Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
Just as the four parties were eyeing each other across the lake, the liquid in the lake started to bubble on its own. Soon, a whirlpool appeared in the middle of the lake, and it kept getting bigger.
“What’s going on? Is there something inside the lake?” Understanding Death was startled and turned to ask Sashimi. Obviously, Sashimi had some kind of sleuthing skill, so when something like this happened, his teammates would turn to him first.
“You guys think I’m a psychic?” Sashimi grumbled before replying. “There is a range to my inspection area. Hearing voices more than a hundred meters away is already the best I can do. Even if there really is something in the lake, how do you expect me to hear anything through the water?”
“Could this be related to the wailing of the monsters all over the city several minutes ago?” Lying Drunk speculated.
“Wait a minute!” Sashimi’s expression shifted because, at that moment, he finally heard something. “Erm…well, you can see for yourself now.”
After a few seconds, a large human-shaped creature floated out from the center of the whirlpool. The giant was at least 15 meters tall, devoid of skin and covered in muscles and blood. It was extremely muscular, and his fingers were strong, like hooks. His two bulging eyes looked about with the curiosity of a new infant. Seeing the monster, all twelve players slowly walked backward. Qu Ming Nan shouted out, “Such a huge blood zombie!”
On the other side, at the center of the sealed area, meanwhile, The Anomalies from Origin finally met up. From the east came a boy in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. His eyes were a glowing jade color. From the north came a tall woman covered in blood. Her body and limbs were slightly twisted, and she had mammalian features on her face. That was the after-effect of bestial enhancement.
From the west came a man about the size of the boy, with his build more similar to that of an adult and a beard as bushy as a squirrel’s tail. From the north came a lightman. His skin was glowing.
These four ‘people’ were respectively Origin’s D1-Drake, L2-Blood Orchid, J1-Quick Bell, and Y2-Bright Glow. They reached the cross junction of the sealed area at the same time.
“You’re seriously injured,” Drake told Blood Orchid.
“It doesn’t matter,” Blood Orchid replied. “Even if I pay with my life, I will complete this mission.”
“Aiz…” Quick Bell sighed.
Bright Glow concluded, “So shall we begin?”
“Of course,” Drake replied. “Everything must go according to plan.”
The four exchanged a look and turned back the way they came and took up a spot at the four corners of the junction.
At the same time, at the rooftop of a building two streets away, Phantom Dawn and Shiva were observing them silently.
“What are they doing?” Phantom Dawn mumbled to himself as he watched the four Anomalies.
“Actually, I am more curious about what you are doing.” Shiva narrowed his eyes at Phantom Dawn. “You ignore the competition, but you focus your attention on small issues between the NPC.” He paused. “Instead of wasting my time here, I could go off to grab some points.”
“They are not NPC.” Phantom Dawn corrected him. “They are Anomalies.” His eyes were strangely focused. “They are very powerful ones. Two of them are Level 2, and the other two…I can’t read them on a data level. That has never happened before.”
“Anomalies…Four Pillars of Divinity,” Shiva said impatiently. “They are just programming data. This is just a game, and we are its players. No matter how powerful the virtual data are, they are just a gaming setting for us.” He shook his head. “If you wish to waste your time here, go ahead. I’m leaving.” As he turned, he said, “How you wish to compete in the final is your choice, but I play to win.”
“Cover your ears!” At that moment, Phantom Dawn’s expression was covered in fear, and he turned back to shout. This order came too suddenly and out of the blue, but Shiva reacted perfectly. He did what he was told.
Woom!
Boom!
The first was a long buzz followed by an explosion. It could be heard all over the city. The next second, a soundwave spread through the city like a tsunami. Even the creatures outside the sealed zone felt their eardrums shiver with pain. Their knees weakened. Within the sealed zone, other than the Anomalies, only Phantom Dawn and Shiva were alive. The other monsters had died on the spot.
Twelve seconds later…
“Hah…Hah…” Shiva got up, gasping for air. He did not even recall falling to the ground. “You…you…” He staggered and fell back to the ground. He lowered his head to look and saw that his hands were bloody. “You ambushed…” Before he let out the word “me,” he saw that Phantom Dawn had also collapsed on the ground, and blood was oozing out of his ears.
“You better sit for a while to recover.” Phantom Dawn looked more collected. “An injury to the inner ear will affect your balance. Trying to stand up will only make it worse.”
“What was that?” Since they were close and face to face, Shiva could hear him despite his ear injury. “Someone else ambushed us?”
“Obviously, it was not another player.” Phantom Dawn adjusted his breath and said, “Something huge is happening…Something I have not seen…something out of my expectation has arrived.”
Above the junction, a ball-like dimension gap of about five meters in diameter was torn open. All areas of the ball were as dark as a blackhole. Moments later, a waterfall of silver data flow oozed from it. The material looked like mercury, but once it dropped to the ground, it turned into a human. To be precise, it was a female human.
ROOT looked around and asked, “Where is Blood Orchid?”
Drake replied, “She has given up her life to sustain the energy required by the Blast Tunnel.”
ROOT was silent for a moment, and a twitch of emotion appeared on her face. Soon, it returned to normal. She raised her voice. “Do you hear that, Dear Origins?”
Hundreds of black shadows then rushed through the blast tunnel and arrived in this world.