Chapter 31: Shift in the Tide

The deeper Kamiyu delved into the Black Sphere Game, the more she understood about it. She realized she was not among the First Batch of Players.

After the game ended, Players could still retain their Supernatural Abilities.

The Black Sphere had already produced a considerable number of Players. Some had chosen to join the official Power Faction, and judging by the government’s current tough stance, it was clear that even more Players had chosen to oppose the authorities.

Returning to the game itself, she couldn’t instantly kill the opponent with the Hedgehog Hairdo, Bai Zhan, which indicated that there were still many aspects of the game she needed to explore.

She saw that many slots on her Interface Panel remained unlocked, with text obscured by mosaics.

Kamiyu thought to herself: since this was a game, there must be game items, just like her own Signature Sniper, the NTW-40, which could be Enhanced, upgraded, and modified.

If she couldn’t kill Bai Zhan, he must be wearing some Defense item.

No wonder he was so short, even shorter than her, yet wearing an ill-fitting overcoat. That coat was likely a Defense item.

If Common Bullets couldn’t penetrate it, could her Legendary Tier Signature Sniper do the job?

Just as she was about to take it out and test it, the opponent began to gloat.

“Little girl, thinking that kind of garbage Weapon can pierce this coat of mine? You must be dreaming.”

Villains die from talking too much. Kamiyu wasn’t foolish enough to interrupt Bai Zhan’s monologue. Playing dumb, she went along with his words: “Hmph, I haven’t even used my Skill yet. Once I do, I’ll blow your head off in no time.”

When dealing with such arrogant individuals, provoking and taunting them with words was an effective way to extract information.

Xu Liwen cautiously warned, “Be careful of her Skill, and that Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle. She can use that Sniper Rifle to achieve distances and Damage beyond reason. There’s a 99% chance it’s a game item, above the Common Tier.”

“Hah? So what? I can make her hand that Weapon over to me in no time. But I have plenty of such things; I don’t even want it,” Bai Zhan boasted.

Hidden in the shadows, Zhong Hao carefully analyzed the words of this Official Player.

Zhong Hao thought to himself: it seemed this Hedgehog Hairdo had used his Skill to seize many Players’ items. This proved that the Black Sphere Game had existed for a long time, with many Players in the past, and all of them had been defeated by this man.

Zhong Hao frowned deeply. Troublesome, extremely troublesome. This person’s Talent and Skill were conceptual-level, like his own, or perhaps abstract-level abilities with no inherent DPS capability.

But he had compensated for the weakness of conceptual-level abilities by seizing others’ equipment to make up for his lack of DPS.

Thus, this Hedgehog Hairdo, Bai Zhan, was the strongest enemy here at this moment.

Zhong Hao pondered for a moment and chose to believe the first future outcome he had seen—the one where the ultimate Victor was that idiot Zhang Wei.

Why?

Because the authorities already possessed powerful Players, such as Xu Liwen, whose Talent could Nullify other Players, and this Bai Zhan, who could make others obey him.

The authorities didn’t need other powerful Players; any more would become uncontrollable.

Therefore, the official stance was to eliminate the powerful Players and retain the weaker ones.

Zhong Hao was a highly intelligent financial fraudster who understood human nature, deducing the official strategy from just a few words.

Zhong Hao decided to step forward and join the fight against the two official Players.

This game was inherently one of shifting alliances, where friends and enemies could switch roles at any moment.

He believed that if he didn’t step up now, Jack and Kamiyu would likely die, followed by Brother Dong and himself, leading to the same final outcome as in the first future he perceived.

Some might ask why he didn’t side with the officials, given that his Future Perception Talent was perfectly suited for them. Why not use the officials’ power to replace Zhang Wei and eliminate the others?

Did he not want to do that?

The reason was Bai Zhan’s overwhelming dominance. Bai Zhan’s earlier remarks showed complete disregard for the officials. If Zhong Hao switched sides now, Bai Zhan would likely kill him first.

If he were to defect, it would only be after Bai Zhan was dead.

Turning traitor after Bai Zhan’s death would still be timely.

For now, he would use everyone’s abilities to eliminate Bai Zhan. Once they were all worn down, he would betray them and reap the rewards. Zhong Hao’s plan was crystal clear.

Zhong Hao emerged from the bushes and shouted, “Everyone, attack together! Let’s take out the two official Players first.”

Brother Dong widened his eyes and whispered, “Brother Zhong, are you crazy?”

Zhong Hao didn’t answer. He simply walked forward, gesturing with his eyes for Brother Dong, who was still crouching in the bushes, to follow.

Kamiyu didn’t look over immediately. She shifted slightly behind Jack and tilted her head to glance in their direction.

“Oh ho, two rats from the sewers dare to talk big?” Bai Zhan said contemptuously.

The two supported each other as they limped over to stand behind Kamiyu.

Zhong Hao nodded to Kamiyu and Jack.

Jack ignored him, while Kamiyu wore a thoughtful expression, pondering why he would do this. Wouldn’t it be better to flee amidst the chaos?

Zhong Hao didn’t dare gamble. He couldn’t wait until someone actually died to step forward—by then, it wouldn’t be offering help in a time of need but merely making himself cannon fodder to Feed Kills.

If they were going to fight, he had to stand up now.

Zhong Hao said to Kamiyu, “The situation has changed. You’re smart—you should know what I mean. Our enemy isn’t each other as Players, but the conflict between Players and the officials.”

Kamiyu replied, “Isn’t that obvious? If you’d come out any later, I would’ve killed both of you to Enhance myself. Did you really think I hadn’t noticed there were people in the bushes?”

The situation was different now. She wasn’t afraid to reveal her Talent and abilities. Moreover, in this round, every Player would receive level-up rewards for killing enemies, so Kamiyu’s mention of “Enhancement” wasn’t information worth hiding.

Besides, Kamiyu had long since discovered Zhong Hao and Brother Dong’s hiding spot.

As a professional esports player, bushes, Tree Branches—these were the first places she would “sweep” and carefully inspect.

She was gambling. If Zhong Hao hadn’t emerged in another two or three minutes, Kamiyu would have fired without hesitation.

Zhong Hao nodded with an awkward smile and lowered his head. “What I said about my Talent and abilities in the Black Sphere Room wasn’t a lie.”

Brother Dong followed nervously, stammering, “Me too. My Skill is Sacrifice—I Sacrifice corresponding ‘Items’ to gain corresponding abilities.”

“Whoa, don’t say it out loud.” Zhong Hao quickly covered Brother Dong’s mouth.

“Hahaha, it doesn’t matter. In my eyes, you’re all dead people. I have no interest in the secrets of the dead.” Bai Zhan deliberately waited for them to finish speaking.

“Is everyone here? Good, then it’s time to set off.” Bai Zhan pulled a two-meter-long Dragon Slayer Blade from the void.