novelCapture
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Chapter 31: Capture
"Now what?" Luo Jian drew out his short knife and started hacking at the vines, sawing back and forth non-stop... I went at this vine for how long already, just how thick is it?! Luo Jian was at a complete loss. He forcefully stabbed the tree vines; these vines seemed to have felt pain, and they continuously trembled. Seeing this, Luo Jian's hair stood on end.
From the start, the siblings, 13 and 14, and Luo Jian had taken two completely opposite directions. The Stalker was still fighting Duan Li, Feng Yu Lan was trapped inside the tree hole, and there was nothing left to do. Luo Jian couldn't think of anyone else who could help. These vines were unexpectedly strong. Even when Luo Jian relentlessly slashed at them, these vines were obviously not something found in the real world. Just who could get rid of these vines? Of course, none other than Duan Li, who had intentionally set them up there.
"Ah Lan, are you alright in there?" Luo Jian was wrapped around with those vines and was suspended in the air upside down; the entire world before his eyes had also flipped over. Blood rushed to Luo Jian's brain, calming him down. The first thing he had to do was ascertain Feng Yu Lan's situation.
As of this moment, Ah Lan wasn't faring well. He lost too much blood, and his spirit was excessively depleted. Fortunately, resting allowed him to restore some of his vitality. On the whole, he wouldn't die on the spot from extreme blood loss; however, if it continued like this, he certainly wouldn't be able to last long. Feng Yu Lan was well-aware that he was currently in a very dangerous predicament. He said to Luo Jian, "Ah Jian doesn't have to take care of me, I'm safe here. You just find a way to save yourself, then help me retrieve my grimoire. First things first, I have to stop the summoning process. My spiritual power is draining too fast. If this goes on, my head's going to explode sooner or later."
Luo Jian paused for a second, then asked, "The Stalker was summoned by you?"
"Stalker?" In a daze, Feng Yu Lan shook his head."The summoning technique randomly calls out any creature in the chambers...if my luck is good, then a heaven-defying BOSS will appear. But if I'm not that lucky, then it might end up being a puny small-fry... In any case, to think I actually summoned a Stalker on the first try. I must say, maybe I should buy a lottery ticket?"
"Why stop at just buying a lottery ticket; you can definitely win five million prizes!" Luo Jian forced a smile."You ended up summoning the Stalker we encountered in the previous chamber."
"Oh...it's that Stalker?" Feng Yu Lan clutched the tree bark and suddenly laughed deviously, "Ah Jian, I'm afraid you're extremely lucky, huh?"
Well, in any case, the Stalker was entangled in a duel with Duan Li; Feng Yu Lan was temporarily out of harm's way. He could also sleep to replenish his exhausted energy; he just needed to obediently stay inside the tree hole and go to bed. The two men discussed with each other and decided Luo Jian would handle the following matters. Thereupon, Ah Lan proceeded to take a nap, and Luo Jain relentlessly began hacking at those vines again.
These vines were quite troublesome, but luckily, these vines merely seemed to be guarding the tree and protecting Feng Yu Lan who was inside. As long as one didn't take the initiate to attack, the vines would be indisposed to engage with others. Luo Jian fumbled around and eventually grasped an idea. He adjusted his breathing, relaxed his body, and remained motionless. After a few minutes, the vines began to relax, and so Luo Jian easily slipped down from the vines, falling directly to the ground and rolling in the mud.
Luo Jian surreptitiously cursed; he quickly flipped his body over and hastily crawled up, dashing away from those vines. When he was roughly situated, Luo Jian shouted, "Ah Lan, wait for me, I'll come back soon to save you!"
There was no noise from Feng Yu Lan inside the tree hole, he most likely fell asleep. Luo Jian hesitated for a moment and didn't turn around to leave just yet. Thereafter, a massive explosion was heard in the distant woods. He wasn't sure how far the battle between Xing Yan and Duan Li had progressed, but to think they were still able to trigger an explosion. Luo Jian promptly darted through the forest and headed straight towards the source of the sound.
First, he had to find the Stalker and take back the grimoire from him. The best outcome would be that the Stalker defeated that crazy murderer, Duan Li, thus eliminating this endless pursuit. However, if Duan Li really spoke the truth, if he could never die unless his target died, then the best way to address this would be to seize his weapons and tie him up.
