Chapter 689 - 433: Reply (Part 2)

Chapter 689: Chapter 433: Reply (Part 2)

"Alright, alright, you win. Our teacher told me to test him." Suni felt a chill from that stare and could only surrender.

"What’s there to test?" Jiang Che scoffed. "Everyone knows he’s a player."

"That’s exactly why our teacher sent me! To see just how much of a player he is, and to figure out what you’re so captivated by," Suni said helplessly. "Don’t be mad at me, alright? If you have to be mad, be mad at our teacher. This is her assignment. I’m just a poor, weak, and helpless student, a mere tool. If she tells me to go east, I daren’t go west. What else can I do?"

She even sniffled pitifully and wiped away imaginary tears.

"...Oh, he’s activated the locator! Gotta go, I’m getting back to work."

The next second, Suni vanished on the spot as if escaping for her life.

Jiang Che calmly took a sip of her coffee. She understood her teacher’s concerns. After all, that guy was shamelessly flaunting his playboy reputation, and it was only natural for the older generation to worry about their children having their hearts broken. However, Grand Duke Elizabeth and her husband seemed quite fond of Zhou Chen. They never said anything about his philandering and had even enthusiastically invited him to visit the Laine Kingdom. Perhaps nobles were just used to this sort of thing.

In truth, it wasn’t that strange in this day and age.

But Jiang Che wasn’t worried. She knew Zhou Chen well. She knew he understood his own limits and that there was a line even a player couldn’t cross. If he went past what people would tolerate, the consequences would be dire...

Still, understanding was one thing, but Suni’s brazen act right in front of her was infuriating.

A cold glint in her eyes, Jiang Che vanished, teleporting back to the Satellite City.

At that very moment, outside the Satellite City, Suni stood on an Essence Supply Platform and cast the Immortal Binding Rope toward the target coordinates.

"Go!"

The Immortal Binding Rope glowed with a brilliant golden light. Fueled by a limitless supply of Essence, it stretched endlessly toward the horizon, tearing through the clouds and leaving a long, straight, and conspicuous golden streak across the sky.

Near the Artificial Sun, Zhou Chen was startled to see a golden rope shoot toward him. It ignored the scorching heat radiating from the Artificial Sun, swiftly wrapping around the massive solar disk to bind it.

’As expected of a B-Level Forbidden Object. It can even withstand the intense heat of the Artificial Sun.’

While Zhou Chen was marveling at this, he focused on stabilizing the Artificial Sun. The next second, the Immortal Binding Rope, which had traversed a vast distance, suddenly pulled taut. Someone on the other end was yanking it with all their might.

A scorching hurricane erupted.

Yanked by the slender rope, the Artificial Sun shot away at incredible speed. It vanished in an instant, leaving only a small red dot that grew ever more distant.

To those on the ground, it was as if the legendary "sunset" had been sped up hundreds of times. The Artificial Sun streaked across the firmament like a meteor, leaving a persistent golden gash that seemed to slice the sky in two, a sight that stunned countless onlookers.

"HRAAAGH!"

With a great cry, Suni yanked the distant Artificial Sun directly over her head. Blazing light poured down, suddenly becoming intensely bright and scorching, blindingly so. Waves of heat rolled out, and the air temperature began to rocket upward.

Immediately, a glow appeared on the Satellite City’s barrier. A torrent of Essence, shimmering with resplendent light, spewed forth. Like a magnificent jeweled sword, it shot into the sky and surged into the Artificial Sun.

Essence channel linked. Power transfer initiated.

The majestic solar disk erupted with an even more brilliant radiance, like a long-parched riverbed finally welcoming a torrential downpour.

Zhou Chen felt the Energy contained within the Artificial Sun begin to surge. In just a few seconds, it went from a dried-up pond to a full reservoir. He wouldn’t have to worry about it extinguishing for at least a decade, and as the refueling continued, the Energy inside would only continue to accumulate.

