Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Rich Woman’s Strength

Wang Xi’s strength was improving at an incredible pace.

In Swordsmanship alone, he believed he had already surpassed the Four-Star Elite, Court Swordmaster Franz.

Wang Xi still couldn’t grasp the exact distinction between the Elite, Hero, and Legend classifications. However, his intuition told him that the difference in strength between each template was roughly equivalent to a full Star.

In other words, a Four-Star Elite was slightly weaker than a Whiteboard Five Stars, but a Four-Star Hero was definitely stronger than a Whiteboard Five Stars.

[δ General Purpose Mechanical Doll (Corrupted) · Audience (Neutral/Two Stars)]

As he looked, tags appeared above the heads of the Mechanical Dolls in the seats, all dressed in gorgeous, classical attire like top hats, tailcoats, and corseted full skirts.

Wang Xi knew that the moment he disturbed them, the neutral Yellow tags would instantly turn a hostile red.

But they wouldn’t get the chance.

Because the Beheading Sword was faster than the Mechanical Dolls’ reactions.

SWOOSH—

Without breaking stride, Wang Xi silently swept past a pair of Mechanical Dolls disguised as a married couple.

A silver-gray flash of the blade, and two metal heads were lopped off.

Beneath the top hat and beside it were two faces frozen in stiff, fake smiles.

He didn’t even spare them a glance before darting another ten-plus meters away, swinging his sword at the next "audience member."

The entire motion was as fluid as flowing water, giving it the grace of a dance performed at high speed.

The Beheading Sword was his dance partner.

Together, they performed a gorgeous slaughter.

The hard steel bodies were as brittle as tofu before his blade. Every strike decapitated a Mechanical Doll.

"He..."

Lin Xin’Er opened her mouth and said softly.

"It’s like he’s gotten stronger again."

"No, it’s not ’like’." Her gaze was fixed on the blurry figure flashing by at high speed and the brilliant glint of his sword. She took a deep breath and said, "He *has* gotten stronger!"

"Indeed." Bai Qimeng rested her chin on her hand, a smile playing on her lips. "I watched your entire assessment, you know. Handsome Wang is more than just a little bit stronger than he was back then..."

"Xin’Er, could you beat him?"

Hearing this, Lin Xin’Er gave her boss a strange look.

Still, she thought about it seriously before answering:

"During the assessment, I probably would have had a chance."

"And now?"

"I don’t know. Probably not."

Lin Xin’Er shook her head.

"I think he’s still hiding some of his strength. After all, he used Water Magic during the assessment..."

"I didn’t realize you were so impressed by him."

Bai Qimeng said teasingly.

Lin Xin’Er lowered her eyes.

"Admitting your own weakness is the first step to becoming stronger."

"Good! That’s the fighting spirit I’m looking for!"

Bai Qimeng threw an arm around the girl’s shoulders, causing her to struggle in protest. But Bai Qimeng paid it no mind, leaning in to whisper, "Don’t worry, the Cards I had custom-ordered for you are arriving today. Go back and get familiar with them. Your improvement won’t be any less than his."

Lin Xin’Er immediately stopped struggling.

She clenched her fists, then slowly relaxed them.

Finally, she gave Bai Qimeng a complicated look, lowered her head, and whispered, "Thank you, boss."

Five minutes passed quickly.

But there was no opportunity for Bai Qimeng or Lin Xin’Er to act, because they were shocked to find that not a single intact Mechanical Doll was left in the Iron Cage Theater’s audience.

Without exception, every last one had been decapitated.

And Wang Xi was already walking slowly toward them, Beheading Sword in hand.

"Five and a half minutes." Bai Qimeng glanced at her watch and praised him, "Pretty fast, my friend."

Wang Xi let out a long breath, not even flushed or out of breath. He glanced at her and said coolly:

"Miss Bai, please don’t praise a man for being fast."

"Then what should I praise?"

"That I’m good."

