Peking Opera Grand Stage: Come If You Dare

On the stage, clappers and gongs rang out. Mr. He appeared in an opera costume, spear in hand.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Several figures leaped into the air. Dwarf brought three enormous centipedes onto the stage alongside a tall Predator Type player, taking their places beside Mr. He.

Opposite them, Ren Ye, Gu Nian, Xu Peng, Huang Wei in his Red Dog form, and the three New Year's Watchers first showed expressions of alarm, then drew together.

Anxious, Ren Ye turned to Gu Nian. "Is my dad here?"

"Yes, but he's in room 501, not room 601, which disappeared earlier." Gu Nian stared at Dwarf, her brows slightly furrowed. "I don't know why, either."

Hearing that, Ren Ye immediately suggested, "Then don't get bogged down fighting. Let's retreat and get my dad back first."

"We can't leave." Xu Peng looked gravely at Mr. He. "This supernatural ability of his... is a little strange. I secretly tested it just now. Until he finishes his opera, I don't think we can get off the stage."

Forced combat?

Fuck!

Ren Ye grew agitated, deeply worried about his father's safety.

"We still have people outside, and reinforcements will be here soon," Gu Nian replied quietly. "Finish this fast!"

"I have a feeling... finishing this fast won't be easy." Xu Peng kept staring at Mr. He, his eyelids twitching wildly.

Across from them, Dwarf licked his lips. "Sir, Prisoner Woman is breaking out with the others. We're here to help you."

Tap, tap...!

Mr. He stood tall, kicking up a leg and sweeping his robe aside, every inch the martial opera lead. His brows moved slightly as he raised his opera spear and sang with authentic flair, "Through the night I broke Cao’s Formation; dawn has come, yet my lord is nowhere to be found."

"Let me charge into Cao's camp and seek the whereabouts of the two Madams and the Young Master~"

As the lyrics ended, drums and gongs sounded together.

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

Mr. He suddenly charged forward, his spear thrusting like a dragon as he cried, "Fearless Courage!"

Swish!

As the words fell, his entire demeanor changed. He seemed to enter a state of total immersion and charged straight at the New Year's Watchers.

Xu Peng turned, raised his arm, and recited, "Benevolent Heart, Healing Hands, Miracle Healing-Healing!"

An intense Star Source fluctuation emerged. Two strands of light wound around Ren Ye's body, and he suddenly felt refreshed, comfortable all over. Looking down, he saw that the wounds on his arms and the tiny cuts across his body had all vanished. In the blink of an eye, he was back to normal.

Now that's a healer!

Ren Ye turned toward him. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome. You guys fight..." After saying that, Xu Peng actually withdrew from the battlefield, cautiously positioning himself at the edge of the stage.

He was currently a first-stage player. Aside from sneakily administering a little poison, his supernatural abilities offered absolutely nothing in terms of combat.

"Aaaah...!"

Beside them, Huang Wei's expression twisted in his Red Dog form. Strange, agonized cries escaped his mouth as his last shred of reason locked onto the charging Mr. He. "Challenge-fight to the death!"

His aura and killing intent instantly focused on Mr. He alone. The red dog leaped up, Heavy Sword in hand, and hurtled toward him like a cannonball.

Boom!

One high and one low, one airborne and one grounded, the two collided violently.

The battle on the stage officially began.

Outside, Prisoner Woman was breaking out under cover from two companions.

At a time like this, no idiot would use Ren Daguo to make threats or attempt some hostage negotiation.

Smart, experienced criminals all understood one thing: the longer negotiations dragged on during a kidnapping, the tighter the authorities' cordon became, and the greater the odds of ending up dead.

Besides, looking at criminal cases over the past several decades, there might not have been even one instance in ten thousand of someone publicly taking a hostage and successfully escaping.

The New Year's Watchers' reinforcements could arrive at any moment. There was no point wasting breath. Break out first, and the hostage could serve his greatest purpose.

