Chapter 1982: Everyone Is Online
On the East District players' side, no one attempted to put out the fire. Whether it was due to another arrangement or absolute trust in the metal box's quality, everyone—whether those locked in a stalemate with the Rebel Army nearby or the spectators gathered around the library—adopted an indifferent attitude, letting the metal box be blown wildly through the air.
And that metal box was indeed extremely sturdy. So many instruments and items failed to completely destroy it, only leaving its outer shell dented and uneven. After a clattering commotion, it was unclear whether the potion inside was still intact.
The box once flew high into the air before falling back down, eventually heading south toward the library. During its rolling journey, it even knocked over several players. When it finally stopped, it was intercepted by a masked player:
"Isn't this a good thing? Why does it seem like no one wants it?"
The person was not tall, with a small build and a voice like a youth. They appeared suddenly, landing atop the metal box. Lifting one leg high, they stomped down heavily, driving a third of the box into the ground. Now standing on the box, they looked around at the East District players keeping their distance from the library building and added, "I say, you Agor Corporation folks are too spineless. For just one potion, you set up so many decoys. If it were me, I'd just take the thing out, put it in plain sight, and tell the Rebel Army that if they want it, they can come and grab it. Then I'd kill them batch by batch until every last one of them is dead!"
The East District players showed no reaction, but this only angered the Rebel Army. Someone from a distance hurled an axe at them, shouting, "Shut the hell up!"
The masked youth caught the axe item with ease and laughed, "No need to be so angry. Besides, it's not that I look down on the Rebel Army."
"What I look down on is the East District and Agor Corporation. Strong generals have no weak soldiers—the reverse is also true. The East District only knows petty tricks and schemes. Not a single city government or player organization has the bearing or means. No wonder they started out as merchants; they love doing these sneaky things."
"Without a doubt," they tapped the box beneath their feet, "either this is empty, or it contains a fake potion. With such little courage, I've wasted my time coming here."
"But since I'm here," the youth's mask tilted upward slightly, "I might as well find some fun before leaving."
As the words fell, a massive spiderweb spread out from beneath their feet. This shadow was not a tangible object; it was like a shadow cast by light, spreading along the ground at incredible speed to cover the library building and the surrounding area for nearly two thousand meters. In the blink of an eye, the entire block was attached to the web!
The first to react were the East District players occupying high ground but not participating in the battle. Due to lighting and perspective, they spotted the shadow web first. Some of them tried to leave, only to find black shadows wrapped around their ankles. These shadows extended from the web on the ground, possessing some elasticity, but they could not leave the ground or exceed a distance of ten meters from their original spot. Thus, those who tried to leave were immediately pulled to the ground!
For a moment, collisions echoed everywhere. Within seconds, over a dozen East District players with grim faces were on the ground.
Of course, many more remained on the rooftops, along with people living in nearby buildings. Since they did not attempt to escape or leap into the air, the shadow ropes did not react.
But this was clearly not the situation the masked youth wanted. They crouched down, grabbed the two nearest circular lines, and pulled them together. Then, the entire web began to shrink, its radius reducing from two thousand meters to one thousand meters. Those caught by the shadow ropes, whether high or low, were forced to move within this range.
Judging by the movement of people, the shadow ropes attached to their ankles could only stretch up to twenty meters. In other words, everyone within this shadow web had a movement range of only twenty meters in all directions horizontally and ten meters vertically.
Because the web had shrunk, most people on it had been dragged. During this brief moment, both the East District players and the Rebel Army had stopped fighting, each trying to remove the things wrapped around their ankles.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be just a shadow. Neither blades, fire, nor explosions could affect it. Even if the ground was blasted open, the web remained intact, completely unharmed.
"Are you really not from the East District?" a player from another zone who had been pulled in asked the masked youth.
"Could I possibly be someone so stupid and lacking in bearing?" they sat down on the box and casually pointed at a distant East District player who was about to cut off their own leg in a desperate move. That person was then pulled rapidly toward the center by the shadow ropes. During this, two other East District players tried to hold them back, using sealing items and control items in turn. Although they managed to stop the pull momentarily, after a brief stalemate, they had to withdraw their items.
Because the shadow ropes were tied to the person's ankles. If they simply grabbed the East District player's limbs or some part of their body, it would inevitably turn into a tug-of-war. And if a spatial barrier was used, the shadow ropes would go around it—yes, they could bypass it from the side. Every line on the shadow web was connected. If the direct path to the center was blocked, they could link to the circular lines.
Fully sealed sealing items certainly existed, but the masked youth guarding the center of the web was not blind. After a few seconds of pulling and collision, and calmly blocking over a dozen attacks from different directions and people, they bent down and gathered several lines in front of them. Twisting their hands together, the shadow lines that had left the ground automatically wrapped around the approaching East District player. After breaking through their defense barrier, they bound the person up like a mummy.
That East District player's mouth and nose were covered, and their hands and feet were tied together. Although they managed to push the shadow ropes apart twice with items, they still couldn't escape. The shadow ropes could not be completely destroyed. Once the items failed, they were bound again. After several rounds, the person seemed to gradually lose strength, finally twitching weakly on the ground.
What the hell was this thing?
Only a few nearby East District players attempted to rescue them, but the Rebel Army was also present. Since the masked youth was targeting East District players, they didn't mind helping. So, with mutual interference, everyone easily witnessed the entire process, gleaning some characteristics of the shadow web.
First, each trapped person, under normal circumstances, only had a movement range of twenty plus ten.
Second, the item holder could make the shadow ropes drag the bound person beyond that range, though whether they could only be pulled toward the web's center remained to be seen. (End of chapter)