Official information on Mudslide doesn’t reveal much about his personal life, after all, he used to be quite obscure.
No one was interested in the private life of an ugly hero with an unappealing appearance and an ability that ranked in the bottom tier.
It wasn’t until he turned the tables in a single day, becoming one of the most talked-about heroes online, that the gossip media began to dig for information. But by then, he had severed ties with his past life and was fully immersed in the closed preparations for the management company and the Hero King Cup.
Thus, most of the information circulating online was a mix of truth and falsehood, lacking any reliable reference.
However, in such an important event as the Hero King Cup, while Mudslide’s ability and resources were outstanding, they were not enough to guarantee a leisurely path to the finals. In this situation, it was puzzling that he would abandon other options and choose to bring a pet along.
Whether it was for show or because he couldn’t bear to be apart from his cat, the presence of this cat was undeniably significant in Mudslide’s life at the moment.
As soon as Smoke Soldier revealed a sinister smile, the black cat seemed to sense it and turned its head.
It was a cat with a sleek, jet-black coat, its fur glossy and elegant, with beautiful emerald-green eyes reminiscent of imperial jade. Its appearance was stunning, and anyone who loved small animals would be captivated at first sight.
It was said that within less than a day since the live stream began, this cat had already garnered quite a few fans, with some even camping out on Mudslide’s channel just to catch a glimpse of it.
At that moment, when Smoke Soldier and Metal Hammer saw the cat turn around, they inexplicably felt a sense of disdain.
The cat’s gaze was not that of a clueless beast; it was almost human-like, igniting a fire of resentment in the hearts of the two men who were already feeling disgruntled.
Smoke Soldier sneered, “Mudslide really has guts, bringing a beast into a place full of rough men who might step on it without a second thought.”
Metal Hammer, however, had no particular feelings about the cat and simply said, “You think you can use a beast to vent your anger? There are cameras around.”
Smoke Soldier grinned oddly, and suddenly, countless clouds of smoke spread from him, quickly enveloping the area near the stairs. A thick blanket of white smoke rolled in, obscuring vision beyond a meter, let alone capturing anything on camera.
“Now there are no cameras,” he said.
Metal Hammer replied, “You think Mudslide is an idiot?”
Smoke Soldier stepped closer to the black cat. “It’s good that he’s not an idiot. We both look foolish this time, but he shouldn’t think he can have it easy.”
“Playing dirty, huh? Who’s afraid of whom? We’re the ones with nothing to lose. That kid is stuck here until he’s eliminated, and his company still needs to operate; those heroes under him need to eat.”
“I want him to know, starting with this cat, that he can’t protect anything.”
Metal Hammer nodded. “That works, but be mindful of public opinion. Don’t create a scandal about animal abuse.”
Smoke Soldier waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave him any corpses. In a couple of days, I’ll send him a cat’s ear, so even if he stays here, he won’t be able to focus on the competition.”
Smoke locked down the area; under Smoke Soldier’s ability, ordinary people couldn’t see or move, their strength greatly diminished. But Smoke Soldier himself thrived in his own ability, with everything within his range locked onto him.
He could even clearly sense the cat’s current posture, expression, and the gaps in its fur.
As Smoke Soldier slowly approached, his malicious intent grew, though he felt a hint of curiosity. A creature as sensitive as a cat would typically react strongly to changes in its environment.
Yet, despite the thick smoke surrounding it, which obscured its vision, the cat showed no signs of panic, remaining calm and composed.
But Smoke Soldier didn’t think much of the cat’s indifference.
Metal Hammer stepped back a bit, waiting for Smoke Soldier to unleash his current fury.
The atmosphere felt oddly eerie, too quiet. Suddenly, Metal Hammer looked up sharply, sensing an abnormal movement in the smoke.
But when he tried to scrutinize it, he found nothing.
He called out, “Hey, Smoke Soldier, are you done yet?”
The surroundings were silent, with no one responding.
Metal Hammer immediately felt a sense of crisis and an indescribable panic—
“Smoke Soldier? Are you dead? What’s with the theatrics over a cat? Hurry up and clear the smoke.”
Still, there was no response.
Logically, Smoke Soldier’s ability was functioning well, showing no signs of wavering or dissipating, which meant he was fine. But the atmosphere was too strange to ignore.
