In the night, blue-purple light lit up.
That was Tang Ya's martial soul—the Blue Silver Grass.
Though it was merely an ordinary plant-type martial soul, under Tang Ya's control, more than a dozen vines tore through the air and lashed directly at Scarlet King's three heads.
At the same time, several nearly invisible streaks of golden light flew out amid the vines.
Tang Sect concealed weapons—Dragon Beard Needles!
These were specially designed to pierce protective aura. Once they entered flesh, they curled up, making them exceptionally vicious.
Facing a ten-thousand-year ferocious beast in the middle of an attack, Tang Ya had struck with a killing move right away, hoping to buy that unlucky child a chance to survive.
"Bei Bei! Cover me!" Tang Ya shouted.
Though Bei Bei's scalp prickled, his movements were not slow in the slightest.
He abruptly raised his right hand. Blue-purple lightning exploded, and his entire arm transformed into a thick dragon claw.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul skill—Thunderclaw!
One controlled while the other launched the main attack. Their coordination was quite good.
Yet Scarlet King, lying on the ground, did not even raise an eyelid.
It merely tilted the middle head slightly, its eyes filled with human-like disdain, as though it were watching two idiots charge a tank with tree branches.
"Hmph!" Scarlet King snorted out a blast of hot air.
As a ferocious beast with three hundred thousand years of cultivation, even without using a soul skill, the Crimson Demon Fire Poison surrounding its body was enough to burn these two Soul Elder-level youngsters into ashes.
"Get lost!"
Scarlet King opened its mouth, and a dark-red fireball rapidly condensed in its throat.
It had just been holding in a bellyful of anger from playing games and had been worrying over where to vent it.
A one-sided slaughter was about to unfold.
Snap!
A crisp snap of fingers rang beside everyone's ears.
The next second, something strange happened.
Tang Ya's aggressive Blue Silver Grass vines had barely entered within five meters of the internet cafe entrance when they seemed to have their life force drained away. They instantly withered, yellowed, and fell to the ground with a soft patter, becoming dry grass.
The vicious Dragon Beard Needles stopped directly in midair, then clattered all over the floor.
And the flames Scarlet King had been preparing to spit out were like a cigarette butt being snuffed out. They bubbled once and vanished, leaving it only to cough up a mouthful of black smoke.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Scarlet King had choked on its own smoke, tears welling in its eyes.
The entire place fell silent.
Tang Ya still maintained the pose of releasing her skill, completely dumbfounded.
Bei Bei's Thunderclaw flickered twice before its lightning went out awkwardly as well.
"I already said it. Fighting is prohibited in this establishment."
Lu Yuan pushed open the glass door and strolled out.
He still held an unfinished cola in one hand, while the other remained tucked in his pocket. He looked like a neighbor who had simply come out to watch the commotion.
He first glanced at the dry grass on the ground, then at the stunned Tang Ya and Bei Bei, and sighed. "Are young people these days all this hot-tempered? You want to wreck the place the moment someone says something you don't like?"
Bei Bei was, after all, one of Shrek's outstanding students, and he reacted quickly.
He immediately realized that this young man, who appeared to have no Soul Power fluctuations at all, was the most terrifying existence here!
What had just happened was something he had never even heard of!
Bei Bei hurriedly shielded Tang Ya behind him and stared warily at Lu Yuan and Scarlet King. "Senior! We did not mean to offend you! We merely saw an injustice and stepped in! That ferocious beast... was harming that child!"
"Harming him?"
Lu Yuan raised a brow and turned to Scarlet King. "Did you hear that? They said you were committing violence."
Scarlet King felt terribly wronged.
It had clearly been waiting for that cheat to wake up and carry it to victory!
Scarlet King unwillingly stretched out a claw and poked the unconscious Huo Yuhao on the ground. It roared gruffly, "Hey! Are you dead or not? If you're not dead, get up already! My great hammer can't wait any longer! Get up and give me buffs!"
That poke was a little too forceful.
Huo Yuhao groaned and groggily opened his eyes.
The moment he opened them, he saw three huge red-furred heads looming right in front of his face, six eyes filled with "urgency."
"Mommy!!"
Huo Yuhao let out a miserable scream and instinctively shrank backward.
"What are you screaming for?" Scarlet King impatiently pressed a claw onto Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Didn't that bug go inside you just now? Hurry up and use your martial soul to give me a full-map cheat. I'm going to beat that Odogaron's ass into a blooming flower!"
Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded.
Bei Bei was dumbfounded.
Tang Ya was dumbfounded too.
A full-map cheat? Odogaron? A blooming ass?
What was this ten-thousand-year ferocious beast talking about?
Why could they understand every single word, yet find the whole sentence so bizarre?
"Enough, stop scaring the kid!"
Lu Yuan walked over and pulled Huo Yuhao to his feet.
"You awake? How do you feel?" Lu Yuan asked with a smile.
Huo Yuhao touched the spot between his brows. There seemed to be an enormous force of spiritual power there, and in his mind, there seemed to be a... chubby little bug sleeping?
"I... I'm not dead?"
Huo Yuhao looked at his hands in disbelief, then at Scarlet King beside him, whose face practically screamed, "I'm in a hurry."
"You won't die. Congratulations on successfully joining the staff." Lu Yuan patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "This is your new colleague, Scarlet King. From now on, it's your VIP customer, and you'll be responsible for playing with it."
"Playing... playing with it?"
Huo Yuhao felt his worldview collapsing.
Lu Yuan did not explain further and turned toward Bei Bei and Tang Ya, who were still standing there in a daze.
"Have the two of you cleared up the misunderstanding?"
Bei Bei's throat bobbed as he looked at the three-headed demonic mastiff obediently squatting beside Lu Yuan, as well as the golden lion nearby that was boredly licking its paws.
The aura from either of these soul beasts was enough to crush them to death with ease.
Yet now, they were as docile as household pets.
"It... it's cleared up." Bei Bei took a deep breath and cupped his fists in salute. "This junior was blind and did not know that Senior was living in seclusion here. I offended you earlier. Since there is no issue now, we shall not disturb you any longer..."
He wanted to leave.
This place was far too strange!
Even a three-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast behaved as obediently as a lapdog. Could this owner be a god?
"Since you're already here, why not come in and sit for a while?"
Lu Yuan stepped aside and pointed at the brightly lit internet cafe behind him.
"The Star Dou Great Forest gets heavy dew at night, and there are plenty of mosquitoes. This establishment has air conditioning, soft sofas, iced drinks, and the newest trials! I can tell from your extraordinary bones that you are... cough, cough, fine gaming material!"
Tang Ya finally came back to her senses.
She had always been lively by nature. Seeing that there was no danger, her curiosity immediately took over.
"Senior, what exactly do you sell here?" Tang Ya craned her neck to look inside.
The interior decor was far too unusual!
The floor shone brightly enough to reflect people's figures. There were rows of strange machines gleaming with flowing light, along with leather chairs that looked comfortable at a glance.
"Since you have asked so sincerely!" Lu Yuan snapped his fingers. "This place is called Origin Internet Cafe. Our main business is virtual reality trials, commonly known as—going online!"
"Going online?"
Tang Ya blinked her big eyes.
"Xiao Ya, don't..." Bei Bei had just started to stop her.
"Let's go in and have a look! Bei Bei, even that lion is inside, so it must be safe!"
Tang Ya had already grabbed Bei Bei's sleeve and started pulling him inside.
Bei Bei had no choice but to follow stiffly, keeping his Soul Power taut throughout his body and ready to flee with Tang Ya at any moment.
The moment they entered.
"Hiss—so cool!" Tang Ya could not help exclaiming.
Compared to the stuffy, humid forest outside, this place was practically another world.
The air was fresh, the temperature was perfect, and there was even a faint sweet scent of popcorn in the air.
"Sit wherever you like." Lu Yuan pointed at the price list on the wall. "Those are the prices. Fair dealing for young and old alike."
Tang Ya and Bei Bei looked up.
Computer access: 2 Gold Soul Coins/hour.
Cola: 3 Gold Soul Coins/bottle.
"What a rip-off!" Tang Ya cried out in shock, her eyes widening. "Two Gold Soul Coins an hour? I couldn't spend that much even on a lavish meal in Shrek City! Is this some kind of scam shop?"
Lu Yuan shrugged and twisted open a bottle of cola before handing it to the still-dazed Huo Yuhao.
"There's a reason it costs so much! Do you think a place where two ferocious beasts are willing to pay would be an ordinary scam shop?"
Lu Yuan pointed at the Auspicious Beast and Scarlet King, who had already impatiently put on their helmets.
