Thump, thump, thump. Short, hurried footsteps echoed as Ashamed Father, crouching low, charged forward with reckless abandon. He slammed his shoulder and back into the Autobot's steel frame.
His physique, capable of shattering walls, merely staggered the Autobot.
Whirr, whirr, whirr.
The chainsaw grazed Xie Lingxi's side and struck the concrete floor, its high-speed rotation carving a deep, thin groove into the ground.
Zhang Yuanqing reacted instantly. His leg muscles bulged as he unleashed unprecedented speed, rushing to Xie Lingxi's side. He grabbed the girl's shoulder, yanked her backward, and flung her toward Xishi behind them. Simultaneously, he seized the Autobot's chainsaw-wielding arm and roared:
"All of you! Overwhelm him! Take his weapon!"
His voice rang like a bell, jolting the panicked Fire Fiend and Great Sage, Heaven's Equal into action. The two lunged at the Autobot, the volatile Fire Master slamming into its back while Great Sage joined Zhang Yuanqing in gripping the chainsaw, attempting to wrest it away.
"You will all die! You will all die!"
The Autobot's chest speaker blared its declaration. Buzz, crackle—electrical sparks flew as its mechanical arm twisted with a grinding clack, violently flinging Zhang Yuanqing and Great Sage aside.
The former crashed to the ground like a sandbag, landing with a bone-jarring thud that left him dazed and disoriented.
The latter adjusted his balance mid-air, executing two backflips to dissipate the force before landing steadily.
A Wood Spirit? This guy's a Wood Spirit? Zhang Yuanqing immediately locked onto the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal's profession.
In the Transcendent Phase, a Level 2 Wood Spirit is also known as a Wood Ape, possessing innate climbing skills and exceptional agility.
The earlier display of force dissipation couldn't be achieved through mere physical strength; it required specialized techniques. After careful consideration, Zhang Yuanqing concluded that only a Wood Spirit could pull it off.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ashamed Father's fists rained down on the Autobot's steel body.
But the Autobot merely swung its arm, sending him flying. Then, gripping the chainsaw, it pursued him relentlessly.
In this crisis, the seemingly unassuming middle-aged man revealed surprising combat prowess and agility, his eyes blazing with ferocity. Using parked cars as cover, he darted, dove, and rolled, narrowly evading the chainsaw's relentless strikes.
Each moment was fraught with peril.
"Fuck you, you bastard!" the Fire Fiend roared, charging forward. He leaped into the air, his legs snapping together as he kicked the Autobot in the back.
However, the Autobot's foot-mounted braking system held firm. Its steel body shuddered, but its feet remained planted as it swiftly spun around, swinging the chainsaw-wielding arm in a sweeping arc.
Instinctively, the Fire Fiend raised his arm to block.
Thwack!
The Fire Fiend's right hand instantly detached, falling to the ground with a thud.
The Fire Fiend collapsed, his agonizing screams piercing the night.
At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing and the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, charged back into the fray. One engaged the Autobot in a desperate struggle, while the other dragged the wounded Fire Fiend back.
Clang! Clang!
Zhang Yuanqing's fists slammed against the Autobot's steel chest, the impact nearly shattering his bones. His iron fists, capable of felling an eighty-year-old man, felt like mere child's punches against this mechanical behemoth.
The Autobot's targets had doubled from one to two.
Drawing on his Nightwalker physique, Zhang Yuanqing narrowly dodged lethal attacks again and again, his mind racing.
We can't win, and we can't escape. This is a total wipe instance. With our skills sealed, how can we possibly survive against this Autobot?
But even an S-rank spirit realm wouldn't design an impossible mission. There must be a way to break through this, I just haven't found it yet. If only we had a sanctuary like the Mountain God Temple.
A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Yuanqing. He shouted:
"Get in the car! Get inside the car!"
The others froze, then realization dawned. The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, seized this lifeline like a drowning man grasping at a straw, frantically pulling out the car key and pressing the unlock button.
A few dozen meters behind them, the car that had just been unlocked beeped twice.
Great Sage, Heaven's Equal instinctively charged forward. After a few steps, he remembered the Fire Fiend and doubled back, helping him stumble toward the car.
