Chapter 123: A Tale of Burning Passion

Su was stunned for several minutes by Wang Ling's battle achievements. In the plot world, it was true that a young German boy had once killed three Dreamers alone, but those opponents had simply split up and fought individually. In any case, a team's combined strength is usually greater than that of individual Dreamers, not to mention teams with some reputation like the Whirlwind Team or the Chrysanthemum and Blade.

After soothing the Pokémon disturbed by the Blood-Veined Dragon and returning them to their Poké Balls, Su asked with an expression of admiration, "Tell me about your exploits in the plot world!"

Wang Ling gave a rough account of his experiences and achievements in the Plants vs. Zombies world. As he listened to Su’s exclamations, his vanity was greatly satisfied. Of course, some key intelligence remained unrevealed, such as the Dragon Bloodline skill "Dragon Head Fist" and the B-rank skill "Spirit Energy Activation."

Only Hassan knew about these two skills, and a devout old Muslim’s oath made in the name of Allah should surely be kept. As for Su, although Wang Ling had a good impression of him, their current relationship was that of friends, not teammates.

After finishing, Wang Ling learned from Su about his own last experience in a plot world. He had entered a gunfight world: the FC classic *Wild Gunman*. This vintage game was set in the mountains of the American West—Western towns, cowboys on horseback, revolvers, tall cacti, wanted posters on tavern walls, sheriffs with handlebar mustaches, Indians wielding toaxes, dust blowing across the wilderness...

These classic elements of Western films were fully realized in the world of *Wild Gunman*.

With his D-rank Nausicaä spear and superb marksmanship, Su was one of the few Dreamers who managed to profit and return alive. The mortality rate in gunfight worlds was shockingly high; most Dreamers who entered *Wild Gunman* were gunned down by those Western outlaws.

Unlike Wang Ling’s reticence, Su described his gains in that world in full detail—he had taken down several outlaws on wanted posters, and in addition to considerable routine income, he had been commended and received a precious "Police Officer" badge, as well as an infinite-ammo revolver that could be brought back to the Dream Space.

"At E-rank difficulty, I don't think there are many gunfight worlds, and there aren't many in the beginner zone either. However, you must be careful when entering such a world. In fighting worlds like *Double Dragon* or *Final Fight*, ordinary plot minions can hardly cause much damage to a strong Dreamer. But in a gunfight world, even if a Dreamer's attributes are high, there is a possibility of being taken down by a pack of minions with guns."

Wang Ling was not afraid of this point. The "Pink Shield" skill that appeared at Level 4 of the Peach Heart could absorb 300 points of ranged damage for a cost of only 10 mental energy, which was undoubtedly a very useful ability in a gunfight world.

"I wonder what difficulty level the most famous gunfight world, *Contra*, is?"

Thinking of the terrifying infinite-ammo S-gun in *Contra*, Wang Ling couldn't help but shiver. Judging by the S-type shotgun that could easily take down aliens, giant robots, and spaceships, it was definitely a world more brutal than *Metal Slug*.

"The S-type shotgun, blowing up everything you don't like!"

After exchanging some intelligence about the plot worlds with Su, Wang Ling went to stroll through the entertainment district. The Thug Team and the Orc Team, along with their allies, the Australian Kangaroo Team, no matter how powerful, could only influence at most a hundred Dreamers. Compared to the 5,000-plus Dreamers in the beginner zone, this was not many, so those who knew his appearance were still in the minority.

He wandered through the entertainment district and encountered no unusual events. Remembering that he still had a meager 2,100 currency points, Wang Ling went to the free market to sell the iron bucket helmets he had taken from the Dark Fighters. From the effectiveness of the roadblock helmet, he already understood that the so-called damage absorption mainly applied to head attacks. The iron bucket helmet was not practical for him, as he already had the Steel Head and the Gold-Red Mask, and it was a waste to give it to the Dark Fighters.

Wholesale-selling the three helmets at 900 points each, Wang Ling's currency points grew to 4,800. After searching the free market for a while, he traded his meteor iron spearhead for a weapon that was also E-rank but easier to handle.

