Chapter 520: Chapter 463: Balance

The torrential rain poured down, the air filled with moisture, and the entire city seemed to be placed in a breathing sea.

The Greenwich Observatory was built on a low hill hidden in the woods. The actual original site of the observatory (now transformed into a museum open to visitors) overlapped half-real, half-virtual with the modern high-rise of the Clock Tower Headquarters, resembling two overlapping Photoshop images.

In front of the observatory, the ripples from the light-speed impact tore the earth apart, violently plowing through the entire woodland. The semi-melted high-temperature stones at the bottom of the ravine came into contact with the rain, constantly emitting sizzling sounds of liquid vaporization.

A mechanical horde stood in front of the observatory’s low fence, still maintaining an elbow strike posture, and the light gold hemispherical defense array covering the entire low hill had not collapsed.

Between the two giant golems in front of the mechanical horde, Mobius knelt on one knee on the lawn, his already carbonized right hand gripping the Britannia Light Saber, his head lowered, gazing at his chest.

The protection array did not collapse indeed.

But faced with the high mystery of the Toy Factory Key and the powerful impact force of the light-speed elbow strike, the array was passively squeezed and deformed inward, forming the shape of a key,

penetrating through Mobius’s chest.

Extreme kinetic energy damage and the backlash effect of the failed casting of the Nine Rings Spell swept through Mobius’s body.

A slightly bewildered expression appeared on his face, his back slumped, and he sat back down.

Centered around his right hand, his body slowly faded, turning to white ash.

It was over.

Li Cheng slowly withdrew his arm from the elbow strike position, putting away the Toy Factory Key.

The side effects of Qilin Blood and the spell damage endured along the way delayed the explosion on the mechanical horde.

The freshly grown magnificent scales peeled off inch by inch, bones cracked all over, blood and oil gushed wildly, then ignited by electric sparks.

Fortunately, at this moment, the heavy rain poured down, preventing a beetle fire.

“I’ve caught Jacob and the judge who sentenced him lightly on my side and completed the target as an extra. How’s it going on your side?”

Gray Rain’s voice came through the intercom inside the cockpit wall of the mechanical horde.

Li Cheng replied, “Still okay for now.”

Then, he kicked open the already twisted and deformed cockpit door, jumped outside, and released the special effect of [Bottle Doll·Modified], shredding the mechanical horde into several pieces, all packed into the time-freezing Backpack, preparing to take them back for repairs.

Just…

Buzz!

Accompanied by the ripples in the air, a stunningly magnificent golden teleportation gate emerged in front of the observatory museum.

Six men and women walked out from the teleportation gate.

A young girl among them saw Mobius, who had burned to ashes and only white dust remained, her pupils shrank violently, “No!!!”

She flickered forward, and the breeze raised by instant teleportation directly dispersed quite a bit of Mobius’s white ash.

Hurriedly stepping back half a pace, she traced two strokes in the air with her fingers, sketching a complicated magic array, sealing the space within a two-meter diameter around Mobius.

This woman was one of the Eight-man Council of the Arcane Council, a Grandmaster of the Transformation System, Lv36 [Edith].

And she was… Mobius’s biological mother.

That’s right. Despite Mobius himself being in his thirties or forties, he was similarly a player whose mom looked about the same age as his daughter.

High-level players had numerous means of maintaining youth and beauty, such as the Hundred Regeneration Technique from Naruto that could control cellular regeneration and division to maintain eternal appearance,

as well as rare items like [Fountain of Youth], [Benjamin Button’s Spiritual Medicine], allowing a return to youthful vigor.

Transformation system magic could change the nature of living beings, things, or situations, turning people into toads, or dog poop into gold.

Edith, being a Grandmaster of the Transformation System, kept her appearance in a youthful form effortlessly.

But even she had no better solution to face Mobius who had already burned entirely.

“You! It’s you!”

Edith glared at Li Cheng, her eyes almost tearing up. In just a few seconds returning from the killing field to the real world, she learned what had happened in London City through messages in the player communication panel.

She immediately used her authority as part of the Eight-man Council, partially lifted the defense array of the Clock Tower Headquarters, and commanded two twenty-meter-level war golems to step towards Li Cheng.

Clap.

A broad palm rested on Edith’s shoulder.

The owner of the palm was a middle-aged man wearing a brown trench coat with a pen in his chest pocket and a thick book under his arm, with an ordinary face, a gentle expression, similar to an ordinary professor in a university campus.

“…President?”

Edith turned back incredulously, only to find that Hornheim wasn’t looking at her but slightly frowned looking towards Li Cheng’s… behind.

Buzz—buzz—

Space cracked open like a human eye, tearing out a more-than-two-meter-high tilted fissure,

covered entirely under a long yellow coat was the Side of Truth, leisurely walked out, letting out a light laugh upon seeing Li Cheng.

“Side of Truth.”

Edith almost enunciated each word while pronouncing the name of the President of the Evil Science Alliance, biting her teeth, her eyes seemed to be spewing fire, “You would rather stand against the Clock Tower, to protect this person? With just yourself alone?”

“You’re mistaken.”

The torrential rain hadn’t fallen yet but evaporated overhead. The Side of Truth tilted his head slightly, casually said, “First of all, I’m not alone.”

He casually pointed to a nearby open space, where the rain began to flow backward for some unknown reason,

after a brief delay, a silhouette appeared out of thin air.

It was a humanoid figure entirely wrapped in dark cloth, seemingly a man from the shape.

Together with Hornheim and the Side of Truth, from the first batch of players in the kill field, now representing the strongest combat power of the Special Affairs Bureau at Lv40, [Cold Water Stone].

