City of Sinful Mist (The Black Death) Chapter 134: Fully Armed

Li Xiaojing chewed her bubblegum, donned her hockey mask, gripped her baseball bat, and stepped onto her skateboard. A belt of grenades hung around her waist, alongside a ragdoll.

The bubblegum was a prop she had earned in her previous game. As long as she chewed it before it lost its flavor, it boosted her self-healing, strength, agility, and stamina.

The ragdoll was her greatest trump card. It had come from a deceased high-level player. In the hands of its original owner, it could have contended with a Level 7 or even Level 8 opponent. In Li Xiaojing’s hands, however, it provided the equivalent of a Level 5 combat capability for three minutes.

Most high-level game items were things that low- or mid-level players simply could not unleash the full potential of. Being able to exert some influence two levels above one's own was already quite an achievement.

Li Xiaoyue sat nearby, clutching her stack of spellbooks and shivering. She wasn't afraid of the enemy—not after having survived so many games—but rather, she was terrified by the dark, intrusive thoughts cropping up in her and her sister’s minds.

Everyone experiences thoughts they would never actually act upon. Darker individuals have more of them; brighter ones have fewer. As long as they aren't executed, it doesn't really matter what one thinks. One should never be convicted for their thoughts.

However, being able to perceive the images in her sister’s mind—of strangling her or stripping her bare and hanging her up—still made Li Xiaoyue uneasy. Was it really worth getting this angry just because she had sent photos of her bathing and picking her nose to Wu Hui yesterday?

As she thought this, several more ways to commit murder immediately surfaced in Li Xiaojing’s mind.

Ren Yin returned the maid outfit to Wang Xiaodie.

"What on earth are you all doing?" Wang Xiaodie asked.

Ke Wenbei had left with his cousin, leaving her as the only person present who hadn't fully awakened. She found it difficult to understand why everyone was so heavily armed and preparing for battle.

"Don't ask, prepare to fight," Wu Hui replied.

Fine, fine.

Her abilities hadn't fully stabilized yet; they hovered between those of a scout and a summoner, a common phenomenon among low-level players. Wu Hui himself hadn't committed to a summoning path until he reached Level 3, supplementing it with ice powers and a bit of melee combat to cover his weaknesses.

Wang Xiaodie possessed the "Book of a Hundred Insects," but commanding summons wasn't her strong suit. The book also contained some potion recipes, two of which she had consumed herself. The effect was a transformation that granted her body the traits of certain arthropods.

Well, she supposed this was the ability best suited for her. The maid outfit also enhanced agility and strength. While she wanted to complain about the effects of the maid outfit, that was just how it was. Maids were apparently supposed to fight in melee, right?

Ren Yin sat on the roof, holding her gun. With her sonic detection ability, she would be the first to spot the enemy if any trouble arose. The maid outfit didn't really suit her; she would have to ask Sister Wu Tong if there were other styles available later. Judging by Wu Hui’s reaction, he seemed to quite like this getup. A stoic, bespectacled maid who could pull various firearms from beneath her skirt must have been right up his alley.

Actually, she didn't need to do any of that. The moment she sat down and started playing chess with him, their intellectual clash would immediately make Wu Hui feel that Ren Yin was the most beautiful person in the world. Of course, this was partly because they had similar temperaments and Wu Hui was somewhat narcissistic. All the other girls, except for Wu Tong, envied the marital chemistry between Ren Yin and Wu Hui.

"Wu Hui, a high-speed target is approaching. Position 14, 32."

The two numbers were coordinates they had mapped out around the villa, allowing for effective communication during combat.

Wu Hui didn't hesitate; he ordered Ren Yin to fire and detonate the explosives around that area. Normally, he might have confirmed who the target was, but in his current semi-darkened state, he didn't care. If he hit an innocent bystander, that was their misfortune.

Amidst the explosions, Liu An leaped back, successfully avoiding the blaze. "Heh, so you were prepared? And you actually managed to detect me."

He had originally deduced, through scouting and estimation, that there were at most Level 5 players here. It seemed they had some strength after all.

No matter.

Beside Liu An, several willow branches plunged into the ground and grew rapidly. Greenery spread everywhere, and willow catkins swirled through the air.

Explosions rang out in succession. Ren Yin fired without hesitation, detonating several bombs before sending a special bullet toward Liu An’s main body. The fiery blast ignited the willow catkins, charring several trees. A bullet imbued with lightning power struck its target.

"Quite impressive," Liu An commented sincerely.

In front of him, several catkins revealed fangs and blood vessels, biting the incoming bullet mid-air amidst the crackle of electricity.

Wu Hui pulled out a curse card and activated it.

He and Ren Yin were Level 4. Wang Xiaodie and the twins were Level 3, nearing Level 4. Even if they played all their cards, they might not be able to handle a Level 6.

Therefore, as someone who always considered every contingency, Wu Hui had naturally prepared for the possibility of an overly strong enemy. He had contacted the local Cocoon Corporation early on.

In the midst of the chaos, the Cocoon Corporation might not be able to spare much combat force to assist. His sister’s connections there were solid, but not enough to trigger a full-scale mobilization just because of a word from Wu Hui.

However, after receiving the news, the Orb-Weaver had already been waiting nearby with his trusted subordinates. He didn't prioritize Wu Hui’s safety; he was simply hiding in the darkness, waiting to ambush the enemy.

For now, Liu An hadn't stepped deep enough into the web.

Good people are usually at a disadvantage when facing villains because they are bound by morality and care for the lives of companions and bystanders, giving them fewer options. This is also why those who have "darkened" are often very strong.

But now, with the entire city darkening and everyone turning to unscrupulous methods, the villain's advantage was no longer as apparent.

Liu An was a smart man; he had surely prepared an escape route. If he sensed an ambush, he would retreat quickly. The Orb-Weaver didn't intend to let him leave easily, so he would wait until Wu Hui and the others had Liu An thoroughly entangled before striking. It would be best if Liu An felt that the support Wu Hui had prepared was underwhelming, only for the Orb-Weaver to bring his team out and strike him down when his guard was down.

The plan was perfect.

Wu Hui’s preparations were naturally aimed at Level 6 or even Level 7 threats. If it were just a Level 5, he and Ren Yin could have handled it together without such concern.

Amidst the swirling catkins, he stared at the enemy in the distance.

The ground began to freeze. The floating catkins were suddenly covered in frost, becoming too heavy to drift any further.

"Heh, useless," Liu An sneered.

Normally, this would have affected him. However, his willow trees grew stronger with every kill he made. Since the chaos erupted, Liu An had killed hundreds of people; his willow trees were now approaching the peak of Level 6.