Sun Xin began to feel drowsy, as if a force was twisting and spreading within his skull, with the phantom of a station platform about to emerge!
孙新开始变得睡意朦胧，他感觉自己头颅中有股力量在扭曲扩散，一片站台的虚影即将浮现而出！
Ma Chao’s train was hurtling through the void, approaching.
马超的列车正穿梭虚无而来。
Suddenly, at that moment, a temporal feedback sound appeared.
忽然就在此时，一道时序反馈声出现。
[Shao Min returned my 1N investment.]
[邵敏返还了我的1N投资。]
Sun Xin’s face froze for a second, then he vanished from the spot with a whoosh.
面容愣了一秒的孙新唰地从原地消失。
The White Shadow Thought-Dragon, rampaging the room, lifted its head.
正在房间内肆虐的白影念龙抬起头。
The man, chased and desperate, screamed “Ah!” and leaped over the railing from upstairs, caring no longer what lay below, hoping only to escape this nightmare.
被追赶得慌不择路的一人趁着这机会，啊地尖叫一声从楼上翻越跳下，他已经不管下面如何了，只希望能逃离这噩梦。
Less than two seconds later, a dull explosion sounded from below.
不到两秒下方传来沉闷爆炸声。
Yang Zicang, who had thrown the pebble, estimated his accumulated temporal energy—already over 15,000 years.
掷出石子的杨子藏估算着自己累积获得的时序，已经一万五千多年了。
“？”
“？”
Through the Silent Night, Yang Zicang clearly sensed that the person posing the greatest threat to the White Shadow Thought-Dragon had suddenly disappeared.
通过沉吟之夜，杨子藏清楚的感知到，对白影念龙产生最大威胁的那个人突然消失了。
……
……
A-Level Interlaced Space.
A级交错空间。
Under the dark gray clouds, the demon’s wings flying in the sky twisted and fell.
阴暗灰云下，天空飞行的恶魔翅膀扭曲坠落。
Two deformed monster corpses lay on the ground.
两具变形的怪物尸体倒在地上。
“As expected of the big shots from the Xiongying Group—they work fast.”
“不愧是雄英组的大佬们呀，效率就是快。”
Opposite Yu Fei stood four individuals, radiating an aura of pressure.
余霏对面是四道身上散发着阵阵威压的男女。
These were the formidable experts in the Xiongying Group, named after figures from literary classics. Even with just four people, they made rapid progress in this A-Level Interlaced Space; each one of them was stronger than Yu Fei’s entire team.
这些都是雄英组中被赋予名著中人之名的高手，仅仅四人在这A级交错地内便进展神速，一人都比自己整个队伍还要强。
Beside Yu Fei, Huang Zhaoming, wearing a denim suit, wiped the sweat from his face with a hint of excitement.
余霏身旁，穿着牛仔服的黄兆明略带激动的抹了把脸上的汗珠。
“Deputy Yu, this is already the second scene barrier. At this rate, we’ll probably be able to open the gate to that town in just a few dozen hours.”
“余副，已经是第二道幕景了，按照这速度，恐怕几十个小时咱们就能打开进入那座城镇的门啊。”
This was something Huang Zhaoming wouldn’t have dared to imagine before.
这是黄兆明以前想都不敢想的事情。
Zhao Yun came over and said, “Captain Huang, according to my informant, Zhou Heng is looking for you.”
赵云过来道：“黄队长，据我的线人说，周恒正在找你。”
“Looking for me? What does he want from me? A big shot like him.”
“找我？他找我做什么，那样的大人物。”
“Of course, to ask how many of us are here. Cut off your Mental Link quickly and let him take a look.”
“当然是问我们有多少人在这里了。你快断掉心灵链接，让他看看吧。”
The Shennv Alliance members resting on the ground immediately scrambled to their feet, staring in terror at the four members of the Xiongying Group, whose faces remained calm.
地上休息的神女盟几人顿时翻身起来，惊恐的看向对面面色平静的雄英组四人。
“Has headquarters found out? Who leaked the information?”
