"Here it comes!" Zhao Yan barked.
However, the next second.
Their pupils suddenly contracted, and the light in their eyes visibly dimmed.
That golden ID, [No Need to Say More], on which they had pinned such high hopes—the one that had dominated first place yesterday—was gone.
In its place was a foreign name.
[Rank 1: Aurelia Alice (Eagle Country)] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Wandering Corpses (E-class) x42] [Points: 4200] ------ [Rank 2: Muraguchi Nissuu (Cherry Blossom Country)] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Shadow Person (D-class) x1, Killed Corpse Wolves (E-class) x29] [Points: 3400] ...
At a glance, the top ten were almost entirely names from Eagle Country and Cherry Blossom Country.
That string of foreign letters and kana was like one slap after another, viciously striking the two men across the face.
Only two names were desperately holding on.
------ [Rank 9: Huaxia First Deep Affection (Huaxia Country)] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Hanged Ghost (C-class) x1, Wandering Corpses (E-class) x4] [Points: 1900] ------ [Rank 10: Yekaterina (Su Country)] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Butcher Ghost (C-class) x1, Wandering Corpses (E-class) x3] [Points: 1800] ------
Further down, the latter ten places were even more unbearable to look at.
------ [Rank 11: Yang Wei (Huaxia Country)] [Status: Deceased] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Elemental Scarecrows (D-class) x2, Weird Scarecrows (E-class) x6] [Points: 1600] Note: If one dies during the newcomer period, their rewards will be transferred to a living companion they acknowledge. ------ ... ------ [Rank 18: Stocking Bandit (China)] [Location: Weird Island (S-class)] [Record: Killed Weird Infants (E-class) x10] [Points: 1000] ------
The remaining spots had been almost completely carved up between Cherry Blossom Country and Eagle Country.
"We're finished."
Zhao Yan's body went limp. As though his spine had been pulled out, he collapsed heavily into his chair.
He covered his eyes in pain, unwilling to look at that despair-inducing ranking any longer. His long sigh echoed through the office.
"No Need to Say More... is gone."
"A flash in the pan. He really was just a flash in the pan..."
"Although Yang Wei made it all the way to eleventh, it fucking says 'Deceased'!"
"That Stocking Bandit looks like he's about to drop out of the top twenty too."
Despair.
A deep sense of powerlessness enveloped this iron-blooded soldier.
Suddenly, Zhao Yan took a deep breath and grabbed an alloy battle saber from the wall.
"Fuck! Those crow's mouths from the Think Tank!"
"I'm going to chop them up right now! Whatever they say comes true!"
"Old Zhao! Sit down!"
Wan Changzheng slammed the table and shouted sternly, "Are you the Chief of Staff, or am I the Chief of Staff?!"
"Since when does the boss have to talk the second-in-command out of chopping someone up?!"
"Put down that saber! Stop showing off that donkey temper of yours!"
After being yelled at by the old chief, Zhao Yan gritted his teeth, his chest heaving violently. In the end, he still threw the saber back onto the desk in frustration.
Clang!
He slumped back into his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Chief... what do we do next?"
"Are we really just going to watch those foreign devils shit on our heads?"
"They're cheating with firearms. What are our people supposed to fight them with—their heads?"
Wan Changzheng fell silent.
He wanted to say something, but found that his throat seemed clogged.
Just then, in that deathly still moment.
Click.
The office door was pushed open.
The sound of high heels striking the floor rang out.
The person who entered was a woman in a white coat, with neat silver-white long hair.
She was tall and slender, her aura cold and glamorous as an iceberg. A tablet computer was in her hand.
The instant Zhao Yan saw her, his anger surged again.
Because this woman was the leader of those "crow's mouths."
The chief of the Base Think Tank, Chief Engineer of the Research Institute, Shen Lian.
She was a true genius, a graduate of the National Defense Science and Technology University!
Three years ago, she had transmigrated and awakened an A-class Mental System Supernatural Ability, [Supernatural Brain]!
Her thinking computing power rivaled that of a supercomputer.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that this woman's mouth was even more formidable than her brain.
Zhao Yan still remembered their first meeting. This woman had told him expressionlessly,
"Chief Staff Officer Zhao, considering your brain capacity and muscle density ratio, I suggest that you switch careers and become an assault trooper."
"Making you a staff officer is an insult to this profession."
Back then, Zhao Yan had nearly been angered into a cerebral hemorrhage on the spot. He had held that grudge to this day.
"Chief Engineer Shen."
Wan Changzheng hurriedly held back Zhao Yan, who was about to explode again, and gave him a look before turning helplessly to Shen Lian.
"Don't mock Old Zhao anymore. His high blood pressure almost acted up just now."
"This time... even if we lost, all right? Your Think Tank won."
Wan Changzheng gave a bitter smile.
There was nothing wrong with Shen Lian anywhere else. She was just overly serious, fiercely competitive, and sharp-tongued, always poking people straight in the lungs.
However.
To the two men's surprise.
Shen Lian did not put on the air of a victor. Instead, she gently shook her head.
"No."
"What do you mean, no?!"
Zhao Yan exploded, pointing at Shen Lian's nose as he cursed.
