Volume 4, Chapter 60 – A Battle of Wits Against Thin Air

“This is the place.”

Liang Minyao pointed at a village outside the car window.

Anran turned the steering wheel and drove onto the narrow road leading into the village.

It was an abandoned village. The squad that had uploaded the video was said to have disappeared here. A day later, they had shown up inside that building.

After parking in front of a courtyard, Anran got out beneath an umbrella.

“Aila, keep a close eye on the car. Don’t let anyone come near it,” Anran instructed.

“Mm-hm. Don’t worry, Anran. With these two big guys here, I can take anyone out before they even get close!” Aila patted the two robots.

Compared with Aila’s height and build, those two robots really were enormous.

“Can those two robots actually do anything?” Liang Minyao finally voiced the question she had been wondering about ever since getting into the car.

“Hello, yes, they can.”

“…”

“Come on. Let’s look around first.” Anran tugged Liang Minyao by the shoulder.

When the squad was said to have “disappeared,” it meant that their communications signal had abruptly cut out here.

A lost signal could mean there was a source of interference, their equipment had failed, or someone had deliberately severed the connection.

Since they had later reappeared and sent over a video, signal interference seemed the most likely explanation.

Anran had brought Liang Minyao along partly because she knew the surrounding area, and partly because she possessed the same model of equipment.

After searching the village, Anran discovered that although the signal here was poor, it was nowhere near bad enough to be completely cut off. In the end, they found nothing.

“They came here by car, but the car was still here when they disappeared. Even if they traveled at full speed for an entire day, they couldn’t have gone very far in weather like this. But…” Liang Minyao sighed. “We’re desperately short on manpower right now. There’s no way we can search the entire area.”

“Short on manpower… Hmm. Have you never considered asking the outsiders for help?” Anran asked.

“…Would the outsiders help?”

“Would the outsiders not help?”

“Why would the outsiders help?”

“Smack!”

“Forget it. I’m done talking to you. I’m going to find Rodney.” Anran was deeply disappointed in these NPCs. They had an enormous gold mine right in front of them, yet they had no idea how to use it properly. Idiots!!!

Half a day later, a post appeared on the forum for players aligned with the government forces of No. 1886.

[Nine Songs has issued an emergency mission. Location: Lunga Town, Tabus Western Continent (XXX, XXX). Mission name: Find the Hidden Place. Rewards: 10,000 EXP, 10,000 Bilu, and one reconnaissance quadcopter robot. Interested players should travel to Lunga Town and speak with Rodney or Anran to accept the mission.]

[Meow meow meow? What is this? An ad?]

[Someone would actually share a mission with rewards this good on the forum? Are you freaking kidding me?!]

[Is this some new kind of scam?]

[Go or don’t. I don’t care!]

[Key point: Anran!]

[Wasn’t Anran on South Island? Why is she suddenly on the Tabus Western Continent?]

[You don’t know shit. The goddess can go wherever she wants!]

[I really accepted the mission! Brothers, I’m off on an adventure!]

[And here comes the shill.]

[I accepted it too. Look at the screenshot.]

[Who’s that? Some middle-aged uncle? Where’s Anran?]

…

“Will this really work?” Rodney asked as he watched the player disappear into the distance.

“When it comes to certain things, outsiders are far more efficient and useful than that bunch of subordinates under you.”

Anran curled her lip. She was both a little pained and a little surprised.

The mission was only to find a building, yet the reward was absurdly high.

She had initially set the reward at 5,000 EXP, but the game notified her that the reward was insufficient and the mission could not be issued. She kept raising it until it finally succeeded at the current amount.

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There had to be some huge bo… some huge secret behind this!

Now all she had to do was wait patiently. The storm outside had not let up, and the sky remained gloomy. Anran would not find much by searching the wilderness alone, so she decided to take Aila to Trade Station No. 1 in the meantime.

…

“A lot of outsiders have suddenly appeared nearby. They seem to be searching for something.” Several people were holding their routine daily meeting inside a brightly lit room.

“Can we confirm their objective?”

“We need a little more time.”

