Chapter 372: Toywar (Xviii)
Chapter 372: Toywar (Xviii)
Using the title technique Nightmare Trail, Xiao Tan dashed up along the edge of the shelving units, charging toward Bei Ling.
He knew Bei Ling's weakness well—her close-quarters combat skills were abysmal. Not "relatively poor" or "mediocre", but outright terrible.
This meant close-range combat was Xiao Tan's strong suit and his only viable path to victory.
But things were never that simple…
Bei Ling's weakness in melee stemmed directly from her excellence in other areas. Most enemies never got close enough to exploit it—they were eliminated before they could.
With her formidable long-range combat ability and exceptional strategic mind, she was a nightmare opponent type. She could devise a dozen ways to stop an approaching enemy before they closed the gap.
"Such a slowpoke. If this were a competition, I wouldn’t be so considerate to aim for your leg…" Bei Ling muttered as she fired at Xiao Tan's legs.
This was clearly a mercy shot—she'd swapped the sniper rifle's magazine for regular bullets instead of specialized ammunition.
Bang—
The gunshot rang out. Xiao Tan reacted in zero-latency, abruptly shifting his running trajectory and activating Wind Stops, Dust Scent Fades mid-stride.
The bullets tore through the three-second-lasting afterimage, leaving Xiao Tan unscathed.
"Huh?" Bei Ling blinked, surprised by the miss. "Interesting. You dodged it yourself." She immediately aimed for a second shot.
Then, through her scope, she witnessed something impossible.
Xiao Tan began zigzagging forward, releasing a new afterimage every one or two seconds.
"Not bad…" Bei Ling's respect for him grew. "Exploiting visual misdirection with afterimages while combining irregular directional changes… varying your speed and skill-casting frequency constantly. A sniper's worst nightmare."
Without breaking her composed tone, she pulled two submachine guns from her satchel—
One was her trusty MP5, the other a newly acquired Uzi.
[Name: Uzi]
[Type: Weapon]
[Quality: Common]
[Attack Power: Moderate]
[Attribute: None]
[Special Effect: None]
[Equipment Condition: Shooting Proficiency F]
[Background: Reliable, lightweight, easy to operate, and cost-effective.]
Level-30 players had long surpassed real-world human physical limits. Even female players could wield Desert Eagles one-handed like action heroes. Bei Ling now dual-wielded submachine guns effortlessly.
Rat-a-tat-tat—
The two high-firepower "smgs" unleashed a barrage in seconds.
Xiao Tan had nearly reached the container's summit. Facing this mid-range bullet-hell, he was powerless. Within moments, he took over a dozen hits. The bleed effect was inevitable, but worse still—his injuries slowed him. His previous erratic directional changes became impossible, rendering afterimages useless.
Bei Ling loomed just ahead, yet he couldn’t advance further. Stopping now would mean plummeting down, undoing all progress.
In this fleeting moment, most would freeze. But Wang Tan Zhi's blood carried an instinctive impulse, whispering the answer…
"Time to gamble…" His expression hardened. That usual gentle gaze vanished, replaced by an indescribable malevolence in his brows.
Gripping his combat knife, Xiao Tan activated Reverse Blade Whirlwind along the vertical container edge. At 75% C-rank proficiency, the skill succeeded effortlessly. Spinning upward with a reverse grip, the blade carried him skyward.
Bei Ling didn't expect this counterattack. Caught off-guard, she kept spraying bullets for nearly ten seconds until both guns emptied. With a weapon in each hand, reloading swiftly was impossible.
The tide turned instantly.
The spinning slash not only launched Xiao Tan onto the container but deflected incoming bullets, minimizing damage.
Bei Ling retreated rapidly, fleeing to create distance.
"He actually got up…" She muttered, unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow. "Now that we’re on the same plane, terrain advantage disappears… And he’s faster than me. It’s only a matter of time before he closes in…"
Before the thought finished, a blur lunged like lightning, giving her no breathing room.
Ping-ping-ping—
Bei Ling swiftly holstered her dual pistols, drawing two handguns from her waist holsters for suppression fire. She spun mid-slide, transitioning from fleeing to lateral combat positioning.
Xiao Tan’s vitality value, already damaged in earlier explosions and severely depleted climbing the container, could barely withstand further attacks. He prioritized evasion, unwilling to risk another hit.
