Floor 6: The Ruined Sect. The Center Lane.
The grey fog of the ruins tasted like ash.
Lin Fan pressed his back against the cold, crumbling stone of a collapsed watchtower. His chest heaved as he cycled his Qi, forcing the exhaustion out of his muscles. Beside him, Zhang Wei sat slumped in the dirt, his face pale, one hand clutching his side where Ye Qingyu's kick had cracked his ribs.
"Captain," Zhang Wei rasped, his voice thin. "The fog... it is thinning. They will see us soon."
"I know," Lin Fan hissed. He checked the magazine of his Desert Eagle. Three bullets left.
"You should leave me," Zhang Wei said, looking at his broken rusty sword lying in the dust. "I am luggage. You said it yourself. Without me, you can use the Mantle of the Villain to vanish."
Lin Fan looked down at the woodcutter. He looked at the honest, stupid eyes that refused to blame him for using him as bait.
"Shut up," Lin Fan growled. "I don't leave assets behind until I've squeezed every drop of value from them."
BOOM!
A beam of azure sword energy cleaved the top of their cover, showering them with stone shrapnel.
"Found you, Rat!"
Ye Qingyu's voice echoed through the ruins, amplified by his anger.
"My Shield Warrior has blocked the rear alley! My Spear Disciple holds the left flank! And I am right in front of you!"
Lin Fan peeked out for a fraction of a second.
Ye Qingyu hovered ten meters away, his sword radiating a terrifying blue light. He wasn't rushing. He had learned from his mistake. He was closing the net slowly, ensuring there was no escape.
Lin Fan's eyes flashed blue. Seal 2: The Sovereign's Blueprint activated.
He saw the world not as stone and flesh, but as geometry and vectors.
Ye Qingyu: Energy density 8000. Trajectory lock: Frontal cone.
Shield Warrior: Defense rating 99%. Weakness: Upper rim joint.
Escape Probability: 0.4%.
"Checkmate," Lin Fan muttered. "Unless..."
He looked at the mini-map provided by the System.
The Blue Dot (Enemy Healer) was inside his base.
Red Base.
The Red Base was quiet, save for the sound of chattering teeth.
Fatty Wu was curled into a ball on the ground, completely hidden underneath his massive black iron wok. It looked like a giant turtle shell discarded in the dirt.
"Don't see me, don't see me, I am a rock, I am a vegetable..." Fatty Wu chanted.
Footsteps approached. Light, careful footsteps.
The Enemy Healer, a female disciple from the Azure Sword Sect, stepped into the base. She held a dagger coated in green paralysis poison. She scanned the area.
She saw the Red Flag fluttering in the wind.
She saw the overturned wok.
"Hmph," she sneered. "That fat pig must have fled. Coward."
She sheathed her dagger and reached for the flag. Her hand was inches from the pole.
Inside the darkness of the wok, Fatty Wu heard the rustle of her robes. He remembered Lin Fan's cold, dead eyes. He remembered the threat: "If you lose the flag, I will feed you to the Magma Sharks."
Fear of the enemy was great. Fear of Lin Fan was greater.
"I... I have to do it!"
Fatty Wu grabbed the handle on the inside of the wok lid. He pulled his knees to his chest. He shifted his center of gravity.
"Secret Technique: Rolling Mountain!"
The wok tipped.
The Healer heard a scraping sound. She turned around just in time to see a three-hundred-pound iron disc rolling toward her on its edge like a runaway wheel of death.
"What—?"
CLANG!
The edge of the wok smashed into her shins.
"Kyaaa!"
The Healer screamed as her legs were swept out from under her. She fell face-first into the dirt.
But the wok didn't stop. Momentum carried it forward. It rolled over her back.
CRUNCH.
"Oof!"
The combined weight of the spirit iron and Fatty Wu squeezed the air out of her lungs. Her health bar hit zero instantly.
[Blue Team Member Eliminated.]
[Killer: Fatty Wu (The Bowling Ball).]
The wok wobbled and fell flat. Fatty Wu peeked out from underneath, blinking.
"I... I got a kill?" He looked at his hands, then at the dissolving body of the Healer. A strange, giddy sensation bubbled in his chest. "I'm... I'm a predator!"
Center Lane.
The notification rang out in the sky.
[Blue Team Healer Eliminated.]
Ye Qingyu froze. "What?! How did the Healer lose to the Fat One?!"
His calm facade cracked. The score was 1-0, and he was down a team member. If the timer ran out, he lost.
