Chase Game

Meng House.

Time flies, and it is already 5 a.m., before sunrise.

Nothing happened last night.

Originally, Meng Dong was worried that Wang Yun would cause trouble after he returned to the Meng residence. However, to his surprise, Wang Yun went straight to the fifth floor of the Heavenly Pavilion where the two elders lived and did not come out all night.

Since he's not causing trouble, it's good that we can all live in peace.

Ding Guifang and Zhou Jie remained silent, and everyone seemed to have tacitly taken a night's rest.

After a whole night, Ling Yi's Pursuer exclusive skill, [Instant Karma], has recovered two more "karmic causes," and he is now at his peak.

Meanwhile, the progress bar for the [Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant] has reached 95%, which means that in about 36 minutes, the so-called "life absorption progress" will reach 100%.

He intended to just wait, but Meng Dong knocked on his door.

When the door opened, Zhang Qiang was also there.

The two declined Ling's invitation to come inside and discuss the matter in detail, their expressions grave.

Let's talk at the entrance then.

"What is it?"

"I was summoned from Tiange to a family meeting," Meng Dong said.

Ling Yi's mind raced, and a crucial point came to mind: "Is it related to Wang Yun?"

"Very likely, otherwise the family meeting wouldn't have been held so early in the morning before dawn, and..."

Meng Dong paused, then frowned and said, "Moreover, the person who sent the message was very forceful and demanded that I arrive within 15 minutes."

No wonder they didn't come inside to talk; it turns out they only had half an hour.

Ling Yi calculated the time and said, "We don't have much time, let's talk as we walk."

"Since we're going, I'll go in with Brother Meng Dong later. If it's a trap, I'll flip the table!" Zhang Qiang said angrily.

After Ling Yi picked up her clothes and blew out the candles, the three of them headed to the Heavenly Pavilion together.

The three walked quickly, and before Ling Yi could speak, the other two didn't know what to say either.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

Ling Yi remained silent, thinking, "Wang Yun has always seen me as a thorn in his side, wanting to get rid of me as soon as possible. Why has he suddenly turned his attention to Meng Dong now...?"

"Wait, Wang Yun and I are in conflict over the main quest, and I currently have the upper hand. He's shifting his focus to Meng Dong, which means it's a conflict over a separate quest!"

He suddenly realized something, looked at Meng Dong, and asked, "I remember that your and Wang Yun's missions were directly opposed, a life-or-death situation, right?"

Meng Dong stood in front of the Heavenly Pavilion, turned around and nodded to Ling Yi with a puzzled look, saying, "That's right, we all want to compete for the position of family head..." Meng Dong's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly realized, "...Could it be?!"

Ling nodded: "If I'm not mistaken, he's going to all this trouble to find a way out for himself..."

Before he could finish speaking, a steward emerged from the Heavenly Pavilion and bowed to Meng Dong, saying, "Young Master, please ascend to the Heavenly Pavilion immediately!"

"What the hell are you rushing me for? They're already here, they can't possibly run away!"

Zhang Qiang shouted sternly.

The butler's expression changed, but he only frowned and said, "I was just following orders."

Seeing this, Ling Yi only said one last thing to Meng Dong: "Adapt to the situation."

Meng Dong nodded and prepared to enter the Heavenly Pavilion. Zhang Qiang also wanted to follow, but was stopped by the steward.

"Master Zhang, the elders have ordered that only the young master and the acting master are allowed to enter the Heavenly Pavilion."

Zhang Qiang frowned, about to lash out, but Ling Yi stopped him.

"Trust Meng Dong, just wait and see."

Before Meng Dong appeared, it was the system notification in Ling Yi's mind.

[Life absorption progress has reached 100%, and the restriction on the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant has been lifted.]

At the same time, Ling Yi saw the description of the prop's effects.

【Red Feather Nirvana Pendant】Active Skill "Nirvana" Pre-stores life energy. When the bound person is near death, their heart can be preserved and resurrected once. Currently, there are 1/2 uses remaining.

Ling Yi knew that this item must be a strategic tool on the same level as his "One More Time" strategy.

It can be used twice in total, but it has already been used once. Considering Wang Yun's previous condition, it is highly likely that he had already used it once.

The jade pendant emitted a red light, as if something wanted to break free from it.

Finally, a ball of flame detached itself, and Zhang Qiang approached, exclaiming in surprise, "What is this?"

"Phoenix Flame..."

Ling Yi blurted out, but this [Phoenix Flame] was different from the previous one.

"Why do you look so listless?" Zhang Qiang muttered in confusion.

Ling Yi had a clear idea in his mind: the "life energy" absorbed by the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant came from this ball of Phoenix Flame!

Could this also be one of the Meng family's methods to prevent the divine bird from reviving?

He let his thoughts wander and pondered deeply.

Shortly after they separated, Meng Dong and Wang Yun also came out of the Heavenly Pavilion.

Ling Yi noticed that neither of the two looked well.

When Wang Yun walked to Ling Yi's side, Zhang Qiang stared at him warily, ready to stop him at any moment.