"They are currently in a world called Monster Hunter, where all their Soul Power has been sealed and they use mortal bodies to fight ancient dragons."
"For this kind of real combat at the edge of life and death, even a Titled Douluo would have to obediently line up."
Bei Bei's pupils suddenly contracted when he heard that.
Soul Power sealed?
Using mortal bodies to fight dragons?
That was far too brutal!
For soul masters, what they often lacked most was not Soul Power cultivation, but genuine experience in life-and-death combat!
If they could experience that kind of battle without dying... two Gold Soul Coins was practically a giveaway!
"Um... Boss."
At that moment, Scarlet King, who was wearing a helmet nearby, suddenly removed it. All three of its heads looked irritably toward Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
"Hey! You two humans over there!"
Scarlet King's middle head roared.
Bei Bei's whole body tensed, and he instinctively stood in front of Tang Ya. "What guidance does Senior have?"
Scarlet King impatiently slapped the table. "Guidance my ass! Do you know how to fight? If you do, hurry up, pay, and log in!"
"The more people there are in this stupid game's party, the stronger the monsters become. That Anjanath is too powerful. The Auspicious Beast and I can't hold it off by ourselves! This kid is probably some squishy support who only knows how to hide in the back and fire cold shots!"
Scarlet King pointed at Bei Bei as though it had found a lifesaver. "I can see lightning on you, kid. You should be an assault-type, right? Hurry up! We need a four-person party! We're short a damage dealer!"
Bei Bei: "Huh?"
Tang Ya: "What?"
At that moment, their worldview shattered completely.
A legendary three-hundred-thousand-year ferocious beast had not only failed to eat them, but was instead... inviting them to form a party and play games?
It was even complaining that its teammates were too fragile and looking for an assault-type fighter?
Was this really the infamous Red Demon Mastiff?
"Um..." Bei Bei hesitated somewhat.
"Stop dawdling! My Fire Crystals are almost gone! If I still can't beat that dragon, I'm going bankrupt!" Scarlet King slapped the table in desperation. "If you help me clear this stage, I guarantee you can walk sideways through the Star Dou Great Forest!"
Lu Yuan added at just the right moment, "The first hour is free for new users, and the first time you defeat the boss called Anjanath, this establishment will also reward you with a crate of iced cola."
Hearing "free" and "reward," then seeing Scarlet King's desperate expression—
Bei Bei took a deep breath. The caution in his eyes gradually turned into curiosity and fighting spirit.
As one of the Twin Stars of the Shrek Outer Court, he also had the pride of a strong person in his bones.
If even soul beasts dared to challenge this game, what did he, Bei Bei, have to fear?
"Fine!"
Bei Bei took out his money pouch, pulled out several Gold Soul Coins, and slapped them onto the table.
"Since Senior has invited me so warmly, this junior will respectfully accept!"
He walked to the computer station beside Scarlet King and sat down, imitating Scarlet King's posture.
"Bei Bei, I want to play too!" Tang Ya hurried over and sat beside Huo Yuhao. "I'm a control-type too. I can help!"
Lu Yuan walked over smiling and helped the two put on their helmets.
"Welcome to the New World, hunters."
"A friendly reminder: there are no martial souls in this game. There are only the blades in your hands and the teammates at your side."
As the system notification sounded, the consciousness of the five of them was instantly pulled into that primitive, savage world.
When Bei Bei opened his eyes and saw the enormous ancient trees blotting out the sky, along with the terrifying Dragon Shout echoing from afar, the hot blood in his veins immediately began to boil.
"So this is... another world?"
Before he could finish marveling, Scarlet King's rough voice exploded through the voice channel. "Stop looking at the scenery! That mad dog dragon is charging over! You lightning brat, get up there and hold it back for me!!"
"Support! Call out its moves! It's about to breathe fire!"
"Auspicious Beast! Stop chopping at its tail and run already!!!"
The internet cafe instantly became as lively as a bustling market.
Lu Yuan returned to the counter, twisted open a cola, and took a contented sip.
Watching the "mixed human-and-beast, utterly chaotic" pioneer party on the Screen, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Now this feels like an internet cafe."
[Ding! Beginner mission complete: Receive the first batch of customers (5/5).] [Mission reward issued: New game section unlocked—Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice!] [Achievement obtained: Harmony Among All Races (achieve peaceful team formation between soul beasts and humans within the internet cafe)!]
Before you continue