LWGP - Chapter 154
Chapter 154: d13
Far from the dungeon, not even in Luoyang, but in a certain region within the vast Ninth District, in a subterranean cavern, a brief conversation took place.
"It's appeared. Very faint, almost non-existent."
"Which experimental subject is it?"
"d13."
"Can it be captured?"
"No, she's in a dungeon. We wait for her to come out."
"Can we confirm if she has fully awakened?"
"No, it's very faint, but she seems to be suppressing it."
"Suppressing it? Let me see the investigation file for d13."
As one person was about to search for the files preserved by a special item before the game loaded, another, a youth seated on a stone disc, opened his eyes.
"Don't bother. There isn't much of a file on her."
"Hmm?"
"I remember her."
His features were as lustrous as a demon's, a single cinnabar dot on his brow.
When his mouth opened slightly, the small canine teeth revealed were like crimson blood jade.
"Miao Mountain, d13, Wang Jiu."
"The most dangerous offering."
Wang Jiu found the seduction irresistible. Her body felt as if it were being stripped away from her. She grew weak, her body slumping forward, but she bit her tongue. The sharp pain stimulated her. A hand gripped her waist. She used her knife to support herself, her other hand pressing against the man's abdomen. Her hair fell, obscuring her eyes and brows, but it couldn't hide the slight gasp that escaped her parted lips.
That press, that gasp, made the man beneath her face change completely. The hand on her waist instinctively wanted to tighten, but ultimately, it didn't. Nor did he seize the opportunity to counterattack. Instead, he studied her expression.
What was wrong with her?
Faint, confused, longing.
Wang Jiu tasted the blood on her tongue and forced the image of a person to flash through her mind.
A scene flickered past.
The warm afternoon sun, the serene mountain wilderness, a temple halfway up the mountain, the curling smoke of incense. An old woman, much shorter than her, who insisted on wearing reading glasses, still treated her like a child, clutching her wrist and reminding her to watch her step as she chattered on, leading her into the vast, ethereal Buddhist hall.
What had she said?
She couldn't remember clearly.
She only remembered that after she had knelt and pretended to draw a fortune slip, the old woman had patted her on the head…
Her wrinkled face was wreathed in a smile as she pulled out a banknote.
Now she remembered. The old woman had said with a straight face, "A small token of our sincerity. The bodhisattvas need to get paid, too."
That banknote was, hmm, five yuan.
So stingy that a young novice monk not far away rolled his eyes dramatically.
But the old woman's smile was exceptionally brilliant.
A person who had lived for over half a century, who had seen everything, yet always found joy in the little things, laughing like a small child.
Wang Jiu remembered it all in an instant, and her mind cleared. At that moment, a Holy Light descended upon her.
In that instant, the light was dazzling, pulling her completely back to the mortal world.
Lin Guiwan had come out.
She had sensed earlier that Wang Jiu was under attack, but exposing herself as a priest while the two were locked in a deadly struggle was not a wise choice. So she chose to observe and provide support.
Fortunately, Wang Jiu had the upper hand, and with a little support, victory would have been certain. But she never expected the situation to turn into what she saw now.
The moment she pushed the door open, she saw the scene before her and froze. Sensing that Wang Jiu's state was not right, she instinctively cast a Holy Light, but she also felt the commotion outside.
This is bad!
Just as Lin Guiwan was about to go out and stop them, the people who had already arrived outside and had, for some reason, started fighting, broke through the main door.
The door shattered as if it were rotten, after all, the ones fighting outside were all experts.
It was, in fact, several people from the Cai Market and Tan Yingzhou's team.
The fighting was fierce, but that ferocity suddenly ceased.
The entire group stared, dumbfounded, at the scene inside the bathroom.
Oh ho, how stimulating!
Amidst the bizarre atmosphere, it was the affected Lin Xiaoniang who finally broke the silence with a delicate cry. As if dealt a massive blow, her boneless, willow-like body swayed, and she leaned against a nearby pillar. Her eyes misted over with tears as she lamented mournfully, "Darling Xie! How could you treat me so, treat my devoted heart like this…"
With that, a line of sentimental tears traced a beautiful path down her cheek.
