Chapter 68 Time Stop

"Hey, I don't mind you shouting at home, but when we're out in public, please call me by my new name, 'Chu Li'er'! Thank you!"

Renée put her hands on her hips, emphasizing her 'new name' now.

Mu An gave a perfunctory response while pulling his 'Great Sword' [Dawn] from his spatial ring with his other hand.

"Got it, Renée!"

"Understood, Renée!"

"Arigato, Renée!"

The young girl glared at him angrily.

However, now was not the time for 'playful banter to deepen their bond'.

Renée quickly entered combat mode, her weapon being that familiar [magic desert eagle].

After she was dragged back to the Elven Race, all the Sacred Artifacts on her person had been taken away.

This included the Cloak of Divine Concealment, the Boots of Divine Speed, and the fairy bow.

Later, she was 'sacrificed' and then 'picked up and brought home' by Mu An, and she never had a chance to touch those Elven Race Sacred Artifacts again.

To her, this was somewhat of a pity.

After all, the fairy bow was quite useful, and it was incredibly satisfying to kill monsters above her Rank with it.

"Let me see... exactly what you're capable of!"

Mu An decisively activated the mysterious metal ball in his hand.

[Time Stop Orb], activate!

Ding—

In an instant.

The world gradually faded of its color.

Everything seemed to have turned into the tones of a black-and-white television from the last century.

In this second, motion turned to stillness, and countless ordinary people became part of a frozen frame.

Someone blinking halfway, someone tripping on the escalator...

Someone pushed over by the crowd and coincidentally getting an epic lungful of air at the feet of a pretty young lady...

Truly, the variety of life!

All one could say is.

No matter how many times one sees this scene, it still feels incredibly magical.

Only Transcendents like Mu An or monsters invading from another world remained unaffected.

Spiritual power or magic power is the pass for this 'special world'!

"W-what happened?"

Looking at the people and buildings around her that had suddenly 'lost their color', Lu Xiaoqiao felt extremely panicked.

She looked left and right, thinking she had been dragged into some strange other world.

Just like those described in certain galgames.

Where one can only lift the restriction by conquering a certain character, allowing the world to return to normal...

Only she and Mu An's trio still had 'color' on the scene.

It couldn't be that she had to conquer a girl, right?

Then, the only remaining target to conquer was probably this stinky man?

Looking at Lu Xiaoqiao, whose gaze seemed a bit strange but who could still move, Mu An was thoughtful.

Activating the [Time Stop Orb] did indeed consume a large amount of his magic power, but at the current rate of consumption, it didn't seem to be an issue.

He could easily hold out until the battle ended.

He could even persist for half a day longer if needed!

Come to think of it... last time when Bai Ningyu used the Time Stop Orb, besides the girl herself, he seemed to be the only one who could move on the scene.

Although Nina had magic power, she was 'miserably' reduced to a background prop.

Could there be some unknown special... magic technique?!

Next time there's a chance, he could ask Bai Ningyu in person.

Who knows if she did it on purpose, or if she was 'accidentally' on purpose?

"Split up! If anything comes up... remember to contact me in time!"

Mu An pointed to his temple.

All three of them had special Bluetooth headsets, so communicating in this time-stopped world was definitely not a problem.

Even if there was a problem, they still had the [Employee Communication Chat Function].

And with the [Enemy Detection Radar] shared, Mu An didn't worry about the two girls getting lost.

In just that short while, nearly a hundred monsters had already appeared within the detection range of the [Enemy Detection Radar].

Splitting up would undoubtedly increase the efficiency of killing monsters!

"Eh? Where did you guys conjure those weapons from? Are you guys Transcendents too?"

Lu Xiaoqiao realized belatedly and couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Mu An glanced at her without speaking.

After Renée and Nina exchanged a brief look, they immediately split up and started acting.

Lu Xiaoqiao also seemed full of energy.

She even raised one of her arms, flexing the almost non-existent muscle.

As if to say, 'I'm here to help you! Actually, I can fight really well too!'

(Internet image, delete if infringing)

"So, what can I do?"

"Ensure you stay alive."

"..."

"Of course, if you're willing to spend a large sum, it's not like I can't waste some time to save your little life."

Mu An grinned.

Lu Xiaoqiao: "..."

...

In the end.

Lu Xiaoqiao chose to 'pay for service'.

Originally, Mu An held up one finger, wanting to collect a protection fee of one thousand yuan, just to make a point.

