Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 660 - 658: Fusion (4K)

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The Stryker Armored Vehicle's thick Metal Armor on the outside was ripped away, replaced by a sturdy, lightweight Chitin Insect Shell with a fine porous structure.

Under the influence of Alchemy, the metal framework of the vehicle's skeleton melted and was recast, changing into an overall more flattened and streamlined shape.

The three players leaned back in shock as the leather seats beneath them were encased, covered, and replaced by the cold yet comfortable embrace of vine tendrils. These vines also discarded less critical components from inside and outside of the vehicle—such as decor, air conditioning, windshield wipers, windshield washers, visors, cigarette lighters, and ashtrays—throwing them out of the vehicle.

The plant vines even thoughtfully knitted three seat belts for them, allowing the players to sit back comfortably in seats reminiscent of those found in sports cars.

However, the rest of the experience was far from delightful.

A dozen differently shaped Worms were thrown down from the holes in the roof, covered in slime. Their mouths, full of sharp teeth, emitted piercing shrieks, flailing their short, small limbs. They quickly scurried over the players' bodies, burrowing into the crevices and corners of the vehicle frame, merging with it and secreting copious amounts of flesh and blood.

The blood, carrying the stench of raw meat, flowed along the vehicle body and was quickly absorbed by the vines, which swelled and expanded, resembling especially thick blood vessels, trembling and shaking, growing, spreading, and crossing throughout the vehicle.

For the three players sitting inside, the experience was extremely bizarre and terrifying. All the sounds, lights, and smells hinted that they had fallen into the innards of some strange creature.

PLOP—

A blob of sticky Worms fell from the ceiling. It resembled an artificially bred giant snail, complete with a lengthy, semi-transparent brown body and two wildly swaying antennae. Unlike normal snails, however, instead of a shell on its back, it carried a pink, wrinkled brain wrapped in a clear gelatinous substance.

The three players gasped. They felt a tingling sensation in their scalps. Although they were not affected by any skill, they could clearly feel their Sanity Values plummeting.

This is... a human brain...

An urge to vomit arose in Sunset Gold Smelter's throat. His database, embedded behind his neck and linked to his cerebellum, clearly showed that the snail was carrying an adult human brain, with the corpus callosum shaped like a cylinder and the left hemisphere more developed.

Healthy, active, brimming with vitality.

As if... it had just been plucked.

PLOP. PLOP.

Slowly yet swiftly, the snail moved over the players' thighs, heading straight for the steering wheel, where the vine tendrils seemed to have anticipated its arrival, splitting apart to create a hole for the snail to crawl into, then closing seamlessly, leaving no trace.

This snail appeared to be some kind of key. As it entered, the entire Stryker Armored Vehicle (now one could also call it a Biological Chariot) trembled slightly. The transparent, gel-like windows on various sides of the vehicle lit up with the brilliance of a rainbow, and from the speakers in the front of the vehicle, a gentle yet magnetic female voice announced, "Ready to depart. Total distance: 198 kilometers. This is Underworld Navigation, at your service."

Matching her words was a virtual projection of the road ahead, displayed on the windshield.

Dusk Knight remained silent, staring at the steering wheel which had now been replaced by a Worm with ring-shaped cartilage. The Worm's body was covered in a circle of marked buttons: "Nitrogen Acceleration," "Super Aiming," "Seat Ejection," "Massage Mode." The most exaggerated was a large button protected by a plastic case, next to which was a yellow and black crossed-out nuclear bomb symbol, giving off an ominous premonition that pressing it would be the end of everything.

"You guys drive first. Give me three minutes to adjust."

Li Ang, who was leaning on the side of the car, didn't wait for his teammates to ask questions. He flipped onto the roof of the alien chariot, lay down, and let himself be swallowed by the plants, disappearing without a trace.

The three players left in the car looked at each other, still immersed in astonishment and shock, but the situation didn't allow them to hesitate any longer.

"Freeze Barrier!"

"Phase Lock!"

"Overbearing Mountain Ascending Kick!"

"Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-B-A!"

"Invite to the heart-stirring golden theater!"

Beams, arrow rains, fire, ice, venom, treasures, Magic Artifacts, talismans...

The various attack methods from the surrounding drivers nearly flipped the entire desert over. Some game characters who excelled at building took advantage of their skills and used materials on hand, picking up remnants of other vehicles from the road to fortify their chariots.

Nick Ramos (protagonist of "Dead Rising 3") continued to reinforce and enlarge his vehicle with shabby parts, making it as huge as a small moving city. Though attacks from other drivers could destroy the city's surface, Mechanic Nick Ramos repaired damage faster than it could be inflicted; destruction couldn't keep up with his construction speed.

The surface of the vehicle—or rather, the bunker—was also equipped with harpoon cannons, ultimate Underworld Death Scythes, and supreme Mechanical Dragons as high-level weapons, their destructive power fully comparable to the skill attacks of other drivers.

Beyond that, some game characters also exhibited abilities not seen in their games.

