Just as he approached the villa, Ian Song sensed that the aura of the System Host had suddenly vanished.
"Pretty fast, but do you really think you can escape after I've found you?"
With a flicker, Ian's figure disappeared from where he stood and reappeared in the suburbs.
That aura appeared once again.
"Damn it, why won't this guy leave me alone!"
Gavin Xu cursed loudly and had no choice but to pull out another Teleportation Card, jumping a hundred li away. Ever since he was hunted by that other System Host, he’d figured out that only within fifty li could two Hosts sense each other.
The moment Gavin disappeared, Ian appeared right behind him.
The chase went on like this for half an hour. When Gavin tried to use another Teleportation Card, he realized that he only had one left from all his previous lottery draws. If he used it, he’d have no way to shake Ian off for good.
So, he decided to stop running and face Ian head-on.
The next moment, Ian’s figure appeared just a few meters away.
"Why aren’t you running anymore?"
Ian glanced at him, his tone playful.
"Instead of running endlessly, why don’t we talk?" Gavin pretended to be calm.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ian asked.
Gavin said seriously, "How about we discuss working together? There are over three thousand System Hosts in this world. If we cooperate, our chances of survival go way up."
"Cooperation is fine, but first I need to see what you can do!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ian casually slashed out a three-foot-long qi blade.
The qi blade tore through the air, carrying a sharp edge straight toward Gavin.
Gavin retreated quickly, and three cards appeared in his hand. He tossed them up, and they burst into golden light, transforming into three shields that enveloped him.
Bang!
The qi blade slammed heavily against the golden shield, producing a constant humming sound.
After a brief standoff, the qi blade dissipated, breaking one shield layer—two layers remained.
Seeing this, Ian shook his head. The qi blade he just used was, at most, early Grandmaster level. In other words, if he unleashed a mid-Grandmaster qi blade, he could break all three shields at once.
"Show me your strongest defense, or you won’t survive my next attack!"
As he spoke, another qi blade condensed in Ian’s palm. It was crescent-shaped, and its sharp aura made Gavin shiver involuntarily.
"Great Golden Body Card!"
Gavin called out, pulling out three more cards that turned into golden shields, enveloping him again.
"Go!"
Ian flicked his hand, and the crescent qi blade shot out like lightning, smashing into the golden shields instantly.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three golden shields shattered in succession.
After a slight pause, the fourth golden shield broke.
Immediately after, the fifth golden shield was also destroyed. But that brief delay was enough for Gavin to activate more Golden Body Cards.
In the end, the crescent qi blade broke through two regular Golden Body Cards and five Great Golden Body Cards before its energy was spent and it finally dissipated.
"That’s your strongest defense?" Ian looked at him, disappointment in his eyes.
Gavin blushed a little. He’d never been ambitious; before getting the Livestream System, he was just a broke loser. After acquiring the system, he found success in his home world and even won the favor of several beautiful women.
Gradually, he got lost in his own success. Even after crossing four worlds, he focused on pleasure rather than growing stronger, relying mostly on tools drawn from his system’s lotteries.
"Hit me with your strongest attack!" Ian’s deep voice rang out again.
"Watch out!"
Determined to regain some pride, Gavin pulled out a silver card.
This card was called the Ten-Thousand-Sword Card. It could unleash ten thousand powerful sword-energies. Even after owning the Livestream System for so long, Gavin only had three of these cards. Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t use one.
"Take my Ten-Thousand Swords Converge!"
Gavin shouted and tossed the Ten-Thousand-Sword Card into the air. Instantly, waves of brilliant sword-light erupted, flooding toward Ian.
Seeing this, Ian secretly shook his head. The move looked flashy and overwhelming, but its real attack power was only about late Grandmaster level.
It was honestly disappointing.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Countless sword-energies struck Ian, then swallowed him up.
Seeing this, Gavin was overjoyed. Had he actually wiped out this guy?
But when the ten thousand sword-lights faded, Gavin was stunned—the guy he’d supposedly killed was still standing there, completely unharmed.
"What… How can he be this strong?"
Even the murderous System Host who hunted him before had to avoid the Ten-Thousand-Sword Card’s edge, buying time to escape. But this Host just stood there and took the attack, without a scratch.
This was just too demoralizing!
"Are you sure that was your strongest attack?"
Ian looked at him and asked.
"That really was my strongest attack!" Gavin replied, a bit annoyed.
"With your level of strength, you’re not qualified to work with me!" Ian shook his head. If he was picking teammates, he’d choose strong ones—not weaklings who’d just get themselves killed.
"Are you planning to kill me?"
Gavin’s expression changed dramatically. As he spoke, he gripped his last Teleportation Card tightly, ready to flee at any moment.
"Let me think about it!"
Ian said, then contacted his System to ask: do I have to kill the Host to devour and fuse with their System?
The System gave an answer.
As long as the other party willingly separates from their System, there’s no need to kill them.
With the answer in hand, Ian looked at Gavin again: "You have two choices. One, voluntarily strip your System. Two, be killed by me!"
Hearing Ian’s words, Gavin’s expression turned extremely ugly.
"You have two minutes to decide," Ian added.
Two minutes passed in a flash.
"Have you made your choice?" Ian asked.
"Are you sure you won’t kill me after I strip my System?" Gavin stared hard at Ian.
Ian smiled, "Why would I need to lie? Even if you refuse, I’ll kill you and get the System anyway. If I wanted to kill you, why bother with all this?"
"Fine, I agree. I hope you’ll keep your word!"
Gavin said weakly, then closed his eyes.
Whoosh!
A milky-white light mass flew out from his brow. Ian reached out and grabbed it, and it quickly fused into his body.
The System’s cold voice sounded: "Livestream System detected. Host, do you wish to fuse with it, or keep it as a subordinate sub-system?"