Chapter 129: Princess

After completing the last regular mission, Su Jie applied for a friend slot with Li Cheng based on the mission log's teammate records, so they knew each other's IDs.

"Master Pi Fu? What are you doing here?"

A hesitant voice came from inside the door: "No, how do you prove you're real?"

Li Cheng was baffled. "No need to prove it—I'm wearing a Daoist robe."

Duizhan Qibing's eyelid twitched. "He's asking if you're a real human, not a Daoist 'true person.'"

"Hey." Li Cheng waved his hand casually. "How's Felix doing?"

The Special Affairs Bureau had abducted a strange entity named Felix Taylor—a detail known only to those who participated in the mission. Even some bureau agents assigned to clean up the scene might not know.

"It really is you." Su Jie exhaled deeply. "Wait a moment."

The men's restroom door opened from inside, revealing a row of unknown-model anti-personnel directional mines. Anyone attempting to force entry would be blown to pieces.

Inside the restroom, besides Su Jie, there were two others: a round-faced man in his thirties and a young woman in her twenties with an oval face, their clothes stained with blood, expressions terrified, faces pale, unhealed scars visible on their necks—all matching Li Cheng's description.

"Two ordinary humans?" Bai Lang asked in a low voice. To confirm his identity, he displayed his player ID; others followed suit.

The two ordinary people hiding behind Su Jie breathed rapidly; their muscle contours showed no signs of training, and their pupils were still slightly dilated from recent massive blood loss.

"Wu Hengcai, corporate executive. Ding Shaoxia, college student."

Su Jie gave a brief introduction and smiled bitterly. "Do you remember the earthquake that struck Yin City recently? That quake wasn't without consequences—some ordinary people vanished without a trace. The Special Affairs Bureau assumed they'd been dragged into the Killing Ground, but actually, they were trapped here."

"Wait—"

Elliot frowned, interrupting. "You mean they've been trapped in the amusement park for nearly half a month?"

"Not that long. For them, less than an afternoon has passed." Su Jie shook his head. "An hour ago in the real world, I was at the eastern earthquake zone, investigating with my Mobile Task Force colleagues, when I was suddenly teleported here and received a mandatory system mission to escape the amusement park."

Wu and the others, as ordinary humans, received the same mission—but with an additional reward: if they escaped from here, they'd be granted player status.

"Receive the mission first, then become a player?" Elliot asked, puzzled. "Is that even possible?"

"Rare, but it's happened before."

Father Andre, who had barely spoken until now, suddenly said: "This situation means the local environment is lethally dangerous to ordinary humans."

"And to the transcendent as well," Su Jie said helplessly. "After encountering Wu and several others, we were attacked twice. First by dolls without eye sockets. Second by Merida from the animated film Brave."

After several people died, we scattered and hid here."

Brave is an animated film produced by Pixar under Disney; its female lead, Princess Merida, has curly red hair and excels with a bow.

"Isn't Merida also a Disney princess?"

Elliot asked, puzzled. "Rule Six of the Visitor Guidelines says: 'If you see a princess character in a parade float, remain stationary.' Running would violate the rules, wouldn't it?"

Su Jie was about to explain when his expression suddenly changed. He raised both hands and activated a skill, summoning a phantom bronze bell around himself.

Ding ding dang, ding ding dang.

The cheerful symphony sounded especially loud and jarring in the silent amusement park. A steam-train-shaped ornate parade float suddenly appeared at a nearby intersection. Eleven dolls stood atop it—classic Disney characters like Buzz Lightyear and Donald Duck. Among them, surrounded and guarded, stood a red-haired princess in a blue robe, holding a bow.

The bow-wielding princess—Merida from Brave—showed no hesitation. She raised her Scottish longbow, expressionless, drew, and aimed directly at Su Jie, firing an arrow.

Shuuu—

The piercing whistle of the arrow was sharp and brutal. The arrow, moving so fast it left only a blur, slammed into the surface of Su Jie's bronze bell phantom, sending him flying backward, crashing headfirst into the innermost wall of the restroom.

The bronze bell phantom shattered like an eggshell. Su Jie scrambled to his feet, ignoring the blood spurting from his lips, shouting: "Split up and run!"

Then he led the way, leaping over the wall and sprinting away from the float in the opposite direction.

The two ordinary people in the restroom, Wu Hengcai and Ding Shaoxia, imitated Su Jie and scrambled over the wall to escape.

'What the hell, they're just running?!'

Duizhan Qibing was utterly stunned. Just moments ago, everyone present had displayed their IDs and levels. Su Jie claimed to be a member of the Special Affairs Bureau's Mobile Task Force and was currently level 10.

Six players averaging level 10, if coordinated well, could easily crush a small warlord. Was it really necessary to flee at the sight of a parade float? Not even the slightest intention to resist.

Duizhan Qibing's question was answered quickly: after failing to kill Su Jie and letting him escape, the red-haired princess Merida remained expressionless, nocked three arrows onto her bow, and fired.

The first arrow targeted Bai Lang, who stood motionless. A thin red snake slithered out from beneath his black robe, hissing silently at the arrow and releasing an invisible energy wave.

The arrow's trajectory was disturbed, grazing the edge of Bai Lang's black robe by a hair's breadth before embedding itself in the hardened concrete ground, leaving only the fletching exposed.

The second arrow aimed at Father Andre, who drew two longswords from his waist, crossing them horizontally and vertically before his chest to form a cross.

Qiang!

The arrowhead clashed violently against the sword blades; the terrifying kinetic force behind the arrow shoved the priest backward ten meters, his feet dragging two deep grooves across the ground.

Worse still, the fragments of shattered arrow shaft exploded like shrapnel, embedding deeply into the priest's cheeks, shoulders, and torso, leaving horrific wounds.

The third arrow targeted Elliot, who refused to wait passively. He slammed his briefcase-shaped battlefield artillery onto the ground and aimed it at the float.

Boom!

The seemingly compact briefcase fired a 105mm high-explosive shell. The shell spiraled through the air and collided with the arrow two meters in front of Princess Merida, detonating with a blinding fireball.

The entire float was pushed backward, but through the blazing flames and thick smoke, all of them clearly saw: Merida, having taken the full force of the 105mm high-explosive shell, had merely stepped back two paces, her robe slightly charred.

"."

The expressionless red-haired princess drew another arrow from her quiver.

Seeing this, Duizhan Qibing finally understood why Su Jie had run. This princess's casual auto-attack was equivalent to a main battle tank's cannon shot, and her defense was as tough as reinforced concrete fortifications.

What the hell is even the point of fighting? I'm out!

"Run!" He activated his skill, his body dissolving into green data as he fled.

"What the hell, Qibing, you're abandoning your teammates!" Li Cheng's voice sounded utterly shocked.

"Abandon? Are you kidding? Aren't you running too?!" Duizhan Qibing glanced at Li Cheng, who was fleeing alongside him, and felt nothing but exasperation.