Chapter 41 I Went There, and I Have Returned

On the fifth floor, in the corridor.

The dwarf leapt backward, slapping his head frantically to extinguish the flames, but his topknot was already half-burned away.

"I hate fire," the dwarf muttered with a venomous glare at Gu Nian, giving clear instructions, "Qigong Master, go downstairs and block them. Captive Woman, find the target. Let's finish this quickly!"

"Understood!"

With that, two players rushed toward the stairwell without hesitation, while the female player whose neck felt a cold draft turned her gaze toward the lock of Room 501, her pupils focusing intently.

"Screech—!"

A teeth-grating sound echoed within the latch mechanism, and the door popped open with a snap.

Seeing the woman head toward the room, Gu Nian immediately manipulated her magic wand, preparing to block her.

"Heh, your opponent is me." Green light emanated from the dwarf's eyes. "We didn't have time to fight back at the university town the other day, but now... I'll let you taste the power of sorcery."

As he spoke, two porcelain pots appeared in the dwarf's hands. He exhaled a breath of green qi, and two centipedes crawled out from the rims of the pots, instantly expanding and growing in size.

"Bang, bang...!"

Upon hitting the ground, the two centipedes had grown to the size of large pet dogs, charging directly at Gu Nian.

***

Across the apartment building, Xinyuan SPA Club.

The nearly "seventy-year-old" Little War Wolf had been led into Room 302 by the front desk receptionist. Sitting on the bed, he removed his outer clothing while sensing the intense stellar energy fluctuations radiating from the apartment building.

"Things happened so abruptly; there aren't many Watchers here..." Little War Wolf frowned slightly, then instantly used his perception to lock onto the person he "cared about" the most. "What is he standing there for? Why does he act so clueless!"

By this time, he had stripped down to just a pair of briefs.

"Creak!"

The door was pushed open, and the plump woman Ren Ye had previously driven out walked in carrying a small case. She looked with terror at the lean, withered old man on the bed and asked quite apprehensively, "Mister... your... your age, coming out for this kind of service... is a bit dangerous."

"What's your specialty?" Little War Wolf asked.

"Well... crackdown season is strict." Mentioning her profession, the plump woman replied discreetly, "I can add at most ten items."

"Come on, max it out, let old mister here test your professional skills." Little War Wolf casually turned off the lights and turned to lie down on the massage bed.

"Ginger is still spicier the older it is; no hesitation." The plump woman sighed with emotion and stepped forward.

The indoor lights were dim. The plump woman covered him with a bath towel and began massaging his legs first.

"Swish!"

Lights out, soul awakened.

Massaging the warm-bodied old man, the plump woman didn't feel anything unusual. However, Little War Wolf's own soul pierced through the window and drifted toward the apartment building.

This body was far too old to display any supernatural abilities, and he might need it later, so Little War Wolf certainly didn't want it smashed to pieces.

Meanwhile, in the torrential rain-soaked alley, Mr. He hid in the shadows, toying with a theater model in his hand. He closed his eyes and murmured, "One Tier 2, seven Tier 1, and one spellcaster... Hmm, wait, why is there a soul as well?"

Not all the cards are on the table yet. Let's wait a bit longer, no rush.

***

Halfway to the fourth floor, stairwell.

Huang Wei stood on the steps, radiating a monstrous murderous intent. His entire body seemed enveloped in black-red flames, the fiery glow surging upward.

"Swish!"

Summoned by his will, an archaic crimson giant sword materialized in his hand out of thin air.

Ren Ye stared blankly at him. Seeing how heroic and imposing he looked completely shattered Ren Ye's established impression of Huang Wei.

Isn't he a brute? Isn't he a weakling?

That crimson giant sword was a size larger than the profound iron heavy sword wielded by Yang Guo in television dramas, yet at this moment, it matched Huang Wei's towering physique perfectly.

"Clatter, clatter...!"

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from upstairs, and the two players from the Bell Society rushed down.

Knowing his own capabilities and seeing Huang Wei standing guard in front of him, Ren Ye immediately retreated a couple of steps downward.

