MCL CH72

Chapter 72: A bit too high-profile…

Compared to the damp marsh near the rift entrance, a fierce battle was raging in a deeper corner as Lin Xi and his companion began their search forward.

A cluster of rocks was crushed into fragments by an invisible pressure. A tall figure flashed past, and something that followed like a shadow instantly closed in. As it struck his back, the person who was hit flew through the air, crashing directly into a giant tree. The thick trunk snapped in half from the impact, and the man fell heavily to the ground.

The pristine white snow scattered everywhere. Samuel struggled to his feet from a snowdrift and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His aristocratic face, for once, was devoid of its usual roguish smile. His aquamarine eyes held only a cold mockery. “Joseph, I really underestimated you before. To use such deadly force on me here, are you really not afraid of what you’re doing being exposed?”

The one who had attacked him was none other than Joseph.

As the “support party” who had come to provide aid, his series of attacks held nothing back.

At this moment, Joseph tightened the cuff of his leather jacket and met Samuel’s gaze without a care. “If I make it so you can never speak again, then there’s no need to worry about being exposed, is there? Samuel, Country A’s top evolver, unfortunately met his demise during a mission in an S-rank rift. Luckily, I, his colleague, arrived in time. Unfortunately, although his life was saved, his injuries were too severe to treat. After getting out, he could only regrettably become a vegetable, living out the rest of his days barely breathing in a hospital bed.”

As he spoke, a ruthless smile appeared on his face. “What do you think of the script I’ve written for you? Although Primo went to great lengths to ensure your safety, the contract I signed with him only said I had to bring you out alive. It never guaranteed you wouldn’t be missing an arm or a leg.”

A long time passed without a response from Samuel. Joseph glanced at his face and looked down at him condescendingly. “What, still thinking about how to escape from my grasp? Don’t bother. In your current state, you’re nothing but a dying ant struggling in vain.”

Samuel really wanted to curse, but his upbringing and grace would not allow him to lower himself in front of such a person.

Although he didn’t know how much time had passed in the outside world with the different flow of time, a full ten days had passed since he entered this inner world. During this time, dealing with the master contaminant of this rift had already consumed a great deal of his stamina. If not for that, he would have charged straight at Joseph and viciously smeared XX all over that foul mouth that couldn’t speak a decent word!

His dear director had truly been devolverate this time, sending a guy like Joseph in here. He would rather have died from exhaustion in battle in the S-rank rift.

Dying heroically would at least grant him immortality and ensure his handsome face remained intact, leaving behind a dashing and complete corpse.

“Sometimes, I’m really curious, when exactly did I offend you?” Samuel’s chest heaved violently. After taking a moment to calm his breathing, he asked sincerely.

“Offend me? Your very existence is the greatest offense.” Joseph slowly walked up to him and sneered. “One X-coded evolver enjoying treasure-level treatment in Country A is enough. You shouldn’t exist at all. After all, even though we both have X-codes, we were never on the same level to begin with. With a low-level ability like yours that’s only good for escaping, what right do you have to be on equal footing with me? And yet, Primo still holds you in such high regard.”

He half-knelt, grabbed Samuel’s chin, and forced their eyes to meet, his voice dangerously drawn out. “Is it because—you have such a likable face?”

Samuel offered a friendly reminder, “Gently, you’re hurting me.”

“…”

Joseph glanced at the face he utterly detested, his eyes narrowing slightly. “That’s right, even the rumors from the outside world might not be baseless. Perhaps you really did climb into Primo’s bed? Speaking of which, I’ve never tasted a man before. Why don’t I take this opportunity to have a good taste of what kind of top-quality specimen even Primo can’t let go of.”

Samuel watched as Joseph gradually drew closer, his azure eyes showing no trace of emotion.

Just as Joseph’s body was about to press against his, the figure in front of him suddenly flickered, shimmering violently like a wavering image before completely disappearing.

He didn’t turn around, but simply raised a hand to the other side. “I told you, your little tricks might work on others, but in front of me, they are completely useless.”

As his palm pressed down, everything around the figure that had just appeared a short distance away seemed to freeze in an instant.

An invisible force pressed down heavily on Samuel.

[X-ability: Gravity]

It was as if a giant bell jar had formed in an instant. After a massive “BOOM—!”, the snow on the ground, along with fine rock fragments, exploded outwards.

