Chapter 519

However, when many young people gather, it gets lively; by the time it disperses, it's already late night.

After conscientiously sending them back to their respective residences, Ji Ming alone walked the road back to the Clinic.

Even in a bustling commercial street, at this time it's inevitable to feel a bit quiet.

Thus, walking quickly on the wide sidewalk, feeling the taste of alcohol in his mouth, Ji Ming couldn't help but sigh.

How come I suddenly feel like I'm getting old too? Ah, it seems I'll be twenty-nine next month...

Unfortunately Ji Ming is destined to be someone who can't get into a literary mood; because this melancholic atmosphere had just been set up, he only felt a gust of weird wind whooshing by, and then suddenly a pouring rain fell from the sky.

Ji Ming: ……

Damn it!

Since he's already soaked, he simply didn't hurry home, opened his umbrella and started strolling in the rain.

According to the explanation of those little guys, AdaiEr seems to have left Sunshine City and gone to some unknown place on the barbarian plains.

Given Ji Ming's understanding of her temperament, it's likely eight out of ten that after hearing the Deep Forest people had appeared in the Radiant Capital Region, her PTSD flared up, and she intends to sharpen her knives and build a Gundam.

Ah, since the target is unclear, we'll have to go to the barbarian plains and cast a wide net; considering the forest's area, I estimate I'll be busy.

So tonight I won't rush; I'll peacefully return to the Clinic to rest for a night, and fly there early tomorrow.

But although he has made peace with himself, Sunshine City's changeable weather refuses to comply.

Because he was silently calculating in his heart, this thief-like rain that seemed to have come specially to ambush him actually stopped again.

Shit!

Ji Ming cursed angrily, put away his umbrella, hurried a few steps, turned the corner, and saw that at the end of the road, two people seemed to be standing at his Clinic's door.

But they weren't strangers; they were buddies.

On the left is Bishop Stirling, who started a comeback from middle age, now dressed in fine clothes and riding angrily, his walk even carrying a hint of ostentation.

On the right is Boris the cheetah-man, still serving as president of the Adventurers' Association, whom players call the YangYue Mission King.

Ji Ming had returned; how could they not come see him in person? The three then began a late-night chat in the unlit Clinic, like dormitory banter among guys.

But now everyone's careers are on track, so there's not much to complain about; they merely exchanged their aspirations.

Stirling does not plan to return to the Royal Capital; relying on his iron-fisted anti-crime efforts, he has made a name for himself among the Pioneers and intends to stay here, acting as a lubricant between the Pioneers and the Church to reduce their conflicts as much as possible.

And after experiencing successive betrayals, Boris, who survived the great chaos only by sheer luck, has also learned to take it easy; he's even found a suitable marriage partner and is preparing to enjoy a peaceful life with wife and kids on a warm kang.

With Boris providing a bottle of Reyno whiskey, Stirling providing a plate of cooked beef, and Ji Ming providing a plate of peanuts.

When the whiskey bottle was emptied and the plates cleaned, that day's chat was over.

Alright, tomorrow is a workday, everyone has their own business, let's leave it at that, meeting adjourned!

But before leaving, Stirling suddenly turned around, pulled Ji Ming aside, and told him something.

Indeed, it was AdaiEr's specific whereabouts.

Although she didn't even tell the apprentices at the Clinic about this, fearing an accident, she ultimately informed the more reliable Stirling.

And upon hearing the answer to that question, Ji Ming's whole person went dumbfounded.

What? She… she got mixed up with the YangYueExternalAffairsBureau?

I have to say this little girl is quite cunning; while Lao Nv Shi hadn't yet left Sunshine City, she put on a meek appearance and spent all day squatting in the Clinic, training apprentices.

But as soon as Lao Nv Shi left, before even the next day, she immediately became a hands-off manager, pushing all the work onto the apprentices without saying anything, and even fled with her first-generation armor bucket!

However, since she ran to the External Affairs Bureau, Ji Ming naturally subconsciously wanted to ask Cang Lang about it.

But upon second thought, feeling that as a player, or rather as an informant's cover, he suddenly inquired about AdaiEr's affairs…

Seems a bit inappropriate?

Moreover, while he was still calculating this matter, he suddenly thought of another, more important matter.

Whether in the underworld or the orthodox path, the disguises he arranges for himself are numerous, and there are plenty of players who can play opposing roles in conflict dramas.

Besides the little boss, there is actually another person who knows exactly who the middleman is among those few.

