A Costume Ball with Asuna and Kiriko

Just then, the roars of a giant beast, seemingly ready to pounce, echoed from underground.

Shirou and Asuna were silently counting down in their minds...

10...9...8...

The gorilla raised its head, squinted, and stared intently at the two black dots in the sky that blocked out the sunlight.

7...6...5...4...

As the black dot moved forward through the air, past the angle of direct sunlight and becoming less glaring, the gorilla widened its eyes, flared its nostrils, and raised its hand as if to strike.

3...2...1...

Time seemed to slow down at that moment. The gorilla raised its palm, spread its fingers, and swung it at the two people flying through the air. It was about to hit the two people who were slowly moving forward in the air.

5 meters, 3 meters, 1 meter...

"Now!!!" Shirou shouted, pushing the central lever with his right hand. Flames erupted from the jet pipes at the rear of the vehicle, propelling it towards the opposite bank like a rocket.

At that moment, Asuna pressed down hard on the motorcycle, adjusting her center of gravity so she was about to fall from mid-air. At the same time, Shirou's red rocket head rushed forward and caught Asuna's falling motorcycle.

The motorcycle's tires were spinning wildly, using Shirou's racing car as a springboard.

Asuna twisted the throttle wildly and leaped upwards, while Shirou's rocket-powered race car was pushed downwards. Just then, the enormous hand slid between their cars. With their cooperation, they narrowly escaped a fatal blow.

"It's done!" Shirou said with a smile. After observing many times, he found that no matter how he flew over the cliff, he would be blocked by Kongo and then be knocked away.

However, if variables could be introduced during the leap, King Kong's calculations might falter, leading to a different outcome. After all, King Kong only has two arms.

So he and Asuna trained together privately on a custom-built racetrack. Of course, both skill and the synergy between the two were essential.

And then today he came here to make a desperate gamble! Now it seems that Shirou's thinking was correct.

"Roar!!!" Kong roared furiously. Seeing that his first attack missed, he raised his hand again. Just when Shirou and Asuna had flown to within a quarter of the distance, Kong's big hand slapped down again.

With its faster speed and lighter weight, Asuna flew past the gorilla's massive hand first.

Shirou, on the other hand, was slowed down because he was being used as a springboard. The giant, furry paw reached out to grab him, seemingly intending to crush him and his vehicle into pieces.

"Shirou! Danger!" Kiriko shouted from outside the stadium.

"Aaaaah!!" Silica cried out in pain.

Shirou gritted his teeth and turned the rocket's rear thrusters to maximum, desperately pushing it forward. However, by this time, the fuel for the thrusters had been exhausted, and the rocket's nose cone was merely moving forward horizontally due to inertia.

A massive slap came crashing down, but at the last moment, Shirou activated the disassembly mechanism, and the rear thruster was also removed!

Bang!!!

The thruster was sent flying and crashed into the transparent barrier wall separating the track.

However, Shirou still felt a dizzying sensation and was sent flying.

At the last moment, his red rocket head was still grazed by half a finger of the gorilla's hand, and under the force of the slap, he was flung away like a spinning top.

"Shirou!" Asuna exclaimed in surprise.

655 The Miracles Created by Persistence

The rocket-headed race car was sent flying, spinning wildly in the air like a top tilting and spinning. No one could save it at that moment. Meanwhile, Asuna, having escaped unscathed, was already landing safely and about to secure her victory.

However, she couldn't feel happy at all. Even if it was a victory, Asuna didn't want it to be built on Shirou's sacrifice. Since they had come together, regardless of victory or defeat, Asuna only hoped that the two of them could stand together and advance or retreat together.

The rocket nose spun in the air. Due to the friction, the rocket nose did not fall or fly up for a moment, but just spun in circles to the side.

"Shirou..." Kiriko and the others watched the man in danger on the big screen with concern.

At this moment, everyone, both inside and outside the arena, was holding their breath for Shirou.

"Damn it!" Inside the underground casino, those who had bet on Shirou to be number one sighed dejectedly.

"Emiya, don't die! You're our hope as free players!" some players who had already left the game thought to themselves.

"Come on! Don't lose, brother." Even the young black man in Africa clenched his fists, silently cheering for Shirou.

However, there was also joy, or even schadenfreude.

"I won! I made a fortune! I bet on Asuna and got my first win! Odds of 1 to 100! Hahaha! I'm rich!" someone shouted excitedly.

"Damn! That's awesome! Boss, send me a red envelope!" A group of people immediately surrounded him.

Emiya's old rivals also reacted in different ways.

"Tsk, I've fallen behind. I didn't expect there to be a way to pass this level. I'll need to train with a motorcyclist next time," the man driving the 86 said expressionlessly.

"Hmph! Emiya finally failed this time, but the woman who cut my car actually cleared the game, so it's not too shameful this time," the bald thug Joe the Undying said in a deep voice.