“总部发现了？谁透露的消息。”
Sly dealings with the other side in the dark were one thing here and there. But now, a bunch of experts from headquarters had gathered around the rat cave. To be found out at this moment—wasn’t that asking for death?
平时跟另一边暗地里眉来眼去也就罢了。而现在，老鼠洞穴周围聚集了总部来的好些高手，这个时候被发现，不是嫌自己命长吗？
Zhao Yun smiled faintly. “I believe it’s not your doing. But right now, there are indeed signs that our entry into the A-level Interleaving Zone has been leaked.”
赵云淡淡笑了笑，“我相信不是你们干的，但目前的确有迹象表明，我们进入A级交错地的事情已经泄漏。”
“No… that can’t be.”
“不，不会吧。”
Yu Fei felt a pang of panic—this crystal had been exchanged from headquarters with his own resources.
余霏觉得有点慌，这晶石可是自己从总部换来的。
“Then let’s get out of here quickly and seal the entrance using frequency crystals. There’s no way we can let them discover us.”
“那我们赶快出去，再用频晶封掉入口，绝对不能让他们发现。”
Just then…
就在此时…
“Leave? Where do you think you’ll be going?”
“走？你们还想走到哪里去。”
Mist cascaded down from the sky, silhouettes of several figures appeared in the distance, and Yu Fei was shocked to realize they had already entered the Interleaving Zone.
雾气从天空垂下，远处几道身影轮廓出现，余霏震惊的发现他们尽然已经进入了交错地内。
Yu Fei shouted nervously, “Wasn’t the spatial gate sealed? How did they get in!”
余菲紧张地大喝：“空间大门不是封闭了吗，怎么会进来的！”
He turned his head to look at the handsome man who was tossing the crystal in his hand.
他转头看向将晶石拿在手里抛着的帅气男人。
Zhao Yun smiled and said, “Of course I… let them in.”
赵云笑道：“当然是我…放他们进来的。”
The members of the Divine Maiden Brotherhood instantly felt their scalps tingle.
神女兄弟盟几人瞬间感觉头皮发麻。
……
……
Zhao Yun raised his head, his gaze falling on the six people emerging from the mist, and curled the corners of his mouth:
赵云抬起头，目光落在雾气中走出来的六人身上，嘴角翘了翘：
“Didn’t ten people come? Oh, afraid that the moonshadow would appear in the Intersecting Land, so they stayed outside?”
“不是来了十人吗。噢，是怕让交错地出现月影，所以留在了外面？”
Among those from headquarters, the one in front used slender fingers to take off his crystal-clear glasses, pulled a cloth from his cotton thin shirt to wipe them, and looked up at the other side with a smile.
总部几人中，当先一人拿纤细的手指取下晶莹眼镜，从棉质薄衫中取出巾布擦了擦，他抬头看向对面笑了笑。
“You really are here, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, Sun Shangxiang, and Turtle Though Beast. Ha, four of the top eight from the Heroes’ Division’s Famous Division are all here. Huang Zhaoming, we really have to thank you—this time we can wipe out these people in one fell swoop.”
“竟然真的在这里，赵云、马超、孙尚香、龟虽兽，呵，雄英组名著部里排名前八位有四位都在此。黄兆明，我们还真是要感谢你啊，这次能将这些人一网打尽。”
Zhao Yun raised the frequency crystal in his hand, which emitted a red light, and the entrance to this Intersecting Land shook and closed.
赵云举起手上的频晶，它发出道红光，这片交错地的入口震动着关闭。
Feeling the Intersecting Land sealed off, beside Zhou Heng, who was wiping his glasses, a big man in a shirt pushed up his sunglasses and said:
感受到交错地被封闭，擦着眼镜的周恒身旁，一名穿着衬衫的大汉推了推墨镜道：
“We were already prepared for that move of yours. But no matter, as long as we kill you, we can seize the frequency crystal.”
“我们早就预防你这手了，不过无所谓，只要杀掉你们就可以拿到频晶了。”
“What if we just leave directly?”
“那我们要是直接离开呢？”
“……”
“……”
Tong Wenqi from headquarters chuckled and said, “That doesn’t matter either. Letting everyone know you fled like beaten dogs would only add to our department’s prestige.”
