Chapter 196: Kindergarten for Geniuses (Part 9)

Ding...da.

In the pitch-black store, Zhan Xiaoming was holding a thunder talisman in his hand and curled up in a box.

His body was incomplete, half of his stomach was missing, and the school uniform he was wearing outlined the twisted curve of his abdomen.

One leg was completely broken, and the other leg was completely gone from the knee down. The wound exposed torn flesh and bones, and there was still no blood. Whenever Zhan Xiaoming wanted to move, he could only rely on his prop that could emit smoke.

The "parent" was yelling angrily.

"Zhan Xiaoming! How dare you break the lights in the store! Get out here! I'll beat you to death!"

Only a fool would go out!

Zhan Xiaoming thought so in his mind and shrank back into the cabinet.

He also discovered it by accident. Although this monster can "see" itself even with its eyes closed, it needs light to see.

As long as the room was dark, he would lose his direction and could only search the store like a headless fly.

But speaking of a "store", as time changes, not only has this "parent" become more and more like a terrifying monster, the original hardware store has also changed.

The surroundings became damp and dark, and the sound of dripping water could be heard from somewhere in the store.

The shelves that originally held the goods turned into rugged, thorny metal caves. No matter where Zhan Xiaoming wanted to hide, he would be in danger of getting hurt.

It was difficult for him to tell where the monster was by the sound it made. The voice of the "parent" seemed to be everywhere, and the danger of the surrounding environment was also everywhere.

Zhan Xiaoming also tried to run outside. Once he actually rushed to the door of the hardware store and even opened the rolling door in a panic.

Outside the door there is the warm evening sunset and on the street there are crowds of people coming and going.

He had experienced simulated copies before. Generally speaking, the strength of monster NPCs far exceeded that of ordinary NPCs, and it was useless to ask these ordinary NPCs for help.

But he had no better solution.

“Help!!”

Zhan Xiaoming, who looked like a child and had a lame leg, stumbled out. There happened to be an NPC nearby, and Zhan Xiaoming grabbed the NPC's leg.

At this point, he didn't care about his actual age and looked up to ask the NPC for help.

"Uncle, save me!"

"Ah!" The NPC who was hugged by him was startled, and then looked at the "parents" who rushed out with him.

Strangely, the "parent" NPC who turned into a monster in the store turned back into its original human appearance at this moment.

Not only that, even Zhan Xiaoming, who had lost half of his leg, seemed to have recovered from his injuries the moment he stepped out of the hardware store, and his body was intact under his long sleeves and long pants.

The "parent" who followed him out was a thin and honest man, who pulled the back of Zhan Xiaoming's collar with one hand.

"I'm sorry, my child was disobedient at school and was criticized by the teacher for a long time. I came back to teach him."

After he finished speaking, the passerby NPC suddenly realized.

Zhan Xiaoming wanted to continue speaking, but even though he had already tried his best, his voice was still as small as a mosquito.

Soon, with the help of passers-by NPCs, he was dragged into the hardware store again.

It was also at that time that he lost a leg.

Zhan Xiaoming was shaking with pain and became extremely clear-headed at this moment.

There is no way out.

He now has neither help nor place to hide, so he can only face this parent NPC head-on.

Zhan Xiaoming is rather cowardly, but under the pressure of death and pain, he can only grow up quickly.

Don't be afraid, this is just a level one copy. Even if the parent NPC is a big boss, his system backpack contains a lot of props prepared for him by his uncle!

These props are enough for a relatively capable newcomer to clear the second-level dungeon. Zhan Xiaoming is very self-aware. He knows that he is not good at it, but he has so many props. He will not really die, right?

"Click!"

Zhan Xiaoming moved his ears and heard a faint sound of a door being unlocked amid the roars of the "parents" surrounding him.

It's the cabinet near him!

Zhan Xiaoming held his breath and concentrated, then quickly took out a leaf from his backpack with his right hand.

[Item: Leaves Return to Their Roots - Level E]

[Introduction: When a leaf falls, it must return to the ground and become nutrients for the tree roots. This is the wish of every leaf, isn't it?]

[Tip: Leaves are fragile, but when used properly, they can become sharp.]

