Chapter 2166: Danger Lurks at Every Turn
"Cat's Triple Life Loan" had long been exhausted, so when that segment of finger bone approached, "The One Who Dies Without Hesitation for the Deceased" stepped in front of Xu Huo. According to past usage experience, once the substitute dummy that dies in place of the holder appeared, it could not only block a fatal strike but also reduce the power of the item, preventing secondary damage to the holder. But this finger bone was different—after piercing through the dummy, its effect remained undiminished as it shot toward Xu Huo!
This process was not long, so Xu Huo was still controlled by Dou Shengnan and unable to break free. His shadow personality appeared in front of him, reaching out to block the finger bone, but Dou Shengnan, who had prepared for this, used her materialized object to restrain it. At the same time, her materialized object also patched things up from behind, sealing off Xu Huo's escape route, determined to kill him here!
"Substitute one!" At that moment, Nie Xuan's voice came from afar. As his words fell, he and Xu Huo swapped positions. Xu Huo was moved fifty meters away, while Nie Xuan himself faced the finger bone head-on!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two sounds, one after the other, one weak and one strong, rang out. At a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, Nie Xuan was smashed into the collapsed building behind him. Immediately after, the impact enhanced by the item caused the building to collapse. Whether it was the power of the finger bone or the effect of the defensive item, in the blink of an eye, the piled-up buildings were almost completely reduced to rubble, with dust and debris flying everywhere!
A tiny metal shard grazed Xu Huo's eyelid.
Blood flowed down, covering his vision. Perhaps due to this small stimulus, the person who had been in a dazed state finally woke up. The collapse of the building continued. Nie Xuan, who had been severely injured even under the protection of a defensive item, was not only buried but also pursued by Dou Shengnan's materialized object. Xu Huo's situation was the same. Dou Shengnan multitasked, her materialized object almost completely blocking his surroundings!
Activating the trait "The Eternal Passerby Who Never Dies" and forming a protective shield with spiritual power, Xu Huo stepped on a spiral staircase to break through the encirclement. Looking at Dou Shengnan, who had lost the protective membrane from the transparent heart, he once again activated time power. This time, the range was larger than before, and the time power introduced increased from one to five strands. Time power from different spaces scattered in the air but could not accurately land on Dou Shengnan. It only maintained a state of piercing through space under the enhancement of "Time Tower."
Using time power to launch a surprise attack was no longer possible, but since Dou Shengnan showed no intention of leaving, there was still a chance!
Countless spiritual gates appeared in the space. Xu Huo dodged Dou Shengnan's materialized object while pulling up the Book Tower to block the surging black water. Taking advantage of her apparent difficulty in adapting to the effects of sudden aging, he simultaneously used "Heaven-Sent Justice" and "All Things Want to Cut Everything," forcing her to move.
However, at this moment, Dou Shengnan, who had been standing still in the air, suddenly turned her eyes toward him. Then, black waves surged around her again, sweeping him, Nie Xuan, and the nearby Double-Bright Bird players into the chaos.
Time-space items could affect each other, so the introduced time power might also disappear due to interference from certain items. But as the black waves churned, the players caught in them were uncontrollably moved within the vortex, as if truly immersed in ocean waves. Due to their high-speed movement, some unlucky ones inevitably collided with the time power. Immediately, three players were frozen—one stopped in place, while two aged rapidly and turned to ash in an instant!
The positions of the time power were quickly revealed. During this time, both Xu Huo and Nie Xuan, as well as the Double-Bright Bird players, repeatedly used items to attack Dou Shengnan without effect. With most space items failing, she seemed to be covered by an impenetrable barrier. Except for a small, high-speed falling stone brought by "Heaven-Sent Justice" that made her shift slightly, all other attacks felt like a gentle breeze!
Knowing the opportunity had been lost, Xu Huo prepared to retreat. But just then, dozens of black vortices suddenly appeared in the air, each over a zhang wide. They were impossible to see through but possessed immense gravitational force, rapidly absorbing everything around them!
No escape!
Xu Huo was surrounded by three black vortices. His position was delicate, with pulling forces from almost every direction. These forces maintained a perfect balance, and any slight deviation in any direction could suck him in!
"Go!" Nie Xuan shouted from afar, but then realized a problem: he had never asked Xu Huo if he was still in an instance!
Being in an instance meant he couldn't use a ticket; he couldn't leave District 008!
Xu Huo still had one life-saving chance. He was about to use the spiritual realm to tell Nie Xuan to leave first when a sudden scream rang out—it was from Dou Shengnan!
Dou Shengnan was a wanted criminal who had long been away from instances. Her best way to leave District 008 was through space teleportation items or devices, which required cross-district items. As a last resort, she could use a ticket, but then, the moment she re-entered the game, she would be forcibly teleported to a high-risk instance. Since random teleportation existed, there were definitely high-risk instances targeting A-level players.
The Double-Bird Bird administrative district was interfered with by a super item, making space teleportation items unusable. To leave, she first had to break free from here. Xu Huo couldn't kill her, but she also had no second chance to strike?
So, as soon as the black vortices appeared, she tried to flee. But then, a player from District 008 arrived. This person didn't even show himself but grabbed her from a distance. Seeing her body deformed by an unknown force and forcibly pushed toward the location of the time power, Xu Huo's mind stirred. However, the next second, a faint white airwave burst from Dou Shengnan's body. This wave not only freed her from control but also scattered the surrounding black vortices!
Xu Huo's situation was already precarious. Hit by this force, he was completely uncontrollably pulled toward a black vortex. He tried to open a door to escape, but even though a spiritual gate opened behind him, he couldn't enter. In the end, he was dragged into the black vortex along with half a building. But to his utter surprise, the next second, he was spat back out by the vortex, returning to Double-Bright Bird!
This was an unexpected surprise, but there was no time to investigate the reason because the vortex spat him out in an unfortunate position—right in front of Dou Shengnan!
"You dare come again!" Dou Shengnan roared in fury. Thousands of long whips swept through the air, cutting Xu Huo's Book Tower in half and then heavily striking his back!