"You’re really good, my friend."

Bai Qimeng chuckled and said.

"Need a break?"

"Either you’re good or you’re not. What’s this about needing a break?"

Wang Xi waved his hand, rejecting Bai Qimeng’s kind offer.

"What’s next?"

"Now that the audience is cleared out, the next part is easy. We’ll set up in advance and prepare for the attack from the ’Long Boot Musketeers’."

Bai Qimeng gestured and started walking forward.

"Follow me."

"Alright, let’s see your show."

Wang Xi, Beheading Sword in hand, followed along with Lin Xin’Er.

Bai Qimeng walked to the railing at the edge of the empty stage and stopped. Then, she took out an Artificial White Card.

A white light flashed.

A flat, disc-shaped device like a landmine appeared in her hand, and she casually tossed it at her feet.

BZZZ—

The moment the device hit the ground, it erupted in a blinding blue light, instantly erecting a pale blue, dome-shaped barrier five meters in diameter, protecting the three of them inside.

Wang Xi recognized this Card.

He had seen it before in the "Hat Cave," a hidden module on an online shopping platform: the [Solomon Military One-Way Protective Shield], an Artificial Four-Star White Card with a price tag as high as 500,000.

It could create a protective shield that lasted for half an hour, blocking incoming projectiles including live ammunition, lasers, and Elemental Magic, but it didn’t restrict those inside from firing out.

Of course, half an hour was the theoretical duration under normal power consumption. If it sustained a high-intensity assault, the duration would be drastically reduced.

Overall, it was a defensive Card perfectly suited for small-scale positional warfare.

Wang Xi couldn’t help but sigh internally. ’So rich.’

He then added with a touch of envy, ’It must be nice to be rich.’

"Give me back the Rabbit Mask."

Just then, Bai Qimeng held out her hand to Wang Xi.

Wang Xi silently took out the [Heaven and Earth Shattering·Shy Rabbit Knight Mask] and handed it to her.

Without a word, Bai Qimeng activated it.

A Rabbit Mecha Mask instantly appeared on her face, its two long ears standing straight up.

Not only that, but she also took out another Four-Star Artificial White Card. After activating it, a bright silver laser rifle with a high-tech feel materialized.

—[Solomon Military Laser Rifle Type IX]—

"Handsome, how’s your marksmanship?"

Bai Qimeng’s voice came through the mask as a cute, robotic girlish tone, her pair of red eyes glowing.

"Let’s just say that within seven steps, I never miss."

Wang Xi glanced at her.

"..."

Bai Qimeng was silent for two seconds.

"So you’re just a useless gun wannabe. I bet you couldn’t even hit anything within seven steps unless you shoved the barrel right into the enemy’s body and pulled the trigger."

She shook her head, holding the laser rifle.

"Xin’Er isn’t great with firearms either. In that case, I’ll be the main attacker. You two help me deal with any Walking Cats that try to sneak in close. Don’t let them get inside the protective shield and interfere with my aim."

"Yes, boss."

"Fine."

Wang Xi let out a soft chuckle.

He noticed Lin Xin’Er had put down her backpack, taken out a green Equipment Card, and materialized a pair of black gauntlets, which she then put on.

The girl retightened her ponytail and took a ready stance.

[Lin Xin’Er (Friendly/Three Stars/Elite)]

’This girl has gotten a lot stronger compared to the assessment.’

Wang Xi thought to himself as he looked at the Bronze frame.

Lin Xin’Er’s strength had risen from a Whiteboard Three Stars to a Three-Star Elite. This was most likely thanks to the resources she’d received from Bai Qimeng after joining her.

In short, she’d latched onto a rich sugar mama.

"They’re here."

Bai Qimeng said in her girlish, robotic voice.

Wang Xi turned his head to look, but only caught a dozen or so swift, ghost-like black shadows flitting across the open ground.

He vaguely glimpsed a tag that flashed by in an instant.

