Chapter 1092: Probing Back and Forth
"Evade!" The moment the barrier broke, the vest player used a prop to quickly retreat, but he was a step too slow. Xu Huo had anticipated his escape direction in advance and directly blocked his path, colliding with him bodily!
With the prop's enhancement, the vest player crashed into Xu Huo at high speed. Both staggered back several steps, but it was clear that Xu Huo was struggling more.
The vest player glanced at Xu Huo warily, then feigned an escape in another direction. However, as Xu Huo gave chase, he swiftly turned around and hurled several three-edged spikes!
"Blade of Gaze!"
The moment the three-edged spikes flew out, Xu Huo found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from the prop in the air. It wasn't that he couldn't dodge, but his gaze was forcibly locked onto the prop, unable to shift to the player opposite him.
However, this prop didn't last long. After evading the attack, he teleported behind the vest player and activated his trait, "Written Intensity." "Written Intensity" was an upgrade from "Written Force," which could forcibly turn a person's head within a hundred-meter range and make them stare at him for up to five seconds.
The vest player's neck twisted sharply, but he reacted quickly enough, turning his entire body around. Using a prop, he created distance from Xu Huo and concealed himself in the nearby woods—only to find that when he pushed through the bushes and looked back, Xu Huo was still there!
He immediately stopped in his tracks, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. He even confirmed the direction he had retreated from: "How did you... you should be over there..."
Before he could finish, someone tapped him on the shoulder. The vest player's expression shifted dramatically as he ducked to dodge while activating a flame-throwing prop!
The scorching fire ignited the surrounding grass and trees, but when he retreated from the ring of flames, he realized that no one was standing where he had been. Instead, as he steadied himself, someone tapped his shoulder from behind again!
Xu Huo was still within his field of vision—there was no way he could have split into a doppelganger to cause this... He abruptly drew his long blade and swung it backward, but the sweeping edge met nothing but air!
"Is this your prop?" He pointed his blade at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo said nothing. With a push off the ground, he brandished "Eye of the Dead" and charged forward to engage him in combat. The two clashed with props and close-quarters fighting, neither gaining the upper hand.
When they separated again, Xu Huo glanced at the time, decided it was enough, and put away "Eye of the Dead."
The vest player looked suspicious but had no choice but to seize the opportunity. He lunged forward, but when he was still a few meters away from Xu Huo, his legs suddenly gave way, and he dropped to his knees without warning!
The fall stunned the vest player. He looked up to find Xu Huo merely glancing at him indifferently before turning to leave. He tried to reach for a prop, but his hand fell limp before it could even rise. The next second, he and the prop crashed to the ground together, his splayed fingers already turning pitch black.
Two down, two to go. Xu Huo casually picked another and killed him in the same manner, leaving one to go ahead and inform Jiang Wenzhang and the others. Only then did he turn back to find Zhou Yuanzhu.
Seeing him, Zhou Yuanzhu couldn't help but smile. "I'm injured and crippled now. I'm afraid I'll hold you back."
Xu Huo chuckled. "I won't leave you here alone. If we can't make it back, then everyone who came here today won't make it back either."
Zhou Yuanzhu felt relieved but couldn't help sizing him up. "Are you really not injured?"
"What do you think?" Xu Huo shot her a glance.
Zhou Yuanzhu nodded. "I get it. You're trying to buy time. But didn't you say earlier that it's better to strike first? Why the change of heart?"
"I haven't changed my mind," Xu Huo said. "I just adjusted my strategy a bit."
Whether or not the strange disappearances were connected to the players of Xiaohe City, for now, the Xiaohe City players really seemed unwilling to confront them openly. There had to be a reason for that. Didn't they want the readily available props and resources? Why resort to such a roundabout method?
"Since we're already out here, we might as well finish them all off," Zhou Yuanzhu said. "Several people died for no reason. The others will definitely get suspicious."
Xu Huo took out the insect cage from before, released half of the land jellyfish, and said to her, "If Jiang Wenzhang and the others ask, don't admit anything. Just say you didn't run into Yuan Kai and the others."
Zhou Yuanzhu looked at him skeptically. "Even if I say that, they'll have to believe it."
The commotion earlier was hardly subtle—fire, blades, the works. Unless they were blind, how could Jiang Wenzhang and Zheng Da let it slide so easily?
"Don't worry about the rest. Just do as I say." Xu Huo helped her up. "Can you still stand?"
"Barely." Zhou Yuanzhu took out a small flying vehicle to get around.
The two turned back toward the truck, but they hadn't gone far before Jiang Wenzhang and the others caught up.
Four people were dead. Including the one Xu Huo had deliberately let go, there were still seven Xiaohe City players left. Their expressions were grim, but they didn't openly turn hostile. Zheng Da simply asked if they had seen the others.
"Weren't we hunting rabbits?" Zhou Yuanzhu glanced at the player whose face she had scratched and said, "I accidentally hurt my foot and had to turn back. I didn't see the other 'big brothers' from Xiaohe City."
The injured player's face twitched involuntarily, but not because of her taunt—it was because of Xu Huo standing beside her. This pale-faced pretty boy didn't look all that badly hurt.
Xu Huo looked up. "Is there something?"
The injured player curled his lip. "I didn't expect you to be such a good actor..."
"Pu Gaoshan!" Jiang Wenzhang shot him a stern look, then smoothed things over. "How could an injury be faked? Mr. Xu wouldn't want to miss out on the hunt with us."
He then smiled at Xu Huo. "Since Miss Zhou's leg is hurt, why don't you take her back to the car to rest? We'll be a while longer—after all, we need to bring something back this time."
Xu Huo readily agreed, turned around, and left with Zhou Yuanzhu.
Pu Gaoshan was furious at Jiang Wenzhang's deliberate obstruction and stormed off into the depths of the woods, fuming.
Jiang Wenzhang exchanged a glance with Zheng Da, and the others followed along.
When they returned to the burned area and saw their companions' bodies, Pu Gaoshan could no longer contain his rage. "So what if it's just the two of them? Why not just kill them? They've already killed four of us!"
"Are you sure Yuan Kai and the others were all killed by them?" Jiang Wenzhang shot him a look. "Look closely. Three of them died from poison."
"Poison? You actually believe that?" Pu Gaoshan sneered.
"Believe it or not, that's the fact." Jiang Wenzhang said. "I've already examined the bodies of Yuan Kai and the others. Three were poisoned, and only one died from his own prop. Use that simple brain of yours to think—how could those two have killed Yuan Kai and the other three in such a short time, even with poison?"
"That Zhou woman is average at best." Pu Gaoshan touched the wound on his face. "You're saying it was that pretty boy who did it, using dirty tricks. So what? With all of us here, are you saying we can't take him?"