Chapter Twenty-Six: Internal Strife

With two points of perception, the night vision effect only allowed Ember to see four meters in front of him. After considering it, he abandoned the plan to spend precious points on increasing perception; after all, under the dual suppression of the shroud of darkness and the subterranean environment, three points of perception wouldn't yield much of a view. He decided to simply continue groping his way forward through the dark along the tunnel.

After passing a slope, the tunnel gradually leveled out. He walked for over two minutes without encountering any branching paths, which left Ember very curious about where the end might lead. He took out the map of the isolated island to compare his route and discovered that the tunnel pointed directly toward an abandoned factory, and beyond that, the center of the island.

"Regardless of where it leads, the scale of this tunnel is exaggerated. And looking at the details, it doesn't look like it was man-made, nor was it excavated by ants."

Ember frowned, examining the smooth tunnel walls. He didn't think these ant-like Shadow-Eater Insects had the ability to achieve such a feat. As he ventured deeper, he made an unexpected discovery: a dust-covered, tattered schoolbag appeared in his line of sight.

It's here!

With a sudden intuition, he immediately picked up the bag to examine it. Sure enough, on a diary inside, he found the name "Anna." Although the slightly childish handwriting didn't reveal much effective information, it was enough for Ember to trigger the third part of the main quest.

...

Quest Name: [Reconstruction] (Main Quest, Part 3)
Requirements: Destroy the two medium-sized insect nests located in the factory.
Reward: Four kill points, ownership of a luxury apartment.
Description: In the pitch-black tunnel, you accidentally discovered "Anna's" diary. You decide to continue following her footsteps and head to the factory for investigation.
[Hint: The two medium-sized insect nests in the factory show signs of merging. Please proceed with caution.]

...

"A luxury apartment?"

Ember was tempted and immediately began to act. He picked up his pace and reached the end of the tunnel three minutes later. Hearing the noisy sounds outside the cave, he didn't rush out, instead leaning in to listen and scout the situation.

"Hurry up! Don't hesitate! The prop's effect won't last long. If we miss this chance, we're finished!"

"Help... ah!"

"Damn it, Lu Renjia, control that Mantis Leader!"

"I can't."

"You're courting death! Don't play games with me. It was one thing to provoke the Thunder Guild, but you want to provoke me too? Use your anomalous weapon, or if we go down this time, you won't have a good end!"

"Xiao Xifeng, watch your tone!"

"Not A Pro, you want to stand up for him too? If this keeps up, we're all going to die. Does that benefit you?"

"We're only working together temporarily for the main quest. If you think you can boss us around without limits just because you have more people, you are dead wrong! Don't you have control methods too? Why must you single out Lu Renjia?"

"Standing up for others requires strength!"

"With these two Mantis Leaders, I think I have the strength to fight you until we both perish."

Hearing this heated argument, Ember realized he had finally run into acquaintances. However, the problem was, why was "Not A Pro" mixed up with Lu Renjia? He quietly poked his head out to observe the battle, discovering two abnormally large Mantis Leaders leaping constantly within the factory floor. The heavy darkness and vast space turned the two Mantis Leaders into flickering scythe-wielding reapers, keeping the players below on edge, terrified of dying from a single careless mistake.

Yet under these circumstances, the argument between Not A Pro and Xiao Xifeng grew increasingly intense, verging on a standoff. Despite the external enemy being right before them, an irreparable rift had appeared among the players. Not A Pro, wielding a battle blade, stood protectively in front of a grim-faced Lu Renjia, subtly confronting the other five players. Xiao Xifeng, whose ID was outlined in silver, had a volatile expression, weighing whether to fight these two ungrateful wretches to the death or to temporarily call a truce.

But just at that moment, a Mantis Leader seized the perfect opportunity, suddenly breaking through the darkness and charging toward the two arguing men at the speed of a meteor.

Xiao Xifeng's expression changed. With a wave of his hand, a shield appeared in his off-hand. He bent his knees to lower his center of gravity, straightened his back, and held the shield high, colliding with the mantis scythe in mid-air. Sparks flew everywhere. Although Xiao Xifeng swayed and nearly lost his balance, he ultimately blocked the fatal strike.

In contrast, Not A Pro simply threw out a shield generator, which instantly transformed into a fluorescent barrier, shrouding both him and Lu Renjia inside. The Mantis Leader's sharp scythe could only carve cracks onto the surface of the barrier, unable to destroy it.

Seeing that it couldn't break the fluorescent barrier for the time being, the Mantis Leader turned to join the siege on Xiao Xifeng. Though the latter had a strong mentality and agile movements, successfully parrying the rapid scythes, he struggled to withstand the frantic joint assault of both leaders. Once again, he was struck by a mantis scythe and nearly lost his footing. Xiao Xifeng tried to hide inside the fluorescent barrier, but the cold-eyed Not A Pro shut him out.

"Damn it, this grudge is settled today! Not A Pro, you're ruthless!"

