Chapter 140: Have You No Shame? [Seeking Subscriptions!]

Though such thoughts crossed his mind, standing idly by was out of the question. After all, Sophia had gone up ahead, and leaving the lower ground empty made things even less secure.

"Let’s go up together. Keep yourself safe, and unless it is absolute necessity, do not use your elemental powers!"

Zhou Yi instructed in a low voice, rushing up ahead first. Dealing with water rats was not Sophia’s forte, but as for confronting the hunters, Zhou Yi was not particularly worried.

He did not leap or bound forward, merely running at a brisk pace. Even so, his speed far outstripped that of ordinary men in black.

Rushing to the summit, the first person he spotted was Black Panther, whose crescent double-bladed daggers were spinning continuously as he hurled them toward five opponents arrayed against him.

Although facing five adversaries, the dual blades fluttered up and down without showing the slightest sign of defeat.

Having undergone trials in the world of the Five Elements Tomb, Zhou Yi could now make out some of the underlying principles when watching such combat.

Opposite Sophia stood two old men, both dressed in extremely bizarre attire.

Their pates were smooth and hairless, save for a small braid tied at the back of the head, and their beards far outnumbered the hairs on their scalps.

Despite the scorching heat, their upper bodies were half-naked, half-draped in animal-skin-like pelts. Each of them wielded an iron rod carved with intricate, complicated patterns.

Another adversary brandished a heavy broadsword resembling a Green Dragon Crescent Blade—a striking weapon indeed, though by no means light, nor particularly easy to carry. Could it be that transporting such gear was effortless?

Judging by their attire, they clearly did not belong to this world. Yet, on the hands of all these individuals was tattooed a black emblem resembling a black hawk.

Without superfluous words, the three of them were already locked in battle. Sophia’s fireballs flew from left to right, while the two old men displayed remarkable agility, darting and flipping continuously, launching sporadic sneak attacks against Sophia. Clearly, they had not yet exerted their full strength.

Already, Sophia bore several injuries; her right leg was markedly sluggish, and a foot-long gash on her left arm continued to bleed.

Concerned though he was, Zhou Yi did not rush in immediately.

The techniques of the two old men bore a striking resemblance to the immortal-cultivation practitioners from the world of the Five Elements Tomb, the more he watched them.

A sense of doubt stirred in Zhou Yi’s heart. In truth, based on his observations over such a long period, the elemental powers and self-devised combat styles of typical base personnel leaned much closer to Western magic.

Waldner, Aviva Jin, Carter, and the elusive Dr. Laura—even if he had never met her, their names alone made it obvious that they were Europeans or Americans.

Even an artificial intelligence was programmed with the appearance of yellow hair and blue eyes. Natasha, from her physique to her facial features, right down to the habitual shrugging of her shoulders and raising of her brows, exuded a thoroughly European and American style.

Yet Zhang Lina, whom he had encountered earlier, along with this wave of the hunter clan, displayed body movements and stances that seemed far more akin to ancient Chinese immortal cultivation.

There was also one crucial question: among the hunters encountered thus far, four already bore Asian facial features. Could it be...

Zhou Yi scarcely dared to entertain the thought. If this analysis held true, the majority of the hunter clan were Asians, perhaps even passing down ancient immortal cultivation techniques. Relying on their own abilities, they traversed various worlds like lone rangers, hunting down Chosen Ones.

Even orphans like Zhang Lina were subjected to uniform training, with masters imparting secret arts to them—a far cry from the free-form development encouraged within the base.

What, then, of the City of Spacetime?

And what kind of people were these Chosen Ones, after all?

Why were the hunter clan and the Chosen Ones like mortal enemies? Would it not suffice for each to mind their respective mission worlds?

Or were the resources of the hunter clan limited, necessitating a scramble for territory?

Yet, from the intelligence Zhou Yi had gathered so far, the hunter clan showed no signs of decline. On the contrary, they controlled quite a number of worlds, using temporal rifts as their ultimate stronghold.

Alternatively, did the hunters attack the Chosen Ones simply because the Main Brain controlled all mission worlds, making the Chosen Ones nothing more than the Main Brain's lapdogs?

Zhou Yi shook his head, his thoughts somewhat jumbled at the moment.

Regardless of anything else, nothing must happen to Sophia.

He quickly raised his gaze to assess Sophia’s combat situation.

The iron-rod-wielding old man seemed to draw out some sort of object, concealing it behind his back. With a flick of his fingers, Zhou Yi grabbed a handful of water needles; in the presence of Black Panther, he dared not use ice spikes.

Though water needles possessed weaker offensive power, their advantage lay in their utter silence. With a flick of his wrist, Zhou Yi hurled them toward the old man. Sensing impending danger, the fellow spun around to evade, whirling his iron rod to block the assault of the water needles.