"Wrought Iron Sword: Type: Weapon; Rating: E; Attributes: Blue equipment; Attack: 12-18; Abilities: Damage +1%, Block +1%. Equipment Requirement: Strength 15."

"Description: Crafted by skilled artisans during the Three Kingdoms period for junior officers. Made of wrought iron, the blade is sturdy and thick—a refined weapon."

Compared to the meteor iron spearhead, the Wrought Iron Sword’s attack and damage were slightly weaker, but the sword was 1.2 meters long, 3 centimeters wide, and 1 centimeter thick. It felt heavy in the hand, and swinging it was more comfortable than thrusting with a spearhead. Plus, it could block. Both had their own advantages.

Holding an alloy shield in one hand and the Wrought Iron Sword in the other, he could attack and defend simultaneously. However, there was one disadvantage to using a sword and shield: he could no longer equip the Survival Gauntlets. But since the two could be used at different times, it was no big deal.

In the following time, besides spending time with Bingrou and Hatsune, Wang Ling spent his days cultivating ice and fire spiritual power and practicing marksmanship in the training hall. After all, the effective range of his White Iron Musket had increased to 40 meters, while his marksmanship was only accurate within 10 meters.

Life was pleasant and fulfilling. However, on the sixth day, when Wang Ling left the training hall, a Caucasian man stood before him. The man had curly brown hair tied in a small braid, a physique as sturdy as a grizzly bear, and wore a tight tank top that clearly revealed his muscular contours, especially the veins bulging from his biceps.

Looking at the man’s glistening muscles, Wang Ling couldn't help but think of Abobo from the *Double Dragon* world. But while Abobo felt like a cruel beast that devoured people, this white man, beyond the aura of a beast, possessed a heart-stopping pressure that made it hard to breathe.

The white man stood straight as an iron spike driven into the ground, looking down at Wang Ling, who was a head shorter. He didn't speak, but bared his teeth in a cruel smile. Then, he raised his right hand, made a throat-slitting gesture, and walked away silently.

Wang Ling frowned. From the fearful expressions of the Dreamers around the training hall, who were terrified into silence, and the almost stifling pressure from before, he could feel how dangerous this guy was.

"Excuse me, who was that?" Wang Ling asked a nearby man.

The man stared at Wang Ling for a few seconds with the look one gives a dead man, uttered the two words "King Kong," and quickly walked away.

"King Kong?"

Wang Ling’s heart skipped a beat. He had heard the intel: King Kong and Ghost Swordsman were both powerhouses of the same level as White Phoenix. The pressure this white man gave him was even stronger than that of White Phoenix. After all, White Phoenix’s aura leaned toward coldness and restraint, while King Kong stood there with an outward, overwhelming pressure that clearly marked him as a super-powerhouse.

"The Thug Team... I suppose they already know the Whirlwind Team died by my hand... Who told them? Caslow, Suna, Cai Qing, or Su? The chances of it being Hassan or Su should be small... Damn, King Kong actually made a throat-slitting gesture at me. It seems he is determined to kill me. He must be about to promote to the intermediate zone, right? It’s unlikely I'll run into him in the beginner zone, and even with a scenario card, he couldn't possibly know which world I’m entering."

"See you in the intermediate zone then. We'll see who kills whom."

He shrugged helplessly and returned to his private room with a relaxed expression. After some thought, he spent 1,000 points to activate a Kung Fu scenario card.

He first asked Wang Long for advice on offensive techniques, then went to the second floor to learn defensive and evasive tactics in close quarters from Peach Fairy. On the third floor, Wang Ling’s strength exceeded Chen Heng’s, but during sparring, he often found that even after catching his opponent, he would be blocked or countered. Basic wrestling moves like "pulling, tugging, and yanking" were surprisingly effective; Chen Heng was truly a wrestling master.

On the fourth floor, under Blue Moon’s guidance, he practiced light-body footwork. Naturally, he couldn't avoid challenging the fifth-floor mechanism room, where he failed with seven seconds to spare when a folding fan struck his head. Although he didn't get to see the Grand Commander, there was a pleasant surprise: the footwork practice and the challenge of dodging hidden weapons from all directions in the mechanism room had raised his Basic Footwork from Level 2 to Level 3.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't go more than a day without food or water and that the high-intensity training was physically taxing, he would have wanted to stay in the Kung Fu scenario card forever. Unfortunately, 10-plus hours was his limit.

