Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Elsewhere.

Having separated from Fang Zhou, the Red-White Machine returned to its abode. Just as it entered, its wristband beeped with a notification.

"Communication network reconnected, central system Jacob at your service."

"Welcome back."

"You have a video communication message, would you like to connect?"

The Red-White Machine flopped onto the sofa, burying its face in the cushions, and muttered, "Connect."

After a series of electronic crackles, a holographic screen projected from the wristband's chip.

"Fie Star, how is the progress?"

A girl appeared on the holographic screen, cutting straight to the point like a commanding robot.

Had Fang Zhou been there, she would have recognized the face on the screen as the military-uniformed girl she had seen during her visit to the park.

"If there's no new lead this time, cease the investigation. The Governor has instructed you not to waste time."

Fie Star, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, abruptly raised her head and exclaimed, "Mile, did you badmouth me to the Governor?!"

Mile remained silent, using her silence as a speechless response. After a few seconds, she continued, "If there's nothing else, I'm going to end the call."

"Wait, there is a lead, a real lead this time," Fie Star said discontentedly. "Tell the Governor to give me one more week."

"Also, can you look up this person for me?" She sent a photo to Mile, the person in the picture was Fang Zhou, with whom she had made a deal today.

Mile responded indifferently, "Understood."

The holographic screen vanished, and the room returned to its quiet state.

……

……

With one day left before the second discussion meeting, Fang Zhou went alone to the place where Lu Feilan had previously taken her to buy the wristband.

Passing through the familiar alley, she stopped in front of a store with a black sign, lifted the curtain, and walked in.

Inside, only Uncle He was present. He yawned and looked at Fang Zhou casually. Recognizing her as the person Lu Feilan had brought last time, he frowned and asked.

"What do you want to buy?"

"I'm looking for some kind of auxiliary equipment that can help increase my grip strength," Fang Zhou got straight to the point.

The Line Python could somewhat compensate for her physical weakness, assisting her in tasks that required strength. However, now she couldn't summon the Line Python at will, her actions were quite restricted, hence she needed a practical auxiliary device.

Last time, when she came here with Lu Feilan, she noticed many combat-type equipments that seemed like discarded junk. Just like Uncle He wouldn't openly sell unbranded wristbands, Fang Zhou guessed the real merchandise wasn't the mechanical scrap displayed outside the shop.

This time, she planned to sneak into the discussion meeting. The situation inside was unknown, so it was best to prepare as much as possible.

Uncle He looked up at her and asked, "How many points do you have?"

Fang Zhou replied, "I only have 150,000."

The Red-White Machine had transferred 300,000 to her, of which she gave 240,000 to Lu Feilan. With the remaining 60,000, plus the points she earned from completing bounties in the Fourth Dimension, she had a total of 150,000 points.

"150,000?" Uncle He remarked, "At that price, most of the combat equipment is outdated and of mediocre quality."

"Can I take a look?"

"Come with me," Uncle He stood up and led Fang Zhou through a small door on the right side of the shop.

The space beyond the door was vastly different from the exterior, several times larger, without any mechanical debris scattered around. The walls on both sides were lined with neatly arranged blast-proof glass cabinets, each housing an array of pristine and diverse mechanical equipment, accessible only through high-level iris recognition.

Besides the dazzling array of equipment on both sides, the central open area had various devices for testing the equipment.

Fang Zhou's guess was correct. A vendor in Shelter 004 selling unbranded wristbands surely had more than just that. She wondered how Lu Feilan came to know him.

As she was still looking around, Uncle He took out a very ordinary-looking mechanical armguard from a corner cabinet and handed it to Fang Zhou.

Fang Zhou slipped it onto her arm. In its inactive state, it perfectly covered her wrist and half of her forearm, easily concealable as an ordinary wristguard.

Once activated, the device morphed at the wrist and arm ends, extending to cover her hand and entire arm. Fang Zhou clenched her fist, not quite used to the sensation of being enveloped by cold metal.

"This auxiliary hand's grip strength can only reach 500KG," Uncle He handed her a two-centimeter-thick iron bar, "Check if there's any issue with the equipment."

