by N. Heller
The yuppie gave a disapproving snort. Seeing the both of them acting hostile the moment they met, Chen Jinfeng quickly soothed the situation, “Alright, alright. Can you set aside your difference today on my account? Let’s work together to defeat those traitors?”
“If we want to bring that up, isn’t this mess caused by you?” the fifth Executive suddenly spoke loudly — a brown rabbit emerged from the sand. The group of people threw a glance at the rabbit without a hint of astonishment.
The color of the sand-covered rabbit was no different than when it was clean. It was a brownish yellow. However, the rabbit shook its body agitatedly. After shaking all the sand off his fur, it opened its rabbit lips and let out a human-like cold laughter. “Chen Jinfeng, I forgot to ask you something. Have you gotten your hands on that Pocket Dimension Escape Portal? Have you had s.e.x with that Caucasian woman? This entire hubbub was created because of your f*cking idiotic greed.”
As a rabbit, its words were considerable uncouth and malicious, “After they discovered those duoluozhongs, you were also the first person to report to Professor Bai. From the current situation, things seem to be escalating. I’m really curious. I wonder what sort of sh*t is brewing in that vile gut of yours.”
Although he was mocked by the rabbit, Chen Jinfeng surprisingly suppressed his anger and did not say a word. However, his contorted face was red with anger. Hai Tianqing sighed and stepped forward. “Enough. Just shut up now. When this is over, you can quarrel all you want. Rabbit, you better watch your words. Even if you wake up with a bad temper, you should know when to stop.”
Ten minutes passed. No one moved.
Fifteen minutes passed. The yuppie took out a mirror and looked at his own reflection.
Twenty-five minutes passed. Hai Tianqing finally stood upright, “Why aren’t they here yet?”
Actually, Lin Sanjiu and her group had already reached the building some time ago; however, they were trying hard to come up with a plan. To avoid alerting Lin Sanjiu and her group, the broadcast mentioned that everyone would gather in their own dormitories. However, activating her【School of Higher Consciousness】, Lin Sanjiu already concluded from the information she processed that their plan to go to the Executives’ Building had been leaked. They also knew that all five Oasis Executives were waiting for them at their destination. Furthermore, the situation was not in their favor. Five to four.
After thinking for a while, none of them came up with any good idea. Just when they were discussing to ditch the plan altogether, Lin Sanjiu suddenly came to a decision, “Let’s just rush in there!”
The other three people looked at her as if she was a lunatic and shook their head vehemently.
“Let me finish. To simultaneous guard each direction, the five people would stand far apart from each other. So, we mustn’t go too close. Once they notice us, we will run away and split them up. We can fight them one on one. After that, we can gather in front of the Executives’ Building. If anyone of us is chased by two people at the same time, just raise the alarm and wait for the others to save you after they’ve finished with their battle.”
“It’s still very dangerous…”
“Think about it. We must fight with these Executives no matter what. If we don’t fight with them today, there is no way we can escape!.” Lin Sanjiu gave it to them straight.
“That’s just like Xiao Jiu’s style, leading just by brawns…” Fang Dan grumbled. Subsequently, the four of them gathered and started discussing for a long time. Thanks to that timely broadcast, the crowd had already returned to their own dormitories. If it wasn’t for that, Lin Sanjiu and her group would have long been discovered.
Right now, they had already spent 20 minutes discussing on their battle tactics, while the Executives were waiting angrily. The yuppie had already styled his hair three times; Hai Tianqing swore like a sailor as he sat at the staircase to rest.
The OL crossed her arms, her head was lowered so her expression couldn’t be seen. The rabbit curled up into a fur ball and closed its eyes, it wasn’t clear if it was asleep. Chen Jinfeng was the only one who was searching for a glimpse of their target he tiptoed and cast his eyes into the distance.
From the corner of his eyes, he suddenly spotted a turf of fiery red flashing past the yellow sand. From afar, it reminded him of Marcie’s hair color. Chen Jinfeng felt a sudden rush of energy, he licked his lips and smirked. Without turning behind, he shouted, “I think I spotted one!” After he said that, he rushed forward and started chasing. He slowly disappeared leaving only four people behind.
