Their Li-Liang smashed against each other.
Blinding neon lights danced across my vision until streaks of black pushed through.
The murky blackness was almost engulfing the lights, like a black hole.
Their blows created strong winds as I struggled to open my eyes.
The amount of Li-Liang they had astonished me...could I even produce that much? Even at my full potential?
Arms planted to the ground, our attacker whipped their legs towards Wei's face with incredible speed, yet Wei effortlessly blocked it with his forearm.
They jumped back before throwing a sharp punch against Wei, which failed with a quick block.
What kind of power does this person have?
It's almost as if they're reinforcing their body with those lights.
Both of them traded blow after blow, with no one advancing.
An unfamiliar laughter filled the sharp air.
"HA! WEI, HAVE YOU FINALLY LOST IT?!"
... It's a girl's voice?
"Churan, stop-"
"AND WHY? YOU'VE CLEARLY LEFT US!"
The attacker threw another kick, but instead of blocking, Wei grabbed their leg.
"This... is a matter I have to take care of."
"YOU-ugh!"
I flinched as Wei slammed her against the wall using their legs.
Little pieces of debris fell as the attacker lay inside the caved wall.
The neon lights that surrounded her flickered, but kept on burning.
There's no way... at the very least, that should've destroyed her spine...
Slowly, she rose back up, her flames burning even brighter than before.
Can... no, is it even possible for Wei to defeat her? She's-
"HA! YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN A HIT ON ME BUT-!"
Wei sighed, and in a loud swoop, darkness swallowed up the bright lights, leaving nothing behind but just a single, cloaked woman.
She lay defeated on the ground, yet didn't seem scared at all.
So much for worrying...
I'd honestly thought that Wei and her were tied...
Through her cloak, thin tips of silver hair sparkled against the moonlight, illuminating the space around her.
Beat, she roughly pushed herself off the ground.
"Churan, you know you can't beat me."
"You...! Why aren't you using my code name! Now this loser over here knows my name, idiot!"
Her voice was higher than I'd expected, and almost... naggy?
"You didn't use my code name either."
"Huh? I, I didn't?"
All of a sudden, her once ferocious face turned almost apologetic.
"Anyway, did you tell the boss about this?"
"No, but if you miss any more meetings, then you're really screwed!... Boss told me to check on you... You're lucky it wasn't anyone else."
"Lucky? You just attacked me."
"Well... I, uh, didn't really know if you had actually betrayed us or not."
"...You just wanted to fight me, didn't you?"
"...um-"
"No, I don't want to hear your excuse."
It's weird.
These people seem so powerful, yet they never got a mention in-game?
How?
There must be something I'm missing...
I decided to finally say something.
"Um, so, you're Churan?"
"Ugh, I don't want to hear my name being uttered out of your mouth!"
She immediately turned her attention to me, glaring, and this time, I saw her entire face.
Glistening white skin, perfect features, and her eyes.
The second I saw her face, that's when I knew...
...something was wrong.
"Your... your eyes..."
"Huh?! What's up with my eyes, you creep! Geez, Wei, why are you hanging with this guy?"
Her eyes were a mix of teals, grays, reds, and oranges...
I gulped.
Has a loud personality.
Has good use of Li-Liang.
Has a model-like face.
And a cool design?
Doesn't this all point to one thing?
"...Hey? Hello?! I'm talking to you!"
"You're...a playable character..."
"Huh? Can you speak up?!"
I couldn't help but mumble out those words.
It's the first time I've met a character like this. I thought that at most I would just see quest NPCs down in the slums.
But I've never seen this character before... is she some character that was added in after I 'died'?
So then how long has it been since I transmigrated?
Do new updates transfer to here?
And how do they transfer? Or... what if...
...Have I transmigrated after the game was finished?
After all, coming here may have felt like right after I passed in my room, but the reality could be that the time between my transmigration was actually way longer.
"HEY, ASSHOLE!"
"Huh-?"
My thoughts were cut off after a high-pitched frequency assaulted my ears.
"Didn't you hear Wei talking to you?! Geez, you noblemen seriously have no manners! What's the point of being rich if you're gonna act like that?!"
"Wait, how did you know I'm a-?"
Before I could finish my question, Wei surprisingly stepped in too.
"Churan, how do you know he's a noble?"
His tone was slightly different from before.
Still serious, but no longer relaxed.
Churan seemed to have caught onto this mood change, yet instead of damage control, she was almost bathing in Wei's glares.
"If you really want me to tell you, then you gotta bring something to the table~."
"...Churan, stop playing around. Who else knows about this?"
"I'm not telling~."
"Churan."
Churan paused for a second before bursting out in...laughter?
"Hehe, Wei, I can't believe you're getting mad at me this fast~."
"You-!"
I couldn't just let this chance slip by, so I chimed in, wondering just how mad Wei could get.
"Yeah, Wei, I didn't think you were the type to lose your composure this fast."
"Oh? Even the nobleman gets it~!"
"Both of you have no right to...you know what, never mind. Why do I even bother?"
He leaned his head back and put his hands over his face, took a long sigh, before walking off.
Churan cheerfully walked alongside him, eager to annoy him even more.
And I...wait a second.
"Hey! Wei, you moron! I can't walk on my own! Get your ass back here!... Wei!"
***
After some time, I managed to get a piggyback ride on Wei.
I guess leaving was his way of getting back at me; what a petty loser!
"Hey, I know you're smirking!"
"..."
"I'm taking your silence as a confirmation, Wei! And you too, Churan!"
"Huh?! What did I do?!"
"You also left me!"
"Hmf, lalallalla, I'm not listening~."
...How do Wei and her know each other anyway?
What's their relationship?
From our first encounter, I know that Wei is some sort of boss, but if Churan is saying there's someone even higher than Wei, they're in some organization, right?
Wei had like eight goons around him when he first attacked me, so just how big is this organization?
But there isn't an organization like this in the game.
At least, not in the slums.
"So, Churan, how do you know Wei?"
"Ah?"
Her entire body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head towards Wei.
"Uhm, us? Ahaha, we are... uh-"
Wei suddenly spoke.
"Friends."
"Uh, yeah, friends, duh!"
... Interesting...
"I mean, how did you guys meet?"
"Um, it's-"
"We're childhood friends."
"Wei!"
"What?"
"You can't just-!"
"It's the truth though."
"You-!"
"Childhood friends, huh? No wonder, you guys seem pretty close."
"Huh? Yeah, I... uh, I guess we are."
Hm... this isn't getting anywhere.
She definitely has lower Li-Liang than Wei, so...
I closed my eyes and tried to feel for the Li-Liang running through Hanzhi's body.
Slowly, I concentrated everything around my eyes, and then I opened them.
A warm light filled my eyes, with a wall of scarlet words appearing in front of me.
But instead of failure, I was greeted with actual data.
A small picture of Churan appeared before me, along with some basic information, almost like an ID card.
So she's nineteen, and her full name is Li Churan.
Hmm... and she lives...
...wait...what?