Chapter 98: Failed Goods (1/2)
Translator: Strivon
Luo Nan’s heart thumped twice when he saw the Human-Faced Arachnid collide inside. He was seriously a bit stunned.
He had used his soul strength to make a greeting. All he called out to was what he believed to be Huang Bingzhen in an out-of-body state. After all, Huang Bingzhen’s current shallow and unconscious state was practically the same as Luo Nan’s, back when he had his out-of-body state. He had speculated that Huang Bingzhen used the special methods of the Order of Justice, like the holy space, the holy exchange, and so on, to obtain the power to go into the out-of-body state.
From Luo Nan’s own experience, if one did not have an external force to help out, they would need to carefully ponder how to even move the first time their soul left their body. This fellow Huang Bingzhen could not have gotten far.
Luo Nan had a clearer understanding of Huang Bingzhen’s nature after their conflict earlier today and after referring to Liu Tao’s recording. Terminology such as ‘a sheep in wolf’s clothing’, ‘a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong’ and, ‘being carried away’ were meant specifically for such a person. He may have been scared by the sudden appearance of the city’s special police force, was not adapted to the marvels of the incorporeal soul, and was scared into coming out.
However, Frost River Reality was jammed packed with people. As long as Huang Bingzhen was not a fool, he would certainly discover the advantages of the out-of-body soul very quickly and his self-confidence should have inflated. Luo Nan used some stimulation and some provocation in order to hook this fellow back. Luo Nan believed the success rate of this would be rather high.
The situation unraveled quite similarly to how Luo Nan had imagined but the degree of danger was on a completely different order of magnitude.
Luo Nan instantly entered into the highest state of vigilance. He followed the principles of the Society’s provisions and tossed out, “A Human-Faced Arachnid has appeared. He’s heading for me,” in the encrypted channel. The dark chains shot out, unable to stay put with the pressure of soul strength against his body. The chains spiraled around his body, making battle preparations.
“What’s wrong?” asked Xue Weilun to the side.
The Human-Faced Arachnid and the dark chains were all existences on the mental plane; Xue Weilun was unable to see them. However, Luo Nan had suddenly tensed up. Luo Nan was unable to hide his body language from Xue Weilun. Luo Nan turned his head at this time and faced the empty right side of the wall. His expression turned grim. He felt that a storm was brewing.
Xue Weilun’s words reminded him that there were several special police officers in the room. He silently screamed “F**K” as he knew he would be doubted. He shouted.
“There’s a problem with the room. Withdraw!”
Despite the huge difference in build, Luo Nan forcefully grabbed Xue Weilun’s exoskeleton armor covered arm as he spoke. He wanted to drag Xue Weilun outside.
However, Luo Nan was unable to move him. Xue Weilun and his underlings were still, they were all confused by Luo Nan’s neurotic-like reaction. They did not respond instantly.
And at this time, the Human-Faced Arachnid had already permeated through the wall completely. It was already close at hand.
Indeed, this fellow had made Luo Nan his first target. Its six solid eyes locked onto Luo Nan’s position and it charged over like a crazed bull. Its eight sharp blade-like limbs streaked across the void to slash Luo Nan’s head and face.
What?
As he faced the Human-Faced Arachnid, Luo Nan put nearly all of his energy to defend against the most probable attack that could happen, the Siege Hammer. He actually forgot to make a move against this attack that exceeded his expectations.
“You idiot!”
A vigorous and strong lioness-like figure forcefully made its way inside from close to the door of the room through two sturdy special police officers. Its speed increased once again as it leaped several meters and it collided against Luo Nan in this moment of peril, sending Luo Nan flying and narrowly avoiding the sharp long limbs of the arachnid.
Luo Nan’s eyes were bulging to the point of splitting after being flung out. This was because he could grasp what was going on very clearly through his mental senses. The sharp long limb had not cut Luo Nan but it had taken the opportunity to press forward and pierce Xue Weilun through the chest and slash upwards. The limb cut into the helmet from below and came out through the top of the skull.
Only now did Luo Nan fall to the ground. His entire spine was all numb from the collision. He slid backwards for two to three meters from the momentum, only stopping when he reached the edge of the operating area. He did not even have time to catch his breath but he was doing his utmost to get up.
“Uncle Xue… huh?”
Whether it was through the naked eye or through the perception of his mental senses, Xue Weilun continued to stand there perfectly alright. His helmet turned to face Luo Nan’s location. Luo Nan was a bit stiff while looking at Xue Weilun; this was due to the absurd scene before his eyes.
It was as if nothing had happened to Xue Weilun’s body.
As for the Human-Faced Arachnid, it was unable to put on its brakes after launching its mad-bull charge and blade cleaving attack. It simple charged straight to the edge of the room. Then it turned around and looked at the results of its attack. It looked to be a bit stunned.
Luo Nan sat on the ground. He blinked his eyes. His brain was a bit stupid right now.
Not too far away from Luo Nan was Cat Eyes. She wore camouflage pants and a baseball cap tilted to the side. She looked as if she had just been hip-hop dancing. She made a light roll and stood up but she too was stupefied when facing the current situation.
“You…”
Xue Weilun felt like he was watching some absurd show. In an instant, a hip-hop girl had appeared with astonishing skill. He did not dare to wait around idly.
It was only now that most of the special police officers in the room came to. They pulled out their guns one after another and pointed them to the hip-hop girl who had suddenly broken inside. Some of them even pointed their guns at Luo Nan.
All of the threat they could feel only came from these two.
“Put away your guns!” Xue Weilun gave an order and then asked, “Luo Nan, what the heck are you two doing!?”
Luo Nan did not know how he should explain things for a time. His gaze shifted to the Human-Faced Arachnid at the side of the room and his mental senses locked firmly onto this enemy. He probed out several times, after which he could not help but find things problematic.
From the aggressive appearance of the Human-Faced Arachnid, Luo Nan had believed that it was fully-matured, that it had manifested from nothingness to reality and entering the material plane. He had believed that it wanted to behead him.
But the facts of the matter turned out to be different.
The level of this Human-Faced Arachnid’s power was actually very ordinary. So ordinary that it could not have been stronger than the burning wraith that Luo Nan had encountered back in the day on the warship.
So, how stupid must it be for it to abandon its most optimal ability, try to use its formless existence to break through to the material plane, and use a material attack to resolve its issues?
In fact, this fellow had been constantly trying to interfere with the material plane from the mental plane up until now. It was like an expanding balloon that was firmly set on pressing down into a body water. This sort of method had no functionality besides making it more eye-catching.
Luo Nan finally understood why the Human-Faced Arachnid’s form was so clear. This fellow was spending most of its energy to mentally interfere with the material.
The closer it was to the material plane, the more likely it was for people to perceive it.
In the last operation, Cat Eyes was unable to see the Human-Faced Arachnid but her assist just now proved that she could already manage to determine the Human-Faced Arachnid’s location and timing.
This sort of change had nothing to do with a growth in her ability. The target was different.
The Human-Faced Arachnid before their eyes was clearly totally different than others of its kind.
The lighting in the room suddenly lit up amidst Luo Nan’s thoughts. The projectors in the operating area suddenly lit up even though there was no one to control them. Five different colors of light were cast into this area.