“I will also…”
“Don’t move!” the OL commanded after Chen Jinfeng left. She stopped both Hai Tianqing and the yuppie. “They might be trying to lure us away.”
Hai Tianqing went back to sit at the staircase, gloomily. From his expression, it was clear that he would rather fight than sit around doing nothing. Hearing this, a smile appeared on the yuppie’s face, “No, no. They’re not trying to lure us away. They are trying to split us up and defeat us one-on-one,” after he said this, he pointed to a figure in the distance. “I am interested in that one, let me take on that opponent.”
Hai Tianqing gave a grunt and remained in his spot as a signal of agreement. The OL frowned. After the yuppie ran out quickly, she turned to look at the other remaining person and rabbit. “Trying to fight with us one-on-one… isn’t that too naive? Even if we each chase after one of them, we can still leave one person to guard the door. Do you think anyone in their group can handle two Executives at the same time?”
The OL sighed, repositioned her glasses and nodded.
Kicking up a cloud of dust, Hai Tianqing chased after his target rapidly.
The OL’s deduction was actually accurate, Lin Sanjiu’s tactic was almost akin to just attacking them straight on. It really wasn’t that well thought out. However, due to the pressure, Fang Dan and Hu Changzai had forgotten to inform Lin Sanjiu about a single thing.
With an average pace, footsteps approached them. The OL raised her head and looked up vigilantly.
A person walked toward them with her hands in her pockets. That person with a nonchalant attitude was none other than Lin Sanjiu.
Due to the information that Fang Dan and Hu Changzai missed pointing out, at that instant, Lin Sanjiu decided to abandon her tactic to run after being spotted. Instead, she decided to walk straight up to her enemy.
When they were just 20 meters away from each other, Lin Sanjiu stopped. She looked at the OL who was shocked and began to ask, “Wasn’t there supposed to be five Executives? If it’s just you, I am confident that I can mow you down.”
TN: [1] The author used the term office lady (OL) to describe the woman in office wear. I kept the term, but unlike in Japan where the term usually refers to a young, unmarried, low-level female employee, it holds a more generic meaning of a white-collared female employee in China.
Chapter 63 - Are You Ever Afraid?
None of the other people noticed Lin Sanjiu blatantly appearing before the two Executives because everyone was busy, but this was something no one would even imagine.
Marcie was sprinting when suddenly an intense draft erupted in front of her. “Bang!” Somehow, Marcie’s head collided with the empty space ahead, and she nearly fell. She reached out and realized that there was an invisible wall, but she did not know how far it stretched. Holding her slightly injured nose, she turned to look at Chen Jinfeng, who was just a few meters away.
He couldn’t help smiling as he wrung his hands with a sick satisfaction. He stepped a few steps toward her and said, “Look. Here we meet once again.”
Marcie eyed him coldly. She placed her hands down and extended her nails.
Despite the light streaming from the searchlights above, it was difficult to spot Marcie’s extended nails which now lacked a reflective metallic surface. Only Marcie herself could see that the nails on both her last fingers had broken off, leaving two missing extensions.
But Chen Jinfeng
paid no heed to her display of aggression. His eyes lingered on her bosom before he laughed, “Just so you know, I’ve seen Septimus.”
That statement caught Marcie’s attention.
“I guess you two are still on bad terms. I met him just this morning. He told me the reason why you disappeared and even gave me a little information about your nails…” there was a loathsome smile on Chen Jinfeng’s face as he spoke with a syrupy tone. “As long as I break off your nails one by one, you won’t be able to hurt me, right?”
[12 went to look for Chen Jinfeng? Where is he now?] Marcie knew that Chen Jinfeng would not answer her questions, so she didn’t bother asking. “If you think you can evade my nails, then go ahead and try,” she uttered monotonously.
Chen Jinfeng’s smile visibly waned, then he clapped twice. As the sound he made faded, rings of colors radiated from where they stood. In less than a second, their entire surroundings changed entirely.
