I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Oh no, we've fallen for their trap..."

"It's all that guy's fault..."

"How despicable! How could there be such a despicable person..."

Desperate cries rang out one after another.

"He didn't even return the staff he borrowed. I trusted him so much before... I'll never trust a man again!" Her words were even punctuated by the sweet, coquettish curses of a young girl.

"Cheng Fei!!! You deserve to die!!!"

"There are too many... Don't come any closer!!!"

Such furious shouts, mixed with panicked screams, echoed for a long time in the depths of the underground world.

Meanwhile, Cheng Fei carried Nagasaki Asuna across the dark land. Due to their high speed, the sweet girl's long pink hair and dress fluttered wildly in the wind.

Asuna Nagasaki hugged the boy's neck tightly, looked behind her, as if she had caught a trace of resentment drifting in the wind, and hesitated for a moment, "Um, Cheng Fei, is this really okay?"

"What's wrong?" The boy glanced at her, seemingly unconcerned.

"Does this mean everyone on the server will hold a grudge against Cheng Fei from now on?" the sweet girl said with an innocent expression.

"It's alright. They've held a grudge against me for a long time. Besides, all's fair in war, so you can't blame me." The boy shook his head and sighed.

"Hmm, you fooled everyone so easily. Cheng Fei is really amazing." Nagasaki Asuna's lips curled up, seemingly unconcerned about being implicated. She buried her face near the boy's neck, her pink lips parted slightly, as if drawing something she desired from them.

"Just be careful in the future and try to avoid meeting people from those big guilds."

"Um, Cheng Fei..." the girl with her eyes slightly closed responded in a daze.

"Excuse me, what are you doing, student?"

"Nana completed the task obediently, can't I ask for a reward?" The girl looked up and blinked her moist eyes.

The boy met her gaze for a second, then sighed softly, "Fine, whatever you want."

……

Soon, Cheng Fei brought Nagasaki Asuna back to the core area and put her on the ground.

Upon receiving the message, the rest of the Corridor Research Department members appeared from their waiting area.

Shen Xi stepped forward and looked the two of them over, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "Where is the access permission?"

"Here?" Nagasaki Asuna, who had recovered after receiving the antidote, showed her palm and waved it.

“Nana has received authorization. With her here, we can enter the core.” Cheng Fei stepped forward, looking relaxed.

"Why are there only the two of you? Where did the others go?" Shen Xi hesitated for a moment.

"I killed them all." The boy made a throat-slitting gesture, his voice low and serious.

The aloof girl instinctively shrank her neck and her face tightened. When she came to her senses, she kicked him again, annoyed, "Stop talking nonsense."

"It's absolutely true, Teacher Shen. If you don't believe me, look at the spoils." The boy revealed a bundle of top-tier magic staffs that he had been carrying on his back.

Shen Xi looked doubtful and was about to say something when Nagasaki Asuna suddenly pointed to the ruins not far away, "You two, there seems to be someone over there?"

"What?! Miss Nagasaki, quickly hide behind me!" Miriam's expression changed, and she immediately went into battle mode.

The rest of the Corridor Research Department also became alert.

After a brief silence, Chen Hao stepped forward with his hands raised, shouting, "Don't shoot our own people!"

Du Xinhua followed silently behind.

"Huh? It's you guys?" Zhou Han's round eyes widened slightly.

Next, the two sides had a brief conversation.

Chen Hao put his arm around Cheng Fei's shoulder, beaming with excitement, "Actually, I heard everything just now. You guys got the permissions, right? I didn't expect you to be so capable. In that case, let's team up to challenge the BOSS for now. After all, he and I are quite strong, probably equivalent to half of your guild. After we succeed, we'll only take one-third of the reward. How about that? Isn't that a good deal!"

Du Xinhua shook his head and looked away.

"I'm sorry, our president will decline." The boy said expressionlessly and without hesitation.

A cool, aloof girl standing nearby, who hadn't participated in any conversation, was admiring the scenery while holding a magic staff.

"Don't be so heartless! Have you forgotten that we fought together in the school sports meet? This is a rare opportunity, please let us both join. We don't even need to share the rewards, I just want to leave my name on the BOSS kill record!" The boy with the pompadour instantly grabbed the boy's arm and slid to his knees, looking as if he was crying blood.

"Deal." The young man sighed helplessly.

"I knew you'd get it!" Chen Hao immediately stood up and patted him on the shoulder, his face beaming with delight.

Du Xinhua, who was watching from the sidelines, hesitated to speak, but in the end, she said nothing.