[Effect: Transform into a leaf. Maybe this leaf can cut the enemy's throat accidentally.]

This is the most powerful attack item in Zhan Xiaoming's hand. As a newcomer who has never cleared a dungeon, he can make full use of ordinary items. But when the items are rated, even the lowest E level, it is quite a burden for Zhan Xiaoming.

This was his "trump card" and after using it once, he basically lost the strength to use other props.

Zhan Xiaoming didn’t know if now was the best time to use it, but he couldn’t always play hide-and-seek with this “parent” monster, right?

Now that he is in this state, he can’t run away. If he doesn’t fight, he can only wait for death.

Let’s fight!

There was another "click" sound.

This time it was very close, right in front of Zhan Xiaoming.

The time is now!

Zhan Xiaoming used the props in his hand and in the blink of an eye it turned into a thin and inconspicuous leaf.

The leaves clung to the edge of the cabinet, waiting for the door to open before rushing out and slitting the monster's throat!

Don't be afraid!

He has gone through this kind of training countless times and is very skilled!

Just rush out when the monster isn't paying attention!

As long as it isn't paying attention...

if only……

A huge eyeball appeared in front of the cabinet, which was almost as big as Zhan Xiaoming himself.

The monster had very little white in its eyes, and its black pupils emitted a circle of blue light in the darkness, looking straight into the cabinet.

This cabinet is empty again.

The monster impatiently closed the cabinet door and turned its huge eyeballs to the side.

There was a sound of the monster moving its body outside the cabinet, and it went to check somewhere else.

The leaf that Zhan Xiaoming turned into stuck stiffly to the edge of the cabinet. After a few seconds, it was time to use the prop.

The leaves turned back into the appearance of Zhan Xiaoming.

His body was stiff and drenched in sweat.

The moment he saw the huge eyeball after turning into a leaf, he seemed to be under a spell of immobilization and stuck to the cabinet without daring to move.

I'm scared.

The moment he looked into the monster's eyes, Zhan Xiaoming felt pain in all the wounds on his body.

What if it fails?

It is true that this is an E-level item, but the power of the item is determined by the user.

The lowest level E-class hunters use S-class items, but even if they can be used, they are not very powerful.

However, when an S-level hunter uses items, even ordinary items without ratings will exert unimaginable power in the hands of an S-level hunter.

He is just a newcomer who has never cleared a dungeon. His strength is so weak, how can he possibly beat that "parent" NPC?

If we can't defeat it and fall into the hands of that monster, won't that be a dead end?

At the critical moment, Zhan Xiaoming still escaped.

At this time, the monster went away, and he turned back to his original appearance, sitting quietly in the cabinet.

It’s... okay, right?

The burden of using E-level props on his body has already become apparent. Zhan Xiaoming feels weak all over his hands and feet. He doesn't know whether it is the sequelae of using the props or his originally cowardly character that makes him more and more afraid.

Fortunately, I didn't rush out just now.

If I rushed out and didn't kill the NPC, but instead angered it, I would be dead now, right?

It would be better to be like it is now. At least the monster has already searched this cabinet and it shouldn’t come back to look for it for a long time, right?

Is he safe now?

I just don’t know how long this game of hide and seek will last. It can’t last all night, right?

What time is it outside now? Shouldn't it be dawn now?

Zhan Xiaoming leaned against the cabinet, thinking about this and that listlessly.

Just then, he suddenly realized a problem.

It's so quiet outside, as if there has been no sound for a long, long time.

Where are the monsters?

"Click, da."

Zhan Xiaoming's neck was stiff.

A fishy wind blew in from the cabinet door. Without turning his head, Zhan Xiaoming saw a blue light out of the corner of his eye.

The huge eyeball looked directly at him.

"You are hiding here." The monster sighed, "You are not a good kid if you refuse to be punished for doing something wrong. You must be punished!!!"

Time seemed to slow down extremely. Zhan Xiaoming collapsed there in despair, like a puppet without its spring.

He was taken out of the cabinet by a hand, which was so huge that it could pinch him directly.

Zhan Xiaoming's body struggled twice reflexively, and the monster was particularly indignant at his struggle.

