Chapter Five: The True Boss
Xiao Zhang sat down beside the young man in white, feigning a casual air as he asked, “By the way, brother, what’s your mission?”
“Why do you want to know that?” The young man in white paused, puzzled.
“I just don’t know how to get back. I was randomly teleported here out of nowhere.”
“Oh, I just need to stall these newbies for thirty minutes.”
“And if you don’t manage to hold them off and get killed after thirty minutes, what happens then?”
“Then the mission fails, that’s all. But there’s no penalty, so I took it since I had nothing better to do.”
“Oh, so there’s no penalty?”
“Exactly!”
Just then, a mechanical female voice echoed from the sky, “The boss will awaken in five minutes. All players please gather at Point B.”
“Aren’t you already awake?”
“Heh, this is just player protection time. In five minutes, I’ll be able to act.”
“Brother, do you need any help?” Xiao Zhang rubbed his hands together. “No reward needed, really. If you have any spare equipment or weapons, just toss them my way. I’ll help you clear the mission.”
The young man in white looked at Xiao Zhang’s earnest face, feeling a bit unsettled. “No need, really, but thanks.”
“Come on, brother, don’t be so polite! Look at the map—so many players. Can you really hold out for thirty minutes with your small frame? Never mind all of them together, could you even withstand just me?”
The young man in white shivered at Xiao Zhang’s words. “Big brother, you…”
Xiao Zhang grabbed his hand. “No need for anything fancy. Just give me something you don’t use.”
The young man in white, startled, shook off Xiao Zhang’s hand. “Fine, fine, take it.” He handed over a metallic card. “It’s a starter pack I got earlier. It’s useless to me now, so you can have it.”
Xiao Zhang, touched, gave him a big hug. “Good brother!”
The young man in white pushed him away. “Big brother, behave yourself.”
“Ok, ok.” Xiao Zhang slowly stood up, picking up the wrench lying beside them. “Brother, do you know what’s in my hand?”
“What’s that?” The young man in white was confused by the question, not realizing what was about to happen. “A wrench?”
“Exactly.” Xiao Zhang swung it fiercely at the young man’s head.
“Damn!” Both shouted at the same time.
With a loud bang, the young man in white took a solid hit.
“Damn!”
Another bang, another blow.
“Aaaah!”
Yet another strike. This time the young man in white’s form began to dissipate.
“The boss has been defeated.”
As his figure faded, the young man in white cursed Xiao Zhang’s entire family.
Xiao Zhang didn’t hear the words, but saw his mouth moving, so he smiled contentedly, waving as he laughed, “Thanks for the lucky streak, buddy!”
“Because the boss died during the player protection period, the dungeon difficulty has automatically increased.” The mechanical female voice rang out again.
“What the hell is going on?” All the players on the other side of the island were utterly bewildered.
Suddenly, the entire compartment began to shake violently. Xiao Zhang was flung out of the vehicle and crashed hard into the forest.
Even in the midst of being thrown, Xiao Zhang didn’t forget to grab hold of the metal ball.
After breaking a few trees, Xiao Zhang stood up. “Doesn’t hurt at all, hahaha.” He dusted himself off and examined the starter equipment pack he’d just acquired. Free gear—no reason not to take it.
At this moment, the system finally crawled out from the dirt. “Lackey, believe it or not, I’ll skin you and use it as a toilet seat.”
“Brick, how do I use this?” Xiao Zhang asked.
“What’s that?” The system floated over. “Damn, where did you get this thing?”
“This? Uh…” Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Zhang felt a chill in his hand. Looking down, the metal card began to transform.
With a hum, the card changed—into a sword! The metal card morphed into a metallic hilt, a beam of light shining from it...
For a moment, Xiao Zhang felt the sword looked oddly familiar—like one he'd seen in a game before.
Was it from LOL? DNF? Or maybe CF?
“Lackey, where did you get that thing?” the system asked again.
Ignoring the system hovering only a few centimeters from his head, Xiao Zhang replied offhandedly, “Stole it.”
The system: (⊙-⊙) Well, that’s it. I’ll just have to make a contract with this idiot.
Xiao Zhang tried swinging the sword.
Shhh! The tree next to him was sliced clean through, not even a splinter left.
“So sharp!” Xiao Zhang actually felt a bit worried… Would someone take this from him?
Along with the weapon came a strengthening pack.
Open it! Only a hundred points?
“Brick, why are there only ten enhancement points?”
Xiao Zhang looked at the interface, thought for a moment, and made a decision.
He put all ten points into his learning ability!
Never mind strength or speed—he just liked learning.
The system bumped into Xiao Zhang’s head. “Lackey, tell me where you got this thing. If you tell me, I’ll give you another hundred enhancement points.”
A red dot flashed, moving rapidly toward him. So fast! At the same time, a roar echoed from the distance.
“Damn, is the new boss coming already?”
“What?” The system was clearly stunned.
“I said the new boss is almost here.” Xiao Zhang spoke as he ran toward the compartment. With his current strength, he might be able to take down the boss right here.
A huge, pitch-black figure emerged, almost two meters tall, covered in long black fur—a massive, dark mass. After knocking down a swath of trees, it raised its head, baring its teeth in a long howl!
Those sharp, hooked fangs, and that gaping, bloody maw left a shocking impression on Xiao Zhang!
With all his years of experience, from textbooks to TV, zoos, or any other odd sources of knowledge…
He had never seen anything so ugly!
What on earth was this thing?
Its body was jet black, its head like a lump of mucus, yet its nose had six holes! In its bloody mouth, those hooked fangs—some of them rotten!
Most disturbing of all, its head was covered in countless eyes…
The monster bent over, spun in place, roared at Xiao Zhang, shook its head as if confused, then leapt up and charged off to the other side.