Chapter 77

After listening to Li Xinlin's words, Ma Le was shaken. These names were somewhat familiar to him. Heavy Cannon should be Jiang Dahu, Heavenly Melody should be Wang Na, and Hell Queen should be Xia Yingying, who was known as the Empress. Excluding Zhao Renfan, the remaining Boulder should be Liu Lei, who specialized in defense... From Li Xinlin's tone, it seemed that these people were either dead or had surrendered, and the team was already in shambles?!

Logically, Ma Le should have been happy that his enemies were getting their comeuppance, but for some reason, he felt a strange sense of reluctance and pity. His mindset had quietly changed after witnessing the sweet scene between Li Xinlin and his fiancée. As the saying goes, "When the rabbit dies, the fox mourns." As an adventurer himself, Ma Le gradually began to empathize with them. Once they entered the city battle system, mutual scheming and killing among adventurers became a daily occurrence, just like in war. They fought and killed each other simply because of different positions. Soldiers would take up arms and kill the enemy not because of deep-seated hatred, but because they had to. Therefore, after learning that the team had been wiped out, Ma Le's feelings towards the exploration team members were no longer purely hatred, but more of a pity, a pity for the defeated and the weak. On the battlefield, the weak deserved to be killed.

Ma Le had the ambition to become a strong person, and perhaps he had the potential to do so. However, for the current Ma Le, Xia Yingying, Jiang Dahu, and the others were definitely not weak, and could even be considered representatives of overwhelming strength. According to Li Xinlin, the Miracle City had dispatched eighteen such strong individuals, but their fate was to be defeated by a single person! Besides pity and indifference, this news also gave Ma Le a sense of impending danger.

"Is the opponent an Elite or a Champion?" Ma Le asked. Li Xinlin shook his head and said, "No, he's just a new Senior adventurer who has entered two worlds. But who knows what this kid has been through before. He's strong like a monster. He used the terrain and his astonishing speed to isolate and defeat the eighteen Senior adventurers one by one. Even your famous exploration team couldn't stop him! In the end, someone from Miracle City activated a summoning token to summon two Elites, which finally dampened the kid's momentum. But even those two Elites didn't fare well; one was severely injured, and the other used a precious golden item. After the battle, only six Senior adventurers from Miracle City were confirmed to have survived, with five of them returning together. Only the Empress, although there was no news of her death, hasn't been seen since then!"

Ma Le noticed that Li Xinlin said "your Miracle City" and deduced that he was likely an adventurer from the opposing city, Dark City. So he asked, "That new guy is so powerful?! Do you have any information on him?"

Li Xinlin sighed and said, "I wish I could ask you! Now I only know that this guy is called Kukulkan. I've seen him once; he's probably from South America, not very old, tall and slim. At that time, he was still a regular adventurer, and apart from being a bit neurotic, there was nothing special about him. After this incident, not only your Miracle City, but also our Senior adventurers are all on edge. Having such a powerful lunatic around, who wouldn't be afraid? I thought you had fought him and could give me some information!"

Ma Le shrugged, "How would I know? I left the team over a week ago... By the way, is there any rumor in your city about this Kukulkan?"

Li Xinlin shook his head, "Not much detailed information, but a friend of mine participated in that mission. According to him, Miracle City sent 18 people, and Dark City sent 13. Although the main quests of the two sides were opposed, you know, at this level, everyone knows that survival is the most important. Such large-scale team battles are best avoided. So at first, both groups planned to abandon the main quests and not interfere with each other, each looking for side quests to fill the gap. But later, my friend found out that there was a traitor in your Miracle City, the Heavenly Melody, who had already colluded with the Dragon's Horn team from Dark City. She led your people to a pre-arranged ambush site."

"Ah~" Ma Le nodded and said, "So, Kukulkan didn't defeat those eighteen people on his own?" Li Xinlin clicked his tongue, "Hmm... How to put it, the one who actually fought was really just him. Without the pre-arranged setup, facing eighteen Senior adventurers head-on, I don't think he would have had the ability... But even so, this guy's strength cannot be underestimated. The final battle against the two Elites was a real head-on fight! You know, Dragon's Horn is a famous cross-difficulty team in Dark City, with strong power and many talents. I speculate that this kid is most likely a key talent cultivated by Dragon's Horn. He was unknown before reaching the Senior level, just accumulating strength, and then he made a name for himself!"

