An Unpredictable Development: The Ten Evils

"呵呵呵呵...哈哈哈!" Mr. Li let out a textbook madman's laugh as he limped down the pitch-black corridor.

His leg, grotesquely deformed from the broken bones, dragged along the floor, producing slow, deeply unsettling footsteps.

"Xiao Zhang, you're the most interesting employee I've ever met."

He gripped a Pointed Knife in one hand, with the equally feeble Human-Headed Old Dog following behind him. Wearing a mocking smile, he made his way deeper into the corridor.

Zhang Anzai stayed silent in one of the nearby rooms.

This chase sequence is way too by the book... Though he'd used his nerves of steel and his predictions of how things would unfold to trick Mr. Li once, he didn't dare let his guard down for a moment.

A boss was still a boss. An easy difficulty setting merely meant you weren't guaranteed to face a life-or-death situation. The danger was still real—and not insignificant.

Especially since the way through this instance seemed unusually unforgiving. Neither the storeroom's main shutter nor its side door seemed easy to get through. None of the side windows he'd seen so far looked easy to climb through either. In fact, they might be impossible to squeeze through.

So if he wanted to get out, he'd probably have to find a way to raise the shutter or get hold of the side door key.

Or maybe I need to go even further? Take that guy out? Zhang Anzai considered, his pupils contracting as he pressed himself even tighter into his hiding place.

Because Mr. Li's footsteps in the corridor outside had reached the area nearby.

"Heh... You're pretty good at these little tricks, Xiao Zhang." Mr. Li's mocking voice drifted in.

Outside the door, he held the Pointed Knife and muttered at a broad stretch of gray wall in front of him.

In the dim surroundings, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the wall. Even placing a hand on it revealed nothing unusual.

But he simply stood there, then spoke. "That means your player ability probably isn't suited to direct combat, right?"

"!??"

Zhang Anzai, crouched inside the room, was astonished. "What's going on?"

Outside the door, Mr. Li's expression stiffened, then he broke into an even more unrestrained grin. "Hahahaha! You didn't react even when I said that? You must have pretty good talent, kid! Even better!"

"Clack!" He reversed his grip on the Pointed Knife, crouched low, then swung his arm hard, smashing the hilt against the gray wall.

"Crash!" A few fragments broke off, but he'd hit at an angle and struck the wooden doorframe. The illusion covering it was only partially dispelled.

"Little mouse, stay hidden in there! Don't get scared by what I'm doing. I liked the way you acted just now, like a rabbit backed into a corner. If you turn into a little lamb, it won't be any fun!"

Mr. Li twirled the Pointed Knife in his hand, then kicked out. "Clack!"

The door covered by the illusion caved in under his kick, and the illusion over it immediately vanished.

"Confused, aren't you? Why do I know you're a player? How can a boss know all this? Poor rookie, figure it out for yourself!"

Mr. Li laughed wildly as he—"Bang!"—kicked the door open with all his might.

"Whoosh!" The door swung wide, sending up a cloud of dust from the room.

"I'm coming to find you... Better hide!"

Over on Zhang Anzai's side, he didn't dare breathe. But back at the company, his heart was racing, and he gasped for air. "How did I end up running into this!? Is the matchmaking system targeting me or what?"

He quickly navigated the employee page and switched to a special one.

"Xu Xinhai [Deputy Head of Official Division One]."

He'd added Deputy Head Xu as a friend after the commendation ceremony, even though he probably wouldn't need to contact him.

The situation he'd run into was extremely unusual. Company rules required him to report it to the Official Division so everyone could deal with it together.

The company had a special channel for situations like this, but it went to a Logistics Division operator assigned to the Official Division. By the time they finished looking into it and took action, it might be too late.

"Head Xu! Emergency! One of the players under my supervision has run into someone from the Ten Evils."

After sending the message, Zhang Anzai immediately refocused on the instance. The studio before him was pitch-black, dust drifting in the air. Faint footsteps came from the direction of the door.

Holding the heavy Bronze Sword, Zhang Anzai tightened his grip, his thumb and forefinger still a little sore from what had happened earlier, and hurried toward the doorway.

Mr. Li's voice continued to drift his way. "It's the middle of the night, right? So let me guess. Is your administrator asleep, or are they a rookie too, just like you, and don't know what's going on?"

Mr. Li limped farther into the studio, laughing as he went.

"An outstanding rookie like you, with so many abilities after just a few instances, usually has an administrator who trusts you a lot, right?

"But even if they're watching nearby, what good would that do? What can a new administrator working with a rookie do to help? They're all useless layabouts, sitting safely in their offices."

His emotions were truly like those of a madman. One moment he was excited, the next he was gritting his teeth. Both reactions were extreme, yet he switched between them in an instant.

However, Zhang Anzai wasn't affected in the slightest. He simply opened the door slowly, then sprang forward.

"World Breaker!" Zhang Anzai shot through the corridor and charged into the studio diagonally opposite, the one Mr. Li had kicked open. Before the Human-Headed Dog could rush at him, he swung the Bronze Sword.

The corridor and the studio were both pitch-black. As a result, no one noticed that behind the shadow cast by the Bronze Sword, an indescribable mass appeared. It flicked the sword forward with a sharp, forceful shove.

"Argh!!" The Human-Headed Old Dog he'd badly wounded earlier was now extremely weak.

It couldn't lunge at him to attack right away, but the moment he opened the door, it caught his scent. Like a human, it let out a heart-wrenching, hysterical scream.

Fortunately, Mr. Li had his back to him. Even if he managed to react, he wouldn't be able to fully block this strike.

"Clang!" Mr. Li whipped a heavy, Chinese-style butcher's cleaver from the leather pouch at his waist and turned to defend himself.

But however fast he moved, he only managed to protect his vitals. The Bronze Sword struck the spine of the cleaver, then drove the cleaver into his face.

The explosive force of World Breaker's attack went straight through to his head. Mr. Li staggered, his eyes losing their focus as they rolled in every direction. It looked as if he was about to collapse.

However, just as Zhang Anzai was drained from the World Breaker attack and stuck in his follow-through, Mr. Li—already halfway to the ground—stomped hard on the floor. "Thud!"

When Zhang Anzai looked again, Mr. Li's eyes were bloodshot, and he had already recovered completely.