Chapter 105: JJ, Show Yourself!

    "AHH—!!" Xinxin squeezed his eyes shut and screamed on top of his lungs as the cyan kingkong sprang into action, lunging toward the nearest mummy. With a resounding roar, it swung its powerful fist and punched the creature right on the face, sending it flying across the desert in a violent arc!

    Everyone: "..."

    They stood frozen, agape, as they witnessed the nightmare creature being KO-ed in a single punch, unable to get up anymore. W–What kind of monstrous strength was this?!

    Lang Zhenya was the first to snap back to her senses. She turned sharply to Jiang Shun and yelled, "Are you sure she’s not the JJ you are looking for?!"

    Only then did Jiang Shun regain his bearings and clamped his hanging jaws shut with a click. Even then, the shock was still palpable on his face. C–Come to think of it... he had overlooked this player at first because ’she’ looked meek and timid, thus he reckoned that ’she’ could not be the person he was looking for. But after this display of prowess, he was not so certain anymore.

    What if JJ turned out to be ’her’?!

    Alas, now was not the time to ponder on this matter. Sensing a looming presence above him, Jiang Shun’s pupils dilated and he instinctively leaped to the side, narrowly evading the vicious curved blade that almost impaled him in the middle. Glowering at the hideous creature, he shouted at Lang Zhenya as more sands gathered around him to form solid rocks. "We will talk about this later! Deal with these creatures first!"

    Shen Nianzu’s gaze lingered on the fierce cyan kingkong in action, his expression filled with a mix of emotions. He had faintly sensed the potential in Xinxin before, but never had he expected that the youth would be this powerful! If only he had activated his skill card back in the corpse apartment, the spider Madam Liu would never stand a chance against him!

    Just like a saying he had read somewhere before; humans’ potential was boundless, but it was fear and hesitation of the unknown that held us back...

    Shaking his head helplessly, Shen Nianzu craned his neck to peer into the distance, noticing that the mummy who was after Wind had collapsed near the temple. Granted, she was the former top 100 after all. It would have been an utter disgrace if she could not even handle a nightmare creature in the low-level Cycle.

    However, that fact made Shen Nianzu grow tense in return.

    — If the mummy had been defeated, where was Wind now?

    He scanned the dark expanse of the desert around him, his heart pounding in his chest. The inky darkness heightened his senses to the extreme and made him feel apprehensive, as if it concealed the female player somewhere lying in ambush, ready to spring out at any moment when his guard was down. Despite his superior rank, he must not underestimate her. Who knew what other tricks she had up her sleeves? Last time, it was a mini bomb; what’s next? Poison?

    Shen Nianzu clenched his jaws and told himself to focus on the matter at hand. Regarding Wind, he would just take things in stride. Right now, he needed to hide Jin Jiuchi’s body in a safe place, first and foremost, and set up a protective enchantment to prevent others from trespassing!

    Turning away from the ongoing battle, he began to drag Jin Jiuchi toward the players’ camp. Alas, he had taken no more than three steps when Fatty exclaimed in a trembling voice,

    "W–Where are you going?!"

    He turned to look at the terrified man who had collapsed on the sandy ground in a trembling wreck. His glasses had fogged up from his rapid breaths, and his face was drained of color. Before leaving, Shen Nianzu offered him one last piece of advice, "If you want to survive in this place, get up and fight for your own life."

    Shen Nianzu pressed forward across the treacherous desert, dragging Jin Jiuchi’s body behind him.

    His breaths came in ragged gasps, and every inhale felt like a jagged shard scraping against his throat, making it increasingly difficult for him to breathe. As if his aversion to the cold was not enough, the desert’s temperature continued to plummet below freezing point. This was no different than the peak of winter in the real world. The stark contrast between day and night was enough to freeze someone to death!

    He could feel sweat pouring from his pores, only to crystallize into icy droplets that further chilled his already frigid form. Even then, his steps had never faltered even a bit. "Stupid husky..." he gritted out through chattering teeth, gasping. "You’re going to pay for making me work so hard!"

    Upon reaching the players’ tents, he swiftly hauled Jin Jiuchi’s body inside and cast a protective enchantment from outside. Only then did he return to the battlefield, just in time for the last mummy to be knocked out by Xinxin’s mighty cyan kingkong.

    "AH—!" Xinxin let out a sharp cry of surprise as the kingkong vanished without a trace, and he crashed to the sand below with a muffled thud, the impact causing the sand to fly like a mini storm.

    Similarly, Jiang Shun and Lang Zhenya also sprawled on the ground, wheezing. The battle itself did not pose an overwhelming challenge. However, the shifting sand terrain beneath their feet hindered their movements at every step, adding to their struggle. On top of that, the biting coldness pressed down on them like a tangible force, constricting their chests and making each breath feel like a burden.

    "I–I’m freezing..!" Jiang Shun weakly retrieved his phone from his inner pocket and squinted his eyes to see the screen. "Damn it, it’s minus eight degrees Celsius now, and there are still five more hours until sunrise!"

    With a pained groan, Xinxin managed to prop himself up and his eyes brightened upon seeing Shen Nianzu. "A–Are you okay?" he asked in a hushed voice. As this was the first time he activated his skill card, he had not gotten used to the rapid drain of energy, leaving him with an unsightly complexion. He looked around but did not find Jin Jiuchi anywhere. "How about..."

    "Safe for the time being," Shen Nianzu replied. "But we have an enemy here."

    Surprise flickered across Xinxin’s eyes before realization dawned on him. He furrowed his brow in apprehension, "That female player from earlier? Why would she want to kill you?"

    "Not me, but—"

    "You... are you JJ?!" The loud question cut off Shen Nianzu’s words midway, and they turned to find Jiang Shun’s fervent gaze fixed on... Xinxin.

    "M–Me?!" Xinxin pointed at his own nose, then he quickly shook his head like a rattle drum. "N–No, it’s not me! You have gotten the wrong person!"

    "That’s also what that woman said earlier..." Jiang Shun clicked his tongue in annoyance. He let out a frustrated sigh and plopped himself down to the sand, "Ah—! Whoever JJ is, show yourself! I didn’t mean any harm, okay?! I just want to talk!"

    Shen Nianzu assumed an innocent and curious expression, "Why are you so desperate to find him?"

    "Of course, it’s to invite them to join my organization!" Jiang Shun, who had not kept his guard around the little boy, revealed his true intentions in a heartbeat. He added proudly, "It’s Immortal Phoenix, the third-ranked organization in the whole country! Surely, if JJ knows what’s best for them, they will not reject our offer, right?!"

    ’So this is the reason he entered this Cycle...’ Shen Nianzu thought. He mentally crossed Jiang Shun’s name from the list of people to look out for, and let out a non-committal hum, "Who knows..."

    With the crisis momentarily evaded, the players decided to return to their tents to rest. They needed to conserve their energy to continue digging the pit tomorrow.

    As for Wind, Shen Nianzu had not seen her anywhere since he escaped from the temple. He had no idea where she was right now, but just to be safe, he set up another layer of protective barrier around his tent to alert him in case of any malicious intent. With this, even Wind would not be able to slip in and assassinate them without alerting anyone.

    Utterly exhausted, Shen Nianzu pulled down the zipper and climbed into the tent, only to pause when his gaze landed on Jin Jiuchi’s motionless form.

    Was it only his imagination or... had the man’s position changed subtly?