Chapter 2314: Death Can Come So Quickly
Night had already fallen in Ting City. Due to the evacuation of surrounding personnel, a black isolation belt had appeared outside the blockade zone, making the blockade area seem isolated in the center of the city.
The Special Defense Department branch was located here, so there were particularly many residents living in the surrounding area. It was precisely for this reason that the few players who had escaped had chosen this location.
A day had passed since the Special Defense Department personnel surrounded them. Apart from the initial conflict when the two sides first formed a standoff, the rest of the time had basically been spent negotiating across the distance.
In a garden on the top floor of a residential building, three heavily injured players were resting. One of them, while wiping his long blade, said, "Looks like those guys aren't planning to trade one person for a building full of people. I really overestimated them."
Sitting next to him was a woman with dyed red hair. Her upper body was almost completely wrapped in bandages, but her speaking tone was no less fierce. "If it were me, I wouldn't trade an elite player for a bunch of useless people like these. Too bad we weren't well prepared this time and lost a few people. We couldn't kill 'The Ubiquitous Xiao Ming' before leaving."
"The Ubiquitous Xiao Ming," the long blade player snorted with a laugh. "A player nickname like that is as ridiculous as a joke. If it weren't for the fact that he's killed several Special Defense Department people, I wouldn't dare believe it."
"Player nicknames—there are all kinds." Another man with shoulder-length hair pulled a plate of fruit from the refrigerator. "District 014 has a large population. It's no problem for a few elites to emerge."
"Ting City isn't some important place. Instead of wasting time here, we might as well go on a killing spree like before. Being cooped up here is suffocating!"
The long blade player caught the pear tossed to him, took a bite, and then said, "The boss's decision is definitely right."
"District 014 isn't just strong in government players. Player organizations and some independent player groups are also very powerful. These unofficial player groups don't submit to each other, but they highly revere a player codenamed X. It's said that player's return location is in Ting City, and based on the information circulating among player groups, Ting City has been set aside specifically for that X."
As he spoke, he pushed the locally sourced tablet onto the table, which displayed Xu Huo's personal information.
"X's information is basically public online. Almost no player organization doesn't know about it."
The red-haired woman leaned in to look. "He's got a decent face. I wonder if he's really as powerful as the legends say."
"Someone revered by the player community must have some real skill," the long blade player said. "The boss chose this as our final destination for this reason."
"Ting City and X both hold a special status among the player community. The Special Defense Department wouldn't dare act recklessly here without considering the consequences. Waiting here works in our favor."
"You've seen the Special Defense Department's attacks. They definitely aren't sending their top elites. We need to be careful."
"Alright, alright," the long-haired player waved his hand. "I was just talking casually. Forget it, I'll go check on Old Five and the others..."
Before he could finish speaking, the expressions of all three present changed drastically. They immediately rushed to a spot less than three hundred meters from the residential complex.
When they arrived, another companion had also reached the location. They met eyes, dispersed to different parts of the building, and looked toward the center of the power fluctuation.
In a small alley beside the residential complex, two of their companions were confronting a man and a woman. A space item that had originally belonged to one of their companions was now being toyed with by that woman.
"This is my territory. What are you doing in my home?" The woman raised a communicator. The mechanical voice betrayed no emotional fluctuation, but from the expression on her face, she seemed somewhat displeased.
However, the six players from the outer zone weren't focused on her. Their attention was on the man standing behind her.
Although he still had unhealed injuries on him, just standing there doing nothing made them feel immense pressure. He wasn't wearing any protective suit or item to conceal his physical evolution level. From his breathing rhythm and physical state, he was undoubtedly a B-rank player...
A player at the same rank as them, yet he brought them a crushing sense of pressure.
The two players confronting Xu Huo and the Painting Woman were the first to discover them. They looked like they had just returned from a game, and their strength was completely different from the Special Defense Department players. Other than the famous "X" in District 014, they couldn't think of anyone else.
But before coming to Ting City, they had already analyzed this person. Based on the timing, without any special temporal circumstances, he wouldn't return to District 014 so quickly.
"Our luck is terrible. We just happened to run into him." The long blade player chugged a bottle of energy potion and drew the freshly polished long blade. "This is going to be a tough battle..."
Before he finished speaking, a special force suddenly enveloped him. Everything that followed seemed to happen in an instant. Not only did he himself have no time to react, but even the companions standing beside him didn't realize it: Death could come so quickly!
"Sixth Brother!" Accompanied by the red-haired woman's startled cry, the long blade player's weapon clattered to the ground. Falling with it were his prop suit and a pile of dust—a living person had turned into powder in the blink of an eye!
In fact, the one hit wasn't just the long blade player. The two players in the small alley were also frozen in place. Although they weren't as unlucky as the long blade player, the skin on their faces and hands was visibly aging at an alarming rate, and they had no ability to resist.
"Time Evolution..." The long-haired player gritted his teeth and spat out those four words. He was about to signal the remaining companions to flee, but his body suddenly stiffened. He uncontrollably fell into a portal that opened in the ground and landed directly in front of Xu Huo.
Not only him, but the red-haired woman and the remaining player were all pulled into the alley.
As they met face to face, the red-haired woman threw out six items with one hand while activating two traits simultaneously. At such close range, with no barrier between them, even if the items could be blocked, the traits definitely wouldn't be!
With this mindset, the red-haired woman leaped forward as she released her items and traits. A longsword that could emit a beam of light thrust directly toward Xu Huo's chest and abdomen!
Unfortunately, neither the items nor the traits took effect. Moreover, both Xu Huo and the Painting Woman were completely unaffected. Realizing this, the red-haired woman tried to retreat, but a black line swept toward her from behind!
She immediately activated a defense item to block the attack, but then the black thread spread along the defense barrier, wrapping around it like black liquid!
"What is this thing!" The red-haired woman forcibly broke out of the encirclement of the materialized object and targeted the Painting Woman beside her.