roddy and was hovering in the air. If that person lets go, then Roddy would fall down from up high. Chen Xiaolian became frantic and was about to summon out Bai Qi.
It was then…
“Please stop!”
An electronically synthesized voice came out.
Next, Nicole’s helmet opened up and her visor slipped back, revealing her face.
When that happened, Chen Xiaolian became stunned. “… It’s you?”
It was only then that Chen Xiaolian’s guild members were able to get up, albeit barely.
What happened earlier happened too fast! From the moment Nicole charged into the room, the time it took for her to repulse the two brothers, Lun Tai and Bei Tai, fought back against Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao, grab hold of Roddy and fly out was less than 10 seconds!
Both Lun Tai and Bei Tai had already got up. It was apparent that Lun Tai had suffered from considerable damage. Back then, he was the closest to the glass wall window. When the window was broken, he received the most damage from the shockwave.
As for Xia Xiaolei, he was knocked unconscious. Even though he had woken up, he was still feeling muddled.
“It was actually… this little girl?” Lun Tai jerked his head.
“Stop it. You are not my match and I too, do not wish to kill.”
Nicole held onto Roddy’s ankle in the middle of the air. She purposely left a space of several metres between herself and the building. Coldly, she said. “You should know who I am.”
Hearing Nicole’s voice, Roddy who was being held by her, stopped struggling.
“You… what do you want to do?” Chen Xiaolian clenched his teeth.
“I don’t plan on doing anything,” Nicole replied coldly. “I have no grudge against you all. However, I have been forced into this instance dungeon. Additionally… the target energy source that the system displayed for me just happens to belong to you.”
Chen Xiaolian was left speechless.
“There is no need for me to go into the details,” Nicole continued indifferently. “I have no grudge against you all. However, the system’s assignment just happened to be you. In order to complete the quest and perhaps protect my own life, I need to collect five energy sources. Thus, I need to take yours. This is not a personal grudge. If you want to blame someone, blame the system.”
Chen Xiaolian had nothing to say.
Indeed, Nicole was not wrong.
They were neither related nor intimate. She too, due to being within the instance dungeon, has to snatch the energy source of others – it just so happened that the target assigned by the system happened to be Chen Xiaolian’s.
Would you not go snatch?
Why choose to not snatch? Just because they met once within Zero City and exchanged a few words?
Not completing the quest would result in receiving punishment from the system!
“I do not want to kill,” Nicole shook her head. “Otherwise, I would not have stayed my hand up until now. If so, many of you would not be alive right now.”
“… first, let go of Roddy,” Chen Xiaolian sullenly replied.
“Let’s discuss it through,” Nicole said coldly. “I am still in need of 2 energy sources. I do not wish to kill. So, as long as you hand over the 2 energy sources that you have, I will leave. Even though you will fail and receive the system’s punishment, you won’t necessarily die. But if you refuse, then right here and now…”
After saying that, Nicole slightly loosened her grip on Roddy, causing him to fall down a bit!
“It won’t be too hard for me to kill all of you.”