The sky over Ting City had already darkened. Due to the evacuation of the surrounding personnel, a black cordon appeared outside the blockade area, isolating it in the center of the city.

The Special Defense Sub-Department was here, which meant many residents lived nearby. For this reason, these few players who managed to escape deliberately chose this location.

It had been a day since the Special Defense Department personnel surrounded them. Apart from an initial confrontation when both sides took a defensive stance, the following time was mainly spent on remote negotiations.

In the garden on the top floor of a residential building, three severely injured players were resting. One of them, while wiping his Long Blade, said, "Those people don’t seem to intend to exchange one person for the residents of a whole building. We really overestimated them."

Beside him sat a woman with red hair, her upper body almost entirely wrapped in bandages, yet her speaking tone was no weaker. "If it were me, I wouldn’t exchange an elite player for those wastes either. Unfortunately, we weren’t well prepared this time, lost a few people, and couldn’t kill ’Ubiquitous Xiaoming’ before leaving."

"Ubiquitous Xiaoming," the Long Blade Player scoffed, "that player’s nickname sounds like a joke. If they hadn’t killed several Special Defense Department people, I wouldn’t have been sure."

"Player nicknames come in all kinds," said another man with shoulder-length hair as he retrieved a plate of fruit from the fridge. "Zone 014 has a large population. It’s no surprise a few elites emerged."

"Ting City isn’t an important place. Instead of wasting time here, wouldn’t it be better to rampage like before? It’s really suffocating to be stuck here!"

The Long Blade player took the pear tossed to him, biting into it before saying, "The boss’s decision must be right."

"In Zone 014, not only are the government’s players strong, but there are also various independent player groups that are very powerful. These non-governmental player groups do not submit to each other, but they hold in high regard a player known by the codename X. Reportedly, X’s return location is in Ting City, and from information circulating among player groups, Ting City has been exclusively allocated to X."

As he spoke, he pushed a makeshift tablet onto the table, displaying Xu Huo’s personal information.

"X’s information is basically public online, with hardly any player organization unaware of them."

The red-haired woman leaned over for a look, "Quite a charismatic appearance, but who knows if they’re as formidable as the legends say."

"Anyone esteemed by player groups has some real skills," said the Long Blade player. "The boss set the final destination here because of this."

"Both Ting City and X hold a special place for the player groups. The Special Defense Department can’t act recklessly here. Waiting here is advantageous for us."

"You’ve seen the Special Defense Department’s offensive. They haven’t sent their top elites; we must act cautiously."

"Alright, alright," the long-haired player waved his hand dismissively, "I was just saying, never mind, I’ll go check on Old Wu and the others..."

Before he could finish speaking, all three showed a change in expression, immediately rushing to a spot less than three hundred meters from the community.

When they arrived, another companion had also arrived. Facing each other, they spread out in different parts of the building, then turned their gazes to the source of the power fluctuations.

In a nearby alley, two of their companions were in a standoff with a man and a woman. One of their Spatial Artifacts was being idly toyed with by the woman.

"This is my territory. What are you doing in my house?" The woman raised a communicator. The mechanical voice devoid of emotional fluctuation, but from her facial expression, she seemed a bit unhappy.

However, the six players from the Outer Zone weren’t focused on her, but rather on the man standing behind her.

Despite the man’s unhealed injuries, just standing there doing nothing exerted immense pressure on them. He wasn’t wearing any Protective Suit or Prop to conceal his Evolution level, and judging from his breathing rhythm and physical state, he was undoubtedly a Rank-B player...

A player at the same level as them, yet exerting overwhelming pressure.

The two players facing Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting noticed them first. Looking like they had returned from a game, their strength differed significantly from the Special Defense Department players. Besides the famous "X" in Zone 014, they considered no other possibilities.

But they had analyzed this person before coming to Ting City. Judging from the timing, without any special circumstances, it was too soon for him to have returned to Zone 014.

"We have such terrible luck, running into him like this." The Long Blade player downed an energy potion and drew the freshly polished Long Blade. "A tough battle is about to begin..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a special power suddenly enveloped him. Everything seemed to happen in a flash; not only did he have no time to react, but even the companions standing beside him didn’t realize: death could come so swiftly!

"Sixth Brother!" accompanied by the red-haired woman’s exclamation, the Long Blade in his hand clattered to the ground, along with his prop costume and a pile of dust—a living person turned to powder in an instant!

In fact, it wasn’t just the Long Blade player affected. Two players in the alley were also immobilized. Though they weren’t as unlucky, the skin on their faces and hands visibly aged rapidly, and they were rendered powerless to resist.

"Temporal Evolution..." the long-haired man uttered through gritted teeth. Just as he was about to signal for the remaining companions to escape, his body suddenly froze, uncontrollably plunging into a portal that had just opened on the ground, dropping him right in front of Xu Huo.

Not only him, but the red-haired woman and the other remaining player were also pulled into the alley.

Facing each other, the red-haired woman threw six Props simultaneously activating two Characteristics. At such close proximity, with no barrier in between, even if the Props could be deflected, the Characteristics certainly couldn’t be!

The red-haired woman had this mindset as she released the Props and Characteristics, leaping forward to thrust a Long Sword that could emit beams directly at Xu Huo’s abdomen!

Unfortunately, neither the Props nor the Characteristics took effect, and Xu Huo and the Girl in the painting remained unaffected. Just as the red-haired woman thought to retreat, a black line swiped from behind her!

She immediately activated a Defense Prop to block the attack, but then the thin black line spread across the Defensive Barrier, enveloping it like a black liquid!

"What is this!" the red-haired woman forcibly broke out of the Materialized Item’s encirclement, targeting the Girl in the painting nearby.