“What are we going to do next?” Ying watched the group of people all run out to fight, and it was not good for him to buy soy sauce. The people from the Asura Realm ran along the streets, roads, and alleys as if they were mad; they rushed at those who had already changed, and both sides collided like moths colliding against fire, and for some time, their screams rang out incessantly.
“According to what I know…… Thanks for the sacrifice and dedication of Mr. Duan Li,” Abyss said, suddenly turning his head to look at Duan Li. Duan Li was puzzled by the gaze that was suddenly cast upon him. He tilted his head unconsciously and began to think of what kind of sacrifices he had made or what he had dedicated before, but he could not remember.
Abyss continued, “In the middle of this city of lawlessness, there is a church, which is a very important place…… So let’s go there and have a look.”
Ying looked around the surroundings and said, “The middle is far away from here. I think there will be a group of monsters blocking us all the way there…”
Before Ying finished speaking, he instinctively took up his long spear and waved it. There was a mutant bird over his head, and it was split into two parts by him. The bird’s body was two metres tall, and when its wings stretched open, the wingspan reached four or five meters. It had three claws on each foot and a sharp beak. It had fangs in its mouth, and its strength was enough to tear a man’s flesh in two.
Ying felt how strong the bird monster was and said, “It’s very powerful. Its body’s strength and power are far beyond ordinary people’s. It’s comparable to the level of some ordinary players in the secret chamber. If this kind of monster waits for us as we make our way there…… and the population of this city used to be about 200,000. I don’t know what happened when the secret chamber moved this city away…… so we have to face at least 200,000 monsters!”
“Don’t worry too much.” Although the monster army of 200,000 individuals was frightening, Abyss still seemed very calm, “The matter of attracting the monsters’ attention can be left to the bunch of crazy warriors over there. We only need to secretly sneak in.”
In fact, Abyss’s biggest worry now was that the secret chamber’s will would threaten his companions. But so far, the secret chamber’s will had never done anything like that. It could be seen that the secret chamber’s will would still adhere to certain principles, although Abyss did not know what the principles were.
At this point, it seemed unnecessary to continue discussing his plans. Abyss was a man who was used to improvising and acting on the spot. After Abyss briefly coordinated with Ying, the two men took a rest on the road. In addition, although most of the people of Asura Realm had rushed out, there were still a few remaining by Ying’s side. Qi Ling, who had said hello to Abyss before, was one of them.
Therefore, the team had taken shape in this manner. Ying was standing at the front to open up a pathway and also guide the way. After all, he was very familiar with the city and naturally knew where the city center was. With Ying were several Asura Realm warriors who stayed beside him, and Duan Li and Ah Lan were behind them.
Abyss was at the very end while Xing Yan was in front of him, and from time to time, he would turn back to look at him.
Abyss saw that Xing Yan would constantly turn back to look at him and, thinking that he was worried, took small steps to catch Xing Yan’s paw. But Xing Yan still looked at him frequently, so Abyss could only raise his small head to gaze at Xing Yan.
“What’s the matter?”
Xing Yan remained silent momentarily and suddenly asked him, “Is your name Abyss?”
Abyss felt his claws being tightly grasped by Xing Yan. His palm was very warm. Abyss could not help rubbing it in his palm. Then he gently replied, “Yes.”
“What about your original name? What were you called?” Xing Yan asked again.
Abyss glanced at Xing Yan. “You will remember it sooner or later.”
“I want to know. I can’t wait.“ Xing Yan held his hand more tightly, as if he was afraid that Abyss would fly away if he let go.
Abyss did not immediately answer him and was silent for a long, long time. After that, he said, “You clearly already know the answer.”
What was the answer? Xing Yan didn’t understand. He occasionally felt that there was a figure in his heart who had been wandering in his vision. He felt that everything seemed to be predestined. No matter how he wanted to change it, he would still walk on the same road and achieve the same result.
“I remember wandering in darkness and chaos for a long, long time,” Xing Yan suddenly whispered, “I neither saw any life and light, nor could I hear any sound.
“I remember being torn apart by something, but I stubbornly put myself together again.”
Xing Yan expressionlessly continued, “Then, I repeated this process again and again.”
Abyss felt that his fingers were pinched by Xing Yan, but he did not struggle. He just listened to him quietly.
“And the only reason why I could hang on is all due to you.”
Xing Yan turned and lowered his head to look at Abyss. He continued to ask, “Who are you? Why am I so insistent on this?”
Abyss did not look at him but kept his head down. He bit his lower lip and trembled. He kept regulating his breaths to calm himself down. Finally, he just looked at Xing Yan with red eyes. His voice was as gentle as ever: “I’m probably the one who loves you most in the world.”
After less than 10 minutes of advancing, they took shortcuts and walked through alleyways. Even so, they met many demons and monsters along the way. The mutated people wandered on the streets in a daze. They had rotten bodies and newly-grown blades of bone. Some of them had changed so thoroughly that one could not see that they were human before.
These monsters had almost come in waves, jumping out of any imaginable corner from all directions. They seemed to be able to smell the scent of living people, were very sensitive to sound, and came in large groups all at once.
Ying, who was leading the way, felt a little impatient. It took a lot of physical strength and energy to deal with so many monsters. Moreover, it was inevitable for them to get injured in the battle. The longer they delayed, the more distant victory would be from them. Therefore, Ying led the whole team as they started to flee. On the way, they tried their best to simply pass by these monsters so they would reach the destination faster.
