It had been twenty-nine days since he returned to the real world, the most peaceful and tranquil period since he first entered the "Main God" space.

During the day, he either chatted and walked with his parents, or accompanied Loli for shopping trips. He had also cut much of the platinum into small pieces with his dagger and sold them, ensuring at least two families would live comfortably and prosperously for decades to come. These were his happiest days; without the troubles of the "Main God" space, this life was nothing short of paradise.

However, the Sword of Damocles hung obviously over his head. Once the thirty days of happiness concluded, he would immediately return to the "Main God" space to continue the cycle. He would face terrifying creatures like the Xenomorphs, or perhaps the decaying corpses rife in a Resident Evil scenario, or maybe even demons and ghosts. In short, the moment he returned to the "Main God" space, he would once again confront death head-on! Thus, even during these thirty days, he dared not slacken his internal energy training, practicing his thrusts with the dagger every night—it was the only way he could conceive of training.

It had to be said that possessing four times the strength of an ordinary person and superhuman reaction speed, amplified by his internal energy, Zheng Zha’s prowess had reached a level unimaginable to common people. To use a vivid analogy: a dozen strong men wouldn't last a minute against him; if it were a dozen special forces soldiers, the fight might last longer, but he would undoubtedly be the victor in the end! Moreover, he wouldn't suffer severe injuries, provided neither side utilized weaponry.

Zheng Zha was not proficient with firearms. He could maintain a basic accuracy rate within fifty meters, but beyond that range, or if the target moved rapidly, his hit rate became embarrassingly poor. His strongest combat style remained close quarters.

Especially after acquiring the high-vibration particle cutting dagger, Zheng Zha's melee capability had reached a terrifying level. This dagger looked unremarkable, entirely black, about thirty centimeters long, and made of some unknown material. A gentle swing caused it to vibrate slightly. From the tip of the dagger extending nearly half a meter forward was where its true power lay. Concepts like "cutting iron like mud" were akin to slicing air when faced with this blade.

When Zheng Zha cut the platinum ingots, he felt absolutely no resistance; a light stroke cleaved the bar in two. Whatever the material, even platinum, it yielded the same way. The only drawback was that if the object was too large and jammed the dagger, once the vibration ceased, the dagger instantly reverted to a mere ordinary blade.

Besides becoming increasingly adept at using the dagger, Zheng Zha had gained new insights into applying his internal energy. In addition to circulating it to boost strength and speed, he learned to concentrate it at specific points on his body. The resilience of that location would greatly increase, and it would possess explosive destructive power. For example, if he concentrated his internal energy in his palm and then used that palm to hurl an iron rod, the resulting power would far surpass that of a rod thrown while circulating energy throughout his entire body. However, every time he practiced this method, his mind involuntarily drifted back to that interstellar merchant vessel... and the terrifying Xenomorphs aboard it.

Apart from these advancements, he had recently been experimenting with a new usage for his internal energy: mixing it with Vampire energy.

In the horror film Alien, aside from unlocking his Genetic Lock in the final moments to use the Vampire energy, he had accidentally enveloped the Vampire energy with his internal energy while killing a Xenomorph earlier. The internal energy mixed with the Vampire energy exhibited potent corrosiveness and almost unbelievably potent destructive power. Yet, apart from that single instance, he had been unable to summon the Vampire energy again.

"Hah, still no luck," Zheng Zha retracted his internal energy back into his Dantian, shaking his head with a wry smile. This had been his endeavor for several consecutive days, but the Vampire energy in his mind remained stubbornly inert. If anything, his internal energy had seen a slight increase. Indeed, as the "Main God" had explained, internal energy could not only be exchanged at the "Main God" platform but could also be cultivated and grown independently. If he had enough time, perhaps he could truly achieve the feats described in Wuxia novels—leaping high, running far, clad in fine silks with a sharp sword—though first, he had to survive the horror movies.

Just then, a knocking sound echoed from his bedroom door, followed by a sweet, cloying little girl’s voice: "Big pervert, still not awake? You promised to take me to see the school today, didn't you~" Even the tilde character beloved in online chats was present. Zheng Zha knew instantly who was outside; it had to be that little girl, Loli.

Zheng Zha got out of bed and opened the door. A small girl hurriedly slipped inside and began looking around wildly. He asked with indulgence, "What are you looking for?"

"A woman."

Loli wrinkled her cute little nose. "Movie plots often feature scenes like this: the man takes too long to open the door, looking flustered. That means there must be another woman in his room, or maybe there's a strange woman's phone number on his cell phone."

Zheng Zha managed a wry smile. "Where are you watching so many boring movies? That's just the directors' imagination; would men in real life be so careless?"

Loli immediately put her hands on her hips and pouted playfully. "Listening to your tone, it sounds like you were just talking to some woman? But I didn't know?"

Zheng Zha quickly pulled her into an embrace. "How could that be? I don't even have a cell phone right now. You go through my things every time you visit; you know perfectly well I don't have one... Alright, alright, stop being jealous. Let's go eat breakfast first, then I'll take you to see your old high school."

