The aftershocks of the explosion continued to reverberate through the air, as shards of glass and chunks of masonry rained down like a storm. The entire scene looked like a terrifying yet magnificent painting filled with the raw force of destruction and chaos.

No matter if the A-rank monsters could survive the blast, they would definitely seek a safe place to hide before the aftershock completely faded. They definitely want to avoid ending up like Du Ying, who was caught at the center of the explosion and was reduced to ashes.

Du Heng, bound up like a rice dumpling, was the only one unaffected by the explosion. He twisted his body and wriggled toward Sheng Yan like a caterpillar inching forward.

Although Du Heng's abilities had been sealed, his physical stamina was still that of a high-rank player. His core strength was formidable, and as long as no one was stepping on him, he could still move surprisingly fast.

After rolling and squirming, he finally struggled his way to Sheng Yan's side.

On the other hand, Sheng Yan seemed completely unconcerned about energy consumption. His entire body was wrapped in flames, using his fiery armor to withstand the heat of the blast.

He had blown up more than half of the research institute by himself.

When Mo Bai first proposed this plan, Du Heng had questioned it. He believed this place was comparable to an S-rank instance. Could an explosion triggered by Sheng Yan, a mere Intermediate-1 player, really destroy such a domain?

Mo Bai's answer surprised him.

"The monster is indeed an Ultra-Star Rank," she had said at the time. "But the instance is B-rank, and the domain is B-rank too. An Intermediate player can destroy a B-rank domain, right?"

"How are you so sure it's B-rank?" Du Heng asked.

Mo Bai smiled at him. "You're missing what's right in front of you. Your own card ability told me. You used the card Survival of the Fittest to suppress your level down to Beginner. That proves that the card rated this domain as B-rank.

This is a severely unbalanced instance. To deceive the system, the monsters' abilities far exceed the domain's rank. That directly results in the domain itself being weak. There are barely any rules here, which is why we can run around freely."

And just as Mo Bai had predicted, the research institute's domain offered almost no resistance to Sheng Yan's explosions. It was completely blown apart.

Du Heng rammed into the dazed Sheng Yan and roared, "Why are you standing here sulking? Get moving!"

Sheng Yan glanced at him. His eyes were dull and lifeless. In a low voice, he said, "Mo Bai isn't here anymore. I..."

"The hell she isn't!" Relying on the Immortal-Binding Rope's effects to ignore the flames, Du Heng smashed his head hard into Sheng Yan's. With the physique of a high-ranking player, the impact left Sheng Yan dizzy.

"You can still use your ability! That proves she's not dead," Du Heng said urgently. "She injected the extract and used the serum on her own initiative. That means she was confident she could handle the Ultra-Star Rank monster. She's still fighting, so don't slack off! While she's battling, we clear out the A-rank monsters in this instance. Got it?!"

Sheng Yan glanced at the flames covering his body, and light slowly returned to his eyes.

That's right. As long as he could still use his ability, it meant Mo Bai was alive. She was still struggling to maintain Rule Optimization.

"You're right. I need to fight." Sheng Yan stood up.

"Don't rush off to fight the A-rank monsters yet. Untie the Immortal-Binding Rope first," Du Heng said.

"How do I undo this thing?" Sheng Yan asked.

"Kill the user," Du Heng said, pointing in a direction. "If I'm not mistaken, he's over there. A high-ranking player."

Without caring what kind of opponent he faced, Sheng Yan strode toward the flames in that direction.

"Wait, let me tell you about his ability first," Du Heng said.

He began recalling everything he knew about the Soul Contractor: his abilities and the cards he might be carrying. This guy wouldn't be easy to deal with.

Just as he was racking his brain, scenes of cooperating with Mo Bai suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Back then, Mo Bai had complained that he was useless. Every card he carried had been prepared specifically for infiltrating this instance.

That realization struck him.

If that was the case for him, then it had to be the same for the Soul Contractor.

To enter this B-rank instance, the Soul Contractor must have used a card to conceal his identity. There were many cards like Survival of the Fittest, all with similar effects, because to enter this instance, one had to suppress one's strength to the beginner level.

Which meant the Soul Contractor's current strength was only at the beginner level.

As for his cards: a high-ranking player could carry five. One was already used for infiltration. To sign a Soul Contract with Professor Yang, he must have used a card to temporarily restore his power; that was the second.

Du Heng and the assistant had met many times, yet Du Heng's Weak Point Detection had never revealed the assistant's player identity. Moreover, the assistant's appearance differed from how he looked in Neverland. That meant he had used a card for disguise, so that was the third.