"There's less than an hour left, hurry up!" Shen Xi narrowed her eyes, her face turned serious, and she raised her voice to give the order.

“Let’s go! I’ll protect everyone!” Miriam responded immediately.

Thus, the Corridor Research Department, which had been temporarily expanded once again, officially headed towards the giant shield that enveloped the core area.

As Nagasaki Asuna approached, the shield automatically deactivated part of itself. After everyone had entered, the sweet girl looked at her palm before finally stepping in, and the shield automatically restored itself behind them.

The group moved forward slowly.

Shen Xi held the magic staff and surveyed the space before her with a wary expression.

All the Protoss facilities in the core area are intact, and a low, massive building can be seen sitting in the very center.

"Teacher Shen, have some memories returned?" The boy stood beside her, lowering his voice.

"I'm wondering how Cheng Feiyu and the vixen managed to get those permissions," the aloof girl said suspiciously.

"Teacher Shen, don't worry about such trivial matters. Let's get ready to fight the BOSS." The boy said calmly.

"A guilty-looking piece of trash." Shen Xi's eyes flickered, but she didn't press the matter further.

Soon, the group stepped into the massive central building.

Before me lay a spacious circular courtyard, its floor paved with some kind of silvery-white metal, surrounded by transparent pillars, with crystals emitting strange, colorful light floating inside.

In the center of the courtyard stands a giant pillar engraved with intricate patterns, its tip radiating out in regular three-dimensional net-like crystal branches, resembling a radar or some kind of luminous crystal plant.

"This is the large node that manages the third layer; all the data from the smaller nodes converges here," Shen Xi said softly.

Zhou Han turned her head to look around, then suddenly noticed something and exclaimed, "Look over there!"

Following the petite girl's finger, you can see a person, or rather a humanoid life form, sitting at the base of the pillar in the center of the courtyard.

Its entire body has a mercury-like metallic luster, its head is lowered, its face is blank, one leg is bent at the knee, and its arm is resting on its knee. It seems to be sitting in place to rest after being tired, or it seems to have been asleep for countless years.

"That was a failure?" Chen Hao clenched his fist and swallowed hard. "So strong! He's terrifyingly strong just by looking at him. I feel my whole body trembling. This is the kind of opponent I should have!"

"Do you have to say something cringeworthy to feel satisfied?" Du Xinhua looked at him with a calm and speechless expression.

"Don't ruin the mood, you idiot!"

Cheng Fei shook his head and handed the entire bundle of borrowed staffs to Nagasaki Asuna. "Nana, we're counting on you for support. We're outnumbered, so let's try to avoid any casualties."

"Got it?" The sweet girl nodded obediently and hugged the things to her chest.

Seeing this, Lin Xuanqi whispered some instructions to the men in black protecting her, and then exchanged a glance with Ye Shuang beside her, "Xiao Shuang, be careful."

"Miss, please be careful too." The obedient girl nodded slightly.

"Get ready and let's begin." Cheng Fei gripped his black longsword tightly, slowly walked forward, and aimed the energy pistol he had previously used for show at the silver figure sitting on the ground.

However, even faster than him was the crimson beam of light that shot from behind, relentlessly bombarding the failed work and almost completely engulfing it.

The boy was startled and immediately sensed something was wrong.

Shen Xi's face was cold. She raised her staff to its maximum power and drained the battery in one go. Then, a slight sense of relief appeared on her face.

The next instant, a crimson stream of light, countless times more frenzied than her attack, surged out in reverse, as if releasing some kind of extreme anger.

The girl gripped her staff, her eyes wide, her pure blue pupils reflecting the terrifying attack that was about to engulf her.

Just before Shen Xi was melted, Cheng Fei arrived behind her at a speed fifty times slower and dragged her away.

The crimson light stream struck the wall of the courtyard, leaving a reddish-hot mark that quickly faded away.

The wall, made of an unknown metal, withstood the blow with ease.

"Teacher Shen! You need to know the proper techniques for engaging monsters, don't you?"

Faced with the boy's reprimand, the still-shaken, aloof girl was about to instinctively retort when she discovered that the person in front of her had already disappeared.

"Nana, put on your shield!" Cheng Fei ordered, and at the same time returned to the center of the courtyard.

The silver life form that was sitting on the ground had awakened and slowly stood up. Although it had no face, when it turned its head, it still made people feel that it was scanning everyone. A complex and exquisite staff floated behind it, which was obviously the source of the attack just now.

