HAGLTP Chapter 26.1

When the events of that year were mentioned, Xiao Keyang’s smile faded.

Xiao Lu, however, was not going to let him off the hook: “The 16 points you got in English? I signed your paper. The essay published in the school newspaper? I wrote it for you. Even the piece hailed as a ‘musical genius’ was entirely composed by me.”

Mentioning music made Xiao Keyang’s expression darken: “Shut up!”

Xiao Lu lightly uttered, “When you were seven, you threw firecrackers in someone else’s bathroom and got beaten up. It was I who brought you home.”

“When you were eight, you peeked at the girls’ bathhouse and ended up falling into a stinky ditch—”

“Shut up!” Xiao Keyang shouted angrily. He deeply regretted engaging in a trash-talking battle with Xiao Lu. Xiao Lu had too much dirt on him; if they didn’t start fighting soon, this guy would expose him completely.

He should have just attacked; who knew why this guy was so chatty?

Xiao Keyang took a deep breath, and a barrage of light bullets surged towards Xiao Lu with his furious shout.

The light bullets were overwhelming, far exceeding Xiao Keyang’s previous limits.

Each bullet that hit the ground created several centimeters deep craters, their power was terrifying.

Watching Xiao Lu dodge amidst the dense rain of light, unable to approach him, Xiao Keyang felt a surge of pride: “Weren’t you very arrogant before? How come you can’t even get close to me now!”

The room was spacious, with almost no obstacles, allowing the light rain to pursue without restraint.

“You thought exposing my ghostwriting would bring me down, but you didn’t expect Xinghui to show up, did you?”

“You thought connecting with MIKI would suppress me, but you didn’t expect to die here today, did you?”

Xiao Keyang looked at the bloodstains on Xiao Lu’s body, feeling immensely pleased.

He had always lived a smooth life, only recently experiencing some turbulence due to Xiao Lu’s actions.

But so what if Xiao Lu was always opposing him?

Luck was still on his side; he continued to rise, even gaining tremendous opportunities. Chai Yige was right; he was the chosen one, and everyone who opposed him would not end well.

Thinking of Chai Yige, a slight sense of regret surfaced in Xiao Keyang’s heart.

This well-spoken and diligent sidekick was quite good, but unfortunately, he had seen things he shouldn’t have…

·

Not long ago, in the potion room.

Under Chai Yige’s watchful gaze, Xiao Keyang injected a suspicious red potion into his body. Almost in an instant, a burning sensation rose from within, making him feel as if his blood was boiling.

His body weakened, and Xiao Keyang couldn’t help but kneel on the ground.

His heart raced violently, and the star patterns on his body flickered erratically, at times blindingly bright, at times dim to the point of almost disappearing.

“It’s okay, Keyang,” Chai Yige comforted, patting his back. “This feeling will pass soon, and you’ll definitely become stronger.”

Xiao Keyang suddenly turned his head, looking at Chai Yige with curiosity: “How do you know that?”

“Intuition,” Chai Yige replied, just as he had before.

Xiao Keyang’s gaze became strange: “Can human intuition be that powerful?”

Chai Yige’s hand, which had been patting Xiao Keyang, froze. “Human?” Why was Xiao Keyang using such terminology? Wasn’t he human himself?

A wave of unease flashed through Chai Yige as he stared into Xiao Keyang’s eyes. Usually, Xiao Keyang’s gaze held a mix of arrogance and indifference; he was proud and had never looked seriously at anyone before.

This… this was not Xiao Keyang’s gaze.

“How could this be… Could it be that you…” Chai Yige was in disbelief.

Knowing the plot, he was well aware that Xiao Keyang did not have a split personality; this was not a supernatural world, so what was this extra consciousness?

Xinghui?

As the protagonist, Xiao Keyang not only failed to eliminate the Xinghui that was parasitizing him but instead coexisted with it?! Should he be considered a power user or a mutant?

Chai Yige’s shock was not over yet when Xiao Keyang’s expression changed again, this time returning to his familiar prideful indifference, mixed with a hint of unsettling murderous intent.

“Are you… okay, Keyang?” Chai Yige forced out a concerned expression, trying to ignore the oddity surrounding Xiao Keyang.

“You… what did you see?” Xiao Keyang’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

Chai Yige shook his head, playing dumb: “Nothing, did something happen just now?”

Xiao Keyang stared at him for a few seconds before shifting his gaze: “Get me some water; I’m thirsty.”

“Okay, I’ll go right away.” Chai Yige secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked around but found no drinking water in the potion room, so he had to brace his injured body and stand up to head outside.

“You go ahead and wait here; I’ll go outside—” Before Chai Yige could finish his sentence, a beam of light pierced through his chest.

