Chapter 617: Old Friends (Two in One)

In an instant, all eyes focused on Chen Nian and on Yan Jing atop his shoulder.

"Hello, everyone."

Yan Jing looked completely at ease, even a little smug, like a star soaking up the spotlight center stage.

"Buzz."

Waves of invisible killing intent rippled through the air.

In a corner, a palm-sized figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow, rushing to shield Yan Jing.

But just as it leaped into the air, a hand reached out and set it back on a shoulder.

"Don't rush, Mr. Rat. Mr. Mao Si is much stronger than you think."

Luo Sheng said gently, smiling.

"Perhaps we should give him a moment."

Before he finished speaking, weird energy surged around a figure in the distance.

It came from the direction of the Life Heavenly Kingdom.

A man in a red trench coat launched a sudden attack. He had previously exuded a mild temperament, but as he opened his mouth, a thick stench of blood poured out. A second later, his entire body transformed. His bones cracked like popping beans, and his muscles tore and bulged, his frame expanding rapidly in the wind.

A giant now stood in his place. The surrounding crowd hastily retreated, clearing a space for him.

"Let's see if you're really that capable!"

The man reached out and swatted at Yan Jing and Chen Nian.

Whoosh.

Yan Jing extended a paw. Above his and Chen Nian's heads, a pitch-black rift formed.

The rift tore open, expanding into a massive black hole.

Bang!

The man had no time to pull back. His fist, the size of a small hill, plunged into the black hole.

A second later, his expression shifted drastically, twisting in agony.

Then...

A violent scream.

Blood—endless blood spurted from the black hole. The man tried with all his might to yank his arm out, but he failed. He managed to withdraw only a severed stump. The moment he broke free, he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Chen Nian calmly opened his umbrella, shielding them from the sudden rain of blood.

As for the others...

Most weren't so lucky. Those who moved slowly were drenched in foul-smelling blood, while the slightly faster ones still ended up splattered. "Does the Life Heavenly Kingdom only send this kind of trash to fight your Cat Fourth Master?"

Yan Jing immediately started taunting them.

The members of the Life Heavenly Kingdom ground their teeth in rage.

"If you want to die, I'll gladly oblige."

Finally, another figure made a move.

It was one of the two saints from the Life Heavenly Kingdom.

A long-haired man in a black leather jacket. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, with a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He looked quite a bit like a punk rocker from the last century.

But the moment he spoke, everyone sensed something was wrong.

The air...

...seemed to turn damp.

Invisible moisture gathered in the air. It felt as if grabbing a handful of it would squeeze out actual raindrops.

The man was creating a sea.

No—he himself was the incarnation of the sea.

The Sea Saint, one of the Three Saints.

Rumor had it that he had ingested at least tens of thousands of Gene Potions related to marine life.

He was the sole survivor of the Saint Creation Project from back then.

Although he didn't have a bizarre origin like the other two saints, merely breaking through the limits of his life level out of hundreds of thousands of test subjects was a miracle in itself. But...

Just as everyone thought a massive battle was about to begin.

A figure swept past the two of them and walked straight into Old Sin City.

For a moment, there was dead silence.

Who was it?

Someone muttered the question, but the figure had moved so fast that hardly anyone got a clear look.

Finally, someone figured it out by doing a headcount.

"It's the Xue Family Heir!"

"The Xue Family Heir already went inside?!"

"Now that's real style. He completely ignored the life-and-death struggle out here. He was only waiting for the final participants to arrive, saving the real showdown for what's inside."

"Indeed... the Sea Saint lost some face just now..."

Noisy chatter rose around them, and the Sea Saint's expression darkened.

He had been put on the spot.

He looked in the direction Xue Mo had vanished, feeling as though the guy had done it on purpose.

Ultimately, he gave a cold snort, stubbed out his cigarette, and walked into Old Sin City.

This acted as a signal.

The crowd finally shifted their attention from Mao Si to Old Sin City, swarming the entrance passage.

"Hah, and here your Fourth Master thought he was actually capable."

Yan Jing smiled smugly and patted Chen Nian's shoulder.

"Let's go, Mr. Chen."

Chen Nian nodded and stepped toward the entrance.

He had just scanned the area and spotted several familiar figures, but Yi Ji was nowhere to be seen.

In all likelihood, he had entered Old Sin City ahead of time.

As for the others, though they all recognized one another, no one made a move. Clearly... the time hadn't come yet.

