Chapter 15 Fifteen Minutes After the Blast Tunnel Opened

Five kilometers south of the quarantined zone, a player ranked among the top twenty in combat power was under attack by two Derivates.

Boom—

A violent tremor blasted a thick cloud of smoke and dust from the side of the street. Before the smoke could clear, three figures tore through the haze and resumed their deadly dance.

For a time, a storm of fists and the clang of metal filled the air.

"Tch... who the hell..." Cai Bupa Ne thought to herself, "Are there two guys like this in the top fifty..."

If Feng Bujue were here, he would tell her unequivocally—no. Because Brother Jue had already watched the [Butterfly Battle] recordings of all forty-nine players except himself, and he remembered everyone's nicknames, appearances, and fighting styles.

"Hic..." Suddenly, a burp rang out, and a man with a cigarette in his mouth, a bottle of liquor in his hand, and permed hair appeared at the end of the street.

The two Derivates, upon hearing the sound, immediately ceased their attack on Bupa and leaped back, warily eyeing the newcomer in the distance.

Data recognition:

—Bypassing firewall...

—Downloading data...

—Initiating countermeasure strategy...

Appearance recognition database initiated, downloading, writing correction writing writing.

[Player nickname: Meng Jingchan]

[Level: 41]

[Title: Drunken Silver Sword]

[Height: 180 cm]

[Weight: 70 kg]

[Skills: ???]

[Equipment: ???]

[Danger level: High]

Voice recognition: Established.

Location: y-142.

Tracking: Unable to initiate.

Control status: Out of control.

Tactical control options: Calculating...

Since these two were only third-level Derivates from the Source Organization and had not undergone any mutations or enhancements, their combat power was far inferior to members of the second level or higher. Although they could perform a certain degree of data analysis on players, pitting them against top players in a fair fight would likely end in disaster.

"The probability of capturing a single target has dropped to 7%, and it's still decreasing," one of the Derivates said to his partner after seeing Meng Jingchan.

"Mm... the probability of capturing both of them together is nearing zero," the other Derivate responded. "Let's call for reinforcements."

"Okay, I'll call..." The Derivate didn't finish his sentence.

A flash of silver light, and a head went flying.

The one who struck was Meng Jingchan.

He had instantly crossed several zhang to deliver a fatal blow.

If Meng Jingchan's movements were replayed in slow motion, one would see this... At that moment, he used the index finger and thumb of his right hand to remove the nearly finished cigarette from his mouth, flicking it into the air. Then, with the same hand, he drew the quick sword at his waist. Simultaneously, his feet had executed a shrunken earth technique, allowing him to advance more than ten meters with lightning speed.

Therefore... the sword had just been drawn from its sheath, and he was already in front of the enemy.

His sword was so fast, unbelievably fast. So much so that... the flying cigarette and the falling head landed at the exact same second.

"Don't judge me by appearances..." Meng Jingchan said his catchphrase again, "I used to be a master, too~"

"You're still a master, right..." Cai Bupa Ne muttered to herself. After a few seconds, she shuddered, thinking of what would happen if that sword had been aimed at her.

"Humans... despicable!" The surviving Derivate revealed a look of fury. He gritted his teeth, roared, and charged forward, seemingly wanting to fight Meng Jingchan to the death.

But... a long-handled giant hammer swept in from the side, using his forward momentum to smash into his chest.

Thus, the second Derivate also met his end there.

"Why did you help me?" Cai Bupa Ne swung the [Raging Lightning Pestle] (an upgraded version of the "Thunderous Lightning Pestle" she used in the cloak contest), then turned to Meng Jingchan and said, "There's no damsel in distress scenario in a place like this, right?"

Meng Jingchan shrugged, sheathed his sword, picked up the liquor bottle again, took a swig, and then replied, "This girl, don't you find those two 'people' who attacked you... a little strange?"

"Oh?" Cai Bupa Ne tentatively asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean... they're not players," Meng Jingchan replied.

"Are you sure?" Cai Bupa Ne continued, "Those two weren't weak, and their fighting style didn't seem like that of NPCs..."

"Ha..." Meng Jingchan interrupted her with a laugh, "Your 'Jianghu' side... is a bit too lax, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Cai Bupa Ne didn't understand what he meant.

"Our studio... has set a strict rule requiring all players participating in the finals to memorize the basic information of the top fifty players, and there's even a test..." Meng Jingchan said, lighting another cigarette. "Don't judge me by appearances... I barely passed."

"Just say you know all the final players," Bupa replied. "Don't bring up our 'Jianghu,' I'm not a professional player."

"Alright..." Meng Jingchan said, "Anyway... the point I'm trying to make is that those two aren't players, but..."

"Derivates." Another unfamiliar voice sounded.

Meng Jingchan and Cai Bupa Ne simultaneously looked toward the source of the voice.

The source was a dilapidated building on the side of the street. In fact, that building was the one that Bupa and the two Derivates had just wrecked during their fight...

Buzz buzz buzz...

Accompanied by a strange sound, a crystal-like object floating in mid-air slowly drifted out.

"What's the situation?" Meng Jingchan took another sip of beer, then said, "Could this be the legendary... coffin-riding flight?"

"I've only heard of sword-riding flight..." The crystal, namely [Invisible Demon], replied, "Besides... I don't look like a coffin at all." Its voice and tone were quite pleasant, sounding like a friendly radio program host, giving off a big brother next door vibe.

"And what... are you?" Cai Bupa Ne hesitated before finishing her sentence, because as she spoke, she was considering whether to end the question with "who" or "what thing." Since the former wasn't quite appropriate and the latter wasn't very polite, she ultimately used a more moderate wording.

"I am, Invisible Demon," Invisible Demon replied. "Ranked among the Nine Nether Lords." It paused for a moment. "My purpose here is to respectfully inform the two of you... to abandon your struggle against each other and jointly fight against the Derivates."

"Oh... is that so?" Meng Jingchan said. "Actually, I had the same intention..." This was naturally the truth, otherwise he wouldn't have saved Cai Bupa Ne.

Meng Jingchan seemed unreliable on the surface, but he was essentially a sensible person. He had once dealt with the Derivate Scarlet Iron alongside Brother Jue, so he knew the strength of those Derivates very well, and he understood... that the matter before them was not so simple...