Chapter 712: This Young Man Has a Screw Loose

"You......finally came!"

Elder Hou Junji's voice carried a hint of bitterness and reproach.

"Yeah, I'm here!"

From the shadows of the woods, a bizarre figure's voice rang out.

Setting aside how much that voice made you want to punch it.

Just the blurry silhouette alone was enough to leave people puzzled.

The reason this figure seemed so strange was that within the darkness, one could vaguely make out what appeared to be a human upper body.

But the lower half was a massive, plump, round object.

This round object floated slightly in the air, occasionally twitching, as if it had two short, stubby little hands.

"Why are you only showing up now!"

Elder Hou complained.

"We had an agreement before. If you'd come earlier, Xi City would probably have been taken by now."

The strange figure across the way continued speaking, his voice laced with pride: "Elder Hou, you can't blame me for this. I traveled all the way from such a distant place, and with all those anomalies along the way, it's already a miracle I made it here alive."

"You......fine!"

Elder Hou seemed to have no way to deal with the man across from him, and could only accept defeat.

"Elder Hou, actually, I arrived quite a while ago!"

The man across couldn't help adding another line.

His tone carried a hint of showing off.

Earlier he'd said that with all those anomalies on the road, it was already a miracle he'd made it alive.

But now he was saying he'd actually arrived long ago.

This was undoubtedly a roundabout way of boasting about his own abilities and skills.

However, Elder Hou completely failed to notice the man's subtle flexing, and the bird on his shoulder immediately spoke up in a drawn-out tone: "If you arrived early, why didn't you show yourself?"

The man across fell silent for a moment, seemingly annoyed that Elder Hou hadn't picked up on his hidden show-off.

But he quickly followed up: "Back then, you all had that dangerous sea anomalies coming ashore situation. If I'd come out at that time, wouldn't that have been suicide?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"You......"

Elder Hou was so infuriated by this fool across from him that his face flushed red, and he had to take several deep breaths.

"Fine then. Since you're here now, come out with me to meet the others!"

"Plenty of people have already asked me when the people from the Sky Whale are going to arrive. Why haven't they shown up yet? Quite a few folks were starting to think I was full of hot air."

Speaking of this, Elder Hou sounded quite aggrieved.

The figure hiding in the shadows across the way was indeed the person sent from the Sky Whale.

And the one ranked in the top ten by number hadn't appeared yet.

But at least he'd finally arrived.

It was just that this guy had chosen such a strange place to meet.

It genuinely made Elder Hou feel like something was off.

It looked exactly like one of those scenes from a movie or TV drama where villains meet in secret.

The figure in the shadows of the woods slowly drifted forward, that fat, round thing stretching out two short little arms constantly paddling through the air.

Finally, the figure came into clear view.

It was a young man in a tracksuit, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with an utterly ordinary appearance.

But the arrogance on his face was impossible to hide no matter what.

As if he were the protagonist of the entire world.

Even when facing Elder Hou, he held his chin high, looking down at him through his nostrils.

And that round, fat thing...... was a plump pufferfish.

Yeah, it was just a plump pufferfish.

This pufferfish was as big as a small car, fat and round, simply floating in the air.

The two tiny wings on the pufferfish were paddling with all their might.

The young man sat cross-legged atop the pufferfish.

If Chen Ye and the others saw this pufferfish, they'd probably immediately think of the Sky Whale.

The Sky Whale was a colossal whale floating in the air.

And this pufferfish before them looked very similar to the Sky Whale, aside from the difference between a whale and a pufferfish.

The pufferfish was frantically paddling its short, tiny fins, which was genuinely maddening to watch.

Hou Junji sized up the young man from head to toe, muttering inwardly.

When they'd communicated with the Sky Whale earlier, the other side said they'd send someone over, though the person was a bit strange.

Now that he saw him in person, he truly was strange.

And that plump pufferfish, was that also a product of the Sky Whale?

Was this a Wonder? Or an anomaly? Or some other thing I don't recognize?

Indeed, the extraordinary nature of the Sky Whale's envoy could be glimpsed just from this floating plump pufferfish.

After a brief look, the bird on Elder Hou's shoulder urged him again.

"You've arrived just in time. Something's happened at the base right now. With your abilities, this is the perfect chance to let those people see how impressive you are!"

"Hold on, Elder Hou, wait a second!"

"Are you saying you're planning to make a move on that cute little girl right now?"

The young man looked utterly baffled.

It seemed this young man had been secretly observing the base for quite a while.

Elder Hou's face darkened: "That's an anomaly, what little girl!"

"I know, Elder Hou, but right now isn't the time for me to make my grand entrance!"

When the young man said this, Elder Hou's face stretched even longer.

"Elder Hou, don't be anxious. The moment for my appearance hasn't arrived yet!"

"Wait, you need to time your entrance?"

Elder Hou was about to lose his mind.

Does this guy have a screw loose or something?

Does he really think this is some web novel?

That the protagonist always shows up at the critical moment?

The young man completely ignored Elder Hou's bewilderment and said in a slow, deliberate manner:

"That little girl should be a very powerful anomaly. By my estimation, the people at your base wanting to kill her might be a bit of a challenge!"

"Wait until the final critical moment, and then I'll make my move!"

"When I do, I either don't act, or I act to decide the outcome with one strike!"

"Heh heh...... this is the kind of presence Wei Butong commands."

"When the time comes, I'll shine before everyone, stun the entire crowd, and let everyone know the name Wei Butong!"

"Hahahaha......"

He seemed to be imagining that very scene.

Everyone gets defeated by the anomaly, he steps in at the critical moment, and then makes a stunning debut.

Everyone sees how incredible Wei Butong is, kowtows in admiration, beauties fall into his arms, and he collects all the lackeys he wants.

During the days he'd been secretly watching earlier, that one-eyed guy seemed the most arrogant.

And that bald guy was quite cunning.

These two could be recruited as errand-running underlings later.

Lost in his triumphant thoughts, Wei Butong was already laughing out loud, his voice filled with flamboyance and excitement.

This was the protagonist template.

Isn't that how all those web novels wrote it?

The protagonist never appears until the situation is hanging by a thread!

Hou Junji watched this young man who'd already laughed himself into a state of delirium, at a loss for words.

This young man...... has a screw loose!

And at that moment.

In the darker depths of the woods.

An aged figure was suppressing his excitement.

"Sky Whale, the person from the Sky Whale has finally appeared!"

"Who would've thought it's actually Wei Butong, that idiot!"

"Shine before everyone, heh heh...... I'll make you fart before everyone!"