Chapter 138: Random Item

"Wow!"

A pair of light wings shimmered in front of Fiona. With a mere thought, they attached themselves to her back, and she immediately drifted into the air.

"Oh, yeah! I can fly!"

She let out a joyful cry, her body swaying as the wings behind her flared, carrying her in a swift, triumphant circle around the grand hall. Then, she fixed her gaze on Susie, gave a smug smile, and declared, "Heh, let’s see where you can run to now!"

"I..." Susie had originally intended to slip away after obtaining the orb, hoping to open it in private to see what kind of item she would receive. She had hoped for one of the familiar archetypes—perhaps a Peerless Sword Dancer, a Snake Queen, or even better, a Magical Girl, a Gatling-gun-wielding beauty, or a cannon-toting lady. Anything except a Holy Light Guardian, which was useless to her, would have been fine. But she never imagined that the contents of these orbs were completely random. Now that the Holy Sword Knight had wings and could fly, her own fleet-footed speed offered no advantage.

"Hmph!"

Irritated, she pulled out her golden orb and, before the other girl could pounce, initiated the contract.

*Swish!*

A flash of light passed, and a cloak appeared in her hand. But just as she reached out to catch it, the garment vanished into thin air!

"Eh?" Susie gasped in surprise.

"Hahaha!" Fiona roared with laughter, pointing at the perplexed Susie. "What kind of luck is that? You finally get a magical item, and it’s a cloak that just disappears? Uh—"

As she spoke, Fiona seemed to realize something, just as she saw Susie drape the invisible cloak over her shoulders. Then, Susie vanished entirely.

"An invisibility cloak?!"

Fiona was momentarily taken aback and quickly dove toward the spot where Susie had been standing, only to grasp at empty air. There was nothing there.

"Damn it!"

Susie had disappeared without a sound. Her magical signature was already weak, and in such an environment, combined with the invisibility, it was impossible to track her.

"She got away..." Fiona muttered, sullenly drifting back to Luo Yong’s side before detaching her light wings. The wings could split in two, held in her hands like twin blades. She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively slashed at the distance.

*Swish!*

Two blades of light shot out, striking the wall on the far side of the hall and leaving two shallow, charred marks.

"Wow!"

Seeing this, Fiona let out another exclamation, her gloomy mood instantly lifting. She glanced at Luo Yong, who was still emotionlessly deploying formations to fight monsters, then tucked away her gear and stood obediently by his side.

"Not bad at all..."

Pang Ding, having witnessed the whole scene, stealthily pulled out the golden orb he had just obtained.

"Contract."

He whispered the word, not wanting to alert the others, though he couldn't help but be curious about what he would get.

Light. A hazy, indistinct mass of energy.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Pang Ding felt... complicated. Look at the others—one was unleashing a bombardment that rivaled an entire mage legion; the little girl had an invisibility cloak that made her impossible to find; and the little sidekick had wings of light that allowed her to roam the skies and serve as weapons. And then there was him.

*Eh?* Did he eat too much greasy food lately? Was he breaking out? Pang Ding watched as the energy mass in front of him gradually transformed into a mirror, reflecting his own image.

"Tsk, tsk!"

Look at what a handsome, dashing young man he used to be! And now, he had turned into this! Oh, time—are you a butcher’s knife or just pig feed?

"Huh?"

Just as Pang Ding was lost in sentiment, the mirror shifted again. Or rather, the energy mass had never stopped changing. Now, under his gaze, it took on a concrete shape—it became a ball. Round, roughly five feet in diameter in every direction.

"Is this... me?"

Pang Ding stared at the spherical creature that looked exactly like him, a smug grin slowly spreading across his face. As time passed, the grin became increasingly deranged.

"This is... a physical phantom clone!?"

Noticing the anomaly, Luo Yong wandered over, looking left and then right. The two Pang Dings were cut from the same cloth—identical!

"Which one is the real one, and which one is the fake?" Luo Yong asked, kicking each of the two balls in turn.

"I'll be damned!" Pang Ding swung his longsword in a fit of rage.

*Swish, swish, swish!*

Both Pang Dings performed the exact same motion in perfect synchronization!

"Wahahaha! I love this item! Who else?!" Pang Ding hadn't been this happy in a long time—even happier than when he first pulled the golden orb. After all, he had been "different" for so long that finally seeing a "kindred spirit" was a feeling most people couldn't understand.