Metal Hammer’s head and limbs turned metallic, entering a state of alert.
Then, suddenly, the smoke vanished, and Smoke Soldier appeared before him, facing away.
The black cat was completely unharmed, leisurely swaying its tail as it walked forward.
Seeing this, Metal Hammer felt a surge of frustration and pushed Smoke Soldier. “You made such a big deal, and that little beast didn’t even flinch?”
But as he pushed, he realized something was off with Smoke Soldier.
The latter was tense, standing rigidly, beads of cold sweat covering his forehead, breathing slowly like a corpse, yet his heart raced wildly, his face pale as if he had just emerged from water.
Metal Hammer had never seen Smoke Soldier like this but recognized it as the expression of someone who had just escaped a disaster. What had he just seen that was so terrifying?
“What did you see?” Metal Hammer asked.
Smoke Soldier slowly turned his head, recalling what had happened in the smoke.
He grinned maliciously at the black cat. “Little beast, if you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck. I just love the sound of screams.”
The cat, however, displayed a surprisingly human-like expression, as if it were a person looking down at an ant. Then, to his astonishment, he heard the black cat speak.
It was the voice of an adult man, saying, “What a coincidence, so do I.”
Then, the cat’s petite form began to grow taller, and just by crouching there, it reached the ceiling. Metal Hammer was baffled, but as Smoke Soldier, he understood all too well.
Smoke Soldier realized something was wrong and tried to deactivate his ability to escape, but in that instant, he found his body unresponsive, his ability slipping from his control.
The enormous black cat opened its mouth wide, like a black hole, and bit down on his head.
Smoke Soldier distinctly remembered dying, yet here he was, standing fine.
The warmth of the environment brought him back to his senses after a while, and then he let out a distorted scream.
“Ah————”
He ran out like a madman, and Metal Hammer, not being foolish, immediately understood that the cat was problematic.
By the time he chased after him, Smoke Soldier’s disgraceful state had already been seen by everyone and was being live-streamed online.
He was acting crazily, his pants soaked in a large patch, clearly having been scared into wetting himself.
To be honest, although both of them were disqualified today, Smoke Soldier’s incident wasn’t too serious. After all, his impulsive personality was well-known among his fans, and as long as the public relations team handled it properly, he would easily be forgiven, given his strength.
But what the audience couldn’t stand was a hero showing their disgraceful, cowardly side.
In Smoke Soldier’s current state, not only were passersby laughing, but many fans had also instantly unfollowed him.
Metal Hammer wanted to explain what had happened but found himself unable to articulate the key words, especially anything related to “cat.”
He looked around in horror, realizing that Mudslide and Bullethead were not present, likely off looking for the cat.
So the question arose: if Mudslide chose the cat not out of affection for a pet but for another purpose, then their initial plan had been fundamentally flawed, and their assessment of strength was completely off.
At that moment, the people sent by the two companies to pick them up arrived. Seeing the chaos, they hurriedly took everyone away to prevent further losses.
Thus, before leaving, Metal Hammer and the others didn’t even get a chance to see Mudslide, trying to infer some clues from his attitude and reactions.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingjia happened to find the cat in the stairwell on the third floor.
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Char Siu, where have you been?”
The black cat, seeing him, excitedly and pitifully rushed over, leaping into Lu Qingjia’s arms, raising its little paws and letting out a distressed “meow,” resembling a child who had been bullied and was returning home.
Lu Qingjia grasped its little paw and found no wounds, but when he pressed slightly, the cat let out a soft cry of pain.
Using his X-ray vision, Lu Qingjia saw a bruise, clearly indicating it had been injured.
“Where did you go to get yourself into this state, hmm?” Lu Qingjia gently rubbed its little paw with his thumb. The cat’s front paw was hardly thicker than his thumb, delicate and fragile, as if it would break with a single snap.
Lu Qingjia couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache, also annoyed that this little beast was disobedient. “Didn’t I tell you to play in the room?”
Char Siu seemed to understand, lowering its head as if reflecting on its mistake, but soon looked up to sneak a glance at him, its emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears, both aggrieved and pitiful.
Lu Qingjia: “…”
Fine, you’re cute, I’ll let it slide.