总部这边的童文奇笑呵呵的道：“那也无所谓，让大家知道你们如丧家之犬般逃走，更添我部威名。”
Zhou Heng’s gaze carried a faint murderous intent:
周恒目光中带着淡淡杀气：
“Just surrender. It’ll be better for both of us, you monsters who have abandoned human emotions.”
“束手就擒吧，这对你我都好，你们这些放弃人类情感的怪物。”
The man in the duckbill cap, bearing the name Zhao Yun, let out a cold snort: “So, is a city that forbids killing yet allows robbery, fraud, and threats against the disabled walking freely considered righteous?”
带着鸭舌帽，拥有赵云名号的男子鼻子里冷哼了口气：“所以，一个不准杀人，却任由抢劫、欺骗、残疾威胁横行的城市，就是正义的？”
“Construction cannot be achieved in a single step.”
“建设不是能够一步所到位的。”
“If that’s the case, then you can stay here and stabilize the interlaced ground slowly, building it bit by bit. We’ve already been in; the quota is taken. Once you enter Pivot Town, we can easily get in ourselves.”
“既然如此，那你们就在这儿慢慢稳定交错地，一点点建设它好了。反正我们已经进来过了，名额已经占据，等你们进入枢纽镇，我们轻松就能进去。”
“You guys!” Huang Zhaoming and the others, including Yu Fei, looked at Xiongying Group’s members in panic—was that their true aim?
“你们！”黄兆明和余菲等人慌张地看向雄英组的人，这才是他们的真实目的吗？
Behind Ma Chao, who was clad in armor, energy rapidly converged, and a mist-shrouded platform emerged, overlapping with the underground basement.
身穿铠甲的马超身后忽地能量快速凝聚，一片迷雾中的站台与地下室重叠着展现而出。

Woo¬Hoo ~*
[呜~]
The phantom sound of a high-speed train echoed in the minds of the group.
极速奔驰的列车幻音在几人心间响起。
With a hissing sound, the ochre-yellow subway car burst through the barriers separating reality, perfectly charging onto the platform materialized from sheer illusion.
嗤~赤黄色地铁轰地撞开隔绝现实的屏障，真实的驰骋至这由虚幻而凝现的站台。
“Stop them!”
“阻止他们！”
Power flashed across the six members of Zhou Heng’s team. The air in this space roared with a muffled boom as streaks of blade energy cut through.
周恒六人身上模型闪动，这片空间的空气瞬间发出轰隆闷响，刀气纵横。
Suddenly, Zhou Heng’s expression shifted.
忽然周恒面色一变。
[I’ve failed. Respawn points taken 1N.]
[我已失利1N.]
“So, you’ve realized it now,” Zhao Yun said, his eyes flickering with a cold gleam. “Hmph, did you think we only came with four this time? We brought the entire force here.”
“看来是知道了呢。”赵云目光中闪动着冷酷的情绪：“呵呵，这次我们岂止来了四人。我们啊，是全军出动。”
Ma Chao smirked: “Lu Bu has long been waiting at the entrance to the intersection. Your four rear-guard comrades might as well stick out their necks and await death!”
马超笑了笑：“吕布早已等候在了交错地入口，你们那四名殿后的同僚，洗干净脖子等着送死吧！”
Zhou Heng’s pupils constricted sharply. The moment the entrance closed, another feedback came through.
周恒瞳孔剧震，在这关闭入口的瞬间，他又收到了反馈。
[I have already fallen 1N.]
[我已失利1N.]
[I am already out of order 1N.]
[我已失序1N.]
In just three seconds—one second per report—three HQ experts sealed outside the door had perished.
短短三秒，一秒一个，三个门外的总部高手已经死在了外面。
How could they die so fast? Those were elite members of the headquarters!
怎么会死得这么快，那可是总部的精英！
“Quick! We must trap them here!”
“快，务必将他们留在此地！”
Two quadrilateral lights flickered. Blazing flames tinged with red erupted from their bodies as they charged toward the train opposite them.
