After having breakfast at Pang Xin's house, Yun Hexian returned home to unlock the final game—[Wild Dog Simulator]!
Inside the Game Space, he truly transformed into a dog—though a blue-white one with fox-like pointed ears, resembling a wolf.
He admired his reflection in a roadside puddle for quite a while before attempting to tame his four limbs, which felt unfamiliar and possessed minds of their own.
"Dead legs, stop crossing over each other!" Just as Yun Hexian was getting the hang of his limbs, the disaster began.
Nearly a hundred wild dogs, all ugly in appearance, swarmed him in a desperate attempt to tear a piece of meat from his body.
*Tch, piece of cake.*
Yun Hexian stood his ground, and flames roared outward.
"Woof, woof, woof—"
"Awoooo..."
They shrieked as they were reduced to ashes. The intense heat even caused the water in the puddles on the ground to boil. Yun Hexian was slightly surprised; he didn't feel particularly hot himself.
*Didn't expect the temperature to be this high.*
"Look, there's a white wolf-dog. Its fur is so pretty, let's skin it!"
"I have a baseball bat, here."
"Does anyone have a knife?"
"..."
Several chirping, childish voices rang out. A group of students, the oldest no more than sixth graders, walked up to Yun Hexian, their young voices laced with innocent malice.
Yun Hexian’s eyes widened. *Vocal, this is the true "human disaster," huh?*
Without hesitation, Yun Hexian unleashed flames to incinerate the students, then moved his newly tamed limbs to flee the scene.
The wind and clouds shifted in the sky; dark, heavy clouds blanketed the air, and lightning crashed down onto Yun Hexian.
Twitching from the shocks, Yun Hexian scrambled to avoid the bolts. "Damn it! What kind of natural disaster is this?! Aaaaaah!"
He had expected an earthquake or a flood, not a heavenly tribulation!
*It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—*
"Cran—"
A phantom of an immortal crane soared upward. Golden auspicious clouds accompanied a magnificent melody as the Forbidden Artifact "Birds and Fish" unfolded, with the golden clouds enveloping Yun Hexian to heal his wounds.
The defensive capabilities of Birds and Fish stretched the distance between him and the lightning to near-infinity. Yun Hexian nimbly dodged every attack, and after thirty minutes of being struck by heavenly lightning, the level was finally cleared.
Yun Hexian collapsed on the ground like a dead dog. Golden clouds flowed into him, rapidly restoring his spiritual energy while soothing his physical exhaustion.
Yun Hexian: ...
*What kind of perpetual motion machine is this? Damn bird.*
*Can't even take a break.*
In his mind, his spiritual energy had reached the astonishing Lamp Realm (Late). On the second day of awakening, he had perfectly broken through to the late stage, and he could even restore his own spiritual energy!
Yun Hexian returned to human form and hopped twice, feeling as clear-headed and refreshed as if he’d had a great night's sleep.
*I have twice as much time as everyone else to grind now!*
Yun Hexian: (??^??)
[Congratulations to the Host for clearing Wild Dog Simulator. Obtained Forbidden Artifact: Thunderous Might, and Mysterious: Wild Dog.]
[Forbidden Artifact - Thunderous Might: Command and wield lightning. Can ignore lightning damage. Rage induces natural anomalies, and attack power increases fivefold on overcast or rainy days.]
[Mysterious - Wild Dog: A loyal protector with snow-white fur, blue-white eyes, and a shape resembling a white wolf. Its cultivation level is always one major realm higher than the Host. Beyond standard wolf-dog abilities, it possesses "Size at Will," "Thunderstorm," and "Hanging by a Thread."]
[Size at Will: Body can change in size, from a puppy small enough to hold to as large as a truck.]
[Thunderstorm: Can command lightning and trigger thunderous storms.]
[Hanging by a Thread: It can never die; a "locked health" ability that keeps it at the brink of death at minimum.]
Yun Hexian: Σ(゜ロ゜；)
*I'm invincible!*
*In the future, I'll be in the Pool Realm, and it will be in the River Realm; I’ll be in the River Realm, and it will be in the Sea Realm; I’ll be in the Sea Realm, and it will be in the Immeasurable Realm...*
*Hehehe (Voldemort laugh).*
*The future is promising!*
Having gained another Forbidden Artifact, Yun Hexian thought for a moment and decided he could pull off something big—like using a clone to build a new faction.
*How can a BKing exist without a powerful backer?*
Most importantly, he already had flame abilities, which weren't weak. He could leave Thunderous Might unused for now and retract the clone if he encountered danger.
With that in mind, Yun Hexian quickly manifested a clone and started the "character creation" mode.
Male, height set to 1.98 meters, black, shoulder-length hair with two strands of bangs, black eyes, modeled after the handsome face of Yang Jian from the Jiao-shu version, with the mark on his forehead replaced by a purple lightning bolt.
*Woohoo, handsome as hell!*
It’s just...
"System, what’s with the cartoon mushroom pattern on the neck—red cap, white stalk?" Yun Hexian tapped the right side of the clone's neck, a spot easily seen by others.
*What kind of big shot gets a cartoon tattoo on their neck?!*
[Mushroom clones are all like this; it identifies them as clones,] the BKing System replied. [You can cover it with a scarf.]
Yun Hexian: ...
*It's August, this godforsaken heat, and you want me to wear a scarf? You'll cause a heat rash.*
"Forget it, not using it for now." Yun Hexian placed the clone at the spawn point in the Game Space.
Because no abilities were invested, Yun Hexian’s creation was a super-powered clone; thus, it was currently in a dormant state.