It let out an inhuman roar and grabbed Zhan Xiaoming's arms with both hands, as if it wanted to tear him in half and throw them into its mouth together.

"As a child! How dare you disobey your parents! You are dead--"

"Boom boom boom."

"I will kill you right now—"

“Knock, knock, knock, knock.” The shutter door was knocked on. The person knocking was quite polite. “Hello, is anyone there?”

There was no response, and the person at the door seemed to mutter, "Isn't it a bad idea to just smash it?"

But the ghostly aura that I sensed is right here?

What is that kid Zhan Xiaoming doing in there?

Just when the person at the door was still hesitating whether it would be better to just break it down, the rolling door was finally opened from the inside.

In front of outsiders, the original monster once again transformed into a thin and honest man.

He lowered his head and looked at the five or six-year-old kid standing in front of him, wearing a genius kindergarten uniform and carrying a small schoolbag.

"…What do you want?"

The person standing at the door of this hardware store is Jie Fangcheng.

It was the first time I met his parents, and he was quite polite.

"Oh, I'm here to see Zhan Xiaoming."

"He's not here." After saying this, the parent was about to reach out and close the rolling door again.

Jie Fangcheng was quick and rushed into the store.

"Nonsense, I clearly felt that he was nearby." As he spoke, Jie Fangcheng walked around the shelves with many goods. After turning around the shelves, he really saw Zhan Xiaoming, "Isn't this..."

Zhan Xiaoming was lying on the ground, wearing a long-sleeved and long-trouser uniform, and there was still no sign of any injuries on his face.

But Jie Fangcheng can see it.

Is it a soul attack?

Although the power is small, for humans, the soul is far more important than the body, and the pain is doubled.

"Okay, whose child are you? Go back to your home quickly."

Zhan Xiaoming's "parent" came over and impatiently tried to push Jie Fangcheng out.

Zhan Xiaoming, lying on the ground, wanted to ask him for help, but in Zhan Xiaoming's eyes, this newcomer named Jie Fangcheng was probably not as strong as himself.

Need help?

What if he was harmed too?

While Zhan Xiaoming was still hesitating, Xie Fangcheng turned around and asked, "Where is your light?"

When this was mentioned, the "parent" snorted coldly.

"This brat is so disobedient! He even dared to break the lamp! I..."

"There must be a flashlight, right?" Jie Fangcheng continued to ask. After asking, his eyes lit up and he found a flashlight that looked very powerful from the shelf.

Ignoring the thin man's angry roar of "Whose child are you? Do you want a beating?", Jie Fangcheng placed the flashlight directly next to Zhan Xiaoming's hand.

"It's so dark, it would be bad if it hits the surrounding goods!"

Xie Fangcheng said with satisfaction.

What is he talking about?

Zhan Xiaoming wanted to ask questions, but he really didn't have any strength left.

pain.

My whole body aches.

The pain seemed to touch the soul. Not only did it not ease with the passage of time, it even seemed to become more intense.

Zhan Xiaoming could only watch Jie Fangcheng put down the flashlight and turned it on considerately.

The light from the flashlight shone straight out, illuminating the dim shop.

Then he ignored the angry "parents" and walked to the door.

Xie Fangcheng is now less than one meter tall.

After he walked to the door, he looked up at the rolling door above his head, then jumped up from the ground like an onion.

After firmly grasping the edge of the rolling door, Jie Fangcheng exerted slight force.

"Wow"

The rolling door is closed.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing??"

After closing the door, Jie Fangcheng moved his wrist.

He looked at the "parent" who was twice as tall as him.

"You want to hit someone, right?" Jie Fangcheng glanced at him and casually grabbed a steel pipe from a shelf nearby. "Come on, I'll fight you!"

Everything that happened next was completely beyond Zhan Xiaoming's understanding.

He only saw the newcomer in front of him who looked about five or six years old and was not as tall as him. He was waving a stick more than one meter high in his hand.

When the stick hit the angry and roaring monster for the first time, the monster let out a shrill scream.

“Ahhhhhh I’ll kill you!!!”

