Yang Qi could only see the woman’s back from where she stood, but even from behind, the graceful curves, creamy skin, slender arms, and supple waist were impossible to miss. When the woman lifted water in her hands and splashed it high, the alluring outline of her chest peeked through—this was, without a doubt, a stunning beauty, even from the rear view alone.
In this bizarre cave, bathed in faint light, the beauty looked like a lake spirit straight out of a dream—and standing behind her was Yang Qi. “If I were still Jack Young, this would be a total repeat of the Fairy Island Peeping Incident!” But now she was Yang Qi, so there was no need to sneak around or hide.
Seriously, what kind of weirdo place is this, with a girl bathing here? She didn’t look like a player in the Ghost Player’s game—could she be… a native? Also, her neck was pretty, but what’s with that huge thing above it? Was she wearing some kind of diving helmet?
No matter how you looked at it, it was all super suspicious.
Just then, a strange noise echoed from the lake. Yang Qi frowned—something was lurking underwater. The next moment, a thick tentacle shot out, wrapping around the woman’s waist. She screamed—a bit weirdly, but that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that a huge head burst from the water, two long, sharp fangs gleaming as it lunged at her.
The lake spirit was about to be in real trouble—when suddenly, "Wada!" a roar rang out. A mighty leg came crashing down from above, smashing the monster’s head. Bam! Caught off guard, the creature nearly exploded, slammed back into the water, sending huge waves flying. The monster tried to rise for a counterattack, but another earth-shattering punch knocked it back underwater.
Yang Qi cracked her knuckles, face shadowed. A monster with the nerve to attack a naked woman with tentacles? No way she’d let that slide. For all the girls who’ve suffered in those comic books—monster, time to accept divine retribution! With her twin volcanic pistols out, Yang Qi aimed at the still-dazed monster’s head, ready to finish it off clean and quick.
But just then, a figure darted over and hugged the monster’s head, shielding it with her back from Yang Qi’s gun. It was the same woman who’d been attacked. "Don’t hurt my Cang Cang!" she cried in panic. "Cang Cang is a good boy, why are you bullying my Cang Cang!"
"Bullying... your... Cang Cang?!" Three black lines appeared on Yang Qi’s forehead. She pointed at the dazed monster and stammered, "Wait, this guy is your... pet?"
"Yep!" The woman nodded vigorously.
"Alright then..." Yang Qi slapped herself on the forehead. Keeping a freaky thing like that as a pet is just too wild, right? Anyone would totally get the wrong idea! But in a place crawling with mutant beasts, finding a normal animal is basically impossible. When you look at it that way, it kinda makes sense. So Yang Qi let out a sigh: "Sorry, I misjudged your, uh, Cang Cang. I thought it was attacking you, so I went after it."
"So..." The girl composed herself and asked, "You’re not a bad guy, huh?"
Why does her voice sound so familiar...? But now’s not the time to worry about that. Yang Qi quickly admitted her mistake: "Sorry, I hit the wrong target."
Hearing Yang Qi’s apology, the girl finally relaxed. That’s when she realized she was still totally naked—even though they were both women, she still looked shy and flustered. She covered herself with one hand up top, one hand down below, and struck a pose that was somehow both bashful and oddly graceful. She glanced back at Yang Qi with a smile: "It’s fine."
For a split second, time seemed to freeze. Yang Qi’s eyes went wide, she held her breath, her heart skipped a beat, and even her pupils shrank. She clenched her fists as a wave of emotion crashed over her, only to force it back down. Driven by this surge, Yang Qi raised her hand and pointed at the girl’s head: "Is that a wig?"
The girl smiled and shook her head, "Nope, it’s real."
"What the—" Yang Qi twisted around and kicked out with a move straight out of a kung fu flick! "Take this, demon!" Her powerful kick landed, and both the 'girl' and Cang Cang yelped in pain.
Two minutes later, Yang Qi stood on the shore, hands on her hips, looking fierce. The 'girl' was kneeling on the ground, looking all pitiful, and the weird creature was lying quietly beside her. "Hey..." "Speak properly!" "Yessir! My name’s Dog Egg, I’ve lived here forever. That’s Cang Cang, my pet..." The timid speaker named Dog Egg was the one who’d just been bathing.