That had once been a source of immense safety for him.

“Keyang… why…” Chai Yige’s body slowly fell, his eyes filled with despair and disbelief.

He had anticipated the dangers he would encounter in this world: zombies, mutants, power users, and even the troublemaker Xiao Lu, but he had never considered the protagonist.

Why was he dying at the hands of Xiao Keyang?

Wasn’t it the safest choice to follow the protagonist and be his most trusted sidekick?

Why…

With his last question, Chai Yige died, never receiving an answer from Xiao Keyang.

·

A detached smile appeared on Xiao Keyang’s lips; he disliked leaving unstable factors around him. Knowing too much, Chai Yige had been dealt with, and this troublesome cheap brother who had been causing him misfortune lately was next.

He didn’t just want to eliminate Xiao Lu; more importantly, Xiao Lu had absorbed his energy before, and now that he had become stronger, it would be better to turn Xiao Lu into his energy pack.

Under the relentless pursuit of the light rain, Xiao Lu quietly moved towards a certain direction.

Having gained a tremendous boost in strength from his fortuitous encounter, Xiao Keyang’s output was indeed fierce. After firing light bullets over such a large area for so long, he showed no signs of exhaustion, and this time, Xiao Lu could no longer absorb Xiao Keyang’s power in return.

The situation was tricky, but not without hope.

Xiao Lu was unclear how Xiao Keyang had found this place; perhaps it was that mysterious protagonist halo again.

But judging by his reaction, he probably didn’t know that the room contained the starship; otherwise, compared to killing Xiao Lu, Xiao Keyang would have prioritized seizing the starship that could counter all Xinghui.

Dodging another incoming beam of light, Xiao Lu was now just a step away from the starship.

Xiao Keyang’s eyes narrowed.

He wasn’t a fool; although he didn’t know what that glass-like object on the platform was, he felt an inexplicable attraction guiding him here. He had also discovered a dedicated elevator in the potion room, all signs indicating that this object was definitely not simple.

Moreover, Xiao Lu was trying to approach it at this moment, indicating that he believed it would have a significant impact on the battle.

He couldn’t let Xiao Lu get close to it!

He even needed to obtain it before Xiao Lu did.

Xiao Keyang had made up his mind, retracting the light bullets and swiftly charging towards the starship, while several beams of light shot towards Xiao Lu, violently disrupting his approach.

Xiao Lu’s path was obstructed, and he could see Xiao Keyang getting closer to the starship.

Xiao Keyang’s gaze was intense; no matter what this opportunity was, it was his now.

At that moment, Xiao Lu suddenly looked behind Xiao Keyang, revealing a look of relief mixed with worry, as if he had seen someone, even subtly signaling with his eyes.

Xiao Keyang’s mind raced, recalling the look in Ye Qi’s eyes before he left.

Not good!

Xiao Lu’s teammate had returned!

He still remembered the scene where Ye Qi’s barrier was closing in on Jiang Yushen’s neck; at this moment, his back was wide open. If Ye Qi ambushed him…

There was no time to care about the starship in front of him; Xiao Keyang immediately turned around, firing light bullets in rapid succession, almost forming a dense curtain of light.

No matter who was coming, he was confident he could turn Xiao Lu’s helper into a sieve.

If it was Ye Qi, that would be best; Jiang Yushen would be very pleased to hear about the other party’s demise. When Jiang Yushen was still a star, he had often been compared to Ye Qi; in terms of looks, Jiang Yushen believed he was not inferior to Ye Qi, but in terms of acting… well, that was a painful past.

If he killed Ye Qi here, he could go back and take credit with the boss.

The curtain of light dissipated, leaving the once orderly entrance in ruins, the hard walls shattered, yet not a single figure or drop of blood was seen.

No one had returned!

That bastard Xiao Lu had actually tricked him!

Just as this thought crossed Xiao Keyang’s mind, he felt a heavy kick to his side, causing him to lose his balance and tumble to the side.

Xiao Lu’s eyes flashed; he had discovered Xiao Keyang’s weakness. Although the fortuitous encounter had enhanced Xiao Keyang’s abilities, it seemed it hadn’t improved his physical fitness.

Taking advantage of Xiao Keyang being kicked away, Xiao Lu charged towards the starship again.

The starship was surrounded by a transparent glass casing. After witnessing it at Long Yang’s place, Xiao Lu wouldn’t naively think it was just ordinary glass. At this moment, Huang Sansheng was not by his side, and he couldn’t break the glass as he had before.

But Long Yang had mentioned that the glass over there was specially made for him, which meant that the glass here was likely not.

In almost an instant, Xiao Lu made a decision.