两道四边形闪动，他们身上尽皆冒出金中带红的虚焰，冲向对面的列车。
Yet the gap between them and those four men was, compared to the distance to the train, far too vast.
然而他们之间的距离跟那四人与列车相比的距离来说，太过遥远。
Suddenly, a refracted beam of light shot toward them—it was Yan Yi, frantic with worry.
忽地，一道折射光线而来，是焦急的燕逸。
{Something’s wrong, Zhou Heng!}
{不好了周恒！}
[We’ve already figured it out! This is a diversion, a lure-away scheme!]
[我们已经知道了，中计调虎离山之计！]
{No, that’s not it!}
{不是啊！}
Before Yan Yi could finish speaking, everyone trapped in this sequential dilation zone heard a weighty, disappointed voice.
还不等燕逸说完，整个时序扩散区域的所有人都听到了道沉缓失望的声音。
[The Defender has been born. The final cultivators are Lu Zhishen and Huang Zhong.]
[抵御者已诞生，最终培育者“鲁智深，黄忠”。]
[All candidates must do their utmost to confront the Defender’s onslaught and seal it within one hour. If they fail, everyone in the zone will lose three hundred years of their lifespan.]
[请所有应选者尽力应对抵御者的袭击，将之封印，一小时内解决，否者区域内所有人扣除三百年寿命。]
Countless people within the zone listened in shock to the voice that had suddenly manifested in their minds.
区域内的无数人震惊的听着这道突然出现的心声。
“Huang Zhong? Who’s that? Has the Chivalrous Group produced another classical expert?”
“黄忠，那是谁？雄英组又诞生了个新的名著高手？”
“How could this be!”
“怎么会这样！”
Some who stood near the edge of the zone scrambled to flee outward, desperately trying to evade the punishment from the timed reduction.
一些区域边缘的人赶紧往外逃去，想要以此规避时序扣除的惩罚。
Zhao Yun looked into the distance at Zhou Heng and the others:
赵云望向远处周恒几人：
“Ha, it’s quite nice to see you looking so humiliated.”
“呵，能亲眼看到你们这样失态的表情，还真是不错啊。”
“What do you think? Surprised, huh? The nest that was guarded by hundreds of people, yet someone managed to infiltrate it unnoticed. Haha, this time it was really easy.” Another member of the Xiongying Team mocked.
“怎么样，吃惊吗，被上百人轮流守住的巢穴，却早已被人不知不觉的侵入，哈哈，这次可真是轻松。”雄英组另一人也嘲讽的道。
A burly man behind Zhou Heng shouted in fury, “How the hell did you get in?”
周恒身后一名大汉震怒道：“你们到底是怎么进去的。”
The only woman among Zhao Yun’s group of four was a middle-aged woman, and the diffusion of acoustic wave-like barriers in front of her blocked most of the attacks.
赵云四人中唯一的女性是个中年妇人形象，她身前道道扩散的声波状屏障将大多数攻击抵挡了下来。
“The people born on that bus are all excellent. You have Yang Zicang, and we also have an additional member, Huang Zhong. As for what his accompanying ability is, you can try to guess. I recall there is someone among you who enjoys speculating about the direction of events; is he here?”
“那辆大巴上诞生的人都很优秀，你们有杨子藏，而我们也多了位黄忠。至于他的伴生能力是什么，你们可以猜猜看。我记得你们当中有个人不就是喜欢猜测事件的走向，他在这里吗？”
The four entered the subway train behind Ma Chao.
四人进入马超身后的地铁。
Zhao Yun tossed the frequency crystal in his hand while casting a glance at Zhou Heng, who had calmed down again.
赵云也抛玩着手中的频晶，看了重新恢复冷静的周恒一眼。
“If you want to survive, stabilize the space with all your might.”
“想要活命的话，就拼命的稳定空间吧。”
“Farewell, everyone.”
“再会了诸位。”
“Wait for us…” Seeing that the Xiongying Group had no intention of taking them along, Shennv Brothers Alliance’s Yu Fei and the others looked in fear toward the approaching headquarters members behind them.