Xie Lingxi, her face pale, pulled out the car key and pressed the unlock button. A black SUV beeped a few meters away, its taillights flashing.
"Sister Xishi, it's over there! Let's hurry!" Xie Lingxi exclaimed with relief.
Xishi sprinted toward the car, while Xie Lingxi, clutching her back, staggered after her, calling out, "This way! This way!"
"Go on ahead," the middle-aged man said, ducking to avoid the chainsaw's swing, his voice low and urgent.
Seeing Zhang Yuanqing hesitate, he frowned. "Your skills are too raw. You don't fight like an experienced Spirit Realm Walker. If I leave you here, you'll be dead for sure."
Can't I just be a non-combatant class? Zhang Yuanqing thought indignantly, but he didn't argue. He turned and ran.
He sprinted to the SUV, yanked open the back door, and dove inside, leaning out to shout, "Hurry!"
Ashamed Father immediately abandoned the Autobot and sprinted toward them.
Vroom! Vroom!
The Autobot roared to life, its engine screaming as its roller-skate feet propelled it forward in a relentless charge.
Ashamed Father, his face contorted in a grimace, veins bulging on his forehead, ran with desperate ferocity, yet he couldn't outpace the Autobot.
"Switch sides!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted, slamming the car door shut and flinging open the opposite one.
Ashamed Father dove to the left, narrowly dodging the sweeping chainsaw, scrambling around the car to the other side and diving through the open door.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Gas hissed from vents in the Autobot's ankles, neutralizing its momentum. It stood motionless beside the car, chainsaw still in hand.
Inside the vehicle, all four occupants held their breath.
After a tense half-minute of silence, Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in relief, glancing at the Autobot standing guard outside, its head swiveling left and right. He chuckled, "Looks like my hunch was right."
Xishi immediately cast him an admiring glance. "You're amazing! No wonder you're such an experienced Spirit Realm Walker."
Ashamed Father shot him a sharp look.
He seems to have figured out I'm a newbie, Zhang Yuanqing thought with a faint smile. "I'm just good at observing."
Xie Lingxi blinked her watery eyes. "Are you a Scout?"
Of course not! How could I possibly be a 75-gold-coin eyeball?! Zhang Yuanqing smiled enigmatically, offering no further explanation.
Xie Lingxi didn't press further, her voice sweet and gentle. "Thank you, Uncle. And thank you, Brother Wang Tai, for saving me earlier."
Ashamed Father gave a slight nod.
"We're teammates," Zhang Yuanqing replied. "We need to help each other to get through this." His words earned him the little girl's gratitude and admiration.
The Autobots outside hadn't left yet, so the group remained in the car for the time being. Zhang Yuanqing used the opportunity to close his eyes and mentally review the details since entering the parking garage:
"Xie Lingxi doesn't seem like a close-combat specialist. Xishi is playing it safe, so her class is hard to discern for now. Fire Fiend is likely a Fire Master—a hot temper can be faked, but not perfectly.
"Ashamed Father... hmm, he reminds me a bit of Ou Xiangrong."
Earlier, Zhang Yuanqing hadn't been able to determine the middle-aged man's class. But after witnessing his combat skills, he sensed a palpable ferocity and proficiency in close-quarters combat.
This immediately brought Ou Xiangrong to mind, the two men giving him a strikingly similar impression.
"If he's a Seductive Demon, why is he so mild-mannered? Well, Ou Xiangrong was already mentally unstable at the time, so he can't be used as a standard. If Ashamed Father is a Seductive Demon, given the factional conflict, he's likely an Evildoer. After this mission, should I take him out?"
"To clear the Underground Parking Garage, we need everyone to search for the Key and work together to fight the Autobots. In this situation, the killer's chances of stabbing someone are greatly reduced."
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Xie Lingxi chirp excitedly, "Oh, I found another card!"
[ Ding! Your condition has been met. Do you wish to eliminate a team member? Failure to choose within thirty seconds will forfeit this opportunity. ]
[ Ding! You have forfeited this opportunity. ]
Inside the car, everyone's attention turned to Xie Lingxi as she pulled a metallic card from behind the passenger-side sun visor.