"Little girl! Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! I've put up with you only because you're talented!"
Shen Lian looked at the furious Zhao Yan, her expression remaining unchanged.
"You misunderstand, Old Zhao."
She gave a slight bow. "Actually... I came to apologize."
"Apologize?"
The two men were startled and exchanged glances.
"Your judgment was accurate. I was the one who made a mistake."
"My model's prediction completely failed."
Shen Lian's voice remained cool and clear.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Zhao Yan was bewildered. "Isn't No Need to Say More already gone? He isn't even on the Rankings anymore. What are you apologizing for?"
While they were still confused, Shen Lian did not waste any words and stepped forward.
She placed the tablet computer in her hand on the desk before them.
"See for yourselves."
The two lowered their heads.
On the screen was a single, lonely data entry.
[Rank 9527: No Need to Say More (Huaxia Country)]
The air fell quiet for three seconds.
Then.
Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan looked at each other, identical "subway old man looking at phone" expressions appearing on their faces.
"Chief Engineer Shen..."
The corner of Wan Changzheng's mouth twitched. "Are you treating us like fools?"
"Although I'm already an old man and Xiao Zhao is almost sixty, we don't have dementia!"
Zhao Yan laughed angrily. "That's right. You little girl have far too many bad intentions. Are you messing with us again?"
"Doesn't the Novice Ranking only display the top thousand? And only the top twenty have detailed data. What the hell is rank 9527?"
Facing their doubts, Shen Lian expressionlessly pushed up her glasses.
"I never said this was the [Novice Ranking]."
"Also, I think the two of you should find time to get your eyes checked, or perhaps change your reading glasses."
"You..."
Zhao Yan was choked so badly that he nearly failed to catch his breath.
But he still suppressed his anger, leaned closer to the tablet, and examined it carefully.
At that glance.
His gaze instantly solidified on the golden title at the very top.
[Global BOSS Kill Ranking]
"What the hell?!"
"The BOSS Kill Ranking?!!"
Whoosh!
Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan shot up from their chairs, their backs ramrod straight, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets!
What did the BOSS Kill Ranking represent?
It gathered all veteran transmigrators across the globe!
The top combat power of every major base!
Even the old monsters who had already lived in this world for N years were on it!
Only experts who had truly killed Lord-level Monsters were qualified to appear on that ranking!
Why... would a newcomer who had only been here for three days appear on this ranking?!
"This... this..."
Wan Changzheng's hands were trembling.
Seeing this, Shen Lian lightly tapped the screen with her slender finger and opened the detailed information.
[Rank 9527: No Need to Say More (Huaxia Country)] [Current Points: 10000] [Number of BOSSes Killed: 1] [Target Killed: Watcher Scarecrow (S-class BOSS)] [Time Taken: 59.9 seconds] [Record Time: Barbaric Calendar, March 7, 1314, 00:01] [Kill Footage Replay: Asking whether to display... Please wait.]
Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan were utterly dumbfounded by the shocking data.
The two stood there with their mouths hanging open, their eyes as vacant as newborn babies', their minds completely blank.
S-class...
An S-class BOSS?!
And within one minute...
No, a solo kill in less than one minute?!
It was not until Shen Lian picked up the cup of cold water on the table, poured each of them a glass, and forced them to drink that they finally came back to their senses.
Only then did the two barely regain their wits.
"Ch-Chief..."
Zhao Yan's voice trembled, carrying the surreal feeling of doubting his entire life.
"Do you remember... what we were doing on our third day after arriving in the Barbaric Realm?"
Wan Changzheng stared blankly ahead and muttered, "Let me think... I think we were being chased all over the mountains by a pack of werewolves..."
"I even ran out of one shoe."
"Then... how strong were those werewolves?"
"About as strong as D-class Reinforced Humans... and they were just minor monsters."
The moment those words left his mouth, both men fell silent.
Comparing people to people could drive a person to death.
On someone else's third day in the Barbaric Realm, when only one day and two nights had actually passed, he had already smashed an S-class BOSS to pieces!
Back then, meanwhile, they had been chased around like dogs by D-class minor monsters.
"Chief..."
Zhao Yan swallowed, reverence and fear in his voice.
"Though I don't really want to say this, in the words young people use nowadays..."
"I seriously suspect No Need to Say More is using cheats, isn't he?!"
"How the hell can he be this strong!!"
"In front of an S-class BOSS, he's the real BOSS!!"
Wan Changzheng was so excited that his words came out in a jumble, both hands trembling. "This... uh... I... this is a miracle!"
He did not know what to say, but he knew one thing.
Today, the entire Barbaric Realm, and even all of Blue Star, would not remain peaceful.
Because the appearance of [No Need to Say More] had completely shattered the ceiling of this world's understanding of combat power!
Just as the two were still immersed in their overwhelming shock,
Shen Lian suddenly spoke again.
"So, gentlemen, he did not fall off the Novice Ranking."
"Rather, the timing happened to land on the third day, which meant his name was absent on the second day."
"Besides..."
"This No Need to Say More has just chosen to make his [Kill Footage Replay] public."
Shen Lian pushed the tablet computer forward, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Miracles, perhaps not. But would you like a scare?"
Before you continue