Chapter 71: Blade Storm

"I know a great bar nearby. How about we go for a drink once it gets dark?" A sweet voice drifted to his ear. The girl in blue beside Su Cheng, dressed in a breezy, youthful outfit, clearly mistook him for a tourist and had come over to strike up a conversation.

"So, time really has reset," he mused.

The disarray of time and space left him with a sense of unreality, as if he'd lived through an era. Ignoring the girl’s invitation, Su Cheng tapped the icon of the horror game to check the evaluation and rewards for clearing the “Biochemical Metropolis” instance.

The list appeared as follows:

Instance: Biochemical Metropolis
Difficulty: Three Stars (Hard)
Mode: Points Ranking Battle
Personal Record: Killed Primal Infected x3, Level 1 Infected x496, Mutant Infected x38; successfully unraveled the plot of Project Avenging Angel.
Final Score: 10,820
Title Acquired: Strategy Expert (5% bonus to game points for unraveling the plot)
Overall Evaluation: S Rank!

"Instance settlement complete. You have received the basic reward for clearing the instance: [Small Soul Crystal] x56, Game Points 12,800!"

"Since the player cleared the instance with an S ranking, you may draw an additional reward from the instance."

The screen flickered, and three skull cards appeared.

After a moment's hesitation, Su Cheng chose the middle card.

The instant his finger touched the card, a dazzling violet light burst from the screen, so vivid it seemed ready to spill out.

"An inheritance-grade item!"

At the sight of that purple glow, Su Cheng’s heart raced, an expression of delight flickering in his dark eyes.

Rewards for three-star instances were mostly rare items; inheritance-grade items were exceedingly rare. In theory, the higher your evaluation on clearing an instance, the greater your chance of drawing one. But even with high marks, the probability was only about five percent.

Luck hadn’t favored Su Cheng much in previous draws, but this time, his fortune had turned.

"Ding! You have obtained [Avenging Angel Serum (Weakened Version)]!"

[Avenging Angel Serum (Weakened Version)]
Type: Genetic Potion
Quality: Inheritance
Effect: Completes gene fragments, greatly improving life force upon ingestion. There is a very small chance of awakening one of the following special abilities: [Mental Control], [Regeneration], or [Berserk].
Description: Created by a mad scientist specializing in human genetic engineering for revenge. As a weakened version, genetic mutation and other side effects have been eliminated. Safe to use.

Although the [Avenging Angel Serum] he held was a diluted version, far weaker than the original, the good news was there’d be no gene mutations like those seen in Eri Chokyo—no side effects at all.

The value of this serum was enormous. If auctioned on the trading channel, professional players from the major guilds would fight over it.

But he had no intention of selling it. With the difficulty of the upcoming instances increasing, he desperately needed to strengthen himself if he hoped to survive in the horror game.

Power is the only way to stand firm.

“Your D-level Blade Mastery skill is now at full proficiency. Would you like to upgrade the skill?”

After slaying hundreds of infected in the Biochemical Metropolis instance, Su Cheng had finally maxed out his D-level Blade Mastery. The downside: advancing Blade Mastery to C-level would cost 5,000 game points and 30 Small Soul Crystals. That meant most of his gains from the instance would be spent right there.

Gritting his teeth, Su Cheng spent 5,000 points to advance Blade Mastery to C-level.

“Congratulations, player Su Cheng, for upgrading Blade Mastery to C-level. Please select a skill.”

1. Intermediate Sword Aura (Unleashes sword energy when slashing; requires Basic Sword Aura as a prerequisite)
2. Mirror Image (Creates a mirror phantom to confuse enemies; the image possesses 50% of the original’s attack power; lasts 3 minutes)
3. Godspeed Slash (Passively increases attack speed by 10%, delivering deadly strikes at high velocity)

Since Su Cheng had no intention of cultivating sword aura, he dismissed the first option. The real dilemma was between Mirror Image and Godspeed Slash.

Truthfully, both skills were excellent.

But he could only choose one.

In the end, he opted for Mirror Image.

