Chapter 198
Xing Nuo poured tea for the ability users in the conference room.
Several ability users were discreetly observing Xing Nuo, curious about this human so cherished by monsters.
The teenager was fair-skinned, tall and slender, with a straight back. His most striking feature was his eyes, dark and bright like obsidian, sparkling like a miniature galaxy.
His light, curly hair, almost golden under the conference room lights, added to his striking appearance.
Xing Nuo, noticing their stares, looked at one of them, who quickly coughed and looked away.
“Why is he looking at me?” he asked Lu Qi mentally.
Lu Qi, just a system, unable to understand human psychology, offered a possible explanation.
“Maybe…he thinks you’re pretty.” His voice was tinged with a hint of amusement.
Xing Nuo chuckled, about to reply, when Shen Yan, who had been deep in thought, spoke.
“The most pressing issue is how to prevent the barrier between our worlds from shattering.”
The SIA chief and the other elite ability users looked at Shen Yan expectantly, their hearts pounding.
Shen Yan, a monster who had built a vast empire in the horror world, his dungeons spread far and wide, a faint smile playing on his lips, said:
“It’s not that difficult. I’ve been observing the spatial rift for a long time. The barrier is weakening because of a problem in your world.”
Xing Nuo knew this.
Lu Qi had told him about the small crack in the human world’s dimensional barrier, seemingly insignificant, but capable of pulling people into the horror world under certain circumstances, like eclipses or extreme emotional states.
And coincidentally, the horror world was on the other side of that crack.
Humans, struggling to survive in that monster-infested world, had awakened their abilities as a means of self-preservation.
Shen Yan, having lived for a long time, having witnessed these events, although lacking Lu Qi’s higher-dimensional perspective and access to information, had, with his sharp mind, pieced together the truth.
“About thirty years ago, I noticed a new species in our world: humans. I observed them and realized they were too weak to survive.”
“But your world’s Guardian is kind.”
“Despite the crack in the barrier, to protect the humans from the monsters, it sacrificed some of its own energy and rules, creating a safe haven for them, Central City, and providing them with life-saving props, helping them awaken their abilities in the dungeons.”
The chief and the other ability users were stunned, their eyes widening. They hadn’t known the origin of Central City and the props.
“Our world’s Guardian?”
Shen Yan nodded. “The Guardian is the will and the rules of the world.”
The chief asked, “Your world also has one?”
Shen Yan shook his head. “No. The horror world is different. It’s made up of dungeons, each with its own rules and will, determined by the core monster.”
The chief understood. In a way, the core monster of a dungeon was also a mini-Guardian.
But the human world’s Guardian was passive, rarely interfering, just silently protecting its people.
Unlike Shen Yan’s world, where the core monsters were brutal and bloodthirsty, their dungeons often cruel and deadly.
“The Guardian’s sacrifice weakened the barrier, creating a vicious cycle. More humans fell into the horror world, and the Guardian, trying to protect them, sacrificed more energy, weakening the barrier further.”
The chief sighed. “Is there a way to fix it?”
Shen Yan nodded. “Of course. The simplest solution is to replenish the barrier’s energy.”
The chief felt a pang of frustration.
“But where do we get that much energy?”
Shen Yan, his chin resting on his hand, his eyes half-closed, his expression indifferent, didn’t answer.
The chief and the other ability users discussed this, but they couldn’t find a solution. They didn’t have that much energy.
Xing Nuo, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke:
“There is enough energy. Sang Ming absorbed a lot, didn’t he?”
The ability users stopped their discussion and looked at Xing Nuo, then at each other, their eyes widening in realization.
Sang Ming, having killed so many people in dungeons, and having absorbed the energy of two high-level monsters, if they could extract that energy, it might be enough to repair the barrier.
The chief, having brought a few analysts, they quickly did some calculations, and their faces lit up.
“It’s feasible!”
“So, we have to kill Sang Ming!”
Shen Yan smiled, glancing at his brother, his eyes filled with pride.
Xing Nuo, embarrassed by the attention, his ears turning pink, smiled shyly.
Just then, the door opened, and a voice echoed through the room:
“I can help you kill Sang Ming.”
It was Wen Xingxue.
Having used a prop to return to the real world, his form invisible, but his voice, amplified by another prop, clear and distinct.
The chief, who had studied Wen Xingxue’s file, the top-ranked player, his heart pounding with excitement, almost jumped out of his chair.