However, Wang Yun showed no intention of making a move. He simply gave Ling Yi a deep look and said cryptically, "Let's see how you plan to achieve final victory."

After saying that, he strode away.

Then Meng Dong said, "I don't know what methods Wang Yun used to gain the trust of the elders."

"All the elders unanimously agreed that Wang Yun should be the head of the family. I strongly protested, but in the end I only managed to get one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"Find the oil lamp and the canvas within three hours, or Wang Yun will become the head of the family."

"Damn it, how can you go back on your word like this?" Zhang Qiang cursed. "Couldn't you just bypass the elders and become the head of the family directly?"

Ling Yi shook his head and answered for Meng Dong: "No, the elders are the NPCs who issue the missions, like the rules of the game. Even if you kill them, the mission will still fail."

They truly hadn't expected that Wang Yun would actually succeed in leveraging the power of the NPCs, and they didn't know how he had increased his favorability...

Meng Dong hesitated before speaking, "We have the canvas, and we know where the oil lamp is, but..."

"We just need to snatch it from Ding Guifang." Ling Yi finished his sentence for him.

Before considering how to seize her, they had to think about another question: how to find, or rather lure, Ding Guifang over?

Ling Yi turned his gaze to the [Phoenix Flame] on his right.

Perhaps we still need to rely on this.

He pondered a solution, while inside the Heavenly Pavilion behind them, the elders were beaming with joy, looking extremely comfortable.

Surprisingly, none of them were in the water. The reason for this was that Wang Yun hadn't slept for nearly twelve hours the night before.

He used a special tool to activate the power of the elders one by one, suppressing the pain of the burning. With his silver tongue and the help of the two elders, he successfully persuaded one of the elders to defect.

His method only provides temporary relief, not a complete solution, which is why he chose to use it on this last day.

Wang Yun stood by the window, his expression revealing a ruthless intent. He said bitterly, "Of the three parties, I am the most disadvantaged. If things don't go well, it would be good to have a way out..."

Ding Guifang, in her small courtyard in the suburbs, also opened her eyes from her devout prayers, and the oil lamp in front of her finally reignited with a few sparks.

She breathed a sigh of relief; though it was so small, it meant there was still hope.

She awakened Zhou Jie, and the two set off for the Meng residence once again.

Meanwhile, inside the Meng residence, Ling Yi and his two companions had already made preparations.

"Ling Yi, are you sure you don't need to go out and look for her? Ding Guifang will come to you on her own." Meng Dong was still a little worried.

"I don't know, but I think it's worth a try. If they haven't come in half an hour, then we'll have to go out and search for them," Ling Yi said frankly.

However, he wasn't trying blindly; he had reasonable deductions behind it.

Judging from Ding Guifang's actions, she undoubtedly has the means to track down [Feng Yan].

However, the fact that the Phoenix Flame was absorbed by the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant earlier might have been equivalent to a seal or isolation, causing her to lose her bearings.

Now that [Feng Yan] has reappeared, we should be able to track him down.

As for why they waited at the Meng family's place, it can only be said that they had secured the "advantage of location and popular support" in advance.

The geographical advantage is the familiar environment, and the human factor is that only here can Zhang Qiang make his mark.

Time passed by, and Ling Yi calmly drank her tea, while Zhang Qiang remained as impatient as ever, and Meng Dong was also unable to calm down.

Meng Dong glanced at his watch from time to time and noticed that the minute hand had already gone around half a circle, meaning that half an hour had passed.

He was hesitating whether to speak up and warn them when he heard a sharp cry from afar.

The three looked up at the horizon and saw a fiery red expanse.

"Was that a sunrise? A fiery sunset?" Meng Dong asked uncertainly.

Ling Yi stood up, squinted and stared for a while, then suddenly laughed, "It's Ding Guifang's fire creature, she's here."

Upon hearing this, Meng Dong was overjoyed, and Zhang Qiang rubbed his hands together excitedly, saying, "The special brew has finally arrived!"

Ling Yi looked at the two of them, his smile fading, and said seriously, "This battle will likely determine the winner of the game."

"Um!"

The two nodded in response.

On the other side, Wang Yun also noticed the strange phenomenon on the horizon. He said indifferently, "As expected, in the end, it still came down to a battle to determine the victor."

On the horizon, Ding Guifang, leading a large group of fire creatures, wiped the blood that had spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Given her current state, the oil lamp shouldn't have possessed such power, but she sacrificed her own life essence to gain temporary strength.

She arrived later this time, mainly to synchronize with Zhou Jie on the ground.

Just as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds, Ding Guifang and Zhou Jie arrived at the Meng residence.

Neither side said much, and the fight immediately turned into a life-or-death struggle.

Ding Guifang relentlessly hurled her fiery creations at the buildings, intending to burn down the entire Meng Mansion. Zhang Qiang, who was tasked with protecting the Meng Mansion, transformed into a giant water ape, manipulating the water to fight off the fire and retaliate against Ding Guifang.

Zhou Jie faced Ling Yi and Meng Dong directly on the ground.