Everyone, including Lin Guiwan: "…"
Wang Jiu was actually jolted back to her senses by this woman's sorrowful wail. She frowned slightly and glanced down. Xie Jiang immediately retracted the hand that had been on her waist, feigning obedience.
Wang Jiu rose from her straddling position on his waist and also pulled out her knife. With that pull…
Sssshh… A spray of blood erupted from Xie Jiang's broad chest.
The effect was just like something out of a comedy film.
"Fuck! You little widow!" Xie Jiang clutched his wound, his face pale.
For some reason, someone wanted to laugh.
And so they did.
Then, bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the laughter died as if a large Muscovy duck had been choked.
Holy fuck!
The entire place fell silent. The few laughing members of the Cai Market were stunned, and the melodramatic Lin Xiaoniang was also dumbfounded.
Xie Jiang, in turn, clutched the area between his legs, looking forward in disbelief.
The atmosphere solidified like cement.
All the men present subconsciously shifted, feeling a sympathetic ache in that area. It must hurt a lot to be clamped like that.
It's probably shattered.
In the dead silence, Wang Jiu, who had drawn her gun and fired in one smooth motion, had already taken off her wet clothes. She gave them a light shake to get the water out and said flatly, "You got a reaction, didn't you know?"
Everyone: "???"
They all subconsciously glanced at a certain area.
Lin Guiwan's expression was peculiar.
Wang Jiu looked back at Xie Jiang, enunciating clearly: "Xie Heavenly King."
Xie Heavenly King.
The number one champion who dominated the Manure Truck battle, Xie Heavenly King.
Speaking of which, that title really had some history… The Cai Market people couldn't hold back their laughter, let alone their enemies.
Tan Yingzhou let out a small sneer but quickly composed his expression, because Xie Jiang was healing himself.
A level 8 healing skill was truly remarkable; even such a grievous wound could be restored. The psychological trauma, however, was a bit terrifying.
Xie Jiang, known as the old dog of the waves and the cured meat of the market, climbed to his feet with a pale face. His legs felt a little weak. He used his jacket to cover his torn pants, took a deep breath, and sneered at Wang Jiu, "I did not. Little widow, telling too many lies will make your nose grow."
Wang Jiu ignored him, busy putting her soaking wet clothes back on.
Xie Jiang, having been saddled with such a huge accusation and enduring the mocking gazes of his own people and his rivals, felt he had to explain himself, as he was indeed at fault. "Hey, I didn't do it on purpose. The teleportation was faulty, and I just wanted to see how strong you are now. That's why I fought you. Wait, I'll give you some clean clothes!"
Xie Jiang felt uncomfortable watching Wang Jiu pull the dripping clothes back on, especially since many people nearby couldn't help but stare at her slender waist where water droplets trickled down. He was just taking out his jacket when his body suddenly stiffened. Standing outside were Xie Lu and the others.
Putting others aside, Xie Lu's gaze alone was as cold as ice.
The melodramatic Lin Xiaoniang, who had been leaning on the pillar, quickly stood up straight. Oh ho! The grand drama of an uncle and nephew fighting for love was about to begin!
Xie Jiang, who had done nothing and was genuinely innocent, felt inexplicably awkward. He coughed. "Oh, Ah Lu, you should keep a close eye on your captain. She doesn't seem to be in a good state."
After saying that, he frowned.
Who the hell was the one not in a good state?
His chest and the area between his legs still seemed to ache faintly.
Xie Lu said nothing. He walked in and, along with Wang Shu and the others, blocked the scrutinizing gazes of the crowd.
Wang Jiu was already dressed, tucking her shirt into her waistband. She asked, "Is everything outside handled?"
"It's done."
"Then let's go to the third floor."
As Wang Jiu was heading out, she saw that someone from the Cai Market had been cornered.
"Lin Su!"
"It's you!"