"Swish, swish!"

Two figures materialized, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin.

Upon seeing Huang Wei, the tall and thin man's pupils contracted. "A Tier 2 Watcher?!"

"Clap!"

With that, he suddenly snapped his fingers. "Qigong Master — Qi Blast!"

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion rang out. In the empty space between Ren Ye and Huang Wei, the air was violently compressed and instantly detonated.

***

"Thud!"

Ren Ye was blown back several meters by the shockwave, his back slamming heavily against the wall. Blood spurted from his arms, which he had raised to protect his chest, and his bones ached piercingly.

For some reason, after being isolated by the wordless steles on all sides, the stair architecture had also become exceptionally hard; after the qi blast occurred, the walls sustained zero damage.

Three meters away, Huang Wei withstood the qi blast head-on without a single scratch or a single movement.

Standing there like a god of war, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the two targets, he raised his sword and shouted, "Bath of Blood!"

"Bang!"

A burst of blood mist erupted from Huang Wei's body, piercing right through his clothes.

"Blood Sacrifice!"

Chanting with absolute emotional detachment, Huang Wei rapidly gathered the surrounding blood mist, condensing it into the crimson giant sword.

Seeing this, the two men upstairs turned abruptly pale and simultaneously activated their defensive skills.

"Qi Wall!"

The tall and thin man bent his body sharply, and the surrounding airflow instantly came alive, surging toward him from all directions.

"Dark Affinity, shrink, shrink...!"

The other fat man shouted anxiously, his body shrinking from adult-sized to adolescent-sized, then to infant-sized in the blink of an eye, and finally... blending into the shadows, shrinking to the size of an action figure.

"Hum, hum...!"

Below the steps, the crimson giant sword vibrated frantically.

A red flame mark surfaced in the center of Huang Wei's forehead, and several black-red veins bulged on his neck.

Looking down condescendingly at the two men on the steps, he shouted with his remaining shred of sanity, "Ren Ye... watch closely, this is what a Tier 2 player looks like!!"

"Blood Sacrifice — Great Annihilation!"

The roar echoed.

A single sword stroke unleashed, and blood-red filled the entire space.

"Puff!"

The crimson sword qi swept across, piercing the qi wall with a soft puff.

"Bang!"

The sword qi detonated, and the qigong master's body exploded like a watermelon. Flesh and blood splattered like rain, sticking disgustingly to the surrounding walls.

One-hit kill.

No room for struggle whatsoever.

"Bang, bang...!"

The action-figure-sized player was shredded by the chaotic sword qi, one of his arms shattered. Fleeing upstairs like a stray dog, he yelled, "I ran into a Tier 2 pure brute, the Qigong Master is dead, I couldn't stop him...!"

Beside the wall, the injured Ren Ye stared dumbfounded at Huang Wei, shouting inwardly: This jerk actually has some serious tricks up his sleeve!

"Ah, ah...!"

Huang Wei shook his head frantically, letting out low roars. His expression twisted in agony, as if he were about to lose his sanity entirely.

"Whoosh!"

"Don't get close to me later," Huang Wei dropped those words and bolted upstairs.

***

Room 501.

Upon entering the living room, the female player known as Captive Woman immediately spotted Ren Daguo, Li Feng, and Editor Xu slumped beside the dining table.

All three had been poisoned into a deep sleep, their figures distorted and blurred, isolated from this space by the wordless steles.

However, this posed no difficulty for Captive Woman. Her class belonged to the villainous faction, and her supernatural abilities leaned toward destruction and crime.

"Spatial Penetration — Pilfer!"

Captive Woman quickly swept her gaze over the three men, immediately raised her arm toward Ren Daguo, and crooked her finger slightly.

"Swish!"

Ren Daguo's previously blurred and distorted body slowly turned solid and full of vitality, pulled by Captive Woman into the boundary of the wordless steles.

"Ha?"

Captive Woman sneered, stepped forward to hoist Ren Daguo's body over her shoulder, and dashed toward the window.

Downstairs, the rain poured relentlessly.