The poorly-lit factory compound disappeared and was replaced by a forest filled with a collection of weird plants. The sun was shining above, and the ground was covered by wild grass. Marcie was standing at a rather open area, she could even see a swath of blue sky through the canopy. Chen Jinfeng was no longer standing where he was just moments before. Now, there were only a few small yellow flowers in that spot.
Marcie took a few cautious steps forward, she placed all her focus on listening to her surroundings. She was trying to see if she could hear any movements nearby.
Chen Jinfeng’s voice came down suddenly from the blue sky above: “The territory I showed you previously was just the basic version of my ability. I am using my full power today. How is it? Beautiful, right?”
A streak of blood slowly appeared on the tip of Marcie’s nose. Still startled, Marcie stared at the item and discovered that it was just a wildflower.
The petals of the hardened wildflower were wide-open, and each of them had a sharp blade-like edge. Once it rotated, it was just like a beautiful meat grinder. Marcie picked up the flower and tested it on her hair. A few red locks of hair fell to the ground.
“Haha! How is it? Isn’t it pretty good? Let me tell you something. I can convert everything within my territory into a weapon. It is not just that wildflower you’re holding.”
Marcie tried to locate the direction where the voice originated from. But the very next second, Marcie found herself running as fast as she could as multiple flat blade-like fragments fell from the sky almost as if chasing her. She only stopped when she had run about twenty meters. When she turned to look behind, she saw multiple flat hardened clouds sticking out from the ground.
[F*ck. That is really everything!] Marcie thought to herself as she quickly examined her entire surroundings. Even though the sky seemed boundless, and the forest seemed to go on forever, Marcie knew that this illusory territory must have a boundary as it should still be constrained by the natural laws of reality. She remembered that when they were in the infirmary, that illusory territory was only the size of a single room. At that time, she could still hear noises from outside the room...
Despite the fact that this place was not as large as it appeared, the main problem was that she did not know where Chen Jinfeng was hiding.
“Now…” Chen Jinfeng’s voice rang out again. The instant Marcie reacted, she saw a green shadow coming toward her. She dodged with a somersault, only to realize that the attack was not aimed at her but only her hand. The vine which attacked her stopped in mid-air. It shook and two long nails it “held” dropped to the ground.
Marcie looked at her nails and discovered that the nails of her left ring finger and middle finger had been broken off.
“You only have eight nails left…” Chen Jinfeng amplified his gloating voice. “After I get rid of all your nails, I will come out to see you. We’ll have some fun then, won’t we?”
[Where could he be?] Marcie searched her pockets, but it was disappointing. During their time here in Oasis, she already grew accustomed to the presence of electrical lights, so she didn’t even have a lighter on her. If she did, she might just try to burn the place down.
Just then, she spotted a black shadow from the corner of her eyes. Marcie had no idea what it was, but she didn’t dare to use her nails. Her only option was to run! When she turned to run, she did not expect to see over ten branches whizzing toward her. She panicked, quickly fell to the ground and rolled to one side as she protected her head with her hands.
“Great! Only seven left!” Chen Jinfeng laughed. Another of Marcie’s nail broke when it stuck onto one of the branches.
[Five.] That was the actual numbers of nails left. She had two nails on her left hand and three on her right.
[Huh?] Marcie suddenly stood still. The sun in Chen Jinfeng’s territory was not overly intense, but sunlight spilled throughout the entire place. She could see the green leaves and branches of the trees. She could see the azure blue sky. She could see everything clearly. The amount of light far exceeded that in the dim darkness in Oasis. Yet, she realized that Chen Jinfeng did not know the exact number of nails left on her fingers.
[Is he hiding behind something so he can’t see?] Marcie gulped. If she just defended herself passively like this, she would become a sitting duck once all her fingernails were broken. If so, she would rather take a risk. Her heartbeat soared, and she could even feel the tremors through her c.h.e.s.t, Marcie looked to both sides. Suddenly, she sprinted toward the thick forest. This time, she didn’t hold back. Running at her fastest speed, she raced toward the forest leaving a series of afterimages behind.
