Chapter 13: The Oriole Behind

After learning about the existence of players with official backgrounds, Kamiyu was in no hurry to fire. For now, she needed to gather as much information about her opponent as possible.

Because in the future, her enemies might not only be other players but also these officially backed players.

So, Kamiyu moved her finger away from the trigger and carefully observed the battle on the street through her scope.

Xu Liwen’s throwing knife struck Mohawk’s head, but unfortunately, she hit him during his 30-second invincibility period, so it dealt no damage.

“Is that all? I thought official game players were supposed to be more impressive.”

“Now I can go on a killing spree and then take my revenge on Little Red Riding Hood.” After saying this, Mohawk split his two feet into four, firmly anchoring himself to the ground.

“Is that even possible?” Xu Liwen frowned.

In terms of strength, he wouldn’t lose. Mohawk pulled hard with his two blade-arms.

And in doing so, he dragged Xu Liwen toward him.

“Captain Xu, be careful!” The other team members raised their guns, ready to support Xu Liwen.

“Don’t shoot—you might hit Captain Xu by mistake.”

Xu Liwen lost her balance and was pulled right next to Mohawk. One of his arms transformed into a sharp blade, about to slice her in half at the waist.

“Captain Xu!” the team members shouted.

“Don’t underestimate me. I’ve won the Black Sphere Game, after all.” Xu Liwen remained calm.

In mid-air, she used her skill 【Levitation】 to adjust her posture, forcibly regaining her balance.

Then she used her skill 【Instant Slash】, throwing out two slender black carbon-steel blades that severed both of Mohawk’s hands.

Followed by a backflip, she landed perfectly.

Xu Liwen rushed toward Mohawk at high speed. Because of her 【Nullification】 Talent, it only worked by getting close to the other player first; she couldn’t nullify their skills from a distance.

Ten steps, nine steps, eight, seven…

She was almost there.

Xu Liwen thought to herself, just one more step, within six steps, she could activate her Nullification Talent and completely defeat her opponent.

But the next moment, Mohawk retracted his blade-arms and moved backward on his four feet, maintaining his distance from Xu Liwen.

“Dammit.”

Xu Liwen cursed under her breath.

The easiest way to counter such an overpowering Talent was to keep your distance, never giving Xu Liwen a chance to get close.

Xu Liwen wondered, her Talent hadn’t been exposed yet, so why was he backing away?

“Heh heh heh heh, you really think I’m an idiot? I’m a bad guy, but I’m not stupid.

Your body is so frail, you don’t have any defensive gear on you, and you keep trying to rush over—there must be a trick.

I bet your Talent or one of your skills requires close range to activate, right?” Mohawk sneered sharply.

“This is bad,” Xu Liwen thought, realizing the situation had turned against her.

Only now did she remember that, according to the information Zhang Wei provided, before the Black Sphere started the game and everyone was teleported, they had all shared their skills and Talents with each other.

So Mohawk wasn’t some clueless newbie; he knew that some players’ Talents and skills required close proximity to use.

In a way, this round was too unusual—before it even began, everyone had carelessly revealed their information to each other without any caution.

In the round she had played herself, everyone in the Black Sphere Room remained silent, eyeing each other with hostility—and this was supposed to be a PVE game against a Dungeon Boss.

“Cover Captain Xu!” The team members opened fire one after another.

Even if the enemy wouldn’t allow close-range combat, the special forces had a backup plan: using heavy firepower from ordinary humans to force Mohawk to stay immobilized, giving Xu Liwen an opportunity to close in.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom.”

Heavy machine cannons and large-caliber machine guns fired relentlessly at Mohawk.

“Guhahahaha.”

“You think this can kill me? Your pitiful firepower isn’t even one-tenth of what Little Red Riding Hood hit me with back at the subway station,” Mohawk sneered disdainfully.

“Little Red Riding Hood? Who was he fighting at the subway station just now—another Player?” Xu Liwen wondered inwardly.

Instead of retreating, Mohawk charged forward. With a powerful push from his four legs, he leaped onto an infantry fighting vehicle. His two sharp cleavers could even slice an armored vehicle in half.

The three crew members died instantly.

Mohawk gained three more lives.

“Take a good look. This is the true strength of a Player. I have evolved. You ordinary humans, witness the power of a new god.”

Like a frog, Mohawk jumped from this armored vehicle to the roof of another.

As he landed, his four feet transformed into drills, piercing through the roof armor and killing the combat personnel inside. Meanwhile, his two hands morphed into shields, blocking the bullets fired at him.

Xu Liwen stared in stunned disbelief. This Mohawk was practically a monster, even more exaggerated than the PVE Boss she had faced in the game before.

How were they supposed to fight this? They couldn’t win.

Colonel Hu watched the footage transmitted by drones from the command tent, his expression grave. Since he first encountered the Black Sphere, this was the most troublesome Player he had ever faced.

Indestructible, with high Attack Power—he wasn’t even considering options like recruiting the other party for official service or containing them. He was even contemplating requesting authorization from higher-ups to use tactical nuclear weapons.

Even if this was a bustling downtown area, they could simply announce to the media afterward that it was a natural gas explosion.

Back on the bloody battlefield.

After one round, Mohawk had already harvested nearly fifty lives. His life count had now reached eighty-two. Even if he died once per minute, it would take almost an hour and a half for him to truly perish.

Xu Liwen kept trying to close in, but unfortunately, her intentions were seen through. Every time she advanced, Mohawk retreated.

She had used all her Skills, but he gave her no opening whatsoever.

And at this very moment, two Players were hiding in a dark corner, watching this bloody battle unfold.

These two were the remaining members of Huang Kun’s quartet—A Dong and Da Mao.

“A Dong, this woman isn’t cutting it,” Da Mao frowned.

“I thought official Players were supposed to be impressive, but it seems they’re nothing special.”

“While they’re locked in battle, let’s go finish off that Mohawk-haired guy,” A Dong said, his eyes fixed on Mohawk as he searched for an opening.

“Are you serious? That guy is practically like a Terminator—no matter how you hit him, he just won’t die,” Da Mao said nervously.

“That official Player is an idiot. She’s been fighting for so long and still doesn’t know how to use tactics. This Terminator isn’t completely immortal.”

“How so?” Da Mao asked.

“Is it a Skill or a Talent? There will always be a Cooldown Time. I’ve been observing this person all along, and roughly every 20 seconds or so, he experiences a very noticeable period of Lag.

Although I don’t know why he doesn’t die, we can take advantage of this Lag time to Gank him in one wave. If we can win, we fight; if not, we run away,” A Dong said confidently.

Although Huang Kun’s Quartet were all trash players, like Kamiyu, they were all from the Esports Department and were highly sensitive to game details.

Even if their timing guess wasn’t accurate, it was close to the correct answer.

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the five-star hotel,

Kamiyu had already placed her finger on the Trigger.