Chapter 789 April 21st, Morning

The S3 finals from the day before were still fresh in his mind.

Even the members of [Order], who were veterans of countless battles, were undoubtedly affected emotionally after Brother Jue defeated Gui Xiao. Adding to that was the factor of “artifact countering”… Although they had some brilliant moments in the later matches, the final result was as Meng Jingchan had predicted… [Order] was no match for [Hell’s Frontline], and they missed out on the championship.

[Hell’s Frontline], this non-professional team, had achieved two consecutive championships under two completely different competition formats in S2 and S3, making them the center of attention.

However, in the post-match interview, Feng Bujue, as the captain and spokesperson, attributed most of the credit for the victory to Xu Huishang, stating that their entire team were just casual players riding on her coattails.

This kind of statement, along with Brother Jue’s usual annoying behavior… the contrast made it really hard for people to guess what he was thinking.

Of course, it was right that they couldn't guess; the unfathomable one was Feng Bujue, after all.

People’s discussions about the match and the entire Pinnacle of Glory S3 would obviously continue for quite some time. However, for Feng Bujue, those things were no longer his concern.

What he was interested in now was… Derivers, Thriller Paradise, Fate… what would become of these things that had basically lost their value to the gods and demons?

Bang bang bang—

At around eight in the morning, Brother Jue and Ruoyu were sitting at the dining table eating soy milk and fried dough sticks when suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Saying it was a knock was actually more like a “pounding” or “banging” on the door.

The person outside was clearly very anxious; the frequency and speed of their pounding on the door were very fast. To make an analogy… it was like someone outside a public restroom stall, holding it in until they reached their limit.

“Hmm?” Feng Bujue, already showing a puzzled expression, stood up and muttered, “Something’s not right…”

Indeed, something was wrong. The building he lived in had a complete access control system and intercom, so normally there would rarely be anyone directly knocking on his door.

“Who is it?” Brother Jue asked, raising his voice as he walked toward the door.

“It’s me!” A girl’s voice came from outside.

Feng Bujue had heard this voice before. Although he wasn't familiar with the person, he immediately realized who was outside.

Two seconds later, Brother Jue was already behind the door, looking out through the peephole… Sure enough, standing at his door was a girl in a school uniform, around thirteen or fourteen years old.

This girl lived on the twelfth floor of the same building. Since they were both high-rise residents, Feng Bujue had naturally encountered her and her parents in the elevator. They were the kind of neighbors who “didn’t really talk, and didn’t know each other’s names (actually, Brother Jue knew her name, because he had investigated all of his neighbors and knew everything about every household in the neighborhood; the other party also knew Brother Jue’s name, because Brother Jue was very famous now, and had also had some notoriety due to the police station and neighborhood committee’s publicity… of course, they had never actually introduced themselves to each other and formally met), but because they were neighbors, they nodded to each other as a form of greeting.”

*Ka-*

Without thinking too much, Feng Bujue opened the door and said seriously, “Is something the matter?”

The reason he asked this question was because Brother Jue had already made a series of inferences and analyses about the situation in his mind. He thought that if a child suddenly went to knock on the door of a neighbor they barely knew, it was likely that there was an emergency at home… such as an elder having a sudden illness, a fire breaking out, or some other emergency. Unable to cope with the situation, she was seeking help from the nearest adult.

However, the girl’s next reaction greatly surprised Feng Bujue.

“It’s me! It’s me!” She actually stepped forward, grabbed Brother Jue’s collar, and repeated that sentence twice in a tone that was clearly not in line with her age.

This strange behavior made Feng Bujue frown. “You are…”

“I… I am…” The girl undoubtedly wanted to answer this question, but the words reached her lips and she didn’t say them… or rather, she “couldn’t say them.” Moreover, at that moment, a very strange, electronic-like noise came from her throat.

“Who is it? What’s going on?” At this time, Ruoyu also walked out of the living room and came to Brother Jue’s side.

“I… can’t… tell… you… those…” Each word that came out of the girl’s mouth was separated by static, as if she was talking on a bad radio signal. “She… doesn’t… allow… she… is… coming…”

While speaking, her hands were still tightly gripping Brother Jue’s clothes, as if she was afraid he would disappear from her sight.

“No… time…” As she spoke, she suddenly raised her other hand.

In that instant, white light appeared on her open palm. Just like equipment generated in the game world of Thriller Paradise, the white light quickly condensed, turning into a bare, forked branch that wasn’t very long.

“Keep… it… safe… only… it… can… stop… fate…” In the girl’s next words, there was more and more static, and it was almost impossible to make out the words.

Trembling, she stuffed the branch into Brother Jue’s hand. Then, a dazzling white light burst out from her eyes…

The flash lasted for about three seconds. Then, the girl’s body went limp and she fell forward.