Someone nodded. “Then leave it alone for now. The summer storm is about to arrive, so every arrangement must be checked carefully. Let’s verify all the data first.”

“Let’s start with Trade Station No. 3.”

“Wait. Where’s Heloise?”

“Someone from the enclosure needed to see her. Leave her be. She isn’t responsible for this anyway.”

“All right, Dawn.”

…

It was more than two hundred kilometers from Lunga Town to Trade Station No. 1.

The first section was a narrow road. Once she merged onto the highway, Anran happily began speeding through the downpour.

This was the road to Trade Station No. 1.

There were almost no other vehicles, so she could drive as fast as she pleased.

After an hour and a half, Anran finally reached her destination.

“It’s huge!”

Aila pressed herself against the window and stared in amazement at the colossal structure outside.

Before this, Anran had only seen the trade station’s outline on paper. It was only after approaching it in person that she understood just how massive this product of alien technology truly was.

“It really is enormous!”

Even when viewed from the edge of the defensive perimeter, the tower in the hovering zone still looked impossibly thick and immense.

It seemed as though it would pierce the sky.

Anran even spotted a tiny black speck. That’s right, a spaceship!

It was currently docked on a cantilever extending from the tower.

Visitors were allowed to enter the section between the defensive perimeter and the rest area. As for the hovering zone, entry was strictly prohibited to everyone except authorized personnel.

“Come on. Let’s take a look inside.” Anran pressed the accelerator and slowly drove in.

She took Aila around Trade Station No. 1.

After memorizing the surrounding terrain, Anran began the return journey.

The road back remained completely unobstructed. After driving for a little over half an hour, Anran suddenly slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a stop.

“Anran, Anran! The rain split apart!”

At the place Aila was pointing to, the torrential rain had somehow broken off just before reaching the ground.

The gap was about half a meter wide.

It lasted only a moment, but Anran’s sharp eyes still caught it.

There was definitely something strange going on.

The rain outside soon returned to normal, but a game notification had already appeared in Anran’s mind.

“Compulsory emergency mission [Assassination] triggered.”

The mission could not be refused, but the notification confirmed that the situation was exactly as Anran had suspected.

At times, the mission system was practically a divine artifact. Warnings like this gave her a considerable advantage when dealing with other NPCs.

“Whoosh!”

Another gust swept past. A moment later, Anran discovered that a figure had appeared in front of the car.

“Bang! Bang!”

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At such close range, Anran rolled down the window, drew her scattergun, and pulled the trigger twice in quick succession.

Then something astonishing happened. All four explosive rounds passed straight through the figure and vanished into the heavy curtain of rain.

“A phantom?”

Crap.

Anran immediately ducked down while raising a slab of Lig Alloy. Even though she reacted so quickly, a bullet still grazed her arm.

“Crack!”

The window on the other side shattered into a spiderweb of cracks. Aila had bent down in time and was unhurt. She grabbed Anran by the shoulder and asked anxiously, “Anran, Anran! You’re bleeding! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Be careful too, Aila.”

Her Low-Level Recovery Resilience talent increased her recovery ability by thirty percent. Combined with her current 65 Endurance, a minor graze like this would heal quickly. Just like the old satirical joke said, the wound would heal on the way to the hospital.

But if Anran had not dodged fast enough, the shot would have struck her in the head. If a large-caliber bullet like that scored a critical hit on a weak point, even with her current HP, she would immediately fall into a weakened state.

This was a serious crisis.

Anran had no idea how many enemies were outside, and there was still that bizarre phantom in front of the car. It would not be long before the vehicle shielding them turned into a cage.

They had to get out.

Anran reached into the back seat, pulled out a rifle, and handed it to Aila. “Aila, I’m going to open the door and jump out. I’ll be counting on you to find the shooter.”

“Leave it to me, Anran!”

Aila held the rifle with a solemn expression.

Someone had dared to hurt Anran. She would show them no mercy.

Because the enemy had not revealed themselves, the two robots in the back seat were truly nothing more than lumps of iron.

