Chapter 825
Tong You turned his head to look at the young man standing there.
It was an unfamiliar face.
“Chen Xiaolian… it’s you?”
Jiang Long looked at Chen Xiaolian and his pupils contracted. He could not tell when Chen Xiaolian had appeared there.
“You’re very surprised, aren’t you?” Chen Xiaolian smiled, spreading his hands. “You didn’t think you’d see me in this instance dungeon, did you?”
“Truly, I didn’t expect this.” The look on Jiang Long’s face instantly changed to that of a friendly smile. “I have not seen you for half a year. I thought you dead already.”
“Yes, it’s been half a year…” Chen Xiaolian murmured to himself. “It seems I have indeed been away for quite long.”
“Seeing you again makes me feel happy.” Jiang Long continued to smile. “Additionally, it seems you have become much stronger than before. During these past six months, you have obtained a new power, haven’t you?”
“Me obtaining a new power. Is it truly a happy occasion for you?” Chen Xiaolian tilted his head slightly and looked at Jiang Long with interest.
Jiang Long nodded earnestly with a sincere look on his face. “Of course! We have made an agreement to be allies. Moreover, our two sides have participated in many instance dungeons together. In there, we have been cooperating perfectly. And now, my ally has become stronger. This is naturally a good thing.”
“Is that so?” Chen Xiaolian’s gaze turned to look at Tong You, who was standing still at the door, before smiling.
“Allies, is it? Then, can you explain to me. Indiscriminately launching nuclear bombs at your ally’s location, just what kind of behaviour is that?”
“Your… location?” Jiang Long’s eyes promptly widened. “You fellows are also in the infected zone? No… you fellows are also in this instance dungeon?”
His brows furrowed and his face became filled with guilt. “Damn it! I didn’t know! Your guild should not have been selected for this instance dungeon! I…”
“Enough. There’s no need to act anymore.” Chen Xiaolian stretched a finger out and waved it.
“I have three reasons.
“Firstly, you fellows also do not belong to the North American team. Likewise, you guys will not be selected by the system to participate in this instance dungeon. You have to take the initiative to participate. Lun Tai and the others were searching the internet about information regarding instance dungeons. There’s no way you fellows didn’t know about it. If you want to tell me that you fellows did not follow them into this instance dungeon, I won’t buy it.
“Secondly, I happen to still remember, back in the Changban instance dungeon, your team had controlled Cao Cao. Regardless if it is a mental control or a body snatch, you fellows must have someone with a skill to make NPCs obey you. And now…”
Chen Xiaolian looked at Tong You, who was still standing still at the door.
“This President of the United States of America must have become your puppet, right?
“Thirdly, it is very simple…”
Chen Xiaolian’s gaze turned back to Jiang Long. He sneered and said, “I suspect you. Even if my suspicions are wrong, so what?”
“Open the door, summon the others!”
Jiang Long maintained the smile on his face, but he quickly said to Tong You through their guild channel.
Tong You hastily opened the door and rushed out.
The moment he rushed out, however, a strange feeling of spatial disorder suddenly enveloped his body.
Chen Xiaolian and Jiang Long were standing in front of him, both looking at one another.
This… what the hell is this?
Just now, he had obviously rushed outside. Why did he instead run inside?
Quickly turning around, Tong You rushed out the door once more.
However, after rushing through the door, he once again entered the conference room. Likewise, standing before him were Chen Xiaolian and Jiang Long.
“Chen Xiaolian. Looks like you have made up your mind to kill us?”
Jiang Long was no longer able to maintain the smile on his face. Instead, he regarded Chen Xiaolian with a livid expression.
Tong You, too, gave up on trying to rush out. He simply stood there, not knowing what to do.
The two of them had tried earlier. Other than the two of them, there was no response from the rest of their team members in their guild channel. It was completely quiet there.
Chen Xiaolian had sealed up this conference room’s space. No matter how hard Tong You tried, whenever he passed through the door, he would return to this conference room.
“You are so smart. Rather, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, out of all the people that I’ve met before, you are the smartest of them all.” Chen Xiaolian sighed. “So, is there even a need to ask me that question?”
“But we are allies!”
“The moment your people pressed the button to launch the nuclear bombs, we stopped being allies.”
“Very well… very well!”
Suddenly, Jiang Long shouted, “Then, this door… can you seal it too?!”
He abruptly stretched his hand backwards. As he did, a door suddenly appeared behind him.
Swiftly, Jiang Long turned the door handle while his body leaned backwards. And so, the moment the door was opened, Jiang Long’s body fell through the door.
When the door was closed, it abruptly disappeared into thin air.
From the beginning to the end, Chen Xiaolian had stayed still, not taking any action to stop him.
…
Jiang Long closed the door and gasped loudly. The calm expression that was on his face just now had completely fallen away.
Too horrifying. Chen Xiaolian had become too horrifying!