【Aurora, is AdaiEr with you?】

But this time there was no reply, and I don't know if she's resting, busy researching rune materials, or just…

Alright, if I can't catch AdaiEr, I can't catch you either?

So the next morning at dawn, Ji Ming left Sunshine City at lightning speed, mounted a heavenly horse and flew toward the barbarian plains.

He originally planned to make an urgent eight-hundred-li dash, flying straight to the research base in one go, but while flying, a flash of light suddenly dazed his eyes.

Looking down puzzled, he discovered that this group of players, for some unknown reason, were urging him to quickly come down from the sky.

What's wrong, did they write your family's name in the sky?

How could Ji Ming tolerate that? He immediately… kept flying with his head down.

Grandpa has no time to play with you guys, so I'll arrogantly ignore you.

If you've got the ability, fire cannons at me… holy shit, you really are firing!

Indeed, after flying only a few hundred meters further, a booming cannonade came from the ground—that was several anti-aircraft guns firing.

Damn it, are the players' tech advances this fast, even whipping up anti-aircraft fire for me?

This can't really be blamed on the players' heightened vigilance; mainly, the Wolf Prince's earlier leading of elite forces to assault the barbarian plains was too terrifying.

From Axi Bao's perspective, our entire army was wiped out, leaving only myself fleeing back in a sorry state.

But to the players, it's unbelievable that a single person could nearly carve through an official ruling domain—that's simply a monumental disgrace!

Moreover, today they can field hundreds of elite troops who can tear apart Silla tanks as if entering an uninhabited land.

Tomorrow they'll be able to send eight hundred wolf soldiers to march on the mountains, causing ten thousand players to lose their courage.

The day after tomorrow, who knows what will happen—I daren't even imagine!

And anyone who's played Red Alert 2 knows that if you wait until you hear the Kirov reporting, then frantically scramble for anti-air defenses and search all over for that side's position, it's usually already too late.

So although in the previous battle the wolf soldiers showed no aerial power, the players still took precautions, having set up anti-air defenses in advance in their respective homes.

Just a few days after it was built, hey! Something that can fly actually came flying over!

"Fire! Bring out all the cannons and hit them hard!"

But even if the players develop as quickly as possible, they still haven't found oil, so they still can't unlock the atomic age.

Plastic, missiles, satellites, nuclear weapons—if this set of gear isn't complete, the players' tech level is stuck at WWII. Since Ji Ming has no intention of dive‑bombing or ramming himself, he naturally stays soaring high above, keeping a safe distance from the players.

Therefore, these battleship‑style anti‑air guns can only fire wild misses; there's really nothing else they can do.

Seeing the players' aim, as sharp as Bald Strong's, Ji Ming, who had been wondering whether to raise a shield, finally put his mind at ease.

After calming the Pegasus with a simple suggestion, he continued flying forward amid the roar that sounded like a welcoming salute.

As it turns out, this group of players might really be sick—the boss wasn't planning to attack them, yet they all begged the boss to unleash an area‑of‑effect attack.

Not only did they not let him go at full speed, but relying on his high vitality, he carried an anti‑air gun and began a bizarre walk‑and‑attack maneuver.

Moreover, more and more players came from afar with heavy cannons to bombard him, and even the magic‑driven tanks struggled to raise their gun barrels, trying to join this gamble.

Seeing this, Ji Ming was dumbfounded, wondering what was going on—were the shells free, or were they just trying to settle the score?

Wait a minute, could it be…?

He threw a spear and shattered a stray bullet that had luckily almost hit him, and a sudden suspicion arose in his mind.

He simply didn't rush to the Foreign Affairs Bureau; instead, he urged his Pegasus toward where the gunfire was thickest, determined to see just how many teeth the tiger in the mountains really had.

This terrified the players on the ground, who panicked like ants whose nest had been stabbed; even without saying more, the anti‑air fire became much denser.

Furthermore, after realizing that conventional tech weapons couldn't stop the enemy's invasion, a powerful force from the magic side finally appeared.

But no matter what, they couldn't escape Ji Ming's powerful divine sense from his 300 wisdom, so as soon as they entered the battlefield using superpowers, he had already locked onto them from afar, discovering that the one about to face him was…

"Holy shit, a pig is flying in the sky!"

Indeed, that guy wearing pink tights and a Superman‑style outfit is actually a big black guy weighing at least half a ton.

