The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 164 - 120: Sea of People

Chapter 164: Chapter 120: Sea of People

"Me? I am a friend of justice, a passing masked rider, nemesis of criminals, avenger of the night, Pokémon master, top dog of North Sea Kindergarten, number one expert of Nanshan Nursing Home, internet influencer, game domain god..."

Wang Zhen loudly reported a long list of aliases, reciting the lines Zhou Yuan arranged for her.

The scene fell into an eerie silence once again, and many people couldn’t help but twitch their eyelids, thinking another lunatic had arrived.

A moment later, countless attacks surged toward Wang Zhen.

A scarlet vortex of blood suddenly appeared in front of Wang Zhen, absorbing all the attacks without making a single ripple, disappearing as if sinking into the sea.

Disguised as Wang Zhen, Fang Qing only demonstrated the power of the third tier, not using her full strength, per Zhou Yuan’s instructions.

Zhou Yuan instructed this way because, using the Eyes of Identification, he saw that this battle for the Philosopher’s Stone adhered to a rule all factions respected: only low-tier extraordinary individuals could participate in the fight.

Firstly, this prevented a scenario where, after fighting the juniors, the seniors came to battle, ultimately evolving into a high-tier extraordinary melee.

Secondly, it avoided causing even greater losses. To put it bluntly, the value of low-tier extraordinary individuals was less than that of mid-tier ones.

Even the Land of Truth and Painful Miracle, such anti-human organizations, tacitly followed this rule, knowing if they deployed mid-tier or high-tier extraordinary individuals first, they would be the first to die.

And once energy fluctuations of tier four or higher appeared in the inner world, the major forces would quickly dispatch mid-tier extraordinary individuals.

Zhou Yuan thought it best to maintain the current situation because only then would he have a chance to retreat with all three fully intact.

To deal with fifty or sixty extraordinary individuals at once, to be honest, he didn’t have much confidence, but... it wasn’t entirely impossible either.

With a thought, almost exhausted divine power was mobilized, and a glint of darkness flashed in his eyes.

The current divine power reserve wasn’t enough for him to perform Divine Arts, but it sufficed for some high-level skills.

[Midnight Curtain]

Suddenly, the light dimmed.

The sky turned dark.

It was as if a large, pitch-black hand fell, pulling the area into profound darkness.

From a distance, it appeared as if a dark curtain that light couldn’t penetrate had fallen, presenting absolute blackness.

The darkness gushed forth, spreading like a tide. The Holy Light Greatsword rapidly dimmed and crumbled, with all light consumed.

"Be careful of ambushes, don’t scatter!" someone in the crowd cried out, and extraordinary individuals from each faction quickly gathered together.

The Midnight Curtain brought not just the loss of sight but also activated deep-seated fear of the dark and the unknown, that pervasive chill making one’s skin crawl. Only knowing comrades were nearby provided a faint sense of security.

In the darkness, continuous cries of alarm sounded, but the voices ceased abruptly after a moment, leaving only terrified gasps.

Suddenly, a brilliant light like a sword sliced through the darkness, briefly illuminating the area. In the next second, the light extinguished, and an extraordinary individual from the Sanctuary let out a muffled groan, collapsing to the ground.

In the fleeting light, the extraordinary individuals saw Zhou Yuan knocking the person out with a punch, but before they could launch an attack in that direction, Zhou Yuan darted away again.

Click!

The clear sound of a lighter sparked, and in the profound darkness, a weak, flickering flame appeared, emanating from an old-fashioned windproof lighter.

Though just a small flame, the light it emitted far surpassed the Holy Light Skill of the Sanctuary, dispersing the darkness and illuminating the surroundings swiftly.

—Abnormal Item 215, Old-Fashioned Windproof Lighter, with the abnormal effect of compulsorily dispelling darkness, specifically countering shadow-type abnormal items.

The moment the Midnight Curtain was forcibly dispelled by the abnormal item, everyone immediately looked around for Zhou Yuan and his team, only to be surprised that Zhou Yuan was still in front of them, with Wang Zhen standing nearby with a malicious smile.

Everyone felt puzzled, noting that their positions had changed. Those whom Zhou Yuan knocked out earlier lay unconscious on the outskirts, while the remaining were within a thirty-meter radius of Zhou Yuan.

The sticky dark matter covering the ground formed a black swamp, firmly gripping everyone’s legs. The dark matter wriggled, creeping up their pant legs and clinging to their skin, bringing a chilling sensation.

"I felt something pull me over just now." The extraordinary individuals communicated within their channels.

"I felt it too, like tentacles."

"They’re definitely up to something, strike first!"

In a moment of mental communication, all extraordinary individuals unanimously locked onto Zhou Yuan.

Just as they were about to act, a fiery red barrier suddenly appeared, covering them.

They were shocked to find their tiers uncontrollably regressing!

"Nice item,"

Zhou Yuan said with a smile as he returned [Abnormal Item 550, Equality of All Beings] to Wang Zhen.

"Abnormal Item 550, Equality of All Beings?" someone gasped, recognizing the forbidden item.

The Sanctuary’s extraordinary individual immediately stomped the ground, and a wave of Holy Light swept out, purifying the shadow mud into ash.

Breaking free from the swamp’s restraint, the group quickly retreated. Once they left the barrier’s range, the suppression would fail.

But it had been too much effort for Zhou Yuan to pull them in; there was no way he would let them escape so easily.