15 minutes after the Blast Tunnel, about 5 km away from the sealed zone. At that moment, a top 20 player was being attacked by two Anomalies.
A great vibration caused a thick dust to explode down the street. Before the dust settled, three figures darted out and continued to fight. Flashes of punches filled the sky and the sound of metal clashing was everywhere.
[Qie… Who are these people?] Not a Scaredy Cat thought to herself [are they one of the top 50?] If Feng Bujue was there, he would have told her affirmatively, no. Because Brother Jue had scanned through all the recording for the other 49 players in the Battle of the Butterfly, he memorized each player’s Id, look and fighting style.
“Burp…” Suddenly there was a drunken burp. A man with a cigarette on his lips, holding a bottle and wearing an afro appeared at the end of the street. After hearing that, the two Anomalies stopped their attack on Not a Scaredy Cat. They swiftly retreated and eyed the newcomer alertly.
Data analysis:
–Breaking through firewall…
–Downloading information…
–Initiating counter tactic…
Appearance recognition database initiating, downloading, inputting/ correcting / inputting/ inputting.
Player Id: Zen Dream
Level: 41
Title: Drunken Silver Blade
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Possessed Skills: ??
Danger Level: High
Voice Recognition: Constructed.
Current Location: Y-142
Tracing triangulation: Unachievable
Control Status: Not controllable
Battle Strategy Option: Calculating…
Since these two level 3 Anomalies from Origin had not undergone any enhancement, so their battle prowess was far lower than a level 2 anomaly. Even though they too could assess the player’s data to a certain degree, if they fought those top players when the numbers were equal on both side, they would lose.
“The capture rate of one has fallen to 7 percent and it is still falling.” After seeing Zen Dream, one Anomaly told the other.
“Hmm… the chance of catching both is close to zero.” The other replied, “Call for back up.”
“Okay…” Before the Anomaly could finish, there was a silver shine and a head flew of its shoulder. The man who made the move was Zen Dream. He darted to close the distance and sliced the throat with one move. If you replayed Zen Dream’s action in slow motion, you would see… at that moment, he grabbed the cigarette out with his right index finger and thumb, flicked it away, then with the same hand, he pulled out his blade at his waist; at the same time, he used a skill to close the distance and covered about 10 metres in mere seconds. Then… when the sword came out from its sheath, he was already before his enemy. His blade moved that fast, so incredibly fast. In fact… the cigarette dropped to the same ground almost at the same second as the head landed on the ground.
“I might not look like it…” Zen Dream started with his usual greeting, “But I used to be an expert player~”
[You’re still one now…] Not a scaredy cat grumbled internally. But seconds later, she shivered with this thought. [If he came for her, what would have happened.]
“Damn human!” The other Anomaly was angered beyond belief. He growled and gritted his teeth as he charged forward as if throwing his life to fight Zen Dream. But… a long hammer swiped at him from the side. He rammed right into it, the hammer head hitting him in the chest and that was the closure for the second Anomaly.
“Why did you choose to help me?” Not a Scary Cat flung Storm Spear over her shoulder (An upgraded version of the Thunder Spear that she used in Battle of the Cowl) as she turned to Zen Dream, “this is not an occasion for a hero to save a damsel in distress, right?”
Zen Dream shrugged as he put the blade away. He grabbed the bottle and took another swig before replying, “Lady, don’t you think the two ‘people’ that attacked you… were quite strange?”
“Oh?” Not a Scaredy Cat tried to draw him out, “What do you mean?”
“I mean… they are not players.” Zen Dream replied.
“Are you sure?” Not a Scaredy Cat answered. “They are not bad at fighting and their fighting style does not resemble an NPC…”
“Ha ha…” Zen Dream interrupted her with a laugh. “You people from Jiang Hu… are a bit too late with your news sources, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean by that?” This time Not a Scaredy Cat was truly befuddled.
“Our gaming studio… has laid down the rules that all the participants need to memorize all the basic information of all the players that have entered the final, there was even a test for it…” Zen Dream said as he lit another cigarette. “Don’t look at me in this state… I barely passed the test.”
“You can just tell me you know all the players in the final, you know.” Not a Scaredy Cat replied, “And don’t just lump me with Jiang Hu, I’m not a professional player.”
“Fine…” Zen Dream said, “In any case… what I mean to say is, these two aren’t players but…”
“Anomalies.” Another unfamiliar voice finished. Zen Dream and Not a Scaredy Cat turned to the voice. The voice came from a broken building next to the street. In fact the building was destroyed in the battle between Not a Scaredy Cat and the two Anomalies ealreir…
Buzz Buzz Buzz…
Following a strange sound, a crystalline object slowly floated over.
“What is going on?” Zen Dream took another swig. “Is this the legendary… flying coffin?”
“I’ve only heard of a flying sword…” The crystal, which was Shapeless Shade replied, “Furthermore… I don’t even look like a coffin.” Its voice and tone was quite friendly and formal, it sounded like a tv host, giving off a feeling a big brother next door.
“Wha… Who are you?” Not a Scaredy Cat corrected herself. She was about to say ‘what are you’ but she quickly changed it to ‘who’ but the former felt too rude but she was not sure the latter was appropriate to describe this thing either but in any case, that was the best she could manage.
“I am Shapeless Shade.” The thing replied, “I am one of the 9 Phantoms.” It paused. “The reason I am here is to wish for you… to abandon the fight with your kind and help us fight against the Anomalies.”
“Oh… so that’s why you’re here.” Zen Dream nodded. “Actually that is what I am planning…” That was the truth or else he wouldn’t have gone to help Not a Scaredy Cat. Zen Dream might not look like it but his mind was sharp. He once fought alongside Brother Jue with the Anomaly, Red Iron, so he understood the power of these Anomalies and he knew that… things were not as simple as they appeared…