Chapter 46

"Retrieve the file!"

At the moment Zhou Xian used his skill, Li Zheng's maniacal laughter disappeared, and his injured ribs instantly healed... no, they were restored, and his dazed mind due to blood loss quickly cleared up.

Time reversed in that instant, the gears of the clock spinning backward.

When Zhou Xian's consciousness reassembled, he found himself back in front of the old school building.

The conspiracy and schemes all returned to their starting point at this moment!

"I'm back!"

Zhou Xian rubbed his hands, a white light flashed, and then covered his body—his skill was still usable!

With a sense of reassurance, Zhou Xian looked around and immediately sprinted down the right corridor.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a figure approached him quickly, and Beidou shouted, but when she saw Zhou Xian in front of her, she was startled.

"Give me the talisman you have, quickly!"

"Oh..." Beidou mechanically took out her talisman, and then she reacted, "Wait, why are you asking me for a talisman? No, how do you know I have one? Ah, no, Zhou Xian, what are you doing here?!"

"There's no time to explain, come with me quickly!" Zhou Xian pulled Beidou and ran toward the second floor.

Entering the room where the altar was previously, Zhou Xian immediately used a Soul Dao talisman and threw it at the podium.

"Rumble—"

As a corner of the altar was destroyed, the entire hidden altar was revealed to Zhou Xian.

With the destruction of the altar, a series of eerie winds, accompanied by strange whistles and strong gusts, surged out from the altar.

"—How can you use the game's skills?!"

Li Zheng, who had been hiding in the corner, was revealed when Zhou Xian broke through the altar's disguise. He was still wearing his school uniform, his face filled with panic.

Zhou Xian was merciless, immediately instructing Beidou, "Beidou, restrain him, don't let him escape."

"Oh... oh..."

Beidou, who seemed to still be confused, was mysteriously ordered by Zhou Xian.

"—Don't come any closer!"

Li Zheng suddenly pulled out a small knife from his chest, but Beidou easily avoided his attack and aimed a hook punch at him.

But at that moment, Li Zheng disappeared from his original position and reappeared on the other side!

Li Zheng had used the Soul Thought System to escape!

However, Beidou, who was startled, quickly reacted and delivered a spinning kick, knocking Li Zheng to the ground.

"I've got you!"

Beidou immediately straddled Li Zheng and waved to Zhou Xian.

"It's all good now."

Seeing Li Zheng restrained by Beidou, Zhou Xian finally breathed a sigh of relief. This finally resolved a major threat.

"Alright, Li Zheng, who is your 'master'? Now you can tell us."

The anomalies in the real world might be related to the anomalies in the game world. Getting information from Li Zheng would be very helpful.

"How do you know about my master?!"

Li Zheng's face was filled with panic when Zhou Xian asked.

"Although I don't know what you're talking about, it sounds interesting. Also, the skill you used just now was from the game, right? And that altar was quite impressive."

"Cough, cough, I'm not sure what's happening either. I'll tell you once I figure it out."

This news would likely cause a sensation worldwide, not just for Beidou.

Zhou Xian didn't believe that only Li Zheng could do such things.

Moreover, Zhou Xian needed to get clues about the Soul Thought System from him. The fact that this ability worked in the real world suggested it was far from simple. The words of the thin, monkey-like man that Zhou Xian had heard also troubled him.

"Heh heh... Do you think capturing Li Zheng will help you find the mastermind..."

At that moment, a strange voice emerged from Li Zheng's mouth.

"—You?!" The tone was clearly not Li Zheng's. The entity possessing him exuded a strange, dark aura.

"Hmph, I knew it was you, the kid from Liuyun Temple. You dare to ruin my plans, and I'll make you pay... and now, you won't get any information!"

As he spoke, Li Zheng's body began to convulse, and he let out a loud, agonized scream.

Beidou, who had been restraining him, immediately let go.

"Hey, don't tell me the monsters from the game world are invading the real world?" She looked at Zhou Xian with a strange expression.

"It seems so. Be careful, we don't know what else the mastermind has up his sleeve."

The two remained on high alert.

But after Li Zheng's screams, he convulsed for a while and then collapsed, clearly unconscious.

"This guy?" Zhou Xian cautiously approached him and found that Li Zheng seemed to be just unconscious.

"Could he have become a vegetable like Ying Tianlong?" Zhou Xian suddenly thought of this possibility.

"Is everything okay now?" Beidou asked.

"Probably, at least we're safe for now."

"Then, can you tell me what's going on now?" Beidou looked like a child who had found a new toy.

"If I have to explain, it's simply that the game world is invading the real world—just like that."

"Oh, so does that mean we might see AK47s and mages battling, or dragons being nuked?"

The thought of this chaos made Zhou Xian break out in a cold sweat. From what he had seen, it wasn't impossible.

"Don't think about it. If it happens, I'll stop it. And your martial arts are really impressive, how did you learn them?" Zhou Xian changed the subject.

"It's nothing, just good reflexes. Don't you think anime girls have such cute traits?"

You're not an anime girl at all!

"However, don't tell anyone about this yet. The situation is strange, and we don't know if there are any more of the mastermind's people in our school. I'll investigate further." Zhou Xian suddenly thought of the Emperor players; perhaps they knew something?

"Alright, I'll follow your lead for now." Although he seemed unreliable, Zhou Xian trusted him in critical moments.

"But how did Jiuyou know how to break the boundaries between the two worlds?"

"…What?" Zhou Xian didn't hear Beidou's low murmur clearly.

"Um, nothing, just thinking it's a pity this adventure is over, sigh."

"…Forget it." Beidou had clearly said something else, but since she didn't want to tell him, Zhou Xian didn't press further. Intruding on someone's privacy wasn't a good thing.

"So, what do we do next?" Beidou asked, resting her head on her hand.

"Now? Go home and sleep. That's it. Don't forget what time it is. I'll investigate further, you go back."

"…Tch. Fine, I won't argue with you. If you have some secret plans, do what you want. I don't care." Beidou picked up Li Zheng and prepared to leave.

"—What are you doing with him?"

"Obviously, I'm taking him away from the crime scene. Shouldn't I turn him over to the police?"

Zhou Xian thought she had changed, but it seemed she had just found something more interesting.

"Alright, we can't let him escape. He's still a suspect, so I'll handle it."

"Okay!"

Beidou gave Zhou Xian a thumbs up and left with Li Zheng.

Zhou Xian, on the other hand, continued to the rooftop on the third floor.

The iron gate, which should have been closed, was now lying on the ground, and the dragon script that should have been on it was gone.

Zhou Xian lightly touched the iron gate, and it crumbled into a pile of iron dust.

"Indeed, although everything is gone, the dragon script still has power. But the supernatural force here seems to have completely disappeared."

With that, Zhou Xian felt relieved.

Reality is also a game.

His father's words echoed in Zhou Xian's mind.

What was the true meaning of that email message?

What is happening with this strange situation?

Although part of Li Zheng's plot had been uncovered, more mysteries remained.

"Heaven and Earth's Bright Sword, the deep and dark evil dragon roars... the demon lord of the Iron Blood Demon City doesn't use a sword. It seems more likely that Qixiu Hai is the mastermind... strange, I feel like I'm forgetting something..."

Zhou Xian tapped his head.

"Never mind, I'll figure it out. Maybe the reason these skills work in the real world is related to this."

He then focused on the skill he had just used.

"Speaking of which, I can also bring up the save file interface in the real world. Does that mean I can also bring up the character panel?"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Xian saw an interface appear on his retina!

"—"

The game's character panel...?

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