Chapter 596: Chen Xiaolian's Trump Card

Chapter 596 Chen Xiaolian’s Trump Card

Images played out upon the surface of a huge crystal ball.

Countless monsters rushed forward from every direction. The four figures standing in the centre of the colosseum were like small rocks amid the incoming tidal wave. It seemed as though they would be engulfed by the tides at any given moment.

Then, the crystal ball flashed and the images on its surface disappeared.

“Was it enjoyable?”

The voice rang out from beside her ear once more.

Soo Soo grimaced as she stared at the crystal ball before her. Soon enough, her pair of big eyes narrowed until they were no more than slits.

For anyone familiar with Soo Soo, they would recognize this as a sign that she was so furious she could explode out at any moment.

“So, you had me come here, telling me you will let me see Xiaolian oppa, only to see this?” Soo Soo said in a very low voice.

“I did let you see him. You cannot deny that.”

Soo Soo took a deep breath before raising her head to look around. With a very solemn tone, she said, “I am angry now.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha! It is only common for little children to get angry. Still, I believe only some would care if a little child gets angry.”

Soo Soo silently waited until the voice was done with its mocking words. She tightened her fists. “Why did you let me see all those?”

“You are the one who wanted to see him.”

“I want to meet him in person, now!”

“… … …”

The other party’s silence caused Soo Soo to come to a certain realization. She quickly continued, “What? Could it be… … this request of mine, you cannot make it happen?”

“… … …”

“Ah! I get it now. It turns out you couldn’t do it at all! And here I thought you are some powerful bigshot.”

“… what do a little child like you know?” The voice spoke with a hint of vexation. “In this place, I am omnipotent!”

“If so, let me meet him now! Send me over! I want to be together with Xiaolian oppa!”

“… … …”

After a few seconds of silence, the voice sighed. “Fine, deceiving a little child is pointless anyways. I will be truthful with you. It is true, I cannot do it.”

“… meaning you are not that powerful?”

“Nope. I am very powerful. I may very well be the most powerful being you have ever met. Far more powerful that anything you could imagine. However… … you wanting to meet Chen Xiaolian, presently, I have no way of letting you meet him in person.”

“Why?”

“Because ‘that place’ is not my domain.”

Soo Soo loosened her fists. “Domain?”

“It is very simple. There are two beings with power over this place and I happen to be one of the two… … comparatively speaking, I am more kind-hearted with a gentler way of doing things. I am not too fond of things like killing and fighting. However, the other fellow is different from me. That other fellow is very extreme. I also hate that fellow a lot. In short… … neither one of us can rein in the other. Unfortunately, the one you wish to meet, Chen Xiaolian, had entered that fellow’s domain. So… whether or not you get to meet him would depend on fate.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“After the game is over, if he can make it out alive, you will naturally be able to meet him. Otherwise… … when you return, you can get a tombstone for him.”

Soo Soo considered the matter for a moment. Surprisingly, she then sat down with a cross-legged posture.

“Why? Are you not angry anymore?”

“Back when I was still very young, I had been taught that being furious toward something that I have no power over is a pointless thing to do. Thus, for now, I might as well hold back my anger.” Soo Soo looked up. “Let us continue our conversation.”

“Are you not worried?”

“By worrying, can it help Xiaolian oppa survive?”

“Of course it won’t help.”

“There you go.” Soo Soo said, “Let us continue. What do you want to talk to me about? Also, me and my friends, what should we do to get out from here? And you, what kind of existence are you?”

“I can answer all your questions… … however, all must comply with the rules here. In other words, we will play a game. If you win, you win everything. If you lose… …”

“If I lose, I die?”

“No no no, I am not that fellow. That fellow likes fighting and killing, I do not. Besides, I do not want to kill someone as interesting as you. If you lose, you will stay here and accompany me… … forever!”

“What game will we be playing?”

“… … I have not thought it through yet. Let me think.”

Soo Soo sighed. “Whether you have thought it through or not, now that you have revealed that, you have lost all your stature.”

“You cannot blame me. It has been so, so long since anyone came here.” The voice laughed out sheepishly. 

“Can we not play the game? Just tell me about it directly.”

“No, those are the rules.”

“Who set those rules?”

“Me and the other fellow. Simply put, for the sake of fairness, we had worked out the rules of this world together. Unless the two of us agree, neither one of us has the power to change the rules.”

