Under the intense gaze of his teammates, Zhang Yuanqing shared his plan:
"I have a Rule Item that can restrain the Autobot, giving us ample time to find the Controller."
Ashamed Father, Xishi, and Xie Lingxi frowned.
Fire Fiend and Great Sage, Heaven's Equal exchanged bewildered glances. "A Rule Item? Weren't our skills and items sealed?"
Xishi flashed her practiced socialite smile. "We found a card in the car earlier that allows us to use one Rule Item."
A Rule Item? Fire Fiend and Great Sage, Heaven's Equal brightened, then frowned. The latter cautiously asked, "Are you saying you'll use the Rule Item to fight the Autobot alone and buy us time?"
Fire Fiend, recalling the Autobot's ferocity, immediately shook his head. "That's a reckless plan. Unless our active skills are unsealed to complement the Rule Item, we stand no chance against that robot."
This time, Xie Lingxi agreed with Fire Fiend, her voice soft and frail:
"Brother Wang Tai, this is too risky. We're all Spirit Realm Walkers in the Transcendent Phase, and the items we can access are mostly at this level. Can a Transcendent Quality item really take down an Autobot?"
Items are categorized by type, not by rank, but Spirit Realm Walkers know that rank is a hidden attribute. Most items acquired during the Transcendent Phase fall into this tier.
Ashamed Father said calmly, "This idea is reckless. If a single item could easily resolve such a threat, this card wouldn't be in the car."
He was warning Zhang Yuanqing not to underestimate the situation and waste the card. How could an S-Rank mission be so simple?
Clearly, the team doubted Wang Tai's plan, but due to Zhang Yuanqing's hard-earned "prestige," they merely voiced their skepticism rather than outright opposing it.
Ordinary items wouldn't work, but Rule Items certainly could! Faced with his teammates' skepticism, Zhang Yuanqing, who knew the Red Dancing Shoes' capabilities well, smiled confidently.
"As experienced Spirit Realm Walkers, how can you doubt my judgment? Remember, we're all in this together. Would I risk my life on a whim?"
His expression radiated confidence, and his tone was utterly calm.
At this moment, Wang Tai's consistent demeanor proved its worth. The team members frowned and remained silent, still skeptical but unwilling to object.
This was largely because they either lacked any items or possessed no powerful combat-oriented items.
Ashamed Father also fell silent. Leaving aside the question of experience, he agreed with the latter half of Zhang Yuanqing's statement.
"Time is limited," Zhang Yuanqing urged. "Everyone, quickly find the car keys."
The six Spirit Realm Walkers sprang into action. Over the next few minutes, Zhang Yuanqing found two car keys, Xishi found one, Great Sage, Heaven's Equal found one, and Xie Lingxi found another.
Each of them located the corresponding vehicles, unlocked them, and searched inside. Only the little girl's car contained a metal card; the others yielded nothing.
Xie Lingxi's card read: [ You have one opportunity to transfer hatred. ]
[ Too bad the cars in the parking garage are undrivable, ] Zhang Yuanqing thought regretfully. Suddenly, a high-pitched engine roar echoed from the distance.
The crowd, like startled deer, craned their necks alertly, following the sound.
At the entrance to the Underground Parking Garage, the two-meter-tall Autobot reappeared, wielding a chainsaw, its eyes glowing red, and its chest microphone blaring: "You're all going to die!"
Xishi screamed, "Wang Tai!"
The others scrambled to the same car, flung open the doors, but hesitated to take refuge inside. Instead, they glanced at Zhang Yuanqing with a hint of anticipation.
Zhang Yuanqing pulled a metal card from his pocket.
[ Ding! Do you wish to use this card to activate your Inventory? ]
"Yes!"
In an instant, he sensed the presence of his Inventory again. He swiftly opened it and summoned the Red Dancing Shoes.
A faint crimson glow flickered out, darting nimbly before solidifying into a pair of Red Dancing Shoes before their useless Master.
[ Tap-tap. ]
The brand-new, petite, and exquisitely crafted Red Dancing Shoes whirled around Zhang Yuanqing once, their steps both ruthless and lively, as if delighted to be out dancing.
To Xie Lingxi and the others, the sight was terrifying.
Dancing Shoes? A pair of Dancing Shoes that moved on their own?
Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, they instinctively felt a chill and dread emanating from the Red Dancing Shoes. There was no logical reason for it; it was pure intuition.
Ah, if I didn't have to, I wouldn't want to use it either, Zhang Yuanqing sighed inwardly.
In truth, his first thought upon seeing the card had been: The Haunted House is in the bag.
No matter how terrifying the spirits in the Haunted House might be, they were still just spirits. The Demon Subduing Pestle, imbued with Solar Divine Power and half of the Goddess's Yang Soul, was the bane of all Yin creatures.
Once inside the Haunted House, he planned to summon the Demon Subduing Pestle. Under the blazing sun, even the most ravenous Ghost Bride would collapse to the ground, sobbing tearfully, "My lord, no~"
Unfortunately, resolving the current crisis took priority. The Underground Parking Garage level wasn't complex, but it was brutally difficult.
