Chapter 192: Counterattack

The same thing is happening in parallel in many playgrounds.

Players with strong battle power faced the bosses head-on, while those with weaker battle power chose to besiege them, or not take the force route and simply go wherever they went and demolish them, like a happy demolition team.

Di Yifugui is organising the demolition of a century-old mansion by members of the Brother Xiao support group.

This is the centre of this playground, inhabited by fierce, centuries-old stern ghosts who are cruel and bloodthirsty and do not spare everyone who enters, but the restrictions of the house prevent them from leaving the old mansion.

And Di Yifugui and the others didn't go inside and took advantage of the midday sun to demolish the old house directly on its outskirts.

The banging and banging of the demolition forced the stern spirits to move around less and less, yet there was nothing they could do about it.

Di Yifugui's green hair glistened in the sunlight as she held a paper tube rolled up in a trumpet and put one foot on the pile of masonry that had been torn down: "Come on everyone, every brick we move today will be the cornerstone of the players' liberation movement!"

"Liberation!" The players chanted.

Zhao Xiaohe added: "Not only that, but the boss said that he would reward everyone with a suite as soon as this job was done. The rebel also said that he would give everyone a car later, so let's work hard, a bright future is waiting for us!"

"A suite! A car!" The players' voices were even louder.

Motivated by both the ideal and the reality, the players have been working harder to demolish the land.

The wall of the old mansion came crashing down on another side, and the angry ghosts in the house rolled in blackness inside, seemingly about to go berserk.

But they really don't dare to make a move in the face of the midday sun.

Just wait until the evening ...... night and they'll be able to take a hard look at the guys.

However, at this rate of demolition, by nightfall there may be only one floor of the entire haunted mansion left.

A group of soon-to-be-homeless stern ghosts suddenly feel the greatest crisis ever.

--

Wang Ke and Wang Taidi stormed into a new playground.

Under the combined strength of the two brothers, the boss looked so overwhelmed that it had soon fallen.

They are planning to draw the marker on their body to the next playfield.

Instead, a rift appeared out of nowhere in the space ahead, and from within came an eerie laugh: "Hahaha ...... ha ...... long time no see ...... "

The brothers looked towards the chasm and simultaneously gripped their weapons in a defensive stance.

The only people who would suddenly appear in the playground like this, apart from their teammates, are from the Advent side of the world.

Whatever it is, it's coming from a bad place anyway.

What was in the chasm finally came out.

That's a human form.

It is a thing because it looks like many things sewn together, from thick human arms, to insect-like armour, and some legs with fur to tell what kind of animal they are.

In short, this thing looks like everything and maintains its human form, but it just doesn't look human.

" Wang Ke ......" A head suddenly twisted over the body of the monster.

The two men present were familiar with the head, which was -

Zhang Yiqin.

Zhang Yiqin's head, originally turned with his back to them, twists around with difficulty, his bloodshot eyes staring at the two men with malice, and exposed red muscles can still be seen where his neck meets his body.

"Hahahaha ...... hahaha ......" Zhang Yiqin laughed nervously, as if he had found something funny.

" Wang Taidi ......" Another head lifted from the monster's chest.

This is also an acquaintance -

Liang Sian.

Liang Sian's head is crudely stitched onto the body of the monster, like a bizarre flesh tumour growing on his chest.

Liang Sian's face was deadly grey, his eyes cloudy, his mouth parted in a grim smile, "Didn't expect it, did you? We ...... meet again ......"

Wang Taidi said disdainfully, "What a scourge, you can't even die clean."

Liang Sian laughed dumbly, "Hey ...... dead players become NPCs if they're lucky, and we're especially lucky so we become bosses ......"

"Being chosen to enter the ...... descent world is lucky ......" Liang Sian said.

"It's even more fortunate to be a boss ...... fate is on our side ......" says Zhang Yiqin.

The two of them seem to have completely fused into one, shaped into a whole new boss.

For both had either had their necks snapped or their heads decapitated.

This made their speech intermittent and their voices hoarse and broken, which was exceptionally hard to hear.

Liang Sian stared at the two brothers, "The Advent World has already found out about your movements, not only the contracted players but even the bosses will be involved in the siege of you ...... hey ...... and how long can you How long can you hold out?"

Zhang Yiqin: "Hahaha ...... Wang Ke ...... You've always been a dreamer, trying to take your brother away is a fool's errand, and now you want to go against Advent World ...... hahahahaha ......"

Liang Sian and Zhang Yiqin spoke at the same time: "You ...... are dead ......"

