Chapter 205: Chapter 184: Black Technology

’She actually grew wings. Now there’s no way people won’t mistake her for one of the Celestial Race, is there?’ Gao Neng was also startled by the wings of light that had sprouted from Fang Tangtang’s back. He tried to leave her far behind but was surprised to find that her speed wasn’t the slightest bit slower than his.

The wings of light unfurled.

Fang Tangtang’s speed surged. It was as if she truly had a pair of wings; she wasn’t just as fast as lightning, she had actually taken flight.

’Son of a bitch!’

’This kind of black-box tech actually exists?’

Gao Neng sighed internally. ’As expected, being rich really does mean you can do whatever you want.’

’Good thing I’m not slow, either. If we’d run into another race that was faster, it really would have been a toss-up who would’ve died.’

In reality, Fang Tangtang was just as shocked. She was relying on high-end, black-box tech developed by the Celestial King Group, but Gao Neng was relying on his own power.

’How is he so fast? Is that a godspeed technique? Who taught him that?! I don’t remember Bald Shark having a godspeed technique this incredible!’ Fang Tangtang thought, her emotions in turmoil as she watched the unshakeable Gao Neng below her.

After all, the price of a single Angel’s Wings wasn’t low...

Even for her.

She would never have used this move unless it was a last resort.

The two of them sprinted madly, one after the other.

Behind them, Ah Bing of the Cave Race gave chase with all his might, but soon, Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang vanished from sight. He truly couldn’t keep up; those two "Celestial Race" members were just too fast.

The Cave Race’s strong suit wasn’t speed.

’How am I supposed to catch them?’

Besides, the most important thing was that they still had to rush to Dark Night Elf City for the marriage proposal. If what Gao Neng had said was true, and this was all a trap, then the Ninth Prince’s safety was paramount.

Ah Bing stamped his foot in frustration before finally turning and leaving.

...

Far in the distance, after shaking off Ah Bing, Gao Neng and Fang Tangtang finally came to a stop together.

The two of them exchanged a look.

"Heh," Gao Neng chuckled.

"Hahaha..." Fang Tangtang laughed as well.

Then, almost simultaneously, they both spoke again.

"Liar!"

A silence fell between them.

After about a minute of silence, Fang Tangtang couldn’t take it anymore. "Gao Neng," she asked, "how long can you maintain that godspeed technique of yours?"

"One minute, tops," Gao Neng replied without hesitation. He then reached out to touch the wings of light on Fang Tangtang’s back, which seemed to be a physical manifestation of energy. "And what about these wings? How long do they last?"

"Same as you. Just one minute." Fang Tangtang tilted her head back, and the wings of light on her back vanished without a trace.

"Heh..." The two of them chuckled again.

Gao Neng thought it over. ’This can’t go on,’ he decided. ’If we’re going to be a team, we need to be honest with each other sometimes.’

"Alright, I’ll level with you. My godspeed technique is called ’Ghost’s Dread,’ and I learned it from Gu Yi. I was just using the Second Realm, the Ghost Foot Realm. This realm is a bit too much for my body to handle. I can only keep it up for two minutes, tops. Any longer than that, and I’m done for."

He wasn’t afraid of Fang Tangtang investigating or asking around.

After all, the name "Ghost’s Dread" was real, and both the Ghost Step Realm and Ghost Foot Realm were the actual established realms. The real discrepancies were with the Fourth and Fifth Realms that came after.

"Really?" Fang Tangtang still sounded skeptical.

"Of course it’s true. Teammates should be honest with each other, right? I’ve laid my cards on the table, so you should, too," Gao Neng said with a sincere look on his face.

"Fine, I’ll be honest too. This is called Angel’s Wings. The principle is similar to a Seed Burst Pill, it just condenses energy into wings of light. The energy drain is huge, so I can only maintain it for about two minutes, tops. Really... same as you!" Fang Tangtang immediately patted her chest as she made her promise.

"Then how many more of those pills do you have?" Gao Neng immediately pressed.

"Only one left." As she spoke, Fang Tangtang pulled a silvery-white pill from her clothes. "This is the last one. Just like the Seed Burst Pill, this medicine requires the Spring of Life, so it’s not something you can buy with just money. You have to believe me. When have I, Death God Fang Tangtang, ever lied to you?"

"Oh really? And you think I’d believe you?" Gao Neng was clearly unconvinced.

"Then what are you going to do? You’re not actually going to search me, are you?" Fang Tangtang subconsciously took a step back as she spoke.

"Search you?" Gao Neng’s eyes scanned Fang Tangtang’s body, a smile playing on his lips. ’She’s flat-chested, but her waist is pretty slim.’

"Gao Neng, we’re out here in the middle of nowhere! If... if you really dare search me, I swear I’ll tell Sister Ning’Er! I’ll... I’ll..."

"Tell her what?"