It wasn't much trouble anyway, at most he would send a level 90+ Death Shadow Scythe Ghost to protect her from the shadows.

Not to mention this was only an E-Rank crisis; with its level, it could walk sideways in the real world.

But the young girl's imagination was top-tier; she started with ten thousand, and without saying a word, transferred the money on the spot.

[WeChat received 10000 RMB!]

Mu An looked at this payment notification and fell into deep thought.

Money, when did it become so easy to earn?

Lu Xiaoqiao also stuck out her tongue and added, slightly apologetically.

"I've spent most of my allowance for this month."

"If it's not enough, I might have to pay you next month!"

Mu An fell silent again.

So... other people's allowance is this much.

So... the poor person in the real world is only me!

If he weren't already a qualified cheater, he might have already hugged this little rich girl's thigh tightly.

And then do a set of cutesy combos.

For example.

Rich girl, I'm hungry, feed me, kiss me, hug me, lift me up?

Making money, it's not shameful.

(Internet image, delete if infringing)

"So, what are we doing now?"

"Killing monsters."

Upon hearing there were monsters, Lu Xiaoqiao's first reaction wasn't fear, but excitement.

As a high-end player who has played all kinds of games, and a late-stage chuunibyou patient.

Her favorite thing was to kill monsters to level up, and save the world on the side.

Immediately full of energy, she waved her little pink fists and asked.

"What monsters are we going to kill?"

Mu An glanced at her.

Since the girl had 'paid for the service', he decided to 'cooperate' (engage) with her.

"Not we, it's me. You can at most be a spectator."

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I'm a Transcendent too, you know! I can fight really well!"

"I don't know who it was that got turned into white smoke by someone with a casual punch not long ago?"

"..."

That was a heart-stabbing remark.

But the truth is often just like that.

Even if Lu Xiaoqiao was so angry that her pretty face flushed red, she couldn't refute it.

She could only mutter something under her breath.

'So what if I just awakened and am a bit weak?'

'It's not like I wanted to be that weak!'

'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a young girl for being poor!'

'When I achieve success in my Dao, I will surely dominate the ages'...

Mu An rolled his eyes, inexplicably feeling like there was an extra buzzing little bee by his ear.

Sure enough.

Money is hard to earn these days!

Fortunately, everyone in the subway was in an intangible state that couldn't be touched.

They could walk straight through without affecting their travel.

By the way.

Unlike living people, buildings and such were not in an intangible state.

It just seemed like they had a layer of damage reduction buff applied, and their defensive capabilities were greatly increased.

Scanning the [Enemy Detection Radar], the man suddenly said.

"Monsters are here."

Lu Xiaoqiao immediately looked around vigilantly.

Following Mu An's finger, on a huge stone pillar, there were two long and thick black tentacles moving.

Because the 'world' was in black-and-white tones now, if one didn't observe carefully, it really wouldn't be easy to tell.

"What... kind of monster is this?"

The young girl was very confused.

Mu An was straightforward and said casually.

"Cantonese-style twin tails."

Lu Xiaoqiao: ?

Soon.

Lu Xiaoqiao saw the 'Cantonese-style twin tails' Mu An spoke of.

A cockroach with a body larger than an adult emerged from behind the stone pillar.

Its scarlet eyes were soul-stirring.

Sharp limbs with dense barbs were flashing with cold light.

Its dark green wings were like a coffin carried on its back.

It seemed that once opened, a lively and terrifying flying zombie would jump out immediately.

Mu An also saw the basic information of this monster on the [Enemy Detection Radar].

Demonized Corrosive Cockroach

Rank: 19

Basic Information: Can fly, poisonous all over, the sprayed venom is extremely corrosive.

Extremely strong vitality, can survive for half an hour after its head is destroyed.

— — — — — —

"C-c-cock... cockroach?! So big!!"

Lu Xiaoqiao was startled and quickly hid behind Mu An.

Mu An raised the 'Great Sword' in his hand that was glowing (charging up), thought about it, and switched it to a magic desert eagle.

Even so, he still felt it was a bit like using an anti-aircraft gun to hit a mosquito.

What level is a Demonized Corrosive Cockroach?

It's not even level 50!

Isn't this purely wasting his special magic bullets!

Truly, the bullet money won't even be earned back!

"Y-you hit it! Hit it quickly! It's going to fly over!!"

Lu Xiaoqiao was almost scared to tears.

She had always been fearless.

But she happened to have no 'resistance' to bugs, especially cockroaches.

