Chapter 245: Midway Rest

The group leaned on the railing, gazing downward, witnessing what came next.

Just as the player fell, a spatial rift appeared midair, suspended in empty space.

Hai , to catch the player, seemed as if nothing could stop it—not even falling into the rift itself.

No one knew where the other side of the hollow rift led.

In the best-case scenario, the other end opened onto the ground, allowing it to land gracefully, stepping out with calm precision.

In the worst-case scenario...

Congratulations—you’re facing a ten-thousand-meter freefall; if all goes well, you’ll enjoy a one-stop reincarnation service in under ten seconds.

As the player plunged into the rift, Hai followed right behind, and the serene music abruptly ceased—the rift vanished without a trace.

“Phew—thank goodness there was a rift below,” Ling sighed. “This thing actually got distracted by music...”

“Someone must be using Hai against us.”

Leikarn glanced around and spoke.

“Did Ren do this? No... no, that’s not right...”

Ies paced back and forth, thinking seriously.

Ye Qingfeng stood a short distance away, following their train of thought, lost in contemplation.

Without Ling and Leikarn’s Tixing , Ye Qingfeng would never have considered this angle—his mind was entirely fixed on Hai .

Like a mad scientist encountering a mesmerizing subject.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion—nearly ten shells streaked through the air in an arc, all targeting just one Bumb?

Ye Qingfeng couldn’t understand this—how is this any different from focusing on the support first in a team fight?

But Ies’s situation was different—she was sensor-linked to Ling; if Bumb was hurt, she’d feel the pain too.

Did these three rebels know this... or was it coincidence?

His thinking didn’t slow his actions—he rushed forward, grabbed Ies’s scarf, activated bullet time, and darted nimbly between the incoming shells.

He easily dodged the barrage.

Ailian waited until Ye Qingfeng and Ies were safely clear, then locked her gaze on the three rebels nearby.

They held launchers; noticing their first volley missed, they immediately fired a second wave.

Ailian sprinted straight toward them—a shell flew directly at her path, which she casually sliced apart with her blade.

The following shells she dodged effortlessly; they exploded on the ground, sending thick smoke billowing, obscuring all sight.

The distance between them rapidly closed—she gripped her hilt behind her back, waited for them to draw near, then struck with a merciless, full-force slash.

Seeing this, the rebels panicked, abandoned their launchers, and turned to flee up the stairs behind them.

What even is this? She’s practically a superhero!

Those were shells! How can you just slice them out of the air?!

Are you going to wait around to be cut in half?

But... can you even escape?

Ailian followed them inside. Leikarn’s heart sank—he parted the smoke and shouted toward the empty stairwell: “Ailian, leave one alive!”

When Leikarn entered, the scene before him made him sigh.

Ailian leaned against the wall, a lollipop already in her mouth, waiting impatiently, her weapon casually resting beside her.

At her feet lay the three fleeing rebels—looking decidedly worse for wear...

Leikarn slowed his steps, descended the stairs calmly, and checked on the rebels’ condition.

Ye Qingfeng followed behind, carrying Ies; seeing Ailian unharmed, he exhaled deeply.

“Qing... Qingfeng! Hand!”

Ies struggled violently, her tiny limbs flailing wildly, trying to break free—though it clearly did little good.

Still, it caught Ye Qingfeng’s attention.

He looked down.

Ies’s short legs kicked backward repeatedly, her arms swiping through motion trails, as if trying to pry open his palm—each time just barely missing.

“I can’t breathe, Qingfeng, let go!”

Ling said weakly.

“Sorry, sorry—I didn’t notice.”

Ye Qingfeng gently set Ies down; she offered an embarrassed smile, while Ling, now on the ground, gasped heavily as if taking deep breaths.

After all... the one gasping was the video store’s Ling—the Bumb had no respiratory system.

“Is Ling alright?”

Zhe asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, no problem.”

Ling took over a dozen deep breaths, her breathing gradually steadying, then explained:

“It was just a bit of breathlessness, plus when we came downstairs, Qingfeng moved too fast—the pressure on my neck kept shifting between light and tight.”

Noticing Zhe’s worried gaze, she added quickly:

“It wasn’t like being choked by a hand—no suffocation, no oxygen deprivation.

It felt more like a tight-fitting suit around my neck—not crushing, but occasionally yanked, making it hard to breathe, and combined with Ies being swung around by Qingfeng, I got dizzy.”

“......”

Zhe fell silent.

This was even weirder—hopefully not what he thought it was...

“Besides us, someone else was in the building—who exactly are they?”

Ling recovered quickly, controlled Ies to stand up, and stared at the three rebels, chin in hand, asking aloud.

“They won’t wake up anytime soon—let’s take them out of the rift first.”

Leikarn suggested.

Everyone agreed; Leikarn picked up two, Ye Qingfeng dragged one, and under Ies’s guidance, they left the rift together.

They left the three rebels entirely to Victoria Housekeeping’s care, then bid farewell.

Ye Qingfeng took the original Ies and headed back to the video store—sure enough, trouble erupted again...

No incidents occurred on the way; they returned safely to the store, learning that the people they’d met in the rift weren’t rebels, but armed militants.

Ye Qingfeng paused in confusion, then immediately understood.

He truly had no knowledge of this—during past rift missions, he’d encountered many soldier attacks, which Ling had explained to him.

They weren’t regular defense forces—they were deserters.

So Ye Qingfeng had always associated soldiers in rifts with rebels, since he’d never seen regular defense troops inside a rift.

In the end, it had nothing to do with him—he just wanted to rest.

Before he could even lie down, Ling and Zhe dragged him out again, saying they planned to visit Ailian, who’d helped them greatly in the rift.

They still had one bag of candy left and wanted to give it to her as a thank-you gift.

Ye Qingfeng didn’t know what to complain about.

Ailian does like candy, but shouldn’t they check the timing?

She does like candy—it’s a supply item for her; right now, she doesn’t need supplies, so she’s surely asleep in bed.

Going to disturb her now is like grabbing a tiger’s tail—you’ll die horribly!

Besides, Ling and Zhe aren’t even close to Ailian—what are they going to do, just stare awkwardly?

PS: Tap to request updates. If you don’t comment, leave a good review? (??????????????)?

Hungry~~ Food~~ (｀Δ′)!