Chapter 3095: Bookworm Intervenes
The person Xu Huo called out to changed expression. He knew that anyone who could still smile in this situation was no normal person, but it was too late to leave, because the next moment the two of them entered the arena.
Xu Huo's score had been close to fifty thousand before this, and adding this person was more than enough.
This cannibal player was also battle-hardened and used the instrument very skillfully. The two fought back and forth for quite a while before Xu Huo used his spatial power to kill the opponent, and his points naturally exceeded sixty thousand.
However, no one expected that while he was on his way to the spire, his points began to plummet. Although it wasn't like that cross-zone player who dropped directly to zero, the continuously jumping numbers still drew sidelong glances from those around him.
Xu Huo also noticed that the points showed no sign of stopping their decline. He simply stopped in a large building not far from the spire, opened his personal panel, and watched the constantly changing numbers on the screen while casually wiping a trace of blood from under his nose.
If his speculation was correct, then some of the players entering the central zone had research value for Challenge Island. He had previously exposed his evolutionary ability, and his degradation symptoms seemed to affect his combat power less than other players, making him a worthy subject of study.
If the score stopped dropping below fifty thousand, then it probably wasn't some audience member taking a disliking to him, but rather using this method to test his limits.
If it dropped directly to zero, there was nothing more to say, and no need to waste time entering the spire.
However, just as he had inferred, the points stopped after dropping to just over twenty thousand.
"Lucky you, saved your skin," someone nearby muttered.
Xu Huo just twitched the corner of his mouth and began looking for new opponents.
Ding Xiang and Yi Lan split up, but both of them actually kept a certain distance from him, using instruments to spy on the changes in his points from afar. They understood the situation and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that they didn't want Xu Huo to survive, but he was too strong compared to other players. Once he entered the spire, he might flip the table at any moment, and they had come with a mission. Even if they died, they had to obtain the data stored in the terminal server.
So they hoped Xu Huo would delay entering the spire, and Bai Po felt the same.
Regardless of their thoughts, Xu Huo fought two more matches. Once his score exceeded fifty thousand, he immediately rushed to the spire, but just like before, his points dropped rapidly near the spire until they fell below fifty thousand.
Not only him, but even the players who had seen his score get slashed earlier couldn't help but click their tongues. They had been inside for quite a while, but this was the first time they had seen someone being toyed with like this. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to keep him from entering the spire, which was probably more infuriating than lacking strength. After all, others might still have a chance to pick up scraps, but he would exhaust himself and still never get in.
Continuing to try was pointless. Xu Huo simply lingered near the spire, avoiding players who wanted to challenge him, and stopped trying to raise his points, even as his score gradually recovered while he waited.
The spire wasn't very large, and naturally, not many players could enter it. The terminal instrument was wrapped in special metal, with multiple layers of protective barriers stacked on top. With the instruments currently held by players, it would be very difficult to destroy the spire unless multiple players cooperated, concentrating their fire to prevent the barriers from regenerating.
Of course, for Xu Huo, these barriers were nothing. He had plenty of ways to get in. The only problem was that touching the terminal instrument would definitely trigger an alarm. Simply destroying Challenge Island wouldn't bother either Alton Corporation or the other spectators; Challenge Island could be rebuilt at any time.
Unfortunately for Ding Xiang and Yi Lan, even with their knowledge of terminal programs and the suitable instruments they had brought, they most likely couldn't achieve their goal without alerting anyone.
As for Alton Corporation's employees, they were at best hired muscle. The terminal instrument was controlled by an intelligent entity, and they had no access either.
Nevertheless, Xu Huo still managed to get two work passes. These might be useless in his hands, but not necessarily for Ding Xiang and Yi Lan.
Ding Xiang and Yi Lan were also surprised when they received the work passes. The passes had a strict authentication system, so using them directly wouldn't work. However, since these players weren't core members, the security level of the passes wasn't high. Yi Lan could modify the permissions using her own self-made instrument.
These two work passes would allow them to access places in the city they couldn't reach before. Whether they could be used in the spire was another matter.
Ding Xiang thanked him and hurried away.
Accumulating more points was meaningless for Xu Huo now. He was just buying time for Ding Xiang, Yi Lan, and Bai Po.
While he rested, no one from the company bothered him. He kept an eye on Ding Xiang and Yi Lan's movements and saw them enter an underground area through some kind of mining shaft, emerging again half an hour later.
Although both of them were expressionless, it was clear that what they wanted to do had gone smoothly.
"Beep beep!" At that moment, the terminal on his wrist sounded a notification. He opened his personal panel and saw it was a follow notification. But after seeing the name, he paused, immediately moved to another location, used a spatial barrier to block outside observation, and then opened the interface.
As soon as the personal panel appeared, a string of code flashed rapidly across the screen, followed by text:
"Hello, I am Bookworm."
The terminal provided by Challenge Island had no input function. Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Can you hear me when I speak?"
The text jumped: "This terminal is an obsolete product without two-way communication capability. However, I can hear your voice through the communication device you carry. But to avoid detection, I can only communicate via the watch terminal."
Before coming to Challenge Island, Xu Huo had purchased relevant information again. He just hadn't expected that Challenge Island was isolated from the inside and outside, yet Bookworm could still infiltrate it.
"Originally I couldn't, but three minutes ago, a backdoor channel appeared on Challenge Island, allowing me to connect successfully," Bookworm replied.
"You want to take Challenge Island's data?" Xu Huo asked.
"Correct, and I need your cooperation," Bookworm continued. "I need to stay within five hundred meters of the Challenge Island terminal to successfully infiltrate it."
"The Challenge Island terminal is reportedly managed by some intelligent entity," Xu Huo said. "Will it trigger an alarm?"
"I'll try to bypass it," Bookworm said. "As a return, I will analyze part of the acquired data for you for free. If you need my help when leaving the island, I can also help you abort the startup procedure of the hyperdimensional instrument that seals the island."
Xu Huo's expression turned serious. "You can do that?"
"If it were an instrument equipped with specialized remote intervention prevention devices, it would be difficult. But since Challenge Island is managed solely by an intelligent entity, there are loopholes to exploit."