Chapter 958: Kick Off

"No!" Harvest Song's heart froze as she realized Colorless's intention. "Team Leader—"

Red Snake's Bite!

Crimson psychic energy erupted from Colorless, materializing into a writhing mass of serpents that struck everyone in reach. Her teammates collapsed one by one as the paralysis took hold. The effect would last minutes.

"Colorless...what are you doing?" Wandering Tune sprawled on the ground, his face twisted with betrayal.

"Using our lives as your bargaining chip... how low you've fallen," Crimson Bee spat before his consciousness faded.

"Don't...Team Leader..." Harvest Song forced out through clenched teeth, her outstretched hand falling limp.

The others' struggles weakened until darkness claimed them. Colorless remained silent, drawing a large folded blade from her waist. At the press of a button, it expanded into a giant cross-shaped boomerang. It had been Amon’s weapon.

She burst through the door alone.

Shadowy figures emerged in the night sky. Heavenly Dog led the way with three bands of white cloth tied to his arms, carrying Dead Pig, Mischievous Monkey, and Ke Yo like kites.

Meanwhile, Qing Ling rode over on her blade with Liao Liao as a passenger.

A cold smile crossed Colorless's face as her arm swelled, muscles hardening to steel.

“Hah!” Colorless hurled the boomerang. Not only had she inherited Amon’s weapon, she had also acquired Arm Strength.

The night before New Year’s Eve, Colorless had lost her mind and used the power-doubling injection to drag everyone to hell, but fate decided she hadn’t suffered enough. The bridge crumbled. She fell into the Li River and was rescued by Harvest Song.

For a week she lay unconscious. Upon finally waking, weak and disoriented, she heard that holy, emotionless voice:

“76, Arm Strength, Buff.”

“76, Arm Strength, Buff.”

Colorless broke into tears immediately, feeling her heart burn.

Whoosh

. The boomerang streaked through the sky like a gray meteor toward Qing Ling's group. They scattered effortlessly. The weapon curved back, targeting Heavenly Dog.

Qing Ling's cyan blade aura intercepted it, sending sparks flying as the boomerang got deflected. It carved a half-circle before returning to Colorless's hand.

“Leave her to me. Don’t step in.” Qing Ling frowned. The Xiu Dao under her feet suddenly flew away.

The sudden loss of support sent Liao Liao plummeting.

Why would you just kick me off? Is it too late to buy a ticket?

she thought frantically.

Whoosh

. Heavenly Dog swooped in, catching her waist mid-fall before gliding to safety.

Liao Liao exhaled in relief. Brother Dog never failed them.

"The others must be in the lab," Ke Yo called out. "No escape portals in the area."

“Heavenly Dog, throw me into the lab.” Dead Pig thought of a strategy. “Dr. Jia is protected by a barrier. I’ll flush them out for you to deal with.”

“Great plan!” Liao Liao’s criteria were simple: any plan that kept her from taking points was a good one.

“Best not to damage the lab,” Ke Yo said. “It’ll be a hassle to rebuild.”

Dead Pig snorted a laugh. "True. Dr. Jia would never let us hear the end of it."

"Sir Monkey, why don't you seal up the laboratory?" Ke Yo suggested. "I only need a few seconds to drag everyone outside of Dr. Jia's reach into the Strange Realm."

"Let's wait." Mischievous Monkey's keen eyes remained fixed on the brightly lit laboratory.

Dead Pig's lips curved. "You've thought of something better, Sir Monkey?"

"Not exactly." Mischievous Monkey smiled. "But I suspect they're not waiting to join the fight."

Understanding struck Liao Liao. Experience truly did come with age! Their targets' behavior made no sense—hiding in the laboratory without creating an escape portal, despite having no powerful defensive Talent to protect the group. They were practically gift-wrapping themselves for capture. Even rookie awakeners wouldn't make such an obvious mistake.

Something else must be going on.

“I’ll send bugs to scout ahead.” Liao Liao used Insects King, gathering tens of thousands of bugs that swarmed toward the laboratory like living smoke.

...

Clink—clink, clink—

Colorless's boomerang whirled above the scorched earth, spinning like helicopter blades.

Qing Ling descended on her Black Gold darts, both blades slicing through the air. Her powerful cross cuts struck the spinning boomerang, exploding into waves of cyan ripples that cast an eerie green light across Colorless's face and the charred ground.

Colorless spotted her chance as Qing Ling entered the range of her psychic attack.

Red Snake’s Bite!

Visible psychic power soared into the sky as hundreds of red vipers, lunging at Qing Ling.

One bite meant paralysis, two meant complete immobility, and three meant death by petrification—irreversible except through Gamer's reset.

Qing Ling knew the horror of Petrify firsthand. Physical defenses meant nothing against these psychic constructs; neither her weapons nor elemental attacks would touch them. Dodging was her only option. She launched herself left, but the serpents curved sharply in pursuit.

Mid-flight, she used a Butterfly Twin Blade as a stepping stone to change direction. Again and again, she zipped through the air, using her Black Gold weapons as launch points. The red snakes writhed after her, always just moments behind.

A bead of sweat rolled down Colorless' chin. She knew very well that Qing Ling was trying to exhaust her.

She stayed barely within Colorless’ attack range and kept her occupied. It took a lot of energy to fight long-range with psychic power. Given there was also a delay in reaction time, Colorless could not catch Qing Ling.

Within ten meters, Colorless would be able to get Qing Ling instantly with her psychic power. Of course, Qing Ling might cut Colorless’ head before she got petrified. Then their chance would be fifty-fifty.

But Qing Ling played it safe, choosing the surest path to victory.

Colorless's lips curled in silent derision.

Still bitter about dying by my hand, Green Snake? Seeking revenge? Ha, don't underestimate me. I'm not alone in this fight!

With a shout, Colorless continued to manipulate the red snakes to chase after Qing Ling and hurled the boomerang at the same time, predicting the direction Qing Ling would jump in.

She guessed right!

Qing Ling started. Her clear eyes reflected the image of a quickly spinning boomerang.