"What kind of scheme are you plotting now?" Li Hua asked, looking at Genm's actions with confusion.
Genm seemed somewhat aggrieved as he replied, "Calling it a scheme is really rather inappropriate. All of this is nothing more than the design of a game scenario."
"Let me remind you—this game field is no longer completely under your control. If you're thinking of using the rules of the game field to restrain us, that's nothing but wishful thinking." Elena's gaze shifted as she spoke to Huanmeng, seeing that he still showed no sign of tension at all.
Huanmeng chuckled softly and gestured around them. "I'm not blind. Of course I can see the sudden changes in the game field.
"This must be the power of Ex-Aid—merging the game field of the Mighty Action X game cartridge into this one, right?"
"How do you know that?!" Gwen blurted out in surprise.
Genm smiled faintly. "That's actually not hard to guess. As the game administrator, I know this very well. If you want to deal with me within the game field,
"you must restrict my use of the game rules here. And the only power capable of doing that is the Mighty Action Player, the prototype game cartridge from the very beginning."
"So you already predicted our actions? Everything that's happening now is part of your plan?" Li Hua frowned, a faint sense of unease rising in his heart.
"Who knows?" Genm shrugged meaningfully. "What you should be thinking about right now isn't that—but how to clear the game in front of you."
As his words fell, the Bugster into which the game cartridge had been inserted sprang into action, charging at Li Hua with astonishing speed and swinging down a sword shimmering with flowing, dazzling light.
At this moment, Li Hua had no time to think further. He raised the Flying Dragon Holy Sword mounted on his elbow to meet the Bugster's attack head-on.
Gwen and Elina exchanged a glance and, in perfect tacit understanding, moved at the same time, intending to bypass the Bugster fighting Li Hua and strike directly at Genm.
At that very instant, the Bugster suddenly split into two bodies, blocking Gwen and Elina.
The two split-off clones bore traits similar to W and Accel respectively.
One used the power of wind to soar into the sky, clashing with Elina, who was using the Jet Combat game cartridge.
The other was incredibly fast, engaging Gwen—who had transformed into a rider specializing in speed—in a fierce, entangled battle.
Across the three battlefields, the fights went back and forth, with neither side gaining a clear advantage.
Genm, meanwhile, turned to look at Frank, who had barely managed to stand up. "You've already fulfilled your role. The rest of the game isn't something you need to take part in anymore, so you can leave."
With a wave of his hand, Frank vanished from the game field.
Pierce had been observing the battles between the Bugster and Li Hua, Elina, and Gwen, calculations running through his mind.
When he saw Huanmeng send Frank away, his heart skipped a beat. He tentatively asked, "Mr. Genm, you kept me here—do you have something in mind?"
Huanmeng nodded at Pierce and said, "Our contest isn't over yet. Since the three Riders are busy fighting, it's a perfect time for us to continue our match."
Pierce's expression hardened. "That doesn't seem necessary. My attacks can't affect you at all, Mr. Genm. The outcome is already obvious."
Earlier, he had already gone all out with no effect whatsoever, while Huanmeng hadn't even made a move. Thinking it through, if the fight continued, he would almost certainly lose.
"Since the game has started, it has to have an ending," Genm said in a teasing tone. "You've already shown me your abilities. Naturally, I should let you see my power as well. That's what courtesy demands."
Pierce's heart sank. Knowing he couldn't avoid it, he focused and prepared himself. "In that case… let's do it."
Genm lightly flicked his wrist and pressed the button on the game cartridge, activating an assassination move.
"Dangerous Zombie."
A pitch-black area, like a muddy swamp, spread across the ground. From these dark pools emerged countless clones identical to Huanmeng.
As Genm leapt into the air, all the clones jumped with him. Dense masses of zombie clones flew toward Pierce, launching flying kicks from all directions.
Facing the countless "Genm" attacking him from every angle, Pierce could only use the power of the Weather Memory to its fullest—summoning a tornado around himself as a defensive barrier. At the same time, he unleashed massive lightning and triggered freezing energy, condensing countless ice crystals that merged into the tornado to strengthen its power.
However, when forty or fifty zombie clones struck the defensive tornado simultaneously, even with Pierce pushing his power to the limit, he couldn't hold out.
After only a brief moment, the tornado collapsed. Pierce was then kicked by dozens of Genm's clones—each one landing a blow—sending him flying through the air for a full two to three minutes before he finally crashed to the ground.
He landed sprawled out in a giant "X" shape, smashing a deep crater into the ground, and came dangerously close to being forced out of his transformation.
Suppressing the resentment and anger in his heart, Pierce staggered to his feet and said, "Mr. Genm's power is truly overwhelming. I concede defeat."
Genm burst into laughter. "Naturally. You do have some strength, but how could you possibly compare to me, the game administrator?"
Pierce took a deep breath, feeling the instability within the Weather Memory inside his body. "Since the match is decided, may I leave now?"
The power of the Gaia Memory was becoming increasingly difficult to control, and he needed to leave immediately. But Pierce didn't want to reveal his true appearance in front of anyone, so he wanted to leave at once.
When you're under someone else's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head. When there's no alternative, backing down is the only option.
Genm casually nodded and waved his hand at Pierce.
Pierce saw points of light flickering around him. In the blink of an eye, he had already left the game field and returned to the city.
Not far away, Frank—who had been waiting in place—saw Pierce appear, clearly in poor condition, and felt an urge to make a move.
Pierce frowned. His current state was far too bad. After being heavily injured by Huanmeng, the powers of the different Gaia Memories within him were showing signs of instability—especially the Ice Age Memory he had only absorbed temporarily.
Pierce had a strong premonition: if he ignored this and continued to forcibly use the Weather Memory's power, it might trigger a complete loss of control. The consequences could be extremely severe.
Thus, Pierce had no intention of getting entangled with Frank at all. Seeing that Frank could barely manage to transform again using the Accel Memory, Pierce immediately used refracted light to create a mirage, concealing himself and quietly slipping away.
Although Frank was clearly very weak at this point—even if he forcibly transformed, the combat power he could muster would be nothing more than a final flash before death—
Pierce himself was also at the end of his rope.
And Pierce believed that he still had a vast organization and a broad future ahead of him. He would never gamble his life against Frank. At a time like this, retreating was naturally the wisest choice.
(End of chapter)