He turned back to glance at his cheap brother, who had just turned around, revealing a provocative smile, mouthing the words: “Char Siu Brother.”

Xiao Keyang was enraged by his arrogant demeanor and raised his hand to unleash a barrage of light bullets.

Xiao Lu had already started running faster; just as he was about to leap the final step to the starship, he narrowly avoided Xiao Keyang’s fierce attack.

At the same time, with his fingers pointed down, a beam of light and Xiao Keyang’s light bullets struck the glass together.

“Crash—”

A crisp shattering sound rang out, and Xiao Keyang hurriedly looked over, just in time to see Xiao Lu grabbing the starship in mid-air.

“Thanks!” Xiao Lu grinned smugly.

The flickering light surged towards him, and Xiao Lu raised the starship in his hand, quietly neutralizing it.

Xiao Keyang’s expression darkened as he continued to attack Xiao Lu.

“Beep—” The base storing the starship emitted a prompt sound, but it was drowned out by the commotion of their battle.

The battle resumed, but Xiao Lu found it was not as easy as he had imagined.

The starship had no user manual, and Ivan’s database didn’t provide any information; no one had told him that this thing couldn’t just be picked up and used!

The starship required a bonding process, and during this process, Xiao Lu’s abilities were suppressed, leaving him with only the palm-sized starship for self-defense.

Xiao Lu: “…”

This was a real headache, wasn’t it? If he had known, he should have avoided provoking Xiao Keyang.

At this moment, Xiao Keyang was furious after being repeatedly humiliated, unleashing attacks as if they were free, trying to beat his cheap brother into a pulp.

A beam of light slashed through, nearly taking off Xiao Lu’s head.

Faced with Xiao Keyang’s frenzied pursuit, Xiao Lu turned and ran, dodging left and right in the corridor, sometimes running in an S shape, sometimes in a B shape.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but be grateful that he hadn’t let Ye Qi and Huang Sansheng stay behind; with Huang’s running speed, he would have been beaten to a pulp.

Xiao Lu sprinted towards the exit, climbing the stairs, with Xiao Keyang hot on his heels, arrogantly charging towards the mutant guards: “You are surrounded!”

The guards looked bewildered: “…”

Surrounded? It seemed like there were only two of you?

Xiao Lu pointed at them and shouted: “Surrender! Long Yang and his guards have already been taken out by my brother! If you don’t get it, my brother will kill you all too!!”

His tone was extremely arrogant, immediately drawing all eyes to the imposing Xiao Keyang.

Just then, Xiao Keyang unleashed a powerful move, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The guards’ killing intent surged: “Kill him!”

Xiao Keyang: “…”

Wait, who the hell is Long Yang?

And who the hell is your brother!!!

Before Xiao Keyang could explain, the mutant guards had already launched an attack on the two of them. In their eyes, two human power users appearing here were intruders, and regardless of whether the claim of killing Long Yang was true, they had to be dealt with.

Of course, most of the attacks were directed at Xiao Keyang.

At this moment, Xiao Lu was suppressed by the starship, his star patterns dim, lacking the aura of a strong person, appearing to the guards as just a small fry.

Xiao Keyang was furious; even though his attack power was strong, facing wave after wave of guards still left him feeling overwhelmed. Trying to kill Xiao Lu in the midst of the sea of people was even more difficult.

Yet Xiao Lu was dodging left and right among the guards, hardly staying in one place for more than a second, as if the floor was burning his feet.

When did this guy become so shameless?

He was quite adaptable.

The battle was chaotic.

“Boom—” Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, and everyone felt the ground beneath them shaking, the commotion growing increasingly intense.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know, is it an earthquake?”

“But I think I heard an explosion…”

“Boom—” This time the sound was even louder, and cracks appeared in the ground.

Xiao Lu recalled hearing a brief electronic sound when he took the starship; at that time, he was facing Xiao Keyang’s assassination and had no time to look at the source of the sound. Now, it seemed that there might have been some self-destruct mechanism installed at the bottom.

Long Yang was quite devious for not mentioning it.

As the ground cracked, an entire section of the floor, along with the mutants on it, fell into the lower level. Xiao Lu realized he didn’t have much time left; if he didn’t want to be buried with these mutants by Long Yang, he had to leave quickly.

Xiao Lu turned and made a hasty escape, showing no intention of sharing the burden with his plastic brothers.

“Trying to run?” Xiao Keyang’s pursuit immediately followed.

The two continued their chase in the crumbling hospital, the ground beneath them collapsing, dust swirling in the air.

They ran upwards, into a narrow corridor, having already shaken off the guards.

