The King's Avatar

”Stay quiet for now.” Ye Xiu sent this message to the team. Right now, not only did they have to watch, they had to listen, and perhaps they would hear the voices of other teams talking.

So everyone kept silent. There wasn’t a single sound to be heard.

This Ghost Lair was an underground dungeon, the type where you couldn’t see the sky. Ye Xiu looked around carefully and didn’t hear anything, but he didn’t dare to be overconfident, and sent in the team channel: ”We’ll use messages to communicate for now.”

”Okay,” the others answered.

”There are two paths, which should we take?” While Ye Xiu had been examining the surroundings, the others had as well, and Su Mucheng saw that they could take either a left or a right tunnel from their start point.

The situation was entirely unclear and there were no clues, so right or left didn’t matter.

”Either’s fine!” Ye Xiu said. His Lord Grim was already headed toward the left tunnel.

”Will there be small monsters?” Tang Rou asked.

”Still not clear, let’s just all be careful!” said Ye Xiu.

As he spoke, the five characters had all entered the left tunnel.

”What’s that sound?” Ye Xiu immediately sensed something.

Everyone listened closely. There was indeed a sound, a sort of rumbling that seemed to be getting closer and closer, and then their cameras began to tremble, as though the ground itself were shaking. At the end of the tunnel, there was a shadowy mass that kept approaching, until they could finally see what it was.

”What, how cliche!” Ye Xiu yelled.

”Run!” Su Mucheng said, already using Aerial Cannon to retreat. The other four also turned their characters and began to sprint back along the path they came. Behind them was an enormous boulder rolling toward them, so large that it filled the entire tunnel.

With this, the issue of which path to take was resolved.

They returned to their start point and charged into the right tunnel, but that boulder was persistent. The system must have helped it move, because it also rolled into the right tunnel, and continued to chase them.

”Watch your rhythm!” Ye Xiu reminded everyone, seeing the boulder’s perseverance. How long would they have to run along until this was over?

So they ran and ran, the boulder behind them. There was still no way for them to get rid of it, and the road ahead didn’t show any new opponents. It was just one tunnel, continuing on.

”What’s that new sound?” At this moment, Su Mucheng heard some new movements.

”Echoes?” Ye Xiu guessed.

”No… ahead… it sounds like the same thing is happening,” Tang Rou said. With her ear training, her ability to distinguish sounds was quite high.

”No way? That shameless?” The five were dumbfounded. They hadn’t even done anything since entering the Ghost Lair! Sending boulders from the left and right tunnels to squish them dead, wasn’t this design just too unreasonable?

When they thought of that, the five couldn’t be bothered to continue running. Their footsteps slowed to a halt, but then they heard very clearly, aside from the sounds of a boulder up ahead, there was also the sound of hurried footsteps.

”Oh hey, another group as unlucky as us?” Ye Xiu said.

”There has to be an exit. Let’s continue forward!” said Su Mucheng.

The five once again began their frantic running.

At last, they could clearly see the boulder ahead that was rolling toward them. But more clearly, they could see the five characters running ahead of it, almost like the opening credits of the animation Saint Seiya.

The five now discovered Happy’s five, or perhaps they had heard their sounds earlier, but they didn’t falter in their steps, because the danger of getting flattened by the boulder was much more pressing than the danger posed by Happy. If they hesitated for just a second, the boulder would crush them.

”Yo, it’s the old bros!”

As they neared, Ye Xiu called out. The five that were approaching were none other than Team Tyranny, and the characters were the five on their main roster, including the four Gods.

”Is there no path on your end?” Someone from Tyranny shouted toward them.

”Nothing,” Ye Xiu replied.

”Is this system actually as shameless as you are?” Zhang Jiale exclaimed.

But right at that moment, the two approaching teams simultaneously discovered a thread of hope. Right between the two teams, there was an indentation on one side of the tunnel.

Did it lead to an exit? They couldn’t tell.

But this was the only choice they had, unless they just waited to be crushed by the two boulders!

Lord Grim dashed forward and was the first to get into this temporary hiding spot.

Zhang Jiale’s Dazzling Hundred Blossoms was the second to enter, and immediately raised his guns toward Lord Grim. He didn’t fire, but kept a close watch on Lord Grim’s movements. Afterwards, the characters of the two teams jumped in one by one. This wasn’t any exit, it was just a nook in the wall. With ten people squeezed inside, it suddenly felt like a crowded elevator.

”Zhang Jiale, what are you so nervous for? Are you claustrophobic?” Ye Xiu ridiculed Zhang Jiale’s distrustful attitude.

Zhang Jiale hadn’t relaxed a single bit, and neither had Han Wenqing, Lin Jingyan, or Zhang Xinjie. They all paid close attention to the actions of Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim.

”You ran quite fast, you were the second to enter.” Ye Xiu continued to talk. The word ”second” stung Zhang Jiale, and he was absolutely sure that Ye Xiu was doing this on purpose, because that guy added, ”What place were you on the leaderboard again? To get the teleportation scroll.”

For today’s leaderboard, Zhang Jiale had gotten second place.

”Fuck you!” As Zhang Jiale swore, Dazzling Hundred Blossoms finally lowered his gun. Not because Ye Xiu’s taunting made him forget his wariness, but because just now, there was a giant crash as the two boulders finally collided, just outside of the nook. Just like that, the two teams, ten people, were shut into a nook that was about as large as an elevator.