Facing the monsters in front of him, Wang Ke raised his sword without expression: "Have you forgotten who is the captain?"

Wang Taidi had that icy smile again, "If one death isn't enough, I can give you another one, for free."

With those words, the two brothers launched themselves in unison at their former enemy before them.

Blood-red longswords and pure white daggers cut a dangerous light towards the monster that had come out of the combination.

Liang Sian and Zhang Yiqin's monster is huge, but it doesn't move slowly at all, with the powerful animal's legs stomping hard and jumping far away in an instant.

But the two brothers' attacks immediately came after them again.

The long blood-red knife cuts into Liang Sian's head, while the white dagger cuts into Zhang Yiqin's neck.

Instead, the monster leapt in place and jerked out of the range of their attack, forcing the long knives and daggers to fall short.

"It's our turn ......" Liang Sian said, and the monster's body plummeted downwards.

The thick arm swung up and hit Wang Ke hard.

Wang Ke instantly rolled to the ground to avoid the attack.

"The ground was smashed into a large crater by the attack with a loud bang.

The power of this could be imagined if it landed on a person.

But the attack wasn't over yet, seemingly recognising that Wang Ke was recovering from a serious injury and must be a better solution than Wang Taidi.

A succession of attacks were directed at Wang Ke, trying to buy time to kill him in a short time.

"Boom, boom, boom" came one after another, but all were narrowly avoided by Wang Ke.

They were correct in guessing that Wang Ke's body had recovered quickly from Qi Ning's treatment and was able to fight.

But how could more than a year trapped in a cocoon not have left him damaged?

Now Wang Ke is not in his usual form.

But let's not forget his skills, the more he is injured the stronger he becomes, which is the source of his strength to get out of it after being trapped for over a year.

All the damage that is done enhances his attack.

Wang Ke wielded [Bloodbath] and charged violently in front of this combo monster.

[Bloodbath] slashed a cold, bloody blade through the air, attempting to slice the monster in two.

Just then, Liang Sian and Zhang Yiqin's faces broke out into a wry smile.

They opened their mouths at the same time.

Zhang Yiqin's mouth emits purple hallucinogenic smoke, and Liang Sian's mouth spits out bright green venom.

At such a close distance, it was too late for Wang Ke to dodge, and he was about to run head-on into two clearly problematic objects.

But, who asked him to have a younger brother.

" Wang Ke will not be harmed for a minute." Wang Taidi's words rang out in time.

The two men, who had suffered at the hands of Wang Taidi and even lost their lives, felt badly about it.

But, as they had expected, it was too late to dodge at such a close distance.

While the smoke and venom could not reach Wang Ke, the bloody blade had arrived as promised.

With a crisp, clean slash, he chopped the combined creature into two pieces.

Wang Ke withdrew his sword, his tone unmoving: "Rubbish."

"No......" Zhang Yiqin's eyes widened.

"How can ...... we ...... be ...... the lucky ones ...... " Liang Sian muttered, but his voice grew fainter and fainter, finally disappearing.

As their words fell, the corpse that had come out of this combination instantly began to rot in an unbelievable way, accompanied by an overwhelming stench, and turned into a writhing puddle of liquid.

Knowing what was about to happen, the two brothers quickly dodged out of the way so that the liquid could not come near them for a moment.

Delayed in finding a replacement, the liquid gradually lost its mobility and dried up on the ground.

Wang Taidi smiled and said to his brother, "Now that I've killed them once, you've killed them once too, cool?"

Wang Ke hooked the corners of his mouth, "So-so."

Wang Taidi asked, "Brother, how is your health, do you want to rest first?"

Wang Ke shook his head, "No."

In the next instant, the two brothers' figures disappear, heading for the next playground.

--

Qi Ning has just finished fighting on the last playground and has entered a new copy.

As soon as he stepped inside, Qi Ning sensed that something was wrong.

It is a lively street, with young faces coming and going with the unique energy of youth.

They laugh and joke as they walk through the streets, chatting about recent events and new passages on the internet, occasionally complaining about school and people, and seemingly having no particularly heavy worries in their lives.

Qi Ning is familiar with the area.

This is one of the most popular streets around the university town, full of inexpensive and creative shops that university students in the neighbourhood love to visit in their free time.

This is also the place ...... used to come when he and Cen Wei were dating.

Everything around us is uncannily familiar.

This one has the ice cream that Cen Wei likes.

Cen Wei often hangs out outside the cat cafe there, as she is allergic to cats and is afraid to go in, so she can only relieve her cravings through the glass.

There is also a restaurant not far away, where Qi Ning can recite exactly what dishes Cen Wei likes.

