Hearing Lance—who was actually several months older—call him big brother made every pore on Zhan Pingchuan’s body open in delight.
The impact of the words, combined with the tug on his clothes, made him feel as though he were not inside a dark, claustrophobic dungeon at all, but standing in a vast, brightly lit wedding hall overflowing with flowers. Old Zhan was trembling toward him, eyes wet as he grasped his hand and said emotionally: My handsome, upright, kind, brave, fearless, awesome, perfect son, from now on I leave all my property to the two of you!
Because their two teammates were still nearby, Zhan Pingchuan tried his best to restrain himself.
“Big brother’s here.” He stared coolly toward the movement overhead, reached back, grabbed the fingers clutching his shirt, and pulled Lance into the circle of his arm. His mouth still found time to tease. “Tsk. Little Student Lance has a sweet mouth today.”
From Tang Li and Liu Bo’s perspective, Zhan Pingchuan had practically wrapped Lance in his arms, while Lance nestled obediently against him.
Liu Bo pretended blindness. Tang Li stiffly turned his head away.
At the same time, their cameras had already begun transmitting footage live to the federal network. Members of guilds large and small with viewing authorization entered the livestream one after another, observing freshman performance and searching for promising recruits.
System: VIP user [High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home has entered the livestream.
System: VIP user [Ghost Eye Guild] Not Buying a Bathroom has entered the livestream.
System: VIP user [High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home has been switched to Team Lanlan’s Sky POV.
System: VIP user [Ghost Eye Guild] Not Buying a Bathroom has been switched to Team Lanlan’s Sky POV.
……
[[High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home: ???]
[[Ghost Eye Guild] Not Buying a Bathroom: :)]
Taking advantage of the darkness, Lance did not deliberately suppress the corner of his mouth. Even the faint trembling caused by amusement could be explained as nervousness.
“Does that count as sweet-talking?” Lance asked softly after adjusting his emotions.
They were so close he could feel the rise and fall of Zhan Pingchuan’s chest with each breath. Very soon, their breathing fell into the same rhythm.
Lance attributed it to the human instinct to imitate unconsciously.
“Depends on who says it. When you say things…” Zhan Pingchuan paused halfway, deliberately meaningful. “I think they’re pretty sweet.”
[[High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home: !!!!!!!!]
[[Ghost Eye Guild] Not Buying a Bathroom: .]
[[Nightwalker Guild] Jian Shouqing: I’m dying. Can the two big guild brothers stop fighting the second they see each other?]
[[Milky Way Guild] Flora: Why are they already going at it? Somebody give me context.]
[[Hera Guild] Heracles: Don’t bother stopping them. I heard High Tower just stole one of Ghost Eye’s major clients. They’re furious.]
[[Changming Guild] Galaxy: Tsk. Your corporate cultures are really deeply rooted. What are two employees even fighting about here?]
[[Rome Guild] Chaos: Gotta say, both guilds sent pretty lively HR reps today.]
[[Shattered Ice Guild] White Orchid Soldier: Big guilds really are refreshingly genuine.]
Zhan Pingchuan was not merely flirting. The instant his last word fell, silver threads finer than silk shot from his fingertips with ruthless accuracy toward the fluttering wings.
A shrill screech rang out. Something heavy crashed to the ground, kicking up dust. It struggled and flapped twice before falling completely still.
A thick, foul smell of blood quickly filled the air.
“AHHHH WHAT THE FUCK JUST FELL?!” Liu Bo screamed and jumped nearly a meter. He had not even seen when Zhan Pingchuan attacked.
Lance glanced coolly at the ground from the corner of his eye.
A vicious swooper. E-rank strange beast. It had the head of a piranha and wings resembling a bat’s. They usually appeared in cold, damp, low-level dungeons. Their individual attack power was ordinary, but they compensated with numbers. Where one appeared, a whole flock was usually waiting.
[[Nightwalker Guild] Jian Shouqing: The lights aren’t even on and someone already got first blood.]
[[Milky Way Guild] Flora: Vicious swooper. Clean kill. Shame we couldn’t see what ability he used.]
[[Hera Guild] Heracles: Oh? That Alpha is pretty responsible. He’s been protecting the Omega in his arms the whole time.]
[[Ghost Eye Guild] Not Buying a Bathroom: ~~~]
[[High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home: &#%%*#￥%！]
“Wait. Listen!”