The Immortal-Binding Rope tied around Du Heng was the fourth card.

And during the explosion, the assistant had taken out a defensive card, which was the fifth.

This Soul Contractor had no more cards!

Sheng Yan was still waiting for Du Heng to explain the Soul Contractor's ability.

Du Heng gave an awkward laugh. "Heh. Just hit him however you like. He's only a Beginner-level player. You're the strongest nature-type attacker among players, and you're already at the Intermediate level. He can't beat you."

Sheng Yan rushed toward the Soul Contractor's hiding spot. It was in a corner, covered by a large slab of ceiling, and he keenly sensed someone beneath it. He clenched his fist, flames wrapping around it, and smashed down.

At that moment, the assistant's voice rang out: "Sheng Yan, do not move."

Sheng Yan froze mid-punch.

He wanted to move, but his body wouldn't obey.

Seeing this, Du Heng shouted, "I get it! That's his Beginner ability; it's also contract-type! It's called Language Contract (語言契約 - Yǔyán Qìyuē). He uses names and simple phrases to form binding agreements. But the ability is heavily restricted by level. He's a low-rank, while you're mid-rank. He forced a contract on you, and forced contracts don't hold. The backlash must've hit him hard. He's seriously injured and probably can't use his ability again.

And once you break the agreement somehow, whether through someone else's help, a card ability, or anything else, the Language Contract will automatically dissolve!"

As Du Heng spoke, violent coughing erupted from beneath the ceiling slab.

What should he do in a situation like this?

Sheng Yan suddenly remembered something Mo Bai had once told him.

Before entering the instance, she had said, "This instance is dangerous. You won't be able to freely use your ability. If I'm not by your side and you encounter an enemy, you must pretend to be very, very strong."

"Pretend?" Sheng Yan had asked, confused.

"Yes, it's all about pretending. Even if you don't have the ability, act as if you do. You need to understand: even without abilities, we have cards, evolved physiques far beyond normal humans, and the experience of a seasoned player. As long as the opponent doesn't completely overpower us, we have a chance.

So be confident. Act like you can defeat anything. You've heard of the Empty Fort Strategy, right?¹ Even if we have nothing, we pretend we do. Describe your power as terrifying as possible; scare them so badly they run, and even feel lucky you didn't chase them.

Show the arrogance of a nature-type user!"

"You're really brave," Sheng Yan remarked after hearing this.

Mo Bai shook her head. "Wrong. I'm not brave at all. I just act brave. Most of the time, I'm nervous too. I'm afraid of failure because one failure means total defeat beyond redemption. But I have to act. With three parts strength, I pretend I have ten. And every time I do... it feels like I really am that strong."

Remembering her words, Sheng Yan used his brain for once.

He decided to bluff.

So he said, "It doesn't matter if I can't move. I can turn this ceiling into a bomb from a distance."

Even Du Heng was startled. As far as he remembered, Sheng Yan had to touch an object to turn it into a bomb. If he couldn't move, how could he touch it?

Before Du Heng could figure it out, the assistant kicked the slab aside and sent it crashing into Sheng Yan, seemingly intending for him to take the blast himself.

Sheng Yan smiled.

The slab struck him, but it didn't explode. Instead, the impact shifted him slightly.

The assistant's command had been do not move. Now that Sheng Yan moved, the contract was void.

Sheng Yan immediately felt the invisible restraint vanish.

He grabbed the slab, turned it into a bomb, and hurled it at the assistant.

As the slab struck Sheng Yan without exploding, the assistant realized that his injuries had caused him to lose his composure and fall for such a simple trick. He quickly deployed a protective barrier, which blocked the explosion.

But in the next instant, Sheng Yan's attack arrived.

The barrier was only a B-rank card, and it could block two attacks. Both chances were now used up.

The assistant's last card, the Immortal-Binding Rope, was tied around Du Heng. If he retrieved it to attack Sheng Yan, Du Heng would counterattack. Although Professor Yang had sealed Du Heng's Soul Reaping ability, he still had Weak Point Detection and Fatal Strike, which were also quite difficult to deal with.

The only option left was to drink a healing potion and a nutrient potion, recover quickly, and use his Language Contract again to restrain Sheng Yan.

But both potions had to be drunk. Taking them out and bringing them to his lips took time.

He had just pulled out the potion and hadn't even raised it to his mouth when Sheng Yan was already in front of him.

As an Intermediate-level player, Sheng Yan was far faster than an injured opponent.

He grabbed the potion bottle from the assistant's hand and sneered. "Detonate."