For example, Ezio Auditore from the Assassin's Union team, the master assassin from the "Assassin's Creed" series, drove his vehicle while his body strangely trembled at high speed, creating dozens of afterimages around him. Whenever an enemy attacked them, their chariot would phase in and out or teleport short distances, much like high-latency lag in online games, easily dodging attacks. Even the chariot driven by Ezio Auditore could suddenly fly half a meter above the ground, reappearing on the road ahead the next second, overtaking several vehicles in one fell swoop.

It looked incredibly glitchy and strange.

This was a hallmark of Ubisoft game characters: they could cleverly exploit System bugs that appear in Ubisoft games, such as Flash, wall-clipping, model glitching, texture failures, character spasms and launches, vehicle levitation, and so on, to achieve all sorts of incredible "superpowers."

For a time, the racetrack was a chaotic scene, with everyone showing off their divine powers. The originally straight and level road was now riddled with potholes, its shape unrecognizable.

For some reason, when game characters deployed their skills, they always shouted out the names of their moves. It might have been a personal preference or some deep-rooted setting of the game world. Either way, this setting greatly facilitated Dusk Knight's ability to drive and hide, as the Biological Chariot came with an in-built Perception Enhancement System. Whenever danger approached, the Brain Worm concealed within the chariot's body would use the Worm Sensor to preemptively sense the enemy skill's Energy level, speed, and direction, assess its threat, establish a safe route, and finally project the route onto the windshield through Special Effect Worms, aiding Dusk Knight in steering, offering an experience as smooth as silk.

In tandem with Sunset Gold Smelter's predictive visuals, the Biological Chariot left others in the dust. Amidst the harsh environment filled with skill attacks, it weaved and dodged agilely, rapidly chasing Kratos and Chino Bio up ahead.

Such brazen actions naturally caught the attention of the drivers behind. They were in the heat of battle; how could they allow someone to escape the battlefield with a speed advantage?

"Thinking of leaving?"

A burly man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, wearing a ripped white fighter's outfit and a Red Headband (Ryu from the "Street Fighter" series), stood barefoot on the vehicle. Frowning and glaring, he placed his palms together at his right side, forming a sphere, then suddenly swung them forward.

"Wave Fist!"

A basketball-sized blue and white energy cannonball shot out from Ryu's palm, heading straight for the Biological Chariot, absorbing the wind along the way, growing larger as it traveled. By the time it reached the rear of the Biological Chariot, it had almost reached the size of the vehicle itself.

"Bigby's Flying Fist!"

The Witch made a snap decision, summoning a pair of huge, purple, transparent hands—comparable to city walls—to block behind the vehicle.

BOOM!

The energy cannon, the Wave Fist, spun rapidly with the wind and struck hard against the purple hands, punching a hole right through their centers.

It was blocked.

The Witch's face turned pale. She hastily took out a bottle of blue potion and drank it, steadying the chaotic flow of Mana within her Magic Circuit.

Game characters from the Fighting genre, though generally not adept at driving, could leverage their personal combat strengths in the relentless segments of the Bloody Racetrack. Once the distance between vehicles closed, survival became difficult under the onslaught of attacks, let alone maintaining the vehicle and crossing the finish line.

"Oh? It actually blocked it?" Ryu raised an eyebrow and shouted, "Kula!"

Standing beside him, a cool-looking girl with long blue hair, wearing a red tracksuit and brownish-yellow gloves (Kula Diamond from the "King of Fighters" series), nodded. She brought her index and middle fingers to her lips and gently exhaled toward the road in front of their vehicle.

"WHOOSH—"

Her breath, mingled with ice crystals and extreme cold, covered the road surface, instantly coating the concrete with a thick layer of smooth ice. Their chariot, now on the ice with extremely low friction, was driven by inertia, sliding forward rapidly.

A tanned girl stood at the rear of the vehicle. She was dressed in a wide-sleeved short dress and thigh-high boots, her short aqua hair topped with a hat adorned with a rabbit skull and large arms. (This was Cerebella, a "Rough Diamond" type character, from the fighting game "Skullgirls.")

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The muscular hat atop the girl's head pounded the icy road behind the vehicle with its huge fists, one punch after another, propelling their vehicle forward. It also used the giant ice chunks flung by its punches to create disturbances for the vehicles behind them.

In a matter of moments, Ryu's chariot had caught up with the Biological Chariot, biting close behind it.

Gonna die, gonna die, gonna die—

Sunset Gold Smelter clenched his teeth. He could feel the terrifying Energy fluctuations emanating from these Fighting game characters. Perhaps only the pigtailed blonde girl driving their car (Marie Rose from the fighting game "Dead or Alive") was a bit lower than the players in terms of Energy levels.

Although this is a bit unethical... there's no time to worry about that now.

Sunset Gold Smelter pursed his lips, his hands forming a seal as lines of green data flowed upward through his eyes.

[Skill Name: Cyber Martial Arts—Puppetry Secret Technique]

[Type: Spiritual Energy]

[Special Effect: Mental Intrusion. Targets an individual within the line of sight and forces them to mimic one's own actions. Any attack or being attacked will forcibly terminate the intrusion.]

[Consumption: 20 Sanity Value points per second]

[Cooldown: 100 minutes]

[Requirements: Body at least 30% cybernetically enhanced, Sanity Value ≥ 400]

[Note: Must maintain direct eye contact with the target during intrusion.]

