Chapter 2522: Murder City
The same transformation happened to the Painting Woman and Bubble Bean's hiding spot. The metal table they used to protect themselves and the surrounding metal objects instantly contracted and twisted together. The Painting Woman reacted quickly, easily extricating herself from within. Bubble Bean wasn't so lucky—one of his legs was caught in the twist, and in an instant, the bone and flesh were completely mangled and pulled in!
The scream was very brief. Bubble Bean threw on his Invisibility Cloak, enduring the excruciating pain as he fled from the shop, using a prop to quickly escape toward the other end of the street.
At this moment, the arrow rain hadn't stopped. A new wave had even expanded its range. Xu Huo noticed that the higher floors weren't within the arrow rain's attack range, so he activated his Spiritual Realm and swiftly brought Bubble Bean to a nearby high-rise building.
"Don't carry any metal objects on you!" Xu Huo said quickly.
Bubble Bean was startled. Forgetting the pain for a moment, he immediately began tearing off his metal props. However, in just two or three seconds, nearby metal objects came piercing through the walls again, causing the entire room to twist up!
The speed of the metal shredding was too fast. Xu Huo could only use his Time Power to freeze the metal objects on one side, buying a brief opening. As the floor cracked open, he and Bubble Bean fell toward the lower levels!
Seeing Bubble Bean still fumbling with his belt, Xu Huo simply kicked him out of the building. Meanwhile, Xu Huo himself, before the next round of metal shredding began, used a Spiritual Gate to teleport to a high-rise a kilometer away.
Once inside the building, he stopped moving. He put away all his props that contained metal, including the Time Ring. Leaning against a corner, he carefully sensed the surroundings.
The arrow rain continued to fall. These arrows, made entirely of metal and moving at high speed, could even pierce through metal doors. Thus, whether indoors or outdoors, the arrow rain could cover any area.
The floor Xu Huo was hiding on was neither too high nor too low. A few arrows shot into the room, their shafts half-buried in the floor while the fletching still trembled. At first, only one arrow vibrated noticeably, but then several arrows began resonating at the same frequency!
So that's how it is!
Xu Huo's expression changed slightly. He spread a Defense Barrier, trying to forcefully break out from one side. However, the converging metal objects were like an immovable behemoth, leaving no gaps!
Too close. He couldn't casually use his Time Power again, so he used "All Things Want to Cut Everything" and a Materialized Object to slice through the metal on one side. After he escaped, the Tangent was also taken out by the Materialized Object.
After changing hiding spots several times, only to be discovered each time, Xu Huo finally found a high-rise and entered the top floor. Imitating the Middle-aged Man, he squeezed into a wooden cabinet.
He had temporarily found peace, but Bubble Bean was still deep in the metal attacks. When he was kicked out, he had already removed all his metal props. Yet even so, the arrow rain was relentless. Every time the arrow rain arrived, within two seconds, another round of metal shredding would follow. He used three life-saving props in a row but still couldn't completely avoid this situation.
Injuries and the threat of death made it impossible for him to accurately judge his surroundings. He could only frantically flee amidst the arrow rain and metal shredding. A B-level player's speed, combined with prop assistance, was already very fast. But those metal objects seemed to have eyes everywhere—wherever he went, the attacks followed almost immediately.
In open spaces, he couldn't avoid the arrow rain. Hiding indoors meant facing the omnipresent metal shredding. The attacker was nowhere to be seen, yet the entire city had become a massive killing ground!
Using another prop to barely escape the metal shredding, Bubble Bean hadn't even had time to catch his breath when the building he was hiding in suddenly flattened—like a toy being squashed flat. He was caught in the middle. If not for the abundant metal objects inside the building helping to support the structure, he would have been turned into meat paste on the spot!
But because of that, he was stuck inside the collapsed building, unable to move. The metal seemed to sense he was still alive. After failing to fully close twice, it changed direction and began twisting like wringing out a towel!
I'm dead!
Seeing the uneven metal walls closing in, Bubble Bean closed his eyes in despair. But the next second, his foot was grabbed by a hand. Then, a tremendous force yanked him out through a gap beneath the twisted metal wall!
Bubble Bean only felt pain in his butt and the back of his head. Then, his entire body fell into a space that wasn't very spacious.
Dim light allowed him to quickly identify this as a wardrobe. But before he could speak, a hand clamped over his mouth. Sweating profusely, Bubble Bean nearly fainted, his eyes fixed on the Painting Woman in front of him.
The Painting Woman's gaze was dangerous. With her other hand, she made a zipping motion over her lips.
"You're stepping on his leg," Xu Huo, leaning against the other side, reminded her.
One of the Painting Woman's feet was precisely on Bubble Bean's broken leg. He had been too busy fleeing to treat the wound, barely stopping the bleeding with a few healing potions and his super recovery ability. Now, with the pressure, plus the layer of flesh scraped off when the Painting Woman forcibly dragged him out, his head, butt, and leg were all bleeding.
The Painting Woman finally released him. She crouched down to examine his wound and mouthed, "You're so useless."
Bubble Bean nearly choked on his breath. But with a strong will to survive, he struggled to inject himself with a few potions. Then, leaning against the cabinet, he let out a long sigh. "Is this the power of a Super Instance?"
Whether the attacker was human or not, being able to freely control the metal of an entire city, leaving them with only the option to flee—at this level, only a Super Instance could match it!
"The opponent hasn't fully controlled the city," Xu Huo said. "The arrow rain can at most cover spaces below two hundred meters. Above that height, the arrow rain basically doesn't reach."
"Also, the opponent can probably determine our position through metal objects. So, metal props can't be worn, and we must avoid the arrows. After entering a space, the arrows use vibration to sense the surroundings."
"More importantly, if the person controlling the metal is a prop born from the instance, they are likely very far from us."
"The arrow rain not covering above two hundred meters doesn't mean we can't go up there," Xu Huo reminded. "If you want to run to higher floors, it's best to do so indoors."
Looking at the surroundings, there weren't many buildings over two hundred meters. The arrow rain didn't need to cover that range. If the entity controlling the metal was determined to find them, it wouldn't be difficult. Hiding in a wooden cabinet could only buy a little time.
After hearing this, Bubble Bean felt there was no way to survive. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and asked, "What about that player from Zone 001?"