Skeptically, Fang Zhou tried squeezing it with one hand and astonishingly bent it.

...Such a punch could directly explode a normal human's head.

Is this really just a lower quality auxiliary equipment? What level could the higher quality ones reach?

She came here hoping for a bit of luck and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Although it wasn't as convenient and flexible as the Line Python form, at least she wouldn't be completely defenseless in close combat.

Fang Zhou was very satisfied: "I'll take this one."

She didn’t remove the auxiliary arm, wearing it directly on her arm as she left through the inner door and transferred the points to Uncle He.

Just as Fang Zhou was about to leave, Uncle He suddenly asked, "How do you know Xiao Lan? Are you his girlfriend?"

Fang Zhou stumbled in her steps, reluctantly explaining, "No, I'm just his companion."

"Oh," Uncle He didn't inquire further.

As she left, Fang Zhou couldn’t help but wonder, what was Uncle He's identity to possess so much equipment and remain unscathed in Shelter 004?

This question was not something she should delve into. It was enough that she had found what she wanted.

That evening, as she entered the Fourth Dimension, a barrage of messages from the Red-White Machine bombarded her.

Red-White Machine: [Are you there?]

Red-White Machine: [Hey—It's already evening!]

Red-White Machine: [Where are you? Didn’t we agree on you giving me the address and time today?]

Red-White Machine: [Is it because the points aren't enough? We can negotiate, you know!]

Red-White Machine: [Address, address, address, address!]

……

Even through the screen, it felt incredibly noisy.

Fang Zhou frowned and sent a time first.

One Punch to Burst the Earth: [Paradise time 20:30]

One Punch to Burst the Earth: [Transfer half first, I'll give you the location once it's received.]

Less than a minute after she sent the message, one million points were credited to her account.

This guy really never learns... It's a miracle he hasn't been completely swindled in this world yet.

One Punch to Burst the Earth: [312 Suzaku Road, Tonghua District]

Red-White Machine: [The remaining million will be transferred to you tomorrow after I confirm everything is in order.]

It seems he's not hopelessly naive.

Fang Zhou set the time half an hour later than the start, sensing that the Red-White Machine was somewhat unreliable. She planned to sneak in early herself, wary of him potentially causing trouble.

Exiting the chat interface, the screen switched to the homepage of the Fourth Dimension, with three blue blank panels floating. Looking at the second chat panel, Fang Zhou couldn't help but think of gaming forums.

Since leaving Shelter 001, she hadn't entered the gaming forums again.

She speculated the reason was her lack of interaction with "important characters." Her previous appearances were tied to either Fang Xunjiang or Caesar's storylines. With Fang Xunjiang as the protagonist, players' focus followed him, and the tripartite perspective only extended to significant side characters. With no scenes about her, there was no discussion on the forums, hence no access was granted to her.

This gave Fang Zhou a headache. She still had many unresolved queries about the forums. Could it be that she could only access them after finding Fang Xunjiang?

The next day, Fang Zhou arrived early at the designated address.

312 Suzaku Road was an abandoned opera house, still bearing the old world name with "International Grand Theater" as its suffix.

This location was near the boundary between Tonghua District and Black Lion District, unlike the bustling Wanle Center where the first meeting took place, and was mostly deserted.

She first dispersed her Line Python to scout the area, keeping her distance from the theater to avoid suspicion and using the Python to observe passersby.

As time passed, people began to arrive hesitantly, seemingly sensing danger and impropriety, but without exception, after lingering for a while, they all entered the theater.

Fang Zhou noticed these people carried the same type of card that Li Baizhi had given to the doctor and the middle-aged man, leading her to guess it was equivalent to an invitation.

After a while, Fang Zhou focused on a man holding a card, still some distance from the theater.

Using her enhanced speed, she silently approached him from behind, raised her hand equipped with the auxiliary armguard, and delivered a karate chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out instantly.

"Wow," Fang Zhou exclaimed in surprise.

