Keep Our Heads Down! We Can't Make a Move! We Have to Keep Our Heads Down!

"Phew! Say, Brother Meng Lang, have you been a Participant for a long time?"

At the center of the supermarket building, the two sat on the floor facing each other, leaning against the shelves and chatting. Fang Ran grabbed a bag of potato chips from the shelf beside him, stuffed a handful into his mouth, and asked.

"Mm, I guess it's been quite a while." Meng Lang paused, scratched his head with a smile, then pulled out a chocolate bar from behind himself and started chewing on it.

"Then tell me, what exactly is this Night Battle all about?"

Fang Ran pulled out another bag of sunflower seeds and began cracking them open, looking like he was ready to hear a story. Ling stood on the shelf behind him, pretending to be merchandise, completely out of place among the snacks nearby.

"Little brother, you're a newcomer?" Meng Lang asked suspiciously. Fang Ran nodded repeatedly. "Mm, mm, mm!!"

"I see. Then your big brother will explain it to you. Not to brag, but I know pretty much everything about the Night Battle world on the Night Web!" Meng Lang slapped his chest, cracked open a can of beer, tipped his head back for a gulp, then wiped his mouth and said.

Keep bragging. Go on, keep bragging.

The real person in charge of the Night Web sneered coldly.

"First things first, little brother, do you have an organization?" Meng Lang asked. Fang Ran looked confused.

"An organization? What organization?"

Meng Lang wore an expression that said, Just as I thought. He smacked his lips, found the beer unpleasant, and switched to another bottle before explaining, "Think about it. Night Battles are dangerous, and people can even die in certain special scenarios. Of course people will band together."

"Then, among all those people, there will always be some especially outstanding ones—the really powerful ones in Night Battles. Those top figures wave a hand and call people together, and Night Battle Participants form their own groups. Some are large organizations, while others are small teams."

"Like gangs?" Fang Ran asked curiously.

"Not quite. Most of them just agree to cooperate within scenarios and rarely interfere with one another in real life. Of course, if they're close, it's not strange for them to know each other in reality," Meng Lang said with a shrug.

"Mm, mm. No wonder I saw so many people wearing masks or hiding their faces." Fang Ran looked enlightened.

"Exactly! Only upright and honorable people like the two of us have no need to hide our identities. Come, cheers!" Meng Lang slapped his thigh and raised his drink.

Two rookie noobs like you even need to hide your identities?

Ling looked speechlessly at the pair, one holding cola and the other Nutritional Express, and silently voiced the truth in her heart.

"Then, Brother Meng Lang, you don't have an organization?" Fang Ran asked, hitting the nail right on the head.

Meng Lang's hand froze as he held up his Nutritional Express. Then he slowly lowered it and looked at Fang Ran.

"Little brother, if we don't talk about this, we can still be friends."

"Heh. I don't know his Abilities, but at his rank, how could he possibly have an organization?"

The Power Bank on the shelf delivered that heart-piercing remark. Meng Lang immediately clutched his chest. Some things were better left unsaid! Were Power Banks this cruel nowadays?

"Hey, hey, Brother Meng Lang, are the leaders of those organizations all really powerful?" Fang Ran asked with intense curiosity.

"Really powerful?" Meng Lang gave Fang Ran a disdainful glance, then took a huge swig of Nutritional Express.

"The words 'really powerful' aren't enough to describe those big shots who can soar through the skies and burrow into the earth, standing at the very top."

"Then they really are!! Those top-tier types with cultivation Abilities, or arcane magic power and stuff?" Fang Ran instantly grew excited at the mention of it, his eyes filled with yearning for the big shots' awesome powers.

"Heh, who can say? Forget the ultimate figures of the major factions. Just take that mysterious, unnamed gentleman from Asia's 'Midnight,' the Queen who rules Europe's 'Nevernight Palace,' and the Alliance Master in North America, who gathered groups of all sizes into the 'Covenant'—no one knows what their Abilities are. Not to mention the countless special existences that don't belong to any faction," Meng Lang said casually.

Ling, who had been listening behind them, suddenly frowned. For someone so ridiculously weak, he sure knew quite a lot.

"Ooh! Ooh!!" Fang Ran cried out in satisfaction and amazement.

"Ahem, ahem." Meng Lang suddenly coughed twice, seeming to realize he had blurted out a lot of things he should not have said, and hurriedly tried to cover up the awkwardness.

"Special existences? What kind of big shots are those special existences?" Fang Ran pursued the question, his curiosity thoroughly stirred up.

"Uh, I'm not sure about the specifics either. Probably people like Song of the Wanderers, those lone wolves who do their own thing." Meng Lang wiped away some sweat and hurriedly changed the subject. "But all that is too far away from us. Our goals should be more realistic!"

"For example, the official Night Big Beauty from our country—that's the goal we should be chasing!"

"Is that Night Big Beauty really strong?" Fang Ran asked.

Meng Lang took another gulp of Nutritional Express. Only after swallowing did he say with satisfaction,

"Not that strong. Just A-Rank."

Pfft! And that isn't strong? I'm only E-Rank right now, okay!

As the two chatted idly, an explosion suddenly erupted outside the supermarket building!

BOOM!!!!

"Holy shit!"

"Holy shit!"

The two panicked in perfect sync. Meng Lang frantically dug out his binoculars, and he and Fang Ran ran to the window together to look toward the explosion.

Electric light twisted and spread wildly across the nearby street like writhing serpents. The heat and shockwave carried by the electricity instantly set off explosions along the street!

"Ding! Deployment time has begun!"

The system's unchanging voice suddenly rang out, startling the two of them. Pale blue flashes appeared in many places along the street, and one black figure after another was deployed—some humanoid, some beast-shaped, all sorts of bizarre forms. Yet every one of those pitch-black figures conveyed the same sense of danger!

"Deployment has begun. You'd better start hunting first, seize the advantage, and quickly strengthen yourselves. Remember, there will also be high-ranking people in this scenario. For example, the owner of that lightning—you are absolutely no match for them. If you encounter one, run immediately."

Ling floated behind them and gave her instructions calmly, but before she could finish—

"Not good! Little brother, we need to retreat! They're fighting over there! Run! We can't make a move—we have to keep our heads down!"

"Exactly! We need to quickly find somewhere safe to lie low. I think the rooftop will do!!"

"Okay!"

Having exchanged opinions without the slightest hesitation, the two bolted toward the emergency exit, their actions swift and decisive—or rather, they fled so fast that Ling was left staring in stunned disbelief.

"You two cowards, get back here!!!!!!!!"