Chapter 15: Sneak Attack

No wonder everyone here looks so crazy; from the moment I woke up, several people have tried to deceive, entice, or directly snatch my time.
Even that Bai Yuan didn’t spare Liu Ming’s one month of time.
This is probably because at the end of each month, three hundred years of life are deducted!
Among the newcomers who survive each month, I imagine many get cheated out of decades of life without understanding why, only to realize at month’s end that they’ve been fooled—their investment will never pay off.
“They don’t even tell newcomers anything, huh.”
Yang Zicang ended the Mental Link with that child, and now he felt more than ever that this place was no longer a normal society.
Knock knock knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in.”
The door creaked open.
An elderly woman, dressed in worn clothes and looking aged, someone he had saved yesterday, stood at the door with an apologetic and polite tone, saying:
“Thank you, Mr. Yang. Yesterday…”
Suddenly, Yang Zicang felt his phone begin to vibrate slightly, its screen flickering into a mess of spots, as if the chip were malfunctioning.
His expression changed sharply.
This woman in front of him didn’t have a model yet!
“Get out!”
The woman froze for a moment.
She saw that the phone in the man’s hand was emitting faint, dark red wisps of mist, and an ethereal, faint heartbeat echoed in the room.
Remembering the exhortation from the master of this place last night, she said fearfully, “Could it be, could it be that what they said is true? I came close to these…”
“Get out! Quick!”
Yang Zicang quickly threw it into the box that Chu Qiang had given him, pressing it down as tightly as he could.
He grabbed the box and rushed out past the woman. As he approached her, Yang Zicang felt the box shake, as if something inside was striking against it.
……
The off-road vehicle weaved between the dilapidated buildings.
Yu Fei on the car was fondling this precious Splintered Frequency Crystal with great interest.
“Boss, although we got the Frequency Crystal, that A-grade Modeled Device won’t be easy to secure.”
Yu Fei sighed, tucking the Frequency Crystal into her arms, and gazed at the road receding before the car.
“Even if the ability persisted after turning a Nightmare Rampage into a Modeled Device, it would still be greatly reduced. Too bad about that Zhang Fei Helmet. Anyone able to invert defenses through millennia of timeline flow would be a treasure. Even making it into a Modeled Device to perfectly preserve a single effect would be tough.”
“But having it is still better than nothing.”
One person in the car said, “We need to come up with a way to get it. If it can also defend against timeline attacks, stabilizing the A-grade Splintered Plane would just be a matter of minutes.”
Yu Fei’s face showed a contemplative look.
The man behind him let out a sinister laugh: “Brother Yu, although Yang Zicang is a Quadrilateral Model, his ability is just a scrap of a defense type. Anyway, the car hasn’t gone far yet. Leave me here, and when he comes out, I’ll tie him up and bring him back for you.”
The model on his chest flickered, and a long coil of rope beside him lifted one end like a snake, twisting it upward.
“I think it’s doable!” The young man beside him let out a chuckle.
“Let Old Yuan tie that kid up and bring him back, and we can apologize to those big shots.”
Yu Fei, who had been hesitant, nodded at these words. “Stop the car. Old Yuan, be careful. Oh, and take this telescope—don’t get too close to them.”
“Telescope? No need. This road is the only way they can come. You go ahead; I’ll wait here for a couple of days.”
He grabbed a bag of food and a few bottles of mineral water, coiled the rope, and jumped out of the car.
Yu Fei raised two fingers to his temple in a salute, then waved. “We’ll be waiting for your good news.”
Yuan Fubin watched the off-road vehicle, covered in a few patches of scales, speed away. He raised the rope in his hand and quickly dashed toward a building at the side of the road.
……
After running for about ten minutes, Yang Zicang slowed down, panting heavily. The box in his hands had stopped shaking.
“So desolate.”
The city had become lifeless; the bustling illusions of yesterday had already faded like smoke and clouds.
Occasionally, tremors and explosions could be seen and heard from afar, echoing through the vast, empty streets under cover.
Unbeknownst to Yang Zicang as he hurried forward, on a distant high-rise building, a stout figure was watching him through a telescope.
[I’ve sensed a kindred spirit craving support.]
A folding line shot toward him.
[Who can throw some investment my way? I’ve run into two big guys.]
Yang Zicang merely sensed the other party’s image for a moment before cutting it off.
Today’s sequence couldn’t be used recklessly.
After advancing a few more li, Yang Zicang arrived at an area that was clearly a jarring patchwork.
Here, the sky bridges, floors, and roads all came to an abrupt end ahead.
It was as if some divine force had carved out a stretch of kilometers between two cities, then pieced them together like square puzzle tiles.
“Such power is truly magnificent.”
Yang Zicang reached out and touched the boundary—only a few centimeters wide, yet stretching endlessly left and right—then stood up, walking onward while gazing into the distance.
Where should he toss this demonized phone? What a pity about the memories of Earth stored within it…
A figure followed him from afar. The man in black sportswear and sunglasses muttered inwardly:
[His goal is clear, like he’s heading somewhere specific. When should I plant the mark on him?]
