Chapter 65: Hey, wanna join me in some epic stupidity?

Faced with the sudden strike, Ye Lian didn’t seem to notice it at all.

There was no visible reaction.

‘Did it land? Just like that?’ Bai Xue was in utter disbelief.

She didn’t think her attack could actually harm Ye Lian.

Landing a hit was already a victory in her eyes!

The sword was about to pierce Ye Lian’s defenseless abdomen—

But in that instant, everything changed.

Bai Xue’s vision blurred with flickers of white and gray.

Her sword had pierced right through Ye Lian’s body.

“You just died again,” came a familiar voice next to her ear the very next moment.

A finger was pressed against her temple.

Just the slightest pressure would be enough to push through.

The owner of that finger was, of course, Ye Lian.

What Bai Xue had pierced was nothing more than an afterimage.

Ye Lian had moved in a sharp quarter-circle arc at high speed—neatly dodging the deadly attack and, in the same moment, seizing Bai Xue’s opening for a fatal counter.

If Bai Xue had been a real enemy, she would’ve died on the spot.

“Too slow. Not enough explosive power,” Ye Lian commented.

“Master, could you teach me that movement technique just now?” Bai Xue looked up at her, eyes sparkling.

If she could learn to move like that, dodging would be so much easier!

“I can teach you, but only if you’re able to learn it,” Ye Lian said generously, then explained the principle behind it.

After listening, Bai Xue’s mouth twitched slightly, and she screamed internally: ‘Who on earth could learn this?!’

For starters, she didn’t even possess the basic ability to control space.

‘So what was there to learn?’

“Do you understand now?” Ye Lian asked.

“Master… I’m too stupid,” Bai Xue said, hanging her head in disappointment.

“It is a bit difficult. Back then, it took me more than ten minutes to master it,” Ye Lian said plainly.

She wasn’t the type to sugarcoat things.

Upon hearing that, Bai Xue looked even more defeated.

But she quickly pulled herself together.

She knew very well—her master might not be invincible, but she was close to it.

Comparing herself to someone like that was only asking for pain.

Just being able to learn even a fraction from her was already a blessing.

“Master, then please teach me some more basic combat techniques,” Bai Xue said seriously, raising her head.

“That was my intention. But it’ll be easier to absorb during actual combat,” Ye Lian nodded lightly.

“Also, you’ll have to attack me with the intent to kill. Otherwise, you don’t even qualify to learn.”

Her words were harsh, but undeniably true.

“I understand, Master,” Bai Xue took a deep breath, her expression behind the mask becoming deadly serious.

As long as she still had time, she had to become stronger—strong enough to survive alongside her master!

***

As the two began sparring again—

Dancing Elephant and Boyang had just finished their negotiation.

In reality, there wasn’t much negotiation at all.

They simply agreed to watch each other’s backs and support one another.

Dancing Elephant would be in charge of preparing potions, while Boyang would provide the muscle.

It was a fair deal.

“I still have a batch of materials on hand. The question is whether the shopkeeper has other types of potions,” Dancing Elephant said.

“I think she does—it just depends on whether she’s willing to trade with us,” Boyang replied uncertainly.

Logically speaking, if she could craft mental recovery potions, she could probably make others as well.

“I think the shopkeeper is pretty easy to deal with. Anyway, let’s ask first.” Dancing Elephant stood up.

It was only then that he noticed Ayu wasn’t in the room and asked, “Where did Ayu go?”

“He went outside a little while ago, probably to get some air,” Xingyue replied.

Dancing Elephant frowned deeply.

He hated this kind of team member the most—someone who completely disregarded team spirit.

Every single one of them was under immense pressure, barely able to breathe.

And no one knew what the current situation in the city was.

If something dangerous happened, a person alone would die the fastest.

To choose this moment to wander off alone… ‘was he out of his mind?’

Dancing Elephant placed a hand on his forehead and let out a deep breath.

Even though he was the leader of the team, the players weren’t his subordinates.

They weren’t obligated to follow his orders.

‘Why do I have to carry all this weight…’

Suddenly, the tightly wound string in his mind began to loosen.

Even before he gained the Danger Sense skill, he had nearly been killed by a mutated teammate.

Since then, it had been one threat after another, and he had come close to death many times.

But somehow, he had managed to survive.

He had thought the team had finally bonded enough to face the final crisis together.

But now Ayu had left the group on his own, and it made Dancing Elephant feel like all his efforts had been for nothing.

It felt… unbearably disappointing.

“I’ll go look for him,” Xingyue said, biting her lip.

Seeing Dancing Elephant in such a state, she felt a pang of guilt.

She should have stopped Ayu earlier.

Dancing Elephant was just about to say something when a figure appeared outside the door.

It was Ayu—the very person they had just been talking about.

He stood there, completely still, his face calm and expressionless, his eyes cold.

He said nothing.

Seeing him, Xingyue quickly asked, “Ayu, where did you go? We were all worried about you!”

Dancing Elephant raised an eyebrow, his senses on high alert.

Something about Ayu felt… off.

It was as if something inside him had been replaced.

There was a faint sense of danger in the air.

Only Dancing Elephant could sense it—an instinct unique to him.

‘What happened to Ayu?’

He clenched his fists and focused all his attention on the man in front of him.

“Ayu, are you okay?” Xingyue also noticed something was wrong and asked quickly.

Before Ayu could respond, voices came from outside.

“There’s someone here!”

“Thank god! More players!”

“I thought we were the only ones left!”

“Let’s go check it out—maybe there are more people inside!”

The voices were filled with surprise and relief.

And judging by the sound, there were quite a few of them.

“Let’s go take a look,” Boyang said.

Though he was curious about Ayu’s condition too, clearly the players outside took priority.

In his mind, Ayu was too insignificant to bother with.

“Yeah,” Dancing Elephant agreed.

Compared to Ayu, uniting the other players was far more important.

Seeing the others arrive, Ayu turned and walked out without a word.

***

In no time, dozens of players had gathered in the street.

Boyang and Dancing Elephant’s group had exactly twenty.

The group coming toward them had thirty-four players.

They were the last batch of players to enter the city.

Clearly, the ones who had entered earlier were no longer around.

After some discussion, Boyang and Dancing Elephant got to know the leader of the new group—Michael.

He was from the Europa Alliance, one of the three major human factions.

Michael looked to be around thirty years old, with short blond hair, blue eyes, a lean face, and a tall, thin frame.

He was also wearing gear bought from the Silver Alchemy Workshop.

The three of them stood close together while the other players kept their distance, sensibly staying quiet to avoid interrupting the conversation.

“Dancing Elephant and Boyang, right? I have a suggestion,” Michael said suddenly.

“Go ahead,” Dancing Elephant and Boyang replied at the same time.

“Why don’t we just take that alchemy workshop by force?”

Michael lowered his voice, his face full of malicious intent.