Heroes' Prison

Chapter 177 Caught Off Guard

Afterward, all five thousand people left the secret realm and returned to Xuanyuan Town, and Huang Yi followed through the teleport as well.

At this moment, the stars were dazzling, marking a beautiful night. Huang Yi had used up all his Tower of Pantheon attempts and had nothing else to do, so he decided to take a stroll around Xuanyuan Town on his own.

"Instakill brother, may I walk with you?" At that time, a soft voice came from behind him.

Turning around, Huang Yi saw Ruoshui standing in the crowd, graceful and elegant, her eyes shining brightly under the light of the bright moon, looking pitifully charming.

"Sure," Huang Yi nodded slightly.

With a blink of her eyes, Ruoshui revealed a happy smile. She hopped over like a little deer and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Huang Yi, strolling together through Xuanyuan Town.

"Instakill brother, do you have a girlfriend?" Ruoshui asked casually, glancing at the small shops along the street as they walked.

"No," Huang Yi replied, his head down as he stepped on his own shadow, moving forward.

"Then, which city do you live in?" Ruoshui asked, her tone becoming slightly happier.

"I live in a, well, very distant place," Huang Yi pondered for a moment before saying.

Ruoshui turned her head to look at Huang Yi, tilting her head in confusion, "How far is it?"

"Very far, so far that you could never reach it. It’s another world," Huang Yi lifted his head and smiled at Ruoshui. At that moment, his handsome face was no different from any other ordinary young man in this world, unremarkable.

"Another world?" Ruoshui frowned slightly, "Are you a Cold Storer by any chance?"

"A Cold Storer?" Huang Yi murmured the words to himself.

Cold Storage was a technology invented decades ago that could preserve a person’s body for a long time while their consciousness could still enter The Second World. Some people, in order to dedicate themselves to The Second World, choose to have their physical bodies preserved in cold storage facilities, so they don’t have to log off. Dugu Lengcang, whom Huang Yi had encountered at the auction in Thornbush City, was a famous Cold Storer.

"Well, think of me as a Cold Storer then!" Huang Yi nodded.

"You really are a Cold Storer!" Ruoshui looked disheartened, then asked expectantly, "So, how long is your cold storage period?"

"Several years," Huang Yi said. The duration of cold storage varied; short ones might allow people to log off every ten or fifteen days. If that were the case, Ruoshui might insist on meeting him, so he chose to extend the period.

"That long!" Ruoshui pouted and murmured softly, looking down and stepping on her own shadow, "Will you leave Xuanyuan Town in three days?"

"I will. I have to go to Dragon City to find someone," Huang Yi said, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, wondering what Dragon City under the moonlight looks like now, Qin Shiyu still waiting for him.

"Dragon City?" Ruoshui said with a rise in her tone, "Xuanyuan Town isn’t far from Dragon City. It’s just to our south, a journey of over ten days to get there."

"Oh?" Huang Yi was somewhat surprised. He had always been considering one thing: how to traverse the vast Desolate Sands to reach Dragon City. He had stolen the Heart of the Sand Thief King, and going into the Desolate Sands, which was the Sand Thief King’s territory, would surely be suicidal. He hadn’t expected that Xuanyuan Town could avoid the Desolate Sands, relieving him of his worries.

The night grew deeper as Xuanyuan Town became more lively. The two of them walked through the dimly lit streets, the bustling crowd passing by them, with men and women holding hands, flirting with each other, creating a slightly romantic atmosphere.

"Instakill brother, my mother doesn’t allow me to stay in The Second World for long. I have to log off now. See you tomorrow!" After reaching a garden, Ruoshui said goodbye and then logged off.

Huang Yi wandered a little longer before logging off himself, returning to the real world.

It was not long after lights out at Rose Prison, some criminals were lying in their beds chatting with each other, their conversations, muffled but audible, mostly about their hometowns.

Huang Yi too lay in his bed, missing his home.

The moonlight from outside the window shone in, casting a blanket over him as he slowly fell asleep amidst his memories.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in the United States, it was broad daylight, with a clear sky. The warm, kind sun shone down, filling the whole land with vitality.

In Times Square, New York, America, countless people scurried in the shadows of the skyscrapers, rushing to work. Advertisements continuously played on the giant screens of the surrounding buildings, filled with the essence of modern trends.

On the 95th floor of one of the high-rise buildings, two people stood in front of the bright floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the crowd below that seemed as tiny as ants.

The man in the front was in his thirties, currently clad in a white bathrobe, apparently having just taken a bath, with his golden hair wet and dripping with water pearls. His physique was robust, his muscle contours clear, and his handsome face sported a light stubble, exuding the charm of a mature man.