Seconds later, he calmly muttered to himself:
[Yeah, I’ve got it.]
Suddenly, his eyes widened in alarm as he spotted a rope shooting out from a dilapidated building in the distance.
“Is that Yuan Fubin from the Shennv Brothers Alliance?”
……
Something foreign suddenly burst forth from the building.
Catching sight of the rope hurtling toward him, Yang Zicang reacted as if his mind had an innate, heightened sensitivity to such trajectories—the model ring on his chest flared with light.
[Dispatching!]
[I, the Great Quadrilateral, have consumed 2R.]
Whoosh! The rope twisted abruptly in front of his body, as if two forces were vying for control.
Yang Zicang retreated several steps. A tall, lean man with shoulder-length hair stepped out with a faint smile, a model aura glowing on his chest:
“Not bad, your ability even comes with control over ropes? Seems like you’re destined to be my underling.”
“It’s you!”
“Don’t think about sniffing around—yes, I’m a member of the Shennv Brothers Alliance. Around here, anyone who sees me, Yuan Fubin, calls me Brother Yuan. By then, my cut will probably be ten times greater than yours.”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Join our team and hand over that Zhang Fei armor. Otherwise, you won’t get a single unit of timeline power for months.”
That basically means letting me wait for death by the end of the month!
Yang Zicang’s heart was racing with panic as he darted his eyes left and right, glancing around.
Suddenly, the box in his hand gave a slight tremor.
……
The rope floated beside Yuan Fubin without any wind, like a sentient bond, staring at him in a way that sent chills down his spine.
A faint, hazy white glow began to illuminate along the rope.
{Fubin, you’re in luck—that guy came out so quickly.}
[He’s even carrying his luggage, hahaha, classic sign of him coming to join us.]
{Luggage? Oh, that box, I recognize it.}
Yu Fei spoke from the other side of the Mental Link:
{There are magical runes inscribed by Zhao Anlong inside this box. It’s even more precious than Yang Zicang himself. Bring it back to us intact.}
Yuan Fubin’s eyes lit up as he let out a sly chuckle.
[Don’t worry. I’m cutting the link now, or I won’t be able to outbid him for this little thing during financing.]
The instant the link was severed, the rope shot forward with a sudden lurch.
Yang Zicang’s gaze was fixed intently on his opponent, ready for anything.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The rushing rope was suppressed by an invisible force, slapping against the ground. At the same time, a golden phantom light flashed from Yuan Fubin’s hand as he charged forward.
“Give it up! There’s no escape! Hahaha!”
The wooden crate Yang Zicang was holding began to slow him down, and he suddenly felt the pressure mounting.
“Who’s taking whom—let’s see about that!”
Amidst a chaotic clatter, Yang Zicang hurled the crate forward.
Seeing the wooden crate take flight, a look of wild ecstasy spread across Yuan Fubin’s face. The rope, which had been hovering near Yang Zicang, snapped back and was directed by his control to coil around the airborne box.
Having taken two steps away, Yang Zicang glanced back as the ring on his chest began to glow.
[Dispatch!]
The two snap locks on the wooden crate had already been opened at the moment it was thrown. Accelerated by the dispatch ability, the crate seemed to be propelled upwards by some force, shooting into the air!
Clothing, earrings, belts, shoes, papers, and other items scattered from within. Amidst the debris, a dark, sulphurous object plummeted sharply downward!
The rope swiftly bound the box, and with a motion of Yuan Fubin’s finger, it was pulled downward.
But at that moment, Yuan Fubin seemed to hear countless “jingle jingle” and “buzz buzz” ringtones.
They sounded densely within his heart! These originally beautiful sound waves became shrill, as if someone were dragging sharp nails across glass, making one want to scratch their ears and temples.
Thud! The phone, emanating a thick blood mist, smashed into Yuan Fubin’s face but did not continue to cut downward.
“Ah!”
Squish, squish. From within the discolored phone, several root-like things quickly pierced his skin.
“This… is… phan… tom…”
Yang Zicang, seeing that thing instantly embed into Yuan Fubin’s face in the distance, felt a violent shock in his heart.
“Evil phantom, this is the evil phantom, so terrifying!”
Without looking back, he ran towards the distant stairwell, and behind him, wave after wave of hair-raising aura surged rapidly.
“Ugh, ahh! Save…”
Yuan Fubin rolled on the ground, his face rapidly emitting a golden faint glow, but it grew dimmer and dimmer.
……
Yu Fei, who was about to return to the station in the distance, suddenly connected to a strand of Mental Link thread. However, the information within it was somewhat disordered.
“Did Lao Yuan succeed?”
The person in the car sensed this faint thread, like a cobweb, shooting toward them.
“Probably should be.”
The next second, this thread suddenly spread to the chests of several people and burst into bright light, like a flickering, trembling electric filament.
{Help me!}
Everyone’s expressions shifted.