Nearly five hundred people went silent at once.
Rustle—rustle—
From the seemingly endless tunnel came the sound of a huge number of creatures crawling. They bumped into each other, climbed over one another’s bodies, and surged toward them in a dense, overwhelming mass.
Snap!
Several oil lamps along both tunnel walls suddenly ignited at the same time. Firelight flooded the stone passage and illuminated faces that were either grim or deathly pale.
Before long, the smell of tar filled the enclosed space, mixing with the beasts’ stink of blood into something especially pungent.
Nobody knew where the lamps had come from or who kept them supplied with oil.
Everyone squinted against the sudden brightness. When their eyes adjusted and they looked again, scalps prickled and blood seemed to run backward through their veins.
“Holy mother of—what the hell are those? Fish or birds? How can a fish be that ugly?!”
“Vicious swoopers! My dad took me to see them before!”
“They usually appear in packs. Their reproduction rate is insane. One egg case can hatch more than a hundred!”
“Fuck, that’s disgusting!”
“Kill them!”
“Heh. Stop making a fuss. They’re only E-rank beasts.”
Animal-type A-rank Awakener Aishilun’s arm rapidly transformed into a claw. He had not yet learned a first-stage ability, but his raw destructive power was still A-rank.
One sweep of his claw cut three vicious swoopers into several pieces. Chunks of flesh rained down and rolled to the tips of his shoes.
Four deep, thick gouges appeared in the exposed stone wall behind them.
Aishilun transformed his other arm too. Swinging both claws, he carved a bloody path through the tunnel amid continuous shrieks.
His score rose like a rocket.
“Brother Lun is awesome!”
“As expected of A-rank. Three in one strike!”
“At this rate, Brother Lun is definitely taking first!”
“Pick up the dropped [Vicious Swooper Wings] for Brother Lun! They all belong to him!”
The other A-rank Awakener, enhancement-type Tu Mo, had his competitive instinct ignited. He closed his eyes, sank his breath into his core, and every joint in his body cracked sharply. Then the muscles of all four limbs bulged, instantly increasing to three times their previous size. His school uniform stretched around him like a ridiculous yoga suit.
His eyes snapped open. He swung one fist into the stone wall. Powder streamed through the gaps between his fingers. The entire tunnel shook as though dropped onto an active fault line.
The vicious swoopers clinging to the walls could not withstand such violent tremors. They fell in a clattering rain and Tu Mo crushed them one by one beneath his feet like balloons. His score rapidly chased Aishilun’s.
“Kill, kill! Help Brother Mo rush first place!”
“Following Brother Mo is so convenient. Just stab whatever lands on the ground!”
Everyone began chopping and hacking. The vicious swoopers were low rank and gave few points individually, but there were far too many of them.
Aishilun and Tu Mo quickly opened a huge lead over the rest.
Zhan Pingchuan did not particularly care about one hundred thousand yuan or the federal internship. He cared more about what trap Si Hongche had prepared for him. So while protecting Lance and the others, he did not slaughter the vicious swoopers aggressively.
Before long, Team Lanlan’s Sky fell dozens of points behind Aishilun and Tu Mo.
Lance did not care about one hundred thousand yuan either, but the chance to intern with the federal government was important. He wanted to uncover Oliver’s purpose and why Oliver wanted to die. This was the best opportunity.
Lance knew perfectly well he could not display White Pharaoh’s ruthlessness in front of hundreds of cameras. If he wanted the team to win, he had to rely on Zhan Pingchuan—but Zhan Pingchuan’s attention was clearly elsewhere.
He needed stimulation.
Another black swarm of vicious swoopers rushed toward them. Lance drew the purple-grade weapon [Black Mamba Fang], which he had picked up in Glacier Corpse Forest, and bravely slipped out of Zhan Pingchuan’s arms.
He raised one finger and quickly brushed away the thin sweat that had formed at Zhan Pingchuan’s temple from the heat. Then he drew a deep breath.
“Are you tired? I’ll help. It’s okay if we don’t get first place.” Lance’s eyes were clear and innocent, overflowing with gentle understanding.
Zhan Pingchuan: “???”
[[High Tower Guild] Precious Baby at Home: !!!!!!!!]
[[Nightwalker Guild] Jian Shouqing: Wait, why is High Tower’s guy so furious today?]