"You're going to kill me?" Jie Fangcheng was furious, swinging the stick in his hand with a whining sound. He rushed over and hit him with two more sticks, cursing as he beat him, "I hate you guys who beat people up at every turn! Do you have any ideological awareness? Do you have any legal awareness? Do you have any...whatever!"

Jie Fangcheng doesn't have a good impression of the players of this game, and even less of these NPCs.

He still remembered how noisy those kid NPCs were at school. Not only were they noisy, but some even wanted to eat people.

He cursed and beat her, and the more he beat her, the angrier he became.

"You little devils still want to eat people? Do you know how many years you will be sentenced for eating people? Do you know how many pages a report on eating people should be? Now no one is writing a report for me, and you still eat people! Eat people! I told you to eat people! Eat people and peek! Huh?!"

The monster he beat rolled on the ground, and the initial ferocity was gone.

"I didn't eat anyone! I really didn't eat anyone! I was just trying to scare him!"

"Scare him?" Jie Fangcheng paused with the stick in his hand, but he was too lazy to think about it, so he raised it again, "Now you say you want to scare him, but you will eat him later! It's not a loss for me to beat him in advance! Huh? You still want to eat people, eat people! Are you still going to eat people?"

As he spoke, the stick came down again.

How could the monster withstand his beating? Even though Jie Fangcheng didn't mean to kill it directly, but after a few blows, the monster's head tilted and it fainted.

It looked bruised and swollen, and it was still twitching after fainting. It looked much more miserable than Zhan Xiaoming.

After dealing with the monster, Jie Fangcheng put the stick back on the shelf - this man is quite ethical, he puts it back where he took it from.

After putting the stick back, Xie Fangcheng squatted down and looked at the half-dead Zhan Xiaoming.

"Hey, are you okay?"

From the moment Jie Fangcheng started beating people, Zhan Xiaoming just stared at him like a fool.

At this time, Jie Fangcheng had knocked the monster unconscious, but Zhan Xiaoming still had a dazed look on his face, as if he had been beaten stupidly.

Jie Fangcheng mumbled something and touched him with his finger.

Zhan Xiaoming's current condition is different from Liu Feiyao's at noon. Liu Feiyao's strength is too weak. She was really about to die at that time. Jie Fangcheng had no choice but to give her a little golden light of merit.

Zhan Xiaoming was much stronger than her. At that time, he was beaten by the "parent" and bitten by it. It must have hurt, but Jie Fangcheng arrived in time and it was not fatal.

So Jie Fangcheng just used a little ghost energy to inject it into his body. For ordinary people, it was just like being pricked by a needle, and it had a somewhat refreshing and soul-calling effect.

But Zhan Xiaoming was stunned, his eyes were still blank after being stabbed.

He looked straight at Jie Fangcheng, who was a little puzzled.

"No effect?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhan Xiaoming burst into tears.

"Brother Jie..." He cried so miserably, and called "brother" so sincerely.

Jie Fangcheng immediately felt overwhelmed. Even though he knew that there might be a two-meter-tall strong man inside the shell, Zhan Xiaoming's current form was that of a five or six-year-old cub, so Jie Fangcheng couldn't open his mouth to threaten him.

"Alright, alright, it's no big deal."

For some reason, Zhan Xiaoming, who survived the disaster, seemed to cry even louder.

Jie Fangcheng quickly changed the subject: "Did you not eat?"

Zhan Xiaoming was stunned for a moment, feeling that this statement was somewhat ambiguous, but he still nodded hesitantly.

Jie Fangcheng also nodded: "I haven't eaten either, want to eat something?"

"ah……"

"What? It's so late, aren't you hungry?"

Although he was hungry, Zhan Xiaoming always felt divided.

Five minutes ago he was struggling to survive, and five minutes later he was discussing whether he was hungry with a player who looked like a newcomer but not a newcomer.

Not only did they discuss whether they were hungry, but Jie Fangcheng also asked, "Do you have money?"

"Uh... no."

"Oh." Jie Fangcheng thought for a moment, then walked over to the unconscious "parent" and pushed the unconscious monster. "Wake up."

The monster opened his eyes in a daze, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw such a scary face, and immediately wanted to faint again.

