Chapter 42: Grand Peking Opera Stage – Come If You Dare

On the stage, the sound of gongs echoed as Mr. He, clad in opera attire, stepped forward with a theatrical spear in hand.  

“Swish, swish…”  

Several figures leaped through the air. The dwarf, accompanied by three massive centipedes and a towering plunder-type player, landed on the stage and stood beside Mr. He.  

Opposite them, Ren Ye, Gu Nian, Xu Peng, the red-dog-transformed Huang Wei, and three Vigil Keepers initially displayed expressions of fear before instinctively closing ranks.  

Ren Ye, anxious, turned to Gu Nian. “Is my dad here?”  

“He is, but he’s in Room 501, not the missing Room 601,” Gu Nian replied, her eyes fixed on the dwarf, her brows furrowed slightly. “I’m not sure why.”  

Upon hearing this, Ren Ye immediately suggested, “Then let’s not get bogged down here. Let’s retreat and get my dad first.”  

“We can’t leave.” Xu Peng’s face was grave as he stared at Mr. He. “His supernatural ability… it’s peculiar. I just tested it secretly—until he finishes his act, we won’t be able to step off the stage.”  

Forced combat?  

Damn it!  

Ren Ye felt restless, deeply concerned about his father’s safety.  

“We have reinforcements outside, and more will arrive soon,” Gu Nian said in a low voice. “Let’s end this quickly!”  

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy to end quickly,” Xu Peng muttered, still focused on Mr. He, his eyelid twitching uncontrollably.  

Across from them, the dwarf licked his lips. “Sir, Prisoner Maiden is breaking through with the others. We’re here to assist you.”  

“Tap, tap…”  

Mr. He stood tall, kicking his robes with the poised demeanor of a great opera warrior. His eyebrows twitched, and he raised his spear high, reciting in a resonant, theatrical voice:  

“Breaking through Cao’s formation in the dead of night,  

When dawn comes, my lord shall return to light.  

I’ll charge into Cao’s camp, no matter the fright,  

Seeking the whereabouts of our masters and young lord’s plight!”  

As the operatic verse concluded, drums and gongs erupted into a crescendo.  

Clang, clang, clang!  

Mr. He suddenly stepped forward, his spear striking like a dragon, his tone sharp: “Filled with courage!”  

“Whoosh!”  

With those words, his aura transformed, as though fully immersed in the theatrical role, and he charged straight at the Vigil Keepers.  

Xu Peng turned and raised his hand to chant:  

“Benevolent hands and heart, miraculous healing art—Rejuvenate!”  

A surge of Stellar Energy radiated outward as two beams of light wrapped around Ren Ye. He instantly felt invigorated, his body relaxed. Looking down, he noticed the cuts and injuries on his arms and body had completely healed, vanishing in mere moments.  

True skill from a master healer!  

Ren Ye turned to Xu Peng. “Thanks!”  

“You’re welcome. You focus on fighting…” Xu Peng replied and immediately withdrew to the edge of the stage, staying cautious.  

As a first-stage player, Xu Peng’s supernatural abilities were more suited for minor poison attacks or support, with little combat prowess to speak of.  

“Argh!”  

Nearby, the red-dog-transformed Huang Wei let out a distorted scream, his face contorted in pain. Gathering the remnants of his rationality, he locked onto Mr. He, who was charging forward.  

“Challenge Accepted—Unyielding Duel!”  

The energy and malice from Huang Wei fixated entirely on Mr. He. The red dog leaped into the air, wielding a massive sword, and slammed toward him like a cannonball.  

Boom!  

One tall and one short, one airborne and one grounded, collided violently.  

The battle on the opera stage had officially begun.  

…

Outside the building.  

Under cover from two companions, Prisoner Maiden was making her escape.  

At this point, no one would be foolish enough to use Ren Daguo as leverage or attempt hostage negotiations.  

Experienced criminals know a simple truth: the longer negotiations drag on during a kidnapping, the tighter the authorities’ net becomes, dramatically increasing the likelihood of failure.  

Moreover, historical crime cases show that public hostage-taking with a successful escape occurs in less than one in ten thousand cases.  

With Vigil Keeper reinforcements possibly arriving at any moment, there was no time for chatter. The best chance lay in breaking out first—only then could the hostage serve any purpose.  

