Chapter 448

Chapter 448: 448

15 minutes ago, about 7 km west of the Blast Tunnel. From the top of the Golden Maggot Number No 1, an unfamiliar voice said, “Stop wasting your time thinking about it... You are like needle on the clock, moving in circle. If you do not find the person who cast this spell, you will never leave this place...”

When they heard that, Xiao Tan and Matcha Cookie who sat inside the vehicle felt not that confident anymore. But this time Xiao Tan did not hurry to step on the brake. After all, this was just a normal person talking, it was not companied by a scary ghostly visage or the sound effect that would normally follow a jumpscare. Therefore... this was still within the acceptable range of Doctor Wang.

“Who is above there?” Xiao Tan slightly raised his voice and asked in a shaking tone. As he asked, he tossed Matcha Cookie a look through the rearview mirror. At the same time, he slowed down the vehicle. Matcha Cookie reacted quite swiftly. She pressed a few buttons and was ready to initiate the weapons on the top of the vehicle.

“My name is R2- Sharp Gale.” The man replied. “I am here to help you get out from here.”

“Are you an Anomaly?” Once Xiao Tan heard the man’s name, the question popped out of his mouth as if on instinct.

“Yes.” Sharp Gale replied calmly.

“one moment...” Xiao Tan quickly waved his hand for Matcha Cookie to stop what she was doing. “I think I remember that name... Brother Jue has mentioned your name to me before.”

“Yes, I have once infiltrated a sandbox to help Feng Bujue.” Sharp Gale added.

“Hmm...” After hearing that, Xiao Tan gave it some thought and decided to place his trust in this Anomaly. “Okay... I believe you. How about I stop the car now and you can come down to talk to us?”

“Hey, you plan to sell our safety just like that after a few words from this stranger?” Matcha Cookie whispered urgently from behind him. “What if he is a liar...”

“Since I can appear on the top of this vehicle without making any sound...” Sharp Gale at the top of the vehicle interrupted Matcha Cookie, “Then I am fully capable of ambushing you without you realizing it or leave something like a grenade on the top of your car... and then leave without a trace.” He paused. “Does that supposition help to allay your suspicion about me?”

In the few seconds that Sharp Gale spoke, Xiao Tan had already stopped the car. Then they saw a man flipped over the air and dropped on the road before them. R2- Sharp Gale basically looked the same as he was in the South Park scenario but this time, his outfit had been changed into a thick protective gear. From the first glance, he looked like the Michelin man.

“I will keep the story short...” Sharp Gale did not seem like he intend to get into the car, he merely stood before it and continued to say, “The timeline that created this ‘recurring space’ is the moment about 100 metres away before I got close to you. Therefore I believe... this is not a type of power that messes with one’s mind but a trick that twist and connect the concept of space and time... The spellcaster has been waiting for me to approach you before they show themselves.” He continued in a calm tone. “Based on my knowledge, this is a trick preferred by the time warden. And in the 12 Time Wardens, other than Sam Montier who had been exiled to Demon Maw Isle, the person who is most familiar and expert at using this kind of magic is Trevor...”

“Don’t know him.”

“Haven’t heard that name before.”

Xiao Tan and Matcha Cookie’s reaction was similar.

“That does not matter.” Sharp Gale did not seem to be fazed by this. “Please allow me to continue... First, please imagine this concept in your mind... the straight road that you see before you is actually not straight at all, it is instead the side line of a dodecagon. On one straight line, there is 24 different overlapping vertexes.” He pointed at the corner of the street. “These splits in the road are hints. After you have turned around 24 street corners, you would have completed a circle and returned to the centre.”

“You can see something like that?” Matcha Cookie asked. “Wait a minute... Before that, you admitted that you are an ‘Anomaly’?” After all, the girl was a main guild’s professional player, she had heard rumors about information related to this and it was normal for her to be curious about it.

“I am sorry I am unable to explain further the situation regardless myself.” Sharp Gale used a single sentence to stop Matcha Cookie from changing the subject and continued with what he started. “In any case... any folded space will have a gap in it and this gap will be the key to break out from the endless circle and it is also normally where the spell caster is hiding.”

“That is similar to what they call the ‘eye of the formation’, right?” Xiao Tan asked.

“yes, I suppose they do mean the same thing.” Sharp Gale confirmed. “I have been riding on the top of your car for quite some time already and have basically seen through the rules and rhythm that govern this formation... So now, let me show you how to get out from this place.” He raised his arm to point at a certain direction and then said, “A dodecagon has four ‘intersecting points of 6 lines’, as long as we drive into this corner in front of us and then turn back and follow down a certain angle, we will be able to reach one of them. Based on my memory, this intersection is the closest to the start of the moment we entered the city, there is a very high chance that...”

Tsk—

Sharp Gale was halfway through his explanation when a sharp blade pierced through his chest. Xiao Tan reacted quickly. While he was shock, his body had acted on instinct. The sleeve knife bounced out from his sleeve and planned to rushed out through windshield to help.

“That won’t be necessary...” To his surprise, Sharp Gale raised his hand and opened his palm to make a halting motion at Xiao Tan who was inside the car. “I can deal with this on my own.” Sharp Gale’s expression was so devoid of warmth that it sent a chill down Xiao Tan’s spine.

“If you want to take out the rocket launcher, just take it out now. Stop wasting my time.” ROOT cut him off. “I can see clearly all the items in your inventory and the skills in your skill tab.” Her tone was dripping with derision. “I also know that amount of Life Points, Stamina Points and Sorcery Points that you and your three partners have left...” She paused as if waiting for the four from Brahman to react. Then she ended with a dark and threatening tone, “Hah... your Terror Points has continued to react. Is it okay for me to translate that as shock and fear?”