Training in a scenario card was definitely more effective than training alone. Although he couldn't learn any powerful skills here, having four kung fu masters like Wang Long, Peach Fairy, Chen Heng, and Blue Moon teaching him with all their might, combined with sparring, would turn even an ordinary person into a master given enough time.

The short seven-day break soon reached its final day. After checking his items and equipment, Wang Ling activated the Zen Garden card and planted the Cob Cannon. From now on, he would be able to harvest a new card every time he returned from a world.

He then picked up the "Berserker Blood." As the second most powerful entity after the Zombie Robot in the *Plants vs. Zombies* world, the Berserker Gargantuar had dropped only this one item. Although the description was very simple—granting a passive bloodline skill called "Berserk"—it was clear that this skill would be extremely powerful!

Checking through the main brain's sub-terminal, Wang Ling learned that bloodlines could not be mixed. If a person acquired two types, there was a tiny chance of them merging into a more powerful bloodline, but a much greater chance of fusion failure, resulting in a reversion to a normal human bloodline or even severe injury and a drastic drop in personal attributes due to the violent conflict.

"Berserker Blood" provided a bloodline skill, not a bloodline itself, so it did not conflict with the Dragon Bloodline. The trouble was that the berserk state could not be controlled manually; it was triggered spontaneously when the mind and body were sufficiently stimulated. Combined with the fact that one would lose their mind and become incredibly bloodthirsty while in the berserk state, making it impossible to predict what would happen, Wang Ling thought for a long time and decided not to use it, choosing to store the item instead.

Preparing to enter a new world, Wang Ling spent 1,000 points to buy two small health potions. His space bag now contained: White Iron Musket, Meteor Iron Sword, Alloy Shield, Gold-Red Mask, Survival Gauntlets, 3 small health potions, 2 small mental potions, 1 medium health potion, 1 Sliding Turtle Shell, 1 Homing Turtle Shell, Kung Fu Summoning Card, the card slot containing plant cards, the Zombie Newspaper, and Hatsune and the Blood-Veined Dragon.

With these filling 20 slots, he had only 5 left.

Wang Ling wore the Peach Heart and Linda's Badge, while his private room held the Berserker Blood, Zen Garden card, meteor iron powder, tentacle whip, mushroom bag, mushroom coins, 2 sapphires, and the Tiger Mask Fighter's challenge letter.

To prevent Bingrou from feeling lonely in the private room, Wang Ling treated her like a child, exchanging some basic Chinese reading materials for her, as well as building blocks, a Rubik's cube, puzzles, and other educational toys. Unfortunately, he couldn't exchange for a game console, so these had to suffice.

After teaching Bingrou how to play with those toys, Wang Ling waited quietly under the main brain's sub-terminal. At 12:00 noon, the Dream Badge sounded a prompt: "Your rest period has ended. You will now begin a new main mission. Please arrive at the main brain's sub-terminal within half an hour. The world you will enter is: *River City Ransom*."

Hearing this, Wang Ling immediately put down the *Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney* reward card he had been holding, ready to use, and quickly placed the "Tiger Mask Fighter's Challenge Letter" into his space bag. Possessing this rare item that opened hidden plots, he had been worrying about how to enter the *River City* series, and to his surprise, he was now proactively entering *River City Ransom*.

"Why isn't it *River City Soccer*? Honestly, compared to *River City Ransom*, I’d rather go explore that world where you can fight while playing soccer..."

As light enveloped him, the scene shifted. Wang Ling, who was still complaining about the plot world, was transported to a very quiet Japanese town street. The surrounding buildings were not bustling, resembling those of the 70s or 80s.

"This is a world of burning blood.
Delinquents skilled in martial arts gather in various high schools.
They form clubs and divide their respective spheres of influence.
Under the balance of mutual restraint, life has always been peaceful.
However, this peace was suddenly broken one day by the kidnapping of a young woman.
As the high schools are about to enter a chaotic battle, how could you be missing?"