The bottle instantly turned into a bomb and detonated in Sheng Yan's grasp. Both he and the assistant, standing at the center of the blast, were swallowed by the explosion and were hurled away by the shockwave.

"Sheng Yan, are you insane?!" Du Heng roared as he ran toward the direction Sheng Yan had been blasted.

After only two steps, he realized he could move freely again.

The Immortal-Binding Rope had fallen to the ground and reverted into a card. That meant its owner was dead, and it was now unclaimed.

Du Heng picked up the card, then grabbed a relatively intact mechanical arm from the floor.

The blast had destroyed all the mechanical arms mounted on the ceiling. The ones originally meant to draw blood from the test subjects had all been blown loose and fallen.

The arm was heavy, but using it to harm an A-rank monster would normally be pure fantasy.

Du Heng chose it as a weapon for a single reason: it was long.

He didn't need overwhelming attack power; he just needed something with wide reach.

Once freed from the Immortal-Binding Rope, Du Heng's abilities returned.

Weak Point Detection was activated automatically, which instantly revealed the A-rank monsters hiding in the rubble.

Du Ying had been struck head-on by Sheng Yan's 2,000 ml Blood Bomb. A near-perfect one-for-one trade and dead beyond doubt.

Four monsters remained.

They had planned to emerge after the first explosion subsided, but Sheng Yan's second detonation, the assistant's potion bottle, made them think that the blasts were still ongoing. They didn't dare show themselves and continued hiding in what they believed were safe spots.

Du Heng scanned the area and spotted the Giant Rock curled beside a pile of debris. Its body was solid, and the explosions could hardly damage it. Composed of silicon-based material, it could withstand flames of over a thousand degrees. With no moisture in its body, Sheng Yan's fire and Blood Bombs were both ineffective against it.

It wasn't staying still out of fear of the flames, but because it still needed to breathe. The dust and smoke stirred up by the explosion made breathing difficult, so it could only lie low for the moment.

Beneath Giant Rock's body, a long-haired woman lay curled up: Spider Woman.

The Giant Rock had shielded her.

Du Heng gave a cold smile. The two hiding together saved him the trouble.

He lunged forward, catching the Giant Rock completely off guard, and activated Fatal Strike. A crimson glow wrapped around the mechanical arm.

The arm lashed across the Giant Rock's back. Sensing the blow, Giant Rock rose with an ugly laugh. "That weak attack. Is it supposed to tickle..."

Before it could finish, the crimson light seeped into its body and pierced the only part of it that remained carbon-based.

Fatal Strike. No matter where Du Heng hit, as long as the attack struck the body, it would inflict a lethal wound.

The Giant Rock clutched its chest. Its stony body crumbled into rubble, piece by piece, until only the heart pierced by the crimson light remained.

The heart beat twice, then stopped.

The Spider Woman let out a furious, despairing scream. Her hair transformed into venomous webbing, which coiled around Du Heng's body to strangle him.

Unhurried, Du Heng turned his palm into a blade. Crimson light enveloped his hand as he struck the long hair.

The glow traveled along the strands and pierced into her lower abdomen. Spider Woman froze. She looked down to see her stomach split open at some point, with blood pouring out.

Her body trembled as she collapsed. The webbing lost its stickiness and vitality and slid off Du Heng like withered grass.

Brushing the silk from himself, Du Heng said flatly, "Idiot. Delivering part of your own body right to me."

He looked around. "Two left."

At this moment, Du Heng, with a mechanical arm in hand, looked like death incarnate, harvesting A-rank monsters one by one.

Using Weak Point Detection, he tracked down the third A-rank monster, the Ant Queen.

She lay beneath a slab of glass with blackened lips. By the time Du Heng found her, she had only a faint breath left.

He remembered the moment Mo Bai had been wrapped in Phantom Butterfly's wings. He recalled how Phantom Butterfly had used Scale Poison to attack Ant Queen, killing countless ants to save Mo Bai.

Only then did the Phantom Butterfly seem worthy of being called an A-rank monster.

Du Heng ended Ant Queen's suffering.

"One left." He searched for the final monster.

But the last one had vanished.

He had clearly seen a soul-light nearby earlier. Next to it was a charred suit of Steel Armor, where Liu Congyi had been hiding.

Yet after killing the Ant Queen, when he searched again for that light, it was gone.

With no choice, Du Heng first pried open the Steel Armor to rescue Liu Congyi, who was barely alive inside.

She had suffered terribly.

The armor had shielded her from the blast wave, but it couldn't defend against the heat of the flames.