The moment she was embraced, Loli went weak in the knees. She clung tightly to Zheng Zha, smiling sweetly. "It’s precisely because I know you don’t have a phone that I get jealous. If it were just calls with those old vixens, I could perhaps understand. But if I actually find you hiding those women in your room, hmph..."

Zheng Zha knew arguing with a little woman, especially one so young, was useless. He scooped Loli up and headed toward the exit. These past few days, he had been staying at his parents' house. After just a few steps outside, they reached the living room, where the four elderly people were sitting together chatting about daily life. Seeing Zheng Zha and Loli emerge, they all smiled kindly.

The moment Loli heard the laughter, her face flushed instantly. She pulled Zheng Zha and dashed out the door. Behind them, Zheng Zha's mother's voice called out, "Lier, why not stay for breakfast?"

Loli called back while running, "No need, Auntie, Zheng Zha and I will eat at the school cafeteria. If we go now, we can catch lunch... Dad, Mom, Zheng Zha and I will be back tonight..." As she spoke, their voices faded into the distance.

As soon as the pair hit the street, Loli immediately pouted, "It's all your fault, all your fault! See? Your Uncle and Auntie, my Mom and Dad—they are all laughing at me! Waaah, they must know about us two! Waaah, this is so embarrassing, how am I supposed to face them now?"

Zheng Zha smiled, about to speak, when a strange, unsettling palpitation suddenly struck his heart. He was intimately familiar with this feeling. During the Alien horror film, he had felt this palpitation several times; it was a premonition of imminent danger, which had saved his life more than once.

Without a second thought, he scooped up Loli and sprinted to the roadside, flagging down a taxi. Only after the taxi pulled forward and started moving did he let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing his back was completely drenched in a cold sweat.

Loli was very well-behaved, clutching Zheng Zha's hand tightly. "What happened? What was that just now?"

Zheng Zha shook his head. "I don't know. For that instant, it felt like something was targeting me—a very dangerous sensation, as if something was... aimed, yes, aimed! Like being targeted by a sniper rifle!"

Not far from where Zheng Zha and Loli were, atop a tall building, several figures holding sniper rifles lowered their weapons and shook their heads. One of them picked up a communicator and said coldly, "Target is in the vehicle now, license plate is... His intuition is extremely sharp. I suspect he might be an elite operative from another country. He felt the anomaly the moment we sighted him. This man is very strong; let's proceed with Plan B."

Sitting in the back seat of the taxi, Zheng Zha gradually calmed down. He began mentally reviewing every potential enemy. The most likely culprits were the city's organized crime syndicates, as he had used connections to sell nearly a million RMB worth of platinum recently. Although he had used multiple intermediaries, it was possible some powerful syndicate could trace the transactions back to him. But a key point troubled him: why would a syndicate possess sniper rifles? Good heavens, this was China! This fact alone was commendable; China’s gun control was notoriously strict, among the tightest in the world. Consequently, it was nearly impossible for Chinese syndicates to acquire high-end weaponry, especially firearms capable of eliminating targets from extreme distances—the government would never tolerate that. Therefore, the probability of the syndicate being after him was extremely low.

Who else could it be? Could it be a government faction? Why? Was the amount of platinum he sold enough to alarm the authorities? What a joke! Platinum worth about a million would alarm the state? Not unless the country only had a few hundred thousand people! Zheng Zha slammed his fist violently against the back of the taxi's front seat with a loud thud. The front seat buckled under the impact, and the driver's eyes widened in shock, staring dumbly at the fist that had suddenly punched through the seat next to him. The incident thoroughly terrified the driver.

Loli quickly hugged Zheng Zha's arm, shouting, "What happened? Big pervert, what is going on? Don't hide it from me!"

Zheng Zha forced a reassuring smile. "It's nothing, Lier, I'm here for everything. It just means we might not be able to say goodbye to Mom and Dad. After midnight tonight, the thirty days will be up... Lier, do you trust me?" Loli was on the verge of tears from anxiety, but she nodded seriously.

"Then no matter what happens, you must firmly believe that I will not abandon you, no matter what!" The enemy was hidden while they were exposed. Zheng Zha didn't even know who the attackers were, or why they were targeting him. Was it a delusion or reality? Were they attacking him... or Loli? Today was the last day before returning to the "Main God" space. Zheng Zha frantically cycled through potential next moves in his mind: Should he find a concealed location and wait until midnight, then head straight for the company office? Or should they hide near the office building now and enter only when midnight strikes? Regardless, he and Loli absolutely had to be back there before twelve midnight, or once the time passed, both of them would be utterly erased!

As Zheng Zha worried intensely, traffic ahead suddenly ground to a halt. Initially, he paid it no mind, as this was a busy thoroughfare prone to congestion. But as the taxi slowly crept forward, he finally noticed something was amiss. Dozens of meters ahead, a temporary checkpoint had been set up, and several uniformed police officers approached the car window.

Jump to