Now that his attack power had seen a considerable boost with C-level Blade Mastery, selecting another attack-based skill like Godspeed Slash would just be gilding the lily. Mirror Image, on the other hand, allowed him to both command his duplicate in battle and confuse enemies—far more versatile.

“[Ghostblade] profession quest complete. Do you wish to transfer to this profession?”

Su Cheng paused to consider, not transferring right away.

According to Ye Shenwei, everyone possesses an energy ring that confines human strength within a set range. Once you reach the limit, you can no longer grow stronger—any excess power would simply break the human vessel, leading to collapse and death.

Professionals, however, remade their bodies into something non-human, expanding their energy ring and raising the upper limit of their power.

If humans could ever evolve past the energy ring and attain limitless strength, they could become gods.

But in theory, that was impossible—a pleasant fantasy, nothing more.

After transferring, something abnormal might show up in his body. If discovered, it would spell serious trouble.

October’s golden light brought a chill to the air.

Yet the bustling streets of Tokyo still teemed with vibrant young women in miniskirts, their pale legs a magnet for every eye.

"Sir, would you like to hear about our personal services?"

In the crowded throng, a girl distributing flyers slid a card with a provocative image into Su Cheng’s hand as she passed.

He glanced at the card, meaning to toss it in the trash when something on the back caught his eye.

"Midnight tonight. Meet me in the underground parking lot of the Nakajima Building. If you don’t show, your family and friends will all die."

A death threat.

Su Cheng’s gaze turned to ice. He could guess who was behind this.

He didn’t know how they’d found him, but since they’d gone so far as to threaten him, he wouldn’t let it slide.

Only enemies buried in graves could give Su Cheng peace of mind.

In a deserted alley, the flyer girl tossed her stack of yellow cards into a trash bag. She peeled a mask from her face, pulled off her wig, and changed into a skintight black outfit. When she stepped out, she was transformed—a sultry, mature woman.

She failed to notice, however, that someone’s eyes were observing her every move from the shadows.

"Xiao Bai, follow her," Su Cheng murmured.

Su Bai nodded and, in a flash, transformed into a streak of darkness that slipped straight into the woman’s body.

Midnight. In the Nakajima Building’s parking garage, a dozen shadowy figures gathered, skulking together.

They brandished all manner of weapons—guns, swords—their killer instincts palpable. Clearly, none were good men.

"Captain Kato, we’ve already disabled all the cameras on this side of the garage. You think that guy will just hide and not dare show up?" A scar-faced thug cradling a submachine gun looked relaxed. With so many men here, and Captain Kato—a seasoned professional—overseeing things, if Su Cheng dared appear, he’d never leave alive.

"I’ve already dug up his identity. If he doesn’t show, we’ll start with his friends. I don’t believe the kid can hide forever," the middle-aged man growled, eyes glinting with malice. For some reason, his eyelids twitched as if something dreadful were about to happen.

Just then, the lights in the parking garage went out.

The assembled players fell into chaos, unease tightening the middle-aged man’s chest.

“Who turned off the lights? Get them back on!” someone shouted in the darkness.

About a minute later, the lights flickered back to life.

As they did, Captain Kato and his players saw, standing beneath a fluorescent tube right before them, a bizarre, black human silhouette.

“So, the brat came after all!” Captain Kato sneered.

The players raised their weapons and unleashed a torrent of bullets.

Ratatat, ratatat.

Bullets riddled the figure, ripping it to shreds.

Blood pooled at its feet. Yet, eerily, the figure did not collapse—it remained upright.

"Is he dead?"

Captain Kato felt something was off. The kid had died too easily.

Just then, the fat man beside him rubbed his eyes, terror distorting his face. Trembling, he stammered, "Look... That guy... doesn't seem to have a head..."

Only then did the others realize. Because of the lighting, they hadn’t seen clearly—they’d thought he was just bowing his head. Only now did they notice: what stood before them was a headless corpse.

A chill as cold as death prickled Captain Kato’s scalp.

Suddenly, in the silence of the garage, a strange sound echoed—a ball rolled to a stop at Captain Kato’s feet.

Looking closer, he saw it was a severed head, its features contorted in a ghastly mask.