Chapter 57 - 57 57 Collapse

57: Chapter 57 Collapse 57: Chapter 57 Collapse The Skinning Artisan’s complexion suddenly changed. Before this, he had appeared as a soulless killing machine, his facial features, his emotions, all seeming like false skin embedded upon flesh. The fear he inspired was the fear of an alien species; he was like a human but not human, devoid of human emotions, fearless and indifferent, without preferences or flaws, leaving one unable to make a move. But now, his calm face contorted, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, and in an instant, he went from an invincible killer to a mortal with vulnerabilities. “Fair trade!” Yang Can, who had been hiding in the distance, suddenly shouted. Qin An, who was under the Skinning Artisan’s foot, immediately turned into a large rock, and Qin An himself was swapped to Yang Can’s side. Having been released, Qin An crawled out of the dog skin, hastily warning, “Everyone be careful, that’s the Skinning Artisan’s trait, once you’re wrapped in the skin, you can’t use your traits or items!” Xu Huo had experienced the Skinning Artisan’s trait in the pigpen as well, once enveloped by the skin, besides traits and items becoming unusable, one would also develop an absolute sense of fear that made resistance impossible. After all, the Skinning Artisan had skinned ninety-nine thousand nine hundred skins; this was likely an innate fear animals had towards the Skinning Artisan. “Skinning Artisan, you’ve killed so many people, have you ever killed someone you shouldn’t have?” Watching him move, Xu Huo brought the torch closer, while kicking away another piece of burning tiger skin at his feet. Both pieces of beast skin had human skin sandwiched inside; one was destroyed, the other he held in his hand, but the Skinning Artisan did not even glance at the one on the ground, his gaze fixed on the flickering flame. “Killed so many you can’t remember them all?” Xu Huo sneered, “Level D Copy upgrade? Got a pass? As long as the Feld Family is in E27, you can forget about it!” With that, he wrapped the torch on the wolf skin and vanished from the spot! “Aaaahhh!” The Skinning Artisan howled as he rushed towards the burning wolf skin. Peng Fengnian, still at the warehouse entrance, though confused about the situation, saw very clearly that the air around the wolf skin cracked, forming vertical lines that, when embraced by the Skinning Artisan, peeled away like pieces of ripped paper, fluttering in the air! “The Copy is collapsing!” Peng Fengnian exclaimed in shock, watching the paper fragments form a vortex spreading in all directions. He rushed to the warehouse entrance and threw a wooden box to Sima Xiao’er, yelling, “Give this to him!” Sima Xiao’er, already jostled by the frantic crowd trying to escape, caught the box unprepared. Just as he opened his mouth, he saw Peng Fengnian disappear, replaced by a swarm of mottled fragments that surged into the warehouse and dragged everyone into darkness! Ting City. In the temporary command center, the Jin Guang Building, which had been cleared, now displayed the visuals from every room on every floor, including the restrooms, on the screens. As the screens trembled, as if a frame was cut, a silhouette appeared out of nowhere on the empty twenty-eighth floor. Xu Huo grabbed the ground to pull himself up, thankful for his quick reaction, or else he would have fallen from the twenty-eighth floor. It seems you really return to where you came from. As he prepared to leave, the game suddenly popped up a notification: [Due to the collapse of Level D Copy “Hao Wei Dao Fresh Meat Supply Factory,” all players and non-players within will be forced to disengage from the Copy (awards for players who have passed remain unchanged)!] He paused mid-step: the Copy had actually collapsed! Before he had time to think further, people began to appear out of nowhere on the twenty-eighth floor—Yu Qingqing’s agent, staff from the entertainment company, special affairs personnel from the research institute… Just as the game had stated, after the Copy’s collapse, everyone inside was forcibly ejected from the game. Xu Huo approached Sima Xiao’er, who looked bewildered holding the box, “For me?” He had seen that box before; it was what Peng Fengnian used to keep the paper cellphone. Sima Xiao’er nodded blankly, and Xu Huo thanked him before picking up the box and walking away. “Hey! You can’t go!” Sima Xiao’er tried to stop him but was held back by an injured colleague nearby, “This person can still be saved!” Looking at the figure that had already disappeared at the doorway, Sima Xiao’er could only grit his teeth and stay to help. A large number of special affairs personnel and medical staff rushed into Jin Guang Building, and as Xu Huo listened to the sounds of overwhelming joy, he clutched the “Omnipresent Strings” and jumped out of a window, gliding down the wall to the twentieth floor before taking the stairs to leave the building. It went without saying that the items he had left in the hotel were now in the hands of the research institute. He wasn’t in a hurry to reclaim them but went back to his previous rented apartment instead. The apartment had been cleaned; broken furniture was removed, along with the new refrigerator he had purchased. He opened the old fridge that didn’t cool very well, took out a bottle of water, and swept through the non-expired biscuits and bread to quell his hunger. Only after that did Xu Huo clutch his chest and down a bottle of Level D Healing Potion. The effect of the Level D Healing Potion was significant. In just a few minutes, the pain in his chest had completely vanished. He moved his arm a little, and the pain struck again. When he looked in the mirror, he saw his whole shoulder was bruised and swollen, which indicated a likely fracture. Unsure whether the Level D Healing Potion would shorten the healing time for bones, Xu Huo didn’t touch the wound again but sat down on the sofa and opened the game interface. The notification about the game copy’s collapse was still scrolling on the screen, with bright red letters accompanied by fireworks effects. [Congratulations, Player Passerby A, for destroying an underground factory in this random copy, making an outstanding contribution to maintaining the game’s order. The game will default to you completing three tasks. In addition to the rewards for this copy, you will also receive an additional “Bright Gentleman” medal and one special item.] Searᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Additionally, as this is a random copy, it is not eligible for Player Level grading.] He raised his eyebrows slightly. The copy was acknowledged by the game, and causing it to collapse not only gave full completion marks but also additional rewards? This game world really had a sound mind. Leaning on the sofa, Xu Huo’s thoughts spun quickly, eventually settling on the last piece of skin he burned. Initially, he had intended to set the two human skins on fire to buy time, but to his surprise, the wolf skin could not be ignited by ordinary flames. Something even more important than “Skinning Artisan’s Treasure” was present, protected by an item. It suggested that the human skin within the wolf skin was very special. His original intention was to use it to set a trap for the Skinning Artisan, but causing the copy to collapse was unexpected. However, this could be considered a pleasant surprise, like intending to scratch off another chance at a prize, but ending up winning the jackpot instead. The item hidden within the wolf skin must have been crucial to the copy; its damage or loss meant the collapse of the copy. Hidden within the wolf skin and hung inside the factory signified that at least during the copy’s activation time, it could not be put into the inventory, or perhaps it was part of the copy itself, which couldn’t be stashed away but only concealed. For now, let’s assume it’s the core of the copy. If the core is destroyed, all players and non-players are forced to disconnect. Does it mean that once this Level D Copy collapses, it cannot be restarted? Xu Huo stroked his chin, considering the Skinning Artisan’s reaction; even if it hadn’t reached this extent, the situation was hardly better. Perhaps Peng Fengnian knew something about it. Xu Huo took out the paper mobile phone from the box and held it to his ear.