Chapter 108: Chapter 100: Android No. 7

The black stone statue stood about five meters tall, completely pitch-black, save for its eyes which were painted stark white. At first glance, it resembled a giant black man lowering his head, rolling his eyes at you.

The statue’s carved features did not suggest any particular race. It had a head, body, and limbs like a human, but aside from the eyes, the face was featureless.

“Did anyone notice this statue earlier?” Li Zheng gripped his long spear tightly. If the Matrix System hadn’t failed to assign a name to the statue, he might have already swung his spear at it.

With no nouns or attributes displayed, it indicated that the statue was indeed just an ordinary statue and not a living entity.

Nor was it some kind of device.

“N-no.” Ye Yuan stammered slightly, having been the most startled earlier.

She didn’t realize she had been standing before such a statue for so long.

“I did notice it,” Xiao Siyuan frowned. “I observed the environment as soon as we entered. There was only this one statue in the hall, so I took an extra look.”

He paused before continuing, “At that time… it wasn’t looking down.”

“Ah!!!”

Ye Yuan screamed, ducking behind Zhan Zhouzhou, with only the Gatling machine gun exposed: “Don’t scare me!”

If the statue hadn’t been looking down when everyone first entered, did it move just as they approached?

“A statue that moves?” Liu Jiale raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

“No.” Zhan Zhouzhou stepped forward, squatting down to examine the statue’s feet. “It’s a mechanism.”

“There’s a movable floor panel here, right where Xiao Ye was standing,” Zhan Zhouzhou stood up, looking around to find a floor crack slowly seeping bat blood, indicating a gap beneath.

After clearing bat carcasses off the panel, she continued, “When Xiao Ye was looking for monsters in the instance, she happened to step on the mechanism, releasing bats and wolves from the upper level.”

“Is the BOSS we’re searching for also hidden behind a mechanism?” Li Zheng took a careful look at the movable floor, which seemed identical to the other tiles.

Except the seam next to it was slightly wider. If he hadn’t known about the mechanism and lost the aid of Prelis’ Eye, he wouldn’t have noticed.

“Exactly.” Zhan Zhouzhou nodded and suddenly stomped hard on the freshly cleared tile, “And I’ve found it.”

“Click.”

The gentle click of a trigger and the black stone statue began to move, slowly sinking into the ground.

As the sculpture’s head entered the floor, it suddenly looked up, its eyes fixing upon the players standing before it.

“Crack, crack, crack.”

Maintaining a steady gaze, the black stone statue fully descended underground, as a side panel extended outward to cover the statue.

At the same time, a floor panel opposite the hall sprang open, with something slowly rising from beneath.

“BOSS?”

Li Zheng moved to the front of the group, concentrating intently.

“Most likely.” Zhan Zhouzhou joined him, standing side by side, “The alignment of these two panels is cunning, forming roughly a sixty-degree angle with the wall.

If a regular player team entered, they’d surely inspect the sole statue, inevitably triggering the first mechanism.

Then, eager to regroup with their teams or fend off bats or evade wolves, they’d likely step on the other panel in panic.

At that moment, players would face not only a thousand bats but also a high-tier BOSS.

Under such circumstances, an ordinary squad might be wiped out.

Unfortunately, Li Zheng’s teams in such special rooms twice have had ridiculously high strength.

Even after Ye Yuan triggered the mechanism, she stood her ground and retaliated without moving.

Distracted, Liu Jiale was bitten by bats and poisoned, and Xiao Siyuan helped to heal him, avoiding frantic movement as well.

No need to mention Zhan Zhouzhou; she showed mercy by not making bats run wildly.

As for Li Zheng…

He did patrol the entire hall several times, but he roamed the air, avoiding any chance to trigger the second mechanism.

[Artificial Human No. 7 (Failed Product)]

The rising object finally revealed itself.

Separated by the span of a sports field’s diameter, the Matrix System seemed eager to promptly announce the “BOSS’s appearance,” displaying its name directly.

“Artificial human?”

Li Zheng murmured, the silhouette at the hall’s opposite end increasingly familiar, similar to the statue that had just submerged.

“Boom.”

The platform holding Artificial Human No. 7 rose until it was level with the floor and abruptly halted, causing Artificial Human No. 7 to tremble slightly.

The next second, the five-meter-tall Artificial Human No. 7 opened its eyes and stepped off the platform.

“Strike first, ask questions later!”

Li Zheng twirled his spear before gripping it reverse, shrugging his shoulders for Sakura to fly aside.

“Let’s take it down! Quickly!”

Li Zheng hefted his spear, charging first, the tip trailing against the ground, leaving a trail of sparks.

“Sakura, catch this!”

Li Zheng threw a long, tubular item into the air.

“Yay yay.”

Sakura fluttered over to catch it, finding it to be a cheering stick.

Then, Li Zheng’s next words came through, “Remember to cheer for me with ‘666’!”

Sakura: “…”

Others: “…”

What the heck, is this even possible?

Letting a pet cheer with ‘666’–what’s the point? Aren’t pets usually meant to help in battle!?

Zhan Zhouzhou looked up at Sakura, finding the little creature indeed waving the cheering stick vigorously, chanting “yay yay yay.”

Everyone: “…”

You seriously did it!

…

Li Zheng closed in on Artificial Human No. 7 swiftly, entering the attacking range before pulling out a Desert Eagle, initiating a special shooting mode. A barrage of Snake Grass Needles coated with Ice Element shot towards the target.

Unmoved, Artificial Human No. 7 slightly bent its waist before suddenly sprinting out over thirty meters.

A fan-like hand swung forward, swatting all the Snake Grass Needles away, none hitting their mark.

“As expected.”

Li Zheng’s expression remained unchanged as he holstered the Desert Eagle, focusing on brandishing the long spear.

The spear danced like a dragon, performing an ordinary, unadorned straight thrust towards the artificial human’s thigh.

Artificial Human No. 7 neither dodged nor evaded, its other hand forming a fist aimed at Li Zheng’s head, unleashing a punch.

“Platinum!”

Even before the punch could land, the fierce wind pressure assaulted Li Zheng.

Li Zheng had no doubt that if hit by this punch, he would die on the spot.

With no time to reduce the spear’s momentum, he abruptly leaned back, a jet of air from the flying device on his back carrying him back ten meters before stopping.

In their first encounter, Li Zheng conceded advantage by voluntarily retreating.

“Let’s go again!”

Standing straight, Li Zheng gripped the spear with both hands, advancing once more.

…

“Let’s join in!”

Zhan Zhouzhou summoned an Electric Light Sword again, leading the charge towards Li Zheng and Artificial Human No. 7’s battlefield, “The BOSS is at least Platinum Level; he’ll struggle alone!”

“Okay!” x3

Xiao Siyuan and the others followed behind Zhan Zhouzhou, each gripping their respective weapons.

The most incongruous was the six-barrel Gatling, held aloft single-handedly by a petite girl, clattering noisily all the while.