"Captive Woman is taking Ren Daguo away first to leave a backup plan," Mr. He said with a strange smile at the corner of his mouth. "However, our main target is no longer him; I've sensed Ren Ye's presence. Everyone pay attention, get ready to take him down."

"Copy that!"

"Copy that!"

"...!"

The Bell Society members responded promptly.

***

Outside the apartment building, Little War Wolf's soul form drifted through the driving rain, heading straight toward the fifth floor.

"Forget it, I'll help him out..." Little War Wolf hesitated, muttering to himself inwardly: "I really worry more than his own father!"

Shaking his head, Little War Wolf sped toward the window, colliding head-on with Captive Woman.

***

Inside the Xinyuan SPA Club.

No. 68, the plump woman, gently patted the old man's back. "Do you want some drink? Hey, mister, mister?!"

After calling out twice, the old man remained completely unresponsive. Frowning, the plump woman walked around the massage bed, came close, and aggressively shoved his head twice with her hand.

Huh?

Zero response!

Goosebumps suddenly broke out all over the plump woman's body. Tentatively, she extended a finger and placed it beneath the old man's nostril.

Five seconds later.

"Ah...!!!"

Screaming like a madwoman, the plump woman bolted out of Room 302, scrambling down the stairs on all fours. She yelled at the plump female boss, "Something... something huge happened! I said no extra items, but he insisted on adding ten... I massaged him... I massaged him to death... that old man was massaged to death by me...!"

***

Apartment building, Window of 501.

Just as Captive Woman was preparing to shoulder Ren Daguo and escape first, she suddenly felt a chilly draft rise behind her neck.

At the same time, Little War Wolf drifted to the window, but just as he was about to act, he froze in place.

Quickly scanning the four people inside the room, his gaze lingered on Ren Daguo and Editor Xu for a moment before an overwhelming sensation of bristling hair surged through him.

A ghost!

For a ghost to experience hair standing on end—from this, one can imagine how massive a psychological shock these two men had delivered to him.

"Whoosh!"

After just one glance, Little War Wolf turned and fled, muttering incoherently, "I'm out of here... This vehicle seems a bit too stable... There's more to this than meets the eye, definitely more."

In the dark.

Mr. He, who had been poised for action, suddenly frowned. "Why did that soul leave again? Running so fast...?"

With that, he sensed that the surrounding Watchers were beginning to reinforce the area, and Huang Wei had also headed to the fifth floor.

"Never mind, the reinforcements are almost here... Time to set up the stage and put on a show."

Mr. He withdrew his perception and raised his arm, hurling the theater model in his hand toward the fifth floor.

"Swish!"

In an instant, the previously exquisite and miniature theater model expanded rapidly, almost enveloping the entire fifth floor.

Inside the fifth floor, Gu Nian who was fighting the dwarf, Huang Wei and Ren Ye who were running, and Xu Peng who had just arrived, all felt their vision go dark.

Within a breath's time, a massive theater materialized out of thin air.

Red curtains, flower baskets radiating a faint fragrance, hardwood floors reflecting a dim sheen. At the front of the stage were various Beijing opera percussion instruments like clappers, drums, gongs, and cymbals.

Everyone stood on the stage, the dazzling spotlight piercing their eyes, causing them to squint involuntarily.

"What play shall we perform?"

"Then let us perform 'Changban Slope'!"

An ethereal operatic vocalization drifted over.

The clappers, drums, gongs, and cymbals on the stage began to play on their own.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang...!"

The melodious tune exploded into the air, and the red curtains slowly parted.

Mr. He held a stage spear, draped in white theatrical robes with four small flags thrust into his back, facing the group of Watchers head-on.

Dressed like an opera actor, embodying Zhao Zilong of Changshan!

Mr. He stepped forward, lifted the hem of his robe, and said softly, "Make an entrance — Chu Jiang!"

In traditional Chinese opera, the words "Chu Jiang" refer to the protagonist making their grand entrance.

He was a Tier 2 player within the Star Gate. After falling into depravity, his stage title had changed to "Opera Fiend," and his supernatural abilities were closely tied to it.