But just as he approached the entrance, he suddenly sensed something and looked in a certain direction.

A second later, a figure walked toward him.

That figure looked extremely similar to him.

Not in appearance, but in their pairing.

The approaching duo also consisted of a large and a small figure.

The small one stood on the large one's shoulder.

It was just that the small one across from him seemed even smaller than the one on his own shoulder.

Moreover, the one across from him was a rat, while his was a cat.

Cats and rats had been mortal enemies since ancient times.

Sure enough, the moment the rat spotted Mao Si, it unleashed a super invincible cyclone flying kick.

The flying kick planted squarely on Mao Si's butt, knocking him off the shoulder.

Chen Nian didn't reach out to block it; he could tell the attacker hadn't used much force.

But Mao Si still tumbled from his shoulder.

The very same cat that had just severed a Tenth Tier expert's arm lay on the ground, looking like he had lost all hope in life.

"Pops, you could at least save some face for your son."

"Heh heh."

Papa Rat stood on Chen Nian's shoulder as if he owned the place, crossing his arms with a sneer.

"I wanted to save some face for you, kid, but from the looks of it, you weren't planning on leaving me with a son."

"That's nonsense!"

Yan Jing sat up and looked at Papa Rat.

"Didn't you see your son's heroic performance just now?"

"Oh? Where?" Papa Rat turned his head, looking around.

"I'm not going to argue with an old man like you."

Yan Jing stood, looked at Luo Sheng opposite them, and bowed slightly.

"Mr. Luo."

"Mr. Mao Si." Luo Sheng also bowed slightly.

"I came this time for a friend."

"Your friend?" Yan Jing blinked.

Luo Sheng immediately mentioned Yi Ji's name.

As he said it, Chen Nian's gaze shifted.

He looked across at Luo Sheng.

"You are... Mr. Luo Sheng?"

He had received a letter Yan Jing sent from Minhu to Old Sin City, which mentioned Luo Sheng.

Luo Sheng blinked.

"You know me?"

"Chen Nian." Chen Nian stepped forward and extended a hand.

"Yi Ji's friend."

"Ah..." Luo Sheng began to laugh.

"Mr. Chen, I've heard Mr. Yi mention you."

Luo Sheng reached out and shook Chen Nian's hand.

"Then... shall we each go about our own business first?"

After shaking hands, the two didn't partner up as one might expect. Luo Sheng posed the question tentatively, and Chen Nian nodded immediately.

"Let's go our separate ways. We'll meet again if fate allows, Mr. Luo."

Luo Sheng nodded, lifted Papa Rat back onto his shoulder, and was the first to disappear into the passage.

Meanwhile, Mao Si climbed back onto Chen Nian's shoulder. Watching Papa Rat walk away, he chuckled and raised a paw into the air.

"Charge, charge, charge! Mr. Chen! Let's go get first place!"

Chen Nian nodded, and the two walked into Old Sin City.

The crowd wasn't as dense as they had imagined. Clearly, this wasn't a game played in sequential order.

{Welcome to: Old Sin}

{Task: Obtain six vouchers to win the ultimate grand prize}

{Note: The six vouchers must all be different}

{Note: Vouchers cannot be transferred}

{Note: Killing an opponent allows you to randomly obtain one of their vouchers}

"Which one should we play first?"

Yan Jing looked at Chen Nian.

Chen Nian scanned their surroundings.

"I'm somewhat familiar with this place. We should first..."

His gaze paused on a certain spot.

"Over there."

Yan Jing followed his gaze.

"Fear Station, the starting station!"

{Countdown... Three...}

{The task is about to begin}

{The location for this task is Old Sin City}

{The spawn location will be a randomly selected small area within Old Sin City}

{Welcome back, Player}

Yan Jing opened his eyes and looked around.

The place seemed to be a basement.

The lighting was dim, the air was heavy with moisture, and...

Yan Jing caught a rotting scent.

It was very faint, but it fit perfectly with the feeling of a basement buried deep underground.

"It's been cleaned up quite well..."

Yan Jing observed his surroundings. Tables were arranged neatly, stacked with pile after pile of documents, meticulously sorted by size, type, and pagination.

Yan Jing casually picked up a sheet of paper.

"Order Management Bureau's Spring Second Quarter Work Assessment"

Alright.

Yan Jing had a good idea of where he was.

He immediately started toward the exit.

There was someone here he felt it wasn't very appropriate to meet right now.

But he was soon blocked by a barrier of light.

