"Ahhhh—help me!" Mo Ziang, drawn in a chibi style, cried pitifully, his short legs running so fast they left afterimages shaped like fans. Tears streamed down his cheeks like water gushing from a broken pipe, splashing behind him as he ran.
Chasing after Mo Ziang was Su Ze, also in chibi form, sweating profusely and grinning mischievously. Seeing Mo Ziang in such a state, he couldn't help but smirk and tease, "Isn't this Brother Crow? What happened? You've really let yourself go since the last time I saw you!"
Xuanyuan Jin, standing calmly with his hands clasped in prayer, glanced back and saw the giant, snake-like monster chasing them, its massive form resembling a train magnified dozens of times! His feet moved even faster, leaving blurry afterimages.
The chase had been going on for two days now. At first, the monster had only been after Su Ze, but after Su Ze led it on a wild run through the city, they ran into Mo Ziang the next day, and shortly after, Xuanyuan Jin joined the fray. Now, the monster was chasing all three of them!
It seemed that the monster was targeting them because they possessed the most "laws" in this urban realm.
Among the trio, anyone who tried to break away and run on their own would immediately become the monster's sole target. This forced the three to stick together, none daring to leave the group.
Many other participants watched from a distance, their expressions mocking and amused.
"I'm warning you, stop chasing us!" Mo Ziang turned his head and shouted, his tearful eyes blazing with anger. "If you keep chasing me... I'll just die right here!"
"Stop messing around!" Su Ze, panting after two days of running, suddenly looked fierce. "We can't keep running like this. What if we just kill it?"
For the first two days, Su Ze had been the only one being chased. The city was vast, and after Su Ze and Mo Ziang had each spent hours killing their enemies, they had no idea how far the battlefield had shifted. It took a long time for them to finally run into Mo Ziang, who had been dancing on a rooftop at the time.
When Mo Ziang saw the massive monster chasing Su Ze, he was stunned! But he immediately drew his sword and leapt down from the building to help.
Su Ze, seeing Mo Ziang join the fight, turned around and attacked!
Quickly, the two of them were running at full speed, their short legs moving like crazy under the monster's relentless pursuit.
Even working together, they were still at a disadvantage. The monster was not only larger but also possessed far more "laws" than either of them. While it wasn't impossible for them to kill it, the risk was high.
Too many bystanders were watching, waiting to swoop in like a mantis stalking a cicada. The monster clearly hadn't considered the consequences of its actions, much like a male animal acting on impulse without thinking about the repercussions. As the stronger party, it could afford to be reckless, while the weaker ones could only endure.
If both sides were to suffer heavy losses, they would be in grave danger. Rather than ending up like a battered and exhausted knight after a fight with goblins, only to be captured by orcs, Su Ze and Mo Ziang chose to flee and conserve their strength.
Given the current state of the battlefield, it seemed they wouldn't be in this realm for much longer. In a day or two, the death toll would likely reach half of the participants. All they needed to do was survive until then.
But now, with Xuanyuan Jin joining them, things were different. With the three of them working together, they might actually have a chance to kill the monster!
"Let's kill it," Mo Ziang suddenly stopped, his pupils turning blood-red, like two crimson moons.
His expression was cold, his gaze as sharp as a blade as he stared at the oncoming monster.
Before Su Ze and Xuanyuan Jin could react, a massive "law" erupted from Mo Ziang, forming a barrier in front of the monster!
**Boom!**
A deafening crash echoed as the barrier shattered, sending the monster tumbling to the ground!
Mo Ziang raised his hand, as if grasping something in the air. In that moment, a colossal, spectral blade appeared above the monster's massive body.
The blade's enormous form radiated countless crimson sparks, like fiery embers, glowing magnificently under the moonlight.
Mo Ziang tilted his head slightly, his crimson eyes filled with cold indifference. His black hair fluttered without wind, as if he were truly holding that majestic blade.
With a swift motion, he brought the blade down, piercing through the monster!
The monster's agonized screech echoed across the sky as its massive body writhed and twisted, like a dragon churning up waves in a river. It unleashed chaotic and terrifying "laws," distorting the space within a kilometer radius!
Yet, it couldn't damage the buildings around them, which had been constructed by the gods using their own "laws."
The participants quickly fled the area affected by the monster's chaotic energy, many vomiting blood from the shockwaves.
Su Ze and Xuanyuan Jin were both stunned!
Mo Ziang's "laws" were about two-thirds the strength of the monster's. The gap wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either.
Su Ze's "laws" were only half as strong as the monster's, while Xuanyuan Jin's were slightly stronger than Su Ze's.
