Chapter 1534: Very Proper Values
If Bai Tiaoyi hadn't been fully committed in the previous battle, then when the "Magician" card appeared, he finally became serious. Although it was just a robot, the aura it exuded was unusual. Instinct made him immediately decide to retreat while simultaneously contracting the Black Card Barrier to surround himself.
The "Magician" was a B-grade item, but it was personally crafted by the Magician. Its base stats were set at 50% of the Magician's strength. With one minute of high-efficiency combat, even an A-grade player could put up a fight, which was why Bai Tiaoyi temporarily pulled back.
Xu Huo had been waiting for this opportunity!
"All Things Want to Cut Everything," which he had never used before, suddenly appeared around Bai Tiaoyi, its purpose simply to cut through his defensive barrier. Since "All Things Want to Cut Everything" was also a spacetime item with uncertain effects, Xu Huo supplemented it with Space Blades and brought out "City Sandbox." At the same time, he expanded his Spiritual Realm and controlled it within a fifty-meter range.
Opportunities often require luck and long waiting, but seizing an opportunity is a long yet brief and thrilling process:
The reduced effect of "All Things Want to Cut Everything" still managed to break through the Black Card Barrier. After penetrating three more layers, the item got stuck and could advance no further. The Space Blades, which could be generated at any time, then slipped through the gaps opened by the tangent cuts, using their weak force to diminish the obstruction between the two sides. Finally, the black blade formed by compressed Spiritual Power pierced through this gap, easily cutting through Bai Tiaoyi's mobile defensive item and stabbing toward his lower left back at a tricky angle!
This series of attacks happened almost simultaneously, but it wasn't the end. Xu Huo had prepared two Materialized Object attacks. If the first failed, he would use "City Sandbox" to forcibly move Bai Tiaoyi to his attack location while his defensive barrier was unstable...
The result came quickly. Bai Tiaoyi turned around and grabbed the Materialized Blade formed by Spiritual Power.
Both sides were a bit surprised when they held the Materialized Object. Bai Tiaoyi was surprised that the thing in his hand had turned into liquid, while Xu Huo was surprised that such an opportunity had presented itself—he immediately manipulated the Materialized Power to slice around Bai Tiaoyi's wrist!
"Weng!" As Bai Tiaoyi pressed a button on his chest, the disrupted Spiritual Power rapidly weakened, eventually returning to liquid form, leaving only a shallow bloody ring around his wrist.
"So you're also a Mental Super Evolver." When Bai Tiaoyi turned back, he had already escaped the range of Xu Huo's Spiritual Power. He abruptly pulled the distance to over a kilometer, then instantly retracted it in the next moment, using this back-and-forth motion to guard against Spiritual Power interference—neither giving Xu Huo time to operate nor providing conditions for Spiritual Power to take effect!
In terms of speed, Xu Huo was absolutely no match for him. With Spiritual Interference ineffective, "City Sandbox" became useless. After putting away the item, he once again used Space Power to evade attacks.
But this time, Bai Tiaoyi's attacks became fierce. Even with the "Magician," Xu Huo struggled to cope. After two close calls with injury, he was knocked down again.
His body blasted through three buildings like a cannonball before slowing down. As he crashed into the fourth building, he sensed someone behind him and forcibly changed direction to avoid them, barely managing to brace himself against the wall on the other side.
The residual force cracked the wall in several places, and several nearby glass windows shattered simultaneously. Amid the crashing sounds, Bai Tiaoyi also entered this floor.
They had entered on the eighteenth floor of an office building. The cubicles had been pushed to the corners, and the cleared central space was set up with three barbecue grills and several baskets of ingredients. Accompanied by the sizzling sound of oil, six players were busy around the grills, skillfully cooking food.
A short woman with an apple bun hairstyle was sitting nearby with a plate, her mouth stuffed full when Xu Huo and Bai Tiaoyi entered one after the other.
The aroma of food stimulated everyone's sense of smell. The players handling the barbecue didn't stop. Xu Huo and Bai Tiaoyi stood on opposite sides against the wall, unmoving. Only the short woman sitting in the middle eating barbecue chewed vigorously. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she adjusted her glasses and turned to look at Bai Tiaoyi.
"Has the Eerie Sound Knights lost not only its humanity but also its face?" Her cute mouth spat out harsh words. "At your age, bullying a kid?"
Bai Tiaoyi wasn't much better off. Maintaining a smile, he bowed slightly toward her. "Better than some old woman pretending to be young. Can that fake skin hold all the wrinkles on your face?"
Both of them smiled with the utmost goodwill, but their eyes were as sharp as knives. After a brief calm, they acted simultaneously. However, Bai Tiaoyi's item was blocked, and he himself was trapped in a circle formed by the short woman's thumb and index finger, disappearing from the space entirely!
Where he had been sent was unknown, but he was definitely no longer nearby.
Space Maze, an A-grade Space item. Perhaps this woman was also a Super Evolver.
"Young people these days really don't know how to talk." The short woman set down her plate, and the slight clatter made the six players in front tremble simultaneously. But she didn't care, turning to wave at Xu Huo. "Little friend, come sit."
A woman who looked at most in her early twenties, with an apple bun hairstyle, wearing glasses and a quiet, youthful dress, calling him "little friend" felt awkward no matter how you looked at it.
Xu Huo walked over and sat down, quickly receiving a plate of grilled food. "Grandma is treating you."
"Thank you, Grandma." Xu Huo went along with it. "After running around in the game for so many days, most of the time I've been eating dry rations."
The short woman smiled warmly at him. "Young people need to eat well."
"I see you're quite impressive," she said. "At such a young age, you can use Space Power and Spiritual Power to this extent. Even Bai Tiaoyi suffered a loss at your hands. It's funny to think about."
Xu Huo smiled along. "I almost lost my life."
"No, no," the short woman waved her hand. "I noticed you long ago. Even if you hadn't come over, I would have gone to save you in a bit."
Xu Huo looked puzzled. "There shouldn't be any connection between us, right?"
"I find you agreeable, and I find Bai Tiaoyi disagreeable. How could I let you die at his hands?" The short woman tapped the table, and the three players in front immediately turned around, each offering a plate of grilled food before retreating.
"It's rare to encounter a genius like you in the game. Grandma here has very proper values. Those who understand can be guided, those who don't can be taught, and those who can't be taught are simply killed off."
"As an elder, naturally, one must shoulder the responsibility of guiding the younger generation."
(Chapter End)