"Hahaha!! Look at how Emiya is spinning, he must be dizzy, it's even a spiral arc, even worse than when I was last time!" Ma Xinghao said with a loud laugh.

"If Asuna wins, will you eat?" the man with the Taiwanese accent asked Ma Xinghao curiously.

"Is that what you're concerned about now?" Ma Xinghao complained, then said matter-of-factly, "Of course! I keep my word! I said it's them! Of course it has to be them! If I said there are two people, then there have to be two people! Since there aren't two people, of course I'm not eating them!"

Meanwhile, atop a high-rise building owned by Tencent, the manager watching the live broadcast shook his head and sighed deeply. He had originally planned to meet with Emiya after the competition and try to get him to work for Penguin Company, but now it seemed unnecessary.

"Ah, working is definitely better! 996 is fine, three shifts are fine too. Being a hero is only temporary, but getting a salary is good for a lifetime. Otherwise, no matter how good you are at games, if you lose your account, you're just a useless person."

"But if that happens, Asuna will become famous. I heard she's a great beauty in real life. If we sign her, she might become an instant star."

Some were worried, while others gloated, but Shirou did not give up. He gritted his teeth and used all his strength to grip the steering wheel, keeping himself steady and preventing himself from being thrown off.

Tenacity is one of the few virtues that Shirou considers to be his.

"Get up there!" Shirou, spinning around and observing the outside, felt himself about to be thrown off when he slammed on the accelerator, and the disassembled tail section spewed out the last bit of nitrous oxide.

At this moment, the rocket nose flew out spinning backward, constantly changing position.

"Hmm?" Kongou looked at Shirou, who had been sent flying, with a somewhat puzzled expression.

The rocket flew directly towards the finish line, its warhead constantly scattering parts, leaving it less than half the size of the original race car.

However, the red rocket head continued to spin, flew over the cliff, and crashed into the road on the other side of the finish line.

"Let's go up!"

"Marvelous!"

"No way? This actually works?" Ma Xinghao exclaimed, his mouth agape in astonishment.

"Oh dear, you might have to eat it," the man driving the 86 reminded him.

"No, that car is totaled too, it's gone, let's see how it gets to the finish line." Ma Xinghao's heart was pounding with anxiety, but he refused to admit defeat and said it out loud.

Bang! Crash!!!

The wreckage of the rocket-headed race car crashed to the ground, bouncing and tumbling as it was struck, the violent collision producing a series of loud noises.

"Ah! Shirou!" Kiriko and the others exclaimed in surprise!

"What!" All the spectators widened their eyes in surprise. Everyone thought the outcome of the match was already decided, but they didn't expect such a change.

Because it had no wheels, the rocket-headed race car, with its body facing downwards, scraped against the ground, creating bursts of sparks, and hurtled forward regardless of the damage it might cause.

Shirou gripped the steering wheel tightly, enduring the violent vibrations. Sparks flew from his body, and intense heat splattered onto him, causing his HP to steadily decline. Although the speed wasn't fast, it felt like being slowly scraped, a agonizing torture. Because of the nerve connection, Shirou also felt throbbing pain.

Even so, Shirou released his grip on the steering wheel, and at the same time, the car rolled towards the finish line of the track amidst scrapes and scuffs.

Two meters, one meter... 0.5 meters...

The girls, both inside and outside the arena, were on tenterhooks for Shirou.

"A little further! A little further!" Silica prayed, clenching her hands, hoping to get Shirou to move forward just a little bit more.

At the very last moment,

The red race car, now with peeling paint and riddled with dents, came to a stop as it rubbed against the ground. Zooming in, a closer look revealed that the long tip of the rocket-shaped nose cone had just crossed the finish line.

Immediately afterwards, fireworks went off in the system, celebratory cheers rang out, and Emiya's name lit up brightly on the leaderboard.

"Great!" Asuna cheered and jumped out of the car, ran over, and pulled Shirou out of the seat.

So Shirou and Asuna stood side by side, receiving cheers from the audience.

"No way! This works?" Ma Xinghao stared dumbfounded at the two people who had stood up opposite him.

"Well, the game's over, I'll log off now. Oh, by the way, Xiao Ma, check out your stream, I see you're still the coolest." The racer, who resembled Jay Chou—no, Jay Chou himself—patted Ma Xinghao on the shoulder and exited the game.

Ma Xinghao's expression changed, and he switched to the live stream interface, where he saw the screen constantly being flooded with messages.

"Waiting for the live stream."

Do you need any props?

"Give me a few days to think it over," Ma Xinghao said, covering his face with his hands, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Three days later, Ma Xinghao topped the Penguin Live leaderboard, becoming a legend.

However, most people are more concerned about the movements of the player who, for the first time in the world, has solved the first challenge of the Creator God.