"Kill them!" Ye Qingyu roared, abandoning his cautious approach. "Shield, crush them! Spear, skewer them! I want their heads!"
The Shield Warrior roared, charging from the rear. He held a massive Tower Shield that covered his entire body, glowing with yellow Earth Qi. He was a moving wall.
The Spear Disciple lunged from the left, his spear tip spinning like a drill.
It was a pincer attack. Certain death.
"Zhang Wei," Lin Fan said, his voice eerily calm.
"Yes, Captain?"
Lin Fan shoved the Desert Eagle into the woodcutter's chest.
"Take this."
Zhang Wei stared at the cold black metal. "The Thunder-Wand? Captain, I am a woodcutter. I have never used a hidden weapon. I don't know the mantras!"
"There are no mantras!" Lin Fan shouted, grabbing Zhang Wei's collar. "It is a machine! Pour your Qi into the grip! Point the hole at the enemy! And pull the trigger! Do not drop it!"
Lin Fan turned his back on Zhang Wei. He faced the charging Shield Warrior.
[Seal 2 Active.]
[Target: Earth Spirit Tower Shield.]
[Structure Analysis: Solid. Frontal assault ineffective.]
[Vector Analysis: Upward trajectory available.]
"Time to break the game," Lin Fan grinned.
He didn't run away. He sprinted toward the Shield Warrior.
The Shield Warrior sneered from behind his slit visor. "Suicide? Die!"
He braced for impact, expecting Lin Fan to punch the shield.
Lin Fan didn't punch.
He channeled all his Qi into his legs. Overclock: Muscle Fibers.
At the last second, Lin Fan jumped. He landed on the face of the shield. His feet found purchase on the rivets.
"What?!" The Shield Warrior gasped under the sudden weight.
Lin Fan didn't stop. He used the shield as a step-ladder. He kicked off the Warrior's helmet, launching himself high into the air.
He soared over the Shield Warrior's head, reaching the apex of his jump directly above Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu looked up. He saw Lin Fan floating against the grey sky, black cloak billowing like demon wings.
"You think height gives you an advantage?" Ye Qingyu laughed, channeling his Azure Sword Qi. "You are just a falling target! Sky-Piercing Strike!"
He prepared to slash upward, ready to cut Lin Fan in half.
Lin Fan looked down. He reached into his connection with the System.
"I don't need an advantage," Lin Fan whispered. "I need an anvil."
He activated the Captain's Ability: Regroup.
[Target: Teammate 'Fatty Wu'.]
[Action: Summon to Captain's Location.]
POOF.
Space distorted directly below Lin Fan and directly above Ye Qingyu.
A massive, round object appeared.
"WAAAAAAH! I WAS CELEBRATING!"
Fatty Wu materialized in mid-air, clutching his giant wok.
Ye Qingyu's eyes widened. He had expected a sword strike. He had expected a bullet.
He did not expect a screaming fat man falling from the heavens.
"Move!" Ye Qingyu tried to abort his attack, but momentum was against him.
GOOOOONG!
The upward slash of the Azure Sword hit the bottom of the Black Iron Wok. The sound was like a temple bell being struck by a meteor. The vibration shattered the sword's Qi instantly.
Then, gravity won.
SMASH.
Fatty Wu landed directly on top of Ye Qingyu.
The ground buckled. A crater formed. Ye Qingyu didn't even have time to scream before he was buried under three hundred pounds of flesh and iron.
[Blue Team Captain Eliminated.]
Lin Fan landed gracefully on the edge of the crater.
The Shield Warrior, having turned around, stared in horror at the pile of dust where his Captain used to be.
"You... you cheated!" The Shield Warrior roared. "That is not martial arts!"
"It's gravity," Lin Fan said coldly.
He lunged.
The Shield Warrior raised his shield, but he was shaken. Lin Fan's fist, wreathed in the black vortex of the Heaven-Devouring Art, struck the side of the shield.
But Lin Fan didn't aim for the shield. He aimed for the vibration.
[Seal 2: Resonance Point Detected.]
He struck the exact point to cause a harmonic tremor.
CRACK.
The massive shield fractured. The force transferred through the metal into the Warrior's arm.
"Argh!" The Warrior dropped the shield, clutching his shattered arm.
Lin Fan spun and kicked him in the temple.
[Blue Team Shield Eliminated.]
Silence fell over the lane.
Lin Fan stood amidst the bodies, his cloak settling around him. He turned to look at Zhang Wei.
The Spear Disciple, the last surviving enemy, stood frozen. His spear point was inches from Zhang Wei's throat.