Lu Qingjia held its little paw up to his mouth and blew on it, then kissed the back of its paw. “Does it still hurt?”
Char Siu, thankfully, had its thick black fur to cover up any signs of injury; if it were shaved, the entire cat would undoubtedly be a boiled shrimp red.
The cat rubbed its head against Lu Qingjia’s neck, looking blissfully happy.
But suddenly, a voice interrupted, “Oh, you found it!”
The black cat immediately became angry, raising its head and hissing threateningly at Bullethead, startling him into freezing in place.
With a hint of reluctance on his face, he said, “Do I really repel cats? I usually get along well with them; they all like to let me pet them when I see them in the neighborhood.”
Lu Qingjia stood up, holding the cat, and smiled. “Maybe it just got neutered and is feeling a bit cranky.”
Bullethead said, “Oh right, did you know Smoke Soldier went crazy just now?”
Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“I don’t know what triggered him; maybe he couldn’t accept the reality of being disqualified. The organizing committee just checked the reason and found that he stood at the stair corner for a while before suddenly going berserk.”
“Oh, I saw your cat; that guy was running around like a madman and bumped into your cat, kicking it with his foot.”
He glanced at the cat and laughed. “But judging by how fierce the little thing is towards me, it should be fine.”
Lu Qingjia nodded and kissed the cat’s paw again. “Looks like I can’t just leave it in the dorm anymore.”
While the two were chatting about the cat, someone from the organizing committee found Lu Qingjia. “Mr. Mudslide, the president of the Hero Association is here and wishes to see you.”
Lu Qingjia showed no surprise on his face and simply replied, “Alright, I’ll go in a moment.”
However, the person did not leave but instead appeared somewhat assertive. “Mr. Mudslide, the president insists that you go immediately; it wouldn’t be good to keep them waiting.”
Bullethead was the first to get upset. “Are you out of your mind? What kind of authority do you think you have?”
Before he could finish, Lu Qingjia patted his shoulder and then turned to the staff, smiling slightly. “Them? Who else is there besides the president?”
The staff’s expression changed slightly, clearly having been instructed not to let that slip.
Then Mudslide stood up, not continuing to argue but handing the cat to Bullethead. “Lead the way.”
The staff lost their earlier arrogance and led Lu Qingjia to the private meeting room on the fifth floor.
But Lu Qingjia didn’t let the staff off easily, casually asking, “I haven’t seen you before; were you just assigned here?”
The staff hesitated before answering, “Yes.”
Lu Qingjia nodded. “It seems your hero is quite powerful, to the extent that even a mere lookout is treated like an insignificant subordinate by other heroes.”
Seeing the staff’s face change suddenly, Lu Qingjia opened the meeting room door and said, “You might want to consider transferring.”
“While I don’t mind having someone in the dorm, a fool who can’t even manage basic service etiquette will ruin my mood.”
“What do you all think?” Lu Qingjia looked at the two people in the room. “After all, the heroes are fully engaged in competition; this is a very sacred and serious matter. The organizing committee sends people to manage the heroes’ living conditions to ensure they aren’t distracted by trivial matters, right?”
Inside the meeting room were two people: an elderly man with a full head of white hair but a good spirit, and a tall man with an arrogant demeanor, his legs resting on the coffee table.
Lu Qingjia was familiar with both faces; one was the president of the Hero Association, and the other was the current top-tier hero and one of the final Demon Lord Competitors, the biggest favorite to win—the Divine Messenger.
Upon hearing Lu Qingjia’s words, the latter let out a cold laugh.
However, the president smiled nonchalantly. “Haha, as one of the investors, Mudslide’s small request is certainly nothing.”
He then stood up and pointed to a single sofa on one side. “Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
At this moment, there were only three people in the room, and the Divine Messenger had been acting haughty from the start, only engaging in small talk with the president and Lu Qingjia for a moment.
Then the president got to the point. “I believe you can guess the reason I’m here to see you.”
“The two companies, Lan Su and Bo Bi, while they may play dirty, your response was too harsh. Not only did you cut off their key heroes in one go, but you also rendered their initial investments worthless, which seems rather ruthless.”
“Now both companies have come to me crying, demanding an explanation. Otherwise, they don’t care how the stars handle it.”
