# Chapter 145: Ten-Second Operation
The three members of the Holy Sword Society wasted no words. The leader reached out and wiped his hand through the air, and the surging poison gas around them was erased like chalk from a blackboard, revealing a clean, straight path leading to the Painting Woman.
At the same time, Dou Shengnan stood within the poison gas. Her crimson eyes flickered with light as she swung her pocket watch and commanded the Painting Woman: "Cut your own throat."
The Painting Woman turned back to look at her with confusion.
Dou Shengnan froze for a moment, then turned her gaze to the three Holy Sword Society members. The latter were caught by her stare and instantly retreated back to the edge of the rooftop. At that moment, the balloon boy stretched his legs straight and stomped down toward her head, forcing Dou Shengnan to dodge!
The exchange between them lasted only an instant. As they retreated to the edge of the dome, the hotel building began to collapse. Dust and smoke shot up into the sky, shrouding the entire building and cutting off the players' line of sight.
Just as the players—including the drones—were searching for the Painting Woman in the rubble, the sheets of paper fluttering around the building suddenly froze, then fell like they had lost their power. A moment later, a figure shot out from the smoke and dust, crashing like a cannonball into a nearby building. It pierced through several structures before being buried in the ruins!
"The one that flew out was the female player from Zone 014!"
She was buried under the rubble and couldn't get out again. The drifting papers also fell to the ground one after another. This could only mean one thing—the Super Item had changed hands!
Who killed her?!
The three Holy Sword Society members wiped the dust from the air, only catching a glimpse of a hooded figure wearing a black mask flashing by before they were forced away from the Pearl Hotel by a barrage of paper pillars and intermittent cannon fire.
At the same time, papers from all over the city gathered toward the hotel like white doves. They twisted together in the air, forming a nearly solid giant pillar that rose rapidly, soon exceeding the range of the dust cloud. Standing atop it was a figure wearing a hoodie, pants, and a mask!
The vortex formed by that black mask made it impossible to capture his features. Judging by his build, he seemed to be a man. The only exposed part—his eyes—appeared to be covered by a layer of white film. The whole person looked like an emotionless object.
"I command you! Commit suicide!" Dou Shengnan appeared directly in front of him, her eyes blazing with red light.
But the person on the paper pillar ignored her command. Not only her, but even the Holy Sword Society members were treated as if they didn't exist. He only turned his head to "look" toward the southwest, then vanished from the paper pillar.
From his appearance to his disappearance, the entire process took no more than ten seconds!
This sudden emergence of an unknown player left everyone baffled. He was so powerful that Dou Shengnan's hypnosis was ineffective, and he didn't even regard the Holy Sword Society's Golden Disciples as worth his attention. He strolled in as casually as if he were taking a detour to enjoy the breeze, conveniently taking the Super Item everyone was fighting over. Before leaving, he only gave a slight bit of attention to the Eerie Sound Knights' group battle over there. But who dared to say that bit of attention was aimed at the Eerie Sound Knights? Lawrence Li was an S-level player!
"Could he be an S-level player?" Everyone couldn't help but speculate.
But he was already gone. Even several A-level players couldn't keep him here. What could the other players do?
The situation shifted in an instant. This battle among high-level players competing for the Super Item ended before it even began, abruptly putting a stop to the war over the Super Item that had shaken the entire E27 wormhole point.
The three Holy Sword Society members left first. Then Dou Shengnan and the balloon boy headed toward the southwest direction of Hai City. The outer zone players trapped in the life-or-death situation saw the outcome and began to leave one after another. Some who stayed behind were watching the Eerie Sound Knights' group battle.
Similarly, over at Hai City's main command center, they found it hard to believe that things had ended so abruptly.
Beyond disbelief, there was also anger and frustration. So many people had died, and in the end, the Painting Woman was still killed by an outer zone player, and the Super Item had fallen into an outsider's hands!
"The most important thing right now isn't counting losses," said the old man from Jing City. "Saving people is the priority!"
So the command center quickly ordered a ceasefire, ordered a search for the Painting Woman's body, and formulated a rescue plan.
The Super Item was gone, and most of the players were dead. There was nothing left in Zone 014 worth lingering over for the outer zone players. The only thing left to wait for was the end of the Eerie Sound Knights' battle.
The command center didn't have the energy to deal with them either. They simply evacuated the people of Hai City, clearing the space for them to fight. Once they finished fighting and decided the victor, they would leave on their own.
"We must find the Painting Woman's body," the old man from Jing City emphasized repeatedly. "We can't let a hero die like this!"
The black-and-white roulette hadn't disappeared yet. Aside from trying their best to protect the ordinary citizens trapped inside and waiting for things to end, the only thing the rescue personnel could do was search for the Painting Woman's body.
But by this time, the Painting Woman had already slipped away. She changed her face and clothes, hid in a hotel, and hugged the Light Gentleman medal contentedly while snacking and sending a text message to Xu Huo: "I'll wait for you to come back."
Of course, Xu Huo couldn't receive her message. He had already arrived at the station. The moment he reached the station, he put away the Distortion Mask, took off the film stuck to his eyes and the earphones blasting deafening music, and threw them together with the hoodie into the "Stingy Suitcase" in his item slot.
Only then did he check the time. Just right.
There were four other players in the station. When they saw him, they subtly moved closer.
He didn't focus his main attention on these people.
Things had gone more smoothly than he had imagined. The high-level players restraining each other had given him the perfect opportunity. To guard against the Eerie Sound Knights' hypnosis player, he had simply disguised himself as a blind and deaf person. In fact, during those ten seconds, he couldn't see or hear anything around him at all.
The paper pillar appeared to be moving under his control, but it was actually the Painting Woman, who was pretending to be dead, assisting from a distance. All he had to do was stand there and, at the end, give an ambiguous glance toward the southwest—where the fighting was fiercest—to divert the players' attention.
Successfully entering the station meant his plan was more than half complete. His only concern now was someone chasing after him.
Just from the brief exchange when the Painting Woman was trapped at the Pearl Hotel, he could tell that some high-level players truly possessed certain space-related traits or items. He couldn't relax until he got on the train, not knowing if they had accurate tracking or positioning items.
"Young brother, do you have a ticket?" Among the few who had surrounded him, a kind-faced but gaunt old man swallowed his saliva and said, "Can you sell us two? We can trade with items."
Only then did Xu Huo look up and sweep his gaze over these few people. "Are two tickets enough to split?"
Their eyes lit up. "If you have more, that's even better!"
Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Starved for a few meals and lost your mind? Someone who can get four or five tickets—do you really dare to rob them?"
The few exchanged glances, their expressions turning vicious. "I've been starving here for two or three days. Even if I'm going to die, I want to eat a piece of meat before I go!"