Despite the difference in power, Mo Ziang had managed to pin the monster in place with a single strike!
Yes, the monster was pinned in space, thanks to the indestructible buildings created by the gods.
Mo Ziang leapt a thousand meters into the air, diving into the chaotic energy unleashed by the monster. His crimson blade flashed like falling willow leaves in the night.
Su Ze and Xuanyuan Jin exchanged a glance and followed suit, charging into the fray!
A young man stood tall, one foot resting on a crumbling wall as he watched the scene unfold from a dilapidated high-rise. Like the other participants, he was observing from a distance.
A long sword was strapped to his back, his black hair ruffled by the wind generated by the chaotic "laws." His black coat fluttered, and his eyes were calm and cold.
"So this is the genius of Huaxia?" the young man lit a cigarette. "Not bad in terms of strength, but they could use some mental stability."
...
**Zhaoqi.**
The research team's vehicle bumped along a rough dirt road, surrounded by dense vegetation and trees. Beams of light filtered through the foliage, casting shifting patterns on the car's surface.
"Xiao Mijou, smile!"
Mu Xiaoyuan held her phone in one hand while cradling an adorable blonde-haired little girl in the other. With her free hand, she pinched the little girl's cute, oval-shaped cheeks.
Xiao Mijou, the little girl, leaned back, trying to escape Mu Xiaoyuan's pinching fingers. She lay in Mu Xiaoyuan's arms, smiling sweetly and innocently.
With a *click*, the photo was saved on the phone.
"You're so naughty!" Mu Xiaoyuan pouted, pinching the giggling girl's cheeks again. "Look, this photo is blurry because you wouldn't let me pinch your face. Come on, let me do it again, and we'll take another one!"
"Hahaha, no, no!" Xiao Mijou laughed, turning around and burying her face in Mu Xiaoyuan's neck to avoid the camera.
Mu Xiaoyuan smiled gently, patting the little girl's exposed bottom. "Whose little butt is this? If you don't let me take a photo, I'll have to spank it!"
Xiao Mijou froze, quickly covering her bottom with one hand. She was wearing an oversized white hoodie, the sleeves so long that her hands were completely hidden. Her tiny hand, peeking out from the sleeve, looked like a piece of white cloth as it tried to cover her bottom, but it could only cover one side.
Mu Xiaoyuan gently patted the other exposed cheek. "What about this side? Are you just going to leave it uncovered? I'll have to spank it!"
"No spanking!" Xiao Mijou quickly turned around, sitting on Mu Xiaoyuan's lap and pouting as the "evil" Mu Xiaoyuan pinched her cheeks and took a clear photo.
"This little girl is so cute!" Situ Jiajia, who had been playing on her phone, suddenly looked up and grinned mischievously. She reached over and grabbed Xiao Mijou from Mu Xiaoyuan's arms. "Mine now!"
Situ Jiajia hugged Xiao Mijou tightly, rubbing her face against the little girl's. Xiao Mijou giggled uncontrollably.
Situ Jiajia had only recently joined the research team. Just two days ago, she had been lazing around at school when she received a call from the team leader. By yesterday, she was at the Huaxia Central Research Institute, writing her will. Today, she was in the car with the rest of the team, heading to Zhaoqi.
"Give me back my daughter!" Mu Xiaoyuan reached over, trying to snatch Xiao Mijou back from Situ Jiajia. "You kidnapper! Give her back!"
"No way! She's mine! I'm her mom now!" Situ Jiajia hugged Xiao Mijou tightly, leaning against the car door to block Mu Xiaoyuan's hands. "Help! Someone's trying to steal my child! Hahaha—"
She couldn't help but laugh as she said it.
"Ahhh... I'm dead..." Xiao Mijou suddenly let out a not-so-painful scream, then rolled her eyes and pretended to faint.
"Ahhh! What did you do to my daughter? My daughter! Hold on, Mommy will save you!"
The battle of the three drama queens had reached its peak.
The bloodless war dragged on without end, and the tired Xiao Mijou, who had been pretending to be dead, yawned.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Situ Jiajia said emotionlessly, pinching Xiao Mijou's cheeks, which were full of collagen, with her thumb and index finger. Xiao Mijou's cute little mouth was forced into a pout.
Xiao Mijou was stunned.
"You played with my emotions!" Mu Xiaoyuan's voice was equally cold as she reached over and pinched Xiao Mijou's cheek.
Xiao Mijou turned her head and awkwardly met the gazes of the two older sisters with their eerie smiles. She tremblingly raised a finger and said, "I... I revived by watching an ad."
