Chapter 388

Chapter 388: Chapter 385: Nailuo was startled.

She wiped the tears from her face and turned to run.

The barrier and the city walls were left behind by her footsteps as she ran desperately, quickly beginning to gasp for air.

When she neared the bushes close to the West District, she stopped.

She sat among the deserted grass, the snown on the slope was blown by the wind, and the snowdrift sheltered her. The crooked trees slowly toppled over in the snow.

Suddenly, she heard a burst of discussion that seemed to come from beyond the woods, accompanied by the rustle of footsteps.

"... so our first step is to find Lin Yin?"

"Yes, find Lin Yin. It’s clear she’s the occupier of that team, as long as she dies, all the points rewards for wiping out Su Ming’an’s squad will go to us, we don’t need to confront Su Ming’an himself."

"Lin Yin is just a healer, should be easy to kill, the key now is to find her..."

Nailuo gazed blankly at the swaying vegetation.

Until a group of players with various equipment, while conversing, walked out from the bushes.

Their eyes met, and the players who emerged were stunned for a moment.

Suddenly, a tall and burly player shouted, "This person is that important NPC with Su Ming’an! Capture her!"

The young female player beside him immediately reached out her hand. Inch by inch, ice blue frost coalesced, forming three thick chains which burst forth from her palm, lunging at Nailuo who was still sitting on the hillock.

Nailuo didn’t understand why these people suddenly attacked her, she stepped back half a step, lifted her long spear, and thrust at the incoming ice chains.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

The blood-red spear scraped against the ice blue chains, emitting a shrill friction sound. The young female player simply waved her hand, and the chains deftly dodged the thrust from Nailuo’s spear, quickly entangling around her arm.

"Stop—Who are you! I am—of the Mil Family—" Nailuo instinctively lifted her chin and blurted out that phrase, but suddenly stopped.

Her eyes dimmed slightly, and she did not continue speaking.

Her spear in hand turned over, attempting to pierce through the ice chains, but her wrist emitted a clear "crack" sound, seemingly coming from her own bones, causing her to grimace in pain.

The next moment, the cold chains tightened violently, bending her arm holding the spear, and the other two chains took advantage of this to grip her body.

"Crack crack!"

The ice chains tightened, and the strong man grabbed her red hair, pressing her head down onto the ground.

"This one doesn’t seem to be an NPC from Pulaya." A skinny, small player said.

"Who knows, she’s definitely important, maybe she has key clues, let’s capture her and see."

"Pathetically weak, is this kind of NPC really valuable?" someone beside remarked.

"I only saw her following the Number One Player all the time; that should be useful."

The players conversed, looking down at Nailuo, with a skinny player even intending to take direct action, reaching for her clothes to rip them open.

"Guys, move aside, let’s see if this NPC is hiding anything on her..." he said with a brilliant smile.

The others looked on, tacitly condoning his actions. After all, Nailuo was just an NPC; in their eyes, no different from an "item", they could treat her anyway without concern. Even if she were a player, as long as there was no protective guild behind her, they would do as they wished.

"Stop it—Get away—Su Rin definitely isn’t dead! I believe in him! He’ll kill all of you, he will definitely kill you—"

The cold chains were retracted by the players, revealing the frostbite scars on Nailuo’s body, she frantically protected her long spear in her hands, as if it were some treasure, yet her shoulder garment was torn open with a yank.

"Su Rin?" the players exchanged looks.

"Su Rin is Su Ming’an." The female player wielding the chains said.

"Su Ming’an probably failed already, can he still control you?" the tall and sturdy man sneered, "Does he really think he can cross the sea to kill the King of Sea Monsters? Once he dies as Su Rin’s identity, even if his clone can be resurrected, his storyline is definitely already botched, now not even knowing where to hide to recover..."

He grabbed Xiao Yu’s clothes and pulled him back, "—Xiao Yu, stop wasting time on this NPC, go kill Lin Yin first; there will be plenty of women later."

"I’m just checking to see if there are any clues on her." Xiao Yu chuckled.

"Found anything?"

"Not yet, just the last spot left..." His hand moved towards Nailuo’s chest.

