Chapter 41: The Final Battle

The situation Xu Liwen least wanted to see had arrived.

The latest order from the authorities came through: “Protect Zhong Hao’s personal safety at all costs, and recover Bai Zhan’s weapons, equipment, and items.”

“Easy for them to say—’at all costs’—I’m the one who’ll be paying that cost,” Xu Liwen cursed inwardly.

More often than not—no, it had always been this way—those with higher authority could crush those below them. Those at the top always demanded the impossible, tasks that were utterly unachievable.

Recover Bai Zhan’s weapons, equipment, and items? How exactly was she supposed to do that?

Walk up to Kamiyu and say, “Hello, miss, you took official equipment. Could you return it now?”

Xu Liwen raged silently: “What a bunch of idiots.”

They had no idea how many people this order would get killed.

Zhong Hao was still desperately pledging his loyalty, swearing he would serve the authorities faithfully.

Learning of Zhong Hao’s “understanding of the bigger picture,” the authorities decided that with his allegiance secured, Zhang Wei had become worthless.

To pressure Xu Liwen further, they executed Zhang Wei ahead of schedule, reducing the number of Game Players to just three.

【Number of Players: 3/12】

Seeing the player count drop again, everyone was somewhat shocked.

That dog Zhong Hao immediately knelt before Xu Liwen, groveling with gratitude and begging her to protect him.

Kamiyu cursed under her breath: “What a waste. That was at least one Enhancement Point.”

Kamiyu thought to herself, “Well played, official Power Faction. Given the current situation, it’s clear they’ve accepted Zhong Hao’s ‘pledge of allegiance’—killing Brother Dong—and by executing someone themselves, they’ve signaled their acceptance of Zhong Hao’s loyalty.”

This meant that, at this very moment, her opponents were not only Jack but also the official Power Faction—namely, Xu Liwen.

How was she supposed to fight this?

Jack was the most wounded at the moment. Brother Dong’s Death had caused the Buff from his golden Skill to disappear;

His Kill Count had been stolen by Kamiyu, robbing him of the chance to strengthen himself;

Now, with one leg and the upper half of his body nearly immobile, he could only move the left side of his body.

A three-way threat battle—how was he supposed to fight that?

Meanwhile.

Kamiyu checked the number of Magic Bullets on her Interface Panel.

She found the bullet count was running low. The massive burst she’d used for the Kill had been a Stacked consumption—firing one shot was equivalent to firing two.

【Magic Bullets: 6/100】

Only six Magic Bullets remained.

Kamiyu cursed silently. How was she supposed to fight now? Were they forcing her to use unfamiliar new equipment?

She glanced around, assessing her surroundings.

Three or four helicopters circled overhead, and she even spotted armed helicopters.

On the ground, at every intersection in each district, several Infantry Fighting Vehicles were stationed.

She thought to herself, “It seems the authorities have really gone all out to win this game.”

How could she possibly escape?

Whether it was Battle Vehicles or helicopters, they were all equipped with infrared thermal detectors capable of pinpointing her location from a great distance.

How could an individual’s Strength possibly contend with the might of an official Power Faction?

Kamiyu couldn’t think of a way. Among her 25 pieces of equipment, not a single one was Defensive Equipment. A Player without Defensive Equipment, no matter how powerful their Supernatural Power, was still just Flesh and Blood.

The only plan now was to fight her way out.

Kamiyu thought to herself that only by winning the Black Sphere Game could she be teleported back to the Black Sphere Room, truly escape the desperate situation, earn the title of Beta Tester, and incidentally receive the Black Sphere’s rewards.

At that moment, Xu Liwen suddenly took a step toward Kamiyu.

She didn’t want to shed blood and sweat for the officials, to be treated like cattle and horses, and she was even more unwilling to become Kamiyu’s enemy.

Facing such a formidable opponent, if a fight broke out, she might very well be the first to die.

So Xu Liwen attempted to negotiate, trying to trick Kamiyu into surrendering without a fight.

Xu Liwen shouted loudly, “Your fate is already sealed. If you hand over Bai Zhan’s weapons, equipment, and items, I’ll make your death quick and painless.”

Kamiyu remained silent. Hand over her weapons? She’d rather use them all up, kill everyone, and then put a bullet in her own head for a clean end.

She deeply despised Xu Liwen’s hypocritical behavior and the officials’ arrogant attitude of “I’m the boss, you’re all just ants.”

In Kamiyu’s eyes, the so-called officials were nothing more than a bigger version of Bai Zhan.

When they saw someone they could bully, they’d bully them to death; when they encountered someone tough they couldn’t push around, they’d shrink back and beg for mercy.

Negotiate? Negotiate my ass. Zhong Hao’s earlier actions, and the officials killing Zhang Wei—didn’t that prove the officials were going all out, determined to protect Zhong Hao at any cost?

What was there left to negotiate?

Kamiyu wasn’t deaf. She had heard the conversation between Xu Liwen and Zhong Hao. She and Jack had no way out now.

She no longer knew how to fight. If no one knew how to fight, then she’d just go on a rampage, flip the table, and make sure no one could play anymore.

Fire wildly, stop counting ammunition, kill to her heart’s content, and see who was left standing in the end.

Kamiyu fired a shot at Xu Liwen.

“Bang.”

A direct headshot, no more nonsense.

“Clang.”

The bullet was deflected.

As a Veteran Player who had pledged allegiance to the officials, she had looted and raided many underground Squads and Clubs, seizing numerous items from other Players.

At this stage of the Black Sphere Game, where Armor was extremely scarce, you might not even see one person out of ten capable of wearing defensive gear.

But the Official Players could manage to have one piece of Armor per person, and some even had more than one.

Like Bai Zhan and Xu Liwen, for example.

“Not this crap again, will it ever end?” Kamiyu thought to herself, exasperated, as she saw the bullet deflected.

“Why could she be kicked flying by Jack earlier, but now she doesn’t die even when I shoot her in the head? What the hell, I’m even using my Signature Sniper. Does that make any sense?”

From Xu Liwen’s perspective.

Xu Liwen broke out in a cold sweat.

Her Common Armor’s Durability was reduced to 1/100 by Kamiyu’s single shot.

One shot took away 99 Durability.

This piece of Armor was extremely precious. It was only just now that she had reluctantly taken it out to wear.

She wouldn’t wear it unless it was a life-or-death crisis.

Because in the Beta Version of the Black Sphere Game, resources were very limited, the 【Blacksmith】 was still locked, and once Durability dropped, it was hard to repair.

She had only put it on after receiving orders from the officials.

Losing 99 Durability from one shot made Xu Liwen’s heart bleed with pain.

And yet, Kamiyu still thought there was something wrong with her gun.

If Kamiyu landed another shot now, she could destroy this Armor. One more shot after that, if it hit, would kill Xu Liwen.

Facing a life-or-death crisis, Xu Liwen certainly wouldn’t give Kamiyu the chance.

Aircraft and battle vehicles from the sky and ground all opened fire on Kamiyu.

At the same time, Jack also charged toward Kamiyu.

With no other choice, Kamiyu hoisted her sniper rifle, firing while on the run, and took cover inside a building.

“Prioritize killing that little pink-haired runt,” Xu Liwen shouted over the radio.