Chapter 1 In the Midst of Chaos

The moment she saw him pull out the remote detonator, Miss Chai continued to grip the Ji Jiu's (Sacrificial Wine's) neck with one hand, while instantly crushing the wrist bones of his right hand, which held the remote, with the other. She desperately activated the petrification effect, trying to turn his palm to stone.

Li Ang's reaction was just as swift. He immediately turned the muzzle of his Barrett, aimed at Ji Jiu's right arm, which was faintly turning to stone, and pulled the trigger, blasting his entire right arm away. Yellow paper talismans would only automatically defend against attacks that directly threatened one's life.

Li Ang and Miss Chai's reactions were undeniably timely. However, within the setting of the Killing Game, players could retrieve items from their inventory with a mere thought, leaving no time for prevention.

Ji Jiu's arm, flying through the air, had already pressed the red button on the remote detonator.

To ensure he killed his enemy in the first encounter, he had filled the package he had thrown earlier with incredibly powerful explosives.

Even Ji Jiu's own protective talismans would have been unable to keep him alive at such close range.

But, it didn't matter anymore. The one-armed Ji Jiu seemed to have foreseen the earth-shattering boom behind him and the look of terror on Li Ang's face.

However, there was no deafening explosion, no crushing shockwave, and no light and heat engulfing the gray-white world.

Only a cold, emotionless system notification.

[Player "Ban Zhuo" has been killed by player "Wu Dai"]

'What is... going on?'

Ji Jiu's thoughts fell into chaos.

He knew very well that the so-called player was that John Joyce's teammate, Martin—Ji Jiu had obtained a lot of intelligence from Martin when he captured him.

At this moment, Martin, who had completely lost his ability to act, should be lying with Zhi Jue (Arbiter), creating the gray-white domain. How could he have died inexplicably? And not even at the hands of Zhi Jue?

On the rooftop, Liu Wu Dai, holding a wooden short bow, had sweat beading on her forehead. She gazed at the rooftop where Zhi Jue was, now devoid of the gray-white domain, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Just before Li Ang pulled the trigger of his Barrett sniper rifle at Ji Jiu's temple, only to have the bullet easily deflected by the yellow paper talisman, and Ji Jiu was also injured by her [Purification Edict] skill, Liu Wu Dai had not been idle.

Through Ji Jiu's actions and the shape of the package, she judged that it was definitely some kind of high-powered explosive that could be detonated remotely or by a timer.

Liu Wu Dai's inventory actually contained a portable electromagnetic pulse rifle provided by the Special Affairs Bureau, which could capture drones in the sky, or release a small EMP to destroy electronic devices at close range.

However, who knew what principle the explosive device inside the package was based on? What if an EMP set it off prematurely?

In that split second, she faced three choices.

First, turn around and run immediately.

However, since Ji Jiu had chosen to use this explosive device for a surprise attack, it was enough to prove that he had enough confidence in the package's power. Running away was probably too late—

Moreover, Liu Wu Dai's teammate, Li Ang, was still hanging on the edge of the rooftop. If she abandoned her teammate, it would be even more difficult to continue the next mission step.

Second, throw the package downstairs.

The radius of the gray-white world was a full kilometer, and this high-rise was only two or three hundred meters tall.

According to the formula for calculating the side lengths of a right triangle, unless the explosive device had a kill radius of nine hundred and sixty meters, pedestrians on the road would be safe.

However, Liu Wu Dai could not control the extent of the damage Ji Jiu suffered from [Purification Edict], or Ji Jiu's time of death.

If Ji Jiu died before the explosive device detonated, then the gray-white domain would disappear directly, and the explosive device that Liu Wu Dai threw down the building would directly destroy the street below and the pedestrians on it.

Letting innocent people die in the struggle between herself and other players was absolutely unbearable for Liu Wu Dai.

The third choice was to send the package away. It could not cause her death, nor could it harm innocent people below.

So, Liu Wu Dai directly bent down, used a skill that could enhance her physiological functions in a very short time, with considerable side effects, drew the bowstring to its fullest extent, and launched the explosive device as an arrow.

The target of the arrow was naturally the unfortunate Zhi Jue on the extremely distant rooftop.

The explosive device cut through the sky and landed directly above Zhi Jue, who was slowly healing his injuries. It was then triggered by Ji Jiu's button press and detonated with a bang.

The tenacious Zhi Jue escaped the fate of death, but the player Martin, who was also lying on the rooftop, was not so lucky and was torn to pieces by the shockwave—which was a good thing for him in his twisted form, lost consciousness, and living a life worse than death.

After Martin's death, the spherical technique disappeared directly.

Above the rooftop where Ji Jiu was, a not-so-loud rumble sounded, and fierce winds blew, but that was it.

The pedestrians below had no idea that they had narrowly escaped death.

'Is it over?'

Ji Jiu's left shoulder cracked open, his entire right arm was torn apart by bullets, the [Purification Edict] was still on cooldown, and the effects of the teleportation pistol could not be used.

If he were in perfect condition, with the reserves of skills and props far surpassing ordinary players, he would still have the strength to fight.

But now, the red and white puppet was firmly grasping his neck with one hand and pressing down on his chest with the other, causing his internal organs to continuously petrify. His condition was terrible beyond compare.

Crack, crack.

Li Ang easily broke Ji Jiu's left arm and legs, like breaking lotus roots.

Fresh red blood dripped down, splashing on the ground, trampled on by passersby in the gray-white world who were unaware of anything, and slowly flowed into the roadside ditch.

'Am I... going to die here?'

Ji Jiu's consciousness became increasingly blurred. At this moment, half of his body had turned to stone, and no blood flowed from the broken surfaces of his hands and feet.

Not to mention players, even an ordinary person with a weapon could easily take his life.

Ji Jiu, who had previously used the Datura Type III reagent, could not feel any pain at all. The rich vitality possessed by players allowed him to still open his eyes.

He knew very well that the only reason the other party had not killed him was because an explosion had sounded on that high-rise.

Ordinary people might not notice, but the Special Affairs Bureau must be rushing over non-stop. The enemy in front of him also needed an opposing player to maintain the spatial isolation technique.

Ji Jiu looked at Li Ang, trying to remember the other party's face in his mind, to remember the person who was about to take his life.