Steelbull Cloud City really is a bizarre world—bands of light crisscross the sky, and massive vehicles race smoothly along these slender tracks at breakneck speed. Of course, a certain cloud is even faster than these sky trains, overtaking them in the blink of an eye and soaring off to faraway places.
On the cloud, the little girl sat calmly on her knees at the back, while Jill Young stood at the front like a gourd kid, hand shading her eyes as she scanned the horizon, even shouting, "Clairvoyant!" As soon as she finished, her eyes really did light up like flashlights—what a retro special effect.
"What are you looking at?" the little girl asked curiously.
"I'm looking at this world." Anywhere else, that would sound unbearably pretentious. But here, it actually works. "Our mansion folks are seriously impressive, every single one is powerful." As Jill Young observed, the ground was teeming with all sorts of strange characters, each with dazzling abilities. "But, not many seem able to fly."
"Of course. Most people have to play by this world's rules. Life here is super convenient." Night Doll conjured a cup of tea out of thin air, took a sip, and continued, "But for things that defy common sense, you need extra-strong willpower. People here can train themselves to get stronger, but most can't just switch powers at will. And flying? That's a whole other level—almost nobody can do it."
"Got it." It's just like the difference between martial arts and fantasy—every world has its strict hierarchy. "So, that makes you a master, huh?"
Night Doll lifted her chin and let out a smug little hum.
Even the Quantum Network world has its own cities and wilds. Soon enough, the Nimbus Cloud carried the two of them to a dazzling metropolis. The city was ablaze with lights and crowds, but the most eye-catching thing was the massive building at its center—a tower shaped like a six-pointed star, with layer upon layer stacked up to the sky, piercing the clouds. Giant spheres circled the tower, simulating the stars and revolving endlessly. This mysterious tower was something you'd never see in real life, and even here in Steelbull Cloud City, it was one of a kind.
"That's the Archive Hall. Supposedly, it was built single-handedly by Owen. Owen is an ancient madman, obsessed with recording history, so this archive holds the most complete collection of data. If you can't find it here, you won't find it anywhere." Night Doll said, "Let's head down. The Archive Hall is protected by system rules, so you have to enter through the front door. Plus, there's a strict access level system—regular folks only get to see the ordinary stuff."
"Access level?" Jill Young pointed to herself. "So, do I have enough clearance?"
"No idea. Technically, as a local warlord, your clearance should be pretty high. Plus, your mental strength is off the charts, so you should be able to access a lot of confidential files." Night Doll smiled slightly. "But either way, with me here, we'll definitely find what we're looking for."
"Haha, true. Around here, you're basically royalty—maybe even princess or crown prince level." Jill Young landed the cloud at the Archive Hall entrance. The passersby, seeing someone descend from the sky, recognized a master and couldn't help but point and watch from afar.
Jill Young didn't care about the attention. She dismissed the Nimbus Cloud and led the girl inside. But just as they reached the entrance, someone came out. The moment he appeared, the crowd gasped and started buzzing.
He was a very distinctive man, dressed in elegant vintage formalwear like some old-school aristocrat. But the fierce, intimidating aura around him was almost tangible—if this were a Hong Kong comic, you'd see a dragon or tiger drawn behind him. Bottom line: this guy was scary.
Steelbull City is packed with tall, burly men. Cake Dog, Derek Cheng—they're all beefy and tough. And don't even mention the meat mountains spawned by the Syndicate. But this guy, even though he's 'only' two meters tall, gives off a vibe like those oversized fists could smash a meat mountain into ground beef with one punch.
The otaku in the network are out of touch with reality, so they don't recognize Jill Young, the new warlord. But they're all familiar with this tough guy—he's been ruling his turf for a while now. Amidst the whispers, someone called out his name: Lucas.
Lucas—a name that's everywhere these days. Since Jill Young arrived in this world, she's heard it here and there. Former record-holder of Reliable Adventure, overlord of the Rock District, citywide contender, bearer of the 'Killing Fist' title—you name it, it's about him. Before Jill Young's rise, Lucas was the top pick for gang boss, and even the fat guy from Blood Throat Channel 3 would joke, 'How come Lucas hasn't unified Steelbull yet?'
Now, right at the Archive Hall entrance in Cloud City, the two strongest gang leaders have run into each other face-to-face.