"Ticktock."

A crisp ticking sound arose in everyone’s ears.

Struggling violently, Nailuo suddenly paused, and as she heard the sound, the sparkle in her eyes gradually brightened.

"Ticktock."

The sound continued to emerge.

"What sound is that?"

The players quickly became alert, scanning their surroundings.

Generally, some powerful bug-type skills would have premonitions before being unleashed. For instance, strange arrays, sudden noises, etc., these signs gave players a reaction time, so they wouldn’t be mysteriously wiped out by an unidentified AOE instant kill.

At this moment, the peculiar ticking noise, akin to the second hand of a clock, quickly sobered up the few who were blood-headed.

Nailuo protected the long spear in her hands, her gaze somewhat vacantly drifting towards the vast sky above.

For an instant, a flash of blood red appeared.

Like petals unfolding, a blood-colored arc rapidly spread out from her as the center, accompanied by a series of crisp "ticktock" sounds.

She heard someone calling her name.

"Bang!"

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out, and the players, like frightened birds, trembled in shock and ran off.

"Run!"

No one knew who shouted it; they didn’t look back and dashed away from the arc of blood.

In a game like this, the most important things for players aren’t intelligence or strength, but good luck and the ability to hang on.

Facing danger, turning around and running is absolutely the right move.

Who knows if this danger is some sort of instant-death setting in the instance, making no sense at all.

Hearing an unnerving sound, they ran like rabbits at the drop of a hat.

However, at this moment, the quick-witted Xiao Yu turned around for a glance.

His trembling footsteps came to a halt.

"Xiao Yu! Run—"

Their boss still had some conscience, immediately reaching back, trying to grab Xiao Yu’s hood.

"Boss." Xiao Yu shook off his hand, his voice suddenly becoming excited, "Boss... no need to run, look..."

The tall and sturdy man turned around.

As he stopped, the other players also halted and looked back in turn.

The wind blew through the treetops, the vegetation lush and verdant.

In a patch of grass covered by snow, a figure suddenly appeared and fell to the ground.

He was completely soaked in seawater, with water and crimson blood mingling, his tight clothes clinging to his body as if he had just been fished out of the water.

There was also a huge claw mark in front of him, from which fresh blood kept seeping out, soaking the surrounding grass blades. His complexion was pale as paper, likely from excessive blood loss.

He clutched a blood-stained pocket watch tightly in his hand.

"—Damn it!"

A few people were startled by this "gift" that had suddenly appeared.

The one who had appeared and lay on the ground—was none other than the Number One Player, whom they regarded as the big boss.

The blood-red light from a moment ago was merely the light and shadow effect of his teleportation, not some suspicious AOE.

Normally, if they saw Su Ming’an suddenly appear in front of them, these players’ first instinct would definitely be to run, rather than foolishly attacking and ending up in the "compilation of deaths for provoking the Number One Player" videos on the world forum.

But now... what lay in front of them was a Number One Player who was severely injured.

He seemed to have just escaped from the sea, with his health so low it was almost invisible, just one slash away from death.

Although they knew that Su Ming’an’s clones absolutely hadn’t died, and that killing this body wouldn’t truly result in his death, this body’s identity was "Su Rin."

Once "Su Rin" died, the Number One Player’s perfect pass would be an absolute failure, a result he could never accept.

They could take this opportunity to extort him, or even sign a prop agreement, forcing the other party to help them pass.

As for the public opinion on the forum, the possible revenge in the future... who cares about that now. Props have emerged that can alter appearances; just change their faces, and these people who don’t live stream or chat on forums can disappear like a drop in the ocean, untraceable.

In the eyes of many viewers, it is unwise for an ordinary player to make a move on a top-ranking player, not a "consideration for the greater good" and will only slow down everyone’s progress.

But this is like a very hot question—

"There’s a red button in front of you. If you press it, humanity might go extinct within a thousand years, but you will receive a lifetime of endless wealth—would you press this button?"

This question seems simple.

But for those in dire straits, even struggling to afford food or medical care, most of them, after struggling with their conscience, would still press that button.

