Chapter 1347: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada
The other party arrived quickly. Within the span of a few words, Fan Zhigang and the others also sensed someone approaching. The three of them, along with Xu Huo, overtook the vehicle and set up an ambush ahead.
A total of seven people came. Judging by their attire, they should be instance players from an outer zone. As the vehicle climbed a slope and turned a corner, these people threw out several metal balls. These black balls were magnetic; after bouncing on the ground a few times, they rapidly attached themselves to the vehicle body. Qiu Ming and Dai Song, who remained on the car, struck the black balls open and used items to defend against the short arrows that flew toward the tires next. With both sides sharing the intention of keeping the vehicle drivable, this brief skirmish caused no further losses, though the car was forced to stop.
Seven players came from behind, but they didn't swarm in all at once. Accompanied by a strange, three-hundred-sixty-degree laughter that circled around them, a black shadow so fast it was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye swiftly weaved through the forest. One only felt it flash past their vision, and in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of them!
"Boom!" A heavy hammer strike landed on Dai Song's defense barrier, sending him flying backward. The elusive black shadow then spun around and kicked Qiu Ming in the chest. However, this blow didn't knock Qiu Ming off the vehicle. Instead, Qiu Ming had an item pre-placed on his clothes that attached itself to the attacker.
"Got you now!" Qiu Ming steadied himself on the car and swung his leg toward the opponent's head.
The player, who had tried to seize the advantage with speed, had an invisible shoe attached to his foot. One of his legs suddenly became heavy and stuck to the car roof, momentarily unable to move. At that moment, Qiu Ming's strike hit his defense barrier, making him stagger. Because his right foot seemed glued to the roof, his body tilted, and then Dai Song, who had returned, struck him in the back.
Just as the defense item was broken, the player managed to shake off the foot item's control. He whisked away from the car like the wind, dropping an unknown waxy substance. Immediately afterward, the entire vehicle was rapidly encased in spreading wax.
With no other choice, Cao Qinglin had to first bring Dr. Duo Er out. As for the household robot, even in a sealed environment, it was unaffected and unafraid of fire or water, so no one bothered with it for now.
But the car was definitely undrivable.
Dai Song and Qiu Ming guarded the two without pursuing, but unexpectedly, Cao Qinglin suddenly felt her hand empty. The spot where Dr. Duo Er had been standing was now occupied by a man she had never seen before!
The three of them were very close to Dr. Duo Er. With a player suddenly appearing beside them, they were shocked and hastily retreated. But the swapped-in player unhesitatingly went after Cao Qinglin. He slapped forward with one hand, producing a rubber ball the size of a person, which struck Cao Qinglin square in the back!
Although she had a defense item on her, the moment the rubber ball hit Cao Qinglin, she was sent flying forward. The ball, after hitting her, quickly bounced back and crashed into Qiu Ming, who was coming to help!
Qiu Ming was knocked backward. After shoving the rubber ball away, he intercepted the swapped player just as he was about to strike again. Meanwhile, Dai Song, who had been beside him, had already gone after the high-speed player.
The piercing laughter echoed through the dense forest. Due to the opponent's extreme speed, relying on sound alone made it impossible to track their movements, and the eyes clearly couldn't keep up. After being toyed with several times, Dai Song couldn't help but shout, "Skulking around, and you think you're so tough!"
Though the provocation was obvious, the opponent fell for it. The next second, he suddenly appeared right in front of Dai Song. Dai Song was prepared. The moment the opponent closed in, a white ring popped out from his waist. As it shot outward, it sliced through the high-speed player and the surrounding trees, cutting them all in half!
A large swath of trees fell, but the black shadow in front of Dai Song vanished directly after being split in two. Then, all trace of the opponent disappeared from the forest.
Dai Song's face darkened as he scattered a handful of thumb-sized mechanical flying insects into the air. He then quickly followed the direction where most of the insects were flying!
Dai Song was lured away. On Qiu Ming and Cao Qinglin's side, another player had arrived. Two against two was barely a stalemate, but it also kept them occupied.
Three of the seven had appeared. The swapped Dr. Duo Er was clearly in the hands of the remaining four. Fan Zhigang and his two companions had already gone after the others.
At that moment, the wax-sealed car suddenly trembled slightly. Two figures gradually materialized in the back seat. Dr. Duo Er was pinned down by a man with a head full of tattoos. "My big brother has sharp eyes. He could tell you were a fake at a glance."
Dr. Duo Er couldn't resist and was warned, "Move again, and I'll break your arms and legs. Sending you to that lab just needs a living person, anyway."
Dr. Duo Er showed fear and disgust but dared not move anymore.
The bald man then looked at the household robot in the front. "Not bad. This robot is made to look very realistic. It's mine now..."
Before he could finish, his expression suddenly changed. He immediately pulled out an item to attack the side. But at that very moment, his throat was slit by an invisible blade. His head drooped, and he collapsed onto the front seat.
Watching the blood drip down, Dr. Duo Er found it hard to adapt. He didn't know who had made the move, but he felt as if an invisible person was sitting beside him. Just as he was about to speak, a piece of white paper appeared out of thin air and covered his head.
Dr. Duo Er vanished. Xu Huo had placed him into the painting. He then said to the household robot in front, "Get to work. Clean the wax off the car."
"Alright, sir." The household robot's hands finally left the steering wheel.
She stepped out of the car, and Xu Huo also left, taking the bald player's corpse with him.
There were still three people outside now.
Fan Zhigang and his two companions had already blocked the opponent. The two sides were locked in a fierce battle, with frequent commotion in the forest. Unable to end the fight quickly, they gradually attracted many mutant species. The mutant plants were relatively slow, but some fast-moving mutant animals were already closing in!
"Roar!"
"Growl!"
Large beasts let out roars, not just to intimidate but also to summon companions. This place was already unsafe. In an instant, it seemed as if the entire area was filled with xenomorphs, including the sky and the ground!
"Boss, let's retreat!" The players pursuing them, sensing trouble, wanted to back out. "There are too many xenomorphs. We can't kill them all!"
As they spoke, two giant bears lunged at them. Although their defense barriers held, the force couldn't be neutralized. In an instant, several players were knocked back repeatedly.
It was the same for Fan Zhigang's side. The difference was that they couldn't just leave. "Hand over the person!"
Both sides dealt with the xenomorphs while continuing to fight. Before long, each had sustained injuries. Seeing the surrounding xenomorphs increasing, Fan Zhigang and the others grew anxious. If they lost Dr. Duo Er, this trip would be for nothing. And among these people, there was still one who hadn't shown themselves, hiding somewhere unknown!
(Chapter End)