Moreover, with the enemy right in front of them, they had clearly taken to the skies for battle, yet they were still chewing on a donut slathered in thick cream, oil dripping from their mouths.

This in fact gave Ji Ming time to examine the number and value of the buffs on the opponent, leading him to conclude that the opponent must be a member of the new‑generation super‑powered special forces.

Although it was a bit nauseating to watch, the opponent still bore the White Eagle's brightest emblem, so Ji Ming still wanted to see just how strong the players' individual capabilities really were.

Therefore, he didn't rush to imitate his countrymen and unleash the laser eye of the Saint's Judgment for a brutal finish; instead, he wanted the opponent to make the first move.

But this title, clearly imitating Superman—the Sugarman—obviously didn't realize that the enemy was doing this to let him have his way.

Not only did he not rush to attack, but he leisurely finished his last bite, then raised a nonexistent neck and demanded.

"Hmph… you! Where did you come from? How dare you invade our White Eagle military base!"

Since he intended to cross hands with the players, Ji Ming had naturally already adjusted his appearance to that of the Shadow God's Chosen, a shadow death knight.

Hearing this, he neither got angry nor argued; instead, relying on his current dark form, he twisted his distinctive accent and dealt a direct true damage strike.

「demn~areyoufatpig？」

The thing a thief hates to hear most is the word 'steal', and the Sugarman is no exception.

So this remark made him spit out the donut fragments in his mouth, and without even wiping the cream from his lips he started cursing.

Moreover, his opening move was the classic White Eagle quality four‑hit combo.

"Shit, don't eat the sour radish, fuck squid, mom fuck!!!"

Alright, counterattack!

This sand dune that blows up at the slightest touch delivers the most satisfying impact—if you don't mess with it twice, you're basically disappointing the crowd.

But Ji Ming, who had been enjoying himself, soon realized something was wrong.

Hey, the Sugarman dragged out the final syllable of his cry unusually long, actually producing an effect like a lion's roar technique.

But that's all it was; such a distant sound‑wave attack was doomed to miss, and Ji Ming simply had his Pegasus lift a bit to dodge it.

But this was only the Sugarman's first move, for he immediately clenched his throat and let out an extremely fierce battle cry.

"Hah!"

His vitality surged, making him resemble a huge ball as he charged at the shadow knight with unimaginable speed.

But Ji Ming, seeing this, remained unmoved, first commenting, "It seems there's still something there."

Then he gathered his righteous qi, met fist with fist, and blocked the attack head‑on.

After unleashing a deafening boom, the two figures separated instantly, but the Sugarman's face had already changed color.

Nothing else—his hand hurt, his bone was broken!

"Heh."

But Ji Ming, who had easily blocked that move, was actually far from calm as he appeared.

There was nothing he could do; he still had a good impression of Howard with his pointed ears, and he knew exactly how valuable the super‑powered special forces that Howard had single‑handedly built were.

So when he heard that Howard's authority had been taken away, his members sidelined, and most had fled to a much poorer‑resource "Glory Alliance".

Meanwhile, the super‑powered special forces were reorganized, stuffed with a motley crew of monsters and demons, and turned into the Blue side's superhero idol group.

In Ji Ming's eyes, the players under that IP were nothing but a bunch of high‑stacked buffs relying on debate to compensate for their lack of skill—essentially junk.

He never expected to be so wrong; once they actually fought, even that ridiculous‑looking little Sugarman turned out to have some real skill.

In fact, just those two powerful, heavy high‑speed dashes were enough to establish his claim of being invincible below level 50.

So the already level‑70 Ji Ming didn't go all out against him; instead, he deliberately lowered his combat power to create an apparently even match.

He tricked him into puffing and dodging, showing off moves and output against the air for a while, until…

"Uh, ha… ha…"

Now Ji Ming finally understood why this little Sugarman keeps going onto the battlefield while foolishly stuffing himself with high‑calorie food.

It turns out his superpower allows him to mix the biological energy stored in his body with his mana and fully burn it, unleashing several times the combat effect.

In other words, he has two energy bars: one is the mana in his sea of consciousness, the other is the flesh and blood on his body.

But as long as the blue bar adds more points to Wisdom and learns a few skills, it can stack up layer by layer, naturally there's no need to worry.

But this fat... it seems it can only be stupidly eaten and grow rapidly?

So every time he launches an attack, his body becomes thinner; as a result, after less than three minutes of high-intensity combat, he turns into a skinny dog.