The Duel Field

Wu Wang was well aware that Zhuge Yue's very existence was starting to affect his daily life. And if Wan Shitong, his "trustworthy ex-girlfriend," tried to mediate their conflict, it would only make that madwoman even more interested in 【Pending Death】.

He had no intention of gambling on whether Zhuge Yue would spare him for Wan Shitong's sake.

"Yan Shuangying! Do you know that Zhuge Yue only operates in urban areas?"

Wan Shitong's voice was tight, her words spoken through gritted teeth.

"Do you have any idea how much destruction a deathmatch between two high-level players would cause in a densely populated city?"

"You'll be listed as a highest-level wanted criminal by the Huaxia Abnormal Affairs Bureau! You'll have no place left in this land!"

"No! Before you can even kill Zhuge Yue, the Bureau will come and suppress you! You won't even have a chance to escape!"

"This isn't some foreign country! The power of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau is far beyond your imagination!"

She hoped that invoking the Bureau's name would make him see reason. After all, if Yan Shuangying made a big enough scene to draw their attention, they wouldn't just suppress him. Zhuge Yue would be suppressed right along with him.

The Bureau had wanted to deal with Zhuge Yue for a long time. They had only held back because she had been abroad for so long, and upon returning, she had kept a low profile in a third-tier city.

If a valid reason to suppress her finally appeared, Wan Shitong couldn't even imagine how many high-level players from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau would applaud the decision, or even volunteer to help.

At that point, they would both be utterly helpless.

"Oh? And then?"

Unexpectedly, Wu Wang's tone was incredibly calm. His eyes held an expression that frightened Wan Shitong.

It was a look of pure contempt for everything. He simply didn't care.

This is bad! she thought. He's another unhinged lunatic, just like Zhuge Yue!

"Time's almost up~" Wu Wang chuckled. "I know you plan to notify Zhuge Yue the moment you leave."

"But rest assured, I will definitely find her before you do."

"Now, the game begins."

Swoosh.

As soon as his voice fell, Wu Wang vanished from the conference room.

Wan Shitong understood immediately. He had returned to the real world to find Zhuge Yue.

There's still time! He's just bluffing! How could he possibly find Zhuge Yue faster than I can notify her through my friends list?

She quickly sent her message.

But it was like a stone sinking into the sea. There was no response.

Reality, Mingyang City.

Wu Wang's eyes shot open. He was back in his rented apartment.

At that exact moment, a small bell by his bed chimed, and a familiar figure appeared in the doorway. A silvery, bell-like laugh echoed from her lips.

"Yoo-hoo, I thought you'd transmigrated to another world and weren't coming back~"

"What? You just couldn't bear to leave big sister..."

Swoosh.

Before she could finish, Zhuge Yue froze. The person standing by the bed was not the 【Pending Death】 she remembered.

Instead, it was 【Yan Shuangying】, the man who had gotten the better of her in the 【Instance Scramble】.

How could he be here!?

In the instant she was stunned, Wu Wang thrust a strange card into the ground as a dark object rolled out from beside his feet.

【Duel Field Card (Legendary, Consumable Item)】

Use this magic card to designate a target for a duel. Both you and the target will be exiled to an Alternate Dimension, where any effects you produce will not affect the outside world. Lasts for sixty minutes.

【Note. A sacred duel must not be sullied by outsiders!】

Of course, Wu Wang had considered Wan Shitong's warning. A crucial reason he decided to attack Zhuge Yue on sight was that he possessed a 【Relic】 from the Scramble capable of shielding them from the outside world. Now, even if their duel turned the world upside down, it wouldn't cause any real destruction.

【Legendary】 grade items were much less rare than 【Skills】 and 【Equipment】, since they were consumables. Zhuge Yue probably had a few herself, but it was unlikely she possessed 【Legendary】 grade skills or equipment. Something like Wu Wang's 【Eye of the Prophet】 was a once-in-a-lifetime find.

Still, this didn't change the fact that the 【Duel Field Card】 was an absurdly powerful item. It didn't specify the target's level or a way to break its effect. In other words, if Wu Wang wanted to, he could force even the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 into a one-on-one duel.

Win or lose, it could restrain even a being of that magnitude, if only for a second.

Therefore, even if Zhuge Yue had a 【Legendary】 item, she had no way to escape this duel field. It wasn't a seal or a curse that could be removed with 【Purification】. It was a fundamental change to their environment.

