"To battle... alright, I'll give it a shot!" Luo Xi clenched her fists upon learning she would be taking the field.
"You can do this, Luo Xi!"
"Luo Xi, you don’t need to be so nervous." Lan Xiaoke stood nearby, noticing Luo Xi’s legs trembling slightly. With the air of a seasoned veteran, she patted her shoulder.
"It’s fine. Fighting’s actually pretty simple."
"Xiaoke, you don’t fight often, do you?" Luo Xi couldn’t help but chuckle at Lan Xiaoke’s suddenly authoritative demeanor.
"Since when did you become so reliable?"
Flattered, Lan Xiaoke immediately lifted her chin and planted her hands on her hips. "Of course! I am the strongest fighter here, after all."
"The strongest... fighter?"
"One of the strongest," Lan Xiaoke amended.
"Oh..."
Truthfully, the only reason Lan Xiaoke wasn’t afraid was because Luo Xi was here, along with the pair of spider-dogs and the armored figure.
With numbers on their side, what was there to fear?
Besides, Ye Chuan would never let Luo Xi get hurt—he’d definitely be watching over them in secret.
Thinking this, Lan Xiaoke felt completely at ease.
And just as she suspected, Ye Chuan’s spiritual sense had already enveloped the entire city. Every move Luo Xi and Lan Xiaoke made in battle would be under his watch.
If anything truly uncontrollable happened, Ye Chuan could teleport to them in an instant.
"Woof! Woof!" Little Black barked at Lan Xiaoke’s feet.
"Just talk. I don’t speak dog," Lan Xiaoke said, eyeing the barking pup.
Little Black fell silent for a few seconds before barking again.
"Like I said, I don’t understand."
"Relax, just barking for fun," Little Black finally spoke.
Guess he just felt like it.
Lan Xiaoke: "..."
Whatever. Let’s go.
...
By the time Wang Yanran’s car screeched to a halt at the entrance of the suburban shopping district, the roar of the engine was drowned out by the explosions ahead.
The moment Lan Xiaoke pushed the car door open, a wave of scorching heat blasted her face—a convenience store’s signboard was engulfed in flames, the fire licking at the walls and painting the surrounding streets crimson.
"So hot!"
"Be careful." Wang Yanran drew her weapon, her expression grim.
"They’ve been rampaging here for half an hour. The super-soldier squad just pulled back—three of them are injured."
"Why are these guys causing so much destruction?" Lan Xiaoke surveyed the scene—
Neat storefronts had been ransacked, glass shards littered the ground, and some roll-up doors were blown apart, revealing overturned shelves and scattered goods inside.
A phone shop’s display counters were smashed to pieces, fragments of screens and components buried in dust. A group of black-clad [Players] stood around a monitor, stabbing at the screen with knives, the sharp cracks grating on the ears.
They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"I’m not sure. It seems these Players are venting their frustrations by destroying things and killing people." Wang Yanran didn’t have all the details, but stopping them was the priority now.
"Treating our world like a game?" Lan Xiaoke’s voice simmered with anger.
...
"Why won’t this damn thing break already?" A blond Player kicked the monitor, sending a burst of static through it before it finally died.
He waved his pistol impatiently, then turned the barrel toward a vending machine.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two shots shattered the glass, sending cans tumbling out. Another Player stomped on them, crushing the metal and splattering liquid everywhere.
"Hahaha! This rocks!" The leader, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, shoved over a mannequin from a clothing store, watching it shatter on impact.
He pulled out a Molotov cocktail, lit it, and hurled it into the shop. "Burn it all! More kills mean more points!"
Flames instantly engulfed the store, thick smoke billowing out and choking the civilians inside.
"Stop!" Lan Xiaoke was the first to charge forward.
The wrecking Players turned, their eyes scanning the white-haired girl with disdain. "Who the hell are you? Trying to play hero?"
The blond Player sneered, but after sizing up Lan Xiaoke’s figure, he licked his lips.
"Damn, she’s stacked!"
"Grab her!"
Lan Xiaoke’s temper flared. Spiritual energy coalesced in her fists as she prepared to teach these idiots a lesson.
Meanwhile, Luo Xi drew her weapon—a gleaming spirit sword, its frost so intense it seemed to freeze the air itself.
"Oh? Not just ordinary girls?" The leader raised an eyebrow, pulling out a massive energy machine gun from his system inventory.
"Perfect! The system says killing strong targets gives bonus points. You’re first on the list!"
He pulled the trigger without hesitation, a barrage of energy bullets streaking toward Luo Xi.
Her face paled, but instinct kicked in—icy spiritual energy surged around her, forming a barrier that blocked every shot.
"What the—?!" The leader’s expression twisted. "How is that shield so tough?!"
"I’m not scared of you! Xiaoke Flying Kick!" Lan Xiaoke swung her fist, slamming it straight into the blond Player’s chest.
Caught off guard, he was sent flying, crashing into a wall before slumping unconscious.
The hell? That wasn’t a kick!
The remaining Players scattered, attacking Luo Xi and Lan Xiaoke from all sides.
Luo Xi seized the moment, unleashing her frost energy. The creeping cold froze several Players’ ankles in place, immobilizing them.
Lan Xiaoke dashed forward, knocking them out with a few well-placed strikes.
Despite this being her first real fight, Luo Xi adapted swiftly—her spirit sword flashed, severing arms without hesitation.
"I... get dizzy at the sight of blood, so I froze the wounds to stop the bleeding," she murmured, her blade never slowing.
The brutality shattered the Players’ morale.
Little Black and Red Red moved even faster, shifting into combat forms—Little Black chomped down on one enemy after another, while Red Red’s scythes reaped lives like the Grim Reaper.
"Looks like... one person would’ve been enough." Wang Yanran watched from a distance, stunned by the sheer dominance.
The Players couldn’t even fight back.
No wonder Ye Chuan hadn’t bothered stepping in, sending Lan Xiaoke instead.
Wang Yanran had initially doubted Lan Xiaoke’s combat prowess, despite having seen glimpses before. She never expected those seemingly ordinary punches and kicks to carry such devastating force.
"Wait—we need a few alive for interrogation!" Wang Yanran suddenly remembered their objective.
But before she could speak up, almost all the Players were already down.
"Hmph! I’m awesome, right?"
"Uh..."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