”What’s going on?” Someone said, confused.

”There should be an exit,” Zhang Xinjie said.

”Where’s the exit? There’s not a lot of space here, if I turn around I might hit you with my weapon!” Ye Xiu said.

”Hey don’t move now, be good for once!” Dazzling Hundred Blossoms raised his gun again.

”Fuck, don’t be so arrogant, you’re not the only one who can do that!” Lord Grim raised his Myriad Manifestation Umbrella, now in gun form. Su Mucheng’s Dancing Rain followed suit in perfect partnership, and her cannon was much more impressive than the small pistol in Dazzling Hundred Blossoms’ hand.

”Everyone, look around, see if you can find anything on the walls near you.” Zhang Xinjie completely ignored this squabble.

And so Zhang Jiale turned his camera to look at the walls near him, when - bang! The sound of a gun. Lord Grim had opened fire!

”My bad my bad, it went off accidentally!” Ye Xiu’s voice came almost as quickly as the sound of the gun.

Would a game have accidents like this? Of course not! Zhang Jiale fumed, and Dazzling Hundred Blossoms reached for a hand grenade.

”Calm down, that can’t go off accidentally.” Ye Xiu hurriedly said.

”It seems like there’s something over here.” Lin Jingyan’s voice finally drew everyone’s attention once and for all.

”Oh, looks like it’s nothing…” Lin Jingyan said.

”How do you know?” asked Ye Xiu.

”Because I already smashed it.” Lin Jingyan’s Brawler pulled his fist from the wall. His weapons were claws, after all. With one claw, he destroyed his discovery, and also got his hand stuck there...

”It looks like there isn’t any trick here,” said Su Mucheng.

Silence.

If there was no trick, would they just be stuck in here forever?

”Try blowing apart the two boulders.” Tyranny’s Captain Han Wenqing finally offered this solution.

”How tyrannical.” Ye Xiu sent a thumbs up emoji.

Straight Punch!

Han Wenqing was a man of action. As soon as he finished speaking, his Desert Dust already sent a Straight Punch toward the boulder on the left, in order to try and send it rolling in the opposite direction.

But even with this punch, the boulder didn’t move at all.

Collapsing Fist!

Han Wenqing’s willpower was similarly unmoved. Desert Dust continued with a barrage of attacks, yet the boulder still refused to budge.

Emperor’s Fist!

One of the Striker’s fiercest charged attacks was unleashed. It looked the same as a normal punch, but it would be a big mistake to think that this was only as strong as a normal punch.

The Emperor’s Fist burst forth! At the same time, a silhouette flashed to Desert Dust’s side.

Lord Grim, a Falling Flower Palm struck the boulder at the same time as Desert Dust’s attack.

With that, the boulder finally wobbled a bit, as though it were finally about to separate from its companion.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Desert Dust clenched his two fists and his body tensed. Striker Level 75 status skill: One Inch Burst.

A high-end status in which the attack range was shortened to raise the power of the strike. Desert Dust released a chain of punches, the Level 70 skill ”Ferocious Tiger Flurry.”

Light flashed. There was the nonstop sound of strikes hitting the boulder, which continued to lurch back and forth, and finally seemed as though it were about to separate from its partner.

”Little Tang!” Ye Xiu called.

”Coming!” Tang Rou answered. Soft Mist twisted her spear, Rising Dragon Soars the Sky!

The Battle Mage’s Rising Dragon Soars the Sky had a high knockback effect, and was now used by Soft Mist from a close range on the boulder. Ye Xiu’s Lord Grim couldn’t contribute this high-level attack, and just used another Falling Flower Palm to increase the pushing force.

Rising Dragon Soars the Sky slammed into the boulder. The boulder wasn’t easily pushed away, but Soft Mist herself was pushed back from the force of the blow.

Zhang Xinjie’s Immovable Rock immediately stood behind her.

Lin Jingyan, Zhang Jiale, Su Mucheng… Everyone’s characters immediately clustered together, giving Soft Mist support.

Boom!

The boulder finally rolled in the opposite direction. Between the two boulders there was finally a gap through which people could pass.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

”It knocked away some of my health.” Lin Jingyan looked at his character. Just now, when they had all gone to use their bodies to support Soft Mist, they had suffered some damage.

Zhang Xinjie sent a few heals his way, then glanced at Happy - they hadn’t brought a healer.

Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing’s characters had already walked between the boulders to look around and evaluate their next step.

”Are we going to continue pushing them like this?” Someone asked.

”There’s a little bit of space above, we can see if we can squeeze through,” said Ye Xiu, after studying the surroundings.

The boulder didn’t block the tunnel entirely - in order for it to roll along, there had to be some space. At the top, especially at the two sides of the tunnel, it looked as though there were enough space for a character to pass through.

”We’ll go this way.” Ye Xiu pointed to the path from which his team had come.

”We’ll go this way.” Han Wenqing turned to face their own path.

”I hope we don’t meet again.”

”Likewise,” said Han Wenqing.

”Alright everyone let’s go, watch out for these sneaky old foxes attacking us from behind, hurry, hurry.” Ye Xiu directed his team.