Seeing one made her unable to help but feel terrified in her heart, as if the other party was crawling on her body.

"I know you're in a hurry, but please don't hurry."

Mu An replied casually.

Finally, he put away his desert eagle, deciding not to waste bullets after all.

And the Demonized Corrosive Cockroach in front of them wouldn't be so hesitant.

It opened its mouthparts and sprayed out a mouthful of 'old phlegm' that it didn't know how many years it had been cherishing.

The dark green venom shot out like an arrow.

The air where it passed seemed to have been corroded, and a smell of rotten tail... er, an unpleasant smell filled the surroundings!

"Ah!!"

Lu Xiaoqiao let out a scream.

Mu An was calm and composed, using his max-level telekinesis in one hand to block it steadily with an invisible wall formed by his Mental Energy.

Then he gave the opponent a free 'coffin combo' with his backhand.

Which was the same as how he sanctioned a certain unlucky member of the Advent Society earlier.

The moment it was covered, he served it with direct fire!

The Demonized Corrosive Cockroach was only level 19, and after jumping a few times in the flames, it kicked the bucket on the spot.

When he looked again in the blink of an eye, it had already turned into a pile of ashes, with no corpse left.

Let alone surviving for half an hour after losing its head, if it jumped again, Mu An could scatter its ashes!

Of course, this was just a visual effect.

In fact, Mu An secretly used [Gold - Eater is King] to let his shadow have a full meal.

"You have activated [Gold - Eater is King] to devour a Demonized Corrosive Cockroach, congratulations on obtaining — [Lv0. Super Vitality], [Lv0. Venom Spray], [Copper Coin +1]!"

"Tsk, so poor!"

Looking at the experience bar that barely moved, Mu An shook his head.

"What's so poor?"

When Lu Xiaoqiao looked again from between her fingers at the original Demonized Corrosive Cockroach.

It had already disappeared.

She had been too scared before, so she closed her eyes and didn't look, and didn't know what the situation was.

"Why is it gone?"

The young girl was stunned for a moment.

Logically speaking.

Even if it died, it should have left a corpse, right?

Mu An gave a perfunctory answer.

"Maybe it suddenly missed home!"

Lu Xiaoqiao: ?

"What do you mean?"

"Went to be reincarnated."

Lu Xiaoqiao: ?

Mu An didn't continue to answer her, walking up the escalator.

Lu Xiaoqiao seemed to be making excuses for herself, and also explaining to Mu An.

"It was just an accident just now. If I meet it again, I will definitely take action! I promise!"

"Times have changed, I am a Transcendent now."

"Destined to become a great hero who saves the whole world, how could I be afraid of a mere cockroach...?"

But she hadn't finished speaking.

The two had already arrived at the floor above.

And looking around, besides the dense 'black and white' people, there were also dense Demonized Corrosive Cockroaches.

They were crawling everywhere, seemingly sensing something.

The moment Mu An and the other appeared, they all turned their heads to look.

Those countless pairs of scarlet eyes looked scalp-numbing!

"Oi, young lady, it's your turn to make a move!"

"Me? Me? This... this isn't appropriate, right? I haven't mentally prepared myself yet!"

Lu Xiaoqiao swallowed hard and silently hid her body behind Mu An again.

"You're really weak!"

Seeing that there were 'so many people, so uniform' on the scene, Mu An had a sudden whim and decided to use a new skill.

He summoned an Undead Lich Mage from his summoning space.

Then...

"[Gold - Want to Dance Too?], activate!"

[Gold - Want to Dance Too?]: You are a man with his own BGM (background music).

Effect 1: No one can defeat me while my music is playing.

Within the time of one song, you will be in an invincible state! (Maximum two minutes)

Effect 2: If you actively dance (can be replaced by a summoned creature), all selected enemies present will be forced to dance together, unable to refuse.

Cooldown: 24 hours.

— — — — — —

And from Lu Xiaoqiao's perspective.

A skeleton mage wearing a tattered cloak that appeared suddenly held its magic staff and started dancing.

Glacial blue flames leaped in its eye sockets, seemingly venting the burning passion in its heart.

It twisted its old bones that had been dead for who knows how many years madly, its dance moves seductive and extremely explicit.

Comparable to a border-crossing streamer hiding behind the screen, completely letting go of itself, knowing not what the world is.

Thrusting hips, sitting waist... even the orchid finger gesture was no problem!

Lu Xiaoqiao: ?

...