He was a tall Young Man with red hair and red eyes.
Lingering sparks of fire swirled around him, and he held a longsword pointed at the ground.
The high-temperature flames he had just unleashed had melted all the snow within a ten-meter radius, revealing the black soil beneath.
"It’s you! Number Four!"
In the distance, water vapor condensed, reforming into the shape of Su Ta.
Her gaze fell upon Hu Qi, her expression filled with surprise.
She didn’t know Hu Qi’s name. She and Han Yun had previously tried to visit him, hoping to gather information.
They also planned to lure him out and kill him, but he had refused to see them, and they had failed.
Thus, she only knew his reader number.
Unlike the long strings of numbers assigned to ordinary readers, as a Manager, he possessed a unique, single-digit number.
The Deceit Puppet Master was Number One, Han Yun was Number Two, and she was Number Three.
As the fourth Manager, he should be Number Four.
"Hm?"
The Young Man—Hu Qi.
He recognized Su Ta as well.
There was no mistaking her familiar aura.
Although they had entered this world and descended in this manner, the fundamental nature of a True God’s soul would not change.
After reaching a certain level of power, they would naturally be able to recognize each other on sight.
He’d just launched a sneak attack out of habit, intending to kill her.
He just hadn’t expected such a coincidence—running into her here.
One could only call it fate.
As this thought crossed his mind, his gaze swept over the headless cowboy’s corpse to the side.
This corpse was none other than Dick.
The Shadow Walker path he had chosen was extremely secretive and excellent for stealth.
Even an ordinary Sequence Seven would have had trouble detecting him, yet he had died on the way here.
Now, seeing Su Ta, it all made sense.
As a True God, even with her power restricted, her perception of the world was far beyond that of ordinary low-level professionals.
She would naturally have been able to detect Dick’s presence with ease.
"I never thought your power could reach such a realm in such a short time!"
The corners of Su Ta’s lips curled up slightly, a flash of astonishment in her eyes.
Her gaze sized up Hu Qi before her.
His last sword strike had actually managed to wound her.
Thinking of this, she discreetly glanced down at her waist.
That was precisely where she had been struck.
Now, a faint bloodstain was seeping through her clothes.
Although it was only a superficial wound and not fatal,
the sword seemed to be imbued with some special power that even her water-form body could not completely evade or heal from.
From this, she could determine that Hu Qi’s power had reached at least the level of Sequence Eight, and he was by no means an ordinary one.
It was highly likely he had embarked on some clandestine path with a special focus.
This realization sent a secret jolt of alarm through her.
’After all, even she, a True God, had only just barely broken through to Sequence Eight a short while ago.
’And that was after obtaining an Extraordinary Path at the earliest opportunity.
’So how could this opponent, a mere ant who wasn’t even a True God,
’possibly have managed it?
’Could it be... he’s obtained some unknown fortuitous opportunity?
At this thought, a smile appeared on her face.
She looked at Hu Qi.
"Since we’re both readers, why must we fight? Why not cooperate? We could watch each other’s backs. This Ten-star Novel World is anything but simple!
"With your current power, you should understand that the Extraordinary Paths of this world have major limitations.
"If you agree, I can share this Extraordinary Path that leads all the way to Sequence Five with you. What do you say?"
A confident smile spread across Su Ta’s face.
’She believed that as long as he wasn’t a fool, he wouldn’t refuse her.’
"Cooperate? I suppose that’s not out of the question."
Hu Qi’s response was just what she expected.
However, before she could speak, Hu Qi continued.
"As long as you drop all resistance and let me plant a Restriction in this physical body of yours, I will consider cooperating with you!"
Su Ta’s expression froze for a moment.
But in the next second, far from being angry, the smile on her lips deepened.
"Is that so? And what if I’m not willing?"
The body she possessed was already alluring, and now, with this smile, it took on an even more soul-stirring charm.
But if any reader who truly knew Su Ta were present, they would know that this expression meant her anger had reached its absolute peak.
While she was somewhat wary of Hu Qi’s power, she hadn’t considered him a true threat.
She hadn’t wanted a direct conflict.
But she never imagined that a mere ant, not even a True God, would dare to humiliate her like this.
In her eyes, he was undoubtedly courting death.
As for such a request, she was more than willing to grant his wish.
With that thought, she lifted her slender hand, and an eerie, azure halo suddenly bloomed from her ten fingertips.
With a light twist of her wrists, dozens of crystalline water threads shot through the air.
They seemed as soft as strands of hair, but in reality, they were incomparably sharp!
SWISH!
Wherever the water threads passed, trees were sliced in half as if they were tofu, the cuts as smooth as a mirror.
The falling snow was cut into a hazy mist by the ensuing threads before it could even touch the ground.
These water threads, as sharp as blades, shot straight toward the longsword-wielding Hu Qi.
With that level of sharpness, one feared that even a man of iron would be instantly split in two upon contact.
PFFT!
However, in the next second, just as these sharp water threads reached Hu Qi...