Prisoner Maiden, with her supernatural abilities skewed toward destruction and crime, excelled at escaping. Leaping from the window of Room 501, her body didn’t plummet rapidly but twisted upward instead. Her feet landed against the building’s outer wall.  

From a distance, the woman’s body formed a straight line, her face tilted upward as she stepped onto the building’s outer wall, sprinting vertically up toward the rooftop.  

Huang Wei had brought eight Vigil Keepers in total. With five forcibly drawn onto the stage, only three remained outside to maintain control. Seeing the woman attempt to escape, they immediately moved to intercept her.  

“Stop them!”  

The woman, carrying Ren Daguo on her back, turned and shouted to her two companions.  

“Bang, bang…!”  

Two Chaos Faction players descended from above, blocking the three Vigil Keepers and engaging them in battle.  

“Swish!”  

Reaching the rooftop, the woman smiled slightly, her red lips curving upward as she broke into a sprint with Ren Daguo still on her back. Her movements were light and agile, like a seasoned thief darting through the stormy night.  

Below, the three Vigil Keepers were still entangled with the two reckless Chaos players, unable to give chase for the time being.  

“Tap, tap…!”  

The woman’s eyes locked onto the edge of the Wordless Stele’s boundary, her heart pounding wildly. Just a little more… a little faster, and she would break through.  

Outside the Xinyuan Spa, the disembodied soul of Little Wolf Warrior, who had been preparing to flee, suddenly froze.  

He turned his head toward the rooftop, spotting the woman dashing with Ren Daguo on her back, and felt a surge of irritation.  

“Swish!”  

Releasing his perception slightly, he sensed at least six Vigil Keepers within two kilometers rapidly closing in. However, by the time they arrived, the woman would likely have already escaped.  

“Damn it!”  

Gritting his teeth, Little Wolf Warrior stared intently at Ren Daguo and cursed, “Seriously? Fine, fine. I’ll help you this one time…”  

After some internal deliberation, he decided to return, speeding toward the rooftop at a remarkable pace.  

As the distance closed, he raised his hand and called out, “Dear paper wife, bite her!”  [Paper wife is a popular term in China which is equivalent to the term waifu.]

“Swish!”  

The woman, still sprinting, felt a chilling wind sweep across the back of her neck. She whipped around and saw a beautiful ghostly figure flashing her a sly smile.  

So that’s the reason.  

For the past two days, she had felt inexplicably cold drafts on her neck, along with a persistent soreness. Despite numerous attempts to pinpoint the cause, she hadn’t realized there was a ghost clinging to her shoulder.  

“Whoosh!”  

The ghost opened its mouth wide behind her and inhaled sharply.  

Pure Yang energy, thick and condensed, surged out of the woman’s body and was instantly sucked into the ghost’s maw.  

Her body weakened, a shuddering chill overcame her soul, and she began to convulse, her vision turning blurry.  

In midair, Little Wolf Warrior hurtled toward her while rifling through his mental inventory. “Not this one… this isn’t worth it… Damn, this would be such a waste…!”  

His inventory was filled with an assortment of bizarre and valuable items, a testament to his wealth and extensive resources.  

On the rooftop, the sensation of her soul being drained intensified. The woman’s face turned an ashen blue, her body pale. She could already foresee her impending death.  

“…Burglary!” She stammered, preparing to activate her supernatural ability again.  

“This will do.”  

Little Wolf Warrior reached down toward his waist, pulling out a large, ancient-looking hammer with noticeable damage. He flung it into the air.  

“Swish!”  

The massive hammer streaked across the sky.  

The woman, dazed and drained by the ghost’s attack, was unable to dodge.  

Thud!  

A muffled sound echoed as the hammer struck her head, instantly shattering it.  

Yet the silvery hammer did not stop. As though imbued with life, it continued, barreling toward her chest and heart with unrelenting force.  

Little Wolf Warrior’s soul form landed on the rooftop, his spectral body momentarily solidified by a cascade of white light that gathered around him.  

“Clap!”  

He then nudged Ren Daguo off the ground with his foot and shouted playfully, “Off you go!”  

