Ganging up

Looking at the utterly dejected Baili Pangpang, Lin Qiye wanted to punch him senseless. At a time like this, he was still thinking about romance. He was practically begging for a beating.

He pushed Baili Pangpang aside, politely held out his hand, and introduced himself. "I'm Lin Qiye. I think we could work together."

Molly remained cold, showing no interest in him whatsoever.

Lin Qiye didn't mind. Geniuses tended to have some pride, after all. There was already one ridiculously arrogant guy right beside him.

"An ultra-high-risk forbidden ruins?"

"What's it to you?"

"Tell me, and I'll help you win!"

"Tch!" Molly looked scornful. "Who do you think you are? You can't just declare we're going to win!"

"Of Mask's five members, at least three have ultra-high-risk abilities, and there's even a God's Agent. If those on our side with ultra-high-risk abilities don't work together, we can't win!" Lin Qiye explained.

"So you have one too?" Molly grew interested. Truthfully, none of the recruits wanted to lose. They were all geniuses, and none considered themselves inferior to anyone else.

"No!" Lin Qiye shook his head, then changed tack, raising his voice confidently. "I'm Michael's Proxy..."

He paused before continuing. "I'm the only God's Agent among this year's recruits. Does that qualify me to work with you?"

Shock filled Molly's eyes. After a moment of stunned silence, she nodded. "Yes!"

"My forbidden ruins is sequence 076, [Myriad Phenomena Vibration]. Within its range, I can control the vibration frequency of any object in direct or indirect contact with me."

"Here's to working together!"

"Me, me, me! Count me in too!"

Having painfully learned his lesson, Baili Pangpang sidled over and tried to bluff his way through. "Molly, I don't know anything about some Baili clan. I'm just a kid from an ordinary family in Guangshen."

Molly: "???"

"I'm warning you, stay away from me. I hate rich young masters from powerful families more than anything. Come any closer, and I'll cut you down!"

"I'm not a rich young master, really!" Unable to figure out what had given his act away, Baili Pangpang frantically insisted.

"Fatty, I'd suggest finding somewhere to hide so you don't get beaten up!" Lin Qiye offered some very sensible advice.

"No, no, no!" Baili Pangpang shook his head furiously. "I want to fight alongside everyone!"

"Suit yourself!"

Molly first moved away from Baili Pangpang, then looked at Shen Qingzhu, who had just emerged from the warehouse. "That guy has an ultra-high-risk ability too. You'd better get him on board!"

"Uh!"

"That's going to be tough. This guy's way too full of himself!"

"He doesn't seem easy to get along with!"

Lin Qiye spoke with a real headache.

"I'll work with you, because I damn well don't want to lose!" Shen Qingzhu walked over of his own accord, sounding defiant.

"Great!" Lin Qiye held out his hand. "Welcome aboard!"

"No need!" Shen Qingzhu turned his head away, showing no intention of shaking hands.

In the shadows, an invisible figure quietly approached them. It was Moon Ghost.

He swept his gaze over the group and settled on Baili Pangpang, who didn't look particularly bright. Then he darted forward, his dagger striking at him like a venomous snake.

Baili Pangpang was still stealing glances at Molly, looking somewhat troubled.

Little fatty, you're far too careless. Get ready to be eliminated.

Moon Ghost's lips curved upward. As far as he was concerned, Baili Pangpang's elimination was a done deal.

Clang!

A crisp ring echoed in front of the warehouse. In an instant, dazzling golden light flared, forcing Moon Ghost's eyes shut.

The sudden change also alerted Lin Qiye and the other two, who immediately readied themselves for battle.

"Holy shit!"

"You've even got a goddamn passive skill!"

Looking at his snapped dagger, Moon Ghost couldn't help swearing.

Baili Pangpang looked utterly bewildered. "Were you trying to ambush me?"

Moon Ghost: "..."

"Oh!"

"Ambushing me won't work." Baili Pangpang pointed at the necklace on his chest and explained, "This is [Yao Guang], sequence 171. It's classified as a high-risk forbidden ruins!"

Holy shit!

This little fatty looks dim, but he's actually a damn cheater!

Moon Ghost was speechless.

"Get him!" Shen Qingzhu drew his saber and charged without hesitation.

"Right!" Molly raised her katana. Its enormous blade immediately began vibrating, distorting even the air around it.

The two attacked Moon Ghost from either side.

But something bizarre happened. Moon Ghost suddenly vanished, leaving only a patch of moonlight on the ground.

"Molly, three o'clock!" Lin Qiye detected Moon Ghost's position with his mental power and immediately called it out.

An instant later, the katana came down, vibrating at its limit and carrying the force of a mountain in its crushing strike.

Moon Ghost was forced to reveal himself. The katana passed through the right half of his body, leaving a trench several meters deep and countless cracks in the ground.

"You can see me?" Moon Ghost lost his composure.

"Just lucky!" Lin Qiye gave him a perfectly polite smile, only to draw his saber and slash at him a second later.

Holy shit!

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

One's cheating, and another has wallhacks. Are this year's recruits all freaks?

Moon Ghost turned invisible again, but with Lin Qiye constantly calling out his position, his greatest strength as an assassin became completely useless.

Amid the melee, Baili Pangpang took an old monocle out of his pocket and perched it on his nose. A gleam of blue flashed, bringing Moon Ghost's disheveled figure fully into view.

With a light wave of his hand, [Yao Guang] transformed into two golden rings of light and shot out, cutting off Moon Ghost's escape routes on both sides.

Molly and Lin Qiye attacked from the front and back. Shen Qingzhu raised his hand and clenched it hard toward the space between them, activating [Air Barrier].

For a moment, Moon Ghost had nowhere to dodge. Then he realized he couldn't breathe.

"Qiye, raise your saber a little. His mask's right there!" Baili Pangpang reminded him.

Goddammit, the little fatty can see me too!

Is there any justice left in this world?

The miserable Moon Ghost screamed inwardly. This wasn't how he'd imagined things going.

Following the tip, Lin Qiye raised his saber, but Moon Ghost bent backward at an extremely tricky angle. The Straight Saber skimmed past his mask. Had he been even a tenth of a second slower, Mask would have lost.

"Molly, slash horizontally to the left!" Baili Pangpang continued directing them.

Molly changed the trajectory of her blade instantly, without the slightest hesitation.

Deprived of oxygen, he dodged at his absolute limit.

At that moment, he didn't even have time to turn intangible.

You shameless recruits! A whole gang beating up one guy! Damn you!

Moon Ghost shouted inwardly.

By now, Lin Qiye and the others' faces lit up. Victory was right before their eyes.

But then something bizarre happened.

Everyone stopped moving. From a distance, they looked like insects sealed in clear amber, frozen in place.

Soon, a mask bearing the character for "king" came into view, radiating authority.

Wang Mian darted in and delivered a side kick, knocking Moon Ghost out of the encirclement before immediately withdrawing himself.

When Lin Qiye and the others came to their senses, they were nearly struck by their teammates' attacks. They quickly gathered together, while a steady stream of recruits who had obtained weapons joined them from behind.

One side was led by Lin Qiye, the other by Wang Mian.

Two God's Agents.

They faced each other from afar.