Prisoner Woman's supernatural abilities leaned toward destruction and crime, so she was also an expert at escaping. After jumping out of room 501's window, instead of plummeting to the ground, she twisted upward and planted both feet against the apartment building's exterior wall.

From a distance, her body formed a straight horizontal line, her face tilted upward and her feet planted against the outer stairwell wall. She rapidly stepped forward, running vertically toward the rooftop.

Huang Wei had brought eight New Year's Watchers in total. Apart from the five forced onto the stage, only three remained stationed around the building. Seeing Prisoner Woman trying to escape, they immediately rushed over to stop her.

"Stop them!"

With Ren Daguo on her back, Prisoner Woman turned and shouted to her two companions.

Bang, bang...!

The two Chaos Faction players descended from above, intercepted the three New Year's Watchers, and engaged them in battle.

Swish!

Prisoner Woman reached the apartment rooftop, a smile curling her red lips, and sprinted with Ren Daguo on her back. Light and nimble, she raced through the pouring rain like a seasoned thief.

Downstairs, the three New Year's Watchers were held up by the two Chaos players fighting for their lives, unable to give chase for the moment.

Tap, tap...!

Prisoner Woman fixed her eyes on the boundary of the Wordless Stele, her heart pounding. Faster. Just a little faster, and I can break out...

Outside Xinyuan Spa, Little War Wolf's Soul Body, which had been preparing to slip away, suddenly paused.

He turned blankly toward the rooftop and saw Prisoner Woman sprinting with Ren Daguo on her back. Irritation churned inside him.

Swish!

He extended his perception slightly. Within two kilometers, at least six reinforcing New Year's Watchers were running toward them. But by the time they arrived, Prisoner Woman would probably be gone...

"Fuck!"

Little War Wolf stared straight at Ren Daguo and cursed through gritted teeth. "Is this for real? Fine, fine. I'll give you a hand..."

After much deliberation, he chose to double back yet again, drifting toward the rooftop at tremendous speed.

As the distance rapidly closed, Little War Wolf raised a hand and called, "My darling Paper-Wife, bite her for me."

Swish!

As she ran, Prisoner Woman felt a cold gust sweep over the back of her neck. She abruptly looked back and saw the phantom of a beautiful female ghost giving her a closed-lipped smile.

She had found the cause.

For the past two days, she had kept feeling chilly drafts around her neck, which ached terribly. Yet despite checking herself countless times, she had never discovered that a female ghost was perched on her shoulders.

Whoosh!

Behind her, the ghost opened her mouth wide and inhaled sharply.

Thick, concentrated pure yang energy drifted out of Prisoner Woman and streamed straight into the ghost's mouth.

Weakness flooded her body, and her soul trembled. Her entire body convulsed as her gaze began to lose focus.

Flying toward her through the air, Little War Wolf kept rummaging through his consciousness space. "Can't use this. This one isn't worth it... fuck, using this would be such a waste...!"

His consciousness space held a dazzling assortment of items in every variety. Wealth and a deep stockpile were its defining features.

On the rooftop, Prisoner Woman felt as though her soul were being pulled out. Her face turned purplish blue, her body went pale, and she could already foresee her death.

"...Steal...!" Her voice trembled as she prepared to use her supernatural ability again.

"This one, then."

Little War Wolf pulled an enormous, archaic-looking hammer with visibly missing parts from his crotch area and threw it straight into the air.

Swish!

The heavy hammer swept across the rooftop,

With the ghost draining her yang soul, Prisoner Woman's consciousness was hazy. She had no way to dodge.

Splat!

With a dull impact, her head burst apart on the spot.

But the silvery-white hammer did not stop. As though possessing a mind of its own, it swooped toward Prisoner Woman's chest to smash her heart.

Little War Wolf's Soul Body reached the rooftop. First, he stopped and gathered himself, countless strands of white light drifting over to make his soul somewhat more solid.

Smack!

