Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 656 - 654: Accidental Killing

Supported by the Dusk Knight's exquisite driving skills, the Stryker Armored Vehicle emerged from the second stage of the race unscathed.

Along the way, they picked up many special items. These included banana peels, which could cause vehicles behind them to slip and crash into walls. There were also golden mushrooms that, once used, allowed the vehicle to accelerate an unlimited number of times for a certain period. Additionally, they found key bombs that could be thrown forwards or backward and would explode after a short delay.

Since there weren't many vehicles around, these items didn't achieve much. At most, they picked up an invincibility star. This item made the vehicle invulnerable, negating all damage and allowing continuous acceleration. This helped block incoming shells from the front and back, as well as lightning, which damaged all vehicles simultaneously and caused them to lose their carried items.

Notably, at the end of the second stage, Claude, who had been lingering at the back, luckily found a Shark Head Bomb item. This transformed his vehicle into a black bomb with eyes and hands. It then charged through the track at a speed that broke the sound barrier, shoving aside all vehicles in its way and surging directly into the front half of the leading group.

The Stryker Armored Vehicle, covered in surface scratches, slowly drove into the second repair area.

Li Ang's hands flashed with electric light, extracting materials from the soil to patch up the mottled marks on the vehicle.

"Need a break?"

Sunset Gold Smelter rubbed his eyes and looked towards the Dusk Knight at the steering wheel. Hesitating for a moment, he said, "You seem tired."

There were three race segments, each 200 kilometers long. The road conditions were extremely complex, and drivers had to remain vigilant, constantly watching other participants. This was incredibly draining. Even Sunset Gold Smelter, who was only responsible for the Prediction view and observing road conditions ahead and behind, felt utterly drained. The Dusk Knight, having driven intensively the entire time, must have been even more exhausted.

"No need."

The Dusk Knight shook his head and said slowly, his voice deep and resonant as if coming from a jar, "I can hold on."

He took out a bottle from his backpack's inventory slot. It was a white glass bottle beverage with a Cross Longsword printed on it. He inserted a straw, slid one end through a crevice in his helmet, and began to drink slowly.

"This is..."

Sunset Gold Smelter noticed the drink's packaging and raised an eyebrow.

"Functional drink," the Dusk Knight said simply. "It's a special limited-edition product that the famous O'Z Restaurant in the square just released today. It's only given to VIP customers who spend a certain amount. It seems to use some special secret ingredient. Drinking it quickly restores energy and relieves fatigue. It tastes good too, with a natural, fresh fragrance."

"Oh, I see."

Sunset Gold Smelter nodded. Each organization had its own functional drink business, offering different concoctions. The Whale Song organization, for instance, also had its own supplements. Since most of Whale Song's members were programmers, their drinks not only relieved fatigue but also had the special effects of promoting hair growth, preventing hair loss, and saving receding hairlines. These received rave reviews upon launch.

Li Ang's expression turned subtly strange. He began to suspect that the drink in the Dusk Knight's hand might actually be one of the Magic Potions from his own shop.

Could it be that the people at O'Z Restaurant bought his Magic Potion, slapped their own label on it, and were giving it away as a non-sale gift?!

Li Ang watched the Dusk Knight sipping with satisfaction. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then held back. He vaguely remembered that this particular Magic Potion seemed to use body secretions from the metabolic process of a certain herbivorous, milk-producing Worm.

In short, body filth.

...Better not to tell him.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Li Ang coughed and greeted his companion before stepping out of the car to take a walk around the repair area.

It was easy to see that the repair area, after the item-filled race segment, had far fewer racers. More than half the teams had been eliminated in the first two stages; some were even injured or killed. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The remaining survivors also looked somber, their faces tense. While some areas along the trackside were staffed with medical teams and vehicles, accidents they couldn't prevent still occurred. Having lived in Central City for so long, even if they weren't well-acquainted with the injured or deceased racers, the survivors couldn't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.

"Go to hell, AHHHH!"

A short-haired boy wearing a blue T-shirt and a red and white cap, his face contorted with grief and anger, ignored the race officials trying to stop him and hurled several PokeBalls at Ezio Auditore.

This short-haired youth was none other than Ash: the Pokemon Master, the Superhuman, the eternally young trickster, the nemesis of Team Rocket, the world's worst Pidgeotto abandoner, an Ultimate Defense Team Member, and the perpetual protagonist of Pokemon.

"Pikachu, Dragonite, Gengar, Bulbasaur! Come out!"

As the PokeBalls burst into light, several impressively intimidating Pokemon stood before Ash, each of their strengths not inferior to that of a racer at the same level.

The reason for the 10-year-old's grief and outrage was simple: his close friend and traveling companion, Brock, had just been killed on the track by a Sleeve Arrow from Ezio Auditore.