Chapter 1 "Yo~"

“Yo~ Hello everyone.” Feng Bujue strolled into the conference room, appearing relaxed and at ease. No one could tell… that just a short while ago, he had participated in a strange gamble related to a mysterious organization, and made a well-known entrepreneur who often appeared in the news vanish from the world.

“I saw you hadn’t come back, so I logged in first,” Ruoyu said after seeing him, sitting at the conference table.

“It’s a good thing you made it in time…” Miss An added, “We were just discussing… if you were absent today, whether we could communicate with customer service and the game company… to let us compete in a ‘no spectators’ state.”

“Heh… don’t worry.” Feng Bujue replied with a smile, “Even if I don’t make it home in time, I’ll find a way to connect online with some device.”

“Speaking of which…” Ruoyu then said, “After lunch you said you were going out with Ouyang Jian to handle some business, and then you didn’t appear until now…” She paused, giving Jue-ge a meaningful look, “You two… didn’t really go extort the Shi Dao people, did you?”

Everyone sitting in this conference room was one of their own, so Ruoyu wasn’t afraid to bring these things out into the open. When Xiaotan, Xiaoling, and Miss An heard the words “extortion,” they were only briefly surprised, and soon… they accepted this setting and genuinely believed that it wouldn’t be strange for Feng Bujue to do such a thing.

“Not quite,” Feng Bujue said. “We just went to Shi Dao’s office building and had a chat with their chairman.”

“And the result…” Ruoyu gestured for Jue-ge to continue.

“I think their company won’t have the energy to ‘take care of me’ for a long time,” Feng Bujue replied ambiguously.

“Jue-ge…” Xiaotan understood Jue-ge quite well, and he immediately narrowed his eyes and said, “Hey… you guys didn’t kill or drive the other party crazy, did you?”

“Hehe…” Feng Bujue smiled, “What are you saying…” He shrugged, shifting his gaze elsewhere, “Even if he really dies or goes crazy in the near future… it won’t have any direct relationship with me.”

“Which means…” Ruoyu continued, “…there’s an indirect relationship?”

“Heh…” Jue-ge smiled, but still didn’t reveal any definite information, “I estimate… there will be news about this matter in a few days, anyway, I can’t explain it clearly in a short time, you guys can just read it yourselves then.” Having said that, he took the opportunity to change the subject, “Alright, let’s hurry up and form the team, there are only two minutes (real-time) left to prepare to enter the queue.”

…

At the same time, Shi Dao Studio.

“Let me sort things out…” In the general manager’s office, Shi Dao’s General Manager Liu was speaking to Captain Wu of the security department across the table, “At that time… the chairman suddenly called your place, asking you to gather all the security guards within three minutes… run to the top floor, help him search the entire floor, and guard the door of his office, not allowing anyone to enter.” He paused for a second, “And about ten minutes later, a lawyer named Ouyang, and… that novelist named ‘Feng Bujue’, respectively holding a briefcase and a tablet computer… walked out of the chairman’s office…”

“Yes,” Captain Wu nodded in response.

“And you just let them go like that?” Manager Liu asked.

“Uh… the chairman ordered us to let them go,” Captain Wu replied.

“How did he order it?” Manager Liu frowned and pressed.

“He… gave me another call,” Captain Wu replied, adding half a second later, “Just as those two walked out of the chairman’s office door.”

“Oh?” Manager Liu looked suspicious and muttered, “Then why didn’t he come out of the chairman’s office and tell you himself? It’s just a few steps…”

“I don’t know…” Captain Wu shook his head.

“Alright…” Manager Liu nodded, “Continue…”

Captain Wu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued, “After that Lawyer Ouyang and the novelist surnamed Feng left the top floor, the chairman immediately called me again, asking me to withdraw the team and return to my post.” He said while recalling, “Later… after about ten more minutes, I saw the chairman and a man in Tang-style clothing walk out of his office together through the surveillance camera, and walk into the elevator.”

“Who’s that again?” Manager Liu interrupted.