“等等我们…”见雄英组这些人没打算带上自己，神女兄弟盟余霏等人恐惧的望向身后靠近的总部几人。
Boom! The train instantly accelerated from a standstill, turning into an afterimage that twisted the platform like distorted ink wash painting, carrying this energy and dissipating onto the grassland.
轰！列车由停顿瞬间加速，化为虚影将站台卷得如同扭曲的变形水墨，带着这股能量消散在草地上。
The six of them rushed in front of the train that had vanished.
六人这才冲到了已经消失的列车面前。
Huang Zhaoming, the captain of the Shennv Alliance, gritted his teeth as their scheme fell apart, saying, “Hurry up and enter another intersecting scene!”
神女盟的队长黄兆明，眼见事情败露，咬牙道：“快进入其它交错幕景！”
The burly man beside Zhou Heng raised his hand, and the ground beneath them exploded violently. A pillar of earth radiating a golden-red faint light, like a massive steel fang, pierced through Huang Zhaoming’s body.
周恒身旁那大汉双手一指，地上的泥土轰然爆裂，一道散发金红虚芒的土柱如同巨大钢牙，刺穿了黄兆明的身躯。
The burly man glared fiercely at the members of the Shennv Brothers Alliance, snarling, “You helped them trap us? How dare you! Run again if you can!”
大汉目光凶恶地扫视神女兄弟盟的几人：“助人围困我们？你们好大的胆子，再跑啊！”
The remaining members dared not move, their legs weak as they cowered before these several experts from headquarters.
剩下的人哪里敢动，双腿发软的看着总部的这几名高手。
“Please, don’t kill us. We only wanted to stabilize the intersecting ground—this wasn’t our scheme.” Standing beside the corpse of Captain Huang, the men trembled and pleaded.
“别，别杀我们，我们只是想稳定交错地而已，这不是我们的阴谋。”黄队长尸首旁，几人停在原地颤抖着道。
Beside Zhou Heng, a member of the Monster Hunter camp offered a suggestion:
周恒身边，猎怪者阵营的一人提议说：
“Now that things have come to this, let’s spare their lives. We need to stabilize this space quickly to open the entrance to Hub Town so we can get out of here.”
“事以自此，先留着他们的命吧。我们要快点稳定这个空间早点打开入口进入枢纽镇，这样就能出去了。”
Upon hearing someone interceding on their behalf, the members of the Shennv Brothers Alliance clung to a flicker of hope.
听到对面有人求情，神女兄弟盟的几人升起了丝希望。
But this would inevitably waste a great deal of time.
但这样势必会浪费大量时间。
Zhou Heng had already contacted those within the area to flee as quickly as possible, at any cost.
周恒已经联系区域内的人尽快逃离，不惜一切代价的逃离。
Though the Temporal Diffusion Field appeared to be controlled by the Monster Hunter Alliance, the Xiongying Team had just executed a diversionary tactic to instantly turn the tide of this game.
这时序扩散区域看似被猎怪者联盟占据，但雄英组仅仅运用了个调虎离山之计，就将这盘棋瞬间扭转。
Yu Fei, facing Zhou Heng and the others who were approaching, forced a smile that was uglier than tears:
余霏冲越走越近的周恒等人，挤出比哭还难看的笑脸：
“Yes, we’ll do our utmost to stabilize the space quickly, and we won’t dare contact them again. These people simply don’t care whether we live or die.”
“对啊，我们会尽力快点稳定空间，我们再也不敢跟他们联系了，这些人根本不会在意我们的死活。”
The big man who had killed Huang Zhaoming calmed down a bit, tucked his head, hands on his hips, and walked back a few steps, considered as agreeing with this suggestion.
那动手杀了黄兆明的大汉也稍微消了点气，埋头叉腰往后走了两步，算是也认同这个建议。
Only Zhou Heng pushed his glasses up.
唯独周恒推了推自己的眼镜。
“It’s already too late.”
“已经来不及了。”
“What do you mean?”
“什么意思。”
“Kill them all. That way, Ma Chao won’t be able to return through the implanted platform.”
“都杀掉吧，这样可以避免马超通过植入的站台返回。”