While Luo Jian was mulling over the countermeasures to deal with the situation and how to progress forward, he bumped into 13 and 14, who had rounded the woods several times. The siblings reported to Luo Jian of their findings."We circled the place for a long time, but we couldn't find your friend."
"No need to search. Ah Lan is safe and sound. Don't worry about it for the time being." Luo Jian replied then turned his head to face the small child, 14. 14's weapon was a relatively rare type, a five-to-six-meter-long whip. Luo Jian stared at her whip for a good while. Immediately after, the little girl became displeased; she scrunched her small face in irritation and hissed, "What are you looking at? Stop staring at this whip so much; I can brandish it very well!"
Luo Jian blinked his eyes several times, then walked over and crouched before the young girl. 14 was quite tiny; with short hair and a pair of inky black, clever eyes, she was rather beautiful. Luo Jian couldn't help but stretch out his hand and pat the top of the young girl's head. 14 didn't resist him, she appeared particularly docile.
Luo Jian gazed at her for half a day, yet he still couldn't imagine that this tiny girl was a veteran player who had already escaped the chambers four times. He pondered for a while, then asked, "Are you a single-player or multiplayer?"
The young girl also blinked repeatedly then responded, "I'm with my older brother."
Thereupon, Luo Jian lifted his head and peered up at 13."So you're also a veteran who's experienced four chambers?"
The masked man shook his head."Accurately speaking, it's five times. I entered the chambers first, and, soon after, my younger sister was selected. I didn't hesitate about deciding to team up with her."
"Then you should be able to do it." Luo Jian stroked the girl's head once again and continued, "Could you use your rope to tie up Duan Li?"
"It's not a rope, it's a whip! And it also has a name! I named it Elizabeth! You must respect Elizabeth!" As soon as the girl heard Luo Jian, she flipped out; it was as if this girl, who now resembled a violent hurricane, heard something extremely unnerving. Luo Jian was stunned speechless. He glanced at the whip in her hand and compromised, "Well then, please ask your family's Elizabeth to do me a quick favor and help me tie up that evil villain, can you do that?"
Little 14 humphed proudly and accepted Luo Jian's request. 13 smiled apologetically and said, "My younger sister isn't very well-natured, ah... Furthermore, her weapon possesses self-awareness, which is why she gave her weapon a name."
Self-awareness? Luo Jian paused for a moment then suddenly thought of Feng Yu Lan's magic tome.
Duan Li and the Stalker were still fighting. There was hardly a difference between the two's strength. If not all, they used to be on the same team; they clearly knew the other's means of attack and strength. And who didn't know that even if Xing Yan was completely stripped of his human self-awareness and memories, he still retained his combat skills. Both he and Luo Jian used the same weapon, an unremarkable dagger. Yet his speed was swift, and his movements, fluid; his handling of the knife was incredibly precise and deadly. It was somewhat like magic, suddenly disappearing before the one's eyes, squeezing into the other's blind spot, stealthily concealing its shadowy presence, then appearing at the most unimaginable corners and stabbing the other's back with a knife, resembling an assassin or a hitman.
Of course, this was the strength Xing Yan currently exhibited; whether he had any deeper skills or powers was unknown.
As for Duan Li, his swordsmanship was a stark contrast to the Stalker's. He more closely resembled a warrior with a long sword, steadily fixing his feet to the ground, as motionless as a mountain. With his skill, he could remain in several states of liberation1. At ordinary times, he would remain in the first liberation phase. In the second phase of liberation, his speed, power, and reaction time would surge geometrically; however, this burst of power had a time limit. The second liberation phase only lasted for ten minutes, the third liberation phase held up for five minutes, the fourth phase of liberation was only two minutes long, and the fifth liberation phase was but a few seconds long.
Moreover, when it came to the reality, the chambers gave players a constraint. The power they exerted in the real world was only 20% of their powers exerted in the chambers. But the most unfair thing about this was that these constraints were specifically aimed against players, like Feng Yu Lan, who possessed magic weapons. These players couldn't even wield 10% of their original powers. This was most likely because magic was too fantastical for reality, so it would probably leave a great impact on the real world.