{The game has already begun. Please wait patiently}

Alright...

Yan Jing hadn't expected his luck to be this terrible. He had spawned right into the game area.

He looked toward the corner, and his eyes met a familiar gaze.

"The game has already begun."

It was the same familiar iceberg face, the same familiar uniform, and the same familiar tone, utterly devoid of emotion.

Lu Miao.

Former captain of the Order Management Bureau.

Current director of the Order Management Bureau.

"Okay, I was just testing it."

Yan Jing smiled, walked up to Lu Miao, and extended a hand.

"Chief, it's been a long time."

Lu Miao's expression remained placid. She didn't reach out, merely lifting her coffee for a sip.

"Mhm."

A long silence followed.

Yan Jing blinked. After a few seconds of hesitation, he asked,

"When do we start?"

"We're still short two people,"

Lu Miao said coldly.

"We start once everyone is here."

"Then... how about I go take a look at the others first?" Yan Jing looked at Lu Miao.

Lu Miao stared at her coffee.

"The game has already begun."

Yan Jing yielded.

He couldn't just attack and kill her.

Though technically feasible, it would be absurd.

Back then, he and Lu Miao had been on pretty good terms, and she had also taken good care of Mantou when Old Sin City relocated.

Guess he had to wait...

Yan Jing picked up a newspaper and started reading, hoping the remaining players would find this place quickly.

By his estimation, it shouldn't be too hard.

Those guys wouldn't obey any traffic rules. Without a doubt, the Ninth Tier or Tenth Tier entities would just travel straight through Space Rifts. Initially, everyone would likely scatter into different games as much as possible.

And events played out exactly as he envisioned.

Not long after, their quiet reading was shattered by an intruder.

"This place isn't bad."

A man dressed in a white robe, styled like an ancient figure, walked in. He observed his surroundings and smiled.

"It's relatively peaceful."

"Eh? Why is there a human?"

He looked at Yan Jing, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"This makes it even better."

But his happiness didn't last long. Soon, another figure barged in.

Upon getting a clear look at the newcomer, the robed man's expression instantly changed. He bolted for the door.

He was quickly repelled by the barrier of light.

His expression darkened as he glared at Lu Miao.

"Let me go."

Lu Miao remained calm.

"The game has already begun."

"Can't you understand what I'm saying?"

The man's expression sank completely. He stepped forward, ready to attack her.

He was from the Immortal Anomaly.

As a member of the Domain that had first entered Old Sin City to scout, he knew that killing the game manager would naturally end the game early. Blood-red longswords emerged from his back, forming a wheel of swords that drifted toward Lu Miao.

Yan Jing reached out, preparing to block it.

But before he could strike, Lu Miao moved her hand. The wheel of swords seemed to suffer a heavy blow in midair, plummeting to the ground.

The man's expression changed once again.

He had never expected to be so unlucky as to face a resident who had achieved Mutation to the Tenth Tier.

According to the Immortal Anomaly's preliminary estimates, the total number of Tenth Tier Mutation residents in all of Old Sin City wouldn't exceed ten.

Yet he had ended up bumping into one of them.

He still wanted to fight, but the person next to him was already getting impatient.

"If you're going to play, play. If not, die."

Son of Chaos frowned at the man.

This was already the second game he had participated in.

He had quite a bit of experience when it came to winning.

Once the game began, he would just smash everyone else to death one by one, and then slowly figure out the solution.

Cold sweat seeped from the robed man's forehead.

Left with no choice, he walked over and sat down in front of Lu Miao.

"Hey, you. Want to cooperate?"

the man said covertly, looking toward Yan Jing.

Yan Jing said nothing.

The man continued.

"See the guy next to you, idiot? He's the strongest of Chaos in this generation."

"The moment the game officially starts, he'll kill us all immediately."

"Our only chance is to attack together, kill this manager, and escape."

"Listen to me. Strike when the time is right."

Yan Jing still said nothing.

The man's expression darkened thoroughly.

He looked across at Lu Miao. Just as he was about to try a different argument to persuade the human, a sudden, throbbing pain flared through his head.

It was as if countless bizarre thoughts were sprouting in his mind. Regardless of whether he could process them, they relentlessly drilled into his consciousness. He collapsed to the ground in agony, his bloodshot eyes staring at Son of Chaos.

Son of Chaos's expression remained calm.

"Forget it. Let's wait for the next one. This one's useless."

Bang!

As he spoke, the longswords hovering behind the man plunged straight into his own throat.