"It's you." Lucas spoke first, his thick eyebrows furrowing before he sneered, "You're here to look up dungeon info too, huh? Don't bother—because everything about the dungeon is going to be mine."
Jill Young ignored him, acting like she hadn't even seen the guy, and just kept walking with the girl.
Lucas stood his ground like a mountain blocking the way, his face twisted with mockery: "I hear you call yourself a queen—what a joke. A woman, claiming to be king? You're just a tool for carrying on the family line, meant to serve a man in bed. If you dare challenge me for the throne, you're asking for humiliation."
Jill Young still ignored him, striding forward as if she couldn't be bothered to talk to such an idiot.
Lucas turned to Night Doll, his voice booming: "Lady of the Night, birds choose the right tree, and wise folk pick the right boat. If you stick with this flimsy little raft, you'll only get hurt when it sinks. Your ancestors are revered by all, and I've always admired you. If you ever want to switch to a mighty oak, I'll be here rolling out the red carpet."
(Irrelevant web novel prompt: This chapter isn't over ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
But Three-No Little Black Cat didn't even glance his way, as if Lucas's words were just hot air.
Even after being ignored, Lucas didn't show any anger. He stood there quietly as Jill Young and her companion brushed past him, going their own way. But in the next instant, Lucas suddenly let out a cold smirk, turned, and stomped forward—his heavy fist swung fiercely at Jill Young's head.
Without even turning her head, Jill Young lifted her leg and kicked backward. Her kick landed right on Lucas's wrist, forcing his punch off course. A phantom fist shot out, and with a boom, it blasted a crowd of bystanders into oblivion.
As the crowd shrieked, Lucas's second punch was already crashing down toward Jill Young's head. She spun to meet him, blocking fist with elbow. Thud! The sound was like a bell ringing—a strange shockwave traveled down Jill Young's body, and with a crunch, the ground beneath her feet cracked and shattered, sending tremors through dozens of meters around.
Lucas grinned, confident he'd already won. His Killing Fist had a special power, especially here in Cloud City—if you don't know its secrets and take it head-on, you'll get stunned for sure.
And that moment of being stunned—that's the perfect chance to win!
Lucas clenched his fist and unleashed a devastating third punch. But this time, he didn't aim at Jill Young—instead, he targeted the off-balance Night Doll. His massive fist shot toward Night Doll's tiny head, and in that split-second, nobody could escape his finishing blow!
Boom! The shockwave ripped through the area, shattering the ground across several streets. Countless bystanders were caught in the blast, screaming as they turned into showers of light. Buildings all around suffered collateral damage, cracking and collapsing like they'd just been hit by an earthquake. Lucas, the boss of the First District, unleashed a punch so wild it shook all of Cloud City.
But suddenly, a gust of wind swept away the dust. Survivors coughed and looked over, only to see that there was no one in front of Lucas—his punch had smashed the ground from a distance. Ten meters away, Jill Young and Night Doll stood perfectly composed, not a hair out of place.
"What an act—one minute it's brainless taunting, the next it's polite invitations. Bottom line, he just wants to knock her offline." In Cloud City, if you get killed, you're forcibly logged out and can't access the Quantum Network for fifteen days. Fifteen days—by then, the dungeon adventure would be ancient history. Lucas's whole show is just to stop Jill Young from using Night Doll to dig up more info. Jill Young patted the little cat's shoulder, and she turned into a streak of light, flying into the Archive Hall. The building is protected by system rules—nobody can hurt anyone inside.
"Your acting is terrible, like the worst kind of hack writer—anyone can see the ending from the first scene." Jill Young flexed her wrists and ankles, then walked up to Lucas. "If you want to fight, just fight. People who talk too much never get anywhere."
"Hmph." Lucas couldn't keep his cool anymore. He snorted and barked, "Fine, let's see the difference between us! My will is made of steel—no way some milk-tea-sipping, mall-crawling, fashion-obsessed woman can compare!" With that, Lucas clenched his fist and swung at Jill Young from a distance—a fist as big as a car flashed by, heading straight for her.
"Another boring drama—because everyone knows you're doomed to lose!" As the fist shot toward her, Jill Young clenched both fists, glared, and shouted, "Super Saiya Jill—transform!" Boom! Golden flames erupted, a massive shockwave blasted the crowd like leaves in the wind. "Energy Blast!" A meter-wide energy beam tore through the air, smashed the fist, and in a blink, slammed into Lucas's chest.
