Chapter Thirty-Six: The Plastic Lid Saves the Day

Linda had never undergone any genetic mutation enhancement, but let us not forget—she was the elite leader of the Ruffianess class! Among the four base professions of the Shadow Fighters' lower ranks, the Broomhead was the lowest, followed by the Thug, then the Hippie, and finally the Ruffianess at the top.

In other words, the Ruffianess class was superior to the other three. Therefore, Linda, in charge of the Ruffianesses, surpassed Williams and the leaders of both the Thugs and Hippies in strength. Her defining trait was her balance; besides being a master of the whip, her strength, agility, and stamina were all exceptionally high, making her a formidable mid-level boss.

Perhaps her skills were not as varied as Kuro's, but in terms of personal attributes, this female leader clearly outmatched Kuro in both strength and agility, not to mention her superior stamina.

After her three daughters were slain, Linda was consumed by a frenzy of rage. Her two-meter iron whip cut through the air with a howling wind; each strike seemed to split the very air with explosive cracks. Even a glancing blow from the tip would land with the force of a sledgehammer.

Though Kuro was quick, all his stats were suppressed. Linda attacked with reckless ferocity, and despite his evasive maneuvers, he was struck several times, deep, bloody welts opening on his body. One blow in particular—a spiked iron ball at the whip’s tip—ripped a large chunk of flesh from his sword arm, blood pouring out. Furious, he shouted, “Are you not going to help?”

Linda, hearing his shout, felt a surge of shock and anger. She maintained her relentless assault while tensing her nerves in preparation for an ambush, but nothing happened.

The short, thin man called out twice more, but no one responded. Linda concluded he was merely trying to distract her in order to escape, so she pressed her attack even harder. Kuro, trapped within the range of her whip, had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight back.

His machete, though sharp, was no match for the heavy iron whip. Within two minutes, blood trickled from the corners of Kuro’s mouth. He quickly consumed a piece of jerky that restored eighty points of health, bringing his airborne health bar back up. But his heart began to sink—he suspected Wang Ling was waiting for Linda to become completely unwary before launching a sneak attack, but it seemed more likely that Wang Ling was planning to let both combatants wear each other down and then reap the rewards.

So Kuro began to deliberately maneuver Linda toward the trash bin where Wang Ling was hiding. But this was a mistake—he was no match for Linda, and his divided focus left an opening.

Linda seized the opportunity with uncanny acuity. On her crimson leather jacket, just below her left breast, a nondescript emblem suddenly glimmered. In the next instant, three figures erupted from the air: a Broomhead in jeans and a black tank top; a Thug in blue coveralls and a tight shirt; a Hippie in army-green pants and a yellow bandana.

The three Shadow Fighters charged at Kuro. He cleaved the Broomhead in two with a flick of his blade, kicked the Thug away with a spray of blood, but was seized around the waist by the Hippie. With a brutal downward thrust, he drove his bloodied blade into the Hippie’s skull, killing him instantly—yet the dead arms did not release their grip.

As the summoned trio successfully pinned Kuro, Linda drew a deep breath and finally unleashed her skill:

“Chain Whip Strike!”

The name might not sound intimidating, but one must remember—Linda’s weapon was an iron whip whose tip bore a spiked iron ball!

The black whip split into countless afterimages, filling the air with a barrage of explosive cracks. The whirlwind formed by these whip shadows instantly engulfed Kuro, still held by the Hippie’s corpse. The savage blows tore flesh and hurled blood in every direction; even the Hippie’s body was shredded to pieces by the merciless iron whip.

Kuro didn’t even have time to scream. All he could do was shield his head with his left arm, enduring the relentless barrage, while desperately swallowing jerky with his right hand in a bid to replenish his rapidly plummeting health. But after consuming the last of the four pieces of combat-usable jerky from his pouch, driven to desperation, Kuro revealed his trump card:

It was a square scroll emblazoned with a lightning motif.

FC, Journey to the West: First Edition, Item—Summon Lightning Talisman!

In the world of FC’s first Journey to the West, there were four types of magic-item talismans: the Whirlwind Talisman with a plantain fan motif, the Fireball Talisman with a fireball, the Summon Lightning Talisman with a lightning bolt, and the Landmine Talisman with a black sphere.

