Chen Xiaolian quickly moved out of the pickup truck. Standing by the street, he raised his head and glanced at the sky before glancing back down at the surrounding street area.
He made his deduction!
At present, the city of Tokyo appeared to have been restored to how it was before the start of the instance dungeon because…
Because the third phase of the instance dungeon had already begun! The area for the third phase of the instance dungeon was located in the underground research institute.
In other words, the instance dungeon involving the city of Tokyo was already over!
Do not forget, during the second phase of the quest, there was a system prompt requiring the participants to complete the second phase of the quest within 8 hours. Otherwise, they will be deemed to have failed the quest and be teleported out of this instance dungeon.
That meant that the instance dungeon for the storyline involving the city of Tokyo had ended.
Thus, since last night… the system had already refreshed the entirety of Tokyo City!
However, since the third phase of the quest remained incomplete…
Only the instance dungeon area of Tokyo was refreshed whereas the people of this area were not.
In other words, the citizens of Tokyo, inclusive of the people here, all of them were still undergoing the system’s calculation for the refreshing process.
It was the same process as those involved when resetting a sandbox environment. First, the buildings and streets must to be constructed properly. Only then could the various characters be added in.
The current situation here was akin to a properly constructed sandbox. The only thing missing was the people.
It was at this time that Tian Lie had utilized the Hunt Prolonging Card!
Clearly, this prop possessed a very powerful function. It was capable of ignoring the restrictions involved in the system’s refreshing process and ‘impede’ the process for 10 hours!
That was to say… within these 10 hours of time, the system’s refreshing process has been halted.
The resulting scenario was… the Tokyo setting has been restored; however, not a single living being was inside this area!
Chen Xiaolian recalled. On his way here, he saw no trace of humans. Not even cats and dogs could be seen! Not even birds could be seen!
For the sake of confirming his deduction, he quickly ran into a pet shop located by the street.
There, he confirmed his deduction: The cages within the pet shop were all empty!
Not a single living being was here!
Thus… there was the possibility that within the 10 hours of hunting time, the only prey within the entire area was them!
In fact, there was another possibility: The Hunt Prolonging Card may have an effect similar to that of a radar!
When Chen Xiaolian considered the matter through such a perspective, he was suddenly able to gain clarity.
If he were to assume that the Hunt Prolonging Card could impede the time for this entire area, then perhaps this entire area could be projected upon the surface of the Hunt Prolonging Card.
If so, the circumstances would become very obvious. If the entire area shown on a map or radar happened to be empty, devoid of any moving objects…
Then, if someone like him, the prey were to move… well, wouldn’t he be easy to find?
Chen Xiaolian was 80 per cent confident that his deduction was very close to the truth!
…
Tian Lie turned around to leave.
On the ground behind him was Fujino Masayoshi. He was now lying limp on the ground from fear and he shivered non-stop.
Tian Lie simply ignored Fujino Masayoshi. He turned around before bolting forward on the highway.
The speed of his movement was incredibly fast, just like that of a car charging forward at full speed.
He rapidly nudged out something within his system interface.
Tian Lie smiled and he closed the interface.
“It appears that I am getting closer! The distance is… three km?” Tian Lie then produced a mobile phone that he picked up from who knew where. After checking the mobile phone’s GPS positioning, he gave a faint smile. “Soon! Soon!”
…
Chen Xiaolian did not know that his deductions had indeed gotten very close to the truth.
Indeed, the Hunt Prolonging Card possessed the functions that he had guessed. It could serve as a radar.
However, it could only do one thing; detect moving objects within the area.
Since the current time was ‘impeded’ time, by that logic, the only moving life form within this time would be the prey. Under the present circumstances, there should be no other moving life forms!
The Hunt Prolonging Card’s function was that within every 5 minutes, it would announce the coordinates of the moving life form.
…
“We cannot move?” Chen Xiaolian’s heart sank.
However, their current coordinates was likely already within Tian Lie’s grasp. If they do not move and simply wait around, Tian Lie will still find them.
If they move… Tian Lie would likely chase up to them!
Chen Xiaolian quickly thought of a method. He glanced at Nagase Komi who was seated inside the pickup truck while staring blankly at him.
Separate from this girl?
That would mean creating two different moving coordinates.
Doing so, there would be a 50 per cent chance that Tian Lie would get diverted move to chase her. At the very least, it would allow me one to gain some time, right?
Soon, Chen Xiaolian made his decision.
Looking at the time, he saw that there was still three and a half hour left!
…
“Guild Leader, you mean we should… separate?” Nagase Komi was petrified from shock. Her first reaction was: I am being abandoned!
Chen Xiaolian replied in a solemn tone of voice. “There is not enough time to explain the details. By separating, we can cause some problems for Tian Lie. It might be able to buy us some time. Additionally… relax. Tian Lie’s target is me. It would be more accurate to say that there is no grudge between you and him. Even if he does find you, there is a high chance that you will not be killed.
“Furthermore, even if the two of us remain together, our fates after being found by him would remain the same. If so, it would be better for us to separate and test our luck.”
“…” Nagase Komi was so terrified that she was unable to say anything.
Chen Xiaolian did not have to time to explain more about it to Nagase Komi.
“I will leave this pickup truck to you. Start it up and run away. The further you run, the better it will be,” Chen Xiaolian shook his head and brought Roddy with him as he alighted from the truck. Nagase Komi called out continuously from behind, but he could only ignore her.
After calling out loudly several times, Nagase Komi saw that Chen Xiaolian was moving far away. She could not restrain herself and cursed out loudly.