[Long Boot Musketeers · Corrupted Walking Cat (Sworn Enemy/Three Stars)]

The black shadows were extremely fast. Within a few breaths, they vanished without a trace, and the surroundings fell silent again.

Wang Xi knew the enemies were all hiding behind obstacles.

—[Mud Howling Dark Frog]—

He once again used this Deep Green Skill Card.

His yellow, horizontal pupils stared ahead.

Instantly, fourteen throbbing red lines representing heartbeats appeared in his vision, scattered in various locations.

’Fourteen Whiteboard Three-Star monsters, and they’re the agile type, good at both close and long range... The difficulty of this Maze scene, called the "Circus," is indeed quite high.’

Wang Xi thought.

If you added the hundred-plus Two-Star Mechanical Dolls from the audience and the yet-to-appear final boss, the Cat Commander, this stage was clearly more difficult than the third round of the Professional Warrior practical assessment.

In the Black Spade Fairy Tale Series of Mazes, although the "Sugar Witch" was numbered before the "Boot Cat," the difference wasn’t large. Combined with the dynamic changes of the internal scenes, such fluctuations in difficulty were a normal phenomenon.

PEW PEW PEW PEW!!

Suddenly, crimson laser beams flashed in Wang Xi’s peripheral vision, and the high-frequency sound of a gun reached his ears.

He saw Bai Qimeng standing in a standard firing stance, aiming and shooting the bright silver laser rifle.

Light flowed from the eyes of the Rabbit Mask on her face as it used a scanning mode to see through obstacles, marking the fourteen Walking Cats on the field for precise elimination.

The laser rifle’s power was clearly greater than the Laser Pistol in Wang Xi’s hands. It easily pierced through iron plates and sandbags, killing the monsters hiding behind them.

PEW PEW PEW PEW!!

The muzzle continuously spat out red light. Under the high rate of fire, even the few Walking Cats lucky enough to dodge the first shot were engulfed by the subsequent rain of lasers, riddled with holes on the spot.

"MEOW—"

"MROWL—"

A cacophony of miserable screeches rose and fell across the field.

In just over ten seconds, five of the red heartbeat lines in Wang Xi’s vision had been extinguished.

This showed just how precise Bai Qimeng’s marksmanship was, and how powerful her pay-to-win style was.

BANG!

BANG BANG BANG BANG!!

Suddenly, gunfire erupted.

It was the Walking Cats of the "Long Boot Musketeers" launching a counterattack. They darted out from behind cover, firing at Bai Qimeng while moving at high speed.

Only then did Wang Xi get a clear look at these Walking Cats. Each one was the size of a three or four-year-old child. Despite having feline bodies, they walked upright like humans.

They wore hats with upturned brims and leather boots. They held Thrusting Swords and flintlock pistols, their whiskered cat faces savage, their vertical pupils filled with malice.

THUD THUD!

THUD THUD THUD THUD!!

A dense volley of bullets struck the translucent protective shield, all of them blocked, making dull thuds.

Bai Qimeng was unfazed.

She made slight adjustments to her aim, left and right, lined up a headshot, and pulled the trigger, killing two more Walking Cats.

Just then, four Walking Cats circled around from the flank, planning a close-range surprise attack.

Lin Xin’Er clenched her fists, preparing to engage the enemy, but a figure was faster than her.

WHOOSH—

Wang Xi lunged forward, his Beheading Sword carving a cold arc of light. Two meters away, a cat’s head flew into the air.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

His sword was like a light feather, a flick of his wrist parrying three Thrusting Swords and sending sparks flying.

Lin Xin’Er’s pupils contracted—

She saw the black-haired young man had already dashed out, spinning, dragging his sword, and leaping back.

A cold gleam fanned out. Three Walking Cats were sliced in half at the waist. Before their severed bodies could hit the ground, the blade was already still.

"Miss Xin’Er, what are you spacing out for?"

Wang Xi gave her a strange look.

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