Lu Qingjia smiled. “It sounds like they left themselves an out before taking action. But if you find it difficult, just pass on a message to the heads of those two companies for me.”
“If they want to preserve the commercial value of their leading heroes, they should think twice. Other companies know to pick the softest fruit; they thought they could handle it, but ended up breaking their teeth. They can’t blame their stupidity on the hardness of the ideas, can they?”
The president, seeing that Lu Qingjia was unyielding, had his smile fade.
He then looked deeply at Lu Qingjia. “Are you really trying to play dumb?”
“Those two companies made foolish moves, but you were forced to retaliate, weren’t you?”
“Smoke Soldier and Metal Hammer are both popular contenders for the finals. Many people bet on them to reach the finals, at the very least the semifinals.”
“The more detailed the bets, the higher the odds. When two popular contenders are eliminated in the first round, it catches everyone off guard. If it were a true upset, that would be one thing, but upon investigation, it turns out there were two large sums betting on their first-round elimination.”
“The odds for Smoke Soldier and Metal Hammer’s first-round elimination were 1:50, and now the bookmakers are bleeding.”
The president looked at Lu Qingjia. “Although you’re a newcomer, you have sharp insight and seasoned tactics. We old-timers aren’t so exclusive; of course, we welcome you to sit at the table and play cards with everyone.”
“But you come in with such a big appetite, and your manner isn’t very pleasant, is it?”
Lu Qingjia glanced at the president and the Divine Messenger, knowing this confrontation would come, but he was still somewhat surprised.
The Hero King Cup is said to be jointly organized by companies related to the industry, but everyone knows that investors of the caliber of the stars are not the real players at the table.
They merely use this grand event to reap profits and gild their heroes.
Because everyone is well aware of who will ultimately win the Hero King title; it has long been predetermined.
Three forces control the entire situation: the Hero Association and two leading companies in the industry.
The Divine Messenger is a top hero from one of those companies, and the reason the other leading company is willing to back him is something Lu Qingjia can almost guess.
It’s likely that behind the scenes, they have already reached a consensus and exchanged benefits, or the Divine Messenger possesses some exceptional qualities that appeal to the other side.
Indeed, the Divine Messenger is also a Player, and he has no intention of hiding this fact.
Lu Qingjia pondered; the other leading company also has a top-tier hero who is one of the Demon Lord Competitors. The Hercules is not a Player, and based on his past performance and stats, his combat power can be roughly inferred.
He is on par with the pre-Player Divine Messenger, but now the Divine Messenger has become a Player with countless trump cards, just like Mudslide and Lu Qingjia. The other company must have realized they no longer have a competitive edge.
So they simply reached a consensus to push the Divine Messenger to become the Hero King, while they would rake in profits from the event. With the three forces united, they could sway the outcome of the entire event and freely harvest the money from netizens.
However, today, an unruly player suddenly emerged, disrupting their script and clearly having designed their bets in advance.
The two medium-sized companies were inconsequential in the eyes of these people; the reason they were making a fuss was simply that they couldn’t tolerate Lu Qingjia, a mere insignificant capital player, daring to manipulate the betting market.
Lu Qingjia’s eyes flickered, and he smiled. “I thought it was something serious; I can’t believe it took the president and the Divine Messenger to come out for such a small matter.”
“It’s just the first round; even if Smoke Soldier and Metal Hammer don’t do well, there are still hundreds of heroes. The public sentiment is firmly in your hands; those who think they are clever will only see what you want them to see.”
“Even if you give them a little sweetness early on, it’s just to increase their investment later. I haven’t even gotten started yet. And you know I’ve just entered the game; my qualifications are not as good as yours, so it’s inevitable that I would be seen as a soft target.”
“I still have to compete, and my energy is limited. If I don’t deal with the ones who struck first decisively, I will be troubled later. I’m not just a simple hero; if those two dare to reach out, they probably haven’t consulted with the higher-ups, right?”
Lu Qingjia leaned forward slightly. “President, even as compensation for mental distress, my request isn’t excessive, is it? If you really want to make a fuss, shouldn’t you be looking for the people behind the funds that bet on my immediate elimination in the initial round?”
“After all, what I’ve done is merely an eye for an eye.”
The president didn’t expect Lu Qingjia to know this, and his expression darkened.
