Chapter 2923: Platinum Eye Attack Incident Six
However, the situation was even worse than Xu Huo had anticipated, because when they emerged from the dark space, they were already within the black power of the Box Carrier. They still had no chance of escape—the black power tore at them from all directions. As the black spheres flew toward them, their bodies felt as if they were being stuffed into a steam boiler, and the Box Carrier was just a hundred meters away...
"Boom!" In the blink of an eye, a surge of colorful power erupted from Bai Kou's body. A rainbow-like liquid, flowing like a living rainbow, enveloped them. It not only blocked the black spheres but also severed the Box Carrier's "vaporization" technique. Under the radiance of the colorful barrier, the black power seemed to recede as well.
"This barrier won't last long. Let's go around him first!" she said.
The game item "Beautiful Filter" had already been used to save them earlier, and "Darkened Heart" was too risky to use now. With items rendered ineffective, Xu Huo could only stack instrument effects as much as possible while simultaneously using another game item, "Black Sub."
"I'll go first!" With the activation command for the game item, the two of them teleported to the other end of the black power. Although this place was far from the Box Carrier, it was dangerously close to the sphere released by the hyperdimensional instrument.
Dodging a stray thread of hyperdimensional space power, Xu Huo quickly retreated. While distancing himself from the hyperdimensional force, he gritted his teeth and released "Hypercube Space." Fortunately, this spatial super instrument was still usable. He erected a spatial barrier while following Bai Kou's guidance, evading the power released by the hyperdimensional instrument and using those same hyperdimensional forces to avoid the Box Carrier.
But this couldn't last long. He said quickly, "Can we open the metal cover from another spot?"
"Only one gap was left, and now the Box Carrier is blocking that position," Bai Kou said.
Seeing that the barrier he had erected couldn't withstand even a single blow from the Box Carrier, Xu Huo's eyes darkened. "Then it looks like we're doomed!"
Bai Kou's face could no longer form expressions. She gestured with her eyes toward her wrist. Xu Huo rolled up her sleeve and pulled out a transparent arrowhead the length of a finger.
The moment he held it in his hand, he knew it was also a hyperdimensional instrument.
"Later, use it to force the Box Carrier back. Head to the center of the protective shield first. I'll remotely control the instrument to open an exit for you. The moment the ticket becomes usable, you leave immediately," Bai Kou said.
"You're not leaving?" Xu Huo frowned. "Don't tell me you're actually planning to go down together?"
"I won't die. The Mayor's wife will come back to save me." Bai Kou's facial muscles twitched slightly. "Thank you."
She didn't explain further. In fact, the situation didn't allow for more words. Xu Huo pressed the tail of the instrument, and the arrowhead in his hand immediately shot out. After flying dozens of meters, it split into over a dozen threads of hyperdimensional space power, all shooting toward the Box Carrier!
Wherever the hyperdimensional space power approached, even the black power that could neutralize the spatial rays of a super player like Lawrence Li rapidly receded. The Box Carrier was forced to move, vacating the center of the protective shield.
As the hyperdimensional power arrows tracked him, Xu Huo and Bai Kou immediately moved beneath the protective shield. Bai Kou shook her armband, and a small blank area appeared on the dome that had been tightly sealed by hyperdimensional power.
Though described as "small," it was still several meters wide and long. The moment Xu Huo felt his items recover, he began moving outward while trying to stuff Bai Kou into a container item. But to his surprise, the container item failed to work. In the instant he missed the chance to use the ticket to escape, the Box Carrier, having already shaken off the hyperdimensional power arrows, had already blocked the gap above!
The sensation of being boiled returned, and several strands of black power shot toward him. Xu Huo had no choice but to retreat. However, instead of diving back into the dark space of "Darkened Heart," he used the life-saving item gifted by Huahan. A translucent crystal formed an enormous oval cocoon, enveloping him and Bai Kou. At the same moment, time power cascaded down through the gap in the metal cover!
Time power—like hyperdimensional space power—was an insurmountable force. The Box Carrier frowned and immediately retreated from the gap. But the next second, he flashed beside the oval crystal. With a spinning kick, he sent the oval crystal flying toward the nearby hyperdimensional instrument sphere!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The high-speed spinning oval crystal smashed through dozens of spatial power barriers in succession before flying into a suddenly appearing spiritual gate, only to reappear beside the gap.
By now, the spinning momentum of the oval crystal had weakened, but Xu Huo didn't dare gamble. The moment they emerged, he stopped manipulating the time power and restored the metal cover's gap. Bai Kou had already fallen unconscious, making it impossible to use the ticket to escape. In that fleeting moment, he couldn't determine whether he could send her to their companions, so he had to get out first.
But the Box Carrier was right beside him. Even with stacked items and instruments, Xu Huo's speed still couldn't match his. In the blink of an eye, the man was blocking his path again!
Close range, eyes meeting. Xu Huo felt the gaze upon him turn into tangible anger and murderous intent!
The oval crystal could last three minutes, but whether he could successfully avoid the hyperdimensional space again was uncertain!
