Chapter 1244: Precise Hit
Xue Lang was stunned, and the next second he felt a wind behind his head. As he tilted his head to avoid the metal bead, he instinctively turned back, but his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the black liquid ahead condensing into a complete human form—a person who looked both like the current Xu Huo and yet more youthful than him.
Xue Lang had studied under Dr. Zhang. Although he hadn't successfully undergone Mental Evolution, he knew quite a bit about this field. He stared at that face in disbelief. "You actually split off a second personality in the Spiritual Realm... No! Not a second personality, you're trying to confuse me!"
At that moment, the real Xu Huo appeared behind him, a Materialized Object sword formed from Spiritual Power sweeping toward his neck!
With Xue Lang's speed, dodging this sword would have been easy, not to mention the protection of his items. But after his items proved ineffective against Xu Huo, the younger version of Xu Huo in front of him had its legs liquefy back into liquid and wrap around his feet.
That single moment of obstruction, combined with the Materialized Object sword extending mid-swing, allowed the blade tip to graze the side of his neck, drawing a few drops of blood.
This was hardly a wound. Xue Lang quickly broke free of the Spiritual Power, simultaneously noticing that Xu Huo had also immediately distanced himself.
With each person holding one side of the passage, Xue Lang initially wanted to verify whether Xu Huo had truly split off a second personality in the Spiritual Realm. Then he saw him take out a piece of paper and write something on it with a pen.
It was a pitch-black pen, sharing the same darkness as the Materialized Objects Xu Huo had used before. Xue Lang seemed to realize something and swept a Space Ray across!
But Xu Huo had already finished writing while retreating; what he had just seen was merely a delayed illusion.
A piece of paper with Xue Lang's name written on it.
This paper was obtained by Xu Huo from a Holy Sword Society player who had attacked District 011.
Initially, when District 014 was attacked, the Holy Sword Society used this paper to kill many elite players from the Special Defense Department. Later, when District 009 fully merged with the game, someone used this paper to kill many members of the local government and Player Organizations. The third time was in District 011, when someone used the same method to kill many Black Epaulets while rescuing a trapped Holy Sword Society player.
He had made various speculations about the function and effects of this paper, but only fully understood its purpose when he finally obtained it.
First, it was a Single-Use Item. Using blood and a name could locate anyone within a space; erasing the name would cause that person to die.
Second, any player could only use this item once. That meant the paper Xu Huo currently held was the first and last time he would ever use it in his life.
Finally, its effect only lasted thirty minutes.
Although it was a Single-Use Item, it was an A-grade item with powerful lethality. While writing just one name was somewhat wasteful, using it against Xue Lang was not a loss.
Seeing him pick up the pen to cross out the name on the paper, Xue Lang suddenly realized something. He spoke quickly, "Dr. Zhang's whereabouts..."
Before he could finish, Xu Huo had already unhesitatingly crossed out the name. Xue Lang's expression twisted instantly, filled with immense hatred and towering fury. He clutched his chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then collapsed into a white spatial vortex that appeared before him!
This item could kill players within the same space. Whether he ran to another place or escaped the Instance Dungeon, as long as he didn't leave District 001, judging by his sudden injury, the "Precise Hit" could still take effect.
However, based on the item's description, it most likely used Space Power to kill. To locate someone in space, Space Power could do it precisely.
Since its principle was Space Power, it meant it wasn't completely unavoidable. Xu Huo would need a higher-level or better item, or else escape this space entirely.
And Xue Lang had undergone Super Evolution and frequently used Space Power in combat. He should have quite a few items in this area. It was possible that an item had taken effect; otherwise, he would have died on the spot like others whose names were written, instead of having the strength left to use an item to escape.
"I wonder if he knows about 'Precise Hit'..." If he had escaped District 001, then his life was probably saved.
That said, was there a way to forcibly leave an Instance Dungeon in the game?
That wasn't necessarily certain.
But regardless, the immediate crisis was resolved.
Xu Huo took out all the A-grade items he had tucked into his chest—no matter how strong Xue Lang's Space Power was, it couldn't casually destroy an A-grade Space Item. After predicting his attack position, he had tried blocking while avoiding vital points, and it had actually worked. If not for these items, he would likely have been stabbed to death inside the maze wall first.
As for Xue Lang's second attack, he had indeed dodged it, since he didn't have that many A-grade items to use. And whether the disguise succeeded or not, Xue Lang wouldn't believe it and would eventually check personally. As long as the distance closed again, "Truth Transcends All" could maximize its effect.
He didn't need to kill Xue Lang outright; he just needed a drop of his blood.
Whether it was the former Holy Sword Society or the two Holy Sword Societies split apart now, their resources were abundant. At least they had plenty of useful items.
After bandaging his wounds on the spot and drinking two bottles of Self-Healing Agent, Xu Huo went to find Mu Yan and the other two.
During his fight with Xue Lang, he had repeatedly retracted his Spiritual Power and couldn't attend to the other three. By then, Chen Chou had already run off, while Mu Yan and Li Cheng had moved away from the battle zone.
Xu Huo didn't chase Chen Chou. This guy was poor in combat but fast at running; he was already out of range of his Spiritual Power. So he went after Mu Yan and the other.
They were somewhat surprised that he had returned so quickly. Seeing him covered in blood, they asked with concern how badly he was injured.
Xu Huo had multiple minor wounds. The most serious was the piercing through his left shoulder, which wouldn't heal quickly and limited his left arm's movement, but it wasn't a major issue.
"Chen Chou ran off with the cards," Mu Yan said regretfully. "I should have taken his Flower Cards during the card-drawing game."
"We'll run into him again sooner or later." Xu Huo looked at Li Cheng. "Did the clue card indicate a direction?"
Li Cheng nodded. "The maze's endpoint is in the northwest. We've figured out the orientation. Heading in that direction should allow us to clear the Instance Dungeon smoothly."
"Then let's set out," Xu Huo said.
The three resumed their journey. Once they were on the correct path, dead ends were especially numerous, often requiring long detours. After two or three hours, they hadn't advanced much in the right direction. This was presumably one of the maze's difficulties.
Just the detours alone could disorient someone.
During this time, their directional marking items also malfunctioned.
"Eighty percent of people probably can't clear this Instance Dungeon," Mu Yan said, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead. "Let's find a place to rest for a while."
No sooner had she spoken than two large skateboards drifted around the corner ahead. A man and a woman were lying on the boards, racing each other. When they looked up, well, they were two familiar faces.