Unconscious, Ren Daguo’s body tumbled over the rooftop wall, hurtling downward toward the ground below. Suddenly, at the height of the fifth floor, he vanished.

On the stage below, Ren Daguo reappeared with a sudden whoosh, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Dad?!”  

Dodging attacks from a giant centipede, Ren Ye cried out in shock.

Back on the rooftop, Little Wolf Warrior retrieved the ghost with a small, ornate bottle before swiftly retreating, heading straight for the nearby spa building.

…

Inside the Xinyuan Spa, Room 302

A group of massage therapists stood frozen by the bedside, their hands over their mouths, eyes wide with terror. 

The spa’s female owner leaned over the massage table, gently placing a hand near the elderly man’s nose.

Silence. Absolute silence.

The slightly plump therapist stared blankly at the man, already envisioning her impending prison sentence. Yet, she protested tearfully:  

“…I swear, I hadn’t even started yet… I only massaged his legs—it wasn’t anything intense… and now he’s dead…!”

“This is a disaster! I told you—no one over sixty-five gets the special treatment!” the owner snapped, distraught. She glared at the plump therapist.  

“You’re really risking it all for a few extra bucks, huh?!”

Suddenly, the faint ghostly figure of Little Wolf Warrior flew through the wall, barely holding itself together after the earlier battle. He dove into the old man’s body.

“Ahhh!” The plump therapist wailed louder.  

“I only touched his legs—normal legs at that!”

“Cough! Cough!”  

Abruptly, two muffled coughs broke the tense air.  

The women froze, their faces paling even further before stepping back in fear.

“Huh?”  

The elderly man slowly came to, groaning as he looked around at the room full of terrified women. His expression twisted in disbelief:  

“What the heck? You said ten extras… is this what you meant?!”

..

On the Opera Stage

Performance Magic – Ring of Fire!  

Blood Sacrifice – Catastrophic Destruction!  

Prop – Snow Prison!  

Charm!

The Vigil Keepers unleashed a relentless barrage of abilities and tools, all directed at Mr. He. Control spells, offensive powers, and mystical items rained down on him in a chaotic assault.

Boom! Boom! Boom!  

The air reverberated with dull, thunderous echoes of stellar energy clashing.

Xu Peng, utterly powerless in combat, did his best to evade the fallout. Despite his frantic dodging, the shockwaves still rattled him, causing him to cough up blood. Desperate, he hastily swallowed a couple of brown pills—uncertain whether they were poison or medicine—to sustain himself.

As the dazzling light of their combined attack faded, Mr. He’s figure reappeared. He stumbled back a few steps, his opera robe in tatters. Two of the small flags behind him had been destroyed, and even the leather envelope he had tucked away—a recent purchase from Little Wolf Warrior—slipped unnoticed from his grasp.

The envelope fluttered to the edge of the stage, landing beneath a drum kit, its position well hidden. Consumed by the battle, Mr. He remained oblivious.

Nearby, Ren Ye stared at Mr. He, dumbfounded and deeply shaken.

This man… he had to be the strongest opponent Ren Ye had faced since encountering the Star Gate.  

As long as he stood on this stage, it was as though he gained some sort of combat boost. His speed, attack power, and mystical abilities—everything was amplified to an absurd degree.

Even with Huang Wei, the only tier-2 player among them, leading the charge, their combined six- or seven-man attack barely scratched him. At most, they managed to leave him looking slightly disheveled.

“The target is on stage,” the dwarf player said grimly, glaring at Ren Daguo lying on the ground.  

“Prisoner Maiden is probably done for. Let’s go all out!”

At the center of the stage, Mr. He fixed his gaze on Huang Wei and the others, his eyes showing not a hint of fear. Instead, he roared boldly:  

“I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan!”  

“Seven Entries, Seven Exits!” [Charge and retreat 7 times, is basically what it means.]

Boom!  

A wave of chilling killing intent exploded from Mr. He’s body.

With a flourish of his spear, he charged forward once more, forcing the dwarf and a looter-class player to fight with everything they had.

As the chaos erupted anew, Ren Daguo remained motionless on the ground, while the envelope that had fallen earlier began to quiver slightly. A faint white glow emanated from it.

Flash!  

The light flickered and vanished. Astonishingly, the information stored within the envelope had been completely replaced.