Once again, Soo Soo had received valuable information. She kept the information firmly in her mind before coolly saying, “If so, let us play a game. Are you done figuring it out?”

“Do you have any suggestion?”

“Lots and lots, ah… … for example…” Soo Soo, who was about to say something, suddenly made a move to cover her mouth. With widened eyes, she turned to check her surroundings. “Wait, let me think!” 

“Ha ha! Clever little brat!” The voice laughed with pride. “I am very powerful. No games are beyond me. So, before you make a suggestion, it would be for the best for you to think it through carefully.”

Soo Soo thought about it. Then, she raised her head and said, “Any game will do? Even if it is weird?”

“Anything! I am far more powerful that you can imagine.”

“Fine.” Soo Soo stood up and dusted her hands. “I will play a game with you.”

“Tell me about it.”

“First, we’ll go though the wager. If you lose, you must promise to fulfil three of my requests – any requests! It could be to answer a question or to do something.”

“Sure. However, I cannot harm myself. Besides, there is a time limit to the game. It must end in one hour’s time.”

“Fine. I won’t have you do anything for more than one hour or more – otherwise, I would have you imprison yourself here for 10,000 years!”

“Ha ha ha… … that joke is not funny at all.” There was a trace of melancholy in the voice.

“Well, then. Here comes the game description… … let us guess together how much hair there are on my head right now! Whoever gets it right wins!”

“… … …”

A few seconds later, the voice spoke out in a cold voice. “Humph, you want to trick me with this childish trick? How can anyone guess that right? However, if I say I am unable to guess the number, you will just shave off all your hair on the spot and say you have no hair… … that way, you will win. Little brat, I won’t fall for this childish trick.”

Soo Soo nodded her head. “Mm, you are quite smart… … rest easy, we can set the rules. Neither you nor I can touch even a strand of my hair! Wouldn’t that work?”

“… oh?” The voice grew curious. “Not allowed to do away with your hair, nor use any other external force to do away with your hair. With this restriction in place, you can still know how much hair you have on your head?”

“Yes!” Soo Soo laughed and said, “For the sake of fairness, I will let you guess first! How about it? Do you want to play?”

“… ha ha ha, interesting! Call!”

A huge palm suddenly appeared in the middle of the air.

The hand appeared slightly taller than even Soo Soo.

Soo Soo stood on her toes and raised her hand to connect her palm with the large hand’s palm. “Strike our hands and seal the oath, you are not allowed to renege!”

“Fine! It is a deal!”

After a pause, the voice spoke up coldly, “Do I go first?”

“Of course.”

“Humph, don’t think I do not know about these things. For Chinese people, the number of hair on their head is generally between 80,000 to 100,000 – of course, that is the number for adults. As for you, you are just a little child. Considering your age, you should have around 60,000 strands of hair.”

“And? How many exactly are there? 60,001 strands of hair is also around 60,000. How many strands are there exactly?” Soo Soo continued asking.

“… … I do not know,” the voice replied helplessly. “It is impossible for me to be more accurate than that.”

“So, is that your answer?” Soo Soo sneered and continued, “If my answer is more accurate compared to yours, is it your loss then?”

“Of course!”

“Good!” Soo Soo then shouted, “There are a total of 66,666 strands of hair on my head!”

“… … …” The voice grew silent for a moment. It appeared uncertain. “You… … really know about the number to such a detail? How is it possible? Have you counted them before?”

“Of course not,” Soo Soo replied coolly. “Who would go count their own hair? Why would I do something as pointless as that? However, this is my answer: 66,666 strands of hair!”

“How do you know that?”

“I guessed.”

“I don’t buy it! That number is definitely not accurate!”

Soo Soo laughed out.

“Oh? You don’t buy it? Meaning, you refuse to admit defeat? Simple then, let us count.”

C- count?

“… … …”

…

Hossein let loose a fierce roar as he cleaved apart the werewolf before him. As the sword hacked downward, blood and guts spilled out from the werewolf. The knight pulled back his sword and slashed apart several more of the incoming monsters. The light from the sword formed an arc and several heads fell to the ground.

“Behind you!”

Chen Xiaolian shouted and Hossein turned back to see a silver coloured beam of light shot out. The dagger moved past his cheek and struck a vampire who was descending upon him through the sky. The dagger struck the vampire’s throat area, causing it to fall while clutching its throat.

Hossein glanced at Chen Xiaolian.

