Chapter 318: The Stalker Dies
An unremarkable van slowly drove along the uneven slope and into the depths of the woods.
The two cars trailing behind slowed down. The woman driving the lead car said, “Is Hou Song messing with us? Wasn’t Xu Huo’s car supposed to head back to Ting City? Why are we driving into the deep mountains?”
“Can’t you see?” The bald man in the passenger seat chuckled unconcernedly. “He got spotted. Deep woods are perfect for that—kill someone, bury them on the spot, and not even the king of the underworld can find their soul!”
The woman smiled at his words and was about to reply when a heavy sound suddenly came from above. A thick-edged blade pierced the roof, went through above her head, and exited through the broken neck!
The moving vehicle lurched uncontrollably and smashed into a nearby tree. The thick blade remained embedded;
it sliced the metal roof and then came slashing toward the passenger seat!
“Emergency egress!” the bald man bellowed. An unknown force hurled him and four other players out of the car. The five of them tumbled in different directions. When they looked back up at the vehicle, they found a little girl holding half a pair of scissors;
she was pulling the blade out through the window.
“That’s one of Xu Huo’s powerful teammates. Tell Chen Er and the others to be careful!” the bald man shouted. But when his companions turned to look, they discovered the car behind them had its roof sliced clean off;
the hood smashed into a tree and the top, along with several heads inside, thudded down onto the ground!
Before they could recover from their shock, one of them suddenly grabbed his own neck with both hands and was dragged backward on a diagonal, directly toward someone emerging from behind a tree!
“Xu Huo!” The bald man recognized the sword-wielder at a glance. He moved to intercept, but a spray of bullets blocked his path. Sima Xiao Er and two Special Defense Department players had surrounded him with guns drawn. “Let’s see if you can outrun bullets!”
The bald man was forced to hide behind a tree, while the player who had been dragged by the piano wire inched up to Xu Huo and suddenly turned into a scarecrow! “A substitute item?” Xu Huo sliced the scarecrow clean in two with one stroke, flicked out a lighter, spun around, and set fire to the player who had used the scarecrow as a decoy.
Now that the weather had cooled and everyone wore long sleeves and long pants, the flames spread instantaneously across the body. Ripping off clothes couldn’t happen fast enough. The substitute-player rolled on the ground, and another short-haired player leaped forward and tossed something that looked like a laundry pod at him.
There weren’t many of those pods, but when they burst they spread like a basin of water and drenched the burning player!
At that moment, hair snakes woven from long hair whipped through and cut away most of the water, then lunged at the female player.
The female player retreated. The substitute-player had ripped most of his clothes off and, while dodging Xu Huo’s attacks, produced a glass water gun and pulled the trigger!
“Panda Impact!” Shen Xin charged out from the side like a cannonball, slamming into the man and sending him flying. The bullet he fired grazed past Xu Huo and struck a nearby tree. The corrosive liquid inside splashed and instantly melted a fist-sized hole.
“We’ll handle that side!” Hu Wenhu chased after the target.
Xu Huo pivoted and swept the area. Sima Xiao Er and the others pinned down the bald man. Zhou Ning and Liu Jia dealt with the female player. The remaining two players were locked in combat with Yan Jiayu.
After a brief pause, Xu Huo quickly flicked his lighter open and set several people on fire. Except for the bald man who had slipped behind a tree, the other three were hit. The female player was slain by Zhou Ning, while Yan Jiayu took advantage of the moment to break one opponent’s arm and kick the other away!
The standoff shifted into two-on-one and one-on-one duels, but just as Zhou Ning and Liu Jia moved in, one player pinched three fingers together and something in his hand crumbled. Leaves drifting through the woods turned into flying blades and surged at Yan Jiayu!
“Watch out!” Liu Jia shouted instinctively, but as she split her attention, the player controlling the leaves suddenly appeared right in front of her. She reflexively raised her hand to block the punch, but a thin line looped around her shoulder and yanked her aside!
Xu Huo appeared behind her and swung his sword forward. Forcing the attacker back, he quickly glanced at the slightly injured Yan Jiayu and said, “Keep your distance from them. Item activations have close-range conditions!”