Chapter 198


Chapter 198 Perhaps Some People Are Just Destined to Be Unlucky

In reality, fortune does seem to play tricks on people.

Thinking back to her last life, she was constantly at odds with Summer Jincang, their interactions always dripping with tension. But now, she was reborn as Xia Xinyan, and their enmity was wiped clean—though it wasn’t really by choice.

Yet now… this life’s Ling Mo seemed to be heading down the same path with Summer Jincang because of her.

…Some people must be fated to be incompatible, right?

As the catalyst between the two, Xia Xinyan could only feel a stomachache.

However, Ling Mo and Summer Jincang were rather enjoying themselves; after reaching a consensus, they charged toward the group of robots, eager to show off their prowess. With both of them wanting to prove they were superior to the other, hiding their skills was never in the plan, leading to a commotion so loud that even the fat guy and the others dared not join the fray.

Summer Jincang’s ability was fire control—certainly a common ability found in many sci-fi works—but there’s no denying that this straightforward and unpretentious power had enough might to rank at the top.

All abilities limited only by their owner’s strength essentially had infinite potential, much like Ling Mo’s creations. This was why in her last life, Xia Xinyan and Summer Jincang had never managed to gain the upper hand over each other; if it came to raw combat strength, they were actually evenly matched.

Of course, this was only true after they had both developed into their peak strength.

However, they were currently barely in the mid-game, and so Summer Jincang’s strength in Xia Xinyan’s eyes was… just so-so.

She could even beat him.

—But Xia Xinyan only came to this conclusion after witnessing their peak abilities firsthand, while the others lacked her extraordinary experience, so the shock brought on by Summer Jincang and Ling Mo was undoubtedly immense.

Summer Jincang’s combat style was as simple and brutal as his ability: he combined his strong physical prowess with his fire manipulation to slaughter enemies directly. The intense flames under his control could even melt those robots into pools of molten metal, making even Xia Xinyan, who was a good ten meters away, feel the heat radiating from the flames.

Ling Mo’s fighting style, on the other hand, was a bit more showy; his ability was creation, but he couldn’t manipulate anything he created in battle, so he had to get creative to boost his strength—like suddenly closing the distance to the enemy and then summoning an activated, sticky bomb right behind them, stealthily attaching it without them noticing.

He also conjured armor to make up for his lack of defenses, and this flashy combat style that suddenly turned into a magician’s act made for quite the spectacle.

Yet, there was no denying that both Summer Jincang and Ling Mo’s current strengths had reset everyone’s understanding, except for Xia Xinyan, who was already aware.

The fat guy was left stunned: “Damn… are these two really that brutal?”

Murong Yue was also a bit dazed: “Is this really the strength of the top ranks on the leaderboard…”

Hearing her, Tian Yi suddenly snapped out of it: “Hey! I remember now, Summer Jincang is ranked… somewhere in the teens, right? So it’s really him! But I don’t think I’ve seen Ling Mo’s name on the leaderboard?”

Murong Yue tilted her head to look at Xia Xinyan, her expression a bit weird.

She had already guessed it.

The fat guy seemed to realize it too and turned to stare, horror etched on his face: “Wait, you two are…”

Xia Xinyan smiled brightly.

This only sent chills down the spines of the fat guy and Murong Yue.

Murong Yue hurriedly shifted her gaze back to watch the fight.

She just knew this girl was definitely not someone to be trifled with—from the first moment she laid eyes on them.

The fat guy, however, was still reeling from the revelation.

Wow, he had fought tooth and nail to break into the top thirty, nearly exhausting himself, and now these two had silently climbed to the top of the leaderboard?!

He had been speculating on who those two anonymous figures might be, and it turned out they were right beside him?!

Damn!

But why?! He felt like these two hadn’t even bothered with dungeons as much as he had! How could their strength rise so quickly?!

He had originally thought Ling Mo would be able to hold his own against Summer Jincang, just because the Game Pod’s enhancement for real bodies wasn’t as obvious—after all, in this competitive ranking phase, there shouldn’t be a huge gap between first and hundredth ranks. If they were in reality, the difference would probably be even smaller, making it normal for someone on the leaderboard to tie with someone outside the top thousand.

He had figured Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan were hovering around the top thousand stage, after all, they were among the first batch of players to access the game, so that made sense, right?

So, he reminded Ling Mo merely because he worried that getting involved with Summer Jincang might attract other forces’ attention, never considering what Ling Mo’s actual strength might be in the game.

Now it turned out that he was already stronger than Summer Jincang in the game, which was why he could hold his own in reality!

Damn!

That’s not fair, Old Ling!

While they were shocked, Xia Xinyan felt a bit complicated.

Though she hadn’t planned to continue keeping a low profile, after this dungeon, it was likely their troubles would multiply.

The peaceful life seemed to be coming to an end.

Suddenly feeling a bit melancholic.

Elsewhere, after Ling Mo and Summer Jincang took out the last robot, several transport planes suddenly flew out from the spire, dropping dozens more robots.

At this point, Tian Yi finally snapped out of his shock: “Let’s get in there! We can’t just sit here watching the show!”

Watching the two perform so spectacularly sparked his competitive spirit—after all, they had been around since the launch, and while he may not be on the leaderboard, his strength wasn’t that far behind them! He couldn’t let them hog all the glory!

Seeing Tian Yi charging in, Zhu Di sighed: “Let’s go help out.”

The fat guy wiped his face and braced himself: “Alright, damn it, let’s deal with those robots!”

He needed to vent some frustration.

Murong Yue still sat there, watching the drama unfold.

Xia Xinyan then scooted over and sat beside her: “You seem pretty laid-back.”

“They can handle it, so there’s no need for me to jump in.” Murong Yue subtly edged away a bit.

Xia Xinyan noticed her movement but didn’t call her out: “By the way, I’m curious, what do you think about this dungeon so far?”