"Impressive!" Fiona praised. Even though she didn't know who this humanoid creature was or what it had to do with the mercenary captain, seeing two balls appear... that was truly something!

"It’s not over yet! There’s more!" Riding the wave of his excitement, Pang Ding contracted the remaining two orbs.

Then—

"Oh, ho, ho, ho!"

"Lord Pang is going to defy the heavens!"

Pang Ding shouted, brandishing his sword alongside his three phantom clones. It was a dizzying sight; anyone watching might have thought they were hallucinating. Since he was level 20, the summoned items were also level 20, possessing decent combat power.

"Damn, you’ve got it easy—just copy and paste!" Luo Yong sighed, speechless. Even though he knew there was a high probability of pulling duplicate items, the sight before him was still hard to believe.

"Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion!"

The three phantoms and Pang Ding's original body moved in and out of sync, sometimes overlapping, sometimes scattering... This round of power-ups had significantly boosted Pang Ding's combat effectiveness!

"Old Luo! Are there any more of these orbs? Give me a dozen! No, give me a hundred!" Pang Ding shouted excitedly.

"I’ll consider it," Luo Yong said, squinting and nodding to himself. *This could be perfect for the [Wenman] plan,* he thought. *No matter how powerful you are, Pang Xiaoding, you’re still destined to be a tool for me.*

"Hiss!"

Pang Ding suddenly ducked his head, confused. "Why did I suddenly feel a chill?"

"Captain, should we keep going?" Fiona asked softly, noting the blue light glowing from Pang Ding’s stash.

"Well..."

They had held out for so long that several of the magic-powered combat automatons were nearly at their limits. If they continued, they would need to be replaced. Although Luo Yong still had over three hundred golden orbs left...

"I’m not interested in whatever wizard’s treasure this is," Luo Yong said, shaking his head. He watched the monsters surging from the passage like an angry tide and added, "Fatty, give me one of those glowing blue things. I have a use for it."

"What for? What use could you possibly have?" Pang Ding clutched his pockets. He had already gathered three of the relics—he’d even picked up the one Susie had dropped. Now, only the [Wizard’s Eye] in Fiona’s hand was missing.

"To lure monsters. We’ll go back, rest, and come back in a while. I need them; otherwise, are you going to help me lure the monsters?" Luo Yong said matter-of-factly.

"Pah! Lord Pang is a busy man!" Pang Ding retracted his three clones, turned his head, and looked at Fiona. "Doesn't the little sidekick have one? That can lure monsters too; you don't need the three I have!"

"Well... until we meet again, then!" Luo Yong opened a portal, intending to leave.

"Uh... where are you going?" Pang Ding asked, sounding anxious. He was afraid that once Luo Yong hit level 20 and met the requirements to use Resurrection, he would stop contacting him.

"Sigh! I’m a bit worried. I’m going back to check," Luo Yong replied.

"Going back?" Pang Ding sneered and shook his head. "You still have a place to go back to! You still haven't let go!"

"I haven't let go of your sister!" Luo Yong rolled his eyes, signaled Fiona to follow, and recalled his combat automatons.

"Roar!"

Without the barrier of gunfire, the monsters flooded into the hall.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a scream rang out. A flash of light followed, and it seemed someone had dived into the portal just ahead of Luo Yong.

"Hey, this guy!" Luo Yong shook his head helplessly, waved his hand, and stepped into the portal.

"Hey! Witness the power of Lord Pang!"

Facing the monsters rushing toward him, Pang Ding’s form flickered, splitting into four, all brandishing thin swords as they slashed into the horde.

He began a session of self-torturous training... which went a long way toward explaining why his combat power was so high.

On the other side of the portal, Luo Yong used a tactical scroll to personally destroy the gate.

"Captain, why..." Fiona asked, confused.

"Don't ask," Luo Yong said coldly, his tone brooking no argument.

"Oh." Fiona shut her mouth, looking pouting and annoyed, and followed silently behind him.

"The party is over. You can go now," Luo Yong said after walking a few steps. He stopped, glanced at his little sidekick, and then continued forward.

"Oh," Fiona replied. She stood there for a moment, thinking, before quickly catching up and walking behind him again.

"If you're not going to leave..."

Luo Yong looked at the Grog Camp in the distance, pulled a bag from his storage space, and said, "Help me take the things in here to the [Leisure Time] grocery store and leave them there to be sold. Set the price at..."