Xu Huo abandoned the plan to use time power to trap the Box Carrier inside the metal cover after getting out. Instead, he sank into the black space of "Darkened Heart" first. Sensing that when he emerged again, he would inevitably face the Box Carrier head-on, he took out the "Reversal Ring" in advance.
As expected, when he emerged from the dark space, he was almost face-to-face with the Box Carrier. But the next second, the "Reversal Ring" activated, and the Box Carrier vanished from District 002.
Having experienced this once before, Xu Huo naturally knew the Box Carrier could return instantly. But the back-and-forth bought him an extremely brief window. He used the "Reversal Ring" three times in succession, exhausting all the super item's uses in one go, finally buying enough time to escape the metal cover. However, the moment he emerged, the black power, which had been somewhat restrained under the suppression of hyperdimensional space power, surged back. In an instant, it covered the entire sky of Platinum Eye and locked onto the oval crystal!
At the same time, the elders of Platinum Eye, who had been waiting outside, reappeared. They used instruments to dismantle the black power and restrain the Box Carrier while arranging for people to rescue Xu Huo and Bai Kou.
"Shut down the hyperdimensional instrument!" Xu Huo warned the Platinum Eye personnel.
"The hyperdimensional instrument has already failed," said one of the elders who had arrived. But the moment he pulled the oval crystal out of the vortex, he was riddled with holes by the black power shooting toward him, along with over a dozen players who had come with him!
The next second, the Box Carrier appeared before the oval crystal. Gripping the top of the crystal, he slowly dragged it outward, a smile spreading across his face. "I'll turn you into the finest puppet."
The Box Carrier had recognized Xu Huo as the one who had escaped from under his nose the last time, the moment he was teleported away by the "Reversal Ring." Surviving being pierced by hyperdimensional power, he naturally assumed Xu Huo had stolen the instance authorization document.
Seeing him produce a small instrument, Xu Huo stopped his search for items and instruments on Bai Kou's body. He hoisted her onto his back again, ready to take a risk.
But their luck was good. A meteor-like streak of intense light, dragging a long tail, pierced through the entire dark space from above. It tore a massive gap in the blackness and slammed violently into the oval crystal!
Xu Huo and Bai Kou were sent spinning outward again with the oval crystal. However, due to the pulling force of the black power, their speed was slow. Meanwhile, the Box Carrier's attention was drawn to a persistent point of light high in the sky, and he didn't pursue them.
But immediately afterward, the black power, which had just contracted, surged like a silent tide. Numerous highly attractive black vortices appeared. They looked like deep, swirling tunnels boring into other spaces, but being inside them made it clear that these vortices didn't have such a long buffer zone. Though within the dark space, they were more like a plane—the so-called vortex was a visual illusion. Anyone pulled in would be instantly swallowed!
"Crack!" As a large number of Platinum Eye players were sucked into the vortices and vanished, cracks appeared on the oval crystal. Xu Huo didn't know who had arrived from outside, but the Box Carrier's trait power covered too vast an area. He couldn't break free from the item's protection to reach the pre-arranged "Angel's Fangs" space.
The "Eternal Sleep Core" potion had been administered to Bai Kou when the Platinum Eye players rescued them, but she still hadn't woken up. He had stripped most of her items and instruments, yet she still couldn't be stored in a container item. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but she definitely couldn't use the ticket now...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Several more streaks of light tore through the black power. As if deliberately helping them, these streaks all converged around the oval crystal. The nearby black power was further pushed back, and the pulling force weakened significantly.
It was in that moment that Xu Huo suddenly realized—compared to their last encounter outside the super instance, the black power with its immense pulling force was no longer as elusive. The locations of the black vortices, as well as the varying strengths and directions of the different forces pulling around them, were faintly taking on a concrete form...
A large swath of time power tentatively spread out from a distance. Seeing that it didn't scatter like when it encountered hyperdimensional space power, and that the time power wasn't twisted or redirected by the pulling force—only being swallowed when entering the range of the black vortices, as if the lower half extended into another space—everything else remained normal!
Realizing that the Box Carrier's trait power was far from matching the hyperdimensional space power's influence on time power, and that the hyperdimensional instrument below had indeed been shut down, Xu Huo let loose and summoned more time power. He then discovered that a large amount of frozen time entering the black vortices actually weakened their pulling force, slowing them down!
Unlike last time, Xu Huo now had greater control over time power, with a much larger range and significantly improved precision. It was enough to form an effective defensive belt, not only preventing the Box Carrier from suddenly approaching but also restraining him to some extent!
The oval crystal, not yet completely shattered, got stuck at the edge of a black vortex. Through the fine cracks, Xu Huo could still feel the pulling force from outside. If he were thrown in directly, he would likely be torn to shreds before even disappearing into the nameless space...
With a moment to catch his breath, he glanced at Bai Kou's body. His gaze fixed on her leg. He swung his hand, cutting through her bone, and dug out a mung bean-sized instrument embedded inside. The next moment, she vanished from his hand.
"Crack, crack..."
The oval crystal gradually shattered and fell away. Xu Huo stood up, looking toward the Box Carrier's distant position. "Until we meet again."
This chapter took several hours to write, deleting and rewriting over and over... (^)