"That you took advantage of me, of course! You... you can search me if you really want, but if you don’t find anything, my reputation will be ruined because of you! I’ll have no choice but to cling to you for the rest of my life, and you won’t be able to get rid of me even if you try! If Sister Ning’Er asks, I’ll just say you screwed me on Wild Battle Mountain. From now on, I’ll be the first wife and she’ll be the second. Let’s see how she likes that!" Fang Tangtang said through clenched teeth.

’Trying to latch onto me? Hmph, I’m not giving you the chance!’ Gao Neng finally gave up the idea of searching her. It wasn’t because he was scared of her threat, but because it felt like a scummy thing to do.

To be honest, even though Fang Tangtang was a bit of a troublemaker...

...she had actually given him quite a bit. Ten million Alliance Coins, plus two Seed Burst Pills and two Life-saving Pills. All told, it was worth tens of millions.

Most importantly, they had already agreed on the terms: they would enter the battlefield together to find treasure, so they would each have to bear their own risks.

Fang Tangtang had her own ways of saving her skin, and so did Gao Neng.

He just couldn’t bring himself to actually search her and take all her pills. A man has to have some principles, after all.

"So you’re not going to search me?" Fang Tangtang saw that Gao Neng wasn’t looking at her anymore, but she still felt a little uneasy.

"I’m not!"

"Hehe, then let’s keep going!" Fang Tangtang let out a sigh of relief, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she prepared to press onward.

"Keep going? Don’t you think something’s wrong?" Gao Neng had no intention of listening to Fang Tangtang this time. He felt that this situation was a huge problem.

One marriage proposal delegation might have been a coincidence.

But running into two in a row was definitely not.

’Something is definitely wrong with the Dark Night Elf Clan.’

"I know there’s a problem! That’s exactly why we have to keep going. Otherwise, what’s going to happen to the main army behind us?" Fang Tangtang said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, I think we should wait. We can tell the main army what happened after they get here." Gao Neng felt this was the safer option.

"Wait here?"

"Where else would we wait?"

"It’s too dangerous here! What if another marriage proposal delegation shows up? We escaped once, but we might not be so lucky a second time!"

"..." Gao Neng frowned.

Fang Tangtang might be a little unreliable, but she had a point. This was a path one had to take to get to the Dark Night Elf Clan.

And from what had just happened, he was starting to understand something.

The other races must all have special abilities of their own.

For example, the Northern Cave Race likely had an extremely keen sense of smell. Otherwise, it was improbable they would have detected the scent of blood from dozens of meters away.

Hiding here...

...was too dangerous!

If they were discovered again, it was uncertain whether they’d be able to escape.

’Should we go back, then?’

As he thought this, Gao Neng’s gaze swept the surroundings. Soon, he spotted a huge boulder not far off, situated right at the mountain’s peak.

"Let’s go to the peak and check things out."

"Okay." Fang Tangtang didn’t object.

The two of them made their way to the summit in the darkness and climbed onto the boulder.

"Huh? Gao Neng, look! Over there, it looks like another group from a different race!" The moment she climbed onto the boulder, Fang Tangtang spotted another party on the move in the distance.

"Another group?" Gao Neng immediately looked over. He was surprised to see that it wasn’t just one group. Off to the right, there was another.

Two groups!

If you added the Hill Giant Race and the Cave Race they’d encountered earlier, that made a total of four groups.

Four groups, four different races...

All heading to the Dark Night Elf Clan to propose marriage at the same time?

’Is this really a coincidence?’

"Gao Neng, we have to run! They look like they’re coming this way! Look at that group... they’re heading up the mountain!" Fang Tangtang’s expression grew tense.

"We can’t go back?" Gao Neng’s frown deepened.

The road back to the Eastern District Fortress was crawling with these marriage proposal delegations. Turning back now would be like a lamb walking into a tiger’s den.

’But if we don’t go back... where else can we go?’

"It’s too late! Let’s rush to the first line of defense. That’s the only place we might run into the Military Department’s main army," Fang Tangtang whispered.

"If something’s really wrong with the Dark Night Elf Clan, we have to find a way to get this intel to the Military Department. Otherwise, once the main offensive begins, it could be a disaster," Gao Neng said, hesitating.

"But there’s no signal on the battlefield! Our phones can’t reach the Military Department. How are we supposed to report anything?"

"We have to find a way back."

"That’s impossible! Leaving aside the fact we might run into more of those groups, do you even know the army’s marching route? The battlefield is wide open, and the first defensive line is huge. We have no idea which route the Military Department is taking or which breach point they’re planning to attack."

"And we’ll know once we get behind the first defensive line?"

"Of course. As soon as the Military Department starts its assault, we’ll hear it. Then we’ll know where the main army is. It’s the fastest way."

"Didn’t you just say this route was one the main army had to take?"

"I said it was the *most direct* path, not the *only* path, right? What if the Military Department decides to take a detour? Spending a few extra hours isn’t out of the question."

"The Military Department would take a detour?"