Simultaneously, the old man spotted Zhou Yi and bared his teeth at him in resentment.

"Brat, launching a sneak attack? Is that the behavior of an upright gentleman?"

Zhou Yi chuckled, strolling forward with a leisurely sway.

"I won't say much about advanced age bringing poor memory, but has your intelligence deteriorated as well? Two old men ganging up on a single young girl—have you no shame left at all?

'Behavior of an upright gentleman'? Are you cursing yourselves? Oh, I forgot, given your advanced age, you probably have no idea what a gentleman even is. Have you forgotten whether you're even male?"

As Zhou Yi spoke, he had already reached Sophia's side.

The two old men were evidently formidable opponents. Black Panther was utterly unscrupulous—himself holding off five weaklings while leaving Sophia to face two experts; that was hardly the act of a real man.

Right now, the best strategy was to provoke them to the point of fury. Once a person lost their emotional equilibrium and abandoned calm judgment, mistakes became inevitable. Sophia naturally understood Zhou Yi’s intention, though such provocative words were beyond her own capacity to utter.

Further back in the crowd, the Fatty was jumping up and down, straining to catch a clear view of the frontline battle.

Given his short stature and considerable distance from the scene, he climbed onto a boulder, bounced repeatedly, and roared:

"Shameless old wretches, utterly devoid of decency! Tsk tsk tsk, so the mighty hunter clan only knows how to launch sneak attacks and wage gang warfare, yet you chatter incessantly about gentlemen—how utterly disgusting!

Come, come, go take a piss and look at yourselves in the reflection to see how many hairs are left on your heads. Keep pulling such despicable stunts, and even those few remaining strands won't be saved.

Haha, don't be shy! We know that at your advanced age your gear doesn't get much use anyway, so you're afraid to pull it out for fear we'll laugh. Never mind, just turn your backs—we won't look!"

When it came to the art of verbal humiliation, if the Fatty claimed second place, no one dared claim first.

The men on Black Panther’s side all turned their gazes toward this direction. At this barrage of insults, even Black Panther’s facial muscles twitched twice, though it ultimately worked to their advantage as he accelerated his pace of attack.

The Fatty thoroughly enjoyed his verbal onslaught, yet he was craftily cunning, using one of the men in black as a human shield in front of him. Of course, his stated excuse was that his short stature made the repeated jumping terribly exhausting, requiring something to lean against for support.

Sure enough, the iron-rod-wielding old man completely blew his top.

He hurled an object toward the Fatty’s location. Sensing a sudden rush of cold wind, the Fatty instinctively shrank his neck.

However, the man in black acting as his human shield wasn't nearly as fortunate; a gash was torn across the top of his head.

Blood instantly gushed forth, and the man lost his breath on the spot. Seeing this, the Fatty placed his hands on his hips and stomped his foot.

"Driven to rage by your own embarrassment, are you? What kind of people are you? Setting up a memorial arch while acting like whores, yet afraid of what others might say, and you still have the thick-skinned audacity to stay alive! Just how thick are your hides, Miss Su? Do give them a good roasting with your fire; I imagine skin that thick won't catch easily!"

The Fatty continued jumping and hurling curses.

Zhou Yi ceased speaking, pressing his back against Sophia's as each engaged a single opponent. Though Zhou Yi was not adept at close-quarters combat, the iron-rod-wielding old man had suffered losses at his hands earlier and harbored a certain wariness, constantly circling around him.

From time to time, Zhou Yi flicked his wrist—sometimes throwing nothing, sometimes unleashing a shower of water needles. This peppered the old man with stings that irritated him to the point of dancing with rage, especially since one water needle had actually pierced the bone above his eyebrow, causing a throbbing pain and momentary disorientation.

Just as the old man brandished his iron rod and shifted sideways in an opening, Zhou Yi flicked a handful of water needles while simultaneously tossing a dagger right behind them.

Reacting instinctively, the old man dodged the water needles, failing to notice the trailing blade. Seeing this, the other old man was too late to intercept and could only let out a roar:

"Quickly, drop to the ground! There's a blade coming from behind!"

They say ginger is hotter the older it gets; the few words from the broadsword-wielding old man said it all. Realizing the danger, the iron-rod-wielding old man dropped low and rolled sideways, narrowly escaping Zhou Yi’s dagger.

However, Zhou Yi’s second wave of water needles had already arrived. Raising his voice, Zhou Yi shouted with force:

"Scatter for your lord!"

Subjected to such consecutive evasive maneuvers, the iron-rod-wielding old man had nowhere left to run. Because he was flattened against the ground, his attempts to retreat yielded only a couple of shuffles. He hurled his iron rod out, frantically swinging his arms to block the majority of the water needles, yet his face and chest still took numerous hits.

Simultaneously, Sophia’s fireball had arrived.