“Excellent! With your help, our chances of success are much higher!”
Wen Xingxue, usually quiet and reserved, surprised them with his detailed plan.
“Some players will join us. They’ll create diversions in the dungeons, keeping the other Guild Zero One members occupied, isolating Sang Ming. You coordinate with the ability users. I’ll kill him.”
Xing Nuo, having re-established his connection with Lu Qi, could see Wen Xingxue.
Seeing his unshaven face and weary expression, he knew he had been pushing himself, spending all his time in dungeons, strengthening his abilities, barely resting.
Wen Xingxue had been determined to clear all the dungeons and find a way to permanently return to the real world.
But now, it seemed repairing the barrier was more important.
The rest of their discussion was highly classified, and Xing Nuo and the other non-essential personnel were asked to leave.
Xing Nuo went to the cafeteria to get lunch for his brother, but Shen Yan and Wen Xingxue were still in their meeting when it was time for school.
He left the lunchbox on Shen Yan’s desk with a note, telling him to eat, and went to school.
Having missed his morning classes, he returned to his classroom and found his desk piled high with test papers.
“What happened? Why so many tests?!” he asked, his eyes wide with alarm, his heart pounding at the sight of the thick stack of papers.
His deskmate, his face pale and drawn, looking exhausted, said listlessly:
“Several teachers came this morning, gave us tests, then explained the answers.”
Xing Nuo slumped onto his chair and groaned.
“High school is torture! I’m never skipping class again!”
He spent the entire afternoon catching up, and, thanks to his solid foundation, he managed to finish all the tests.
For a while, life seemed to return to normal.
Xing Nuo went to school, studied, and came home, his days filled with homework and exams; his dad continued his cooking and gardening experiments; his brother was busy with work; and they rarely had dinner together as a family.
But Xing Nuo enjoyed this peaceful, ordinary life, the familiar routine comforting.
Early summer arrived, the weather turning hot and humid, and Xing Nuo’s college entrance exam was approaching.
The teachers stopped teaching new material, focusing on practice tests and mock exams.
Xing Nuo, having just finished another mock exam, counting down the days until the real one, his heart filled with a quiet determination, returned home.
The apartment was empty, and he looked around, puzzled.
“Where’s everyone?”
Lu Qi, the ever-reliable system, informed him:
“They’re helping the ability users kill Sang Ming.”
Xing Nuo froze, surprised. He hadn’t realized the final showdown was today.
His heart pounding, his anxiety growing, he picked up his backpack, then put it down, and said to Lu Qi:
“Lu Qi, can you take me there? I’m worried.”
At the dimensional rift.
After almost two months of planning, the final battle was about to begin.
Shen Wen and Shen Yan, using their dungeon powers, along with other players, had trapped the Guild Zero One members in several dungeons.
Wen Xingxue, in his usual black attire, his face pale and cold, his knife in hand, stood before Sang Ming.
Sang Ming, realizing he had been tricked, looked at Wen Xingxue and the human ability users, a cruel smile twisting his lips.
“Such a waste, Wen Xingxue. I tried to recruit you. You could have had everything: power, wealth, women.”
Wen Xingxue, not wasting his breath, lunged, his blade slashing at Sang Ming’s arm.
But the blade bounced off harmlessly.
“A few years ago, you might have had a chance. But now…hahaha, I’m invincible!”
Sang Ming, empowered by the system he had been feeding, his eyes gleaming with a manic energy, his gaze fixed on Wen Xingxue, clearly wanting to absorb him.
“Join my collection, or be destroyed.”
Wen Xingxue hadn’t expected him to be this strong. Even with the help of several elite players and ability users, they couldn’t defeat him.
He was thrown back, but Shen Wen, appearing just in time, caught him.
“Are you okay?”
Wen Xingxue nodded, smiling faintly at Shen Wen.
Then, his eyes widening, he pushed Shen Wen out of the way, taking the blow meant for him, Sang Ming’s blade slicing through his flesh.
Xing Nuo, brought there secretly by Lu Qi, saw his dad fall, covered in blood.
His mind went blank, his face draining of color, his breath catching in his throat.
Lu Qi, however, his voice calm and calculating, said:
“Sang Ming is too strong. But there’s still hope.”
Shen Yan and Shen Baizhou, who had been hiding, emerged, their massive, monstrous forms radiating an overwhelming power that almost eclipsed Sang Ming’s.