"Pfft, hahaha..." Situ Jiajia and Mu Xiaoyuan couldn't hold back their laughter. What the hell, reviving by watching an ad!
"Up ahead is the portal to Zhaoqi Space, the base for the Ghost Officers and Night Watchers," said the girl sitting in the passenger seat with a laptop on her lap.
The portal to Zhaoqi was classified as high-risk. Currently, there were 130,000 Ghost Officers and 60,000 Night Watchers stationed there.
This portal had existed for seven years. Although it had been around for a long time, due to its high-risk nature and Huaxia's recent struggles with natural disasters, the country had been too preoccupied to explore or gather much information about it. As a result, Huaxia knew very little about this portal.
This was a high-risk space, with creatures inside that were extremely powerful. Merely defending against invasions from the other side was already a daunting task, let alone entering that world to gather information. It was an almost impossible challenge.
The Zhaoqi portal had always been a significant threat. Huaxia had been in a standoff with the world beyond the portal for seven years. Now that Huaxia had somewhat recovered from its crises, it was finally taking action to address this portal.
The threat to Huaxia had to be eradicated!
This time, a research team led by Jiang Yun would form an exploration team with a squad of Night Watchers to enter the portal and gather information about the other world.
At the foot of the mountain range, houses and streets came into view. After seven years of being stationed here, the area had grown into a small town.
The research team leader, who was driving, silently steered the vehicle into the base of the Ghost Officers and Night Watchers. After passing through the checkpoint, they arrived at the designated meeting point.
However, all they saw was a young man dressed in black, with a cold gaze, leaning against a wall and smoking.
"Hey, are you a member of the Night Watchers' Serrated Scar squad?" Jiang Yun asked, leaning out of the driver's side window.
The young man glanced back at them, said nothing, and simply nodded in confirmation. He then pointed to an open area nearby, signaling them to park there.
"So cold," Mu Xiaoyuan remarked, then suddenly smiled. "But so cool! And kind of handsome too!"
"Hey, hey!" Situ Jiajia poked Mu Xiaoyuan's cheek teasingly. "Crushing on him, huh? Do you like him?"
"Yes!" Mu Xiaoyuan didn't bother hiding it. She openly admitted, "I fell for him at first sight!"
Situ Jiajia covered Xiao Mijou's ears, slightly shocked.
Xiao Mijou looked around in confusion, then was carried out of the car by Situ Jiajia, who held her by the bottom. Dressed in an oversized white hoodie, the little girl's petite figure was even more accentuated. She clung to Situ Jiajia's neck, her soft face resting on Situ Jiajia's fair skin, looking somewhat lazy. Within seconds, her breathing evened out—she had fallen asleep.
Xiao Mijou was usually quite lively, but after the long car ride of over ten hours, she had grown tired. Even with Situ Jiajia and Mu Xiaoyuan fooling around in the car, she couldn't muster much enthusiasm and had started pretending to be dead. Now that they were out of the car, she comfortably leaned on Situ Jiajia's neck and fell asleep.
Situ Jiajia reached out to hold Xiao Mijou's waist, but she suddenly paused. The oversized hoodie, when hugged, deflated like a balloon, revealing the slender, delicate waist underneath.
The hoodie already made her look tiny and adorable, but beneath it, she was even more delicate.
"What's your name?" Mu Xiaoyuan walked up to the cold young man and asked boldly.
The young man was momentarily taken aback by the directness of this city girl. He turned his head and calmly looked at Mu Xiaoyuan. "Tu Liao."
"My name's Mu Xiaoyuan," the girl said, placing one hand on the wall beside Tu Liao, effectively pinning him in a "wall slam"!
Situ Jiajia's eyes widened as if she'd seen a ghost.
She didn't know Mu Xiaoyuan well, having only recently joined the team. She knew the girl was a bit wild, but she hadn't expected her to be this bold!
Impressed by Mu Xiaoyuan's fearless and straightforward approach, Situ Jiajia, holding Xiao Mijou with one hand, gave a thumbs-up behind Tu Liao's back, where he couldn't see.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Mu Xiaoyuan asked.
The cold young man, who had never encountered such a situation, remained calm despite his unease. He answered honestly, "No."
Mu Xiaoyuan flipped her hair and placed her other hand on the wall, completing the wall slam. Her smile was domineering, like an emperor issuing an order that brooked no refusal. "Now, you do!"
"Holy crap!" Situ Jiajia was utterly stunned. Mu Xiaoyuan's aura at that moment made her feel like bowing in reverence. If she had that kind of confidence, the father of her child would probably already be calling her "Mom."