Suddenly, three beams of light shot from behind, but the target was not the fleeing Xiao Lu, but the ground in front of him.

The already cracked ground was struck hard, breaking apart and blocking Xiao Lu’s path.

Xiao Keyang stood still, raising his hands as light gathered into a massive sphere; he intended to finish Xiao Lu off in one go, no longer wasting time with him.

“Goodbye, my brother,” Xiao Keyang said coldly.

“Your life was born for me; after you die, your abilities will be mine, which counts as dying with some value.”

As his words fell, the thick beam of light, almost filling the entire corridor, surged towards Xiao Lu, this time leaving him no room to dodge.

Wherever the light beam passed, walls cracked, and the ground was torn up, instantly turning into countless fragments.

Xiao Keyang clearly saw Xiao Lu’s figure being engulfed by the light.

But after the attack, the person still stood there, only raising a hand, the glass-like object in his hand had vanished, replaced by a crystal-clear ring.

This was the starship that had already bonded with its user, transformed into a ring.

The starship had a restraining effect on power users. And since Xiao Keyang’s abilities were derived from the same source as Xiao Lu’s, he was almost completely restrained by this holder.

Having prepared for injuries, Xiao Lu was unexpectedly delighted; the corners of his mouth curled up: “Now it’s my turn.”

Some Char Siu brothers were so arrogant because they had been beaten too little in their childhood.

Before Xiao Keyang sensed something was wrong, Xiao Lu had already rushed up, his fist wrapped in light striking Xiao Keyang’s abdomen hard, sending him reeling backward.

Xiao Keyang felt a surge of anger, raising his hand to unleash several light blades towards Xiao Lu, but they all vanished into thin air, absorbed by Xiao Lu.

How could this be?

Xiao Lu’s heavy punch landed on Xiao Keyang’s face, and he didn’t continue to provoke him with words. If it were the original owner, perhaps there would be many things to say to this brother. But he wasn’t; right now, Xiao Lu only wanted to quickly deal with this obstructive guy and then regroup with his teammates.

With each punch, a large amount of star pattern energy flowed from Xiao Keyang to Xiao Lu, making his abilities grow stronger and stronger.

“Stop! You better stop! Xiao Lu! Do you hear me?” Xiao Keyang shouted angrily.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? Why should I listen to you?” Xiao Lu delivered another heavy punch, knocking Xiao Keyang to the ground.

He gripped Xiao Keyang’s neck, frantically absorbing his energy.

At that moment, Xiao Keyang seriously observed his brother, whom he had been with for over a decade. It turned out his brother had sharp eyes, and those eyes could also be filled with murderous intent.

For the first time, Xiao Keyang felt afraid.

He felt himself weakening rapidly, even the star patterns dimming.

Was he going to die?

Impossible. He had always been lucky since childhood; he was the child of destiny, and it was impossible for him to die like this. Xiao Keyang had an inexplicable confidence.

At that moment, it seemed the god of fate heard his cry.

The ground beneath them creaked under the strain. In the next instant, the entire floor cracked open and fell down.

Xiao Lu reacted quickly, leaping back onto solid ground.

But Xiao Keyang fell along with the floor.

His face was covered in blood, yet he was smiling.

Xiao Keyang looked at Xiao Lu, who was getting further away: “See? This is fate’s favor towards me! I won’t die so easily. Just wait, next time I will definitely kill you…”

Xiao Lu looked down at the darkness below.

He knew the other party had the protagonist halo, but could such a deadlock still be affected by the protagonist halo?

The rumbling explosion sounded again, and cracks began to appear in the surrounding walls, urging him to leave quickly.

In the end, Xiao Lu chose to leave.

He wasn’t sure if Xiao Keyang’s protagonist halo would take effect, but his cannon fodder halo would likely cost him his life. Rather than delivering a finishing blow to Xiao Keyang, who was almost out of breath, he preferred to escape alive and reunite with his teammates.

Now, with the starship in hand and having absorbed most of Xiao Keyang’s energy, he didn’t believe he would be the one to lose if he faced the protagonist again.

Xiao Lu sped through the crumbling building, dodging various falling debris.

He felt an immense surge of power in his body; perhaps the Xinghui on him and Xiao Keyang were destined to devour each other, and only by merging could they achieve their most complete form.

The ground was getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, two pitch-black figures dropped down, blocking Xiao Lu’s path.

They were two mutants dressed in black uniforms, tall and imposing, one wielding a giant axe and the other holding a massive weapon, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure in the shaky room, their crimson eyes fixed on him, exuding murderous intent.

“Kill the…”

“Intruder…”

“Crack—” The sound of stones breaking came from behind Xiao Lu, growing closer, about to engulf the path beneath his feet.