The roar was followed by a long tremor on the ground. However, as the scattered snow settled and the blurry vision cleared, the expected, utterly wretched figure was nowhere to be seen at the point of impact.

He had been tricked.

Joseph instantly realized something was wrong. He looked up abruptly, only to see an invisible force already converging above his own head, giving him no time to react. In a reenactment of the previous scene, an immense gravitational force came crashing down on him.

Boom—!

Boom boom—!

A spatial rift opened not far away, and Samuel stepped out. Nearly depleted of energy, his body swayed violently, and he only managed to stabilize himself by grabbing onto the nearby rock wall.

Despite being in a world of ice and snow, sticky sweat had completely soaked the golden hair on his forehead.

“Not bad, you actually still have the strength to use your X-ability.” Joseph, having been hit by his own skill, had his leather jacket torn in several places. His gaze towards Samuel became even more vicious. “Is this kind of devolverate struggle really interesting? It only makes you look more pathetic.”

“Tsk, as if I’m not pathetic right now,” Samuel, who indeed looked to be at his limit, still managed a smile at Joseph. “Since I’m going to be this pathetic anyway, isn’t it better to drag someone else down to be pathetic with me?”

Joseph: “Then let me see just how long you can keep up that tough talk.”

As he spoke, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. Before he could make a move, he caught something in his peripheral vision and turned his head abruptly.

Samuel was only putting on a brave verbal front. It was indeed too much to ask him to fight Joseph again.

Although he was annoyed at the rift’s contaminant for sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight, he now had to start thinking about how to make his end more dignified. A sudden turn of events made him blink in disbelief, and a genuine smile finally appeared on his bloodless lips. “…This guy really knows how to make an entrance.”

In contrast, Joseph’s expression was not so pleasant.

At the end of their vision stood a giant tower that reached the clouds, erected in a bloody lava purgatory.

This inner world was strange from the inside out, as if composed of different worlds stacked together. There were majestic snow-capped mountains, intense flames, and endless azure seas… Every so often, it felt like entering a different time and space, yet these spaces transitioned into one another seamlessly.

In these completely interconnected regions, such a towering structure was undoubtedly a very clear signpost, summoning everyone in the inner world.

Such a magnificent building obviously couldn’t have been built in a short time, not to mention it didn’t exist there just a few seconds ago. If it wasn’t the work of this inner world’s contaminant, there was only one person who could do this.

Why is he here?

At the thought of Yan Xingzhou, Joseph’s brow furrowed even tighter. Without any hesitation, he launched another attack on Samuel.

He had finally gotten such an opportunity, and he had really wanted to watch Samuel struggle at his mercy. But now it seemed he wouldn’t be able to satisfy that particular taste.

Joseph reacted almost instantly, but Samuel’s reaction was undoubtedly faster.

The news that Yan Xingzhou had come into the rift to save him was like heavenly music, the sweet dew in a long drought. It made him choose to rush to meet him without the slightest hesitation.

“Oh, my dear Yan, I really haven’t doted on you for nothing~!”

In a flash, the spot where Samuel had been standing was crushed to pieces by immense pressure. He barely dodged with his space ability and, without wasting any more of his stamina, opened another space-folding channel the moment he appeared on the other side. After his figure vanished, it reappeared at the edge of their vision.

If they were outside, Samuel would have probably teleported directly to Yan Xingzhou’s side. Unfortunately, even though he was not threatened by the contamination radiation, the inner world of the rift still suppressed an evolver’s abilities to a certain extent, forcing him to rely on continuous spatial jumps to approach Yan Xingzhou’s direction.

Behind him, the sound of explosions from Joseph’s pursuit followed closely.

Under this intense pressure, Samuel did his best to evade, never looking back, and just ran straight towards the giant tower that was like a beacon.

What he didn’t know was that they weren’t the only two who had noticed this magnificent structure.

On the other side, Lin Xi, who had been hesitating about where to start after entering the rift, also looked up to see this spectacular sight. “…”

Su Qiuyin glanced over. “That should be Yan Xingzhou.”

Lin Xi: “…I can see that.”

The two of them started walking towards the tower almost in sync. Lin Xi followed behind Su Qiuyin, silently ruffling his red hair, and finally couldn’t help but complain with some exasperation, “Although this is very eye-catching, it’s a bit too high-profile, isn’t it? He really doesn’t plan on saving any of his energy at all…”

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