Chapter 2787: Full of Tricks
Miss Ruo's expression darkened slightly, her eyes growing unusually deep. Gone was her earlier leisure; her tone became even slower than before. She moved within the bubble, and the bubble shifted along with her.
"Do you know why people who pry so deeply are so annoying?" she asked.
"This shouldn't count as prying," Xu Huo said, his gaze following her. "It's just things you need to know before dealing with someone, especially since it concerns life and death."
"If you really hate having your life disturbed, leaving Lake City for a while would solve the problem."
"Why should I?" Miss Ruo's tone carried a hint of amusement. "Why should I make way for others?"
Xu Huo nodded. "Of course there's no need for that. Unfortunately, the game demands it, so I have no choice but to come and bother you."
Miss Ruo paused, tilting her head to look at him. "Many people like you have come before."
Xu Huo understood her implication and said, "I think verbal communication is better than a life-or-death struggle."
The casualness in Miss Ruo's expression suddenly vanished, replaced by a barely suppressed excitement. She swept her hand casually, and the water beneath the lake surged. The glowing Star River was interrupted as countless shimmering insects rushed toward Xu Huo's side with the undercurrent.
"You have to survive the life-or-death struggle first before you get a chance to talk!"
A new batch of tourists had just entered their bubbles and were slowly heading toward the Star River when a fierce underwater current surged from ahead, instantly pushing all the bubbles back. The staff quickly activated emergency measures, trying to retrieve the bubbles, but at that moment, an explosion occurred beneath the lake. Giant waves, accompanied by a dull roar, repeatedly slammed into the underwater facilities. Not only were the unrecovered bubbles swept away, but even the staff inside were thrown into the lake.
The Lake City Enforcement Team reacted swiftly, diving into the water to rescue people as soon as the waves surged. But to everyone's surprise, in an instant, a large portion of the lake froze into ice, then rapidly shattered. Ice shards turned into sharp weapons, recklessly darting through the water. Their target was Xu Huo near the original position of the Star River, but they inevitably struck the tourists still sightseeing underwater.
Affected by the props, the Enforcement Team's Defense Barrier failed instantly. The players in front, along with the Armed Robots that had entered the water, were all knocked back, injuring many. A massive storm of ice shards churned beneath the lake, stirring chaos from the depths, then burst out of the water in one go, forming several towering water columns that reached the clouds.
The lake water crashed down like heavy rain. Xu Huo and Miss Ruo shot out from beneath the lake one after another, facing off in the air hundreds of meters apart.
Dark matter swirled around Xu Huo, blocking Miss Ruo's attacks while he pulled up multiple layers of Space Body barriers around him. After trapping several water dragons, he cut straight into the depths of the lake, sealing off the underwater area as well.
Miss Ruo controlled the ice shards to attack both him and the Space Body barriers indiscriminately. Seeing little effect, she took out a flower bud, crushed it, and scattered the petals. As the drifting petals neared the Space Body barriers, the once-impenetrable Space Body began to deconstruct, and the Space Rays lost their power, gradually becoming as intangible as air.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The ensuing rain of ice shards burst through the weak points of the barrier in one go. Miss Ruo donned a raincoat-like prop and easily escaped the space blockade.
By then, the people underwater had evacuated, but the Enforcement Team only grew larger. Aircraft hovered nearby, warning Xu Huo and Miss Ruo to stop fighting immediately, or they would be arrested.
"Annoying," Miss Ruo said, waving her hand. The flying ice shards instantly shattered all the aircraft while she raised an ice storm isolation zone. Her impatience grew, her expression turning irritable. Her gaze at Xu Huo became dark and terrifying as she muttered to herself, "Why are you all so annoying? Why are you so annoying?"
Xu Huo watched her switch personalities seamlessly, pointed a finger at the lake below, then vanished from the air, reappearing underwater.
Miss Ruo followed without hesitation, using ice shards to clear the way as she moved swiftly beneath the lake. When she lost track of Xu Huo, she sneered and froze all the surrounding water. A vast expanse of white replaced the lake's original deep blue. Every frozen area fell within her perception. Once she reacquired Xu Huo's trail, she moved her hand, and the ice layer split internally, forming several giant ice shards that spun at ultra-high speed toward Xu Huo's location!
But the next second, Xu Huo broke free from the ice and appeared right in front of her. The moment they met, Time Power poured down, freezing Miss Ruo's movements. The ice shards she controlled lost their momentum, crumbling and sinking to the lake floor.
From just two or three meters away, Xu Huo used Space Power to knock her unconscious, then left the lake through a Space Channel.
*
In the Whale Garden, all the cats and dogs gathered around Miss Ruo, using their body heat to warm her cold form. Covered with a blanket, Miss Ruo curled up like a baby, her brow furrowed tightly. It was a long time before a puppy licked her awake. She instinctively hugged it, then came to her senses.
She sat up on the sofa, not caring that the cats and dogs had tumbled to the floor. Looking at the person drinking tea in the garden outside, she said angrily, "Who said you could come into my house without permission?"
Xu Huo turned to look at her. "I had no choice. The Enforcement Team is everywhere now, and I don't have another place to stay, so I had to bring you back."
He gestured with his chin toward the outside. "See? There are still Enforcement Team members waiting."
Miss Ruo didn't even glance. "They'll leave on their own soon."
"You can use Time Power too. Why didn't you kill me?"
"If it weren't for clearing the game, we might never have crossed paths. What use would killing you be?" Xu Huo stared at her. "I still haven't found a way to clear it."
Miss Ruo's expression suddenly turned soft and alluring. She kindly suggested, "Why don't you tell me about it? Maybe I can help."
Xu Huo laughed. "I wouldn't dare. I can't outplay the ten or so of you in a game of wits alone."
"Only like attracts like." Miss Ruo held the puppy, stroking its head leisurely. "No one has ever discovered my siblings after just one meeting. And that sister you saw that day always thought the other siblings were dead."
"So the so-called savior was fake too?" Xu Huo asked. "What about the parents?"
"All fake." Miss Ruo smiled beautifully. "I've been an orphan since birth, knowing no parents or relatives. Those siblings were people I once met. They were bad people living in others' bodies, but living in mine, they can all protect me."