Chapter 1029: Life and Death at ⑥⓪ Meters
Chapter 1029: Life and Death at ⑥⓪ Meters
Bang, bang, bang-
Amidst a series of dull thuds, the little girl’s laughter followed closely behind. “How about my new plan? Pretty good, right? But why did you run off after hearing only half of it, sister…”
Thud!
Ye Lian leaped back twice in quick succession, landing amidst a cloud of dust. She was breathing lightly, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the distance. But just as she averted her eyes, a swift gust of wind whooshed towards her.
In the split second her peripheral vision caught it, Ye Lian tilted her head to dodge. The shard of glass whizzed past her ear, embedding itself silently into a nearby wall. A few strands of hair drifted down, landing at Ye Lian’s feet.
“Hehe, be careful, that was close. I almost caught you,” the little girl said, waving a small notebook as she slowly approached. “It seems you’re not just quick to react… But that’s okay, we can take our time. The important thing is my plan… You seem to have caught on, haven’t you? Knowing they’re nearby, does it make you anxious?”
Bang-
The little girl’s head tilted to the side, but surprisingly, the bullet still grazed her ear. As a burst of blood splattered, a peculiar change flickered across her smiling face. She touched her ear, then carefully licked the blood from her fingers, saying, “You seem different, trying something new, perhaps? It’s useless…”
Ye Lian lowered the smoking gun, her pupils contracting sharply. With patterns that seemed to spin endlessly, her eyes resembled two dazzling Kaleidoscopes. But what emanated from them was not mere change and mystery, but a chilling coldness and… a hint of anger.
“Sister, are you upset?” the little girl pouted, asking. But soon she laughed to herself, “You must be… But if you don’t listen to my plan, I’ll be upset too. Where were we? Oh right… We were saying they’ve already entered this floor, correct?”
Bang-
This time, the little girl didn’t dodge. She raised her palm to meet the bullet head-on. Yet still, the bullet bizarrely grazed past her wrist, embedding itself into her shoulder. She giggled, then reached to pluck the Bullet Head out, tossing it carelessly to the ground. “I don’t know how you’re hitting me, but I’ve already told you, it’s pointless.” She continued to approach Ye Lian, adding, “And from the moment they stepped onto this floor, a new game has begun, one you can’t stop.”
She clapped her hands, smiling, “Haven’t you noticed something different about this place?”
Ye Lian cast a wary glance at her, then used her peripheral vision to scan the surroundings. Was there something different? She pondered in confusion. But soon, her eyes widened in realization.
“It seems you’ve finally noticed,” the little girl clapped her hands, “That’s right. I’ve made a few tweaks to this floor. Can you guess what it’s for?”
The little girl was referring to the misty layer… Because they had been enveloped in a cloud of dust earlier, Ye Lian hadn’t realized it. But now she saw that everything around her, including herself, seemed to have become part of the gray fog…
“Hehe, figured it out? This way, they can’t see us. You can guess whether I’ll kill you first, or he’ll find you first. Oh, here’s a hint about the rules… If you move more than fifty meters away from me, I’ll turn around and kill one of them. With my strength, you know I can definitely succeed in a sneak attack. Of course, unless any of them actively discovers you, then I’ll abandon the ambush. How’s that, fair enough?” the little girl said with confidence.
Though her tone remained innocent, to Ye Lian, it sounded undeniably grating.
“Do you know what I dislike most about you?” Ye Lian suddenly spoke.
“You finally spoke again…” the little girl clapped her hands happily, “Your voice is lovely, I actually like it. So, what is it that you dislike? If it’s about appearance…” She tugged at her mangled, nearly vanished ear, and amidst a writhing motion, a pinkish bud emerged, quickly forming a bizarre pointed ear, “I can change. Of course, only partially. Can you recognize what kind of ear this is? Here’s a hint, it belongs to something that lives underground…”
“I don’t like you calling me sister,” Ye Lian said seriously, raising her gun again, “Only those two among them can call me sister, just like I wouldn’t casually call someone brother.”
“…Hehe, you’re quite persistent about odd things… You know, this behavior is quite human-like…”
Bang-
“And, you talk way too much, even more than Ling-Ge.”
…
“Captain, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone here…” Gu Shuangshuang said while straining to sense the surroundings.
Ling Mo frowned, speaking without turning his head, “No… The interference has intensified. This actually indicates something…”
“Ye Lian and that Progenitor must be here,” Xia Na said.
“Strange…” Li Yalin placed her hand by her ear, looking around.
“What’s up, what’s up?” Yuwen Xuan immediately leaned in, asking.
Li Yalin’s figure flickered, and in the next moment, she appeared beside Ling Mo, maintaining her previous posture as if nothing had happened. “Ling Mo, I’ve always been able to vaguely hear some sounds, but now I can’t determine the direction…” ŔаŊŏ₿Ёs̈
“Remember when we were underground? There was some soundproofing effect there too. Maybe the Progenitor’s abilities are related to that. By the way, Yuwen Xuan, do you remember when the Progenitor attacked you? Did you feel anything then?” Ling Mo asked.
“Of course I remember…” Yuwen Xuan’s face was initially conflicted, but upon hearing this, his expression turned grim as he spoke in a low voice, “It felt stronger than any Monster I’ve encountered so far…” However, his tone suddenly lifted, “But I haven’t met all the Monsters, haha… Ow! Who kicked me?”
“Don’t laugh at times like this… You deserved that kick.” Mu Chen, seeing Yuwen Xuan looking his way, immediately put on a cold expression that said, “It wasn’t me, but I wanted to kick you too.”
“No, I’m not talking about that vague feeling,” Ling Mo said, frowning deeply. “It’s about the way it attacks and defends… Even though it was just for a moment, I did notice it used some special ability… And this ability is definitely related to transformation. I just can’t figure it out yet…”
If they could understand this before finding the Progenitor, their chances of winning would undoubtedly increase. Ling Mo felt he was close to the answer, yet something was still blocking his way. Perhaps only when he faced the Progenitor again would he truly understand.
“Right… How do you think they transform?” Xia Na asked.
“Well…”
…Meanwhile, as Ling Mo and his team were meticulously searching the floor, not far away, Ye Lian was locked in an intense chase with the little girl. The little girl’s attacks were swift yet eerily silent, while Ye Lian relied on her keen reflexes to delay the pursuit.
Her attacks rarely missed, but what made her frown was the little girl’s indifference to being hit… No matter how many times it was shot, it kept advancing… This feeling of being unable to stop the danger from approaching was clearly putting a lot of pressure on Ye Lian.
And the little girl’s slow pace was a constant reminder that she could escape… But once she exceeded fifty meters, it would attack Ling Mo and the others…
“No,” Ye Lian muttered, pressing her lips together and shaking her head. Meanwhile, the distance between her and the little girl had already shrunk to thirty meters…