Chapter 884: Double S Rating and C-Level Player
At that moment, a shadow suddenly split off from Number 18, creating two identical figures. One held back Shaka, while the other kicked off the air and charged up the spiral staircase.
At the same time, a burning hand extended from the air ahead—only a single palm. Its owner stood more than ten meters away, his right hand kept in a forward-reaching motion, but everything below the wrist had vanished into thin air. It looked as if his arm and hand had separated, yet pierced through space to make a connection!
Xu Huo waved his hand, and the staircase beneath him split in two. As he stepped away with Xiaoxiao, the other half of the staircase slammed into Number 18, leaving only Gan Yi's hand following them like a shadow.
A hand that was both real and illusory—normal attacks seemed unable to hit it. But this time, unlike at Rose Castle, Xu Huo clearly detected something like a gap or passage in the space, beyond just the fluctuations of air currents. Instead of grabbing the hand directly, he used the spatial distortion caused by Gan Yi to reach in from the side and seize it!
Gan Yi, standing far away, changed expression instantly and tried to pull his hand back. But Xu Huo smiled at him and twisted off his ring finger and little finger!
Gan Yi grimaced in pain, forcibly withdrawing his hand from the space. When he looked around, over a dozen spiral staircases had risen in succession. He quickly retreated but saw Zhuang Mengtian trapped between two staircases, calling for help.
He did not hesitate to fall back.
On the other side, Number 18 and Number 27 were also held up by Shaka and You Si. The rotating staircases invisibly widened the distance between them.
"Illusion!" Number 18 shouted. But the next second, Xu Huo pierced through space and appeared before him.
The moment their eyes met, Number 18's pupils contracted. He used a defense item immediately, but the next second, he was still struck by the "Eye of the Dead"!
Number 18 flew back over ten meters. Though uninjured upon landing, his defense item had shattered.
Even facing three opponents, Xu Huo held the upper hand. If the fight continued, it would come down to life-or-death stakes. Number 18 and Gan Yi were both prepared, but Xu Huo stopped. He turned on the spot, made a single stepping motion, and crossed over ten meters to return to Xiaoxiao's side. At the same time, he waved his hand to use the staircase to separate the entangled Number 27 and You Si.
"Spatial Super Evolution, Mental Super Evolution... are you really a D-level player?" Number 18 asked suspiciously. "High-level players entering low-level instances aren't allowed to destroy the instance either."
"You don't need to worry about that." Xu Huo glanced at him, then looked at Zhuang Mengtian, who was picking up her severed hand from the ground.
The person who had been bending over froze. After retrieving her hand, she also took the watch.
Xu Huo nodded in satisfaction and added, "Fighting hurts friendships. If there's any grudge, why not wait until I finish this mission?"
Gan Yi and the others had grim expressions. No matter how fast a player moved, they could still be tracked—but just now, when Xu Huo moved, it seemed as if he briefly vanished from the air!
Of course, it wasn't true disappearance, but his use of spatial power, which those without such abilities couldn't perceive.
Not to mention that he had also undergone Super Evolution in the mental aspect. Judging by the range and intensity just now, given enough time, he could easily trap several players of the same level.
When Gan Yi entered the botanical garden, he had noticed something unusual inside. So after teaming up with Zhuang Mengtian, he lent her a small prop to trap Xu Huo. Whether it worked or not was one thing; probing Xu Huo's limits was another. But he hadn't expected Xu Huo to escape so quickly. And during their clash in Zone 011, Xu Huo had even fled to the station to avoid his attack—if he had already mastered spatial power back then, he could have caught him instead of dodging.
Gan Yi's expression twisted slightly, a mix of regret and jealousy churning within him.
With four players attacking simultaneously and gaining no advantage, the others naturally had no objections to Xu Huo's words.
The square returned to calm.
Xu Huo led Xiaoxiao back to the big screen. He gave her a protective suit, then handed her an invisibility cloak, a bottle of poison, and a prop short sword. Comforting her, he said, "I won't let you die like this. Don't worry."
Xiaoxiao gripped the items tightly and promised, "I'll definitely choose the yellow ball!"
"An exciting fight, though the sides are uneven. A touching friendship—wonder if betrayal will come again," the host commented.
The two sank into the water. Once steady, they touched the yellow ball one after another. The moment the glass door opened, Xu Huo stepped outside. As his figure halted, nearly half of the piranhas in the opposite glass tank had already been released. This time, he didn't use poison but fought head-on.
The other giant fish were manageable, but the giant-toothed octopus was troublesome. It was too large, with too many tentacles, occupying a considerable area. Dodging its limbs made movement inconvenient.
Xu Huo gradually slowed down.
On the other side, after choosing the yellow ball, Xiaoxiao put on the invisibility cloak and shrank into a corner. She was lucky—a man-eating shark entered. With the shrinking space, the shark became clumsy and couldn't reach the edges. Once the poison spread, it eagerly retreated.
But as the shark's tail thrashed, the poison spread outward, also poisoning two heart-shaped octopuses that swam over.
The black venom, floating like smoke in the water, made the other piranhas keep their distance.
Soon, Xiaoxiao swam out, trying to guide the current toward Xu Huo. From her perspective, Xu Huo was already wrapped in octopus tentacles, and her small efforts weren't enough to bring sufficient poison.
Seeing the tentacles pile thicker, she suddenly threw off her invisibility cloak, stabbed a tentacle with the short sword, and shouted, "Come eat me instead!"
The short sword only pierced the skin. Xiaoxiao was bounced back into the big screen. After floating for two seconds, she gripped the sword and stabbed again:
"There aren't many good people in this world. If you eat one, there's one less!"
Several tentacles rose from below, coiled around her body, and tightened. Xiaoxiao coughed violently, losing her grip on the sword. She clawed at the tentacles desperately, quickly losing strength...
[Ding! Congratulations to player Passerby A for successfully clearing the instance "Friendship Lasts Forever." Because you obtained a pure friendship in this instance that was willing to sacrifice life for you, and it is especially precious because it came from the weak, you have received a hidden rating above S-level: Double S Rating.]
[Previously, you accumulated two S-level ratings and two A-level ratings. Combined with this instance, you can rise from D-level player to C-level player.]
[Please continue your efforts, player Passerby A.]
A dark light severed the octopus tentacles. Amid the falling limbs, the giant-toothed octopus and nearby giant piranhas all sank into the depths. Xu Huo retrieved the short sword and carried Xiaoxiao back to the surface.