Chapter 2958: Victory
The flickering light source vanished, and naturally, no figure emerged from it. Jing City, shrouded in the instance's thick fog, fell into a long silence.
Nie Xuan, who had retreated to a distance, along with the military and Special Defense Department players who had been lurking in the surroundings, and a handful of unaffiliated Jing City players who had rushed over hoping to help, all held their breath involuntarily.
The detection devices were being interfered with, and their perception range wasn't large enough, so they couldn't ascertain what had happened within the dense fog, or who... had survived.
The area affected by the clash between Xu Huo and Jin Feixue wasn't particularly vast. The battle had taken place near the safe zone, and the people in that vicinity had long since been evacuated. Among those caught in the aftermath, there were no ordinary people. Of the players who had arrived first, only Nie Xuan had survived. The other players could only "observe" from a distance through the thick fog. They couldn't see the details, but from the safe zone, which had been ground into a muddy pulp, they could tell how fierce the battle had been.
They couldn't even help; they would have been torn apart if they got anywhere near the two. At this level of combat, any slight change on the battlefield could decide victory or defeat, life or death.
In the final showdown, not to mention the other players, even Nie Xuan had to stay as far away as possible to avoid interfering with Xu Huo's performance.
But now, everyone no longer cared whether they could truly take this opportunity to kill the Eerie Sound Knights. They hoped even more that Xu Huo would survive. The combat strength of the Eerie Sound Knights was obvious to all, and Xu Huo, along with the Special Defense Department, had demonstrated their resolve and power. Even if they couldn't kill the Eerie Sound Knights this time, they believed it was only a matter of time. District 014 was not afraid of a long war. No one could make them submit!
"Rustle, rustle!" A wind blew from somewhere, accompanied by the rustling sound of paper.
Nie Xuan landed on a broken street, standing on a piece of upturned road fragment as he looked forward.
Soon, the players who had been lurking nearby also came over, stopping in small groups behind him.
Everyone stared in the direction of the safe zone, silently waiting for the final result.
The rustling sound grew closer and closer. Just as everyone's nerves were stretched to the breaking point, a tornado formed from countless twisted papers suddenly burst out of the thick fog, charging straight at them!
Nie Xuan, standing at the front, didn't move. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Whoosh!!!" The paper tornado swept through the street but didn't hurt anyone. The crowd couldn't help but raise their hands to shield their eyes from the papers blocking their view from time to time, looking forward once more.
"Tap, tap, tap..." Footsteps approached unhurriedly from that direction. As the sound grew closer, a silhouette in a trench coat gradually appeared in the fog, slowly shifting from faint to distinct, until it became clear.
"Xu Huo! It's Xu Huo!" someone shouted. With a surge of excitement and exhilaration that sent goosebumps across their skin, the players cheered. Xu Huo's safe emergence meant that in the battle against the Eerie Sound Knights, they had won!
[Class A wanted criminal Jin Feixue of the Eerie Sound Knights and three of its members have been confirmed dead.]
The game notification reached the personal panels of most players in District 014. The players of District 014 erupted in cheers, while players from other districts fell into even deeper silence.
Some players from other districts had learned about the grudge between the Eerie Sound Knights and District 014 after arriving, especially since players from various countries in District 014 had been searching for their traces. Those who were curious would naturally investigate.
This inevitably reminded people of a recent bounty on identity information posted on Under Dimension. The leaks at the time had said all sorts of things, but looking back now, some of that information was indeed true.
For example, the bounty was issued by the Eerie Sound Knights because their members had been killed, so they wanted revenge.
Another example was that the person being hunted was a multi-directional Super Evolver, and possibly even a Temporal Evolver, which was why the Eerie Sound Knights had gone to such lengths to find information about him.
Another example was that the two sides were retaliating against each other. The Eerie Sound Knights' goal wasn't just to kill their enemy, but also to destroy the district their enemy belonged to...
There was also a rumor that the player hunted by the Eerie Sound Knights was actually a game newcomer—a claim that had been widely ridiculed at the time under the smoke screen of "Class A Wormhole Genius Player"...
But who would have thought that the person hunted by the Eerie Sound Knights was truly a newcomer player from an unknown new district under an E-class wormhole!
District 014 had only been evolving for two years, yet it could produce an absolute genius with multi-directional Super Evolution, including a Temporal Evolution—was there something special about the feng shui of the E27 wormhole? District 011 had a Super Player with Temporal Evolution, and now District 014 was looking at another one!
Envy aside, anyone who traced the cause and effect knew that this deadly battle in District 014 was actually to avenge the killings the Eerie Sound Knights had committed in District 014 during the Super Item incident. A genius was already terrifying enough, but what was even more terrifying was that this genius held a grudge.
"So, the Super Item from that Super Item incident was most likely obtained by this person," someone posted ambiguously on the network platform.
But the fired-up players of District 014 didn't care about that. They bluntly retorted, "So what if he got it? If you've got the guts, go try to take it!"
"Don't you think that if he hadn't gotten the Super Item back then, or if he had handed it over, District 014 would have been safe?"
This remark sparked public outrage.
"I've never heard of anyone showing mercy just because you handed over your weapons when the enemy comes. Handing it over would only get you killed faster!"
"This guy is a district traitor. Find out who he is!"
"The only reason you're free to spout nonsense online right now is because the person who got that Super Item saved you!"
"Someone like this, who contributes nothing and stirs up internal conflict, should be dragged out as a meat shield. Let's see if the enemy will let him go like a dog when he begs for mercy!"
...
Despite the quarrels, more people were happy. Killing the Eerie Sound Knights wasn't just about avenging those who died in the previous incident; it was another demonstration of District 014's strength. Otherwise, why would the Eerie Sound Knights, who had roamed the game for so many years with a long list of crimes, end up dying in District 014!
This fusion event was telling other districts that District 014 was not to be messed with. No one could bully them!
"By the way, who is this person?" More people were curious about Xu Huo's identity. The face seen in the video was a fake, making it impossible to match his real identity. Although the internet was in an uproar, most people referred to him by various code names. In reality, very few could match his real name, face, and identity.
"Young people, don't be so curious. X is a hero of District 014. His identity information naturally needs to be kept confidential... But if someone wants to tell me, I might reluctantly listen."