Chapter Seven: Chaos in Battle

Suddenly, Xiao Zhang vanished in a flash, taking the young man in white with him, leaving the Corpse King standing alone in bewilderment. After two seconds of stunned silence, the Corpse King let out a furious roar, his entire body beginning to transform. He swelled rapidly, and countless eyes sprouted all over his body.

“Warning! Warning! The Boss has mutated. All players, please proceed to engage. Successful defeat will grant rewards to all participants; the first to kill will receive a secondary divine artifact.” A mechanical female voice echoed from the sky.

Xiao Zhang dashed into the safe zone, flinging his little brother onto the ground before plopping down himself. With a cry of pain, the young man in white climbed to his feet and started to thank Xiao Zhang, but halfway through his words, he froze. “What the—how is it you?” Wasn't this bastard the one who slapped him to death earlier?

Xiao Zhang turned away silently, not wanting the young man to see his wounds. He stared at his chest, which was bleeding profusely. “Little brother… damn, this hurts!”

Hearing this, the young man in white bristled like a startled kitten, drew a weapon, and pressed it against Xiao Zhang's neck. “How dare you talk about pain! Do you even know how much it hurt when you slapped me? Me! Not your mother!”

Xiao Zhang felt the pain intensify, to the point where he could barely speak.

“What’s wrong? Feeling guilty? Not going to turn around?” The young man pressed the sword closer to Xiao Zhang’s neck. “What now? Playing dead?”

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Zhang slowly stood up, gently moved the sword aside with his fingers, and turned around. “Come on, little brother, don’t be so angry. If you want, I’ll take care of all these players for you.”

The young man in white stared, frozen, at the terrifying wound across Xiao Zhang’s chest. “What happened to you?”

Xiao Zhang looked at his bleeding wound. By all rights, he should be dead, but apart from the pain, he wasn’t showing any symptoms of blood loss. “Brother, wasn’t it all to save you?”

Some nearby players eyed Xiao Zhang, tempted to make a move.

The young man in white seemed to make a decision as he looked at Xiao Zhang’s agonized face and the horrific wound. “Stand still. Don’t move.”

Xiao Zhang replied instinctively, “Huh? Uh, alright.”

With a sudden thrust, the young man in white stabbed Xiao Zhang’s chest with his sword. The icy pain jolted through him, and the watching players shivered.

Staring at the sword piercing his chest, Xiao Zhang’s mind conjured images of the gods of death beckoning him, but at the moment of impact, a surge of powerful energy flooded his body.

It didn’t hurt as much anymore! Xiao Zhang was startled and tried to step back.

“Don’t move!” the young man shouted.

Xiao Zhang stood frozen, staring at the sword lodged in his chest.

After twenty seconds, the young man in white yanked the sword out and stumbled, collapsing onto the ground.

Xiao Zhang quickly helped him up. “Are you alright?”

---

“It’s fine. Just healed your wound, but I’m a little exhausted,” the young man said weakly.

“Healed me?” Xiao Zhang glanced at his chest and saw the wound closing before his eyes. No wonder it didn’t hurt anymore. “Brother, what’s your name?”

The young man, feeling drained, dropped his sword. It was too heavy to lift. “Just call me Mo Kuang.”

“Damn, we must be fated, brother! You’re Mo Kuang, I’m Xiao Zhang. Ha!”

Mo Kuang wished he could crawl into a hole, pulling his hand away from Xiao Zhang’s grip. “You really are arrogant.” He nearly collapsed.

Xiao Zhang caught him. “Bro, what are you doing? I didn’t mean I’m arrogant, I meant my name’s Xiao Zhang.”

The surrounding players, having watched Xiao Zhang’s terrifying injury healed, had started to back off, but seeing Mo Kuang’s weakness, they grew restless again.

Seeing several groups approaching, Xiao Zhang sneered. “You guys want to fight?” As he spoke, he picked up the sword.

Mo Kuang whispered, “Careful. I just switched zones and used a big skill. Don’t expect much from me. Also, my leader said some powerful players transferred over, and there’s more…”

Seeing Mo Kuang hesitate, Xiao Zhang hoisted him up. “Brother, this isn’t the time to hold back. Just say it! Don’t act like a girl.”

Mo Kuang, annoyed, bumped Xiao Zhang with his head. “Did you ever drink the first milk tea of autumn?”

Xiao Zhang was baffled. What kind of joke was that? Then he remembered, “Milk tea? I don’t have a girlfriend. Who’d buy it for me?”

“You’re from Z Country too?”

“Are you crazy? If I’m not from Z Country, where else would I be from?”

“Xiao Zhang, you—let’s get out of the safe zone, and I’ll explain!”

Seeing the encroaching groups, Xiao Zhang shielded Mo Kuang and headed out.

“Guys, you stay here and hide. I’m off to kill monsters!” With that, Xiao Zhang slung Mo Kuang onto his shoulder and dashed out.

“So what do we do now?”

“Put me down, then you go fight the boss.”

“And you?”

“I’ll keep watch!”

Xiao Zhang: “◦㉨◦”

---

“I fight the monsters?”

“I can take you back to your original world.”

“Deal! Bro, I beg you, act like a human!” Xiao Zhang casually snatched Mo Kuang’s weapon.

“Well, I have to say, I may not be human, but you’re truly a dog!”

Panting, Xiao Zhang looked at the weakened Corpse King sprawled on the ground…

Was this… finally settled?

If he finished it off, it should be over.

Summoning the last of his strength, Xiao Zhang staggered toward the monster.

Suddenly, the Corpse King raised its head, all its eyes lighting up as it stared at Xiao Zhang.

Something was wrong!

That movement… was it self-destructing?

A buzz!

A green beam shot from the Corpse King’s mouth, and Xiao Zhang felt the air around him sucked away. With a loud bang, he was hurled through the air.

Damn! It can self-destruct when it can’t win?

Are you kidding me?!

He crashed to the ground, his laser sword falling beside him.

Dizzy and disoriented, his chest wound, which had just healed, was torn open again, his clothes shredded, and blood soaked the few remaining strips of his shirt.

He’d never lost so much blood in his life. Now, he felt almost completely drained.

He couldn’t muster a single ounce of strength, lying powerless on the ground, locked in a stare with the monster.

The Corpse King, surprisingly, wasn’t dead yet, but was still struggling, trying to rise. Meanwhile, Xiao Zhang’s blood flowed out in streams, and he felt his strength slipping away…