Chapter 2124: Genuine High-Level Players
While the enclosed transport vehicle was being inspected, the protective barrier around the residential area also shifted from invisible to visible. Besides adding an extra layer of defense, it made it easier to immediately detect if anyone tried to force their way in. Seeing that the transport vehicle was about to expose the Painting Woman's hiding spot, Xu Huo was preparing to use a device to interfere when, out of nowhere, a burning fireball flew in from a distance. It came from the direction of the city center, piercing through six layers of barriers arranged near and around the luxury residential area, landing precisely on the lake!
That fireball carried something unknown. As soon as it hit the lake, it rapidly exploded, and the liquid it contained quickly spread, causing the fire to expand.
Neither the barriers around the luxury residential area nor those on the city streets were single-use. The moment one layer was breached, another automatically filled the gap. But before the barriers could fully rise again, an interfering force appeared with the approach of several figures. The robots inspecting the transport vehicle, the sealing devices covering it, and even the defensive and monitoring instruments set up outside the neighborhood all emitted faint "clicking" sounds, as if they had jammed.
Of course, they weren't actually jammed—the instruments had simply failed under the interference. The defensive barrier couldn't be re-erected, and the several masked players who had rushed in at high speed had already entered the luxury residential area. Three of them went straight across the burning lake toward the buildings opposite, leaving one behind to deal with the nearby instruments. A brief interference might not necessarily damage all the instruments, so the best course of action was to destroy all nearby instruments, preventing the defensive barrier from reforming in the short term and ensuring they wouldn't be trapped once inside.
Several security guards and the personnel responsible for the transport vehicle were killed in an instant. To avoid a direct confrontation with the arriving high-level players, the remaining player wedged a location item into the defensive barrier's layout line and then ducked inside it.
The security of the luxury residential area—or rather, the bodyguards of the powerful people living there—arrived at the scene the next second. There were six in total, all A-rank players, and this was clearly after some had already been diverted elsewhere.
The six paid no attention to the dead security guards. As soon as they arrived, they used an item to seal off the location item. Two stood outside the sealing barrier, while four stayed inside, taking turns to destroy the location item, trying to force the player hiding within to come out.
The location item, which looked like a snail shell on the outside, was much tougher than it appeared. The four players bombarded it repeatedly, only managing to chip a few cracks into its surface. The item remained sturdy, and the person hiding inside showed no sign of coming out.
Half a minute later, the four players stopped attacking. One of them, a man with a buzz cut, took out a trumpet-shaped item and shouted at the snail shell, "Come out!"
Xu Huo, who had been standing in the distance, raised an eyebrow slightly. He could sense spiritual interference, and this level could no longer be called mere interference—it was mind control, similar in intensity to Dou Shengnan of the Eerie Sound Knights.
Just two seconds later, the person inside the snail shell voluntarily showed his head. He first extended a hand, but as soon as he grabbed the doorframe, he seemed to realize what was happening. Unfortunately, it was too late. One of the players grabbed his hand first and yanked him outward with force. The hiding player was forced out by the pull, and the next moment, another player framed a quadrilateral shape with both hands, and a rectangular line of power enveloped him!
The blue-masked player was decisive enough. To avoid being trapped by the quadrilateral, he used an item to hook onto the snail shell and engaged in a tug-of-war with the player holding him. In the end, he tore off his own left arm and retreated back into the snail shell!
"A mechanical arm?" The player who had torn off the blue mask's arm dropped the now-lifeless metal on the ground and nodded to the person beside him.
The quadrilateral lines disappeared from the air soon after failing to trap anyone, but the player who had used that move didn't stop. After several repetitions, the quadrilaterals in front of him overlapped and formed the shape of a flower. Under the player's manipulation, it spun at high speed and began cutting into the cracks on the snail shell.
The scene at the entrance was lively, but the residential area itself was like a dud firecracker—the three who had gone in made no noise at all. Even the fire on the lake had gone out. Just as the snail shell was about to be breached, the area beyond the lake remained eerily calm...
At that point, the player inside the snail shell seemed unable to hold out any longer. Just before the location item was destroyed, he left the district.
"Bang!" The empty snail shell only showed a few drops of lubricant from the mechanical arm. The A-rank players, who had come up empty, didn't care. One of them collected the lubricant with an instrument and prepared to return to the other side of the lake. But before leaving, the buzz-cut man turned back and glanced in the direction where Xu Huo was.
There were quite a few players attracted to the area by the commotion, but this man accurately pinpointed Xu Huo's gaze.
A large number of buildings separated them, making it impossible to see through with the naked eye. Yet when the man looked over, his gaze seemed to pierce through the metal doors and walls and land squarely on Xu Huo.
Xu Huo leaned against the wall without moving, his eyes fixed ahead. Only after the man withdrew his gaze did he pull out the cigarette pack he had set aside and light one for himself.
Amid the drifting smoke, his gaze remained on the far side of the lake. But by the time the defensive barrier was fully repaired, no more sounds came from within. The three players who had entered—unless they had left the district like their companion at the entrance—had likely been killed. A seemingly swift and decisive attack had simply fizzled out.
The silence inside the luxury residential area and the retreat at the entrance both confirmed one thing: the high-level players in this district were genuine, not like those water-down players who relied on walkthroughs to level up.
The Painting Woman had taken advantage of the chaos to sneak into the luxury residential area and had temporarily lost contact. Her situation was unclear, but she probably wouldn't be coming out anytime soon. Just then, the school called, asking him to come over immediately.
Stubbing out his cigarette, Xu Huo found a nearby portal and went to the school.
In the psychological counseling room sat a pale-faced girl. The woman who had received him stood beside the girl, and when she turned around, she revealed the girl's arm, which had been hidden from view.
There was still unwashed blood on the arm. Next to the bandaged wound were old scars arranged in a row. Though faint, they clearly showed the determination of the person who had inflicted them.
"This child is a bit emotionally unstable. It's best to avoid physical contact." The woman's eyes held a trace of sympathy, which she quickly concealed before turning and leaving the counseling room.
Once the door closed, only Xu Huo and the girl remained in the room. Sensing his gaze, the girl lowered her head, using her disheveled hair to cover her entire face. Her body trembled slightly, as if she wanted to hide but had nowhere to go.
"Are you hungry?" Xu Huo didn't approach her. Instead, he sat down behind the desk.
Compared to the boy's sharpness during the day, the girl seemed much more docile. After he asked, she nodded gently.
Xu Huo placed a bread in front of her and waited patiently for her to finish eating before asking, "Slitting your wrists is a very painful way to die. Besides the physical pain, every second of blood loss brings the fear of death—a feeling you absolutely cannot understand until you're truly on the brink. Aren't you afraid?"
The girl still kept her head down. "Living is more painful. I don't want to be saved."
"Given how closely the school monitors its students, it's very difficult for you to succeed in suicide. Have you ever thought about asking your classmates for help?" Xu Huo asked again. (Chapter End)