Chapter 921: Abandon the Target
First, the player who "holds" the living sample is strong, but not overwhelmingly so. Whether he's using the sample as bait or has some other purpose, the number of players he has killed is small, and the intervals between kills are long, indicating he cannot successfully kill multiple players in a short period of time.
This leads to the second fact—this player cannot easily escape his current situation.
If he only wanted to kill a few people, there would be no need to stay here for so long. Whether the player controlling the living sample is a C-level player or a higher-level player, he should at least be the mission player for this task.
While Xu Huo was gathering information from other players, the baby-faced player who had slipped away earlier had already teamed up with two other players to try to approach the area isolated by the other players.
According to other players' descriptions, any player who approached the building was automatically separated, especially those moving on the ground. This gave the baby-faced player, who excelled in aerial combat, a certain advantage.
Although his large scythe was gone, his clown suit was still intact.
After a period of preparation, he approached again, and the area near the building immediately fell into gravitational chaos. The baby-faced player and the other two who took advantage of the chaos attacked the building from three different directions.
Under the influence of gravity, the metal object standing on top of the building shifted slightly.
The baby-faced player could lift half a building, but his power had a greater effect on the structure itself and less impact on other objects within the chaotic range, including people.
Moving that metal object was somewhat difficult, but this brief shift had already made many players restless. Within one or two seconds, four shadows emerged from the nearby building ruins.
Including the baby-faced player and his two companions, a total of seven players each chose a direction and rushed toward the building. Some of them were seen using movement items, but all of them stopped in front of the building—forced to halt at the entrance. Then, everyone, including the baby-faced player, froze in place:
The wide ground seemed to grow on its own, pushing outward along with the building. Even though they hadn't touched the ground or a single brick of the building, the players on the ground and in the air felt as if they were standing on an escalator, being pushed backward, directly sent two hundred meters away. Strangely, the street that seemed to grow from the cracks didn't disappear after the shift—it actually settled there in reality!
None of the seven players managed to enter the building. Weighing their options, they quickly retreated from the building's perimeter.
Xu Huo stood not far away and witnessed the entire process. This was indeed not an illusion but a real spatial change. However, it wasn't the space itself extending; it was more like a connection, as if a spatial rift had appeared here, and the extra streets and buildings were pouring out from the rift—naturally, they were real.
This was a very powerful spatial item. Not only did it splice real spaces, but it also had the ability to restrain other similar items. Otherwise, none of those players would have been blocked at the door.
There were two ways to break through such a spatial barrier: one was to use a targeted item, and the other was to use the ability of Spatial Super Evolution to directly tear through the barrier.
He circled the building and quickly locked onto a spot. "Destination Arrival" failed to enter the building, also being blocked at the entrance. As he emerged from the item, he grabbed the invisible spatial lines with his bare hands and squeezed into the building. However, this was still within the item's control range. After moving only about ten meters, he was pushed out of the building by the surging street. The spatial constraint, which others might not feel, was exceptionally obvious to him.
This was the so-called stiffness. Although no external force could be felt, the person still felt stuck in the air, which was also why the other players couldn't move.
Seeing the rapidly approaching building, Xu Huo adjusted his position somewhat clumsily and entered the building again, only to be sent out once more, retreating fifty meters away. Then his figure disappeared from the spot again.
This time, his movement distance increased, and he entered the building, but he still lingered at the edge.
He could get in, but he couldn't stay for more than two seconds before being pushed out. After several attempts, to avoid the buildings, his position shifted. During this time, other players tried to break through but failed. His repeated attempts seemed somewhat ridiculous.
To the other players, the player controlling the sample couldn't stay here forever. As long as he still had to clear the instance, rather than exhausting themselves like Xu Huo, it was better to wait for the rabbit by the tree.
In just a few minutes, Xu Huo was drenched in sweat. His movements became slower and slower, and his expression grew worse. In his last few attempts, he not only failed to enter the building but also got farther and farther away, unable to even reach the edge.
Seeing that breaking through was hopeless, he finally gritted his teeth and reluctantly retreated.
After he left, some of the players gathered around the building also departed. Some left because they had seen enough of the show, while others followed Xu Huo with ulterior motives.
Once out of everyone's sight, Xu Huo entered a narrow alley and shed his previous exhaustion. He coldly glanced at the tails behind him, used an item to create distance, and then took out a communicator to contact Shangguan Xi.
"I'm at the main entrance... Brother Xu, did you get the sample?" Shangguan Xi asked with a hint of surprise.
"No," Xu Huo dashed his hopes first. "Stay where you are and wait for me."
Shangguan Xi didn't ask further. After hanging up, Xu Huo stepped through space to catch up with a player who had been relentlessly chasing him. After dealing with him, he turned to look at the two players on the other side. His fierce gaze made the two retreat without a fight.
The three who had been chasing him were simply trying to take advantage of his supposed exhaustion to reap the rewards. Little did they know that he was also pretending to fish. With that risk no longer worth taking, and one dead, the remaining two left without any hesitation.
After confirming that the two had left, Xu Huo went to the south gate to meet up with Shangguan Xi and Teacher Ai.
As soon as they met, he said, "The living sample in that building is out of reach. If we hurry, we might still catch the third living sample."
After they entered, their bracelets only showed two living samples. The fate of the remaining one was unknown.
Shangguan Xi wasn't very sure. "Since so many players are lingering in W19, the remaining living sample might not have been transported away."
Xu Huo pointed his chin toward the building. "The chances of that one getting out are very slim. Besides, with so many players waiting to get a piece of the pie, it's better to go after the third sample."
"Maybe arriving at W37 early could bring us other gains."
No matter who got their hands on the living sample, they would all have to go to W37 in the end. That reasoning wasn't wrong.
"But we don't have a car," Shangguan Xi said, adjusting the person on his back. "I don't want to carry him anymore. Let's kill him."
(Chapter End)