[Note: Higher target level and stronger will increase failure probability. Failure results in backlash.]

[Note: The Puppetry Secret Technique was created by a Zen martial arts grandmaster of the Vortex Gang in New Tokyo's Rivet City. He was formerly a motorcycle repairman, a guest Mechanic for New Tokyo's Ninth Lesson, an Underground Boxing Master, a Kabukicho Cowboy, a Private Detective, and a Bounty Hunter. After retiring, he joined the burgeoning Vortex Gang in Rivet City as an elder, incidentally teaching the gang leader's daughter Cyber Martial Arts.]

HUM—

An inaudible vibrational wave spread silently through the air. Green data, identical to Sunset Gold Smelter's, began to flow in the eyes of Marie Rose, the pigtailed blonde girl driving the other vehicle.

Her thoughts gradually slowed, her will slowly sinking.

Marie Rose's eyes turned vacant. She suddenly twisted the steering wheel to the left, steering their vehicle off the frozen path.

Their chariot skidded and shook, on the verge of flipping over, but the three Fighters aboard stood their ground, their legs rooted to the vehicle's body. Their bodies were tempered through constant combat, their Fighting skills refined to perfection. This level of shaking didn't trouble them much; it was like a gentle breeze.

BOOM!

Cerebella (Rough Diamond) punched the ground, her huge arms digging deep into the concrete blocks, forcefully pulling their vehicle back onto its intended course. She even managed to shorten the distance to the Biological Chariot.

Ryu shattered the Witch's summoned Bigby's giant hand with a kick and punched through her fire Array, seizing the neck of the Phoenix projection at its center. Like snapping chopsticks, he broke the projection's neck. The only price he paid was his red boxing gloves becoming slightly charred.

Is there no justice in this world anymore?!

A wail rose from the depths of the Witch's heart. The strength of turret-type Mages lay in their terrifying offensive Spell firepower, versatile and fully functional auxiliary Spells, and the ability to kite slower units. But now, her maneuverability was limited by the rules and couldn't be fully utilized. Her offensive Spells couldn't penetrate the defenses of Fighting-type characters, and her Mana had been greatly depleted in the earlier chaotic melee, leaving no time for replenishment.

The feeling of a Mage facing a tanky warrior at close range... It's truly unbearable!

Ryu, however, had no sympathy for the Witch's lamentations; on this Bloody Racetrack, all opponents were enemies. Furthermore, the vehicle they were driving looked quite impressive. Taking it might reduce many obstacles on the path to becoming champion.

He lifted his right leg high, chopping down at the rear of the Biological Chariot like a Battle Axe.

"Alert, alert! High-Energy attack detected! Please evade immediately! Please evade immediately!"

The gentle female voice over the vehicle's speaker continued its broadcast as red warning lights lit up on the vehicle's body.

Nitrous acceleration!

Dusk Knight slammed the button on the steering wheel.

He didn't know how these buttons worked, but right now... he could only trust Li Rising.

BOOM!

The rear of the Biological Chariot suddenly erupted with ghostly blue flames, while densely packed spines shot out from its four tires, providing traction. The Battle Axe kick hit nothing as the Biological Chariot burst into acceleration at the last moment, narrowly avoiding the attack.

They had dodged it. Sunset Gold Smelter and the Witch both sighed in relief.

"Hm?" Ryu frowned and gave Kula Diamond a look.

She understood immediately. Her waist-length blue hair defied gravity as she lifted her arms high, creating a vast array of enormous ice crystal meteorites in the sky that plummeted toward the road ahead.

The apocalyptic sight filled the players' hearts with despair. Even more terrifying, the sounds of fists hitting the ground behind them grew more frequent and closer. Fog and ice crystals slowly condensed between the rear of their Biological Chariot and the front of Ryu's, forming a bridge that seemed to lock the two vehicles together.

We're going to die! We're going to die!

Where on earth had Li Rising run off to?!

Sunset Gold Smelter was sweating profusely, desperately drawing on his Spiritual Energy to create a hexagonal green data barrier above their vehicle. The Witch, squeezing out her last bit of Mana, crossed her hands to release a fire spike, burning the ice that was locking their Biological Chariot in place.

However, none of this could stop Ryu from stepping across the mid-air ice bridge, approaching step by step.

"All Martial Arts lead to the Rising Dragon Punch,"

His Red Headband fluttered in the wind as Ryu took a deep breath, slowly crouching, preparing to initiate the Rising Dragon Punch. "Hou... You..."

Ghostly blue lights suddenly lit up inside the vehicle, and an announcement rang out, clear and resounding:

"Driver mode loading complete."

"Entry Plug insertion complete."

"Brain Worm neural bundles connected."

"Divine Power application efficiency: 100%."

"Spiked Carapace, Thorn Vines, Spore Sacs, Venom Cannon, and other weapon Systems are now online."

"Biological Chariot Leviathan self-start sequence complete."

"Hallowed be! Oh, Flesh that Unites All, and Lord of the Swamp, we, your children, welcome Your return!"