Although what Chen Xiaolian said made sense, Nagase Komi believed that she had been abandoned.
…
Chen Xiaolian carried Roddy to the side of a street and found another car. Starting up the car, he quickly moved out.
“Three hours and eighteen minutes more to go,” Chen Xiaolian looked at the time.
It was then that something unexpected occurred.
“Hmm?”
Chen Xiaolian was shocked, so much so that his hand tilted and he almost steered the car into the side rails.
“They completed the quest? It took them this long?” Chen Xiaolian was both surprised and elated.
He quickly parked the car beside the street and hastily produced his mobile phone to call Qiao Qiao.
Most unfortunately, his call failed to connect!
“Could it be they are still inside the research institute, within the Bio-transformation Faction’s area?” Chen Xiaolian frowned. After thinking about it, he quickly sent a message over, relaying his current situation to them.
As to whether or not Qiao Qiao could receive the message, he could only leave it to fate.
…
After pondering over his current situation in detail, Chen Xiaolian came up with an idea.
First, he started up the car and went to fill it up with gas. Next, he drove it over to a special place!
That place was a huge parking lot.
Chen Xiaolian stopped the car in the entrance.
He was currently within an open space. He could clearly observe in every direction.
If Tian Lie were to appear, Chen Xiaolian would be able to catch sight of him from far away. There would be enough time for him to turn around and flee.
Considering this car that he had picked himself, he felt that there was a high chance that he would be able to escape.
It was not as though he had not thought of other methods… for example, flying a helicopter to the skies.
Unfortunately, he does not know how to operate a helicopter.
“Roddy oh Roddy, just how long do you intend to keep on sleeping…” Chen Xiaolian let out a bitter smile.
He stared at Roddy who was breathing evenly and continued observing for some time…
Suddenly, an idea sparked within to his mind! Chen Xiaolian recalled something!
It was as though some form of impulse was driving him. He hesitated for a moment before retrieving an item from the system’s Item Box.
An energy source!
The energy source within Chen Xiaolian’s hand glowed faintly. He then brought it closer to Roddy.
Instantly, the glow of light emitted by the energy source increased!
Chen Xiaolian’s heart became tense and he brought the energy source even closer to Roddy. Then, he simply shoved the energy source into Roddy’s hand.
Something strange happened!
The energy source abruptly dissolved within Roddy’s hand. Next, it transformed into what appeared to be streams of data and disappeared into Roddy’s body!
“Hmm?”
Chen Xiaolian was surprised and he hesitated.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Even so, Chen Xiaolian proceeded to retrieve another energy source and placed it on Roddy’s hand.
The same scene unfolded before him: The energy source dissolved into streams of data and disappeared…
Next, the third energy source… then, the fourth energy source…
The moment the fifth energy source transformed into streams of data and entered Roddy’s body…
Chen Xiaolian held his breath as he stared at his good friend.
Next, Roddy’s eyelids fluttered lightly a few times.
Chen Xiaolian thought about it for a moment; then, he quickly nudged open Roddy’s eyelids to check it out.
“Eh?”
Underneath Roddy’s eyelids, the pupils of his eyes have seemingly turned into an incomparably deep colour of orange! It was as though some form of radiance was moving about in a circular manner!
As Chen Xiaolian was raising his hand to deliver a slap onto Roddy’s face, Roddy suddenly opened his eyes!
“Hey! Why are you lifting your hand so high up? You aren’t thinking about slapping me, are you?”
Hearing his familiar voice, Chen Xiaolian exclaimed in surprise and pulled Roddy up. He grabbed onto Roddy’s neck and shook him vigorously. “Holy shit! Are you finally awake now?”
“Stop shaking! Stop shaking! My neck will break!” Roddy struggled to extricate himself from Chen Xiaolian’s grasp and gasped for breath. “Holy shit… that nearly killed me!”
Roddy then looked at Chen Xiaolian. “Thankfully you are smart enough to figure it out; using the energy source to save me.”
“Hmm?” Chen Xiaolian’s face revealed surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I…” Roddy let out a bitter smile and pointed at his head. “Truth be told, I have always been awake! More accurately, I had never lost consciousness! The things that happened within the underground research institute, I know of them all. I could hear it and also feel it. Unfortunately, I could not control my body. I was unable to move, speak or even open my eyes. It was like I had… lost control of my own body.”
“You mean to say, you knew about me fighting against Tian Lie?”
“… I know,” Roddy forced out a smile. “You’ve got some huge balls on you.”
“Son of a bitch! This senior had to fight with my life on the line while you slept in the side-lines! You should have gotten up and help me!” Chen Xiaolian resentfully grabbed hold of Roddy’s neck again.
“Quit grabbing my neck,” Roddy gave a distressed smile. “It is not as though there was anything I could do about it. If you had not used the energy source to save me, I do not even know how much longer I will have to continue in that vegetative state. This time, I nearly killed myself! If I knew this would happen, I would have listened to you and not rashly used my skill on the Mech.”
“That is right! The Mech!” Chen Xiaolian’s eyes were bulging out. “Where is the Mech? The system prompt I received stated that we have already seized the research results of the Mechanical Faction! Where did you send the Mech to?”
“I… adopted it!” Roddy’s mouth split into a grin and he could not help but let out a gleeful burst of laughter.
“Adopted?”
“That is right! Adopted!” Roddy spread out both his hands and laughed out loud. “A Floater for a pet? So what?! This senior also has a pet! My pet is THE MECH!! Wa ha ha ha ha! With this, I am now a true mech pilot!”
…