Xiao Xifeng cursed, narrowly parrying another mantis scythe. Hearing the sound of his shield fracturing, he gritted his teeth and crushed a Fire Emblem, instantly activating a Golden Body of the Sun, defending against fatal attacks while waiting for his four subordinates to come to his rescue.

The Mantis Leaders fought differently than the Mantis Matriarch. Once they attacked their prey, they never stopped. They immediately shifted their hunting target to the four rushing players. Leaping across the ground, scythes cutting through the air, they slaughtered two players in the blink of an eye. Even though one player attempted to use a shotgun blast to knock them back before dying, they still lost their life.

Xiao Xifeng, having ended his Golden Body, saw his group suddenly down by two. Enraged to the point of laughter, he stared at Not A Pro and Lu Renjia inside the dimming barrier and bit out, "Wasn't it just two Fire Emblems? Was it worth making such a scene with me? Since you don't want to play, then we'll all die together!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the furious Xiao Xifeng produced a crystalline blue shard, which made Ember's eyes narrow, as it immediately reminded him of the ability crystals of a Reality Warper.

Xiao Xifeng ordered his subordinates to ignore the Mantis Leaders and focus fire on the fluorescent barrier. In an instant, Not A Pro and Lu Renjia lost their protection. Xiao Xifeng gave a grim laugh and smashed the crystalline blue shard, his eyes filled with madness: "Not A Pro, you're willing to waste a shield to stand up for this kid? Then even if I get hacked to death by these mantises, I'm taking you two down with me! Damn it, once the game officially launches, I'll settle the score with you lot at Not In The Jianghu properly!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As Xiao Xifeng cursed, the shattered crystal emitted a vast amount of energy, forming a frozen domain that enveloped all the players. Any target with a Life Level below ten would be frozen. Ember watched in astonishment as all the players turned into ice statues. As for the two Mantis Leaders, although their speed dropped significantly under the influence of the freezing domain, they were still just barely able to maintain their mobility.

They can play like this too?

Ember, having his eyes opened, knew he couldn't just watch the show anymore. Though the two Mantis Leaders were startled by the frozen domain, they diligently began finishing off the targets. Their bodies were covered in ice crystals, and their speed was extremely slow, but their scythe-like blades remained razor-sharp. Moving slowly across the smooth ice, they easily executed a player. Just as Ember strode into the ice domain—the energy now fading—Lu Renjia looked on, about to be struck down.

In truth, there was a moment when Ember didn't intend to save anyone. But since Not A Pro was determined to protect this person, he decided to kill two birds with one stone and earn a favor. With a drop of his shoulder, he activated Charge. With seven points of Strength, Ember shattered the ice with a single step, colliding squarely with the Mantis Leader that was about to strike.

Lu Renjia, trapped by the freezing effect, couldn't see Ember appear due to the angle. Seeing the scythe approaching, his heart was filled with disappointment. He had struggled through so much to get out of his low point and obtain an admission ticket to the Killing Island, thinking he could finally show his worth, break his limits, and fight to the end. Never did he expect to fail because of a petty man. He was unwilling, yet had to accept reality. He only blamed himself for not perceiving Xiao Xifeng's true face in time and being deceived by his reputation as a veteran player.

Props, materials, and Fire Emblems had been silently embezzled, his own vital contributions completely ignored. They had spoken of cooperation, but in the end, it turned into him working for nothing.

What he felt most guilty about was dragging Not A Pro into this. Also a veteran player, Not A Pro had spoken up for him, while Xiao Xifeng only intended to squeeze him dry.

Now that things had come to this, Lu Renjia was filled with despondency. Having first joined the Thunder Guild only to be treated unfairly, and now running into this mess, he could only feel deep helplessness.

Is my beta-testing journey ending just like this?

In reality, Lu Renjia couldn't help but close his eyes, waiting for the death notification, and thus missed the sight of the mantis scythe brushing past him and flying off into the distance.

Having successfully saved Lu Renjia, Ember inexplicably recalled the complex expression on young Bob's face when he spoke of being saved repeatedly by the gardener. He was quite curious to see if Lu Renjia would also struggle with this afterward. Noticing the other Mantis Leader, having killed another player, was preparing to strike at Not A Pro, Ember used his final "Assist Jump," leaping into the air to attack with all his might.

His active biological prosthetic arm slammed into the mantis's head, unleashing immense force. The blue ice crystals condensed on its head shattered instantly, and the blow broke through the hard shell, nearly forcing the creature to slam its head into the ground.

[Hint: You have activated the active skill "Staff Technique: Headshot," reducing the target's head defense level by one.] (15/2.5)
[Hint: You dealt thirty-six points of damage to the Boss-level "Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect."]
[Hint: Due to the influence of "Frozen," the "Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect" has entered a "Fragile" state. Reaching a Strength level of six will now cause a "Destruction" effect.]
[Hint: Calculating... Calculation successful! Your Strength level has reached seven; you have successfully destroyed the "Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect's" head armor!]
[Hint: For the next thirty seconds, the "Juvenile Shadow-Eater Insect's" head area will not only lose its defensive capability but will also take 50% additional damage.]