But on the main road, these monsters almost filled the street, and not even a gap could be seen. And while they were travelling in small alleyways, it was easy for them to be surrounded and hard for them to move forward. After pondering over the cause and effect, Ying decided to find another shortcut and take the air route.
“What is the air route?” A few people behind him asked.
Ying pointed to a row of buildings in the distance and said, “Climb to the top of that building, jump to the building in front of it, and jump all the way to reach there.”
Ying’s face twisted into a smile, “At least it is fewer than those monsters on the ground. We have a few people with floating abilities in the team; those people can escort, and others just need to take a rope.”
So this group of people rushed into a military goods store and searched. All the ropes and other useful items were swept away by them. Then, Ying led the people to climb up the high-rise building that they had chosen. They decided to make a springboard here, jump over the monsters on the ground, and fly to the city centre.
The group climbed up to the top floor and began to assign tasks.
In fact, there were not many people with abilities to get up in the air in the team. Abyss was one. He was more versatile, but he still lacked the ability to fly for a long time. Two of the players from Asura Realm following Ying could fly. One seemed to have been transformed into a monster by the secret chamber, unable to recover to his human form, and had the strange appearance of a human body and an eagle’s legs, but he also had a pair of eagle’s wings. He was a player suited for air combat.
The other player used a pair of boots as a weapon. He was good at using his leg martial arts to fight. Because of these boots, he seemed to be able to stay in midair for a short time and had a skill called ‘floating ladder in the air,’ which made him quite suitable for air combat.
And the last one who could float was Ah Lan. After all, he was a magician, but he could not fly fast. However, he had the ability to cast a protective cover for the people in the air and buff them.
Apart from these people, everyone else were land creatures who did not know how to fly. Xing Yan could teleport there directly. However, it would be very tiring for him to teleport between so many tall buildings individually. Ying and Duan Li belonged to the type that could fly but had a large attack range, but they were also better at their strong physical skills. As long as they were given a rope, they could rapidly move ahead.
There was also Qi Ling, who actually belonged to the same type as Ying and Duan Li. Abyss remembered that this fool was a very flexible opponent. His hooks and claws allowed him to climb on all kinds of dangerous terrains. Even if he had no rope, he could jump directly from the roof here.
But the one who was facing the most terrible situation now was Specter, also known as Luo Feng.
Luo Feng roared, “I’m afraid of heights!”
Everyone remained silent.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t know you were afraid of heights.” Abyss was the first to refute him.
Luo Feng made a face as if he was about to cry. “When I look at the height, the higher it is, the more terrified I am! Besides, I’m not physically strong. I cannot lay a rope and run over it like them!”
“Then use the wheel. It’s faster and easier.” Next to him, Qi Ling suddenly called out. He fumbled a roller out of the backpack that he had found in the military goods store. “Put this on the rope. Those who can fly will go over first, pull the rope, lay the ropes, and leave another person who can fly to collect the rope and use it again.”
It was a good proposal. Everyone nodded and agreed. Luo Feng had to be brave even if he was afraid. However, to do this, he had to be adaptable. After he adapted, he would not face too big of an obstacle as they carried on moving. Although they did not encounter too much of a threat along the way, Abyss always felt worried.
Wasn’t it too easy?
So just as Abyss thought, the first threat appeared.
After they climbed over the peaks and an unknown number of high-rise buildings, the group found an enemy standing there. He was a thin man wearing grey retro-looking robes, gilt-edged gloves, and pure black boots. He had black waist-length hair and bright red eyes, which indicated his identity.
A stalker.
The stalker could not speak, but the other party stood in the middle of the road that the group must pass through and made it clear that he would not let them pass easily. So they all looked at each other, puzzled.
They thought there would be more opponents, but there was only one stalker.
Abyss and company were not newbies. Naturally, they knew that stalkers were not mythical monsters. At most, they were a group of poor fellows. They used to be players, but they were transformed into dumb puppets. Although they would not die, they could still be defeated.
However, just as the crowd was ready to try to beat the stalker in front of them, Xing Yan suddenly said something.
“I know him.”
After that, Duan Li said, “I know him, too.”
This time it was Abyss’s turn. He looked at the stalker carefully. Regarding this face, he remembered that he had no recollections of him. Thus, Xing Yan and Duan Li likely got to know him when Duan Li joined Team Ghost Shadow and worked with Xing Yan. After all, it was a period when Abyss could not intervene.
“Who is he?” Abyss naturally asked.
Xing Yan’s eyes were sharp. “The stalker who destroyed our team in the final trial.”
Abyss was slow to react for a moment, and he had to concentrate all his attention on the skinny man. He looked like a very ordinary fellow. Although his clothes appeared retro-looking, with the exception of that and his bright red eyes, he did not have many characteristics. His appearance was not particularly memorable, and he did not have an imposing aura.
At this time, even Ying suddenly called out a name, “Nie Cong!”
Abyss could not help but appear stunned. He said to Ying, “Do you know him, too?”
Ying seemed to be very surprised. His face turned very gloomy now. “He was a member of my studio, and in my studio, including me, there were five men and one woman. This guy was one of them…… He was my best friend.”
Five men and one woman. Abyss could not help but grit his teeth. Given the secret chamber’s way of handling things, wouldn’t the secret chamber have morphed them into monsters or stalkers?
Ying seemed to have thought of this, and his face became darker. He even could not help cursing in a low voice, “This goddamned secret chamber, today if I don’t chop its cube into pieces, Lao Tzu would not be human!”