Crackle... crackle...
Sparks of electricity kept bursting before his eyes. A woman's curses and reprimands echoed in his ears, while an icy wind brushed across his cheeks, stirring up silver-white dust.
"Pryor, you've never made this kind of mistake before."
"Your filter malfunctioned. I'm certain I was attacked by divine power, and it was clearly an annihilating shockwave caused by a divine kingdom's self-destruction."
"Five of my subordinates are dead! The server has lost seven percent of its capacity, and 56 million character profiles will be affected. That isn't a small number!"
"Then you should be checking what exactly your own people have been doing. We're equals."
Sensation gradually returned to his fingertips. Xu Kefu blinked and propped himself up with one hand. For an instant, he saw the back of his hand become incomparably smooth and solid, like exquisite porcelain, gleaming with a peculiar metallic luster.
But it lasted only an instant. Vast streams of data and barred patterns of light flashed past his eyes, and the world he knew returned to normal.
By the time he got up from the ground, Lai Anding and Pryor had entered a delicate standoff. Looking around, the once plain office had already been burned into ruins.
Noticing Xu Kefu's gaze, Lai Anding glanced at him and was about to walk over. Pryor's expression changed as he stopped her. "What are you trying to do?"
"The moment this kid came in, the server was attacked. That can't be a coincidence."
"You'd better not touch him." Pryor said coldly, "I selected this child. Not everyone can adapt to an early-upgraded version of the system and third-party scripts."
"Don't worry."
Lai Anding pushed him aside, grabbed Xu Kefu by the collar, and lifted him from the floor. With her other hand spread open, her five