Blood Feud with the Shark (11)
The moment I saw the message, my mind went completely blank.
Status: 500
Code: 500
Error Message: Invalid Access
What the hell is this?
I stared at the floating window in stunned silence. The system had never spat out an error like this before. My stomach twisted with a sudden, instinctive sense of danger.
Was this the doing of that damn Shark? Or had I triggered some hidden restriction by trying to access the deeper layers of the Yeonhee Gidam world too aggressively?
Either way, one thing was certain. Something had gone very, very wrong.
I quickly tried to pull up the status window again, but nothing appeared. The usual gentle blue glow that accompanied system messages was nowhere to be seen. Only that cold, blood-red error message lingered in the air like a bad omen.
“Damn it…”
Cold sweat trickled down my back. The sensation of my body being trapped in this world felt more real than ever. If the system itself was rejecting me, did that mean I was now completely cut off from any external support?
I forced myself to calm down and think strategically. Panicking wouldn’t solve anything. In the original Romance of the Three Kingdoms, even when the heavens seemed against them, the heroes found ways to turn the tide through wit and preparation.
But this wasn’t the original story anymore. This was a twisted, sensual, and utterly unpredictable version where beautiful warlords waged war with both blades and bodies. And I had inserted myself right into the center of it all.
“If the system is down, I’ll just have to rely on what I already have.”
I clenched my fists. The power I had stolen from Diaochan still flowed through my veins. The fragments of Lu Bu’s martial prowess and the subtle mind-manipulation techniques I had absorbed were still mine. Even if the system had glitched, those abilities wouldn’t just vanish.
At least… I hoped they wouldn’t.
I took a deep breath and focused. Slowly, I felt a faint warmth return to my fingertips. It wasn’t the clean, mechanical assistance of the system, but raw, primal power. The kind that came from dominating others and bending their will.
That was when I heard it.
A low, mocking laugh echoed from the shadows of the corridor ahead. The sound sent chills racing across my skin.
“You really thought you could just waltz in here and rewrite everything, didn’t you?”
The voice was feminine, smooth as silk, yet dripping with venom. I recognized it immediately.
Shark.
She stepped out from the darkness, her lithe figure wrapped in form-fitting black attire that accentuated every dangerous curve. Her eyes gleamed with predatory hunger, and a cruel smile played on her lips. Behind her, the faint silhouette of several other figures hovered in the gloom—her subordinates, no doubt.
“The system rejected you. How does it feel, little intruder? To be abandoned by the very power you relied on?”
She tilted her head, her long hair cascading like ink over one shoulder. There was something almost seductive about the way she moved, but the killing intent radiating from her was unmistakable.
I forced a smirk onto my face, refusing to show weakness.
“You seem awfully confident for someone who’s been hiding in the shadows this whole time. What’s the matter? Scared I’ll turn you into another one of my pretty little pets?”
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Bold words. But let’s see how long that bravado lasts when I rip your soul apart and feed it to the void.”
The air grew thick with tension. I could feel the faint stirrings of her power—something dark and slippery, like the ocean depths from which her nickname came. She wasn’t just a hacker or a rival player. She was a predator who had claimed this world as her hunting ground long before I arrived.
And now she had me cornered.
But I wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
I slowly reached for the hilt of my sword, feeling the familiar weight settle into my palm. Even without the system’s buffs, my body remembered the techniques I had taken from Lu Bu. The raw physical strength. The instinctive battle sense. The overwhelming dominance that made others submit.
“Come on then,” I growled, lowering my stance. “Let’s see if you bite as hard as you bark.”
Shark’s smile widened into something truly terrifying.
“With pleasure.”
The corridor exploded into chaos as she lunged forward, her movements fluid and lethal. I met her head-on, our blades clashing with a sound like thunder. Sparks flew. The impact reverberated through my bones.
This wasn’t a game anymore.
This was a blood feud.
And only one of us would walk away from it.
The battle raged on, each exchange growing more desperate. Shark’s attacks were unpredictable, slipping through my defenses like water through cracks. Every time I thought I had her, she twisted away with that mocking laugh.
But I wasn’t fighting alone. Not entirely.
Deep within me, the lingering echoes of the women I had dominated stirred. Diaochan’s graceful agility. Lu Bu’s overwhelming strength. Even fragments of Zhen Ji’s cunning intellect seemed to whisper strategies in my ear.
I used them all.
A sudden opening appeared. I poured every ounce of stolen power into a single strike, aiming straight for her heart.
Shark’s eyes widened in genuine surprise for the first time.
“Impossible—”
My blade connected.
But instead of blood, what spilled out was shimmering code—lines of corrupted data that dissolved into the air like smoke.
She staggered back, clutching her chest. For a moment, her form flickered, revealing something far less human beneath the beautiful exterior.
“You… you actually managed to damage my core avatar…”
Her voice had lost its playful edge. Now it was cold. Calculating. Dangerous.
“Fine. If that’s how you want to play…”
The temperature in the corridor plummeted. Shadows writhed and twisted around her like living things. The error message that had been floating nearby shattered into fragments and reformed into something far more ominous.
Warning: Reality Anchor Unstable
Hostile Entity has initiated forced merge sequence.
All external system access revoked.
Survive. Dominate. Or be consumed.
The words sent a jolt of pure terror through me.
This wasn’t just a fight anymore.
She was trying to overwrite me. To absorb my existence into hers and become the sole ruler of this twisted Three Kingdoms world.
I gripped my sword tighter, feeling the power within me surge in response.
“You want a war?” I snarled, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. “Then let’s give you one you’ll never forget.”
As the shadows closed in around us, I prepared for the final clash.
The fate of this world—and my own soul—hung in the balance.