But the Divine Messenger, standing nearby, let out a mocking laugh, then suddenly vanished, leaving behind a dazzling flash of light.
So fast that even Bullethead, who prided himself on speed, would turn pale at the sight.
Lu Qingjia didn’t even have time to react before he was sent flying, crashing into the wooden antique shelf behind him, shattering it to pieces.
The God Envoy wore a combat uniform, a blend of gold and white, designed with a strong sense of religious symbolism that matched his heroic name perfectly.
However, his expression was undeniably arrogant, looking down at Lu Qingjia on the ground as if he were merely an ant.
He sneered, “You’re hiding in your castle doing tasks, and you probably don’t even know that over a dozen Players have already died in this competition.”
“I did that!”
In this round, there were many Players participating, Lu Qingjia estimated there could be around forty or fifty.
Most of them were in the Hero camp, while a small number, like the Poison Skin he had met earlier, had opposing tasks. However, since their numbers were few and they were not Heroes, they had the advantage of concealment, making the task relatively easier, or perhaps the game had adjusted the rules and power disparities accordingly.
Among the Hero camp, Lu Qingjia had discovered at least thirty people, most of whom had shown their faces during the opening ceremony, whether as Heroes or behind-the-scenes personnel. However, there were only seven Heroes who had moved into the castle for the selection competition.
The majority remained outside, either forming alliances with the qualified Heroes for support or hunting each other, reaping the lives and fortunes of Players in hopes of gaining benefits from this instance.
But clearly, according to the God Envoy’s current statement, most of the Players left outside had already been cleared out by him.
Most of those who had appeared at the opening ceremony had not survived, and these were mostly Players from the Infinite Game.
Even Lu Qingjia hadn’t anticipated such a rapid elimination; the God Envoy’s strength was evidently far beyond the average level of this game.
He walked over and stepped on Lu Qingjia’s chest, making him feel as if a solid iron hammer had struck his ribcage.
The God Envoy arrogantly declared, “A small character like you, I could deal with by just moving my finger. It’s just that being exposed on camera makes it inconvenient for you to disappear without a trace, but that’s not your leverage.”
“We’re not here to negotiate with you. Your performance on camera isn’t stupid, but who knew you wouldn’t understand human speech?”
“If it weren’t necessary, I wouldn’t want to kill other Players favored by the game, but in our Infinite Game, you must abide by the rules here.”
“Those stronger than you will tell you what to do, so stop whining and just follow orders, understand?”
After the God Envoy finished speaking, he heard a light laugh from Lu Qingjia, whose expression showed no fear or retreat; instead, he looked at him with great interest.
He replied, “Yes, I think so too.”
As he spoke, the God Envoy’s foot on Lu Qingjia’s body was suddenly engulfed by a large mass of sludge, attempting to wrap around his leg and restrict his movement.
The God Envoy scoffed, “Seeking death.”
Then, with a flick of his leg, the sludge was flung away, unable to approach him.
“I am of precious divine blood; most of the dark and filthy abilities and items from your Horror Game, I am immune to.”
As he prepared to kick Lu Qingjia in the head, Lu Qingjia smiled and said, “I guessed it; after all, I’ve made my moves since entering the game.”
“In this world, your identity as the center of attention, adored by everyone, must satisfy your vanity compared to the treatment of a gutter rat in reality, right?”
Lu Qingjia stood up, while the God Envoy found his movements greatly restricted, unable to utilize his terrifying power and speed against him as before.
Lu Qingjia continued to poke at the God Envoy’s vulnerabilities, “People like you, trapped in the Infinite City of the Infinite Game, even with unimaginable abilities and wealth, are like wearing fine clothes at night, with hardly any opportunity to show off.”
“Isn’t this instance particularly to your liking? The feeling of being worshipped by a bunch of fools must be delightful, right? It’s truly pitiful and heart-wrenching.”
The God Envoy could hardly withstand such provocation; in an instant, holy light surged, his muscles bulging. Lu Qingjia used the sludge as cover, and the hair that had mixed in from his pant leg was severed.
Yet at the same time, streaks of blood appeared on the God Envoy’s pristine Hero uniform; after all, the sharpness and flexibility of hair made it inevitable to cut through the surface layer of skin.