Moreover, metal conducts heat.

The Steel Armor was heated to a glowing red. Hiding inside it wasn't protection; it was enduring a fiery torture chamber.

Liu Congyi thought bitterly that she must have lost her mind to choose Steel Armor as defense during an explosion.

Trapped and unable to escape, she harnessed the energy she had accumulated over the past few days from the E-type to create a protective barrier around herself, isolating the armor's heat and barely managing to hold on.

Even after exhausting all that stored energy, the armor still hadn't cooled. She had no choice but to crawl out, so her body was burned in multiple places.

Fortunately, Du Heng arrived in time to help her remove the armor.

Now, covered in burns, Liu Congyi lay motionless on the ground, like a corpse.

"Liu Congyi! Liu Congyi!" Du Heng hurriedly took a healing potion from his inventory, preparing to feed it to her.

At that moment, a pale finger pressed against his forehead.

The monster he had been unable to find, Blank Paper, had somehow appeared before him.

Softly, it said, "You don't remember your own ability."

Just as Blank Paper activated its power to control Du Heng's mind, Liu Congyi suddenly sprang up.

At some point, she had put on a pair of glasses. Black energy condensed in her palm as she slammed it into Blank Paper's chest.

"You're afraid of fire," she said. "So afraid that you can't use your abilities. So afraid that you can't even live normally."

Even inside the armor, she had heard everything outside.

She heard Sheng Yan kill the assistant. Heard Du Heng eliminate three A-rank monsters in quick succession, and heard him say he couldn't find the last one.

And she remembered what Mo Bai had once told her.

"Of the five monsters, the one I'm most worried about isn't Du Ying, but it's Blank Paper. Du Ying may be strong, but not stronger than Soul Reaping and Blood Bombs. Blank Paper is different. I suspect he can control minds and erase memories. People forget him and even forget seeing him. Anyone who encounters him ends up with their memory turned into a blank page. And in others' impressions, he's nothing but blankness."

"How do we deal with something like that?" Liu Congyi had asked.

Mo Bai placed the Prying Lenses into her hands. "Only you can counter him. Mental attacks must be countered with mental attacks. These Prying Lenses let you perceive everything within ten meters, unaffected by obstacles or invisibility.

I think Blank Paper's ability counts as a form of invisibility. With these lenses, you might be able to locate him. The rest is up to you."

When she heard Du Heng say he couldn't find Blank Paper, Liu Congyi came up with a plan to turn the situation against him.

After Du Heng rescued her, she deliberately pretended to be incapacitated.

At that moment, Sheng Yan had been caught in the blast while she herself had been burned unconscious by the armor. Only Du Heng remained.

It was the perfect moment for Blank Paper to strike.

Just as she expected, seeing Du Heng alone and vulnerable, Blank Paper made his move.

But what he didn't know was that Liu Congyi had already put on the Prying Lenses and was waiting for him to appear.

The glasses revealed Blank Paper's position. At the instant he attacked Du Heng, she activated her ability, Psychological Shadow, and planted the fear of fire deep within him.

Fire was everywhere.

Though the aftershock had ended, no one had put out the flames. The entire research institute was filled with smoke and burning debris.

Blank Paper, now overwhelmed by fear of fire, felt as though he had been cast into hell. With the implanted Psychological Shadow amplifying his terror, he could no longer suppress it. Clutching his head, he screamed.

At that moment, Du Heng saw him too.

Without hesitation, he struck Blank Paper with a punch empowered by Fatal Strike, successfully harvesting the life of the final A-rank monster.

When it was over, Du Heng's energy was completely drained, and he dropped to the ground. Beside him, Liu Congyi drank a healing potion to treat her burns.

Du Heng looked around and saw that Sheng Yan was still alive.

But aside from the three of them, there were no living humans left in the hall. It had been utterly destroyed.

He walked over to Sheng Yan. The flames had gone out, but half of his body was charred black. He lay there barely breathing.

Du Heng kicked him lightly and handed over his own healing potion. "Stop playing dead. Get up."

Sheng Yan took the potion but remained lying there. "Can you still use your ability?" he asked.

"I can st..."

Du Heng looked at his hands.

The crimson glow in his palms had vanished.

Fatal Strike was gone.

All he had left was the Beginner-level Weak Point Detection.

Mo Bai's Rule Optimization had disappeared.

 

 

 

 

Author's Note:

Du Heng: See? I told you I’m awesome. The reason I can stay in Neverland is because my abilities are insanely strong! Too bad Mo Bai didn’t see it.