Chapter Nine: The Long-Haired Monster

"Is it really that amazing?"
Wang Xiao followed the voice to Ji Weijie.
"Bro, I can't hold it any longer, I'm going in first!"
Seeing Wang Xiao arrive, Ji Weijie couldn't endure any further and dashed straight inside.
"Is this bald guy brainless?" Wang Xiao muttered, rolling his eyes.
He then took out his mighty hammer and charged in as well.
If Xia Mengsi were there to witness this scene, she would definitely retort, "And you think you're any smarter?"

...

"Why are those two still not back?" Xia Mengsi mumbled under her breath.
Yang Ming glanced at her but said nothing.
"Hey, can't you say something, you taciturn lump!"
Yang Ming remained silent, quietly drawing his weapon.
"Tch~" Xia Mengsi waved her hand dismissively.

Vroom—vroom—vroom—
The roller coaster began to move slowly. Yang Ming stood up, intending to get off.
But as soon as he rose, he realized the ground around them was crumbling, leaving nowhere to land.
Xia Mengsi stood as well, a flicker of unease crossing her eyes.
Yang Ming sat back down in silence.
There was nothing to be done, they would have to improvise.
"Hey! Aren't you going to think of something?" Xia Mengsi said with growing irritation.
Yang Ming looked up at her. Hmph, she wasn't bad-looking, just a bit slow in the head.
Though Xia Mengsi couldn't clearly see Yang Ming's eyes, she was sure he had just looked at her with disdain.
How ridiculous, she thought. After all, her IQ was as high as 110!
How dare he look down on her!
Ah, Wang Xiao was better—at least he didn't say a word.

The wind howled past their ears, icy cold against their faces.
The car picked up speed, and suddenly a force from the left pressed them sideways.
A turn!
Screeeech—
Sparks flashed!
Xia Mengsi's attention wasn't on the track ahead.
"Watch out! Get down!"
A hoarse voice rang out—it was Yang Ming!
Without thinking, Xia Mengsi bent over, pressing her head to her knees.
A gust, different from the wind, swept just above her head.
A steel wire!
That was close! She had nearly been decapitated!
Compared to her, Yang Ming handled it with ease.
With a light push of his foot, he leapt into the air, then landed steadily on top of the coaster.
The wild wind tossed his hair, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.
Honestly, he looked pretty cool—just not quite as handsome as Wang Xiao.
Ugh, what am I even thinking!

Yang Ming caught the look on Xia Mengsi's face and couldn't help but shake his head.
"Careful! The enemy is here!"
With that, he spun his spear in a quick flourish.
Clang—
A wire was deflected.
If you looked closely, you'd notice this wire was identical to the one that had just blocked the roller coaster.
Several more wires flew at them. Yang Ming leapt left and right, dodging as best he could, but still couldn't avoid getting scratched a few times, fresh blood streaking through the air in fine lines.
No good! He had no idea where the enemy was hiding!
And it was too cramped to maneuver!
Xia Mengsi, however, remained unscathed—not because no wires targeted her, but because she had cut them down with her dagger!
Perhaps this was a flaw of the spear; its slashing ability was inferior to other weapons of the same level.
Yang Ming continued to fend off the attacks, more frustrated than he had ever been since entering this game.
The enemy was hidden; he was exposed.
When clearing away the fog, sometimes you just had to fight head-on.
The roller coaster slowed, the wind ceased—the real battle was about to begin.
"Heh, how was that?" Xia Mengsi grinned triumphantly, waving her dagger.
At the front of the car, steel wires had been dragging the roller coaster forward.
Xia Mengsi had just sliced through them.
Yang Ming glanced at her again, the corner of his lips curving up almost imperceptibly. She was more useful than he thought.
The real threat was here.
A deathly pale face appeared in their field of vision, but what drew the eye was the cascade of long hair.
The hair stretched endlessly into the darkness below, with no end in sight.
Hollow black eyes contrasted sharply with that face.
"Raaagh!!!"
Countless strands of hair lashed toward Yang Ming and Xia Mengsi.
"Don't move!"
That familiar hoarse voice again—oh, this girl...
But Xia Mengsi paid him no mind. In a flash, she appeared behind the long-haired monster for a backstab.
Shlick!
But strands of hair seized her ankle, the dagger still half a meter from the creature.
The hair bristled, ready to skewer her through.
Yang Ming watched helplessly; he had his own hair strands to fend off.
He refocused—Innate Talent: Gamer, activate!
Yang Ming's eyes turned icy blue, shimmering with light.
The Gamer talent had two effects: first, after leaving combat, he would recover slowly; during combat, unless killed, he would never weaken. Second, Combo—each successful hit increased his attack speed by 0.5%. The faster he attacked, the higher the damage.
This was a powerful ability. So far, Yang Ming's highest combo was four hundred strikes, doubling his speed!
With this talent, he could even solo monsters stronger than himself.
Now, his plan was to use the long-haired monster to build up combos and boost his chances of victory.
Windmill!
Yang Ming held the spear horizontally before him, spinning it rapidly with both hands.

Bang!
Bang, bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
The strands of hair were blocked and flung aside—combo, twenty-two hits.
In that brief second, the hair had attacked him twenty-two times.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound through the air!
Squelch—
Yang Ming dodged the fatal hit, but his shoulder was still pierced!
Blood welled up at the wound—the hair was draining him!
Thanks to the Gamer talent, Yang Ming remained at peak condition. He grabbed the hair, as thick as a finger, and pulled hard!
Cough, cough!
Blood spurted from his throat, pooling in his mouth.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Several strands of hair fell away!
It was Xia Mengsi!
At her side was a figure identical in build—her clone!
"Heh, this hair is really something to envy!"
"...???"
What on earth are you saying!?
Yang Ming stared at her in disbelief. Were all women this eccentric?
"Blade Storm!"
Her clone charged the long-haired monster head-on.
The monster roared, its hair twisting into a black spear.
Xia Mengsi was knocked back, the black spear thrusting right at her!
She panicked, raising her dagger to her chest.
Shlick—
Yang Ming arrived just in time!
He split his spear into two halves, one in each hand, crossing them to block the strike.
The combo was broken!
Combo count: one.
The long-haired monster grinned, its mouth splitting all the way to its cheeks.
Yang Ming didn’t hesitate; he rejoined the spear and charged forward.
Soaring Dragon’s Flourish!
He struck seven times in rapid succession.