Moreover, using the Red Dancing Shoes offered another advantage: deterring the killer.
If the killer recklessly tried to eliminate him, triggering the worst-case scenario, the Red Dancing Shoes—now without a master—would revert to their original state and relentlessly pursue every Spirit Realm Walker in the arena.
Everyone would die together.
As the roaring Autobot hurtled toward him, Zhang Yuanqing murmured softly:
"Go!"
The Red Dancing Shoes darted forward.
Two eerie crimson beams, swift as lightning, struck the Autobot's chest with a deafening clang. The steel giant, charging with the force of thunder, was abruptly halted, sliding back slightly.
But the assault didn't end there. The Red Dancing Shoes, having stopped the Autobot, launched into an even more relentless barrage of stomps. Each impact sent tremors through the mechanical body, causing it to stagger.
The Autobot's movements were completely neutralized.
Enraged, the Autobot swung its chainsaw, but the weapon, capable of cleaving through gold and jade, couldn't even touch the Red Dancing Shoes. The footwear seemed to exist outside the realm of reality.
The only disappointment was the Autobot's indestructible frame, which the Red Dancing Shoes couldn't damage.
Yet to Fire Fiend, Xishi, and the others, this was the most glorious sight in the world.
"What kind of item is this?! What kind of item is this?!" Fire Fiend exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with avarice.
Xishi, Xie Ling, and the others finally exhaled in relief, their gazes fixed on the Red Dancing Shoes, tinged with envy and longing.
Given the scarcity of powerful items, Spirit Realm Walkers harbored a primal hunger and greed for such artifacts, ingrained in their very genes.
"Don't get back in the cars! Find the Key now!" Zhang Yuanqing shouted, adding, "The price for these shoes is that if I don't retrieve them into my Inventory within an hour, they'll start killing indiscriminately."
The Fire Fiend and the others paled, their fleeting greed vanishing instantly. Wasting no time, they immediately began searching.
The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal reluctantly tore his gaze from the Red Dancing Shoes. Remembering their price, he called out, "Wang Tai, don't you dare die!"
If Wang Tai died, the shoes would become another, even greater danger.
In the following minutes, the Red Dancing Shoes took on the crucial task of repelling the Autobots, repeatedly shielding the group from danger. Finally, after half an hour of relentless searching, Xie Lingxi found the Controller in a sports car.
"Is this it? Is this it?" the girl shouted at the top of her lungs.
This girl's luck is unbelievable! Everyone stopped what they were doing and converged on Xie Lingxi with unprecedented speed.
In her hand was a long, black metallic object resembling an early-model brick phone, complete with an antenna at the top and a red button in the center.
"Try it," the Fire Fiend urged.
Xie Lingxi glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, who nodded. She immediately pressed the red button.
In that instant, everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the robot struggling against the Red Dancing Shoes in the distance.
The towering steel body suddenly froze, as if its power supply had been cut off. All movement ceased, and the red light in its eyes flickered out.
Tap-tap-tap
The Red Dancing Shoes kicked the motionless robot a few more times. When the metal behemoth remained unresponsive, the shoes paused, puzzled, before tap-tap-tapping back to Zhang Yuanqing's side.
Here it comes, it's going to ask me to dance again. Zhang Yuanqing felt a wave of relief wash over him, though a barely perceptible twitch tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"It worked!" Xie Lingxi cheered.
Xishi and the others exhaled wearily, their faces breaking into joyful smiles.
No one had died. They had achieved a flawless victory.
As they turned to express their gratitude and praise to Zhang Yuanqing, they suddenly noticed the supposedly deactivated Autobot in the distance. The red light in its eyes flared back to life, its engine roaring to life as it charged toward them like a missile.
What's happening?! Their faces paled instantly. Zhang Yuanqing jolted upright and roared, "Stop it!"
He issued another command to the Red Dancing Shoes.
But it was too late. The Autobot had already bypassed the Red Dancing Shoes, replicating the initial scene by crashing into the crowd. Its target was clear: Xie Lingxi, who held the Controller.
The attack happened so suddenly that no one could react. Instinctively, they dove for cover, bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
Has the Controller malfunctioned?
Has the mission changed? Is the Controller no longer effective?
Xie Lingxi's eyes reflected the onrushing steel monster, the roar of its chainsaw engine filling her ears. Her mind went blank.
But in the next instant, her vision cleared, revealing the honest, loyal face of Ashamed Father, a man who had failed as a father. His eyes burned with fury and determination.
Ashamed Father shoved Xie Lingxi out of the way, throwing himself into the path of the chainsaw.
The blade sliced through his torso, severing him at the waist. His intestines, internal organs, and upper body crashed to the ground with a sickening thud, blood splattering in a gruesome, crimson bloom.
"I am no longer the man I once was," the Autobot's chest speaker cackled maniacally.
"Demon Lord, you're finally dead! You're finally dead! Demon Lord, you killed me, but you won't survive either!"