The ordinary people in this area have long been dismissed, so Ling Yi can use his skills without any scruples. Of course, even if he hadn't been dismissed, he wouldn't have been timid or hesitant.

Zhou Jie's skills are wide and sweeping, which makes him somewhat ineffective against someone as agile as Ling Yi.

At this point, Ling Yi had not yet used the [Reversal Hourglass] skill; he was only using the three-piece set of the Fiery Executioner to stall for time.

Because there is still one player who hasn't been dragged into this mess.

Wang Yun observed from the sidelines for a while and realized that Ding Guifang's target was always Ling Yi and his gang.

Since that's the case, he decided to continue observing and wait for the right opportunity to intervene.

After Ding Guifang set fire to the entire Meng residence, Zhang Qiang had no choice but to go around to help.

Ling could see clearly that she was deliberately trying to lure Zhang Qiang away.

After her scheme succeeded, she turned her attention to Ling Yi, who was locked in a fierce battle with Zhou Jie.

Instead of attacking, she took out an oil lamp.

Meng Dong's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he wanted, but obtaining it would not be easy.

He turned his gaze to Ling Yi, but quickly looked back.

He realized that if he relied on Ling Yi for everything, how could he uphold his principles?

And so, he finally unleashed his full power – [Mirage].

"It's getting foggy?"

Ling Yi sensed the changes around him and was somewhat puzzled.

Just then, he heard Meng Dong's voice in his ear: "It's okay, this is my skill. Help me attract attention while I try to snatch the oil lamp."

Ling Yi looked around but didn't see Meng Dong, realizing it was an invisibility skill.

Since Meng Dong has his own methods, he is naturally happy to cooperate.

"Okay, you choose your own opportunity."

Ling Yi responded softly, then laughed loudly, "Too slow! I haven't even used my skills yet, and you think you can steal [Phoenix Flame] like this?"

He raised the Phoenix Flame high. Ding Guifang, who was watching the cloud of mist warily from high above, instantly forgot about it when she saw what Ling Yi was holding.

"Quick, take it!"

Ding Guifang roared at Zhou Jie.

Although Zhou Jie was unhappy about being driven by Ding Guifang, he still did as she said and went to seize Fengyan.

The original plan was to steal the jade pendant, but Ding Guifang wanted the jade pendant in order to break the restriction and obtain the [Phoenix Flame].

Therefore, Zhou Jie only needs to successfully seize either the Crimson Feather Nirvana Pendant or the Phoenix Flame to complete the contract.

The fog gradually thickened, and Wang Yun, who was watching from the sidelines, sensed something was wrong because he noticed that one person was missing from the field.

Where is Mengdong?

Wang Yun sensed the fluctuations in the space and discovered that the fog actually had the effect of shielding perception. Now he was almost certain that there was something wrong with the fog.

To make it easier to fight, Ding Guifang in the air actually lowered her altitude slightly, almost level with the roof.

The oil lamp hovered in front of her, and all her attention was focused on the [Phoenix Flame] in Ling Yi's hand. She was completely unaware that she had been targeted by a fugitive.

To be precise, they had their eyes on the oil lamp in front of her.

Perhaps she was too eager, or perhaps she didn't know that someone would target an oil lamp; in any case, she was completely unprepared for it.

This gave Meng Dong a great deal of room to maneuver.

Just as his fingers were about to touch the oil lamp, an accident occurred.

It wasn't Ding Guifang who noticed, but Wang Yun who made the move.

He admitted that there was an element of gambling in focusing most of his attention on the oil lamp, but luckily, he gambled correctly!

After all, it has no direct relation to whoever owns the Phoenix Flame, or whoever lives or dies.

This oil lamp is the only thing that matters to whether he can complete his single-line mission.

Wang Yun's intervention left Meng Dong with no chance of success.

Ding Guifang also noticed that there seemed to be a person hiding in the fog!

She gave Wang Yun a deep look, unsure why he was helping her, and she didn't express any gratitude.

She simply placed the oil lamp in her hand silently, muttering incantations. Soon, a vortex of flame rose and spread from around her.

The high-temperature flame quickly dissipated most of the fog, making it difficult to obtain the oil lamp by surprise.

Meng Dong was somewhat frustrated. It was clearly a golden opportunity, and they were so close...

Seeing this, Ling knew that Meng Dong had most likely failed.

By this time, Zhang Qiang had basically extinguished several large fires and rushed back to the battlefield.

Choosing the Meng residence as the battlefield for the final battle has both advantages and disadvantages.

The downside is that Zhang Qiang's single-line mission is greatly challenged.

If they really let loose and started fighting, the destructive power would be astonishing.

Zhang Qiang thought for a moment, then spat and cursed, "What a bunch of idiots, afraid of this and that! I've never been so timid. Just go all out and fight!"

After cursing, he roared and charged towards Zhou Jie, relieving the pressure on Ling Yi's side.

Ling Yi was able to re-observe the battlefield situation.

The anticipated decisive battle is unfolding as scheduled, but Wang Yun has not yet been drawn into the battlefield, which is the only variable.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, glancing in Wang Yun's direction, thinking to himself, "Trying to be the fisherman isn't so easy..."