Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 744 - 742 Timing

Bai Haozheng didn't look back. Using the curtain of piercing swordlight overhead, he could clearly see the scene behind him.

Yuyi Xinzhong had completely entered the Prajna Transformation state. Her pitch-black hair moved as if by itself, without wind, and her face bore a ferocious smile. The katana in her hand seemed to slash around without any pattern, yet every strike released thunderbolts, striking the attacking monsters from a distance. The Jet Backpack she wore was made of some unknown material. It was somehow able to withstand the savage energy spilling from the half-demon Yuyi Xinzhong. The Plague Doctor, held by the collar in the girl's left hand, was suffering energy erosion. His complexion alternated between ashen and pale. While constantly drinking Magic Potions, he also had to use his staff to release a healing light beam, repairing Yuyi Xinzhong's injuries.

In front of Yuyi Xinzhong, the Mule opened a hole in the semi-transparent bubble she stood upon. She poured Magic Stones into a funnel that opened behind her Mechanical Statue, while directing the Golem to raise its arms and fire its Light Cannon towards the corridor behind them, blasting through a horde of weaker monsters.

Li Ang used his Swamp God Power to rapidly grow numerous plants and vines. These formed a spear, which he used to pierce the ground, allowing him to leap and bound forward swiftly. The vine spear, despite being reinforced, was corroded and dissolved by the black, oily liquid, disappearing and reappearing incessantly.

Wanli Fengdao, also lacking the ability to fly, could only attach green Sword Qi to his Dragon-Slaying Sword. He stabbed it into the ground and used the rebounding force from the bent blade to keep up with the group, but he inevitably fell behind in speed.

"Catch," Li Ang casually flicked his left hand behind him. A vine extended from his sleeve, coiled around Wanli Fengdao's waist, and jerked him forward, pulling him away from a beastly monster about to claw his back.

With a nod of gratitude, Wanli Fengdao was about to turn and slash with his sword when he felt a sudden pain in his right arm. His right hand, from the elbow down, had been severed. The lower half of his arm twirled in mid-air, not yet hitting the ground, before it was caught by a long, sticky tongue.

The red-robed elderly woman—this monster who had been hunting players—held a Naginata in her right hand and a large, toy-like infrared lamp in her left. Standing atop a chair-like monster, her tongue shot out from a distance, snatching Wanli Fengdao's right arm, which still held the Dragon-Slaying Sword. She violently retracted her tongue, catching the Dragon-Slaying Sword in her other hand, while she swallowed Wanli Fengdao's right arm whole.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Wanli Fengdao belatedly felt intense pain, but before he could break into a cold sweat, his right arm was quickly, albeit imperfectly, regrown under Li Ang's control.

"Go!" Li Ang shouted lowly and threw Wanli Fengdao forward.

The red-robed old woman could indeed devour and utilize players' skills and equipment. Her toy-like infrared device had also once belonged to 13MARK and was capable of instantly heating and cutting objects. Just now, Wanli Fengdao, unable to fly, had fallen behind and become her first target. This was not the time to worry about the dire consequences of Wanli Fengdao's flesh falling into the red-robed old woman's hands. After all, she had previously devoured Omega from the Demon Scientist Alliance. Allowing her to obtain even a piece of his flesh could lead to unimaginable outcomes.

Li Ang flung Wanli Fengdao forward. He then swung the vine in his hand backward to drive back the advancing monsters, simultaneously jabbing his spear into the ground to speed up.

Not far ahead of him, Liu Wu Dai floated in the air, thanks to the levitation ring on her little finger. Her entire body radiated the lustrous glow of extraordinary items. She held her breath and concentrated for a moment, nocking an Arrow. Though called an Arrow, it was actually a miniature missile composed of a warhead, control system, engine, and body. The missile was about a meter long, painted red, white, and blue, and adorned with flowing cloud patterns. The words "Tiangong Kaiwu" were printed on both sides.

FWOOSH—

As Liu Wu Dai released the taut bowstring, azure flames erupted forcefully from the turbojet engine of the ancient-looking miniature missile, propelling it forward.

The concrete mannequin imitating Black Holy Son, the old woman in black from the oil painting in Li Ang's room, the sprawling beast resembling a chimera of countless wild animals, the blood-red Sheep-Headed Monster with reverse-jointed limbs... The monsters in the corridor seemed to sense the terrifying energy within the miniature missile. They emitted a cacophony of roars and howls as they scrambled backward. Some, whose intellect hadn't completely degenerated, even pushed open the doors to rooms lining the corridor and rushed inside, slamming the doors shut to shield themselves from the missile's blast.

Liu Wu Dai had always believed, contrary to what other players imagined, that using ranged attacks combined with numerous store-bought offensive consumables (like Special Effect Arrows and bullets) was more cost-effective than investing all resources into personal enhancement. Drinking the blood of Magical Beasts, honing combat skills, surviving inhuman surgical enhancements, tempering body and spirit through arduous effort, and spending vast sums of money—all this just to create a "strong individual." Calculated using the current currency of the killing field games, the cost for major organizations to train a standard Lv15 player from scratch was about 18,000 Game Coins. This cost included, but was not limited to, time, energy, training facilities, dietary materials, surgical enhancements, salaries for think tanks and sparring partners, and the risk of personnel loss. And that didn't even include their standard-issue weapons. Furthermore, the player qualification itself was priceless. Each Lv15 player was, in essence, an extremely expensive weapon, comparable to a strategic bomber.