Turning back to exit the Game Space, Yun Hexian felt the weather had cleared, and he was back in action, thinking about how to perform more BKing acts.
He didn't know the plot, nor did he know where the next monster would appear, but that didn't matter. Unlocking new games didn't require being in front of monsters or plot-critical characters.
Ordinary people would do just fine.
*How about... going to school?*
When he was at school a few days ago, Yun Hexian had seen An Qingyu’s photo on the campus honor board. It was there after he took first place in the school-wide monthly exams.
One photo, one comment.
Under An Qingyu’s photo, the comment read:
[A time will come to ride the wind and cleave the waves, and set my cloud-white sail to cross the vast, deep sea.
A time will come to ride the waves in Changdong.
Will.
.
.
?
TD
Boring exam.
The second-to-last math problem had the wrong value. Did no one notice?]
This BKing performance was truly outstanding. As long as Yun Hexian studied hard, he would definitely succeed in surpassing An Qingyu to become the first place in the monthly exams.
Probably.
...
Cangnan City, Team 136 Base.
Zhao Kongcheng walked in from the door looking irritable, flopping onto the sofa and sprawling out.
"Old Zhao, what's wrong with you?"
The five people sitting in the room asked, finding his appearance somewhat amusing.
"Don't get me started. I followed up on what those three kids said—golden light, feather mask—but I didn't find any leads after searching everywhere.Where the hell did this kind soul who awakened a golden Divine Ruins go?"
Zhao Kongcheng was baffled.
"Are you talking about the suspected Seraph’s Proxy?"
The man sitting on the other side of the sofa couldn't help but frown, noticing the loophole in Zhao Kongcheng's words. "Who are the three kids you're talking about?"
"Here, they signed non-disclosure agreements." Zhao Kongcheng pulled the crumpled agreements from his pocket and handed them over. "He Yun, Qi Ye, and one named Pang Tong. Let me tell you, that kid Pang Tong is built sturdy, a high schooler, over 1.8 meters tall—a great candidate for the military."
"Doesn't the name 'Pang Tong' sound familiar to you, Old Zhao?" Hongying, who was leaning against the wall cleaning her weapon, asked with a start.
Zhao Kongcheng slapped his thigh. "It's familiar! Historical figure, right? But it's not impossible for names to overlap, is it?"
"Didn't you suspect that one of them had awakened a Divine Ruin?" Wu Xiangnan, the man holding the agreement, narrowed his eyes.
*He Yun. Is there really anyone in this world with the surname 'He'?*
Zhao Kongcheng stroked his chin, recalling, "They sounded pretty genuine. That kid named He Yun told me to my face..."
"Tell us in detail about yesterday's scene and their actions," Wu Xiangnan said.
Zhao Kongcheng reminisced, began to describe it to them, started a bit of roleplay—playing all four characters—and then concluded, "They were quite polite, actually."
Watching his slightly clumsy performance, Wu Xiangnan pondered for a while and said, "Is there a possibility that the one who fooled you first was that polite 'Brother Yun'?"
Zhao Kongcheng: ∑(；°Д°)
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Hearing Zhao Kongcheng’s intense rebuttal, Hongying knew he was starting to doubt himself. She smiled and said, "Old Zhao, don't be discouraged. That Pang Tong called him 'Brother Yun' before He Yun signed, which means his name does indeed contain the character 'Yun'.
He's also from the Second High School, and he's hanging around with a tall kid over 1.8 meters—the scope has narrowed down immediately. We just have to go ask around.
Find those two, and the third one won't be hard to track down."
Zhao Kongcheng looked at Hongying with a strange expression, making her feel uneasy. Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Kongcheng slapped his thigh. "Hongying, you’ve become smart!"
Hongying: (▼へ▼メ)
Just as Hongying was about to argue with Zhao Kongcheng, the door opened again.
A man also draped in a dark red cloak walked in, his steps heavy, looking extremely exhausted.
Everyone, including Zhao Kongcheng, immediately stood up, looking at him with concern. "Captain! You're back, are you okay?"
Captain Chen Muye waved his hand, took off his blood-stained cloak, and sat on the small stool by the door. "I'm fine, but... the Ghost Face King escaped."
The expressions of those present turned grave.
Chen Muye continued: "However, it injured its own core to force an escape, so it can be considered severely wounded. By the way, what were you talking about? I heard Zhao Kongcheng say Hongying became smart."
Wen Qimo explained what had just happened and added, "Captain, do you think they are the ones?"
"Definitely," Chen Muye said, rubbing his temples. "Who would get splashed with blood all over their body? At most, it would be a few splatters, not head-to-toe.That kid—temporarily called He Yun—likely possesses a cold-weapon Forbidden Artifact or a specific Divine Ruin; he doesn't seem like a Seraph’s Proxy.
Pang Tong, you said you saw him crawling up from the ground from a distance, so he's likely not the one either.You have to know, a God's Proxy isn't that weak, especially just after being granted a Divine Ruin.
Qi Ye is the most likely candidate."
"It's just hard to say if that's his real name," Hongying added.
Zhao Kongcheng blushed. "I'll go camp out at their school; I'll definitely catch them!"
"A Seraph's Proxy is a high priority, but the Ghost Face King cannot be ignored either."
Wu Xiangnan stood up and pulled out a map. "Since it fled while severely injured, it definitely hasn't run far. Except for Zhao Kongcheng, everyone else continue the search."
"Yes!" the group replied, then gathered around Wu Xiangnan, waiting for his analysis and orders.