The God Envoy sneered, “You’re finished; I’m angry now.”
The divine bloodline didn’t possess overly flashy abilities; it was merely that his physical capabilities were beyond what humans could compare to. The Points added to his body often resulted in a multiplicative increase in strength compared to ordinary Players.
The simplest manifestation of speed and strength to the extreme was invincibility; the divine bloodline dominated other bloodlines among Players of the same level in this regard.
With both offensive and defensive capabilities, immune to all filth, and possessing telekinesis, the effective way to battle against him was through physical combat, which just happened to be his forte.
If a Player from the Infinite Game had a substantial background, they might be able to summon firearms at this moment to mitigate the impact of the bloodline disparity, but Horror Game Players faced a disadvantage against this guy.
The God Envoy was well aware of this; his attacks were fierce and swift, forcing Lu Qingjia into passive defense, retreating step by step.
The God Envoy boasted, “What’s wrong? Didn’t you just talk big? This little skill of yours pales in comparison to your mouth.”
As his fist was about to connect with Lu Qingjia’s face, the God Envoy had no intention of holding back this time.
However, at the moment of contact with Lu Qingjia, his body split open, creating a large hole in the middle.
He could even see his own blood, bones, and muscle tissue on the walls of the hole, still functioning properly without bursting out.
Yet the visual shock of this scene was terrifying enough; the God Envoy’s scalp tingled, and he quickly retreated.
He realized that, at some point, Lu Qingjia had passed through his body and arrived on the other side.
Just as he instinctively stepped back, Lu Qingjia’s prepared attack struck, and with his speed, there was no way to evade.
A punch landed on his face, the force surprisingly comparable to his own, twisting the God Envoy’s jaw and sending him flying.
But just as his feet left the ground, hair that had appeared out of nowhere wrapped around him again, throwing him into the air.
Lu Qingjia sprang up, delivering a knee strike to the God Envoy’s lumbar spine, the attack sharp and vicious, causing a cracking sound from his spine.
His body continued to rise, while ice spikes, which had been set up on the ceiling at an unknown time, glimmered with a blue light, clearly laced with deadly poison.
Although the God Envoy was immune to all poisons, it didn’t mean he could defend against any toxin, and the abilities of Horror Game Players were always bizarre; what if this was a vicious killing move? He had numerous wounds on his skin and couldn’t rely solely on his physical prowess to withstand it.
He desperately adjusted his position in the air, holy light surging around him, forming a small protective shield.
Under the influence of his bloodline, his injuries healed rapidly, but the damage to his lumbar spine made it difficult for him to regain his peak strength for the time being.
Inside the protective shield, the God Envoy glared at Lu Qingjia with hatred, as if he had never experienced such humiliation before.
Lu Qingjia laughed, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to continue?”
“I’ve discovered that while my abilities may not be as flashy as yours, I do have ways to counter you.”
“My Anywhere Door can take me to any place I’ve marked; while this isn’t a combat ability, once activated, any object can become my door, including the human body.”
So, his body splitting open just now was simply because he had been opened by the other party? The God Envoy thought, feeling a sense of relief.
This kind of ability generally lacked offensive capability and wouldn’t leave any aftereffects on the body, but once the human body deformed, it could not effectively execute an attack.
Sure enough, Lu Qingjia said, “Your lumbar spine is injured, and you can’t attack at full speed now. As long as I can react in time, your strength is useless in front of my Anywhere Door.”
“You’ve lost.”
The God Envoy sneered, “Don’t speak too soon; it was just a moment of carelessness. I’ll show you that a small fish like you is not on the same level as me.”
As he spoke, a colorful bracelet appeared on the God Envoy’s wrist, adorned with numerous small objects.
Buttons, earrings, rings, even teeth.
As soon as the bracelet appeared, the rings emitted a faint glow, and the God Envoy’s eyes turned red as he stared at Lu Qingjia, as if he wanted to say something.
But before he could speak, he felt a sharp pain in his heart, something suddenly exploded in his blood.
A strand of hair burst out from his chest.
At that moment, Lu Qingjia rushed over, yanked the God Envoy’s bracelet off, and pointed at the button on it.
His expression had completely lost the calmness from before, a chilling murderous intent filling the entire room.
“Where did you get this?”
