In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 343 They ran, she chased, they couldn't escape!

While Xu Shi, still on his way, was trying to relax amidst the tension, the girls battling against "heavenly principles" in the Qingyun Immortal Realm were already finding it hard to keep up.

It was a one-sided battle to begin with; anyone else would have been blasted to smithereens by now. Only Su Lin and her group, seasoned veterans, were able to manage to hold their own.

Meanwhile, "β" showed a serious anger on her face—cat and mouse may be fun, but now it's not her who's keeping Su Lin and Tang Shuang hanging, but rather they always manage to find that one in ten thousand chance to escape from her impenetrable lightning strikes.

Active and passive are two completely different concepts.

She probably never imagined that these bastards could hold out for so long under her command... For SS, this is a disgrace, a tremendous disgrace!

So she didn't want to play anymore.

"Why aren't you dead yet! Die!"

Her expression turned ferocious, and she slammed her hands down forcefully, shouting, "I'll kill you all!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the already gloomy sky became even darker, thunder rumbled incessantly, and the sudden drop in air pressure made it difficult to breathe for a moment.

"Is this...is this divine punishment?!"

The inhabitants of the Western Regions, far from the desert battlefield, also witnessed this scene, and many of them were terrified, wondering what had happened there.

However, no one was driven by curiosity to investigate further—such a celestial phenomenon is a rare sight, perhaps only once every few thousand years. Who knows what danger it might conceal? It's better to stay far away than to go and take a look.

The Mosuo and Yixing, who were still dealing with the swarm of sand-singing insects, were having a particularly tough time. Clearly, the destructive power of the SS-class insects was beyond their imagination. They were already struggling on the outskirts, not to mention the dense swarms of sand-singing insects to deal with. It was truly a miserable situation.

"leader!"

Someone called out to the Mosuo people for help, clearly indicating that they were already struggling to cope.

"...Keep it up!"

Wolf King Mosuo and himself were actually somewhat overwhelmed – as the saying goes, too many ants can kill an elephant, and he was now in a similar situation. It wasn't that he couldn't solve the problem, but that he couldn't solve it all.

In terms of ability level, he himself is only at the S+ level, not as overpowered as SS. The key is that these sand worms are not only of a high level, but they also grow back like leeks, one crop after another. He will either be exhausted to death or disgusted to death.

Even so, he still tried to find a little space to rescue the guards who had run out of options.

"hold onto!"

He mustered his strength and shouted, "If we can't hold on, not only will the Western Regions be doomed, but the Azure Cloud Immortal Realm will also perish. We absolutely cannot fall!"

"Don't be stingy with any elixirs or secret treasures you have, just eat them all! As long as you get back alive, I'll give you double, no, triple!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison, not out of excitement at the generous reward, but because they knew that the Mosuo were absolutely right.

Men from the Western Regions are all men of unyielding spirit; protecting the land where they grew up is both their duty and their mission!

……

Unlike the passionate atmosphere on the periphery, Su Lin and her two companions, deep in the eye of the storm, were finding joy amidst hardship, and even appeared somewhat relaxed.

"You tell me... is this guy out of his mind?"

Tang Shuang politely asked the question first, clearly speechless at "β's" crazy behavior.

If you want to wear us down, you're the one who'll wear us down; if you can't, you get frustrated and angry. What's wrong with you?

And to be honest, this was probably the strangest SS she had ever seen, it didn't have the demeanor of a master at all.

"Who knows? Don't ask me that question, you should ask Xie Qingyan."

Su Lin twitched the corners of her mouth and even had the leisure to make a joke, "Besides, there are hardly any normal people in SS to begin with."

This was indeed what she wanted to complain about—Aunt Xia Ke'an loved to act young and play the role of a child every day, and Grandpa Wen Shengkui's temper was notoriously unpredictable. As for the others, they all had their own quirks to some extent.

As for things like being arrogant, haughty, and condescending, those are just standard practice.

"This one……"

Lin Yue hesitated, clearly having her own thoughts.

SS "Ascensionists" are arrogant, and they naturally have their own reasons for it. As for the one in front of them, they probably just thought at first that they weren't worth their full effort... Now that they've misjudged, they have to make up for it as soon as possible.

Of course, this doesn't stop her from thinking that "β" is mentally challenged; such irritable and unstable emotions are clearly not a virtue.

As long as it doesn't involve anything related to Xu Shi, the assassin girl seems to be quite rational in her approach to problems.

"Okay, let's talk about this later."

Governor Tang concluded the brief discussion, "The question now is... what should we do?"

They might joke around during their busy schedules, but seeing that the other party was serious, they wouldn't just stand there and let the lightning burn them to a crisp.

"What else can be done?"

Su Lin sighed, "Run!"

To be fair, both the giant sand cricket and "β" are enemies that are somewhat beyond their capabilities.

Even if they went all out, they weren't confident they could handle either of these two things alone. Now that they were combined and really going at it, what could they possibly do to resist?