As for Cang Cang, once it got ashore, it turned out to be a rat the size of a minivan. Those tentacles from before? Actually its tail. With patchy fur and floppy ears, it was a real oddball even in the rat world. It blinked its big eyes at Yang Qi, looking all nervous, but honestly, it wasn’t cute at all.
And as for Dog Egg, you really couldn’t blame Yang Qi for freaking out—the way she turned back was downright terrifying. On that graceful neck was a head that looked like it belonged to a heavyweight champ. Normally, someone with a mug like that should be out protecting John Connor or fighting at Thermopylae against an army of millions. From the eyes to the nose, the mouth to the stubble—pure tough guy.
But just now, that tough-guy face broke into a shy, healing sort of smile, and with a voice that was both masculine and feminine, said, "It’s fine." The effect? Blood pressure through the roof. It felt like watching Supreme Treasure listen to his master sing—no wonder the voice seemed familiar, it sounded just like Cake Dog’s!
"Um..." Dog Egg fidgeted, looking at Yang Qi with hope. "Can I put my clothes back on...? Being stared at like this, even a guy like me gets embarrassed..."
Yang Qi took a deep breath, clearly fighting the urge to lose her cool. Whatever, just roll with it—Steelbull City’s full of weirdos, what’s one more? "Alright, go ahead." Yang Qi nodded, and Dog Egg dashed off, covering the essentials, to get dressed. Watching that bouncing chest, Yang Qi was pretty sure this body was all woman.
One Cake Dog who shouts, "I wanna be a woman!" and one Dog Egg mumbling, "I’m a boy..." Something’s fishy, for sure! "Hey Dog Egg, I’m in the middle of an important competition right now. Do you know how to get up to the next level?"
"I do, I do..." "Talk normal!" "Oh, I know this place super well." Dog Egg, with fingers like white jade, tapped his stubbly chin, striking a cutesy thinking pose and glancing skyward, then frowned, "But it’s a long detour."
"Detour? I don’t have that kind of time!" Yang Qi fumed, "I’ve gotta catch those bastards and tear them to pieces! Fine, even if it’s a detour, is there any way to get around faster? Or maybe something that can dig tunnels? Speaking of digging..." As the saying goes, dragons spawn dragons, phoenixes spawn phoenixes, and rats are born to dig. If we’re talking rats... Yang Qi squinted at Cang Cang, who nervously scooted back, even breaking into a sweat.
Twenty minutes later.
"Heads up, we’ve scanned the gate at the end of the tunnel—the Flame Tide’s just ahead! Stay sharp, don’t mess this up... Wait, something’s coming up fast behind us, and it’s huge! Machine gunner, go check it out!"
With a creak, the turret hatch popped open and the patched-up machine gunner poked his head out. He peered into the tunnel behind them, shook his head in disbelief, took off his night vision goggles and rubbed his eyes, then put them back on and looked again. He stammered, "Th-that crazy chick is back again!"
"No way!" the radar operator protested. "She shouldn’t have a vehicle—the motorcycle should be toast!"
"It’s not a motorcycle—it’s a giant rat!"
In the distance behind them, Yang Qi rode on the back of the huge rat, charging ahead at breakneck speed. Cang Cang was moving so fast it was like a blur, its stubby legs almost turning into afterimages. "You bastards better wait for me!" Yang Qi shouted, firing her twin volcano pistols, sparks flying off the Reverse Flow Tank’s armor. With a loud bang, the machine gunner’s left arm was blasted clean off.
"Ah—damn it, fire the cannons! Hurry up!" The machine gunner was in so much pain he was about to pass out.
The turret spun, all four secondary guns and the main cannon aimed at Yang Qi’s crew. Energy balls blasted out, unleashing waves of fire. Cang Cang dodged through the barrage with moves worthy of a kung fu master, but slowing down in the process. Amid the explosions, a long scream rang out—it was Dog Egg, clinging to the rat’s back and hiding behind Yang Qi. "Help! It’s a war zone!"
"What are you screaming for?" Yang Qi snapped, itching to slap 'him.' "Aren’t you a man? If you’re a man, stop acting like such a wimp!"
"B-boys get scared too..." Dog Egg sniffled, tears welling up. Then she pointed ahead and shrieked again, "Look, that big spike is lighting up!"
