Withdrawing his golden-banded staff, Sun Wukong clenched his teeth in anger as he stared at the vanished enemy.
He turned his head to look around, searching everywhere but finding no trace of the foe. Frustrated, he stomped his foot hard and once again summoned the Somersault Cloud, flying toward his master's direction.
In a distant town, Qin Ming frowned as he watched Sun Wukong come and go, cautiously observing the surroundings. It was clear the Monkey King had met some trouble.
That ambushing adventurer had actually escaped unharmed from the wrath of Sun Wukong — clearly no ordinary person.
Actually, thinking about it, it made sense. Adventurers who entered the Selected's quest world? How could any of them be ordinary?
Every single one was at a monster-level existence!
Shaking his head, Qin Ming turned to retreat, not wanting to be mistaken for an ally of the ambusher by that Bimawen (the "Horse Keeper") outside and get killed on the spot.
But just as he turned, Qin Ming suddenly froze.
Because less than half a meter ahead, a figure had appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the wall with arms crossed, looking at him with a faintly amused expression.
"Yo, hey there, buddy."
Seeing this unexpected guest, Qin Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and he stopped in his tracks.
"Suddenly appearing silently behind someone like this is very rude, you know."
"Oh? Was I silent? I made myself pretty obvious—I just don't think you noticed, so don't blame me."
Smiling at Qin Ming, the female adventurer suddenly extended a hand.
"High-level adventurer, Ghost Shadow, pleased to meet you."
Qin Ming looked at the offered hand expressionlessly and didn't respond.
Seeing this, Ghost Shadow shrugged lightly and vanished into thin air.
Before Qin Ming could react, searching around for her, her voice already sounded behind him.
"If you don't want to meet me, fine. But we still have business to discuss, buddy. I've set my sights on Tang Sanzang—his ownership belongs to me. You won't mind, right?"
The voice behind made Qin Ming's pupils shrink again. He turned to speak, only to find no one behind him.
Staring at the empty alley, Qin Ming took a deep breath and then suddenly chuckled.
"Is this your way of showing me who's boss?"
"Think whatever you want. Tang Sanzang is mine by default. I have to taste that Tang Sanzang meat. That's final."
The sudden voice came again, this time from in front of Qin Ming.
Where the alley had been empty moments ago, now a figure had appeared, holding an apple seemingly from nowhere.
Taking a bite, the tall, stunning woman casually tossed the apple to Qin Ming, then vanished once more.
"Then, let's have a pleasant cooperation and I wish you success in your hunt. Oh, by the way, you may not look much, but your gear's pretty cool—especially that sword on your back. Must be a divine weapon. Be sure to take good care of it."
Catching the apple, Qin Ming still smiled but narrowed his eyes.
Patting his waist, he found his revolver—one he always carried—had disappeared. He glanced at the pistol lying on the ground opposite him, then at the bitten apple in his hand, falling silent.
After more than ten seconds, he raised the apple to his mouth and bit down hard.
After chewing a few times, Qin Ming suddenly turned his head and spat the apple out.
"Ptui! Sour. I hate eating stuff other people have already bitten."
He flung the apple to the ground, walked over, and bent down to pick up the pistol that had been stolen from him.
Glancing around, Qin Ming's expression once again became blank and emotionless.
"Damn flea."
Muttering to himself, Qin Ming turned and walked away.
A prodigy among high-level adventurers? That teleportation ability was freakish! That mobility was incredible!
But someone who only got selected after climbing all the way to high-level? What right did she have to act tough in front of him?
She even dared to threaten him? She'd better pray he didn't catch her—otherwise, she'd seriously regret it!
Targeting Tang Sanzang, huh? Qin Ming hadn't even planned to mess with Tang Sanzang at first—he just wanted to quietly complete the mission.
But now that this woman had the nerve to come provoke him, well… today, either she or Tang Sanzang was going to die!
Striding out into the street, as he passed a pedestrian, Qin Ming suddenly drew the demonic sword from his back and hurled it forward.
With a sharp crack, the sword pierced cleanly through the pedestrian's chest. Black mist coiled around the body as it collapsed with a heavy thud—only to begin trembling strangely.
Within moments, the corpse yanked the sword from its chest and, using it as a cane, slowly stood up.
As the black mist faded, a familiar face was revealed—Kasamoto Eiri's face!
"Yo, Boss! Took you long enough to summon me this time! And this body? Man, it's garbage! Worse than my last one!"
Feeling out the state of the new body, Kasamoto Eiri—now the spirit of the demonic sword—couldn't help grumbling.
Qin Ming's face twitched, looking exasperated.
"I had to rush. Where was I supposed to find a good body for you? Just make do for now!"
"Tch. Weak I can tolerate, but ugly too? Now I have to change it back to my usual look."
She looked down, fiddled with her chest a little, then suddenly grinned like an idiot.
"Hehehe… but at least the figure's nice! I'm keeping this part!"
Smack!
"Cut the pervy crap. We've got real business! Some chick with freaky powers came by just now and tried to threaten your boss. What do you say we do about that?"
"Do about it? What else? We wreck her! Together!"
"Excellent! I knew I wasn't wrong about y—HEY! Cut the pervy crap again!"
Qin Ming smacked her once more, his face dark as he pulled out his King of Fighters manual and activated it.
With a flash of light, today's lucky summon appeared—and this time, it was someone Qin Ming deeply respected: his senior sister, Mai Shiranui!
Appearing within the glow, Mai wore an elegant kimono. When she noticed Qin Ming looking her way, she gave a crisp snap as she opened her folding fan, gracefully covering half her face, leaving only her smiling eyes visible.
But upon seeing that today's summon turned out to be Mai Shiranui, Qin Ming couldn't help letting out a long sigh.
"We're screwed. Totally screwed."
At those words, Mai, who had been about to strike a gorgeous pose, froze mid-smile.
"Qin Ming! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"No, no, don't take it the wrong way, Senior Sister. I mean… here, I've got some money. You've come all this way, why don't you go shopping or something? See if there's anything you like?"
"QIN MING!!!"
(End of Chapter)