Anran opened the door and shoved it outward. In the same instant, she shot into the rain.

“Bang!”

Several bullets followed, striking the puddles kicked up by Anran’s footsteps. Aila, lying low inside the car, pinpointed the shooter’s location and swiftly pulled the trigger.

“Bang!”

“Whoosh!”

An explosion sounded.

Anran’s expression changed. A moment earlier, she had clearly seen the rain behind her heel split apart again. This time, however, the gap was much smaller than before, only about as thick as an arm.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Out in the rain, the SUV suffered the consequences. Its windows were blasted to pieces. Anran did not slow down for even a moment as she charged toward the place the bullets had come from.

“Boom!”

Anran’s steps faltered for an instant.

The sound had come from behind her. She spun around and saw that the phantom had already reached the SUV, while Aila had rolled out of the vehicle.

She had literally rolled out. The driver’s seat of the SUV had been cleaved cleanly in two.

Holy shit!

“Bang!”

“Ugh!”

A -132 floated above her head. Anran knew she had been shot, but fortunately, it had not struck a vital area.

That phantom could launch physical attacks?

Anran fired several more times, but it was still useless. The bullets continued to pass straight through it.

A sword appeared in the phantom’s hand. It slashed at Aila on the ground, and the curtain of rain split apart.

“Sword energy?” The term suddenly flashed through Anran’s mind. For the moment, she could think of no other explanation.

But how could an incorporeal phantom release sword energy?

Was this freaking thing some kind of projected clone from a fantasy novel?

According to Scout, it really was only a phantom.

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Aila rolled aside and dodged the sword energy, but the rifle in her hands was knocked clean away. She tried to retrieve it, only for the distant shooter to switch targets and fire directly at her chest.

“…”

Damn it. This time, they really were matching wits with thin air.

The phantom could attack them, yet their attacks had no effect on it whatsoever. It seemed the only solution was to eliminate whoever was controlling it.

With that thought, Anran turned and charged straight toward the shooter’s position.

“Bang! Bang!” A bullet struck Aila’s hand.

Even so, she picked up the rifle. The sword energy came again and sliced through her clothes. Aila’s disadvantage in speed was now painfully obvious. If it had been Anran, she could have avoided the attacks as long as she maintained enough distance, but Aila could not. Her high Strength was useless against empty air. All she could do was glare helplessly at the phantom.

“This is infuriating!”

Aila stamped her foot in frustration. Another bullet struck her leg as she dodged.

“Bang! Bang!” Anran fired twice into the open field.

She moved through the rain like a hunting leopard. As she vaulted over a clump of grass, the hidden enemy finally revealed himself.

There was only one person!

Splash!

The dark-skinned man snatched up an umbrella from the ground and slid aside, leaving his rifle abandoned in the rain.

“Tch.”

He spat irritably while glaring at Anran. Although he had dodged one attack, an explosive round detonating nearby had still grazed his cheek.

“You’re with Morningstar?” Anran asked.

She did not stop moving. The scattergun’s wide area of fire did an excellent job of restricting her enemy’s movements.

“Aren’t you worried about your little sister? Or do you trust her abilities so much that you can ignore whether she lives or dies?” The umbrella-wielding man chuckled. Small wounds occasionally appeared on his body, but they had no effect on the overall situation.

The damage numbers were only in the negative teens. Anran suspected she could empty the entire gun and still fail to shave off even one-tenth of his HP.

This kind of firearm had far too many weaknesses against a fast opponent.

“Looks like you’re cold-blooded too. No wonder you managed to become such a major threat to Morningstar.” The umbrella-wielding man stepped back. Then, without warning, he opened the umbrella in his hand.

Anran’s heart tightened, and she instinctively dodged to the side.

Several arcs of sword energy swept through the air. The grass behind her was instantly severed at the middle.

When she looked again, the man’s umbrella had transformed into a uniquely shaped rapier, identical to the sword in the phantom’s hand.

“So that phantom was released by you. Killing you should solve the problem.”

Level: 21

This man was definitely no weaker than Test Subject No. 24!

His ability to control the phantom might even make him more difficult to deal with.