Sure enough, with a buzzing sound, the Reverse Flow Tank’s main cannon was charging up fast. If it finished, there was no way a rat this size could dodge it. "Run faster, you dumb rat, or I’ll pound you!" Yang Qi shook her fist at Cang Cang, who instantly kicked into high gear, charging through the bullets and explosions, speeding straight at the tank.
As the main cannon’s glow hit the final ring, Yang Qi holstered her pistols, jumped off Cang Cang’s head, and shot through the air, landing with a thud on the Reverse Flow Tank’s armor. The machine gunner, still half in shock, hadn’t ducked back into the tank yet. He looked up just in time for Yang Qi to grab him by the collar.
"Aaaah!" The machine gunner was tossed out like trash, and Yang Qi dove into the tank. Outside, Dog Egg saw the tank start rocking violently, then wobble like a drunk, but the main cannon never fired. When the tank finally slowed to a stop, they realized they’d reached the steel gate.
"Congratulations, winner of the Death Race! You’ve earned a rare and one-of-a-kind prize: the Flame Tide Engine!"
As the Ghost Player’s voice rang out, the steel gate rumbled open. Out of the Reverse Flow Tank came a guy in military gear—not climbing out on his own, but literally thrown out. Then a few more were tossed out one after another, and finally, Yang Qi crawled out of the tank last.
"Flame Tide, Flame Tide!" Yang Qi’s eyes sparkled as she dashed forward to a big stone chest—one of those massive, heavy stone treasure boxes. With one hand, she flipped the lid, and in the next moment, a blazing red light shot out, like a bundle of fire burning inside.
Yang Qi leaned in for a look and suddenly froze. Dog Egg, clueless, exchanged glances with Cang Cang, who somehow managed a human-like look of confusion. The two of them crowded forward for a peek—and froze too.
Inside the chest wasn’t the engine block they’d expected, but a basketball-sized ball of light, almost like a miniature star. It seemed limited in size but packed with infinite energy. Gorgeous, mysterious, with swirling flames inside—like something not of this world. Dog Egg was dazzled: "What is that?" "That’s the Flame Tide Engine." "Engine?" Dog Egg asked, puzzled. "How do you use an engine like that?"
"I think I know how." Yang Qi reached out with her right hand and pressed it to the light sphere. Out of Dog Egg’s sight, golden light flashed, and a silhouette appeared. This time, the silhouette imprinted its pattern onto the sphere, flashing for a moment before vanishing. But Yang Qi had already forged a mysterious connection with it. She picked up the Flame Tide, tossed it in her hand—it felt weightless, but didn’t float away. Pretty magical.
[End of chapter prompt: This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!]
"No wonder nobody’s used it in a hundred years. But," Yang Qi smirked, "now I’m really curious about that last champion, Night Wujiao..."
But now’s not the time to dwell on that—the Flame Tide Engine was in hand, and that was something worth celebrating. Still, the main goal wasn’t finished yet. Luckily, she had a local guide. "Dog Egg, do you know where to find something called Original Liquid?" Seeing Dog Egg’s confusion, Yang Qi explained, "It’s a weird fluid that can make creatures stronger, or turn them into monsters."
"Oh!" Dog Egg immediately got it and nodded enthusiastically, "I know, I know!"
Yang Qi was thrilled, "Then take me there right now?"
"Uh... I don’t think that’s possible..." Dog Egg said awkwardly. "It’s not that I don’t want to help, but that place is super dangerous, tons of powerful monsters—Cang Cang can’t even handle them. Without some heavy-duty weapons, there’s no way to get through."
"Heavy-duty weapons, huh..." Yang Qi glanced at the glowing orb in her hand, then at the Reverse Flow Tank, and grinned. "Looks like we’ve got just what we need!"
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xiao Di and his crew hacked their way through and finally reached a weird room. Why weird? Because after all this time, it was the only place showing signs of human activity. There was a door, a cabinet, a desk, even some books. Four-Eyes picked up a book, but it was so old it crumbled to dust.
"Hey, check this out!" Cake Dog called, pulling a notebook out of a pile of junk. Four-Eyes took one look and gasped, "This—this is... the Ghost Player’s research log!"