Chapter 444: A Well-Matched Fight
"Although it's said to be random grabbing, there are actually clear limitations. Not only people, but objects are also within your grabbing range, which is why you took my porcelain doll earlier."
At his words, Miao Yu and the others, whether hiding in plain sight or in the shadows, immediately pulled out some inconsequential items to hold in front of them. After all, the "random grab" move was really troublesome.
"You're right." Kong Cheng didn't deny it either. He raised his hand, and the broom that was originally in Xu Huo's hand vanished into thin air, then reappeared in his own hand.
"How the hell does that work!" Chu Yuan couldn't help but curse.
Everyone present felt their hearts tighten. That broom was a very powerful item. They hadn't expected that even after it was snatched away, it could still be retrieved.
Unlike the others, Xu Huo wasn't very surprised that Kong Cheng had taken back the broom. Looking at the broom that had reappeared in the other's hand, he said, "Your item, on one side it sweeps away garbage, and on the other it crushes garbage. But these two abilities don't seem to be fixed. If I'm guessing correctly, they should be used alternately, right? After using the sweeping function once, the next use is the crushing function."
Kong Cheng narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. "Your wallet can't be used indefinitely either, and your sword also has usage conditions. Since you seem to have a decent head on your shoulders, why not work for me? I guarantee you wealth and honor outside, and a place on the Isar Coast."
Xu Huo smiled. "Sorry, but I don't have a career plan to be someone's enforcer."
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Gan Qing, who immediately released a green light to interfere with their vision, and the briefly paused battle was triggered once again!
Wu Xiaonan and Miao Yu simultaneously targeted Kong Hui, who couldn't step out of the numbered grid. Gan Qing lured away Lou Fu, while Wan Yunrong and Chu Yuan, taking advantage of the enemy players being scattered, crept toward Dr. Deng, who was only protected by Tong Jian.
The drifting green light was dazzling, and at the same time, eerie and strange voices sounded in the darkness, with twisted and terrifying figures flickering into existence around them.
"Ghosts!" Wan Yunrong screamed in fright, reflexively throwing an electric ball at them, but the ghostly figure instantly disappeared from its spot and reappeared elsewhere.
"Ghost! Ghost!" Dr. Deng was also terrified, clutching his music box and running recklessly. Tong Jian grabbed him. "Do you want to die...!"
Before he could finish his sentence, his body tilted slightly. A sword aura shot out from Xu Huo's hand, sweeping past the two of them and carving a long vertical crack in the wall several meters behind them.
But it wasn't over. With one sword strike missing its mark, the combat zone between Xu Huo and Kong Cheng quickly shifted toward them.
Tong Jian dragged Dr. Deng and ran far away, while Wan Yunrong and Chu Yuan, having recovered from the shock of the ghostly figures everywhere, gritted their teeth and gave chase.
The current situation was that Wu Xiaonan and Miao Yu were both formidable, but killing Kong Hui, who stood still in place, wasn't easy either. Xu Huo, who was single-handedly holding off Kong Cheng, was basically on the defensive, only able to counterattack once for every two moves Kong Cheng made.
Capturing Dr. Deng was their chance to turn the tables!
Xu Huo wasn't actually struggling as much as he appeared. Although his physical evolution wasn't as strong as Kong Cheng's, his mental ability had undergone a secondary evolution. After super evolution, his brain's ability to predict and capture objects had significantly improved. Additionally, the items "Stuttering Malice" and "Seeing Is Believing" provided some compensation.
He wasn't as fast as Kong Cheng, but Kong Cheng didn't have an absolute advantage in physical ability either.
The real trouble was still the items and traits.
"Random Grab" and "Direct Hit" were both effective against him. The broom, which combined both abilities, also worked on him. Although the Crimson Sword wouldn't break under the broom, Xu Huo was careful to protect his items and didn't always use the sword to block.
However, he noticed that the intervals between Kong Cheng's commonly used abilities were getting longer over time, and their effects were weakening. The most recent time Kong Cheng used "Random Grab," Xu Huo could clearly feel a significant reduction in power.
Although Kong Cheng had been using his physical strength to compensate for this flaw, a careful observer could easily tell he was deliberately covering it up.
As time passed, Kong Cheng seemed to realize that Xu Huo was observing him and even had the spare capacity to test his traits and items. His expression was no longer as calm as before. He suddenly stopped attacking, extended both palms forward, and clapped them together: "Format!"
Before the words faded, the metal panels on the ceiling, floor, and walls of the corridor all bulged and deformed, crazily squeezing inward, and surged along the corridor like an explosion!
Seeing this, Xu Huo turned and ran, but his speed couldn't match the corridor's deformation. Just as he was about to escape the corridor, the metal panels clamped down on him. If he hadn't prepared some protective gear in advance, his bones would probably have been crushed by now!
"Xu Zhi... keep your distance!" Chu Yuan ran back from ahead, pasted a legal paper onto the twisted metal, and the metal that had been pinning him tightly automatically retracted an inch, giving him just enough room to move.
"Why did you come back?" Xu Huo asked as he pulled himself free.
"I don't know what happened. I was chasing them, and then they just disappeared," Chu Yuan said. "So I had to turn back and check. How are you? Where's Kong Cheng?"
"Boom! Boom!" Two loud noises came from nearby. The time between the first and second was short, but the distance spanned was quite far. Before the two could react, Kong Cheng, clad in a metal outer shell, burst through the wall and punched toward the back of Chu Yuan's head!
Xu Huo quickly pulled Chu Yuan aside while simultaneously kicking out!
Protected by his trait, his leg wasn't severely damaged, and he actually matched Kong Cheng evenly.
As both of them retreated, Xu Huo swung his sword, while Kong Cheng didn't dodge but instead used "Random Grab."
The distance between them suddenly shortened, and both prepared for close combat. But unexpectedly, Chu Yuan threw a coffin from behind.
A real coffin, coming in vertically.
Before Xu Huo touched the coffin, he forcibly thrust his sword into the wall beside him, interrupting the grab, and then flipped away to avoid the coffin.
Kong Cheng in front didn't dodge. He first swung his broom, and when he found it couldn't cut the coffin, he used "Format." The metal panels that converged again managed to trap the coffin, but when the lid opened, a powerful suction force pulled him inside. Then the lid closed, followed by a series of thumping and crashing sounds from within.
"Coffin Nail." Chu Yuan smiled at Xu Huo, relieved to have survived. "Good thing I made it in time. Let's go quickly. The effect of this item only lasts a few minutes."
Xu Huo tried to slash the coffin with his sword, but when he couldn't cut it, he gave up on the idea of killing Kong Cheng along with it and instead went with Chu Yuan to find Dr. Deng.
(Chapter End)