Snowflakes swirled.
On the silent, snow-covered ground, the [Holy Crystal of Resurrection], lying quietly where the BOSS dissipated, emitted a soft yet deadly glow.
It was like a beating heart; each flicker stirred the most primal greed of hundreds of players present.
But no one dared to move.
No one even dared to breathe loudly.
Chen Mo's contemptuous gaze swept across the scene, his eyes like he was looking at a group of livestock gathered around a trough, yet afraid to approach.
"Is that all the courage you have?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced everyone's ears, filled with undisguised mockery.
The players from the Holy Dragon Alliance and the military guild flushed, their fingers clutching their weapons turning white from excessive force.
Reason screamed, warning them that this man was an unbeatable monster.
Yet, the allure of that resurrection ITEM gnawed at their judgment like a venomous snake.
Finally, Gilk, the leader of the Holy Dragon Alliance, the man Chen Mo had just punched away, struggled to his feet with help.
He roared, feigning ferocity to cover his fear, "Chen Mo! Don't be too arrogant! This thing is ownerless. With so many of us, are we really afraid of just you...?"
Before he could finish.
Chen Mo's figure vanished from his original spot.
It wasn't a skill, nor was it a teleportation.
Just one step.
That step seemed to transcend the distance of space and time.
"What did you say?"
A cold voice sounded right behind Gilk's ear, like the breath of death.
"I didn't quite hear you."
A pitch-black blade had, at some point, rested on his neck.
The chill of the blade pierced through his virtual skin, making his soul tremble.
Gilk's blood instantly froze; the last shred of courage he had mustered through his roar was utterly shattered by that death-like whisper.
"I... I..."
A strange gurgling sound came from his throat, his legs gave out, and he collapsed straight to his knees.
Dozens of guild members behind him reflexively raised their weapons, aiming at Chen Mo, but the invisible aura of terror pressed them back, not daring to take a single step forward.
Kirito's eyelids twitched wildly as he watched.
This kind of overwhelming power transcended the game; it was more like an absolute suppression on a fundamental level of life itself.
Just at this tense moment.
Clang!
Clang! Clang!
A dense, ear-splitting sound of metal shattering erupted without warning in the field!
Everyone looked in horror at their own hands.
Those weapons aimed at Chen Mo, whether fine longswords, heavy battle-axes, or sharp daggers, now looked like decaying objects eroded by a thousand years of time, breaking into pieces from the tip onwards!
Metal fragments flew everywhere, reflecting the pale faces of the crowd.
Dozens of weapons, in a single breath, were all rendered useless!
Argo had, at some point, walked to Chen Mo's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
But she did nothing.
She just stood quietly, her pretty face, adorned with three whisker-like paint marks, filled with absolute trust and adoration for her man.
The one who acted, from beginning to end, was only Chen Mo.
He didn't even turn his head.
Just the icy, bone-chilling killing intent emanating from him materialized into invisible swords, severing all hostility directed at him.
"My weapon... my weapon!"
"What's going on? Durability instantly dropped to zero?"
"Monster... he's a monster!"
Wailing and panic spread through the crowd like a plague.
Destroying their weapons terrified them more than killing them.
It proved that the opponent possessed a power they could not possibly comprehend, a power that could disregard rules, ignore distance, and arbitrarily strip them of everything.
Chen Mo retracted the Blade of Perseverance, not even bothering to glance at Gilk, who was kneeling in a daze, for another second.
He slowly walked to the [Holy Crystal of Resurrection], bent down, picked it up, and casually tossed it into his storage space.
The entire process was fluid and effortless.
Hundreds of top players watched him take away the supreme treasure, capable of stirring up a storm of blood, yet not a single person dared to make another sound.
Having done all this, Chen Mo took Argo's hand and turned to leave.
"Remember."
His steps did not falter, his indifferent voice drifting away in the wind and snow.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I won't kill anyone."
"But don't test my patience."
"Because I'm not always in such a good mood."
Watching that gradually receding black figure, everyone present felt a sense of exhaustion, as if they had narrowly escaped death.
Asuna's lips were tightly pressed, her chestnut hair flying in the wind. She looked at that resolute back, her eyes filled with extreme complexity.
Finally, as if making some kind of decision, she suddenly raised her hand.
"Wait!"
Asuna quickly stepped forward, blocking the path between Chen Mo and the teleportation gate.
"Hey, hey! Little Ya," Argo immediately frowned, blocking Chen Mo like a protective kitten, "I'm very familiar with you, but this guy isn't."
"Argo, I mean no harm." Asuna's gaze bypassed Argo, looking directly at Chen Mo, her tone more serious than ever, "I represent the Knights of the Blood Oath and wish to discuss a condition with you."
The tension in the air seemed to thicken.
Argo glanced at Chen Mo; seeing that he didn't object, she merely snorted lightly and reluctantly stepped aside slightly.
"Speak." Chen Mo uttered one word, concise and to the point.
"The [Holy Crystal of Resurrection] is yours; we have nothing to say about that." Asuna took a deep breath, forcing herself to meet his unfathomably deep eyes.
"But in exchange, I hope you promise not to be the first to clear any floor's BOSS, at least until the seventy-fifth floor."
At these words, not only Kirito but also the surrounding players who hadn't dispersed perked up their ears.
This was the first time the Assault Team had directly requested the strongest player to halt his progress.
"Reason." Chen Mo's tone was utterly unruffled.
"Your speed is too fast!" Asuna's voice was somewhat agitated, "You alone are accelerating the entire game's progress! We don't have enough time to explore, map, or find safe zones! A large number of players are left behind, and to catch up, they have to risk entering unexplored areas, causing the death rate to skyrocket! You're forcing mid-level players to their deaths!"
Her words resonated with many, who showed indignant expressions.
Chen Mo listened quietly, his face devoid of any expression.
It wasn't until Asuna finished speaking that he slowly opened his mouth, his voice not loud, yet it silenced the entire snowy plain.
"Their deaths, what do they have to do with me?"
Asuna's face instantly turned ashen.
She had expected Chen Mo to refuse or haggle, but she never anticipated such a cold, matter-of-fact response.
"You..."
"Weakness itself is a sin." Chen Mo interrupted her, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, "If you can't keep up with my pace, then you're eliminated. That is the rule of this death game."
"I have no obligation to stop for the weak."
"If you don't want to die, just stay in the safe zones; there's no need to come to the labyrinth area to throw your lives away."
Having said that, he no longer paid attention to Asuna, who stood frozen in place, and pulling Argo, walked straight towards the teleportation gate.
At the last moment before stepping into the light gate, he seemed to remember something and looked back at Asuna.
"However, in consideration of your courage, I can offer you a piece of advice."
"Be careful of your leader."
"Heathcliff."
As his words fell, their figures completely vanished into the light of the teleportation array.
Only Asuna remained, standing in the wind and snow, her expression fluctuating, the cryptic warning echoing repeatedly in her mind.
And also that sentence... "Their deaths, what do they have to do with me?"
She shivered, truly realizing for the first time how different the world she saw was from the one that man saw.