Although the two of them had met a few times in the Changban instance dungeon in the past, the Chen Xiaolian from back then definitely did not possess such a terrifying power.
He could seal up space and reverse a passage, transforming it from an exit to an entrance, making it so that Tong You – no matter how hard he tried – could not leave. This level of ability had far exceeded the limits of Jiang Long’s imagination.
Rather, he suspected that even their former Guild Leader Shen… even he may not be capable of such a feat.
Jiang Long silently counted.
Only after counting from one to ten did he release a lengthy breath.
Thankfully, Chen Xiaolian did not appear. It would seem that he was still not strong enough to enter his skill space.
Straightening himself, Jiang Long then walked forward.
The space he was in was very small, only ten plus metre square in size, like a small room.
At the end of the room was a slot machine.
Beside the slot machine were several large wooden boxes, which contained stack after stack of chips.
Light flowed in a natural manner atop the surface of the chips, like waves of water.
“With so many, it should be enough… it should be enough!”
Jiang Long quickly sat down in front of the slot machine. Then, putting his hand on the lever of the slot machine, he said.
“Let Chen Xiaolian… die!”
After Jiang Long said that, a row of numbers appeared on the slot machine’s screen.
0.00000… … …1%
The row of zeroes was so long it was nearly incapable of fitting the whole screen.
A rattling sound rang out from Jiang Long’s throat.
Although he had already known that the probability of this wish coming true was very low, seeing how outrageously low it was nearly gave him a fatal heart attack.
Never mind. I can try something else.
Jiang Long gritted his teeth.
“Let me… directly leave this instance dungeon!”
Once again, a row of numbers appeared on the screen. This time, there were a few less zeroes after the decimal point.
Only, this probability was still far beyond that which the number of chips he had beside the slot machine can satisfy.
“Let me obtain enough power to defeat Chen Xiaolian!”
“Let this instance dungeon end immediately!”
“Let Chen Xiaolian leave this instance dungeon immediately!”
…
Jiang Long pressed the lever again and again as he made one wish after another. However, the probability that appeared on the screen every time was so small that it was essentially no difference from zero.
“Let Chen Xiaolian dispel the thought of killing me!”
Finally, Jiang Long saw a probability that was – theoretically speaking – possible for him to succeed. This time, the number of zeroes after the decimal point had been reduced down to five digits.
Jiang Long looked at the boxes of chips beside him and smiled bitterly.
Hopefully… I can succeed this time!
Insert the chip, pull the lever.
Three reel slots appeared on the screen and they began turning quickly before stopping.
Unsurprisingly, the three reel slots did not stop at the same symbol.
Jiang Long inserted a chip again and pulled the lever.
His movements were not hurried. He had plenty of time.
No matter how long passed inside his skill space, in the outside world, only one second would have passed. Moreover, when he wanted to leave, the door would appear at the same place as when he entered.
Due to that, there was no way for Jiang Long to keep staying in this skill space and just wait for Chen Xiaolian to leave.
At present, he could only place his hopes of surviving on his wish coming true.
Again and again, he inserted the chip and pulled the lever. Insert the chip and pull the lever. Jiang Long felt as though his hand was going numb.
In the previous instance dungeons, he had never needed to make a wish with such a low probability of success.
Firstly, it was because Jiang Long always believed that the basis of victory should be his own mind and not on some imaginary luck. The function of his skill was to – when the plan had been determined – provide support and fine-tuning.
Secondly, in the past, he did not have so many chips that he could squander in such a way.
This time, however, he had reached a point where he had to risk it.
“Tsk, this skill is truly rare and interesting.”
Chen Xiaolian’s voice rang out from behind him.
Jiang Long’s entire body flinched. Next, he grew stiff, just like his name [1].
He dared not move in the slightest. He did not even have the courage to turn his back to look.
Cold sweat began oozing out from his back.
Chen Xiaolian… how did he get in?
This was his skill space. A domain exclusive to him. Moreover, there was also the difference in the flow of time with the outside world.
This place should have been absolutely safe!
At that very moment, Jiang Long felt like a pure young virgin girl lying naked on the bed who had just seen tens of beefy and naked men breaking into her room with perverted smiles on their faces.
Her bed didn’t even have a blanket.
“Come, let me see.”
Jiang Long heard the sound of Chen Xiaolian’s footsteps. The slow sound indicated that he was approaching. Finally, Chen Xiaolian arrived right behind him.
“Why did you stop playing? Go on.” Bending his waist, Chen Xiaolian looked at the recent combination of symbols on the screen. “Don’t you still have so many chips?”
Jiang Long continued to stay silent, not daring to speak or move.
“I’m serious here. I’m not joking with you.” Chen Xiaolian reached out with his hand to pat Jiang Long’s shoulder before moving his head to face him. “I am very interested in your skill. I want to see what it is about.”
