Liu Shanshan was holding a rare-quality sleeve arrow, a weapon she acquired from a six-star dungeon at levels 20-25, capable of shooting Light-Forged Arrows with astonishing power.
She steadily aimed the arrowhead at the figure in the mist, ready to release it at any sign of abnormal behavior from the opponent.
In the world of Extraordinary Power, there's no room for mercy. The first rule for any Secret Realm agent facing their peers is to ensure their own safety.
Amidst this tense atmosphere, the figure spoke.
"Leader, don't shoot, it's me."
This time, Liu Rui was genuinely a bit panicked.
He couldn't clearly see what was in front of him, but he could sense an incredibly strong sense of danger. Fortunately, he recognized Liu Shanshan's voice; after all, she had trained him in several classes.
It was only now that he understood that even though his over-leveled development could overcome some level gaps, encountering a level 28 senior agent still made it impossible to match.
Back in the Demon Wind Temple, those monsters, however strong, were only within the level 1-5 framework, mainly relying on numbers to overwhelm players.
The final boss, who was over a dozen levels higher, did not specifically target Liu Rui; its body was directly eliminated by Chongxuzi.
So now it was his first time facing the killing intent of a truly high-level Extraordinary.
Upon hearing the voice, Liu Shanshan first felt puzzled, then disbelief, before becoming utterly astonished.
"Liu Rui?!"
She finally put away her attacking stance.
"You, you, you."
She had too many questions.
Why are you here? How did you take down so many level 10 monsters? Do you have help? Did you rescue the two people outside?
But there were too many questions, and clearly, she knew the answers but found them hard to believe, so she just kept saying "you" without actually asking.
Liu Rui, on the other hand, was calm: "Let's get the people out for treatment first, and we can talk while we walk."
"Oh, okay."
Liu Shanshan instinctively responded, then realized.
Who exactly is the senior here?
...
Wang Ba didn't have a mission today, but as a Secret Realm agent, even when he didn't have to work, there were many things to research.
For instance, understanding other people's experiences in clearing Secret Realms. The more familiar one is with these experiences, the lower the chance of failure in dungeons. Everyone needs to take this seriously.
At this moment, he was at home watching video explanations on his computer, which were internal training materials from the Baili Association.
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated and then a rhythmic, loud "boom-boom" music started playing. He had a fondness for this kind of music with a strong beat—perfect for square dancing.
"Hello, Shanshan, why are you calling me so late..."
"Wang Ba! What on earth is going on!"
Before he could even finish speaking, he heard Liu Shanshan's questioning voice from the phone.
"Your team's Liu Rui appeared on the scene overlapped with our team's responsibility. This is a level 10 mission, and he's only level 6! You're really just sitting back and doing nothing, aren't you? I'm telling you, if you can't manage your people well..."
Liu Shanshan fell silent for a few seconds, finally couldn't hold it in, and said in a playful tone, "Then hand him over to our team, I'll manage him for you, hahaha."
Finally revealing her true intentions, turns out she wanted to poach him.
Wang Ba initially felt guilty and worried after hearing the first few sentences, afraid that Liu Rui might cause trouble over there. More importantly, if something were to happen to him, that would be a bigger problem.
But upon hearing her subsequent attitude, he knew everything was fine, maybe he even helped take down a few monsters?
"Haha, no need to trouble you. I'll definitely reprimand him later, violating the rules, he deserves strict punishment!"
Wang Ba cleared his throat, "So, how is he now?"
Liu Shanshan sarcastically replied, "He's fine, lively, and counting the dropped materials with a greedy look."
"Counting? How many did he kill to need counting?"
"In the fragmented realm, he cleared an entire area."
"Huh?"
Wang Ba was suddenly more surprised than happy, because it seemed impossible.
He's only level 6!
Even though he knew Liu Rui had many attribute points and lots of equipment, he's still just level 6.
"Where is he? I remember it's Celestial King Town, right? Tell him not to move, I'm coming to get him."
Wang Ba quickly changed clothes and rushed downstairs, driving straight to Celestial King Town.
On the way, he made a call to Wu Sun, reprimanding him.
The Secret Realm agent originally supposed to accompany Liu Rui had a frustrated tone: "Oh dear, when he asked me about the scene overlap in Celestial King Town, I was curious too, didn't expect him to go there alone."
"You didn't sense anything when he asked you!"
"Who would dare go to such a place alone, normally."
"Is he normal?"
"True."
"True my foot, you better be more vigilant."
Wang Ba hung up the phone and rushed to the destination at the speed limit.
When he saw Liu Rui, the kid was happily holding a pile of on-site materials. He was in a good mood, not because of the materials, but because after Wang Huai was sent to the temporary emergency station, he was confirmed to be fine.
"Leader! I've struck it rich!"
Wang Ba felt both angry and amused: "You got some guts, huh? Came to this place just for money?"
He actually felt a bit sympathetic, knowing Liu Rui lost his parents at a young age and grew up alone, surely worried about money quite often.
But Liu Rui shook his head and explained the whole story.
After Wang Ba heard it, he felt it was more understandable; that police officer was a good person.
He thought it was no wonder Liu Shanshan had called him directly. In this back and forth, Liu Rui had basically done her a favor.
After all, if someone died in the process of handling the scene overlap, it would undoubtedly be an accident. Although it wouldn't affect the already scarce Secret Realm agents, it would still be a blemish.
"Let's go, return with me, I'll help you submit the items."
He flipped through the materials in Liu Rui's arms with his finger, "You're really unlucky, it's all junk, but there's a lot of it. Altogether, it's worth about forty to fifty thousand."
"Forty to fifty thousand!"
Liu Rui didn't expect that much, knowing his luck, he never expected to acquire anything good.
But now it seemed it didn't matter, if luck failed him, quantity would suffice.
He got into Wang Ba's car, not worried about Wang Huai, as the police would naturally handle the aftermath.
On the way, Wang Ba solemnly carried out his leader duties, giving a thorough critique and education, mainly elaborating on the dangers of scene overlap for newbies, but lacking persuasion because Liu Rui was too fierce.
"...Even so, you shouldn't have gone without a word. You can discuss anything with me, I'm your leader, we should face challenges together. What's most important? Trust! Right? If you—"
"Hmm—hmm—"
Suddenly Wang Ba heard a slight snore from the passenger seat. A quick glance from the corner of his eye revealed that Liu Rui had succumbed to the fatigue from battle and had fallen asleep.
"You little rascal."
He mumbled quietly, but with a smile on his face, "What kind of monster did I recruit after all?"