Of these, the Whirlwind Talisman was undoubtedly the most powerful, summoning a deadly tornado that swept forward in a straight line. The Summon Lightning Talisman, however, was the most practical—it struck every creature within a twenty-meter radius for fifty points of damage, and all struck would be paralyzed for a base duration of two seconds!

Both Linda and the trash bin concealing Wang Ling were within the talisman's range. Kuro was prepared to use his trump card to kill them both! Even if the lightning failed to kill them outright, the two seconds of paralysis would leave them completely helpless.

The Summon Lightning Talisman was a high-level item—its paralysis wasn’t easily resisted or shortened by basic attributes. At the very least, a novice dreamer’s resistance would not suffice.

Even one second of paralysis would have been enough for Kuro, skilled in speed and agility, to finish the job.

As the talisman activated and the scroll vanished, two blue-white bolts of lightning tore through the night, striking from the sky! One struck Linda, sending her body into convulsions, her hair standing on end. The other struck the trash bin where Wang Ling hid.

With a sinister glint, Kuro watched—the talisman had been meant for use against the main quest boss, Brunov, to snatch the finishing blow and eliminate Wang Ling, his supposed ally, at the critical moment. Never had he expected Wang Ling, under the dual threat of the main quest and Bai Feng, to turn against him now, standing by as Linda drove him to the brink and forcing him to play his hand early.

Knowing that fifty points of lightning damage would not kill an elite boss like Linda, Kuro launched a fivefold-damage sprint attack, driving his blade deep into her heart as she stood paralyzed. Then, with lightning speed, he yanked it free, slid across the ground toward the trash bin, intending to finish off the equally paralyzed Wang Ling.

Bang!

A wild and thunderous gunshot rang out. Kuro was struck in the neck and staggered back in shock. The lead shot hadn’t penetrated his neck—his basic defense as a veteran was robust—but the pellet lodged in his windpipe against the vertebrae, making matters even more dire!

Horrified and enraged, Kuro stared in disbelief as Wang Ling leaped unharmed from the trash bin. Blood welled in Kuro’s throat, producing a raspy, bellows-like sound as it spilled into his airway: “How… how is this possible…”

“What’s impossible about it?” Wang Ling produced something from behind him—a scorched, twisted, half-melted disk.

“The lightning was impressive, but this trash bin had a lid. Ordinary plastic is non-conductive. Conductive plastic is much more expensive, and no one would use it for a cheap trash bin. The lightning struck the lid and was blocked—simple as that.”

The answer made Kuro’s gaunt face tremble. His chest heaved, and a fit of coughing brought up a flood of bloody froth.

Clutching his chest, he struggled to ask, “Did you… did you know I had the Lightning Talisman? Is that why… you stayed hidden in the trash bin, waiting for me… to use it?”

“No, I was hiding to let you and Linda, the elite boss, wear each other down. I never guessed you had an area-of-effect item and would use it against me. As for the lightning being blocked by the plastic lid—well, that’s just your bad luck.”

Suddenly, Kuro’s hunched form sprang forward, blade thrusting for Wang Ling’s heart! But a burly, shirtless giant with a red-lacquered wooden staff and a broad, ferocious grin stepped between them.

This unexpected turn filled Kuro with a desperate sense of doom—he knew he would not kill Wang Ling tonight. He had already suffered serious wounds fighting Linda; now a bullet was lodged in his vertebrae, and his energy was almost depleted from repeated skill use. With his keen eye, he could see this burly man had a thick layer of fat overlaying solid muscle—a stamina specialist with considerable strength.

If the giant pinned him down, and with Wang Ling’s powerful firearm support, death here was a real possibility. At this realization, Kuro instantly retreated, preparing to flee at full speed.

“You bastard, think you can run? Down you go!”

Wang Long, who had been cooped up in the scenario card’s Kung Fu Tower until now, was thrilled to be summoned at last. Laughing heartily, he lunged forward, his red-lacquered staff shooting out like a pool cue.

Kuro had barely turned to run when the staff struck his backside. With a harsh, strangled howl, he was launched over three meters, landing flat on his back!

(To think I made it to fourth on the newcomer rankings in just one day! Dear readers, you’re amazing… That monstrous first-place novel will leave the new releases in two days, and this one isn’t far behind second or third. You’re pushing me to the brink! Tears… Time to stockpile chapters for a big release on Sunday…)