’If I’d known it would go this smoothly, I wouldn’t have wasted those ten thousand wish points...’ Zhou Chen couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. Ten thousand points was no small sum.

He sighed and teleported back to the Holy Hall Church. A few seconds later, Jiang Che teleported back as well.

"Plan’s a success."

Zhou Chen nodded. Seeing that no one else was around, he said, "Jiang Che, don’t take what happened earlier to heart. I always keep my distance from obsessive fans like her. I would never get involved..."

"She’s my senior sister," Jiang Che said, revealing Suni’s identity outright.

"Huh...? What? S-Senior sister?!" Zhou Chen was momentarily speechless, his expression a mask of pure shock. His mind instantly concocted a trashy soap opera plot: the evil senior sister trying to seduce her junior sister’s man.

"Our teacher had her test you. It’s ridiculous."

Jiang Che said calmly, "After all, your standards are quite high. You wouldn’t be interested in someone like that, right?"

"Er, about that..." Zhou Chen was at a loss for words, a cold sweat beading on his forehead. His preternatural sense for deadly danger was screaming at him, warning that any answer would lead to disaster. He decisively changed the subject.

"Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Gaia?"

"It was confidential, and I was on a tight schedule. I didn’t have time to tell you."

Jiang Che glanced at her watch. "I have another meeting to get to. We’ll have to stop here. We can talk later when there’s time."

"Wait—" Zhou Chen called out, stopping her. "That... um... Have you... made a decision?"

Jiang Che just watched him quietly without saying a word.

After a long moment, she suddenly chuckled. "Take a guess."

Then her figure vanished as she teleported away.

Zhou Chen stood stunned for a few seconds before an irrepressible smile broke out on his face, stretching from ear to ear.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

He pumped his fist in excitement. He knew her answer.

In truth, Jiang Che had made up her mind long ago. Given her personality, if she had intended to refuse him, she never would have kept up their daily chats, sharing stories from her travels and the trivial details of her life. She would have blocked him, deleted him, and been done with it.

Even though he had already suspected as much, hearing her answer in person was far more exhilarating.

Zhou Chen felt his spirits soar, as if the entire World was now viewed through a beautiful filter.

He remained excited for quite a while, only snapping out of it when a few unfamiliar Players teleported in and gave his goofy grin a confused look. He quickly composed himself and regained his calm.

’Now that I’ve collected all the keys to the Divine Hall, it’s time to go to the Valley of Miasma and claim the Sword of Ten Thousand Kings...’

Having made up his mind, Zhou Chen teleported to the bonfire nearest the Valley of Miasma. The journey from there would take at least five days on foot.

But he was much more powerful now. Unlike before, when he had to ride his Spirit Horse, Bao Li, he could now fly. His speed was far greater than a mount’s, and with no terrain to block his path in the sky, travel was much more convenient.

SWOOSH!

Crimson Phoenix Fire Feathers unfurled from his back as Zhou Chen shot toward the sky. With a single flap of his wings, he accelerated suddenly, generating layers of Bailan and a thunderous boom.

Flying at supersonic speeds, he reached the Valley of Miasma in no time. From a great distance, he could see the expansive miasma from the dragon corpse. It was a pale yellow color, like a boundless super-fog that blotted out the sun and sky.

Even though the blazing sunlight had evaporated and incinerated over thirty percent of the miasma, it was still impossible to see the landscape below the thick vapor from the sky. Everything remained completely obscured.

’Hmm... having a system is so convenient. The quest comes with its own marker, so I don’t have to fumble around blindly in the Valley of Miasma. I can just head straight there.’

Zhou Chen glanced at his map and flew at high speed toward the quest marker. Below, the miasmic fog roiled, concealing whatever lay within, full of unknown Fear and a sense of mystery.

He took out his Magic Staff and cast a Protective Magic on himself to resist the miasma. Then he dove, plunging headfirst into the dense, pale yellow fog and vanishing from sight.