Behind him, a middle-aged man in a crisply tailored suit stood respectfully, with spectacles on his face and a document in his hand, his head slightly bowed.

"Have they finished?" asked the man in the bathrobe.

"Yes, they have been training hard for nearly three hours and are at their most fatigued now. Several key members, including Instakill, have already logged off," the suited middle-aged man reported respectfully.

"What about our people?"

"We have already contacted 57 Rare Class Holders who are very satisfied with our compensation and can join us at any time."

"Good! Immediately organize our people. We will strike tonight for the first kill. They will be in their daytime, when the log-in rate is the lowest. There’s a saying in China that goes ’catch them unprepared,’ and that’s exactly what we’ll do to them."

Having said that, the man in the bathrobe threw his head back, closed his eyes, and luxuriated in the sunshine streaming through the window.

At this moment, the Western Hemisphere they were in was filled with sunshine and hope, while the other side of the Earth, the Eastern Hemisphere, was enveloped by a vast shadow, shrouded by prolonged darkness.

...

The first light of dawn rose from the Pacific Ocean and streamed through a window into Rose Prison, shining on Huang Yi’s tranquil face. His eyelids flickered open, waking him up.

A new day had begun.

Just like any other day, Huang Yi washed up, did some light training, ate breakfast, and then logged in to check the support rate thread in the forum.

Less than a month remained until The Second World’s annual grand ceremony, and all the nominees had stepped up their fierce competition. However, for the Best Newcomer award, no one could yet shake the positions of Huang Yi and Thunder God.

Lately, Huang Yi’s support rate had always been in first place, maintaining a lead of about 4% over Thunder God—a stable advantage.

But today, Huang Yi’s support rate had dropped to second place, with Thunder God surging into first place, gaining a lead of 1%!

There was only one reason to explain this—last night while Huang Yi was sound asleep, Thunder God must have accomplished some remarkable feat!

Huang Yi quickly exited the forum to check the hottest posts in the last 24 hours.

"Algeria gains National Honor Points for the first time! The people of Africa collectively send their congratulations!"

"Thunder God creates another legend, breaking Dao Feng’s Tower of Pantheons 40th floor world record!"

Thunder God’s hot topic post was prominently displayed as the second most popular. Huang Yi clicked on it to read more.

"At 2:34 Beijing Time last night, Thunder God created another legend! He cleared the 40th floor of the Tower of God in only 8 minutes and 58 seconds, narrowly breaking the 9-minute world record previously set by Dao Feng! This act firmly suggests that Thunder God’s strength has fully matured to be on par with Dao Feng’s. Although his only competitor, Instakill, has made rapid progress recently, his growth time has simply been too short, and the difference in strength is still substantial. Based on the current situation, Thunder God has a very high probability of winning this year’s Best Newcomer award, and as for public support, Thunder God is currently outpacing Instakill by a substantial margin!"

A world record for the 40th floor! Reading about this extraordinary achievement, Huang Yi’s regard for Thunder God increased. For him to attempt the 40th floor right now would take about 20 minutes to clear, whereas Thunder God needed only just over 8 minutes. It seemed that after raising War Soul to an unprecedented 9th Stage, Thunder God’s strength had taken a significant leap, almost matching Dao Feng’s level.

Although Huang Yi had previously broken the world records for the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors, these were all quite low levels, suitable for beginners. The 40th floor was different; it was currently the top-level world record. Above it lay only the 50th floor, which hundreds, including Dao Feng and himself, were battling, and where only one boss had been defeated so far, let alone clearing the stage.

Huang Yi returned to the list of posts and looked at other topics.

"Dragon City’s resources are completely depleted, leaving a million players in a state of starvation, with their strength greatly diminished!" Reading this post about Dragon City, Huang Yi then checked one related to it.

"Lately, the situation in Dragon City has become increasingly dire. The power struggle between Qin Shiyu and Feng Zhi has yet to subside. Yesterday, another piece of bad news emerged from Dragon City: the city’s resources are now exhausted, with even the most basic food supply unable to be maintained, leaving a million players starving and all Attributes in decline. Given the current situation, once the Skeleton Army strikes Dragon City again, the defense will be helpless. Discord and resource depletion are Dragon City’s biggest problems at the moment..."

After reading the post, Huang Yi couldn’t help but worry about Qin Shiyu again. Although she was not in immediate danger, her situation was far from good. If the Skeleton Army were to attack Dragon City once more, Qin Shiyu’s fate would be sealed. Moreover, the player named Feng Zhi was an uncertainty. If he were to resort to underhanded methods during the power struggle, even someone as skilled as Qin Shiyu would be unable to guard against it.

Huang Yi decided that after his cooperation with Dao Feng ended, no matter the circumstances, he would go straight to Dragon City to personally assess the situation.