Their mission was to "hold them off and buy them time," not to be a suicide squad risking their lives—being afraid of death is one thing, but the key question is, once the three of them fall, who among the remaining people can withstand this madman?

The three of them understood each other implicitly, exchanged glances, and immediately dispersed, then withdrew in different ways.

However, their direction was roughly the same, which was deeper into the desert!

Yes, the best course of action now is to lure away this extremely dangerous entity. Of course, we can't turn back now, otherwise we'd be leading the Japanese away, which would truly bring this disaster to the Azure Cloud Immortal Realm.

"Don't even think about running away!"

"β" was indeed in an abnormal mental state. Seeing this, it just glared at the sand bug under its body and chased after it, even stomping on it a few times. "Useless thing, hurry up!"

Poor giant sandworm king, it wasn't very intelligent to begin with, and was used as a mount, with no intention of making it a teammate.

Because of its enormous size, it even ate a lot of the lightning strikes—clearly, "β" didn't care whether it would be affected or not; it was just a beast, who cared?

Soon, a chase ensued in the vast desert.

To be fair, Su Lin and the other two are all quite fast. Director Su herself is capable, and Tang Shuang and Lin Yue are also combat-oriented personnel. These are all part of the essential skills they possess.

Unfortunately, "β" was faster. Although it rode the cumbersome Sandworm King, this creature was born in the desert and naturally had its own unique means of movement.

They ran, she and it chased, they couldn't escape!

"β" was furious. She never expected these little mice to be so troublesome and so fast!

But she soon discovered that Su Lin and her group had stopped running.

Looking closer, the number of people chasing them also seems to have changed.

one extra.

In the vast desert, a middle-aged man wearing a cloak and holding a long spear appeared, his face weathered by the wind and sand.

"Stand at the back, don't hold this Grand Duke back."

The middle-aged man didn't look at Su Lin and the others, but made a slight gesture before raising the spear in his hand.

Seeing the giant sand cricket in front of him, he was momentarily filled with emotion.

"In the end, we still have to fight monsters... Is this what I owe Xu Shi?"

This chapter is a bit short, but it proves I'm still alive, peace.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 344 I'm drenched in sweat, brother!

When Su Lin and her group first saw the middle-aged man in front of them, they were slightly taken aback.

Huh? Who's this?

Oh, this is Cheng Gujian.

After searching their minds for three seconds, they finally had an answer.

It's not surprising that they couldn't remember him right away, since they weren't familiar with this former Grand Duke and hadn't even exchanged more than a few words with him.

That's exactly how it is... This trio didn't actually go to sea with Xu Shi to the Hua Lan Empire, and then they ran into a final battle. Unfortunately, they didn't participate in the royal palace battlefield; it was Xia Wuyou who did.

Later, Cheng Gujian made Xu Shi fermented bean curd and was taken back to Night Sin City. He stayed at "Feather Pen" and lived a secluded life with Wen Shengkui, rarely showing his face.

Then came the era of the Grand League, when Cheng Gujian left without saying goodbye and embarked on a journey to the sea alone. After that, we rarely heard any news about him.

But I never expected him to appear here.

However, Su Lin didn't think Cheng Gujian's appearance was just a coincidence—it was obvious that this was probably an arrangement Xu Shi made before she arrived, sending the nearest SS to provide support first, and Cheng Gujian just happened to be that person.

Well, it does seem to be a coincidence, but not quite that coincidental.

If she had to say what surprised her, it was that Cheng Gujian was actually willing to obey Xu Shi's orders—she knew perfectly well what kind of relationship the two had; calling them enemies wouldn't be an exaggeration, and adding the prefix "irreconcilable foes" wouldn't seem out of place.

In any case, Cheng Gujian should never have been convinced by Xu Shi; if he was convinced, it would have been by Old Master Wen.

As an SS-class "ascended person," and a former SS-class "ascended person" with high position and power, it is difficult for him to truly convince others. The only people he can truly convince are those who have crushed him in strength.

However, Cheng Gujian's appearance relieved the pressure on the three of them to the greatest extent.

"What? Are you surprised to see me, the Grand Duke?"

Cheng Gujian didn't turn around, but coldly said, "Then stay far away and let things unfold slowly."

The three of them, including Su Lin, exchanged glances and unanimously chose to remain silent.

Indeed, if they could resolve the current chaos, they wouldn't have needed to flee to the depths of the desert.

Moreover, just as Cheng Gujian said, in a battle between three SS-ranks, these S-ranks are no different from cannon fodder. It may not sound nice, but it is the truth.

"...Please be careful."

Finally, Su Lin broke the silence, awkwardly giving Cheng Gujian a word of advice before retreating to a relatively safe place with Tang Shuang and Lin Yue.

Even though it won't help much, a polite reminder is still necessary.

Besides, they're not really hiding in the background like cowards. If anything happens, they'll still try to lend a hand—it's true that their strength doesn't allow it, but they also have their own pride.

The battlefield situation changes rapidly, leaving them no room to relax.