Chapter 80: Transcendence

"The Special Affairs Bureau can't yet restore her to normal life."

At this, Yuan Zhixia’s expression turned serious: "On one hand, her body has fully transformed into a spider-creature, and spider nervous systems are distributed throughout the entire body—it’s nearly impossible to transfer the brain intact into an artificial body."

"On the other hand, her 'existence' has been consumed by the inverse-meme spider. Even if we returned her to her family, they would suffer psychological trauma due to cognitive dissonance. For now, there’s no better solution—she must live within the Special Affairs Bureau."

Li Cheng caught the key word: "Temporary?"

"Mm."

Yuan Zhixia nodded: "Currently, the player population in the Killing Field is pyramid-shaped: over 70% are Lv1–Lv15, 19% are Lv15–Lv20, 8% are Lv20–Lv29."

"Lv30 and above? Worldwide, there are only about fifteen hundred such people—each one a core member of their respective guilds."

"As for the max level, Lv40, they’re practically indistinguishable from gods in public perception—reviving the dead and regrowing flesh is routine."

"There are many ordinary people like Yang Ling who, due to sudden accidents, are forced to leave normal life behind."

"Many are protected by the Special Affairs Bureau, waiting for its top experts to emerge from the Killing Field, so they can resolve these cases with minimal cost and effort."

Li Cheng asked: "So it sounds like the Special Affairs Bureau’s experts don’t stay in reality often?"

Yuan Zhixia shrugged: "Mm. Top-tier transcenders, merely by existing, act like massive anomalous energy reactors—they easily attract rifts and trigger anomalies in the real world."

"Besides, for them, exploring the Killing Field, seeking hidden realms, even searching for the legendary [Origin House] that can alter worldlines—that’s what truly matters. They can’t escape the Killing Field’s control; true transcendence is the goal."

She paused slightly, then said seriously: "At your current level, you’ve probably completed two or three scenario missions already. According to data from major guilds, your next one is likely a standard Killing Field exploration mission."

"Aside from Lujie as a neutral zone, the Killing Field itself has no friendly-fire safeguards—every player and every construct you encounter could be an enemy. You must be extremely cautious."

"Here, take these Bluetooth earbuds. Wear them if needed—they might help."

【Item Name: Ten Thousand Eyes Communication Earbuds】

【Type: Worn Item】

【Quality: Common】

【Effect: Customer Service Call. Press the button to dial the Special Affairs Bureau’s customer service desk in the Ten Thousand Eyes Room. She will provide you with real-time, zero-delay, god’s-eye-view surveillance footage and guidance for up to thirty minutes.】

【Cost: None】

【Cooldown: 30 hours】

【Equipment Requirement: None】

Note: The customer service representative is a real person with emotions, not an AI program—so be polite and gentle, and frequently use “please” and “thank you.”

Note: Absolutely forbid idle chatter with the customer service representative—it wastes her time! This is not a joke!

【Note: The above note doesn’t apply—those with high emotional intelligence and pleasant voices may engage in light, polite conversation.】

【Note: Special Affairs Bureau standard issue. If you find one, return it promptly to the nearest Special Affairs Bureau office—reward guaranteed.】

What the hell is this? These notes feel so familiar—why can they even be edited?

Aren’t these earbuds made by the Special Affairs Bureau themselves?

And that last line—“If found, return immediately to the nearest Special Affairs Bureau office—reward guaranteed”—is definitely a sting operation, right?

When you show up to return it, a squad of heavily armed men will definitely jump out from behind the door, right?

Even though Li Cheng had grown accustomed to the Killing Field’s occasional bursts of dark humor, he still couldn’t help twitching his eyebrow. He tucked the wired Bluetooth earbuds away and gave Yuan Zhixia a sincere nod: "Thanks."

"One thing at a time. Now that the official business is done, let’s talk about our personal matter."

Yuan Zhixia set her teacup on the desk, rolled up her sleeves, and smiled at Li Cheng: "Heh, back in the Shadow Realm, you called yourself Da Zai Zhi, showing off, right? Let’s spar—I want to test out the Special Affairs Bureau’s mixed martial arts."

"Huh?" Li Cheng hesitated: "Let’s not fight. Our school uniforms are expensive. I need to wear mine for the Gaokao."

"Huh? Why wear your uniform for the Gaokao?"

"Because during Gaokao season, if you wear your uniform and claim you’re a student taking the exam, you can ride police vehicles for free. I tested it in my past life—it’s true. The only regret? I never tried it at the airport to see if I could fly for free."

"Ah, speaking of which, I just remembered two friends—an American athlete and a Russian chef—both died in a plane crash. By now, they’d be four and one years old, respectively."

"???"

“Big Kobe, Big Prigozhin,” Yuan Zhixia suppressed her urge to retort and launched a flurry of punches—fast as wind and rain—each move precise: Wing Chun, Baji, Changquan, Tai Chi—all executed flawlessly.

A day ago, Li Cheng might have relied on his superior agility to dodge. Now, he casually activated his Multi-Threaded Brain Domain Technique. His working memories operated like CPU threads, simultaneously processing the situation—and he blocked every punch, even the slower ones.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhixia stepped into Tai Chi’s circling footwork, slipped behind Li Cheng, rose slightly on her toes, twisted sharply, and delivered a high side kick toward his shoulder.

Thwack.

Li Cheng didn’t use any strength beyond normal human limits—he casually caught her slender calf, clad in white cotton leggings.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhixia slapped the desk beside her, her petite frame snapping upright. In midair, she wrapped both legs around Li Cheng’s head, arched her back, and attempted to use her body weight, gravitational potential, and centrifugal force to fling him away.

This move is a technique in mixed martial arts—it can become a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu triangle choke, cutting off blood flow to the neck and rendering the opponent unconscious.

Or, as she did now, it can hurl the opponent into the ground, dragging them into ground grappling, where size and strength advantages matter less.

But Li Cheng stood perfectly still.

The weight difference between them was too extreme—Yuan Zhixia simply couldn’t throw him.

The scene froze. She remained arched backward: "Bro, can you just cooperate for once?"

"Shit," Li Cheng snapped to attention. "Go! Ignore it!"

He shouted, leapt into the air, and spun her around once.

Something like this—

Li Cheng landed on both feet. Yuan Zhixia finally understood the gap in their physical capabilities. She silently climbed down from his shoulder, gathered her bag and teacup, bowed her head, and sprinted out of the classroom. At the bottom of the building, she leaned against the wall and vomited.

That backflip had been too intense—she barely avoided throwing up last night’s dinner.

"A true match of equals, a perfect clash of champions."

She muttered softly, wiped her lips, and walked toward her electric scooter parked in the bike shed.

(More this afternoon)

(End of Chapter)