In the next instant, blinding white light fanned out, obliterating the area. Countless white lights shot up—those were the unwilling souls of all the otaku.
The whole city was shaken—the commotion was just too huge. Masters soared into the sky, spotting a figure wreathed in golden flames, standing in the void and laughing at the ruined city below: "Hahaha, so much for your iron will. Still hiding? Watch my energy bombs!" Her hands blurred—basketball-sized energy bombs rained down like meteors. Explosions rocked the place, buildings and streets were wiped out more brutally than any carpet bombing.
"Hey, don't go overboard!" someone shouted at Jill Young. "Fifteen days offline? What kind of grudge is this? Don't go nuts!"
"True that." Jill Young totally understood—for an otaku, fifteen days offline is pure torture. You can't be that cruel, so maybe there's another way. "Got it—" Jill Young spun in midair, transforming from Super Saiyan to a goddess warrior in purple armor. "Nebula Chains, go fetch that idiot!"
With a single command, two chains shot down, stretching endlessly toward the city below. But before the Nebula Chains could land, Lucas burst out of the rubble, leaping skyward and roaring as he unleashed hundreds of punches. Hundreds of giant fist-shadows tore upward, blasting any flyers who couldn't dodge into showers of light. Even the best otaku fighters couldn't handle a single punch—this move was seriously deadly.
But Jill Young just laughed, "You wanna go quantity, huh? Fine, take this—King's Treasury!" Golden ripples shimmered in the air, as magical treasures rained down below. Treasure and fist-shadows collided, exploding like a thousand fireworks at once.
Amidst the light rain, Lucas held his ground under immense pressure, trying to figure out a way out—when suddenly, he felt himself tighten up, trapped by those weird chains. The next moment, an endless sword rain crashed over him like a waterfall, slamming into his body.
"You think beating me is that easy? Iron Wall!" Walls of energy appeared around Lucas, ringing and shattering as treasures slammed into them. Despite the onslaught, Lucas managed to hold out for a while. Just as he was about to break free, Jill Young's voice came from behind: "Beating you really is that easy."
(Irrelevant web novel prompt: This chapter isn't finished~.~, please click next page for more!)
No way! How is she still raining weapons from above, but already behind me?!
Lucas whipped around in shock, only to see Jill Young with her index and middle fingers pressed to her forehead. Crackling with electricity, she'd already charged up: "Special Beam Cannon!" In a flash, a spiral blast pierced his chest. Lucas's stunned face faded into light.
The next second, in a secret room in the Sixth District, a coffin-shaped login pod exploded from the inside. "Damn it!!" Lucas stormed out of the shack, glaring at the Sixth District under the night sky. He knew Jill Young and Elsie Nightwater had to be somewhere in this area. He panted, itching to order the whole district bombed flat.
But he managed to hold back his temper. According to scattered clues and mysterious hints, the dungeon might contain what he's been searching for. "Hmph, Night family leftovers, and that crazy woman from No One Under Heaven—I'll let you go for now. But once I get the real Killing Fist, that's when you'll lose all hope."
Three days later, Eighth District, 6 p.m. The sun was setting—a weird time to start an event. But for Night City folks, six o'clock was basically early morning, prime time for gearing up.
Thanks to Blood Throat Channel 3's full-on hype, tons of heavy hitters and skilled folks showed up for Ghost Player's 'Dungeon & Adventurer' Carnival. With so many people flooding the Eighth District, the local gangs couldn't afford to look weak. And with all that treasure on the line, the place was packed to bursting.
Ghost Player set up sixteen entrances to the dungeon, spread all over the Eighth District. Participants could pick their own entrance, which kept enemies from bumping into each other right away. At least, Lucas looked around and didn't spot Jill Young anywhere nearby, so he just grunted in annoyance.
"Greetings, adventurers—I'm Double Ear." The fat guy appeared on a nearby screen: "Ghost Player doesn't like showing his face, so he asked me to say a few words. No more nonsense—since you're all fired up and ready to go, I hereby announce: Dungeon & Adventurer, officially begins!"
Boom! The steel gate slowly opened, revealing a deep tunnel inside. The crowd cheered and surged in like a tide. The mysterious Steelbull Dungeon was about to be unveiled.