Chapter 104: Xinxin’s Skill Card

    "Hahahaha!!" Amidst the billowing smoke, swirling dust and debris, Wind’s crazed laughter rang loud and clear. The explosion had shattered the temple ceiling to reveal the abyssal sky above, yet strangely the colossal stone door remained unscathed.

    It captured her attention for a second, but she told herself to focus on her target first and foremost. The blue poison she possessed was a precious rarity which she acquired with much effort. If she could eliminate JJ with a single bomb, there was no need for her to waste the poison, and she could even preserve it for future Cycles!

    Brilliant! It was like hitting two birds with one stone!

    As the smoke began to dissipate, Wind fixed her thrilled gaze to the front, eager to witness the gruesome spectacle of the little boy’s torn body. But much to her surprise, the space before her was empty!

    "What?!" Her eyes widened in disbelief as she scanned the ravaged area. "W–Where is he?!"

    A slight movement caught her peripheral vision and she strained her neck to see her target traversing the desert, while dragging another person with him.

    Shock coursed through Wind’s body. When did that boy escape to the lower floor? Did he make a jump at the last second before the bomb exploded? But... how could he be so fast?!

    However, she was soon distracted from those questions, for she had recognized the unconscious man dragged behind. I–It was none other than the nightmare creature she had seen earlier!

    "Fuck!" Shen Nianzu was unable to hold back a curse. Was this woman crazy?! The death condition clearly forbade any display of disrespect towards the deity. And to blow the temple up... was it not a severe act of insolence?!

    He continued to drag Jin Jiuchi along, no longer caring that the man’s body was scraping against the unforgiving sand. Entering the temple was not an option because he still could not ascertain what kind of danger lay ahead, and there was also the possibility of being crushed to death by the collapsing building. And thus only one course of action remained — head toward the players’ camp!

    Indeed, Wind was much weaker than him and he could deal with her swiftly. But his priority right now was to secure Jin Jiuchi’s body in a safe location! Who could have guessed what might happen to Jin Jiuchi if he turned his attention away even for a moment?!

    "Xiao Shen!" A faint cry echoed ahead, and Shen Nianzu squinted his eyes to see that it was Xinxin, accompanied by Jiang Shun and Lang Zhenya with Fatty on the rear. If the first rumble had not succeeded in waking the players up from their post-exhaustion lethargy, then the earth-shaking explosion would surely do the job.

    Breathless, Xinxin arrived at their side, his voice trembling, "W–What’s happening? What is..." His gaze went above Shen Nianzu’s head, and his expression twisted into one of sheer horror and dread. "AH—!"

    Heart lurching in his chest, Shen Nianzu whipped his head around to see the nightmarish sight unfolding before him.

    Emerging from the depths of the ruined temple were colossal figures, as tall as the building itself. Their elongated limbs contorted at unnatural angles as they wielded curved blades that glimmered with a sinister aura. They were swathed entirely in tightly-wound bandages from head to toe. A low and menacing growl emanated from their mouths, echoing through the desolate expanse of the dark desert.

    Shen Nianzu sucked in cold air. The nightmare creature!

    "Divine punishment!" He shouted at Xinxin, white mist billowing out of his mouth and cold sweat drenching his clothes. "That female player detonated a mini bomb in the temple, and now the divine punishment is here!"

    "What?!" Jiang Shun could not believe his ears when he heard that. "Why would JJ do that?!"

    Lang Zhenya turned to her companion in shock, "She is really JJ?! Didn’t she tell you that you have gotten the wrong person?!"

    "M–Monsters!!" Fatty almost pissed his pants out of fear, his voice quivering in terror. His instinct urged him to flee from this place, but his trembling knees betrayed his weakness in the face of these towering abominations.

    "Now is not the time for that!" Shen Nianzu ground his teeth together, his mind racing. He quickly counted inside his heart. There were five mummies, each looked dangerous enough on their own. One of them lingered near the temple, presumably to pursue Wind, while the other four approached them with relentless determination. "Prepare for battle!"

    "W–Wait...!" Xinxin’s gaze fell on the unconscious Jin Jiuchi who was being dragged unceremoniously like a sack of potatoes, with half of his body almost buried inside the sand. An involuntary gasp escaped his lips, "What happened to him?!"

    Her words caught the attention of the other players, and their bewildered eyes joined in questioning the identity of the mysterious man whom they had never seen before.

    "He’s my dog, okay?!" Shen Nianzu hollered out loud in the moment of exasperation. "What? Haven’t seen a dog that can transform into a human before?!" He had thought about it carefully and decided that it would be better to keep Jin Jiuchi’s true identity a secret for the time being. Not only to avoid making things complicated, but also to evade suspicion from Jiang Shun and Wind, who had entered this Cycle for him.