Then he flicked Ren Daguo, who had fallen to the ground, upward with his right foot and called softly, "Off you go!"

The unconscious Ren Daguo flew over the rooftop wall and fell toward the ground, only to suddenly vanish at the fifth floor.

An instant later, Ren Daguo dropped onto the stage with a whoosh, landing on the floor with a thud.

"Dad?!"

Ren Ye, who was dodging a centipede's attack, shouted in shock.

On the rooftop, Little War Wolf drew the ghost back into a small Artifact Bottle, then decisively withdrew, flying straight toward the spa across the way.

Inside private room 302 at Heartsource Spa.

A dozen or so massage attendants stood beside the bed with their hands over their mouths, terror in their eyes.

The female owner approached the massage bed where the old man lay and gently raised a hand to check his breathing.

Silence. Silence!

The slightly plump woman stared blankly at the old man, already envisioning her life in prison, but still cried out indignantly, "...I really hadn't even started... I only massaged his legs. That wasn't even exciting... and he just died..."

"What a disaster! I told you... no extras for anyone over sixty-five...!" The owner broke down too, turning to the slightly plump woman. "...Are you risking your lives for that little bit of money?!"

Whoosh!

The Soul Body, which had forcibly solidified earlier, was now faint and blurry. It quickly passed through the wall and flew facedown into the old man's body.

"Ah!" The slightly plump woman had already begun wailing. "I really only massaged his legs! Just his two normal legs...!"

"Cough, cough!"

Abruptly, two coughs rang out.

All the women in the room froze, then recoiled several steps, their faces pale with fright.

"Hm?"

The old man slowly woke and glanced at the dozen or so women in the room, his expression alarmed. "Holy shit. When you said add ten... this is what you meant...!"

On the stage.

Performance Magic-Fire Ring!

Blood Sacrifice-Great Annihilation!

Item—Chenille’s Prison!

Enchantment!

The New Year's Watchers frantically concentrated their attacks on Mr. He, hurling every crowd-control ability, offensive supernatural ability, and item at him all at once.

Bang, bang, bang...!

The dull booms of vibrating Star Source echoed everywhere.

Despite doing his utmost to dodge, Xu Peng, who had no combat ability whatsoever, was still caught in the crossfire. The shocks made his scalp tingle, and he vomited blood. He could only hastily swallow two brown pills, unable to tell whether they were poison or medicine, to keep himself going.

As the radiance faded, Mr. He's figure emerged. He staggered back two steps, his opera robe badly torn. Two of the four small flags on his back had been knocked off... even the information he had bought from Little War Wolf and tucked inside his robe quietly fell out...

The kraft-paper envelope was blown beneath the drum stand beside the curtain, well out of sight. Completely immersed in his performance, Mr. He did not notice.

Not far away, Ren Ye stared blankly at Mr. He, utterly shocked.

This man was probably the strongest opponent he had encountered since coming into contact with the Star Gate.

As long as he remained on this stage, he seemed to receive a combat boost. His speed, his attacks, even the execution of his supernatural abilities... all were absurdly powerful.

Although Huang Wei was the only second-stage player on their team, a combined attack from six or seven people had failed to seriously injure him... it had merely left him looking somewhat disheveled.

"The target's on the stage." Dwarf looked at Ren Daguo lying on the floor, his gaze vicious. "Prisoner Woman must be dead. We're going all out!"

At the center, Mr. He looked at Huang Wei and the others. Rather than showing fear, he roared, "I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!"

"Seven In, Seven Out!"

Boom!

A chilling surge of killing intent erupted from his body.

Mr. He shook his spear and charged again, while Little Dwarf and the Predator Type player began fighting desperately as well.

As everyone clashed again, Ren Daguo remained motionless on the floor. Meanwhile, the fallen envelope nearby suddenly twitched twice and gave off a white glow.

Swish!

The light flashed and vanished, and the contents recorded inside the envelope were instantly replaced.