“What is that…” Matcha Su gazed at the strange spectacle in the distant sky, unable to stop herself from exclaiming in amazement.

She had quietly retreated from the battlefield several minutes ago, so her current location was relatively safe.

Of course, Matcha Su's withdrawal wasn't out of fear, nor was it because she had thoughts of "preserving her strength." She simply didn't want to be a burden…

The scene where Lute used Twenty-Three as bait to capture Feng Bujue effortlessly had already illustrated many things.

Matcha Su might not have had deep cunning, but she was considered calm and resourceful. She knew… that now that the battle had reached this stage, she, a Machinery specialization player… couldn't accomplish anything even if she stayed on the battlefield; she might as well retreat early to avoid dragging down her teammates.

And the reality proved that her judgment was indeed correct.

"That is tendriL_BArrAge_devAstAtor…" A gentle voice suddenly sounded from behind Matcha Su.

"Who's there?" Matcha Su's expression changed drastically, and she turned around nervously.

As a result… what entered her sight was an irregularly shaped black crystal body with a volume of about three cubic meters.

"I am the Formless Demon." The Formless Demon replied, paused slightly, and added, "Don't worry, I am not your enemy."

"It's an NPC…" Matcha Su thought to herself, "Phew… you scared me."

"However…" The Formless Demon immediately spoke, "I suggest that you… leave the scenario immediately."

"Huh?" Matcha Su was stunned for a moment, "Do I even need you to tell me that… If I could force a logout, I would have long…"

"You can." The Formless Demon interrupted, "In just a little while… you can…"

…

At the same time, above the battlefield.

"I hope Brother Jue is alright…" Xiao Tan's figure reappeared.

At this moment, under the effect of the [Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Art], he was "falling" upwards.

In that critical moment just now, Xiao Tan thought he was done for; although he had activated the Divine Art based on instinct, it was clear… that this skill was not enough to get him out of danger.

What he didn't expect was that in that instant, an unexpected change occurred… the flow of time around Xiao Tan suddenly slowed down… when he came back to his senses, he found that he had risen to a height of more than a hundred meters away from Lute…

On the other side, tens of meters below Lute.

Gui Xiao was lying supine in a crater on the ground in a very strange posture. Many parts of his body had been pierced by tentacles, but none of them had formed a fatal wound. His heart and lungs were still intact, but… it was unlikely that he could move. Unless Lute retracted the attack, Gui Xiao was basically nailed in place.

"Finally suppressed the 'vessel'…" Lute murmured in the air.

It seemed that this seemingly berserk indiscriminate attack skill could actually be fine-tuned. Gui Xiao's survival was not because he was lucky, but because Lute intentionally kept him alive.

"Although the performance of that kid in the sky is a bit unexpected…" Lute continued, "Hmph… but Feng Bujue is dead, there's nothing to…"

Beep beep—

Warning, firewall breached…

Core program error…

Thinking module… zzzzz…

A series of urgent prompts flashed before Lute's eyes.

At the same time, Twenty-Three's shout came from afar.

"Feng Bujue! If you're still alive… answer me!"

"Ah… I'm here." Brother Jue's voice rang out, "Don't worry."

Before he finished speaking, the thousands of tentacles in mid-air collapsed in an instant, turning into a sky full of blood, raining down like rain.

"What's going on?" Lute muttered in horror.

But the next second, her expression turned cold again, and she smiled charmingly: "Heh… what do you think?"

This sentence "What do you think?" was spoken from Lute's mouth, but the voice… was Feng Bujue's.

"What a joke…" Gui Xiao, lying on the ground, looked up at the sky and muttered, "How did this guy do it…"

In the distance, white light also flickered in Twenty-Three's eyes, "The code has changed…" She looked at Lute and asked tentatively, "Feng Bujue?"

"Yes, it's me." The other party replied, "Feels pretty good…"

"You…" Lute's voice returned at this time, and the expression and temperament on her face also changed accordingly, "...How did you get into my body?"

"Ah… it's a long story…" Feng Bujue replied, "To put it simply… although I got some improvement under Zero's guidance, it is still far from the expected realm. In a situation where time is tight, I came up with a way…"

Before he could finish speaking, Lute took over the body again and continued: "You… actually used yourself as a virus carrier… to infect me!"

"Hahahaha…" Feng Bujue laughed wildly, and Lute's perfect face was forced to make this very tasteless expression, "Actually… when you entered the first form, I have been waiting for the opportunity… the closer your data output is to the peak value, the higher the success rate of my invasion will be. And tendriL_BArrAge_devAstAtor… is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity."

At this time, in the eyes of others, Lute was like a schizophrenic, talking to herself in two different voices. Only Twenty-Three and Gui Xiao could see… the fierce battle on the data level.

"Hmph… do you think you've won like this?" Lute's voice sounded again, and the white light in her eyes suddenly rose, as if she had begun to fight back.

"Yes, I won." Feng Bujue snatched the words, "Everyone! Quit the scenario quickly!" He shouted loudly, then manipulated Lute's body to spin violently in mid-air and rushed straight towards the Exploding Tunnel…

"What do you think you're doing!" Lute shouted sharply.

Her face became distorted, and strange changes occurred in her body… clusters of dark red substances jumped and surged on the surface of her clothes (the clothes are also part of Lute's body, which will heal itself like skin).

"Of course I know what I'm doing." Feng Bujue said, his voice was firm and calm, "From beginning to end, my purpose has been very clear…" He paused, "I once asked you… 'Are you willing to give up'. At that time, you still had a way out… your partners were not dead yet, you could stop the plan and take them away. Unfortunately… you rejected me."

As they spoke, the Exploding Tunnel was close at hand.

"And I… hate being rejected by others."

Boom—

The moment Lute rushed into the Exploding Tunnel, this dimensional cave collapsed.

But seeing a dark light surge back, a bang rang out.

The next second, Lute's figure disappeared along with the Exploding Tunnel.

At the same time, the screens in the various broadcasting areas of the game also turned pitch black…