Chapter 3087: Free Challenge
Players both inside and outside the blockade barrier witnessed this scene, but only a few paused for a moment. Those who had successfully crossed zones vanished into the dense buildings, while those still outside the barrier continued plundering points and competing for entry order.
"The audience can freely decide a player's life or death." The two-headed man gritted his teeth.
"Not just death. If you're popular enough, there will also be audience members who go out of their way to keep you alive." Ding Xiang said.
Xu Huo saw that their points had accumulated enough and said, "I'll go first. Farewell."
Everyone understood that the Central District was likely more dangerous than other areas. Once inside, they could become competitors.
"Thank you for your help along the way." Old Duan spoke first. "I hope we can go easy on each other if we meet again."
The others also smiled. Xu Huo nodded slightly, then said to Ding Xiang, "Come find me if you run into trouble."
Ding Xiang was a bit surprised but still thanked him.
Crossing the barrier ahead, a prompt immediately sounded on the terminal device. Before Xu Huo could look at it, two bullets shot toward him from different directions.
Stepping back to avoid the attack, he checked the interface prompt:
"Welcome to the Challenge Island Final Round. Here you can freely choose your opponent. Accumulate over 50,000 points to enter the Spire and determine the final victor!"
Xu Huo noticed that the instrument prohibition mark beside him had been turned off. He checked his own instruments and, sure enough, they could all be used.
He activated his Space Device and directly entered the city center. However, the moment he appeared in an open area, he was attacked. A Space Barrier forced him back several meters, and then the air behind him suddenly thickened, pressing in on him like dough. At the same time, layers of blockade barriers appeared at ten, twenty, and thirty meters away—multiple players were cooperating to carve up his points!
The Defense Device formed an oval, fully enclosed barrier around him. After blocking the twisted, deformed air, Xu Huo pulled a ring from his pocket. He didn't put it on but instead twisted the ruby on it, pulling his hands apart. A Space Tangent was released, whipping wildly through the space like a lash.
Wherever the tangent passed, all blockade barriers and even other players' hidden weapons were sliced apart. However, small-scale jamming devices had been set up on the nearby buildings, so the tangent didn't cause substantial damage to the surrounding towers. After the failed strike, some players quickly retreated back into the buildings.
The buildings were undoubtedly where players hid. With the jamming devices continuously active, even some detection instruments weren't working well. This minimized the chance of sustained combat and gave players room to catch their breath.
Xu Huo also entered a nearby commercial building. The floor-to-ceiling windows on the upper floors had long been shattered, and howling winds swept through the entire structure. Inside the spacious floor, aside from bricks and tiles stuck to the walls and floor, there were no tables, chairs, or other furnishings.
Standing by the window, he looked at the spire that towered noticeably above the other buildings ahead.
It was an all-metal tower, hexagonal in shape. Each side had only one access gate on the first floor. The tower was a hundred meters tall, but the top third gradually narrowed into a sharp cone, too small for anyone to move around inside.
From the outside, it was impossible to see inside the tower. However, during the time Xu Huo observed, no one entered or exited, and no one even approached the spire.
"Player Liwei challenges Player Xu Zhi."
The terminal interface popped up automatically. Xu Huo turned to look at the player who had emerged from the elevator. The other person seemed surprised to find someone here, but the challenge arena had already sealed them both in.
No wonder the players were all hiding so far apart from each other and not forming teams—entering a certain range automatically triggered an arena.
"Will I die if I surrender?" Xu Huo asked.
The man named Liwei was also cautious. "I'm not sure. Want to try?"
Xu Huo flicked his fingertip, and Space Ray Blades instantly filled the entire arena, squeezing the opponent to the very edge.
Seeing multiple cracks appear on the defense barrier, Liwei, who had been nonchalant, now wore a grave expression. He pulled a finger-sized hourglass from his backpack and spun it in place: "Invert!"
The arena space then shifted. The air suddenly became like water, swirling both of them around the entire arena, and their bodies naturally flipped upside down.
This instrument also had the effect of interfering with Space Rays. The intensity of the Space Ray Blades was weakened, and then a defense barrier forcefully expanded, clearing the remaining Space Blades from the arena.
Seeing the man charging toward him, Xu Huo stood still. He flicked his fingers twice, and several instruments worn by Liwei emitted faint cracking sounds.
The metal shield wrapped around his arm failed. Liwei was startled and immediately retreated, but Xu Huo wouldn't give him that chance. Before he could use a new instrument, Xu Huo manipulated the Space Rays to lock around his neck.
Liwei landed fifty meters away, the Space Rays already embedded in his flesh. Any slightly larger movement could cut his head off.
"I surrender!" he said immediately. At that moment, his points dropped to zero. The next second, just like the player Xu Huo had seen during the zone crossing, he burned from head to toe, and in a few seconds, only bones remained.
Xu Huo felt the hot, foul-smelling air wave blowing toward him and frowned slightly. "A bit disgusting."
This place was no good. He moved to another floor, observed the spire again, and then switched buildings.
After circling around the spire, he began moving to other areas.
If Dr. Wu really left the Perfect Potion on the island, the key found in the Wasteland Zone was most likely to be used here. However, the Central District had been built into a city. Some places showed signs of habitation, but most were empty buildings. There were some automated shops selling food and clean water, but he saw no one other than the challenge players—let alone people from Alton Corporation or the government.
The space in the Central District was very stable. The Chaos Space didn't seem to have moved into this area. As a developed area, it would be hard to hide anything, wouldn't it? Unless it was hidden in the past, like the key?
He moved around various parts of the city, inevitably "accidentally" entering arena range with one or two players along the way. But after each arena ended, he quickly changed locations to avoid being targeted by other players.
As luck would have it, he soon found the gun-wielding player who had run away earlier. The man was injured and hiding in an empty storage room. Xu Huo knocked on his door from a distance.
The man jolted, then realized he hadn't entered an arena. His expression relaxed, and he cautiously opened the door and stepped out. Looking around, he saw Xu Huo waving at him from the building across the street.