Seeing Jiang Long continue to stay still, Chen Xiaolian extended his hand to pick up a chip from one of the boxes beside him. Carefully inspecting it, he said, “Hmm, it is cast using pure Star Sand. No wonder you bought so much of my Star Sand before this. So, it is just for these chips. I was feeling perplexed about this. If it’s simply for enhancing weapons, that amount is too high. But if it’s for enhancing big technological weapons, that amount is too low.”
“You… don’t plan on killing me?”
Jiang Long finally opened his mouth to ask in a hoarse voice.
“Right now? Naturally, I still plan on killing you. At any rate, your mind is simply too good. Moreover, did you forget that you almost killed my teammates just now?” Chen Xiaolian smiled.
“The moment you pulled out your sword, you should have been prepared for someone to slit your throat with a sword. Surely, you understand that.”
“In that case, why are you doing this?” Jiang Long laboured to say.
“Didn’t you use your skill to make a wish? As long as the slot machine hits the jackpot, it will be able to dispel my desire to kill you. I am very curious myself. How will this skill work and will it really dispel my desire to kill you?” Chen Xiaolian grabbed a handful of chips from the box and put them into Jiang Long’s hand. “Go on. This is your final chance. If it succeeds, you’ll get to live.”
“…”
Jiang Long picked up a chip and – without saying a word – inserted it into the coin slot.
He didn’t try to fight Chen Xiaolian. Even without trying, he already knew that he was absolutely no match for Chen Xiaolian.
But now that Chen Xiaolian had given him the chance, he could only continue.
At the very least, his wish-making slot machine had – thus far – never once failed.
His skill was very simple. Hold the lever, make a wish and check the probability of the wish coming true. After confirming, start putting in coins and pull the lever. Should three ‘7’s appear on the slot machine, the wish would come true.
Naturally, regardless if the wish came true or not, the chips invested would not be returned.
At the same time, no matter how long he stayed within the skill space, only one second would pass in the outside world. Additionally, no matter how difficult to realize his wish may be, the odds of hitting the jackpot would never be zero.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that, if he could obtain an unlimited number of chips, this skill was practically… invincible.
The only restriction Jiang Long faced was the number of chips.
He originally thought that he had accumulated enough Star Sand. At any rate, he would usually only make simple wishes to complement his plan.
For example, when he ordered Tong You to take over the President’s body just now, he had wished that, within a 10-minute period, no one on Air Force One would notice the Tidal Fighter flying beside it.
As the Tidal Fighter itself had a cloaking ability, it was not that difficult for the wish to come true. In the end, the jackpot probability given by the wish-making slot machine was at 3%. Jiang Long had only needed to use 20 chips to smoothly hit the jackpot.
This time, however, the odds of hitting the jackpot was too low.
It was possible that, even after using up all his chips, he would fail to see the jackpot screen.
Even so, Jiang Long could do nothing else but grit his teeth and continue.
The number of chips in the boxes gradually decreased. It did not take long before there was only less than half remaining within the last box.
Beads of sweat had re-appeared on Jiang Long’s forehead once more.
After using up all the chips, if he still could not hit the jackpot…
He would certainly die!
Chen Xiaolian had his hands clasped behind his back as he patiently watched Jiang Long, who quickly inserted a chip in the slot machine before pulling the lever.
He really thought that Shen was a very interesting person.
He had originally believed that Nightmare’s skill was already the strangest one in Thorned Flower Guild. Unexpectedly, this Jiang Long’s skill would be so interesting.
Even though it was very expensive and almost impossible to use in battle, as a Team Leader, he could combine it with an extraordinary planning ability to bring about an unimaginable result.
Shen… he’s really thinking of Thorned Flower Guild as a place for collectibles.
Finally, as the chips within the box were about to run out, the slot machine released a “ding” sound. Next, the light strips around it turned and lit up.
On the screen, all three reel slots had stopped at the 7 symbol.
Jiang Long promptly let out a cry of joy.
Chen Xiaolian had been waiting for this exact moment.
The moment the jackpot combination appeared on the screen, light suddenly flashed across Chen Xiaolian’s eyes.
At that very moment, the scene reflected within his eyes became distorted. Next, fine green-coloured code emerged from everything around him.
He watched as a line of code fluttered up from the slot machine before flying towards him.
“How interesting.”
Chen Xiaolian then lowered his head, watching as the string of green code arrive before his chest.
But he did not do anything. Instead, he simply allowed the string of code to penetrate his body.
Jiang Long stared at Chen Xiaolian, not breathing at all.
Although he was plenty confident in his own skill, at that very moment, he could not stop himself from feeling anxious.
“Right now… you no longer want to kill me, right?”
1 Jiang Long’s name can be roughly translated as Stiff Dragon. Raw: ‘僵龙’, pinyin: ‘jiāng lóng’.
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