In contrast, offensive consumables were relatively cheap. A magically consecrated 7.62 xmm bullet, capable of effectively penetrating Energy Shields, had a wholesale price of 1.19 Game Coins. A single-use Disintegration Technique Magic Scroll, capable of dismantling energy fields and pulverizing both living and non-living matter, was priced at 1,500 Game Coins in the store. A disposable Magic Wand engraved with the God-Slaying Slash incantation had a store price of only 11,000 Game Coins. This spell transformed chaos into a light blade of immense power, capable of tearing through space, Giant Dragons, and even legendary demon gods. Despite the lengthy incantation time, the caster's immobility during casting, and a certain probability of sudden death afterward, its terrifying power ensured that this item was bought by a major organization within a minute of it appearing in the store.

Compared to these cost-effective consumables, players who attained extraordinary powers through arduous training seemed so... inefficient. Liu Wu Dai didn't believe training was useless, nor did she consider players who painstakingly honed their skills to be fools. She simply believed her method was the most efficient way to enhance strength at the current stage. Problems solvable with money weren't problems at all.

The Tiangong Kaiwu Mini Missile, emblazoned with "Tiangong Kaiwu," displayed agility even more exaggerated than the Red Tassel Dart. It easily avoided all the falling black ooze, flew to the middle of the right corridor section, and exploded with a bang amidst the astonished and fearful gazes of the monsters.

BOOM!!!

The azure explosion instantly engulfed half the corridor. The black ooze covering the area was lifted, scoured away, and obliterated by a shockwave far exceeding a hurricane, leaving the world awash in pure, clean blue.

Black Holy Son and the others flying toward the left side of the corridor were shaken. They were more surprised by the missile's precise, intelligent, and controlled blast radius than by the sheer power of the Tiangong Kaiwu Mini Missile. It inflicted immense damage on the right side of the corridor, while those on the left merely felt a gentle breeze.

The firelight vanished in an instant. Oddly, the expected scene of corpses strewn across the corridor was absent. Many monsters had hidden in the side rooms before the miniature missile exploded. Those unable to escape lay prone, the side of their bodies facing the ceiling covered in a layer of metallic scales.

Information about this item, once belonging to 13MARK, instantly appeared in the players' minds: Apollo Chariot Coating. The Apollo Chariot Coating was a paint-like substance. When sprayed on an object, it could effectively insulate against high temperatures and nuclear radiation, resist oxidation, and prevent corrosion. Its effects lasted for ten minutes.

Had the red-robed old woman spread this coating on these monsters before the miniature missile exploded?

Why did she do that?

To protect the monsters?

"Into the elevator!" Bai Haozheng roared, his Telekinesis flaring as he rushed to the elevator bank. The elevator doors were closed, and the indicator panel above showed it descending. Liu Wu Dai's miniature missile had only suppressed the monsters on the right side of the corridor; monsters were still continuously emerging from the stairwell on the left. To retreat, they had to use the elevator shaft.

Bai Haozheng produced a light sword, stabbed it into the gap between the elevator doors, and forcibly pried them open, revealing the pitch-black elevator shaft. It was unknown if the elevator's safety period was approaching, but the shaft was eerily silent, free of the terrifying old woman's black ooze. Looking down, one could see the elevator car slowly descending to an unknown floor.

Bai Haozheng was the first to jump into the elevator shaft. He didn't descend immediately but grabbed a bracket inside. It's time... he thought, releasing an imperceptible strand of Telekinesis that extended down to a corner on the eleventh floor. Simultaneously, he rapidly pressed the hilt of his sword, consuming his dwindling Spiritual Power. He wove a light barrier on both sides of the shaft—a process that seemed slow but was incredibly fast—to block the monsters and cover his companions as they entered to escape together.

Black Holy Son skimmed along the ground and shot into the elevator shaft. Yuyi Xinzhong followed, dragging the Plague Doctor. The Mule and her Mechanical Statue also entered the shaft, with Liu Wu Dai providing cover.

Just as Li Ang and Wanli Fengdao were about to enter the elevator shaft, Little Brother Dao's eyes suddenly clouded and became vacant. He formed a hand-blade and sliced through the vine connecting him to Li Ang. Then, using some unknown skill, he thrust his palms at Li Ang, unleashing Repulsion that propelled himself down the right side of the corridor.

THUMP!

A silver arm shot out from the black ooze, catching Wanli Fengdao just before he hit it, and flung him hard into the depths of the right corridor. It was the red-robed old woman's Mercury Puppet. It had been lurking as silver threads beneath the ooze-covered carpet, striking suddenly as the players were about to enter the elevator shaft, intercepting Wanli Fengdao, the last one.

HUM—

Everything happened so swiftly that Bai Haozheng couldn't adjust his light sword's energy output. Li Ang's swung vine also fell short, as Wanli Fengdao was beyond its ten-meter reach. The red-robed old woman's Mercury Puppet, holding Wanli Fengdao, suddenly accelerated. It utilized the Ghost of Hidden Eye's skill, Crosscut Divine Movement. (During the day, Black Holy Son had briefed the players on the Ghost of Hidden Eye's skills and equipment to help them counter the red-robed old woman). Carrying the dazed Wanli Fengdao, the puppet, along with the old woman's main body, crossed half the corridor and vanished into the elevator shaft on the right.