Chapter 656 The Costume Party with Asuna and Kiriko

In the dim light and dimly lit space, the disco ball with its flashing lights rotated, reflecting different rays of light through its highly reflective lenses, creating colorful beams of light that shone all around as it spun.

White mist made of dry ice filled the air above the platform, and the music stirred up the surrounding crowd, with many people jumping onto the dance floor to start dancing.

What's even more special is the unique attire of the people here. You can see familiar characters from movies and anime, all jumping and dancing around.

Iron Man is doing a robotic dance, Tracer and Widowmaker are swaying their hips, and Shrek and his wife are dancing a ballroom dance on top of each other, raising one hand, hugging each other's shoulders, and facing each other with their faces close together.

Inside the ballroom, everyone was dancing, engaging in all sorts of dances. This was an otherworldly masquerade ball with hundreds of doors leading to different game parades. Everyone who entered would dress up, their names and level indicators hidden above their heads. It was a grand cosplay event, and also a paradise for Red Name Player.

Here you can see burly men wearing their underwear on the outside swinging their arms with green-skinned giants, handsome middle-aged Witcher drinking and chatting with Iron Man in full mechanical armor, and all sorts of beauties from TV dramas appearing in the same place at the same time.

Characters from shows like The Big Bang Theory, Friends, and How I Met Your Mother got together for a cocktail party; if this were set in China, it would be enough to adapt into a whole new show called Love Apartment.

More familiar characters include Harley Dumbledore, Master Roshi, and a group of hot female wolves swayed their bodies together, while a group of purple-haired middle-aged women danced a square dance.

If they don't say it out loud, no one will know who the other person is; everything will just be guesswork.

At this moment, a girl dressed in adventurer-like leather armor, with a silver sword and a steel sword on her back, and her hair dyed white, walked towards a seat in the ballroom.

The girl was Kiriko, who was cosplaying Ciri, the daughter of the Nilfgaardian emperor and Lotto's adopted daughter from The Witcher and The Wizarding series.

"Hey~! Kiriko, over here~! Over here~!" A young woman with short black hair and a red cheongsam, sitting on a red sofa, waved in their direction. It was Ada Wong from Resident Evil.

"Liz?" Kiriko raised an eyebrow and asked, looking at the girl whose demeanor differed from Ada Wong's cold and aloof one.

"It's me," Ada Wong replied with a smile.

"By the way, how did you recognize me?" Kiriko sat down, finally feeling like she'd found her people.

"I understood when I saw the twin swords behind her; Ciri doesn't have a silver sword," Lizbeth said matter-of-factly.

"So these are Shino and Silica over here?" Kiriko, looking at the two women to the side.

"I'm just like this, it's none of your business." The mature woman with a long ponytail, the famous archaeologist and explorer Lara, was holding a cold drink and sipping it habitually.

"Haha, hello there, Kiriko- nee." Silica had transformed into a silver-white wavy twin-tailed woman, wearing a purple-black jumpsuit, cosplaying as Catwoman from Spider-Man. However, the sexy and charming mature woman from Spider-Man was replaced by an adorable and cute character on her.

"What's wrong? Are you not used to it?" Kiriko asked with a smile.

"Hmm, it's so lively. This is my first time in a place like this," Silica said, shrinking her neck like a curious yet timid kitten as she looked around at the scenery.

"Then you'd better get used to it quickly, just like those two guys, wouldn't that be great?" Lizbeth said with a smile.

"If Shirou- nii dances with me, I'd like to give it a try," Silica said, glancing furtively at the stage.

"Wait, we agreed that after Asuna, it's my turn," Shino reminded her.

"Huh? Have those two already arrived?" Kiriko asked, looking on in confusion.

At that moment, two monsters, a man and a woman, with green skin and large, round ears, flew down from the stage and walked hand in hand towards them.

"Hmm?" Kiriko blinked in confusion as she looked at the two green-skinned monsters, a man and a woman, walking towards her. She then looked at Ada Wong and Lizbeth to confirm.

"Hmm." Wearing a cheongsam, Ada Wong raised her long, beautiful legs, crossed her left leg over her right, and changed the position so that her right leg was pressing down on her left leg. She smiled at Kiriko to indicate her agreement.

"Hmm?" Kiriko still looked incredulous, tilting her head again to look at Silica and Shino.

"Hehe." Silica, the cutest catgirl, nodded.

"It's them," Shino said helplessly.

At this moment, Shrek and Orpheus exchanged a glance and directly uttered the pre-arranged code:

Would you like a game of Gwent?

"Is it really you two?" Kiriko looked at the two burly, green-skinned monsters in surprise. They were the monster couple who had been particularly eye-catching on stage earlier, the iconic characters from DreamWorks Animation: Shrek and his Princess wife Fiona.