But Anran was no longer the person she had once been.

After being tempered by mission after mission, her Level 20 attributes were far higher than those of most NPCs.

“Clack! Crack!”

The barrel of the scattergun she used to block the rapier was sliced apart instantly. A cold smile appeared on the umbrella-wielding man’s face. His sword had been specially made.

It could cut through anything!

Clang!

It had been blocked.

Heh.

Anran wore the same icy smile.

A blade that could cut through anything?

Ever heard of a mechanical switchblade forged from Lig Alloy?

Pressing down with the weapon in her right hand, Anran gripped another blade in her left and plunged it into the umbrella-wielding man’s stomach.

“Ugh!”

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She ripped the blade sideways, and his scream tore through the sound of the rain.

“Clang!”

The umbrella-wielding man used all his strength to force Anran back, but he had already been gravely wounded and was continuously losing HP. He clearly would not last much longer.

“Cough, cough…”

The umbrella-wielding man clutched his abdomen, his face deathly pale.

“Fine. One life for another. I may not have been able to take you with me, but killing your little sister is still a fair trade.”

His phantom was also growing faint. Anran could not see it, but the phantom was carrying tremendous wind pressure as it launched one final slash at Aila, whose body and clothing had already suffered considerable damage.

The umbrella-wielding man was disappointed.

Anran still showed no worry or fear. She did not even leave him the slightest chance to counterattack.

The instant he began speaking, Anran drew her scattergun and fired three times without mercy.

Six rounds.

They all struck him while his guard was down.

The exploding ammunition left his body looking as though it had been eaten away by concentrated acid, with holes in one place and pits in another. It was a miserable sight.

“Cut the crap. Just die quietly.”

“You have killed Morningstar Resistance Z03 and gained 35,000 EXP.”

With a thud, Z03 collapsed into the mud.

The sword energy slashing toward Aila dispersed just as it began to take shape, and the phantom vanished at the same time. Aila stared blankly at the pounding rain, then touched the gunshot wounds and the places where the sword energy had cut her.

Ugh. She would have to eat so much food to recover again.

The layer of artificial tissue attached to her body had become almost unbelievable under the catalysis of the Ancient Essence.

“A communications device?”

While looting the corpse, Anran found a small metal box on Z03.

Hehehehe.

She crushed the little metal box in one hand. Perhaps this would leave the enemy with one enormous misconception:

Anran was an utterly cold-blooded person who did not even care whether her little sister lived or died. If they wanted to deal with her in the future, they would instinctively avoid targeting people she knew, because doing so would be useless.

“Anran, I…” Aila looked up at the approaching Anran, utterly dejected. “I wasn’t any help at all.”

“There, there. Don’t be sad.” Anran stroked Aila’s head. “You already helped me a lot. If you hadn’t kept that strange phantom occupied, I might not have been able to defeat that weirdo on my own.”

“Really?”

Aila’s eyes immediately lit up. Anran’s words made her extremely happy.

“Really.” Anran nodded firmly. “Let’s get back into the car first. I’ll treat your wounds.”

“Mm-hm.” Aila returned to the front passenger seat.

Anran tossed Z03’s sword into the back seat, then looked painfully at her car. It had truly been shot to pieces. Repairing it would cost a fortune.

For now, she could only make do by tying the driver’s seat together. Then she helped Aila remove all the bullets from her body. As for the gunshot wound on Anran’s own back, naturally she had to rely on Aila for that.

From the outside, it looked like two rain-soaked, alluring young women pressed together while doing something indescribable.

…

“It failed,” Heloise murmured.

“Z03 is dead?”

“He’s dead. That was somewhat beyond my expectations.” Heloise frowned. “I never imagined Anran would disregard her little sister’s safety.”

Recalling the young girl’s face, Heloise could not shake the feeling that something was not quite right.

“She really is so strong that it’s exciting!”

“You should worry about yourself. Your strength is only about the same as Z03’s.” Heloise shook her head.

Since they had failed to eliminate Anran, they could only leave the matter alone for the time being. The important business came first.