    As for himself...

    Tightly gripping the silver needles between his fingers, Shen Nianzu’s body tensed in preparation to fight. How much of his strength should he reveal? If he displayed too much power, it would turn his effort to paint himself as a weak player for naught. There was also the huge possibility that Jiang Shun would grow to suspect him. However, if he purposely concealed his abilities, he could not guarantee that he could keep Jin Jiuchi’s body out of harm’s way!

    The mummies closed in, their imposing figures casting a shadow over them like towering giants staring down at helpless ants. Fatty let out a terrified scream, collapsing to the sandy ground, his eyes wide with utter fear.

    Jiang Shun, on the other hand, took the initiative to attack.

    All around him, the fine sand trembled and rose to the air as though lifted by an invisible force. With a clenched fist, he molded the particles together to form a solid rock. He shifted his body backward and hurled the stone with all of his might, his pose comparable to a professional baseball player!

    "Straight!" He exclaimed out loud as the rock propelled through the air and struck one of the mummies right on its thigh, causing it to stagger in its step. "These creatures are not hard to deal with! Their movements are jerky and disjointed. As long as you aim for their center of balance, you will be able to defeat them!"

    "Not hard to deal with?!" Fatty’s voice cracked with hysteria. He could not even get close to one of them lest he would be stomped to death, how was he supposed to trip them?!

    Lang Zhenya was not one to be outdone either. Brandishing a prop that resembled a crimson whip, she skillfully lashed it around the mummy’s leg. Veins bulged on her forehead as she exerted all her strength, and under the inertia, the mummy fell down on its knees!

    While Jiang Shun and Lang Zhenya took on two of the mummies, leaving the remaining two to advance toward Shen Nianzu, Xinxin, and Fatty.

    "H–Help...!" Tears streamed down Fatty’s face, and he was so terrified that he almost fainted right there and then.

    Shen Nianzu clenched his teeth. He could deal with one creature just fine, but he needed to get close to it in order to unleash the maximum effect of his blade. What about Jin Jiuchi then? What about Xinxin and Fatty? Could they hold off the other mummy?

    Alas, before he could decide to screw everything and activate his skill card, Xinxin leapt forward and positioned himself between Shen Nianzu and the two giant mummies.

    Shen Nianzu was stunned. "You..."

    "J–Just take Da Shen to a safe place and leave these two to me!" Xinxin shouted in a shaky voice. Shen Nianzu could see that the youth’s entire body was quivering in fear, but just like a certain fool he knew, Xinxin still stood tall in front of him, determined to protect him. He tilted his head sideways and revealed an ugly teary smile, "T–To be completely honest... I’m afraid to use my skill card. But... I can’t stay like this forever, can I? Xiao Shen, I am telling the truth when I said that I am a teammate who will fight alongside you! I will not leave you behind!"

    Since he obtained the skill card through his first Cycle in the tropical rainforest, Xinxin had not even activated it even once because he had always been timid and cowardly at heart. He did not understand what his skill card meant, and thus he could only rely on cheap props to survive.

    But today...

    It was time for him to conquer this meaningless fear and fight!

    Xinxin took a deep breath to steel himself, and then he decisively activated his skill card.

    In the next moment, the fierce battle between players and mummies seemed to freeze for a split second at the sight of an humongous creature that appeared out of nowhere.

    Jiang Shun was in the middle of throwing rocks when his feet almost gave way beneath him. He gaped, "What the hell..."

    Fatty, Lang Zhenya and Shen Nianzu were equally dumbstruck as well.

    Before them stood a towering and muscular... kingkong. It was comparable in height with the mummies, its body compact and adorned with bulging muscles. Rising on its hind legs, it pounded its chest and emitted a thunderous roar, exuding an awe-inspiring and intimidating presence.

    But there was just one glaring problem.

    The kingkong... was bright cyan in color.

    Not only that, it was also wearing a cyan colored hairpin identical to Xinxin’s. The bizarre juxtaposition of cuteness and terror caused the players’ faces to turn weird.

    How to say it? The color was so striking that it kinda hurt the eyes...

    "AAHHH—!" Xinxin perched on top of the giant kingkong’s shoulder, his eyes squeezed tight in fear that he would be thrown off by accident. "Attack them! Attack those mummies!!" He commanded mindlessly, driven by a surge of adrenaline.

    Skill Card: Kingkong Barbie

    Skill Type: Summoning

    Skill Level: 7

    Skill Description: They screamed at the sight of you, but so what? You’re a fusion of beauty and power! When the Kingkong asked ’am I beautiful?’, say yes or you will have a taste of its wrath!

    Number of usage per Cycle: 3/4

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    A/N: damn Xinxin will soon become my next fav character cos I love his skill card *laugh*