He now sets foot in the place he remembers.

It was as if it was a return trip to the same place.

But Qi Ning reached up and touched his face, the texture of the mask at his fingertips a clear reminder that he couldn't go back.

Qi Ning knew she was stepping into some kind of illusion.

He walked cautiously through the streets, observing everything around him.

The young people coming and going didn't seem to feel strange about his outfit as they brushed past him and continued to have fun on their own.

Finally, Qi Ning's footsteps stopped at a familiar coffee shop.

The minimalist décor, in which many plants are arranged, looks very fresh and natural.

And in a familiar spot was sitting a man who was waving at him with a smile on his face.

It was a face that had appeared in Qi Ning's memory countless times in midnight dreams.

He remembered every expression on that face, happy, happy, sad, depressed, helpless ......

It's Cen Wei.

Through the glass of the cafe, Cen Wei waved and gestured to him: "Come on, senior, come on.

Qi Ning stared at him for a long time before turning around and stepping into the coffee shop.

Then sat down in the same seat where he always sits.

In front of Cen Wei is a latte with the same pull as every other time before, a fat cat.

Cen Wei smiled and looked at Qi Ning: "Senior, you're late, have you been too busy with work?"

Qi Ning Suddenly remembered when this conversation was ......

Cen Wei was still smiling, not angry at her boyfriend's tardiness: "I'm telling you, senior, I just got my internship! And it's in the emergency department, my dream department."

It was the day that Cen Wei was due to go on placement in the Emergency Department.

It is also the source of all nightmares.

Shortly after this, Cen Wei was ......

Qi Ning recalls his own statement back then, "Congratulations, all this time has not been in vain."

Cen Wei takes a sip of his coffee: "I didn't think they would pick me either, I thought I wouldn't make it this time."

Qi Ning: "No, they'll definitely choose you because you're really good."

Cen Wei smiled, "You always praise me so much, I think my grades have soared since I've been with you, it's really the god of learning's aura shining on me."

Qi Ning: "That's your own effort, but the emergency department is busy, so be prepared."

......

Qi Ning reenacts the scene as she remembers it.

Across the room, Cen Wei repeats the conversation word for word, making it feel as if time and space have overlapped.

But all good things are fleeting and there comes a time when the memory of a conversation comes to an end.

The coffee in front of Cen Wei is at the bottom.

Qi Ning got up without saying a word and turned to leave without saying a word to this Cen Wei.

Cen Wei said with a smile, "Why are you leaving? Won't you stay with me?"

Qi Ning's voice was cold: "I won't kill you for his sake, but don't spoil my mood by saying anything unnecessary."

He sounded sober and clearly not bewitched; he had only briefly relived an old dream with the help of the other's bait.

But, after all, a dream is a dream.

It is time to wake up to this short-lived dream of illusion.

" Cen Wei" was silent for a moment, as if weighing something, but he spoke anyway, "Senior-"

Qi Ning's voice went cold: "With his face on, you'd better not do anything unusual."

At the same time, a scalpel of shimmering silver appeared in his hand, and a puff of lavender smoke began to linger at his fingertips.

This means that Qi Ning is getting impatient and is reaching the end of his patience with this impostor.

" Cen Wei" no longer speaks.

With a masked smile, he watched Qi Ning's tall back drift away.

Qi Ning steps out of the coffee shop.

All of a sudden, the bustling streets paused for an instant, all the noise and laughter coming to a standstill for a moment.

Everyone on the street kept up their previous movements, looking lively, but if you look closely you will see that their faces are all devoid of features, nothing more than a group of human dolls.

As Qi Ning walks, the roadside lights fade away.

The buildings lining the streets gradually go from fine to rough, and the ground becomes less detailed.

All that remained later were simple cubes standing on the bare ground like the most rudimentary 3D models.

Ahead was darkness, and out of the darkness came the voice of Cen Wei.

"Who are you ......"

"I don't know you. ......"

"Well! Why ...... you why ......"

A stumbling footstep sounded in the darkness, as if a seriously injured man was struggling for his life.

But soon a more powerful footstep quickly caught up with them.

Then came the sound of a blade stabbing into the body, one after the other, interspersed with Cen Wei's vague cries of pain.

"Seniors ...... help me ...... help me ......"

"Seniors ...... seniors ......"

"Learn ...... long ......"

Qi Ning's fists suddenly clenched.

This guy, who has used Cen Wei as bait time and time again to dig into the wound in his heart that has never healed, is now really angry.

Qi Ning's voice was eerily cold: "Stop acting, Cen Wei died outside the game, his death didn't even have anything to do with the Advent world, so who are you?"