At this moment, it was Ruoyu, with her martial arts training, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed. Before the girl hit the ground, she leaped forward in one stride, kneeling and catching her in her arms.

“Yunyun, are you okay? Yunyun?” Ruoyu looked at the girl in her arms and hurriedly called out to her several times. Obviously, unlike Brother Jue, Ruoyu had had some interactions with the little girl, so she directly called her name.

“Something’s not right…” At this moment, Feng Bujue stared intently at the branch in his hand and muttered thoughtfully. Then, he looked at Ruoyu. “…Help her to the sofa and lie down. This matter may be very serious. We have to contact your grandpa quickly…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ruoyu had already picked up the girl and headed toward the sofa. After Brother Jue moved aside to let her pass, he also closed the door and went straight to the dining table, preparing to get his phone.

Just as Feng Bujue picked up his phone and pressed the dial button, suddenly…

A strange “*poof*” sound came from outside his line of sight.

The sound was familiar… In the game world, he had heard this sound countless times—the sound of flesh being pierced.

“Haa… uh…” Immediately afterward, two painful groans were heard.

In that instant, Feng Bujue turned his head woodenly, following the sound.

When Ruoyu, her chest pierced and already lying in a pool of blood, entered his vision, a feeling that hadn’t visited him for a long time returned.

At this time, the girl who had just been unconscious was standing indifferently beside Ruoyu, looking down at her blood-stained hands.

A moment later, as if sensing Feng Bujue’s gaze, she looked up and focused her eyes on the branch in Brother Jue’s hand, saying, “It seems ‘She’ was one step ahead of me…” She paused. “That’s fine, it saves me a lot of trouble.”

As she spoke, she stepped over Ruoyu on the ground and approached Feng Bujue. “Give me what’s in your hand, and I can let you…”

She didn’t finish her words, because as she said this, Ruoyu, who was dying on the floor, reached out and grabbed her ankle.

“Go…” Ruoyu’s face was pressed against the ground, which was stained red with her own blood. Although she was too weak to lift her head, the “go” that she had said with all her strength was obviously meant for Feng Bujue, who was a few meters away.

“I’ll give you the thing, you save her!” Feng Bujue looked at the other party with cold eyes, his trembling voice suppressing despair and anger.

“You have no right to bargain with me.” As the girl spoke, she forcefully lifted her right leg, easily shaking off Ruoyu’s grip. Then, she quickly rushed toward Feng Bujue.

Brother Jue picked up a dinner knife from the table and prepared to fight her, but he quickly realized that it was futile…

The great force coming from his wrist instantly made him understand that he had no chance of winning, but he still stubbornly resisted until his hand was broken.

The girl snatched the branch from his hand and turned away, her speed of action and the strength she displayed… were no longer at a level that humans could achieve.

“Haa… haa…” Enduring the severe pain from his wrist, Feng Bujue gasped for breath and staggered toward Ruoyu.

He crawled to her side and hugged her with his uninjured arm.

She was still breathing, but she couldn’t last much longer.

“It’s okay… I already got through on the phone, the people from the Ninth Division will be here soon! Hold on!” Feng Bujue held her in his arms. At this moment, his body was trembling uncontrollably, while Ruoyu was no longer moving much.

“I…” Ruoyu seemed to want to say something, but when she uttered this first word, she knew that she could no longer say even a single syllable.

Even the blood from her wound had stopped flowing.

Using her last bit of strength, Ruoyu squeezed Feng Bujue’s hand. Her bright eyes had never been as affectionate as they were at this moment. If she could, she really hoped she could use her eyes to tell him that her seal had long been broken.

But in the end, the light in her eyes dimmed…

…………

When Gu Chen personally led the team into the room, Ruoyu’s chest was no longer rising and falling, and her body temperature was gradually fading.

Feng Bujue was still sitting on the ground, holding her, without moving.

His eyes were as dead as hers.

“Can she still be saved?” This was the first sentence Feng Bujue said after seeing Gu Chen.

Gu Chen looked at Ruoyu’s body with a solemn expression for a few seconds, then shook his head.

Hearing this, Feng Bujue was silent for a moment, then slowly lowered Ruoyu.

He stood up, walked to Gu Chen, and extended his injured hand: “Heal me.”

He didn’t even ask the other party a question like “Can you heal me?”, but directly made a request.

“What do you want to do?” Gu Chen didn’t waste any words. As he grabbed Feng Bujue’s wrist, he asked.

“Go to Dream Inc.” Feng Bujue replied.

“What do you plan to do when you get there?” Gu Chen asked again.

“Heh…” At this moment, Feng Bujue suddenly smiled. His smile… was more manic than ever before. “I don’t know… isn’t that more interesting?”