Chapter 1115: Head-On Clash
The spatial portals within the spiritual realm are not simply doors that open to bridge a distance; they are genuine spatial partitions in the truest sense. Therefore, when one opens a door and steps through, the place they emerge from is definitely not the space behind the door they saw before, but an entirely different location.
The extent and difficulty of the spatial partition a "door" can create depends on the mental strength of the person who created the spiritual world. Xu Huo could currently only use "doors" to widen or shorten spatial gaps—for instance, shuttling between upper and lower floors, or inside and outside walls. The space created by his spiritual world had not reached Bai Kou's level or the true power of real space. Therefore, the actual effect of his operations also depended on whether the opponent was easily susceptible to interference—and Mr. Kang was clearly not someone easily disturbed by mental attacks.
Moreover, he possessed a certain ability to break through such interference, which was why he could reach through several doors... Xu Huo drew the "Eye of the Dead" and slashed at him, but a white glove suddenly appeared on Mr. Kang's hand. He directly gripped the blade, and while exerting force, lunged forward abruptly, shattering all the open doors in one go. He appeared right in front of Xu Huo, swinging his other hand toward Xu Huo's head!
The A-rank item "Backstab" came into play. Something colorless and formless, like a mass of air, struck from behind, forcing Mr. Kang to withdraw his hand mid-swing and block behind his back.
A heavy impact sound was heard, but he was not injured. Not only that, but he also used an item to immobilize Xu Huo.
Both Xu Huo himself and the protective barrier spread by "Inviolable Domain" were being squeezed by an invisible force. Xu Huo could feel the barrier subtly shifting under the pressure, guessing this was the same technique used to kill Miss Ma earlier. However, under the effect of the A-rank defense item, it did not succeed.
During this time, Xu Huo had already retrieved the "Eye of the Dead" and switched to using "All Things Want to Cut Everything" to wrap around Mr. Kang's hand. Yet this razor-sharp tangent merely cut through his glove before sliding off as if coated in lubricant!
It seemed Mr. Kang knew this tangent was no ordinary thing, so this time he did not directly touch the item. Instead, he kicked at Xu Huo's chest and abdomen while releasing a "Wall of Repentance."
Xu Huo's back was pressed against a wall, so the force from the kick in front was fully transmitted to the defense barrier. For a moment, the entire barrier space buzzed and hummed!
But "Inviolable Domain" did not break.
Mr. Kang, standing so close, changed his expression. He raised his hand, fingers spread, and thrust them toward the defense barrier. However, before he could touch it, a door appeared beneath Xu Huo's feet!
Xu Huo, along with the item, dropped through it. In the blink of an eye, the portal on the ground vanished.
Watching the hall shrink continuously, Mr. Kang let out a cold laugh. He tensed his right hand and directly stabbed it into the walls that were closing in from above and below. The walls did not change their state; as they continued to close, they swallowed him whole as well.
The ever-shrinking hall space finally sealed shut completely.
Night had not yet fallen in the high-risk instance, but the entire commercial building had already plunged into boundless darkness.
Xu Huo's spiritual world was not enough to cover the entire commercial building, but covering the key areas was no problem. Some players who had left the hall were sent to the restaurant and dormitories upstairs, while others were delivered to the place where Mr. Kang lived in the back.
Uncle Guan and the others were moved to the underground parking lot.
Taking advantage of the time Mr. Kang was searching for him, Xu Huo diverted his attention to meet with Uncle Guan and the others. He also handed over the Xiaohe City communicator to him, telling them to contact Zhou Yuanzhu.
"Lin Qiao and I will give you a hand," Uncle Guan said quickly. "You can't handle Mr. Kang alone."
Xu Huo naturally would not refuse. He said rapidly, "You have two minutes to contact Zhou Yuanzhu. After she explains the situation in Xiaohe City to you, I'll send you out. Besides Mr. Kang, there are two B-rank players in Xiaohe City."
"I don't know how long the mental interference can hold. You need to be careful. That Mr. Kang is either a Spatial Super Evolver or has a high-level space item on him. He's extremely formidable."
In that instant before coming down, Xu Huo even felt that the other party could directly break through the barrier of "Inviolable Domain."
Uncle Guan had Lin Qiao contact Zhou Yuanzhu and seized the moment to say, "Mr. Kang might also be a poison expert. Last night, a corpse was thrown out of the building. Lin Qiao went to check and brought back a sample. Your antidote didn't work."
Xu Huo frowned slightly and nodded. "I understand."
He returned to the first floor.
The trouble was not just the three B-rank players; the other thirty players were also tough nuts to crack. The best way to wear them down was to make them kill each other within the spiritual world. But he couldn't control that many people at once, so he had to break through in batches.
On the first night, he only influenced Qian Zi and a few others. But half of those were already dead. Making them turn on each other in such a short time was unlikely. So he locked seven players who clearly had conflicts into Mr. Kang's room.
Directly interfering with a person's mind was difficult, but deceiving their eyes was simple. Casually picking a book from Mr. Kang's bookshelf, Xu Huo forged its content into a comparison of survival records and aging rates. He clearly marked the time difference between inside and outside Xiaohe City and labeled the missing players as "excessively aged" and "unsuitable for survival within the location item."
A few simple charts could ignite the greatest imagination. They might not be very interested in the missing players, but they would definitely care about their own lifespans. After all, hiding in this godforsaken place was for the sake of living comfortably. Who would be willing to have their remaining time halved again and again?
If that were the case, why would they risk staying?
"I knew it! I've been aging so fast since I came here!" Qian Zi slammed the notebook onto the table. "So we're all just lab rats!"
"That's not right," said the short-haired female player, Gong Jiaji's partner. "If that were the case, the pregnancy period for women would also shorten. But we all gave birth around full term!"
"Are you stupid?" Qian Zi retorted. "Since it's an item, it can be activated or deactivated. To avoid showing any flaws, he can't keep it on all the time. If he only turns it on for a few days each month, would you even notice?"
"Besides, we had our kids years ago."
Her face was dark and gloomy. The woman in a vest standing beside her touched the scar on her abdomen and said softly, "Do you think what Ma Chunchun said is true? Did Mr. Kang target the children to fill his stomach, or to keep us from discovering the secret of time in Xiaohe City?"
The others fell silent. After a moment, the short-haired female player said, "No matter how much we guess, it won't solve anything. Why don't we just go ask Mr. Kang directly?"
"Ask Mr. Kang?" The woman in the vest stared at her. "Gong Jiaji is Mr. Kang's right-hand man. Are you telling me you know nothing at all?"
(Chapter End)