At that moment, it was unknown just how many monsters had fallen in the central area of the colosseum. Severed limbs seemingly covered the entire place.

Chen Xiaolian had had to retreat constantly until his back was against one of the corners of the stands. He had also summoned out his Four-eyed War Cats to protect both Lin Leyan and Jenny, who were staying at the corner. Chen Xiaolian himself wielded two swords as he placed himself before the two women.

Hossein was gasping for breath. Raising the sword in his hand, he abruptly thrust it into the ground. With a booming sound, a golden light spread outward. Instantly, the entire colosseum was covered in golden light. The countless monsters that were furiously charging toward them were instantly reduced to nothingness.

After unleashing another one of the map-clearing attack, Hossein suddenly turned limp and he fell to his knees. He turned around to look at Chen Xiaolian.

“Damn it! If this keeps up, we won’t be able to hold on for much longer.”

Chen Xiaolian bit his lip.

He had also used his Skyblade skill once.

In terms of strength, the two of them possessed the power to utterly crush the monsters here.

However, the problem here was… … the other side’s number was simply too much. They were seemingly charging out endlessly without respite.

From the moment this battle began till now, the two of them had forgotten just how many monsters they had killed off.

However, humans were not machines. Even the strongest experts have their limits.

Especially when using those map-clearing type of skills. Every time that skill was used, they would have to exhaust themselves greatly.

“If we keep fighting like this, without a plan, we will lose for certain. I would rather face an [S] class expert. At the very least, there would be a chance to win.” Hossein gasped before gulping down a bottle of stamina replenishing drink that Chen Xiaolian had tossed over.

Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth. “Split up then. The damned prompt. Clearly, they knew things would go this way.”

Hossein retreated back to Chen Xiaolian’s side. Chen Xiaolan then pointed at the distant door.

“One of us needs to leave this place and head to the second stage. The prompt states that only in the second stage can the monster re-spawning program be closed. Otherwise, even Ironman would die of fatigue from all this killing.”

Hossein glanced at his wife, Jenny, and hesitated.

“You go, I will take care of this.”

“You?”

Chen Xiaolian nodded. “I will defend. You go on ahead to the second stage… … I have more ways to deal with armies. Trust me, I still have a hidden trump card up my sleeve. Your map-clearing skill consumes too much. If you stay behind, you will not be able to hold on for long… … you head on to the second stage. I will be able to defend this place for a long time. Be at ease – I will protect your wife.”

Hossein gave Chen Xiaolian a profound look and said, “If you all die, I will avenge you all! If my wife dies while you live… … I will kill you!” 

“So be it.” Chen Xiaolian nodded without hesitating.

As he spoke, Chen Xiaolian shoved a bag of medicinal substances into Hossein’s hand. “Hurry up and go!”

At that moment, countless monsters began emerging once more from every direction. Hossein did not hesitate. Grabbing the bag of medicinal substances, he jumped and rushed forward. He did not even turn back to look at his own wife, Jenny. After having taken only a few steps, his figure vaulted through the air and he made it to the other end of the colosseum. Pulling open the door to the second stage, his figure charged in.

Chen Xiaolian watched as Hossein disappeared into the door. Then, he exhaled deeply and observed the horde of monsters charging his position from every direction.

Suddenly, while standing at the same spot, he thrust his sword into the ground before him.

“Human wave tactic? Thankfully, I brought a killer move against you low-ranking monsters.”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian raised his Storage Watch.

Swoosh!

Following a flash of light, Chen Xiaolian summoned an object out from his Storage Watch. The object rested on the ground before Chen Xiaolian’s feet… …

The object on the ground seemingly raised its oval-shaped head. A green coloured light flashed over the thing on its head, which resembled the compound eyes of a fly… … 

In just an instant, the entire colosseum fell into a state of deathly silence.

The monsters that were shrieking, howling and charging furiously abruptly shut their mouths and halted all body movements. It was as though someone had pressed the Pause button.

A deep look of fear could be seen on each of the monsters’ faces.

The monsters in the front row had stopped, but the monsters spawned from behind continued moving forward. Thus, a peculiar spectacle unfolded before the colosseum. The monsters spawned from the back continued charging forward while the monsters up front formed a half-circle around Chen Xiaolian’s group.

Even so, not a single one of the monsters dared to take even one step forward.

The reason for that was because the thing resting before Chen Xiaolian’s feet was a…

Mechanical octopus.

The system’s… … Electronic Guardian!

…