BOOM!

A massive explosion roared through the room, followed by Zhuge Yue's furious curse.

"Are you fucking crazy? Who shoves a 【Holy Hand Grenade】 in someone's face the moment they meet!"

The object Wu Wang had thrown was his last remaining 【Holy Hand Grenade】. The item had directly triggered one of Zhuge Yue's protective effects. Otherwise, she would have already been reduced to ashes.

Yet, despite the blast, nothing in the room was damaged. Not even a single tear appeared on the curtains.

This was the power of the 【Duel Field Card】.

Their current state was called an 【Alternate Dimension】, but to put it bluntly, they were simply on a different 【Layer】 from reality. The surrounding environment hadn't changed, but they could no longer alter it, and outsiders could no longer observe them. 【Legendary】 items often involved effects that could directly alter the laws of reality, and right now, their effect on the world had been nullified.

Amidst Zhuge Yue's curses, dense stars appeared in the sky overhead as a foul mire spread across the ground. She instantly felt a powerful restrictive force, her speed nullified as she was held in place.

A figure appeared behind her, taking her down with a sudden, professional cross armbar.

"You!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Before she could say anything else, the stars filling the sky rained down like meteorites, viciously impacting the spot where she stood. Without the 【Duel Field Card】, the entire building would have been razed to the ground.

【Stuck in a Quagmire (Fine Quality)】

Creates a mire that prevents normal movement. Creatures trapped within will suffer a rapid decrease to all 【Agility】-related stats. Duration is one minute.

【Son of the Plane's Meteorite (Epic)】

Summons a large number of starry meteorites that hang in the sky for five minutes. During this time, any moving target will be locked onto and struck by a heavy blow from the stars.

【Note. This skill originates from the battle hailed as Transmigrator Wang vs. Son of the Plane Liu.】

"Something's wrong! I can't sense his attacks!?"

Zhuge Yue's figure reappeared a hundred meters away, the hairpin on her head inexplicably broken. That was clearly the piece of equipment that allowed her to teleport, an ability that wasn't affected by the mire's restrictions on 【Agility】.

What she found strange wasn't that 【Yan Shuangying】 had managed to track her down. Plenty of people wanted her dead, and she was occasionally attacked by other players.

But this time was different.

From the moment he appeared until now, her 【Peter's Tingle】 hadn't triggered once. It was as if these fierce attacks weren't aimed at her at all, as if they carried not a single shred of malice.

And yet, two of her life-saving measures had been blown through in an instant. Wasn't that malicious enough?

The failure of 【Peter's Tingle】 made Zhuge Yue deeply uneasy. This time, it seemed he was for real.

"But... since escaping the research institute, which of the attempts on my life wasn't for real? I can't even tell which ones are the researchers."

"!"

The sudden sound of her own voice made Zhuge Yue shudder. She was shocked to realize her mouth was moving uncontrollably, speaking of things from the depths of her heart that she never wanted to recall.

Looking up, she saw a red koi suspended in the air above her, dancing. The truly sanity-draining part was the fish itself. Its fins were unusually large, like wings, and on its forehead were six rolling eyes. Each eye conveyed a look of pure mockery. It was hard to imagine how a fish could express such vivid, human-like emotion.

【Six-Eyed Flying Fish】!

"【Peter's Tingle】 failed? Oh dear~ What happened~ How do you think I did it~"

Yan Shuangying's taunting voice sounded from behind her. She didn't have time to deal with the fish.

When Zhuge Yue whipped her head around, she was greeted by five 【Epic】-grade items exploding in her face.

"You m-f..."

In an instant, her curses were drowned out by the overlapping sound effects.

This sudden assassination attempt was unfolding in a way Zhuge Yue couldn't comprehend. A song of blood and fire had begun to play, and it would only end when one of them was completely gone.

The conductor of this symphony, Wu Wang, twisted his broken body and stood up from a sea of fire. He looked like a demon from hell, spewing flames as it crawled up to the human world through a fissure.

This was his third revival.

It seemed Zhuge Yue still hadn't figured out how he was bypassing her 【Peter's Tingle】. Before she did, he had to burn through the rest of her life-saving equipment.

Everything was proceeding according to the predictions of the 【Eye of the Prophet】.

I will win...