Ma Le, hearing this, frowned and sighed, "Alright, I understand. I'll try to contact the Empress later. This is a bit sudden, I need to digest it..." As he spoke, Ma Le glanced at the woman waiting nearby, and smiled at Li Xinlin, "Well, I won't bother you anymore. Your fiancée is waiting, go be with her, wish you happiness!"

Li Xinlin was taken aback, then smiled awkwardly, "Ah... Ha... This... Thank... Thank you..." After that, the two parted ways. Ma Le walked out of the mall, where Yu Xiaoning was still waiting on the square.

Li Xinlin continued to choose a diamond ring with his fiancée, but he kept glancing in the direction Ma Le had left, muttering, "Strange, when did this 'annoying guy' become so eloquent? Even wishing me happiness..."

Ma Le found a secluded spot, transformed back to his original form, and went to the square to find Yu Xiaoning. The girl was sitting on a bench, frowning and looking seriously at the passersby. Clearly, she was using her superpower to scan them one by one. It seemed that joining the "International Superpower Association" was a great attraction to her.

Ma Le plopped down next to her, startling the focused girl. Seeing it was Ma Le, she asked mysteriously and excitedly, "How did it go, solved it?"

Ma Le replied evasively, "No immediate threat. Although he's a wild superpower user, he's similar to you, living a normal life with no signs of criminal activity..." As he spoke, Ma Le noticed Yu Xiaoning's excitement turning to anticipation, so he quickly added, "However, this person has a slight tendency towards violence. Although he hasn't shown any bad behavior yet, he is still a dangerous factor. You absolutely must not try to approach him, or you'll lose your membership!"

Yu Xiaoning, hearing this, felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, and she immediately wilted. Ma Le thought to himself that this girl's curiosity was really strong. What if she really provoked a violent adventurer one day? He needed to think of a way...

Just as he was thinking, Yu Xiaoning suddenly tilted her head and asked, "Hey, boss, where are the big bags you bought?"

Ma Le was taken aback and looked at his hands; he had already put the items in his storage space. Seeing Ma Le's confusion, Yu Xiaoning panicked, "Did you leave them in the mall? I'll go get them for you!" She started to get up to go into the mall. Ma Le grabbed her, "No need, I met a... telekinetic superpower user friend who helped me bring them back..."

"Who, who, introduce me to them!" Yu Xiaoning, hearing about another superpower user, immediately became interested and looked around. Ma Le had to dodge, "Don't look, they're already gone!" Yu Xiaoning, feeling disappointed, pouted and sat on the bench, "You don't even introduce me to superpower users, I won't talk to you!"

Ma Le turned his head and saw a glint of light on the girl's ear, "Hey, you already put the ear stud on?" Yu Xiaoning turned and glared at him, huffed, and put on her hood, deliberately covering her ears.

Looking at the time, it was getting late. Ma Le wanted to treat Yu Xiaoning to a meal to cheer her up, but he was short on money, with only a hundred or so yuan left. If the bill wasn't enough, it would be embarrassing. Reluctantly, Ma Le could only treat her to some cold drinks. The girl was easy to please; two bites of ice cream made her content.

After finishing the cold drinks, Ma Le accompanied Yu Xiaoning shopping for a while. They parted ways when it got dark. Ma Le, a typical nobody, rarely had the chance to date such a beautiful girl. Logically, he should have been excited and happy. However, as he walked home, he was frowning and thinking about what Li Xinlin had said.

Logically, such a battle among Senior adventurers should not affect Ma Le. Even if Kukulkan was a huge threat, it shouldn't be a concern for a beginner like him. However, for some reason, Ma Le felt a sense of crisis. The huge gains from the trial world had made Ma Le's strength at least one level ahead, giving him a sense of superiority. He felt that since he had a head start, his future adventures would be smooth sailing, and he would eventually become a strong person.

However, the appearance of Kukulkan sounded the alarm for Ma Le. The city battle system had tens of thousands of adventurers, and not just him was a genius. Moreover, his advantage was not entirely due to his own efforts. This good luck wouldn't last forever. If he continued to consider himself a genius, he would inevitably become complacent and eventually become mediocre.

With this in mind, Ma Le made a decision. He rushed to the train station and used his remaining money to buy a ticket to a city a thousand miles away. Others couldn't find the Hell Queen, but Ma Le could. Even if Xia Yingying could hide her identity in Miracle City, she still had to live in the real world! And Zhao Renfan's mind contained some of Xia Yingying's real-world information. To understand the truth of that battle and to understand why Kukulkan was so strong, he had to ask someone who had experienced it!

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**End of Chapter**