Behind her, countless grass, leaves, branches, and flowers floated up in mid-air covering almost half the sky. It was quite a sight to behold.
“Oh? You are trying to hide?” Marcie did not know if she was imagining things, but Chen Jinfeng’s tone seemed a little different. Shortly after, the hundreds over hundreds of weaponized flora and fauna followed her into the forest with a swoosh.
The threat did not only come from behind — in that instant, Chen Jinfeng also started to weaponized the branches and leaves in the forest. Marcie could see the menacing amount of razor-sharp edges gathering before her. They rained down upon her.
Needless to say, her clothes were in tatters after that hurricane-like attack, exposing her fair skin and bleeding wounds. Despite that, Chen Jinfeng did not make a single comment about her half-exposed state. Instead, his voice sounded more and more strained, with even a hint of desperation: “Six, five, four…” he was counting down the number of nails.
“Three!”
When he said that, Marcie only had one extended nail left. The seemingly endless forest finally stopped at a river. There were a few ripples in the river, and it was sprinkled with the reflection of a few golden sun rays.
As she looked at the river, Marcie saw the reflection of her own bloodied face with her slightly sinister smile. She managed to protect her last remaining nail. No matter how vicious the previous attacks were, Chen Jinfeng could no longer continue counting.
“I’ve found you at last…”
Just as she said that, someone rose up from the surface of the idyllic river, and water spewed everywhere. The person jumped out and ran in the opposite direction.
“So you do get scared.” Marcie sneered. She had never felt this much energy coursing through her body...
Under the dazzling azure sky, a woman covered in blood leaped into the air as her prey scrambled on the ground. For a moment, it was as if everything froze in a picture perfect scene.
Chen Jinfeng felt a sharp burning pain shoot through his back and saw a glimpse of a drop of his blood. Just when he screamed: “No—“
Once again the poorly-lit building in the factory compound reappeared.
The scathing hot air surrounded him, each agonizing breath was like self-torture. Even before he could feel the pain from his skin which came in direct contact with the ground, he could see white smoke accompanied with the smell of burnt flesh.
&nbs
p; [So this is how it feels to be a person without a heat resistance adaptation?]
Chen Jinfeng gasped violently like a fish out of the water. He felt as if his insides were disintegrating. Without warning, he felt a foot pressing down heavily on his throat.
“Here, we meet once again.” Marcie lowered her head, peering down at him. Even though she was covered with cuts from head to toe, she looked serene. “But, I really don’t wish to see you again…”
“No. No… Please… Please!”
Marcie had no reason to spare him. Her remaining sharp nail easily pierced through Chen Jinfeng’s forehead just as if it were tofu.
Chapter 64 - Mini Explosions & a Sob Story
“Lucky.”
The same word was said at the same time by two different people at two different locations. One of them was Hu Changzai who was facing Hai Tianqing, the other was Fang Dan who was facing the yuppie.
3:02 am, northeastern corner of Oasis.
“Twerp, you think you’re lucky?” A blue vein on Hai Tianqing’s forehead starting throbbing, while he held an axe. The blood vessels on the back of his hand also started bulging. He spat so hard on the floor that his spittle hit the ground like a bullet, to the extent that it raised a small cloud of dust. “Let’s see if you still think so in five minutes,” he threatened as he looked down at Hu Changzai contemptuously.
Hu Changzai pushed up his spectacles, pretending that he was calm but he took two steps backward. His neck felt a little numb because he had to look upwards to see Hai Tianqing’s face — this was his first time standing so close to someone of that stature. [Can someone with such an enormous frame still be considered a human?]
Hu Changzai wasn’t considered tall by any means, but he was at least 1.78m. Despite that, when he stood in front of Hai Tianqing, the top of his head barely reached his opponent’s waist. That man’s shoulders were so wide that it was thrice the length of Hu Changzai’s, and the rippling muscles of his neck and back resembled a small mountain. At first glance, it was obvious that the man possessed an incredible amount of physical strength.