A few of them were old acquaintances. Cold Water Stone nodded towards Hornheim, then stood silently beside the Side of Truth.

The meaning was clear, representing the Special Affairs Bureau, choosing a side.

In Edith’s mouth, there was the grating sound of teeth scraping.

The reason these Lv40s were stuck at this level is because the current level cap of the kill field is Lv40.

With a single Side of Truth, perhaps the Clock Tower could use the advantage of the Headquarters Mage Tower to force them back.

But facing two Lv40s simultaneously, even if they managed a draw, the entire British Isles might sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, in the distant night sky came a piercing whistle, as a conical rocket return capsule with the GOC emblem, trailing a fiery tail, crashed towards the Greenwich Observatory,

with a “boom” hit the not yet fully closed Clock Tower Defense Array, and in a most undignified manner, rolled down along the hemispherical defense array and fell on the ground.

The hatch slowly opened, and a roughly crafted humanoid robot, shrouded in smoke, crawled out from the rocket landing capsule.

“Good evening, everyone.”

The humanoid robot spoke, its voice unmistakably that of Dr. Noah from the Otherworld Tower mission, “Honorable Mr. Hornheim, Honorable Mr. Side of Truth, Honorable Mr. Cold Water Stone…”

Perhaps due to completely abandoning a human body, Dr. Noah’s voice no longer had the past bitterness and resentment, it was even a bit too light and cheerful.

“Can you represent the GOC?”

The Illusion System Grandmaster beside Edith looked at Dr. Noah and asked in a low voice.

The Clock Tower Council members, being top players, probably knew what happened in the Otherworld Tower mission and understood Dr. Noah’s background.

Since being taken in by the Global Supernatural Alliance, he quickly proved his loyalty and value, using his extraordinary intellect to help the GOC innovate scientific research results, improve weapons and equipment, and optimize command systems.

Single-handedly advancing multiple cutting-edge scientific fields by ten to twenty years (not counting the technology leap brought by the kill field’s arrival).

Thus, Noah’s identity swiftly transformed from an illegal immigrant of the Otherworld to a highly qualified foreign talent introduced by the GOC.

Then from introduced talent, he was elevated to a foreign academian.

Finally, from a foreign academian, promoted to honorary Earth person and a specially appointed strategic scientist for the GOC.

Actually, I have been an Earth person long ago, I even joined the Earth flag. jpg

Even to some extent, “take over the magpie’s nest,” and conversely gained leadership positions in many departments of the GOC.

“If you’re referring to my current role as the interim chief of the GOC in the Atlantic Region, then indeed I can represent.”

Dr. Noah’s robot nodded, slightly turned sideways, and the simple optical sensor in the head flashed at Li Cheng, seemingly winking.

“Ahem,”

Dr. Noah lightly coughed twice and said: “In any case, according to the 4201 consultation meeting held two years ago at the United Nations International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands,

the seventh clause of the “Global Security Convention on Prohibiting Transcendent’s Lethal Armed Conflicts” joint treaty states—

To avoid global chain disasters,

all signatories must ensure that top Transcendents within their jurisdiction (including citizens, guild members, and permanent residents) must not participate directly or indirectly in any form of lethal conflict, regardless of motivation (including personal grievances, power struggles, ideological confrontations).

Under the current circumstances, the situation described in the seventh clause has already been met.

In other words, the conflict needs to freeze here.”

“You’ve known Pifu for a long time, you guys are in it together!”

The Shaping Magic Grandmaster of the Clock Tower was so furious he laughed, he had also read the internal documents, Noah was originally brought to the Real Earth by Pifu, saying they were unrelated, even ghosts wouldn’t believe it.

The Side of Truth, GOC, and the Special Affairs Bureau, came neither early nor late, but just as Pifu conquered the Clock Tower Array, Mobius was burnt to ashes, and the Clock Tower people returned from the kill field, they showed up just in time.

“‘In it together’ is not an accurate description, a more precise way to say it is that I indeed had professional dealings with Mr. Pifu as an individual.

But that’s the extent of it, with no exchange of favors or interests, and definitely no indulgence or concealing.”

Dr. Noah worded carefully, addressing the Shaping Magic Grandmaster: “Do not spread rumors or believe them; the clear will be clear, waiting for GOC’s reversal.”

In a daze, the Clock Tower people’s ears seemed to hear the demon’s whisper, “The referee, the coorganizer, and all units involved, are all my people, how can you fight me?”

Edith’s lovely adolescent face twisted hideously as she shrieked, “It’s not your people who died, so you can be at peace?

Fine! The chairperson personally signed the security convention, but I didn’t sign it! I want Pifu dead!”

Saying so, she reached out her hand towards Li Cheng, with mercury, Arabic gum, and a wisp of light smoke floating in her palm as casting materials.

Exerting all her strength to release the Nine Rings Transformation System magic, [Perfect Transformation Technique],

capable of permanently transforming living beings, including Transcendents, into inanimate objects.

The Side of Truth’s light laughter stopped, Cold Water Stone said nothing, crossing his arms over his chest, stepped half a step to stand in front of Li Cheng.

“Stop.”

A calm voice sounded from behind Edith.

Hornheim sighed, took out thin-frame glasses from his pocket, put them on himself, looking more like an ordinary university professor, “This time, it’s our Clock Tower who lost.”

“Chairperson?!”

The mages were shocked and puzzled, even with two Lv40s standing opposite, with the Clock Tower Mage Tower at their back, was there a need to back down completely?

Hornheim didn’t explain anything, but silently looked at Li Cheng, calmly saying: “You added something to the rain, didn’t you?”