These constraints substantially limited Xing Yan's and Duan Li's combat capabilities, thus prolonging their battle. Nevertheless, no matter how a fight progressed, there would inevitably be an outcome to the battle. Yet, the most probable conclusion to a battle between two rivals of equal strength was that there would be neither victory nor defeat, only a denouement of mutual destruction. When Luo Jian arrived to their location, both sides held a knife and directly stabbed the other's chest.
Duan Li's collar was coated in blood. He glanced down at the blade that was buried deep in his chest, then he looked up at the other side who was cut through with his own knife. With thick blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, he said, "It's off, still a bit far from the heart. You can't kill me, and I also can't kill you."
Xing Yan was completely expressionless; he didn't reveal any signs of pain from his injuries. Fighting to the death was normal for him. He fought until he was numb; his blood flowed to the extremes, and he also had no feelings.
The very instant Luo Jian witnessed this scene, he could only feel this unspeakable suffocation engulfing his heart. For a split second, it caused his mind to be in disarray, but soon after, he woke up from his stupor. At this moment, Duan Li and Xing Yan constantly maintained the same position with their knives. The two individuals currently resembled grasshoppers tied to the same string, unable to move. Luo Jian realized this situation was hard to come by. He then turned to 14 and said, "This is a good opportunity to tie Duan Li up!"
14 briefly nodded. She waved her whip towards Duan Li. Duan Li grunted coldly. He abruptly lifted his leg and ruthlessly kicked Xing Yan's abdomen, forcefully pulling the knife out. But Xing Yan wasn't so easy to deal with; he clearly understood Luo Jian's intentions. He suddenly reached out, firmly caught Duan Li's clothes and vigorously yanked him back to his side. Thereupon, 14 took care of matters with her whip and accurately bound the two people together.
14 twisted her tiny face and earnestly exclaimed to Luo Jian, "It's not my Elizabeth's fault! It's just that the two of them were randomly moving about non-stop! Because of that, I ended up roping them together!"
"It's alright." Luo Jian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After assessing the two dangerous individuals were securely bound, he felt reassured; he rapidly swooped down in front of Duan Li and Xing Yan and quickly seized Xing Yan's and Duan Li's knives.
Tied back-to-back, Duan Li and Xing Yan struggled against each other. The rope that entwined them was a type of weapon that held extremely effective properties. Their hands and feet were completely secured by this entangling rope. It would contract as they struggled; the more they struggled, the tighter it became. In the end, Duan Li chuckled and spoke to Xing Yan behind him, "Captain, I reckon that coiling serpent of yours also binds people like this?"
Without saying a word, Xing Yan raised his head and gazed straight at Luo Jian.
Luo Jian avoided Xing Yan's eyes. He braced himself and groped the Stalker's body. To think wanting to take the grimoire from him could make Luo Jian feel so embarrassed. His hand unintentionally touched Xing Yan's cheek; Xing Yan suddenly tilted his head forward and licked his palm. Luo Jian instantly shuddered from the stimulus. He quickly felt around, snatched the grimoire from him, and immediately distanced himself from the other.
After breathing a sigh of relief, he peeked at Xing Yan, then he glanced at 14."14, can't you only bind Duan Li? Is there any way you can release the Stalker?"
"No. If you want to release someone, then it's necessary to release the whip. If the whip is loosened, then that scoundrel will have an opportunity to grab." 14 was quite intelligent. She looked back and forth between the two males, Duan Li and Xing Yan, then furrowed her brows. The little girl was very sensitive. At a glance, she recognized that the two's bodies were shrouded by a heavy murderous intent; she was certain they had killed countless people.
Author's Comment:
It's not a surprise that the Stalker isn't only active in the chambers. He appeared this time because you all have been begging and asking. I had to let him appear ahead of time. Don't hate little Ah Lan, TAT. Nothing will happen; he will always be the protagonist's 'best friend'. In the premise of this story, Luo Jian and Ah Lan actually spent more time together than [Luo Jian and] the Stalker...
Also, writing about CP emotional drama is awfully tricky/conflicting, but writing about the chambers is so much fun /(tot)/~~
Translator's Comment:
The author's note was originally supposed to be in the previous chapter, but I somehow skipped it..... Well, here it is now...
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