“Uh… I don’t know,” Captain Wu replied somewhat awkwardly, “Of the three people who came out of the chairman’s office tonight… besides that Lawyer Ouyang, who had made an appointment when he came, and also had the pass we issued, the other two had no record of entering the building…”

“So that’s your negligence?” Manager Liu asked in a questioning tone.

“Um… I…” Captain Wu couldn’t think of any excuse, and could only reply, “I’ve already sent people to check the surveillance footage, maybe we can find out how they snuck…”

“Alright, there’s no need for that…” Manager Liu interrupted, “At this point, doing those things is meaningless…” He frowned deeply and pursed his lips, “If something really happens to the chairman this time… it will alarm the police sooner or later, and then the police will naturally go to check the footage, just cooperate with their work.”

“Yes… yes…” Captain Wu replied.

“So, what happened next?” Manager Liu asked again, “You just watched the chairman being taken away by that man in Tang-style clothing?”

“Uh… he…” Captain Wu hesitated and replied, “The chairman… didn’t look like he was being taken away.”

Manager Liu continued, “Don’t tell me he followed that person on his own accord?”

“That’s right.” Captain Wu nodded, “We saw from the surveillance that the chairman was wearing sunglasses, covering most of his face, and using one hand to support that person’s shoulder, following behind that person… the two of them took the elevator down to the first floor lobby and walked out of the building.” He curled his lips helplessly, “The security guards in the lobby also recognized the chairman, but because he looked like he was voluntarily following someone, no one stepped forward to stop him.”

“Hmm…” Manager Liu fell into contemplation, and after a moment, he continued, “In short… let’s suppress this matter for now. The chairman is, after all, an adult, and since he wasn’t forced to leave, there may be some hidden circumstances… let’s not jump to conclusions or get anxious, maybe he’ll come to the company to work as usual tomorrow…” He looked at Captain Wu and winked, “I… will try to contact the chairman again, and if I really can’t reach him, I’ll call his home later and roughly describe the situation, and then they can decide how to handle it…” While he was saying these words, he seemed to have sorted out his thoughts, and at the end, he breathed a sigh of relief, “Even if we really have to call the police, it would be more appropriate for the chairman’s family to report it… you’re right, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, yes~” Captain Wu nodded like a rattle, “Manager Liu is absolutely right…”

For Captain Wu, at this moment, it was excellent to have someone with a clearer mind to calculate the accounts, shirk responsibility, and make decisions.

“Alright…” Manager Liu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, “You go back to work too, tonight… I have a lot of things to do.”

“Okay, Manager Liu, I’ll go first.” Captain Wu responded and quickly left the general manager’s office.

After Captain Wu closed the door, Manager Liu’s expression suddenly turned gloomy. Seconds later, he took out a very old mobile phone from his pocket and pressed a speed dial key.

“Hello? Yes… it’s me.” Manager Liu said in a deep voice, “Yes… I’ve already arranged everything, at least I can buy more than ten hours… Okay… I understand… I’ll do everything according to Mr. Kujo’s wishes…” He paused, “By the way… about tonight’s match… I’ve already replaced the medicine for Team One, the effect will dissipate after the match starts, is that okay?”

…

Midnight, that is, zero o'clock on November 9th.

The third round of Aozhan Sijie, the battle of 64 into 32, begins…

【Feng Bujue, Level 50】

【Wang Tanzhi, Level 50】

【Siyu Ruoli, Level 50】

【Bei Ling Xiaogu, Level 50】

【Shishang Huajian, Level 50】

【Please select the game mode you want your team to join.】

【You have selected Pinnacle Melee S2 - Aozhan Sijie, please confirm.】

【Confirmed, please select the spectator for this battle.】

【Confirmed, your team has entered the queue, waiting for your opponent to be ready.】

【Matching complete, coordinating neural connections, script generation in progress…】

【Loading begins, please wait.】

“The smoke of war has just settled, blood is still warm, Aozhan rises again without waiting. All the stars gather in the Four Realms, Unrestrained ambition soars beyond the nine heavens.”