The gold-painted surface bore a single sentence:
[ You have gained one opportunity to use an item. ]
An opportunity to use an item? Zhang Yuanqing noticed Xishi, Xie Lingxi, and the middle-aged uncle's eyes light up slightly.
Compared to the Life Concentrate, a card granting item usage seemed far more valuable.
A well-used item could resolve a crisis, whereas the Life Elixir, though life-saving, couldn't defuse dangerous situations.
At that moment, the Autobots outside, still shouting "Everyone must die," reluctantly slid away.
At the same time, the countdown reappeared, but this time the time limit was two minutes and forty seconds.
Twenty seconds had been shaved off.
"What's going on? We lost twenty seconds," Xishi exclaimed, her beautiful eyes widening. "Does each Autobot appearance reduce the time by twenty seconds?"
"There's another possibility," Xie Lingxi offered. "Opening a car might cost ten seconds."
The four fell silent.
Regardless of the reason, neither scenario was good.
Xishi's face paled. "S-rank instances are too difficult. I never want to experience one again in my life."
Huh? Are there instances beyond S-rank in this world? Zhang Yuanqing quipped inwardly, finding dark humor in their predicament.
As they opened the car doors, they saw the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, supporting the Fire Fiend as they approached. The Fire Fiend's wrist was crudely bandaged with a torn sleeve, but the makeshift dressing failed to stem the bleeding effectively.
During the few minutes they had hidden in the car, blood had already soaked through the Fire Fiend's trousers, leaving his face deathly pale from blood loss.
"His condition is critical," the Great Sage said, gesturing toward the wound as he approached.
Seeing the Great Sage's reluctance to speak, the Fire Fiend rasped weakly, "Little girl, where's that card of yours? Hurry up and give it to me."
Xie Lingxi wrinkled her nose. "I need to keep it to save my own life. Why should I give it to you?"
The Fire Fiend roared in anger. "I knew you were just pretending! You're rotten to the core!"
Xie Lingxi pouted, feigning hurt. "How can you say such things? I'm not even an adult yet!"
What's with this girl? Trying to reduce our numbers at a time like this? Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her, then at the Fire Fiend.
The mission in the Underground Parking Garage wasn't over yet. They needed all hands on deck to search for the Key. If they didn't save the Fire Fiend, he would surely die, delaying the mission and reducing their team's strength.
After a moment's thought, Zhang Yuanqing suggested, "Let's vote."
The vote was unanimous except for Xie Lingxi, who voted against it.
"Hmph!" Xie Lingxi reluctantly tossed the Life Concentrate card to the Fire Fiend.
[ Ding! Injury detected. Use Life Concentrate? ]
"Yes."
The metallic card emitted a shimmering, ethereal spring that enveloped the Fire Fiend's severed wrist. Within seconds, flesh and bone regenerated, and a new hand gradually grew back.
The Fire Fiend, who had been pale and weak moments before, now radiated renewed vitality.
With the injured member healed, the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal immediately said:
"I've noticed the time between finding the Keys is getting shorter. What's going on?"
Xishi shared her theory from the car. Great Sage, Heaven's Equal frowned deeply, while Fire Fiend grumbled:
"Damn it! If this keeps up, will the Autobots just stay here and slaughter us all?"
Given the S-Rank difficulty, that seemed likely. Zhang Yuanqing sighed.
The group shuddered as they recalled the Autobots' combat prowess.
Xishi swallowed hard, urgency in her voice. "We can't waste any more time. We need to find the Controller and shut down the Autobots before things get even worse."
Xie Lingxi glanced at the dense rows of cars—those nearby, those in the distance, and even those beyond their sight. Her delicate brows furrowed. "How are we supposed to search all of them?"
Anxiety and despair began to creep into everyone's hearts.
First find the Key, then find the Controller. At this rate, the three-minute intervals would soon be exhausted.
Sigh... Zhang Yuanqing sighed and spoke up:
"I have a plan. If it works, we might actually clear the Underground Parking Garage."
"What?!"
To the team, his words were like heavenly music. They whirled around, their faces a mix of shock and elation as they stared at Wang Tai.