For them, the future is far away, and there will be many tall people to prop up the sky if it falls, but by pressing that button, they can obtain a tangible reward without any burden. No one will know they’ve made such a decision.

They don’t see the potential difficulties in the future, nor do they believe that "probability" could really come to pass because of their own action of pressing a button.

—As long as it resolves the crushing predicament they currently face.

Without pressing that button, these people are already struggling to keep going, why would they worry about the future hardships of others.

They are not like Yang Changxu, Yamada, and others, who would not give up their chance for advancement for a mere possibility.

When such people are hungry, the first thing they think of is to feast on the flesh of the stronger.

The vague concept of the greater good cannot restrain the innate desires of humans.

Right now, that bright red button is right in front of them, and they will not choose to reject it.

"Rin?"

Nailuo looked at Su Ming’an, who had suddenly teleported in front of her with the pocket watch, and called out softly.

Her somewhat trembling hand reached out, as if wanting to touch him, to confirm that this was not an illusion.

"—Xiao Qian, I remember you have a Blood Locking Potion, hurry, take him down, force him to drink it!" The burly man was the first to react.

He returned as quickly as he had fled, and with a wave of his hand, a swath of Black Mist quickly drifted over.

This was his skill "Lingering Fog," capable of growth. It could lock down an area, forcing players within it with less than half of his health to be immobilized. Unless they had a control-countering skill or external help, it was impossible to escape.

"Rin!"

Nailuo immediately reached out, shaking Su Ming’an’s shoulders and watching as his eyes slowly opened.

Due to the massive blood loss, his complexion was extremely pale, with seawater resting on his cheeks, and his eyes were threaded with splitting red veins.

He glanced at Nailuo beside him. She too was ashen as if made of paper, looking almost indistinguishable from him in his blood-drained state. With a black cloak wrapped around them, they could nearly pass for actors in a ghost film.

Her expression was a mix of relief at regaining what was thought lost and a subtle panic, as if seeing a treasured possession she had been certain of losing. Her frostbitten fingers hovered in front of his face, stiff as if afraid to touch him.

The black mist slowly drifted over, and his high Mentality Points in Shadow State didn’t let him sense the threat.

Su Ming’an gave these people a glance.

They rushed over like wolves to a piece of meat, their eyes filled with the intense desire to ascend to great heights in one step.

In the world of Ming Hui, there was someone who would selflessly give everything for him; in this world, naturally, there were also those who would take everything for their selfish gains.

And wasn’t he the same?

He extended his hand.

"Scatter—!"

The color drained from several faces simultaneously, and they immediately scattered to the sides, prepared for any attack Su Ming’an might release.

But they did not hear the buzzing sound of Spatial Vibration.

A sea-blue light appeared in front of Su Ming’an.

Her looks were enchanting and beautiful, her facial features almost perfectly combined, exuding a unique, otherworldly beauty. Her sea-blue hair danced behind her, with bubbles enclosing her graceful figure.

But the moment she appeared, the expressions of the players completely changed.

"This thing... Wasn’t it supposed to be dead?" Their faces turned deathly pale.

This blue Sea Monster that had blocked the King of Sea Monsters on the sea surface had left a deep impression on them.

Even separated by the vast sea, they could feel the peril of the red and blue sides clashing.

Su Ming’an tossed a small Yate Stone to her, and the Sea Monster immediately extended its claws. The space around the players began to collapse before they could use their Props to escape, and in an instant, fresh blood burst forth as sharp claws slashed through their location.

Bright red blood splattered the green grass in front of them. Su Ming’an took out a Blood Bottle to recover his health, hearing the sound of equipment dropping.

However, these people’s cheap Equipment were of no use to him. It was the few Resource Stones they dropped that made him a small profit.

The Coveter dies due to greed, the greedy perish from desire.

But the fate of this group wouldn’t serve as a warning to others. As long as he remained the Number One Player, players willing to take risks for a chance to shoot to the top would never be in short supply.

Because they hardly ever paid the cost for their mistakes.

Confronted with that button, most people can’t suppress the desire in their hearts.

It’s only human.

He pocketed the Pocket Watch, which only had one more use left.