【Loading complete, welcome to Pinnacle Melee S2 - Aozhan Sijie.】

【This mode provides a script introduction, and there is a chance of side hidden missions and special worldviews.】

【Script victory reward: Advance to the fourth round of the rematch.】

【The script introduction is about to play, and the competition will start immediately after the playback is completed.】

After a familiar system prompt, the opening CG began to play.

【Centennial Ancient Town, Fierce Calamity Suddenly Arrives.】

【Millennial Ancient Temple, Bloody Shadows Loom.】

This time, the opening remarks were concise and to the point. However, the CG screen showed a very harmonious scene…

【Heyue Town, known for its beautiful scenery; there is an ancient temple on the mountain west of the town, named "Liuhe Temple", which is a thousand-year-old temple.】

Along with the narration, a small town in Jiangnan with mountains and rivers appeared in the players’ eyes.

【More than a hundred years ago, a group of refugees fled from afar, and the monks in the temple gave them rice and porridge, saving their lives. Since then, the refugees have reclaimed farmland at the foot of Liuhe Temple Mountain, widened the river channels, and built this town.】

【After a hundred years of vicissitudes, Heyue Town has become a world-renowned Buddhist holy place and a land of fish and rice.】

【However, in the hundredth year after the completion of Heyue Town, a rumor about Liuhe Temple spread like wildfire…】

The narration took a turn here, and the CG screen also changed its style.

【Legend has it that a Buddhist secret treasure is enshrined in the temple…】

The camera moved quickly, flying over the Liuhe Temple from a bird's-eye view.

【There are nine gates and nine pivots in the temple… a total of ninety-nine and eighty-one restrictions, sealing the secret treasure. And the method of unlocking the restrictions has been passed down by the abbots from generation to generation, and strictly kept secret.】

While saying this, the camera was locked on a pagoda in the temple.

【In a certain year, a group of famous bandits in the martial world set their sights on this secret treasure and sneaked into the temple one night…】

The narration ended here, but the CG was not over…

But I saw, the camera went black… the next second, pale and hideous faces, empty dead eyes, bloody bodies… flashed across the screen at high speed. The players also heard countless mournful wails and crazy laughter.

Just as this terrifying combination of sound and picture came rushing toward them… the script began.

The moment Feng Bujue regained his ability to act, he clearly felt – cold.

It was a cold that penetrated the bone marrow, a cold from the inside out… Even though the surrounding temperature was not very low, he could actually breathe out white mist.

“Has the picturesque land of fish and rice become like this…” Jue-ge scanned the surrounding environment as soon as possible, and as a result, he saw dilapidated houses, broken stone bridges, muddy roads, withered plants… Of course, the most noteworthy thing was – blood.

Whether it was on the walls, stone slabs, mud, or even on the withered tree trunks and roadside rocks… bloodstains could be found.

The color of the blood was dark red, mostly irregular shapes, and a few were in the shape of “handprints”; in addition to the strong smell of blood, they also exuded a pungent stench.

【Main Quest Triggered】

【Kill four members of the "Shi Dao Ichiban Team."】

The system prompt quickly sounded, announcing the official start of the competition. But at this time, Jue-ge looked around and didn’t see a single figure.

It seemed… that this script threw the players in various parts of the town from the very beginning, and… this was probably a ghost town.

“Hmm… let me see…” Feng Bujue muttered as soon as he opened his mouth.

While speaking, he also squatted down, casually smeared some of the blood on the ground, and looked at it carefully in front of his eyes, bringing it to his nose to smell it carefully… Just when the audience watching the game thought Jue-ge was going to put his finger in his mouth and lick it, he shook his hand and stood up again.

“So…” Jue-ge muttered thoughtfully, “What’s the situation going to be…” He glanced around again, “Did hundreds of people with blood clotting disorders have a melee here?” His eyes changed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, “Or… am I already in some strange ‘barrier’…” Two seconds later, he shook his head indifferently, restoring his frivolous look, “If it’s the latter… then I have to be careful in this environment where blood can’t clot… maybe a few small wounds will be fatal…”

Tu-tu-tu-tu…

Just as Jue-ge said that, suddenly… a burst of gunfire sounded behind him.