Chapter 886: Illusionary Clash
Gan Yi let out a cold laugh. "Die? It's not certain who will die!"
As his words fell, a semi-transparent box appeared beside Xu Huo, like a rectangular cabinet, directly trapping him inside.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The Crimson Sword slashed several times in succession, but left not a single scratch on this semi-transparent barrier. Xu Huo then tried several other items in quick succession, but still couldn't break through this two-square-meter item space.
At this moment, Gan Yi was supporting the "Eye of the Dead," his expression twisted as he slowly pulled the sword out. "This sword of yours is a good thing. It can even pierce my defensive items. If you were holding this item, the 'Box of Life and Death' might not have been able to trap you."
Xu Huo seemed to have given up trying to break the item. He looked at Gan Yi. "Can your item seal a ticket?"
"Haha." Gan Yi let out a low laugh. "Did you really clear the instance?"
"If you had cleared it, why wouldn't you leave? Putting on a show of killing people, isn't that just to cover up the fact that you haven't cleared it?"
Xu Huo said with a faint, ambiguous smile. "If I said I stayed because of you, you definitely wouldn't believe me."
Gan Yi's expression shifted slightly. He quickened his pace, consumed two bottles of Self-Healing Agent, then stored the "Eye of the Dead" in his luggage compartment. Maintaining a certain distance from the "Box of Life and Death," he walked half a circle around Xu Huo, positioning the "Box of Life and Death" between himself and Sha Jia and You Si. He warned the two, "Instead of finding a way to clear the instance, you want to go save a complete stranger. In all my years surviving this game, this is the first time I've seen a 'good person.'"
You Si let out a snort. "Good person or not is one thing. I just plain don't like the look of you. A D-rank player ambushing an ordinary person—I'm embarrassed for you!"
"He's a C-rank player," Xu Huo added.
This statement made Sha Jia and You Si hold back a little. Although witnessing Gan Yi being beaten down by Xu Huo didn't make him look like a C-rank player at all, they, unlike Xu Huo, didn't possess both Spatial and Mental Super Evolution.
And Gan Yi wasn't actually as weak as he appeared. The reason he hadn't shown the true strength of a C-rank player against Xu Huo wasn't just because his opponent was too strong. Back in District 011, Ashis Werner had blown up several of his high-level items. Later, at Rose Castle, he was captured by Bai Kou and had to use another high-level item to escape at the cost of two fingers.
Gan Yi looked at the two and laughed. "Even though I'm injured, taking care of you two is no problem. Feel free to come and try."
Before Sha Jia and You Si could speak, Xu Huo raised his hand to stop them. "Don't just stand around chatting. Let's talk about the real business."
Gan Yi gave him a cold glare, clenched his left hand, and the range of the "Box of Life and Death" rapidly shrank to the size just enough for one person to stand, firmly trapping Xu Huo in the middle.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
The trapped Xu Huo showed no concern for his own predicament. With a calm expression, he said, "Just doing a favor for someone. Lady Lily didn't want to see her brother dragged down by a player from the Holy Sword Society... I didn't expect you Holy Sword Society people to be so capable. Not only did you kill quite a few Black Epaulets, but you also managed to steal items from the laboratory and get away clean."
Gan Yi finished listening and then laughed. "So you're also one of that woman's bed warmers. Genius or not, for the sake of a bit of pleasure between your legs, you're willing to be driven by a woman—ridiculous!"
But a few seconds later, under Xu Huo's gaze, his smile vanished. Enraged, he tightened the "Box of Life and Death" again. "You're messing with me!"
Xu Huo, inside the "Box of Life and Death," was forced to stand on tiptoe, his arms pressed against his body in an awkward position, his form slightly distorted. But his tone didn't change. "I'm not interested in the power struggles of District 011's nobles. But the Holy Sword Society is different."
"I want to know who owns that paper-based item that kills using blood and names."
"The one holding it should be a Gold Disciple of the Holy Sword Society."
"Also, the Holy Sword Society has quite a few people buried in District 011. I'm a bit curious about your goal. It can't just be for grabbing a Primordial Stone, can it?"
Gan Yi tried to hide his emotions, but human instinct still revealed some clues. He didn't directly answer Xu Huo's question. Instead, he said, "A hired hand has professional ethics. I don't ask too many questions."
"You mean you were hired." Xu Huo nodded slightly. "Was the price offered by the nobles worth a C-rank player like you ending up imprisoned and tortured?"
"Everyone has a price. It just depends on whether the offer is good enough..." Gan Yi paused mid-sentence, then suddenly looked around at the others in the square. The surrounding silence was clearly abnormal. And Xu Huo, trapped in the "Box of Life and Death," should have long shown signs of suffocation from the thinning air... He quickly stepped back, but his back hit a hard object!
He turned his head reflexively and saw the wall of Friendship Garden Square. Looking ahead again, cracks suddenly appeared on the "Box of Life and Death." With a series of "crack, crack, crack" sounds of shattering, it broke into a pile of debris within seconds. Xu Huo shook out his clothes and walked out from inside, reaching out towards him.
Gan Yi wanted to flee, but when he looked down, he found the "Eye of the Dead" still stuck in his own body, the blade already cutting into his shoulder bone!
Xu Huo pulled the "Eye of the Dead" out.
The bacteria had already eroded most of Gan Yi's body, and most of his face had changed color. He knelt on the ground, gasping heavily, while Player 27 beside him lay dead on the ground.
Realizing that ordinary antidotes couldn't neutralize this poison, Gan Yi raised his hand and stabbed it straight into his own throat. His fingers pierced his windpipe, and he let out a pained howl, staring at Xu Huo with eyes full of resentment. He said with difficulty, "I never thought... I would die so pathetically... The Holy Sword Society will avenge me..."
Xu Huo walked over to him, crouched down, and said, "Are you committing suicide for the Holy Sword Society, or simply because you don't want your items to fall into my hands? Does dressing up your intentions as noble add a bit of glory to your death? Too bad there's no holy light on your corpse."
Gan Yi suddenly laughed. He lunged forward and grabbed Xu Huo's foot. Three raised bumps, like worms, rapidly crawled up from his blood vessels towards the top!
Xu Huo quickly retreated and tore open his shirt, deftly cutting two blood vessels on his arm. But one of the bumps had already reached his shoulder. Unable to stop it in time, it burrowed into his heart!
His expression immediately contorted in pain. He fell to the ground, vomiting blood in great gushes!
Gan Yi laughed heartily, slowly pulling his hand out of his "pierced" neck. The skin that had been bleeding moments ago slowly healed. He stood up, looking down at the kneeling man. "What a pity, dying so young. Don't worry, after you're dead, I'll take your body away. Feeding it to the Xenomorphs wouldn't be bad either. It would be a waste not to use this dual Super Evolution body of yours!"
"Now I see it. The Holy Sword Society people have no other strengths, but being black-hearted and sharp-tongued is top-notch." Under Gan Yi's incredulous gaze, Xu Huo, who had been "vomiting blood," slowly stood up.
(Chapter End)