Chapter 67: Killing Across Levels
An intense sense of danger surged through Zhou Ning. With his current mastery of Observation Haki, there was no way he could be mistaken.
The enemy had to be stronger than him—there was no other way to explain such a dire feeling. And that enemy must be hiding nearby.
Zhou Ning subtly scanned his surroundings through the corner of his eye. This road in front of Vick University was a main thoroughfare. The people passing by were all students and teachers—nothing suspicious at all.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Ning quickened his pace, his alertness growing by the second.
Leandro, not knowing what was happening, hurried to keep up behind him.
When Zhou Ning passed a shop window, he suddenly saw a man's face flash in the reflection of the glass. Without hesitation, he drew his gun and fired at the glass.
Bang!
The sound of shattering glass rang out, followed by a heavy thud in his head—it was as if he'd been struck. In the next moment, he found himself transported to an utterly unfamiliar world.
Everything here was distorted—light twisted, stones warped, buildings skewed—as if the entire environment were made of irregular blocks. Looking back, he couldn't see an exit, yet he could still see everything from the real world, including the confused Leandro frantically searching for him.
Not far off, a man with brown hair stood there, shrugging casually. "Welcome to my world."
"Elvis Bart?"
Zhou Ning was startled. For a moment, he even wondered if this guy was another transmigrator. Honestly, this pixelated world looked eerily similar to the Minecraft game he'd once been obsessed with…
This bastard had to be the source of his crisis. In their last fight, Zhou Ning had managed to injure him, but only with Sherlock's help. Elvis's true mage level had to be over 40. Now, he was considered a suspect in the attempted assassination of Charles VI, with a bounty of 1,000 Vecktas—equivalent to 10,000 Roshens.
Zhou Ning silently drew a breath. With a flick of his hand, a gun materialized in his palm. He pulled the trigger, sending a Haki-coated bullet flying straight at Elvis.
But the next moment, a chilling sense of death washed over him. He leapt back just in time to dodge a flaming bullet that shot down from above and struck the ground.
What the hell?
Sweat beaded on Zhou Ning's palm at the strange sight. Just then, he sensed another threat and whirled around—only to see a massive Bloodsucker Worm erupting from the ground, lunging at him.
Zhou Ning twisted his footing and activated [Evasive Shot], instantly teleporting behind the worm. He fired at it in one smooth motion, but strangely, the bullets veered off from another direction entirely—missing the mark.
A mocking smile played on Elvis's lips. "Don't get it yet? In this distorted world, bullets are useless. You'll never know where they'll actually go. But my spells—and my companions—can still hit you."
He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Zhou Ning's instincts flared. He ducked and rolled forward in a tight tumble.
ZAP!
A lightning bolt struck the ground behind him. Elvis's voice followed, tinged with madness:
"Now, you have a chance to live. Join us. Worship the True God Nyastora. You'll escape certain death. When the True God descends, the world will become His kingdom, and we will become angels."
[High Priest Elvis Bart of the Curse God Cult has invited you to join the Curse God Cult. Do you accept? Yes/No]
[Note: Joining the Curse God Cult will turn your reputation into Hostile in all Six Nations, and your alignment will change to Chaotic Evil.]
"No thanks, not interested." Zhou Ning curled his lip and flatly chose "No." Become an angel? What, grow wings and play guardian for you?
"What a pity."
Elvis shook his head in disappointment. Then, more Bloodsucker Worms burst from the ground around Zhou Ning. Over a dozen of them swung like pendulums as they lunged toward him. Zhou Ning flipped, sidestepped, and dove with extreme agility, evading three consecutive attacks before activating another evasion skill. He slid backward, drew the ornate rapier gifted by Charles VI, and used [Divine Departure].
A gleam of silvery sword light flashed—two worms were instantly sliced in half. But with a brittle crack, the rapier snapped in two.
Seriously?
Zhou Ning was momentarily dumbfounded. His stamina was running low, so he didn't hesitate to use a long-forgotten item from his inventory.
[Epic Vampire Zhou Ning Character Possession Card]!
[Card activated. It will now disappear.]
Zhou Ning's eyes suddenly turned ancient and profound.
He no longer dodged—instead, he dashed forward. His right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing a Bloodsucker Worm by the neck with pinpoint precision. The worm thrashed, but he had it by the throat of fate. With a heave, he flung it aside—shockwaves rippled through the air as three or four charging worms were sent flying. The others recoiled at a single look from Zhou Ning, scared into burrowing back underground.
Elvis's eyes nearly bulged from his head.
What the hell?
Everything he'd read and experienced yesterday said Wayne Sturwell specialized in firearms, with weak melee capabilities. But what was this?!
Could it be some kind of burst-type secret technique?
That had to be it! This kind of state couldn't last long.
The more Elvis thought about it, the more convinced he was. He urgently chanted a spell, conjuring red firebirds that locked onto Zhou Ning and streaked toward him.
Boom! Boom!
The birds hit dead on, flames erupting skyward.
Got him!
But the triumphant smile froze. Through the flames, Zhou Ning emerged, calmly brushing down his hat. His eyes met Elvis's with unsettling tranquility.
A drop of cold sweat slid down Elvis's face.
Before he could react, Zhou Ning was suddenly right in front of him and threw a punch.
Elvis barely opened his mouth to scream silently.
A massive psychic shockwave burst from Elvis's body, surging toward Zhou Ning. It was strong enough to reduce a normal person to a drooling fool—but Zhou Ning didn't even blink. He leaned forward and hammered a vicious uppercut into Elvis's face.
Blood gushed from Elvis's nose. He grunted in pain as his Ice Armor shattered into shards. Staggering backward, terror filled his eyes. Without that armor, he would've been killed by that punch.
Why didn't the psychic shock affect Wayne?
Gritting his teeth, Elvis teleported to a boulder, where a colorless, spiritual flame flared on his arm. Between his fingers, a dark iron-black fireball began to form. But before he could release it, Zhou Ning appeared beside him like a shadow and punched again.
One punch—just one—and the Ice Armor he'd just re-cast shattered once more. Then came a storm of fists.
After a few more blows, Elvis's body swelled grotesquely and morphed into a bloated monster covered in sinister tentacles. He tried to fight back, but was promptly smashed to the ground by a single punch—and moments later, he lay still, returned to his original form.
…
[You have slain Curse God Cult High Priest Elvis Bart (Lv. 44 Fire Mage) across levels. You gained 31,500 EXP.]
[You killed a target 30 levels above you. Bonus: 300% EXP. You gained 94,500 EXP.]
[You completed the survival quest "Survive." You gained 65,000 EXP and a temporary template card.]
159,500 EXP—this was Zhou Ning's reward for killing Elvis! With the tens of thousands of EXP he'd previously saved up, he now had enough to fuse the remaining skills needed to construct a new class.
Zhou Ning pulled out his pocket watch. Three minutes left before his main account was forced offline. He searched Elvis's body briefly, but shook his head—the mirror wasn't on him. However, he did find a key with a room number: Room 304, Green Shade Inn.
He pocketed the key and dragged Elvis's body to the world's entrance. Through a thin membrane, he could still see Leandro waiting outside, surrounded by a group of Sunwatchers and police—familiar face Sherlock among them.
Zhou Ning drew a deep breath and suddenly slammed his fist forward. A crack appeared on the membrane.
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