“Red Iron, you cover the four of them and try to hold on...” During the 2 minutes the two parties spoke, 23 had studied all the conditions of the four players and she came to this decision because she had no other choice. “I will try to hold ROOT back...” She said seriously and severely, “Before ‘he’ arrives, we must not fall.”

“Laughable.” ROOT sneered coldly. “23, you should understand very well that... you are not my match, so why push yourself towards death?” The voice that came out from the giant metallic snowflake was shrill and clear. “Other than that, why do you think I am still staying here to battle with the rest of you? Ha ha ha ha ha....”

The spine-tingling laughter drilled into every player’s ears. “This whole situation before me... I have already predicted it beforehand, even though Drake and Quick Bell’s death is not within my calculation... but all of your deaths are already exposed before my eyes.” She paused for two seconds and her tone slowed down to an even level before she continued. “23, before you arrived here, you have been dealing with my level 2 underlings, aren’t you? Hmph... and the order that you are given now... is to ‘hold me near the Blast Tunnel’ right? That is the mission that you need to complete.”

23’s expression did not change. She still kept her eyes focused on ROOT to prevent the enemy from ambushing her with a sudden attack.

“I know what ZERO is capable of.” ROOT continued, “But he seems to have underestimated what I am capable of...” Suddenly a human face emerged on the surface of the metallic snowflake. It had a wicked and malicious smile on it. “The future that he can ‘see’ is no longer there... because...”

“Looks like... I have arrived at the correct timing.” At that moment, another woman’s voice travelled through the battlefield.

23 and Red Iron’s expression blanched immediately... In the orders given by ZERO, this was indeed not mentioned before. They saw a woman walked from the northern side of the battlefield. Her appearance and her outfit was completely normal. She could melt into the crowd easily in any other game. But the code showed that... she was ROOT in her 15th form, the ROOT who was the weakest, before she had any evolution.

“Surprised, are you?” On the shoulder of the ROOT who was sauntering over was a fainted young man—Sky Swallowing Phantom Dawn. “Actually this is very simple to explain...” She rattled off without a change to her expression, “I have... saved a last measure of insurance for myself.”

Not far away, ROOT in her fourth form continued the topic that ‘she’ had started. “before I entered this scenario, I split out part of my energy and had myself hide at the corner of this dimension... I have calculated the various possibilities that I might fail, no matter how small it is... that includes the extenuating factors that might be brought in by the leader of the demons, the organization Z and the many different players... Even if the worst is to happen... this version of ‘me’ at the edge of the dimension will be able to force the shell of the scenario to break and escape back to the ‘desktop’. But if everything has run smoothly... ha ha ha ha...”

By then ROOT in her 15th form had already reached the middle of the battlefield. She added. “ZERO must have told you... to hold me here until the arrival of both Phantom Dawn and Feng Bujue, then I will be defeated.” She shook her head and then dropped Phantom Dawn on the ground. “Hmph... Unfortunately, I have calculated and saw that future as well. So... I have done everything I could... to destroy that possibility before it is given the chance to rise.”

ROOT in the fourth form laughed. “And now what should you do? 23.” Her voice was getting icier. “I know... you are a unique existence. Even though your logical circuit told you that...’abandoning everyone and escape’ is the correct solution at this moment, you might not follow it...”

When ROOT spoke, the version of herself in the 15th form raised her arm to touch the giant metallic snowflake. The next second, she melted into liquid form and soon absorbed herself into her main body. At the same time, the Anomalies spread through the city had finally all gathered at this place. Other than those who had been killed, there were about 100 of them left. Even though they were all level 3 Anomalies, and they had not undergone any programming enhancement, but to deal with the four players from Brahman and Red Iron who was injured, it was more than enough.

“You are right...” After a very long silence, 23 finally spoke. “About everything...” She paused. “The situation is all under your control and our side... basically has almost no hope.”

“Almost?” ROOT sneered. “Are you sure you didn’t mean ‘absolutely’?”

“No...” 23 answered. “Therefore, I will wait, I believe...’he’ will have the solution.”

...

Tsk buzz tsk buzz—

The light lazers flickered on and off, like light chasing after shadows. The waves of darkness ebbed and flowed, one missed step and you would be swept away into darkness. ROOT trained all of her focus and firepower on 23. Even though 23’s speed was no lesser than Quick Bell at his optimum status but facing this kind of highly focused and intensive attack, it still was hard for her to deal with. It did not take long for her to be covered in wounds.

Blood dyed her protective gear red and it soaked into the decayed ground. 23’s face was blanched and the life could be seen leaking out of her eyes.

“If not for the fact that I am afraid of accidentally injuring my own people... I can destroy you with one single blast.” ROOT poked her face out from the metallic snowflake to show a sneering laugh. “But it turns out nicely because you do not deserve such a swift and easy ending.”

23 did not reply. She merely stood where she was quietly and used every single second that she was accorded to regenerate her strength. As one of the few unique Anomalies in the game, 23 had exceptionally good self-regenerative power but of course, she was not as monstrously strong as ROOT...

“I say... Looks like this is the end of our journey.” On the other end of the battlefield, Vishnu controlled several copper monsters to fend off the enemies while he told Yama next to him. “I am not sure what it meant to be killed in this scenario... but, if something bad is to happen, I hope that you will at least know this...”

“Is this really an appropriate moment to talk about something like this?” Yama waved her long whip and swept the few Anomalies that was closest to her. The gaze underneath her bang did not change. “Do not forget that this competition is being streamed live...”

“Actually... I cannot think of a better moment...” Brahma chose this moment to chime in.

“Yes... Since he has said that, I also support the guy to express the thing that he has been holding in all this while.” Shiva supported.