"Zhou Zhao."

The Four-leaf Phoenix Tree spoke.

"Zhou Zhao!"

Zhou Zhao snapped back to reality and found himself standing at the entrance of the residence.

The boy was snuggling in his sister’s arms, looking up at him.

"Don’t forget what that guy said."

Zhou Zhao turned his head and pointed at the boy in the bushes:

"Do you know what I wanna do?"

The Four-leaf Phoenix Tree remained silent.

"I want to leave a shoe print on that guy’s face."

After saying these words, Zhou Zhao inexplicably felt a bit of relief. The frustration and oppression of many days had somewhat dissipated.

Yes, if he could go back to the past, he would definitely kick himself in the face with all his might.

If he had discovered sooner that the monster wearing his father’s face was just a paper tiger, he would have scared it so badly it would collapse to the ground in fright.

If he had done all this sooner, left with his family earlier.

His sister, his mother might not have had to go through all this. His sister wouldn’t be blind, his mother wouldn’t be mentally unstable, and they could have gone further away, if they could leave Alfas...

Perhaps everything would be different.

He needs the Key.

He’s not exactly sure how much the Key weighs, but it would certainly allow him to leave Alfas, escape all of reality’s predicaments, and everyone on the team would lead a better life...

Perhaps he could use the Key to change something, give people the key to their future, so they have the right to choose.

Perhaps he could rejuvenate Alfas, so no more people suffer from hunger and cold.

Recalling past events left Zhou Zhao’s mind in disarray, so much so that he didn’t notice Su Sui stepping into his perimeter of alertness.

He looked up, seeing the unsheathed Great Tachi and almost cried out for the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree to activate the Divine Speed Power.

Su Sui remained silent, drawing out the Great Tachi, slicing down the residence’s wall with two slashes, and with another slash, the boy’s phantom dispersed into the blade light, turning into a crimson stream of data.

"Thanks," Zhou Zhao said.

"There are enemies inside." Su Sui stood firm with her blade.

The Four-leaf Phoenix Tree’s eyes slightly narrowed.

"Why do you always disappoint me?"

"Why do you constantly disappoint me!"

"I clearly gave you all the best, so why are you worthless?"

A coarse roar came from inside the residence, mixed with vulgar words.

"If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have to stay here and wait to die."

A misshaped monster crashed through the wall and charged out. Its arms were extraordinarily swollen, but its legs were shrunken together, needing to rely on its arms for movement.

Half of the man’s head caved in, his face twisted with rage, with sharp teeth protruding and a broken horn inserted backward into his eyes. The muscles on his upper body bulged so much that they burst from his expensive suit.

His fist tightly clenched a princess doll, the doll’s skirt torn, button eyes missing, black blood flowing from the eyes to the skirt and then to the legs...

"If it weren’t for you, I would have been living a much better life."

"You burdens."

"HaHaHaHa! Why can’t you answer any of those people’s theoretical questions? Didn’t I instruct you to learn them?"

"Why do you keep secretly watching me with those damned eyes? Do I look strange, or are you a gutter rat, just like your mother? I hate those eyes that only gauge others’ expressions, I want to gouge them out!"

"Or is it," the monster’s voice lowered.

"You think all this is my doing?"

"Chaotic Data Body"

"Faction: /*Error*/"

"Align: /*Error*/"

"Life Value: 100%"

"/*Error*/ level instance creature!"

"Warning! Warning! Warning!"

"Unknown instance creature, data panel error, it’s advised for players to avoid direct conflict!"

Su Sui leaped forward, leaving a fierce blade light with her long tachi in mid-air.

"Don’t let him hit you," the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree warned. "The Shrine recognized us as not part of this data, this is an exclusion-generated data body, being hit will result in assimilation!"

"Got it," Su Sui nodded in response.

"Tsk, this guy isn’t listening at all." The Four-leaf Phoenix Tree didn’t waste words either, directly activating Divine Speed Power to approach, bestowing it upon Su Sui.

In the blink of an eye, all three on the field received the Divine Speed Power simultaneously.

Zhou Zhao quickly retreated, dodging the monster’s swung heavy punch.

"Why is everything blamed on me?"

The monster roared.

"Do you and your mother think the same way?"

Relying on Divine Speed Power, Zhou Zhao swung his left leg fiercely, aiming a heavy blow at the data body.

At the moment his left leg touched the data body, Zhou Zhao felt as if he hit a mountain, the intense counter-shock tingling his whole body.

The data body didn’t budge, showing a vicious grin, waving the torn princess doll in front of Zhou Zhao:

"It’s all because of you. You have no value and not even the courage to look me in the eye."

Zhou Zhao’s expression twisted suddenly, and he aimed the champion glove at the monster’s forehead to fire, but the monster’s big hand reached out first.

Su Sui arrived faster than the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree, stepping forward just before the monster touched Zhou Zhao, grabbing his collar and pulling him away, delivering a fierce upward kick to the monster’s jaw, followed by a sharp slash of her long blade.

The monster’s left arm was immediately severed, flying into the air. Su Sui repeatedly dodged the falling blood, then delivered another heavy leg strike to the monster’s chest, sending the data body several meters back.

Her combat style remained aggressive under the Divine Speed Power’s influence, each slash was sharp, slashing repeatedly at the monster’s previously blocked spot, until cutting through the monster’s defending area.

The dense slashes forced the data body to retreat step by step, but with a roar from the monster, the data in the air flowed into its hands, rhythmic crimson currents flickering, rushing towards the sky.

Su Sui didn’t care about any of this, as soon as the monster’s hands grew back, she severed them again. Hearing the monster’s unwilling roar, her slightly slowed attacks became even quicker, each cut drawing blood, aiming directly at the vulnerable throat, making Zhou Zhao’s heart race, who, on second thought, decisively joined the ones pummeling the monster.

The Four-leaf Phoenix Tree watching the two, gave up on thinking and stepped forward with a Supersonic Kick, smashing the data body’s half-face sideways, two pixel beams piercing through the monster’s body. The monster, with both arms severed, collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up, only to be pinned down again by Su Sui’s knife driven into its heart.

"Screw you," Zhou Zhao grabbed the monster’s head, "I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time now. Knowing you’ll be executed by those people, you still want to drag us down with you."

"Do you know what I’ve been thinking all these years?"

"Did you think I lived in your shadow?"

"Are you kidding me?" Zhou Zhao delivered a fierce kick to the data body’s face.

"I’ve always thought that letting you die too quickly back then wasn’t satisfying at all, I regret not kicking your rotten face a few more times!"

After saying this, Zhou Zhao kicked fiercely once more.

Noticing, the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree activated Divine Speed Power and kicked fiercely as well.

Originally stopped, seeing the two doing this, Su Sui had an exclamation mark appear over her head, wiped the dust off her face, and decisively joined the kicking group.

The three of them, taking turns, kick after kick, until the data body’s face caved in, its original appearance unrecognizable.

"That was satisfying," Zhou Zhao exhaled, shaking his sore shoulders.

"Hey, that’s enough," the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree panted, "More data bodies are closing in."

The three lethargically turned their heads, a few advancing data bodies hesitated and stood still.

Su Sui carried the blade on her shoulder, the Four-leaf Phoenix Tree sneered, and Zhou Zhao spat blood onto the man’s face.

Thus, the three turned and ran.