Nagasaki Asuna snapped out of her daze, quickly raised a golden staff, and softly hummed a spell. Light spread out, adding a semi-transparent spherical shield to everyone present.

Cheng Fei gripped his black longsword tightly and lunged at the failed attempt at top speed. The air around the boy, which had been solidified as if it were tangible, was torn apart, forming a visible shockwave that spread outwards. Anyone hit by the shockwave would hear a deafening shriek.

The small, agile figure quietly followed his steps. Ye Shuang and the boy exchanged a glance, then activated their Platinum Stars to launch an attack together.

In an almost still world, the failed creation slowly turns its head, its faceless face locking onto the two people.

Then, staffs of various shapes emerged one after another from the void behind it, slowly emitting light of different colors. The two who noticed this took cover.

From a distance, all one could see were the two figures rushing towards the failed attempt, followed by a series of violent explosions that seemed to chase their movements with a sense of urgency.

"This kid's gaming skills are this strong?!" Chen Hao shouted, grabbing his hair, looking utterly incredulous.

Cheng Fei and Ye Shuang avoided a round of attacks and tacitly split up to launch a pincer attack on the failed attack from both flanks.

Behind the failed design is the pillar in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly leaving no way out.

However, just as the two were closing in, a new crystal staff appeared behind the failed attempt, followed by a loud bang, and the silver figure disappeared from the spot, leaving the two empty-handed.

When the failed creation reappeared, it had moved to the other end of the courtyard and was slowly floating in mid-air, with a new staff emerging.

Not far away, Chen Hao looked at the enemy who had fled to him and revealed a look of great joy. "A good opportunity!"

He immediately raised two futuristic-looking assault rifles and shouted as he dual-wielded them, "Try my automatic target acquisition high-energy armor-piercing rounds!"

The moment he fired, a semi-transparent shield appeared around the failed attempt. The whistling bullets streaked along incredible trajectories as they struck the shield, triggering a series of small explosions that caused visible vibrations in the air.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the failed attempt unleashed a terrifying crimson beam of light that once again shot out from the staff floating behind him, engulfing the area where Chen Hao was standing.

When the light dissipated, the silvery-white metallic ground was completely undamaged, except for a blurry, charred mark.

Near the spot where Chen Hao disappeared, Du Xinhua watched as his companion vanished into thin air. He raised an eyebrow, revealing a grim expression. Just as he turned to flee, a second stream of crimson light surged forth.

Another charred mark appeared on the ground.

In the distance, Zhou Han stared blankly at the scene, "Huh? These two weaklings are gone just like that?"

"Nana, give me a magic shield! This boss specializes in magic!" Cheng Fei slapped his forehead, issuing a warning.

"Okay!" Nagasaki Asuna quickly switched her staff.

Cheng Fei and Ye Shuang exchanged glances and rushed back to the location of their failed attempt.

During this time, Miriam stood there stunned, looking left and right. "So fast, everyone is so fast, what's going on?!"

She thought hard for a moment, and finally decided to run towards Nagasaki Asuna, "I'd better protect Miss Nagasaki!"

As the Corridor Research Department began its fierce battle, no one noticed that outside the giant shield, a young girl with a black umbrella suddenly appeared inside the shield with a bang. She looked ahead with an expressionless face, opened the umbrella again, and disappeared with a bang.

981. A Failure

An unsettling roar and howl echoed continuously from the vast courtyard of the building.

After Nagasaki Asuna buffed everyone with a large number of buffs, they were able to barely withstand one attack, which provided a minimum margin for error, and at least the casualties stopped.

After a difficult period of adjustment, the Corridor Research Department gradually came to understand the enemy's modus operandi.

While chasing after the failed attempt and forcing it to teleport, Cheng Fei spoke into the communicator in his ear, "Teacher Shen, this BOSS specializes in magic. Don't let your guard down just because we're far away. Also, leave the firepower suppression to them."

One crimson beam after another shot from the edge of the arena toward the failed attempt. As it kept flashing and missing its target, the ever-increasing frequency of its attacks made people feel a sense of impatience.

"I know, trash!" came the aloof girl's displeased voice. "It's just that it keeps dodging and we can't hit it at all!"

The boy hesitated for a moment, but still didn't ask her whether she was unhappy because of the enemy's actions or because she was still angry about the previous reprimand.

"Junior, what am I going to do if I can't keep up with you guys at all!" Miriam's sad voice broke into the channel.

The blonde girl, equipped with a heavy bomb suit, stood guard beside Nagasaki Asuna, only having a chance to join the battle when the enemy occasionally approached.