The cries for help in the darkness stopped.

This time an unfamiliar voice rang out, "Oh, I can see the deepest hole in your heart, obviously with such a big bleeding wound, and you don't even think about filling it?"

"In the Advent world, it's actually quite simple to resurrect him isn't it?"

Qi Ning's disdain: "Just a self-defeating knock-off."

The voice in the darkness changed: "The Advent World is omnipotent, and if you choose to become indentured, you will understand that it is a completely different life form and that it is not impossible to resurrect a person."

Qi Ning is unmoved: "If the Advent World was truly omnipotent, it wouldn't dare to just sneak people out of reality. As for resurrection, have you ever seen a dead contracted player come back in one piece? Can they really still be considered human if they turn into NPCs or bosses?"

He certainly tried to resurrect Cen Wei in the Advent world.

But countless failures have made him understand that even though the Advent World appears to be powerful, it is not omnipotent and is even subject to many limitations that prevent it from bringing back lost lives.

Even if he could create a Cen Wei exactly as he remembered it, it would be a doll driven by his own memories.

Such a comfort item, he doesn't need.

He would rather live sober and miserable than embrace an imitation for a false pleasure.

"Ho ho ho ...... what a stubborn fellow ......" The voice changed again as the man in the darkness finally eased out.

This is a man in casual clothes, who otherwise looks ordinary.

But his mouth was particularly large, and his open mouth had several long tongues, which made him look incredibly odd.

The man's speaking voice changed again, "I like the sound of your voice, I wanted to collect it gently, but now it looks like I'll have to do it the rough way ah."

With that, the tongue man lunged towards Qi Ning.

His mouth snapped open wide, and from it deepened more tongues, which, like sharp arrows, stabbed viciously at Qi Ning.

He aimed for multiple vitals on Qi Ning's body, but just avoided above the neck, seemingly really wanting to collect Qi Ning's voice, as previously stated.

Qi Ning cut off the incoming tongue with a backhanded slash.

But in the next instant, as if his scalpel had been corroded, the part of the blade simply disappeared.

The tongue man laughed and a new tongue grew out of his mouth to replace the severed one, "Don't underestimate me."

Qi Ning casually threw away the knife and a new one came out at her fingertips, "A doctor's scalpel, of course, can always be replaced."

The two sides continue to trade blows.

The tongue man is so resilient that he can regenerate his tongue almost immediately after it has just been cut off.

The angle of his attack was also very tricky, and several times he narrowly grazed Qi Ning's vital area, the crimson blood oozing out and being absorbed by the black clothing, which was not visible on the outside.

Qi Ning once again threw away the corroded scalpel, the remains of which were already scattered around.

The tongue man said, "Don't struggle, your voice must sound so good when you scream in misery, I wonder what it would be like to scream like that clear and cold."

"Heh heh heh heh ......" Seeming to fantasize about some scene, he actually laughed to himself.

But as he laughed he realised something was wrong, when had so many blood blisters appeared on his tongue?

And these blood blisters were spreading rapidly, becoming more and more numerous, making it a little difficult for him to even breathe.

"You ......" said the tongue man, looking at Qi Ning in surprise.

Qi Ning's tone had a smile in it, "A little virus, and it's only now that it's taken hold.

By this time, the red blood blisters had taken over almost all of the tongue man's tongue and were spreading throughout his body.

His tongue became swollen, making it hard to speak: "When did ...... ...... poison... ..."

Qi Ning played with the scalpel and slowly approached him, "I don't need to poison myself, I am the poison, and to attack me defencelessly is to seek death."

The tongue man convulsed under the rapidly spreading virus, his breath coming in sharply, his body stiffening unnaturally, and blood still pouring from his mouth.

He had lost control of his body and the fear of death struck him, making him tremble.

He seems to be dying, dying at the hands of a common senior player.

How could that be possible? He was an indentured player, he was a more advanced life form, how could he be defeated by such a lowly creature ......

Qi Ning wielded a scalpel at the fallen tongue man.

"You shouldn't use his voice, and every word you say disgusts me."

"You don't deserve his face, your every smile is so disgusting."

Every snowy blade light that fell was accompanied by a bloom of blood.

Qi Ning cut away, slash by slash, all that made him feel disgusted.

Qi Ning was calm throughout, even her tone of voice was, as always, unruffled.

Eventually, the tongue man stopped moving.

With his death, the surroundings began to crumble, revealing the replica in its original form.

Having done so, Qi Ning wiped his hands clean, then straightened his hat and turned around to continue his search for his target.