Wen Shan and Jiang Bingze had also been looking for water to wash off the poison, so it was inevitable they'd run into each other here. And when they did, sky thunder stirred earth fire.
Xie Jiang had wanted to say something more to Wang Jiu, but as soon as he stepped out, Lin Xiaoniang—who was being pulled by two men, one on each arm, in a scene straight out of an idol drama or a family ethics segment on 1818 Golden Eye—looked at him with tear-filled eyes. She said nothing, only gazing at him devotedly.
Devotion without regret, everything left unsaid.
What a psycho. It's the apocalypse, and she's still living like she's in an idol drama.
Xie Jiang couldn't be bothered with her and walked straight out.
"It's him?" Wen Shan sneered.
Jiang Bingze: "You dog!"
This time, Lin Xiaoniang was shocked, a pained expression on her face. "Darling Xie, you must go! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Even if I'm cut into a thousand pieces, I don't want you to risk yourself for me. Go, quickly, go!"
Lin Xiaoniang was a stunning beauty. In terms of looks, even Luo Sheng and Qiao Xuejing might not surpass her here. While the latter two had a three-tenths advantage in noble elegance, they lost seven-tenths in charm. That bone-deep allure, and… the scent of a world-class green tea?
Xie Jiang: "…"
I'm fucking trying to leave! Can you stop with the drama, you woman surnamed Lin!
The two men surrounded Xie Jiang, ignoring even Wang Jiu and her group.
Xie Jiang: "…"
I… fuck!
The rest of the Cai Market members sighed and rubbed their foreheads. Fine, let's just fight.
After all, everyone in their Cai Market was a psycho.
Seeing the people from the Cai Market and the Shanghai group starting to fight, Tan Yingzhou's gaze deepened. He didn't kick them while they were down. Instead, he quickly trailed behind Wang Jiu's group and followed them.
In the hallway, Li Chui and his group, who had an unobstructed path now that the researchers were gone, saw this scene. Li Chui's eyes lit up, and he nearly shed tears of gratitude.
My uncle really does love me!
Kill that Wang Jiu!
"Lord Wang."
Having reached the third floor, Wang Jiu turned to look at Tan Yingzhou. He and his people had stopped, maintaining a safe and appropriate distance.
"Are you willing to cooperate?"
He was very direct.
Wang Jiu smiled. "Aren't you going to look after that cute little nephew of yours?"
"Kids only behave after a good thrashing," Tan Yingzhou said with a composed demeanor.
"Was that little attraction array also your way of giving me a thrashing?" Wang Jiu asked with a half-smile.
Tan Yingzhou wasn't surprised that Wang Jiu had seen through it. "This is the disadvantage of not knowing each other and being separate. If we were together, these difficulties wouldn't arise. I don't think the person playing games with us from on high will give us much more time."
"Mm," Wang Jiu acknowledged. The person behind the scenes had been collecting their data, and they should be about done now.
A slaughter was bound to follow.
"But there's no need for us to be together."
Tan Yingzhou raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"You and the Cai Market people are enemies. I'm not even a third party. If I ally with either of you, I'll inevitably get dragged into the mud. Why bother?"
Tan Yingzhou smiled. "Do you think you can stay out of it after entering the dungeon?"
After saying that, he suddenly realized he had checkmated himself.
Since no one could stay out of it, and everyone was driven by their own interests, why bother tying themselves together?
If they formed an alliance, would he really let the other party gain more benefits?
"If I said I would distribute rewards based on contribution, would you believe me?"
Wang Jiu glanced back at him. "Won't the System distribute rewards based on my contribution?"
Tan Yingzhou fell silent, then chuckled. "It's fine if we don't form an alliance. In any case, if we encounter a danger that affects all of us players, in the end, no one will be foolish enough to act self-righteously. If there is such a person, we will both eliminate them, won't we?"
Wang Jiu did not deny this.
And not denying it meant that as long as their two teams had no absolute conflict of interest, they would both strike down anyone who challenged their interests.
This was equivalent to a non-allied common stance.
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