The green steel longsword pulled a cold, sharp trail through the air, the ear-piercing sound of breaking wind echoing throughout the subterranean cavern.
Watching the figure in the distance rush toward them at high speed in a standard "Sword-riding" posture, Ren Yi's mind, which had finally managed to relax a bit, stalled completely in an instant.
Uh... hold on.
From the moment he descended into this world, it had been all about containment organizations and Anomalies.
He had even taken a strategic nuclear missile to the face just now, which had pushed the wasteland aesthetic to its limit.
He had almost forgotten...
When they first arrived in this world, Ms. Zhang had mentioned that this was a world that... might involve some Immortal Cultivation.
To be precise, it was a world where cultivators might have fled to.
Ms. Zhang, you put so many qualifiers on it at the time that I thought you were just speaking casually... but you actually meant it?
Ren Yi took a deep breath and quickly diverted a sliver of his focus to check the status of 【Mission 2: Find and kill the fugitive, dead or alive】.
However, the panel was dead silent.
The mission progress bar was as steady as an old dog, without a single hint of movement.
But this "cultivator" is practically right in my face. Why is the mission panel completely unresponsive?
Well, this could only mean that the immortal-looking guy before him wasn't the fugitive he was looking for.
But questions followed one after another.
What exactly was this guy's relationship with the fugitive? Was he a friend or a foe?
As for having no connection at all... Ren Yi wouldn't believe that even if he were beaten to death.
He and Evans had risked crossing the source of the Red Tide to infiltrate the Abyss, intending to stir up some trouble and see if they could find a third-party force to ask for help.
But if the entire Abyss was filled with this kind of logic-defying weirdness that would infuriate Newton enough to make him flip his coffin lid...
Then did this action by him and Evans count as "delivery on arrival"?
For a moment, Ren Yi even considered whether he should just flip the table.
If a fight really broke out later, he would just hit this cultivator with a set of high-level mental illusions.
...The problem was, if a cultivator fell off a flying sword, would they just die from the fall?
Okay, let's not engage in such terrifying imaginings for now.
Seeing Evans's calm and confident expression beside him, Ren Yi ultimately decided to stay put.
Since he had agreed to "pretend to be an Anomaly tool" for Evans earlier, he would play it safe for now and see how this "local" intended to proceed.
Swoosh—!
The man finally arrived in the low altitude above them.
The green steel longsword performed an elegant tail flick in the air and came to a halt, the sharp airflow it generated causing the surrounding pebbles to rustle.
The man looked down from above at the three people on the ground.
His physical appearance... was somewhat disappointing to Ren Yi.
The man wasn't wearing anything that fit the aesthetic of a cultivator, like wide sleeves or flowing Daoist robes.
On the contrary, he wore a black tactical trench coat in a distinct abyssal wasteland style, complete with several tactical pockets.
Yet the longsword beneath his feet was flowing with a green, immortal glow, radiating a cold sword intent and a celestial aura.
It seemed this guy knew a thing or two about contrast.
At the same time, Ren Yi felt his assessment system vibrating frantically in his mind as notification after notification popped up.
However, he was focused on the man above and ignored them for the time being.
The cultivator above had a cold expression as he surveyed them for a moment.
His gaze swept over the "dead" Wu Erhun and the mist that was Ren Yi, finally landing on Evans.
He seemed to recognize Evans.
At this moment, the previously silent Evans finally moved.
He slightly tilted his head back, looking up at the high-and-mighty Sword Immortal.
There was no fear on the handsome youth's face; instead, his expression was somewhat complex.
Then, Evans parted his thin lips and spat out two words without any warning:
"Sword-man."
Ren Yi: 【???】
Wait, dear friend, why the sudden insult?
The guy is an armed flying unit, after all.
Provoking someone who clearly looks dangerous and could hit you with a "Myriad Swords Return to Origin" at any moment... aren't you just asking for a beating?
However, an even stranger scene unfolded.
The cultivator, who had just been insulted to his face, didn't show any sign of anger.
Instead, he slightly lowered his eyelids, and the green steel longsword beneath him let out a crisp hum as he responded in a flat, emotionless tone:
"So it's you..."
"The kid whose ID number is even lower than my sword's."
At that moment, the air fell into a bizarre and utterly ridiculous silence.
ID numbers? The sword has a number? An Anomaly number?
Based on what he said, was that something worth bragging about?
Taking advantage of the stalemate, Ren Yi quickly scanned the assessment panel that had been spamming notifications.
Sure enough, a brand-new Anomaly file had been refreshed.
【Anomaly File: S-007】
【Overview】: S-007 is an extremely rare composite Anomaly, primarily consisting of an inorganic weapon component (S-007-A) and a human host component (S-007-B).
This Anomaly has never been contained by the Sky Eye Organization.
All data in this file is derived from border sightings, battlefield encounters, and video records over the years.
【Component File: S-007-A】
【Alias】: Sword, Qinggang
【Danger Level】: S-rank
【Physical Description】:
This component appears as a double-edged cold weapon (longsword).
The blade is approximately 97cm long and 4.2cm wide.
The overall material possesses extremely high resistance to physical destruction; existing technological means cannot destroy it.
The blade constantly flows with a green glow of abnormal wavelength, accompanied by high-frequency vibrations and infrasound rumbling.
【Anomalous Properties】:
1. S-007-A possesses independent flight capabilities.
Its flight mechanism completely violates aerodynamics and requires no propulsion; it can perform trajectory shifts in the low altitude to the troposphere with almost no inertial effects.
The blade is extremely sharp, capable of easily slicing through the composite armor of the City of the Sky Lake's main battle land ships.
2. S-007-A can spontaneously release high-energy unknown energy fields in the shape of sword blades.
These energy fields are incredibly powerful and possess extreme cutting and annihilation properties.
According to records of attacks on the main base, this component once fired three consecutive crescent energy fields within one second.
It forcibly tore through three layers of heavy-ion defense fields deployed outside the main base and sliced a vertical opening several meters wide into the alloy armor wall of the core containment area.
This action directly led to the failure of several containment zones, resulting in the collective escape of several major Anomalies, including ■■■■.
3. The S-007-A component is bound to a humanoid unit (S-007-B).
Sky Eye Organization forces once successfully killed the host, S-007-B, during a conflict, after which S-007-A immediately entered a berserk state.
All attempts to capture the longsword using magnetic or force fields failed; it would fly away at extremely high speeds after performing indiscriminate attacks.
According to records, its flight speed has reached a maximum of Mach 12.
4. 【Note: Mechanism Unexplained】 According to records, within one to three months after the death of S-007-B, the human individual has been observed to "resurrect" and reappear alongside S-007-A.
【Utility Potential Assessment】: High.
If the binding mechanism can be cracked, it would provide the ultimate individual weapon.
Rate on N.U.