This brief respite created several meters between them, granting Bei Ling time to reload.
She re-equipped the MP5, sliding a fresh magazine from her special forces gear's pocket while running. "If I recall correctly, your Reverse Blade Whirlwind has a one-minute cooldown. That skill’s a serious threat—shortens distance, deflects bullets, and deals damage. A true offense-defense combo." She warned, "But judging your current state… Your vitality must be under 20%. At this range, you won’t survive a full minute." She paused. "My suggestion? Either drink a Blood Vial for sustained pressure and win in one skill cycle… or abandon this chase, disappear from my sight, and try sneaking close again."
"Though I appreciate your concern…" Xiao Tan coldly interjected, "When a man’s focused on work, don’t lecture him!" With that, he burst forward at shocking speed.
"What!" Bei Ling’s heartbeat spiked, rage surging through her veins. "Dare you speak to me like that?! You’ve gone too far!" Enraged, she unleashed 100% firepower.
Yet Xiao Tan evaded effortlessly.
Alternating between the one-second-cooldown Wind Stops, Dust Scent Fades and five-second-cooldown Demon Bat Phantom, he advanced with unpredictable footwork. Maintaining three or more visible afterimages without slowing his charge.
This wasn’t merely a sniper’s nightmare—it was every ranged user’s horror. Through Bei Ling’s eyes, three Wang Tan Zhis charged in unison—shifting distances, feinting and real forms blending indistinguishably.
"This kid…" Bei Ling finally felt genuine fear. She swept her gun barrel left and right, blindly spraying while retreating. But without accuracy, even high proficiency became meaningless—especially at her C-rank level.
When Reverse Blade Whirlwind’s cooldown finally ended, Xiao Tan stood merely five steps from Bei Ling.
"Apologies… the outcome has already…" Xiao Tan couldn’t finish his sentence. At that moment, Bei Ling executed a surprise counter, seizing initiative! She suddenly charged forward, wrapping her arms around Xiao Tan’s waist.
Caught completely off-guard, Xiao Tan’s skill activation froze. He never saw this coming.
Backed into a corner, Bei Ling had improvised this desperate move. Frustrated by Xiao Tan’s scolding and nearing defeat, her suppressed fury erupted—she wanted to choke him, rip his hair out.
The tackle came too suddenly. Xiao Tan couldn’t execute his skill. Then everything spiraled out of control—colliding bodies toppled sideways, flying off the container’s edge in a tangled crash toward the ground.
"Did we both die…?" Xiao Tan sighed mid-air, regaining his usual calm expression as the distant ceiling receded.
Undoubtedly, two players miniaturized to toy-size plummeting from this height would perish instantly.
"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!" Bei Ling refused to concede, successfully slipping behind Xiao Tan mid-air, throttling his neck and yanking his hair.
"Ow! Ouch! What are you doing?!" Xiao Tan’s vitality barely dropped, but the pain was real. "No way… I’m dying! Dying! Dying!"
……
Meanwhile, atop another container—
"It seems they’re finished too…" Si Yu coldly observed Feng Bu Jue lying in a blood pool.
Hearing this, Feng Bu Jue checked the game menu—Xiao Tan and Bei Ling’s status read [Deceased].
He tried speaking but coughed blood. "Cough… cough… Mutual annihilation, huh? Didn’t expect that." Feng Bu Jue chuckled bitterly. "Though I never expected being beaten this badly either."
"You still have one skill left." Si Yu lightly vibrated her Sealed Sainthood Sword, erasing lingering bloodstains. "Use Demon God Descent. Consider our previous fight mere warm-up."
"Heh…" Feng Bu Jue licked blood from his lips. "Before going all-out… mind explaining how your absurd combat power works?"
"Same as you—Soul Intent." Si Yu answered.
Feng Bu Jue questioned, "I see… But why are you this strong without appearing on the combat power leaderboard?"
"Your Soul Intent is continuous-effect type." Si Yu replied. "Mine is instant-activation type."
"Oh? So it’s a variable ability depending on the user…" Feng Bu Jue said. "Well then… sorry."
"Why apologize?"
"For getting smug after ranking second, overlooking threats. Seems I brought this on myself."
"No need. You’ve always been like this."
"Uh…"
(End of Chapter)
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