At that moment, Long Ming was the first to jump out of the truck. Using it as cover, he quickly raised his carbine and returned fire.

Guardian Chapter and the others quickly jumped out from the left side, desperately spraying bullets up the mountainside.

But just then, a falling boulder crashed into the truck.

The entire vehicle immediately tilted sharply to the left, looking as if it was about to tip over.

"The truck’s gonna flip!"

Qin Ye and the others shouted in terror.

Fortunately, this time, everyone worked together to hold it steady. The truck tilted up on its left side for a moment before stabilizing again.

"Stay down and don’t move!"

Long Ming yelled at Qin Ye and the others while returning fire.

Qin Ye and the others immediately hit the deck, covering their heads and not daring to look up.

Just then, Zhao Chen and Xu Lie also jumped out from the driver’s cabin.

Long Ming and his team then used the truck for cover, unleashing a furious counterattack against the players on the mountainside.

BANG! BANG!

"Aargh!"

In an instant, player after player on the mountain was shot and killed.

This group of ambushers had very poor weapons. It was obvious they had entered the game just to hunt other players and loot their bodies.

Besides, their skills were mediocre at best.

As a result, after just a few minutes of trading fire, more than half of them were dead or wounded.

"Holy shit, how is their aim so good?"

The faces of the ambushers were etched with terror.

Then, they shouted to a man in camouflage fatigues with a black cloth covering his face.

"Brother Yan Qiu, we can’t hold on much longer!"

Lin Yanqiu glanced around and saw his companions falling one by one. Fear gripped him, and he hurriedly shouted.

"Retreat!"

The surviving players immediately turned to flee.

Seeing them trying to escape, Qin Ye furiously gave the order.

"You think you can just run after an ambush? Not a chance! Finish them! Leave no one alive!"

Hearing the order, Long Ming and the others stopped hiding behind the truck. They charged out with incredible speed, firing as they gave chase.

...

----------------------------------------------

「Outside the Observatory Base City.」

On a high mountain peak, an extended telescope poked out from the dense foliage.

A man with small eyes and a round face, dressed in a green combat suit, was lying on a tree branch, secretly observing a distant bridge through the telescope. He muttered to himself.

"Bro, let me tell you! This instance has 3,000 people. The three major guilds are all here. They’re definitely going to fight to the death for that quest reward."

"Holy crap, that intense?"

"Are they crazy? How many people will die and how much money will be lost over a single quest!"

"What the hell do you know? This isn’t something you can measure in money!"

"Exactly! Hurry up and start fighting! I want to see rivers of blood!"

"Just thinking about it is exciting."

...

A constant stream of bullet comments popped up on the external livestream interface.

"My bros, this time I, Sun Zhou, am going all out! I’ll definitely film the front-line battle for you all."

Sun Zhou whispered into his stream.

"The streamer is awesome!"

...

Numerous watching players replied excitedly.

Just then, Sun Zhou said nervously.

"Bros, look quick! People from the Sin Abyss Guild are entering the city."

"Where!"

"Streamer, switch your view!"

...

A constant stream of messages popped up on the livestream screen.

Although Sun Zhou couldn’t see the external comments, he very professionally raised his wristband, tapped it a few times, and switched to his own point of view.

Everyone could now see through Sun Zhou’s eyes. In the distance, a long convoy of vehicles was approaching majestically. The lead vehicle even had a heavy machine gun mounted on it.

"See that? A heavy machine gun! That’s the power of a major guild for you."

"Streamer, you’re way too far away!"

"Yeah, get closer!"

...

"Bros, these guys are pros. I’m taking a huge risk just to secretly film this. To all my big brothers and big sisters out there, seeing as I’m working so hard, please send me some gifts! This little brother would be eternally grateful."

Sun Zhou begged his fans in the stream for gifts while secretly broadcasting.

...

「Upper City District, Huanhai Villa.」

Qian Wu sat sideways on an elegant mahogany chair, resting his chin on one hand as he watched the livestream projection before him.

On the projection, Qian Wei and a group of subordinates had also arrived at the Observatory Base City. Any players they encountered along the way were crushed like rotten wood, utterly unable to slow their advance in the slightest.

"Lord Qian Wu, Young Master Qian Wei is truly outstanding. He’s already entered the Observatory Base City without a single casualty. It seems victory this time will be his and his alone."

Akain the butler said with a smile.

"Mm."

A faint smile appeared on Qian Wu’s face. He, too, was quite satisfied with Qian Wei’s recent performance.

Just then, a man with a pale face, a scar on his left brow so deep the bone was visible, deep-set eyes, and a dangerous aura emanating from his entire body, gave a raspy reminder.

"Lord Qian Wu, members of the Star God Guild and the Sin Abyss Guild have also entered. It won’t be so easy to defeat both of them and claim victory. Also, from what I know, Miss Luo Bing has entered as well. She definitely won’t just hand the quest over to the Young Master."

"I know."

Qian Wu replied calmly to Lu Ran.

Seeing this, Lu Ran stood quietly to the side and said no more.

...

「Star Wish Cafe, First Floor Hall.」

Mira, Xiaoqi, Cao Jie, and the others were all watching a livestream projection.

On the livestream, a short, clever-looking man with a mustache was hiding in a rushing river. He would occasionally poke his head out to glance at the bridge ahead, livestreaming in a hushed voice.

"I’m currently located in the river outside the Observatory Base City. This bridge is one of the mandatory routes to the observatory. So far, I’ve seen three squads cross, and a dozen or so teams of independent players have died on it."

"As expected of the sneakiest streamer!"

"That’s just too awesome!"

...

A stream of bullet comments kept popping up.

Just then, Xiaoqi watched the stream and said to Mira with envy.

"Sister Mira, when will we be able to participate in the Observatory instance raid?"

"That’s a bit difficult. Although more and more invitation scrolls for the Observatory instance are dropping, their price is still holding firm. With the invitations we’ve collected, it would be a stretch just to enter once! So, the guild won’t launch a raid until we are fully prepared."

"Then what about the safe deposit box quest?"

"Don’t even think about that for now. Even if we could get in, let’s not even talk about whether we could win. Even if we did, the quest probably wouldn’t fall to us to complete."

Mira said to Xiaoqi.

"Understood."

Xiaoqi nodded.

...

「Crott Mountains, Winding Mountain Road.」

Long Ming stood on the hillside, raising the M24 in his hands and aiming into the distance.

At that moment, Lin Yanqiu was fleeing in a pathetic state, as if he’d seen a ghost.

Long Ming then pulled the trigger.

FWOOSH~

Lin Yanqiu immediately fell to the ground.

Long Ming gazed at the fallen body, his eyes flickering slightly as if lost in thought.

Seeing that Long Ming had taken care of the last player, Zhao Chen and the others spoke up.

"That’s all of them. Let’s pull out!"

"Wait!"

Long Ming pulled the trigger again, firing another shot.

"Aargh! You motherfucker!"

A miserable scream rang out.

The fallen player gradually dissolved into white light and disappeared.

Zhao Chen and the others hadn’t expected that guy to still be alive.

"Alright, let’s go."

Long Ming slung his sniper rifle over his back and turned to leave.