Chapter 735: Organized Ambush
Now that the truth was out in the open, Jie Ling no longer bothered to secretly guard against others and instead displayed her props openly.
Aside from combat-type props, many props were in the form of small accessories, such as rings, bracelets, buttons, and the like. Xu Huo fiddled with the "Same-Type Seeker," and the props that appeared on Jie Ling afterward were mostly D-rank, with only three C-rank items.
Xiao Ling, on the other hand, was much more discreet—at least on the surface, there was no sign that she had equipped any props.
Jie Ling kept her distance from everyone, including Xu Huo, who had saved her.
"Why hasn't Yu Guangnan come back yet?" Xu Ruosi looked outside and asked Xiao Ling, "Do you know anything about this person's background?"
The implication was that over a dozen players had entered the instance, and Yu Guangnan might be looking for new partners.
"He probably won't," Xiao Ling said. "We met on the way here. I saved him once on the train, and last night at the Decapitation Cemetery, he almost died too..."
Before she could finish, they sensed several players rushing toward them from not far away. Xu Huo kicked through the door panel and charged out of the shop. Xu Ruosi and the other two, though they hadn't detected the danger approaching, immediately followed him. The four of them exited one after another, and the sizable shop was instantly sliced into tofu-like cubes by six beams of light—three horizontal and three vertical!
The attackers were coming for blood, so naturally, they didn't bother to announce their intentions. Besides, in the game, killing didn't require a reason.
"Watch out for the red light!" A voice from ahead blocked Xu Huo and the others' path. A massive red light flared up, forcing them to halt—they couldn't take a single step forward!
"They're coming from behind too!" Xiao Ling warned, tossing out a metal eagle. The eagle soared into the air and dropped several smoke bombs at the pursuers behind them—ordinary poison gas bombs were mediocre in combat, less effective than smoke bombs that could obscure vision.
Before the smoke could clear, Xu Huo used the "Crimson Sword" to slash horizontally ahead. Though the Crimson Sword could injure from a distance, its lethality was limited, and it couldn't destroy props. So this was just a feint; he then leaped onto the nearby rooftop.
Props often had limited ranges. Once he was on the roof, the red light's blocking effect vanished. At the same time, another player was rapidly closing in on him. Using "Compressed Air," he appeared in front of the opponent in an instant, his sword transforming into the "Eye of the Dead."
The opposing player was momentarily startled by his sudden approach but quickly adjusted, pulling out a sword of his own!
The barrier formed by "Compressed Air" dissipated. The two swords clashed, and the opponent's blade snapped in half. The moment it broke, Xu Huo punched him in the face!
At such close range, the player had no chance to dodge. A floating metal shield appeared in front of him, but Xu Huo's fist didn't stop—it smashed straight through the shield and aimed for his throat!
"Smooth Skin Lotion!" The opponent used a prop to slip out from under his grip while extending his other hand!
It seemed he had a prop hidden in his sleeve. Xu Huo didn't retreat; instead, he created a barrier in front of him and charged forward, using "Straight-Line Distance" to accelerate, slamming the player into a nearby shop.
Blocked by the air barrier, the player crashed into the building and tried several props in succession, but none worked—until he pressed a thumb-sized conical spike against the barrier.
"Crack, crack!" The air barrier began to fracture. The player sneered, and several spider-leg-like appendages sprouted from his back, seemingly to trap Xu Huo and prevent his escape.
Xu Huo didn't disappoint him. He had no intention of fleeing; instead, he grabbed one of the metal spider legs, and in the next instant, those legs dissolved into powder in the air!
"One Arrow's Distance!" With his prop destroyed, the player quickly distanced himself from Xu Huo. At the same time, a slender arrow-shaped shadow appeared on the ground between them. As they moved, the shadow's head and tail swayed, always keeping them apart.
Locking eyes, the player suddenly pulled out a whistle and blew it. The next second, he vanished from his spot and reappeared on the street behind a wall, separated by a window. He glanced at Xu Huo from afar, then flipped over a building and fled.
The players who had been fighting Xiao Ling and the others also retreated. Both sides had taken losses, but they fought cautiously without casualties. Even Yu Guangnan, who had returned mid-battle to help Xiao Ling, was present. At the sound of the whistle, the group withdrew without hesitation, showing no delay.
"Who are these people..." Before Yu Guangnan could finish, Xiao Ling kicked him to the ground, her sharp sword tip at his throat. "Did you bring them?!"
Yu Guangnan was stunned for a second but didn't resist. "Absolutely not! I was trying to see where those fake people went. I wandered a bit far, then heard the commotion and rushed back. If I were behind this, why would I stay?"
"Too much of a coincidence. You leave, and they show up. Those people were well-trained and came straight for us. Do you think I can believe you?" Xiao Ling didn't let up, pressing the sword down. Blood trickled from Yu Guangnan's neck, but he still didn't fight back, only kept explaining.
Xu Huo and the other two watched coldly. After a moment, Xu Ruosi spoke up. "Enough. If they wanted to kill, they would have done it already. What's the point of this fake interrogation?"
Earlier, they had suspected Yu Guangnan, and now even Xiao Ling was marked as suspicious.
Xiao Ling stopped arguing with Yu Guangnan and turned to look at Xu Huo—clearly, he was the decision-maker among the three. "So, are we going our separate ways?"
Yes, they were.
The appearance of those attackers meant that more players had entered the 009 zone instance than expected. Whether they were after the instance rewards or the Perfect Potion that might appear in the Museum City, according to the instance's rules, more players would keep coming. Some might even be members of well-trained organizations.
More and more people would learn that the instance only lasted a day. Killing all of them was impossible. Forming different factions was the most practical way to protect themselves. Going solo or with just a few people would make them easy targets.
Those attackers had genuinely tried to kill them, but they were also testing their strength. When they realized they couldn't win quickly, they decisively withdrew—they didn't want to exhaust their resources.
By now, Xu Huo's group had encountered most of the players who had arrived during the day. The cannibal players they killed earlier, the tattooed players watching from the sidelines, and the ones who just ambushed them—over a dozen players, with only one or two unaccounted for.
This wasn't a good sign. Coordinated action meant these people had quickly formed alliances before or shortly after entering the instance.
"If you want us to trust you, you'll have to prove it." Xu Huo's gaze fell on Xiao Ling.