Without the auxiliary armguard, even attempting to knock someone out with her own hand would have been a struggle. Experiencing real strength from her own body for the first time in this world, Fang Zhou felt extremely satisfied and began considering getting a full set of similar gear.

She effortlessly dragged the unconscious man to the side with the assisted hand, took the card representing the invitation to the second discussion meeting, and searched his belongings for any identification.

After finding nothing of note, Fang Zhou gave up, left some Line Python to guard the area to alert her of any changes.

She then transformed herself to look like the man and confidently walked into the theater with two other arrivals.

Inside, she found the interior of the theater in a slightly better state than the exterior. The grand chandelier in the entrance hall illuminated the entire foyer, and the tiles on the floor shone under the light.

There were two main halls, one a concert hall and the other an opera hall, both doors currently shut and inaccessible.

All the invited guests were gathered in the foyer, looking around bewilderedly at each other, strangers with no interaction, all in mutual unfamiliarity.

She quickly estimated that there were about forty to fifty people present. The doctor and the middle-aged man also arrived, with the man whispering something to the doctor, who then gave an awkward smile.

The second meeting was four to five times larger than the one she had attended. From that meeting, with nine participants, two were selected as suitable; this time, it seemed like many more selected individuals were gathered together…

Apart from Li Baizhi, they must have other recruiters.

After a while, the hall’s clock struck eight, its loud chimes echoing in the foyer.

No one had arrived to greet them yet, and dissatisfied murmurs rose among the crowd.

"What's going on? Is there no one here to meet me?"

"What time is it already..."

"If no one comes soon, I'm leaving. What a waste of my time!"

"Everyone!"

At this moment, a man dressed in a black-and-white tuxedo, with both hands wearing

YH

white gloves, walked out from the locked opera hall. He shouted loudly while raising both hands to attract everyone's attention.

Fangzhou followed his gaze and saw several familiar prompts floating around him.

[Character: Devourer]

[Body Damage: 50% (can be usurped)]

"[Symbiotic Alien: Swelling Rat]"

"Fang Zhou: '...'"

"'Welcome to the second meetup of 'Night's End'. We deeply apologize for the wait,' he bowed to the audience and continued, 'Please enter with your invitation cards.'"

"The heavy doors of the opera hall slowly opened, revealing a space large enough to accommodate hundreds, even thousands, that was eerily empty. The lighting was dim, save for a bright column of light falling onto the center of the stage."

"With a 'might as well since I'm here' attitude, everyone began to enter, Fang Zhou included, handing her card to the man in the tailcoat before proceeding."

"'Please choose your preferred seats,' the man in the tailcoat continued."

"In a hall with thousands of seats, most chose the middle rows. Following the principle of staying inconspicuous, Fang Zhou sat amidst the crowd."

"Once seated, the lights above suddenly went out, leaving only the spotlight on the stage."

"Confused murmurs from the audience grew louder. Suddenly, music started playing from around, and four people appeared on stage, backs to the audience. Two were in military uniforms, one in lavish attire, and the last in tattered beggar's clothes."

"It seemed like the beginning of a play, but the attendees of the second 'Night's End' meetup were there for a purpose, not to watch such a 'farce'."

"An impatient individual blurted out angrily, 'What the hell is this? Weren't you supposed to solve my problem? Who the hell wants to watch this crap!'"

"Meanwhile, Fang Zhou was not concerned about whether they were staging a play. She noticed that each person on stage had familiar notifications above them."

"[Role: Devourer]"

"[Body Damage Level: 20%]"

"[Role: Devourer]"

"[Body Damage Level: 70%]"

"[Role: Devourer]"

"[Body Damage Level: 30%]"

……

"This was the first time Fang Zhou had seen so many Devourers!"

Including the man in the tailcoat, there were now five Devourers present in the space.

Most importantly, the silhouette of a woman in tattered clothes on the stage, with [Mesmerizing Butterfly] clearly written on her symbiotic alien form, identified her as Li Baizhi.

And Fang Zhou felt a faint connection with her.

This was similar to her first chase of subject 256, feeling a weak link to the alien creature inside it.