But Zhang Wei was holding the Desert Eagle. He was holding it with two hands, trembling violently, eyes squeezed shut. The barrel was pressed directly against the Spear Disciple's chest.
"D-Don't move," Zhang Wei stammered. "Or I... I will make the thunder sound."
The Spear Disciple looked at the gun. He looked at Lin Fan, the demon who had just dropped a fat man on a genius.
Clatter.
The Spear Disciple dropped his weapon.
"I surrender."
[Match Over.]
[Winner: Team Lin Fan.]
[Score: 3 - 0.]
The White Room (Floor 6 Waiting Area).
The ruined city dissolved into white mist.
Ye Qingyu stood there, resurrected but broken. His pristine white robes were immaculate, but his eyes were haunted.
"I lost..." Ye Qingyu whispered, staring at his hands. "I trained for fifteen years in the sword. I learned the Dao of the Azure Lotus. And I lost... to a kitchen utensil."
Lin Fan walked past him. He didn't mock him. He didn't even look at him.
"You lost because you are predictable," Lin Fan said, his voice bored. "You play Chess. I play Rugby."
He walked over to his team.
Fatty Wu was hugging his wok, kissing the cold iron. "We won! I'm an MVP! Did you see that roll, Captain? Did you see the drop?!"
"You made a good projectile," Lin Fan nodded, taking the gun back from Zhang Wei.
Zhang Wei's hands were still shaking. The weight of the gun—the feeling of holding a machine designed purely for death—lingered on his soul.
"Are you okay?" Lin Fan asked, holstering the weapon.
"It felt... cold," Zhang Wei whispered. "Efficient. No heart in that weapon."
"Heart gets you killed," Lin Fan muttered.
Before they could proceed to the portal for Floor 7, a shadow detached itself from the wall.
Su Mei, the Captain of Team C, stepped forward. She wore her tight leather armor, her face unmasked, revealing sharp, predatory beauty.
She clapped slowly.
"An ugly win," she purred. "But a win nonetheless."
Lin Fan narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, Ghost?"
Su Mei reached into her pouch and pulled out a glowing purple crystal.
The moment it appeared, Lin Fan's chest burned. The System in his head screamed.
[Item Detected: Key Fragment of the Third Seal.]
Lin Fan's breath hitched. "Where did you get that?"
"Floor 2 Boss," Su Mei smiled, tossing the crystal in the air and catching it. "I saw you kill the Bat. But I looted the droppings while you were arguing with the Sword Prince. I felt your Qi react to it. You need this."
Lin Fan took a step forward. "Give it to me."
"It's a trade," Su Mei closed her hand over the crystal.
"What do you want? Points? Spirit Stones?"
"I want him."
Su Mei pointed a gloved finger at Zhang Wei.
Lin Fan froze. "The Woodcutter?"
"He has potential," Su Mei said calmly. "He has eyes that see through darkness. He has a heart that stabilizes a team. On your team, he is just 'luggage' and 'bait'. On my team... he will be a Scout."
She stepped closer to Lin Fan, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"You are a monster, Lin Fan. Monsters walk alone. Give me the human, and I will give you the power to be a greater monster."
Lin Fan looked at the crystal. The Third Seal. The power to store his weapon. The power to grow stronger.
He looked at Zhang Wei. The man who blinded the wolf. The man who held the line. The only person in this tower who didn't hate him.
Fatty Wu looked back and forth nervously. "Captain... don't do it. Zhang Wei is our friend!"
Lin Fan's face hardened. The Mantle of the Villain seemed to darken around him.
"Friendship," Lin Fan said coldly, "is a variable I cannot control. Power is a constant."
He held out his hand.
"Deal."
Zhang Wei looked up. There was no shock in his eyes. Only a deep, sad resignation. He had known, from the moment Lin Fan pointed the gun at him on Floor 2, that this day would come.
"Take care of your sister, Captain," Zhang Wei said softly. He bowed to Lin Fan, then walked over to stand beside Su Mei.
Su Mei tossed the crystal to Lin Fan. He caught it. It felt warm. It felt like victory.
It felt like ashes.
"Let's go, Woodcutter," Su Mei said, turning to the portal. "We have a floor to clear."
Team C vanished.
Lin Fan stood alone with Fatty Wu.
"Captain..." Fatty Wu whispered. "You sold him."
"I bought an upgrade," Lin Fan corrected, gripping the crystal until his knuckles turned white. "Now shut up. We have a tower to climb."