It was trembling all over and looked like it was about to cry: "What are you going to do now?"

Jie Fangcheng held out his hand: "Give me money."

“…”

Even when he sat in front of the barbecue stall at the entrance of the community, Zhan Xiaoming still felt dazed.

It was almost night, the lights were on, the streets were busy with people, and the aroma of barbecue wafted in the air.

Everything around doesn't seem to be in a copy, but rather like the ordinary human world.

Zhan Xiaoming couldn't adapt to this feeling of disconnection. He was quite at a loss and a skewer of barbecue was stuffed into his hand.

"Eat, eat, eat." Jie Fangcheng greeted him skillfully, his hands and mouth moving non-stop.

Due to the limitations of the child's body, the stall owner refused to make many of the things he ordered, and would not add chili to the dishes. He also kept asking "Where are your parents, kid?" as if he was afraid that he had run away from home. This was extremely normal.

This also made Jie Fangcheng feel a subtle feeling in his heart.

This copy is a bit strange. The teachers, parents, and student NPCs are all abnormal, but passers-by are all normal.

It was so normal that it was like the most ordinary world, except that there was a kindergarten for geniuses out of nowhere.

What is going on with this game?

Thinking about problems was not Jie Fangcheng's strong point. He was thinking while eating. Zhan Xiaoming was also still in a daze. For a while, neither of them spoke.

It was not until Jie Fangcheng was about to give up thinking that Zhan Xiaoming came back to his senses from the aftermath of fear.

He picked up the disposable water cup in front of him very seriously and raised it to Jie Fangcheng.

"Brother Jie, I have nothing to say. Thank you for saving me. I will work like a slave to repay you..."

"Okay, okay, okay." If this really was a two-meter-tall strong man doing this, it would have a bit of the aura of the Three Heroes of Peach Garden. But forget it, Zhan Xiaoming is only five or six years old now. Didn't you see that the people around him have strange eyes?

But Jie Fangcheng did have something to ask.

"I have never played the game before, so I am unfamiliar with it. How about you tell me what kind of game it is?"

Zhan Xiaoming's expression didn't change much, he even seemed to have suddenly realized something.

"Brother Jie, you really are from the 'small world'?"

"Small world?"

"Yes. This game is called "Three Thousand Worlds". I don't know the details, but there are three types of players in the game. One type is like you, who are brought in from other small worlds... But it's a bit strange. The people I know who are brought in from other worlds all enter the player base first, prepare in the base for a month, and then enter the dungeon. It seems that you entered the game directly... Of course, it may also be that I don't see it often. The second type is like me, who are the second generation of gamers. My parents are game players, and I was born in the game."

After finishing speaking, Zhan Xiaoming paused and said, "There is another type of player...but you probably won't see them, Brother Jie."

"What?"

"We call that kind of players 'exiles'," Zhan Xiaoming explained. "These players are usually smuggled in from a small world that is about to collapse. They don't have a player identity and can't enter the game lobby. Basically, they can only survive in dungeons. But not being able to enter the player lobby means that they can't identify items, can't improve skills, and can't change their bloodline... Anyway, their abilities can't be improved, and they will even become weaker and weaker over time. So there are not many players of this kind who can survive, and there are no powerful people who need to pay special attention to. "

Jie Fangcheng frowned: "A small world that is about to collapse?"

"Oh, right, Brother Jie, you don't know this either, let me tell you..."

At this moment, Zhan Xiaoming felt his vision darken.

He looked up.

A high school student in sportswear was standing next to the barbecue table. He looked like he had just run from somewhere and was a little out of breath, but he was quite handsome and had a good temperament. You could tell at first glance that he was a very gentle and easy-going person.

The high school student stood next to the barbecue stall, glanced at Zhan Xiaoming, and then locked his eyes on Jie Fangcheng who was still eating skewers.

Jie Fangcheng was also startled: "It's you."

Wasn't this the warm-hearted neighbor who came to pick him up after school that night? How could it be such a coincidence that he could meet him here?

Zhang Siquan took a deep breath and nodded at him.

"Your dad called me and said that he found you were not at home when he got home." He looked a little helpless, "Children should not run around casually. Adults will be worried."