Chapter 11 November 11th, 00:00

At the stroke of midnight on November 11th, the fourth round of the Aoshan Four Realms began on schedule.

The thirty-two teams were respectively teleported into sixteen scenarios, paired off to start their bloody battles.

Unsurprisingly, the four matches with the highest number of online viewers were the aforementioned four focal battles.

However, about a quarter of the audience switched battlefields less than ten minutes (game time) after the start of the match. Because… Hell Front only took nine minutes and fifteen seconds to kick the Zhushen Second Team out of the game.

This sounded a bit unbelievable, but it did happen. The main reason was simply this: the scenario map was too small.

So… just how small was this map? Let’s put it this way, the name of this map was “dust2”; more precisely, it was “dust2 in the night.” This was a game map adapted from a classic FPS game, and the entire map area was less than 40,000 square meters.

In addition, the basic settings of this scenario were as follows: first, the map itself (i.e., the ground, walls, doors, boxes, and other facilities) could not be destroyed; second, the map boundaries (i.e., the square space that made up the map framework) could not be crossed; third, the height that players could reach could not exceed the top edge of the highest wall on the map.

In summary… this was a nighttime street fight similar to a "cage fight." Both sides had to determine the outcome in a limited, specific terrain environment.

And under such circumstances, it goes without saying who the MVP of this match was…

Thus, all the information about the members of the Zhushen Second Team that Feng Bujue analyzed and conveyed before the match… turned out to be useless. On this mere 40,000 square meter map, the Blood Corpse God, with [Fear Projection] and perception abilities, could be described as a strategic strike weapon that surpassed all tactics. At Xiao Ling's suggestion, the Hell Front team invited this "strongest sixth man" out at the first opportunity and quickly achieved victory.

…………

Now, to another location…

When the news of "Hell Front's lightning elimination of the Zhushen Second Team" had already begun to spread, another focal battle had only just entered the probing stage.

“What a bold one…” [Name Really Hard to Take] muttered, holding a sniper rifle and looking at a figure in the distance, “Walking around in this open area like a stroll, does he think I’m dead…”

At this moment, Xiao Ming was hiding in a huge bird's nest located on a cliff. His task was to monitor the vast, scarlet grassland below. And the guy he called "strolling in the open area" was none other than the vice-captain of the Order First Team - [Sheng Yu Pian] (Sashimi).

“Oh… so he’s hiding in that kind of place…” Although Sheng Yu Pian appeared to be strolling leisurely on the surface, his mind was constantly tense. The reason why he appeared alone in this open area was because he wanted to test the enemy's position.

“Listening to the sound… it should be [Name Really Hard to Take], right…” After using his [Heavenly Hearing] ability to lock onto the enemy's position, Sheng Yu Pian continued to move forward silently, and thought to himself, “Because his sniping point is relatively safe and hidden, he subconsciously talks to himself… This can be considered a common bad habit.”

Bang—

Just as he was thinking, a gunshot rang out.

The bullet was faster than the sound.

But the prepared Sheng Yu Pian easily avoided this shot.

“This is [Boundless Snipe], right…” Sheng Yu Pian, who had flashed out several meters in an instant, looked back at the bullet hole on the ground and recalled, “What did the analysis report say… An A-level shooting skill that ignores wind and range, and whose speed and power will not decay until it hits.”

Bang bang bang bang bang—

The next second, five consecutive sounds that were almost overlapping came, announcing that Xiao Ming's second wave of attacks had arrived.

This time, Sheng Yu Pian decisively used an item called [Acceleration Scroll] and did his best to avoid the attack.

“Sure enough… after [Boundless Snipe], he immediately followed up with his title ability [Berserk Firepower]…” Although Sheng Yu Pian used a one-time item, he still dodged somewhat embarrassedly, “Within 1.5 seconds, the firing interval of the gun is changed to 0.01, and the previous shooting skill is re-triggered, causing it to enter the 'Berserk Firepower' state…” He felt a little scared just thinking about it, “Well… fortunately, I was prepared…”

Obviously, Sheng Yu Pian was very familiar with the skills of Name Really Hard to Take. Otherwise, even if he had the intention to guard against it, it would be difficult to avoid the previous two moves unscathed.

And what established this advantage for Sheng Yu Pian was undoubtedly the powerful behind-the-scenes team of Order…

Before the start of each match, each member of Order would receive a detailed analysis report of the enemy team members. The content of the report was all calculated by dedicated personnel in conjunction with the optical brain. Even if it could not be said to be 100% accurate, there would not be too much deviation. And those pieces of information that could not be calculated or deduced, with an accuracy rate of less than 65%, would be specially marked.

This… was the actual benefit of "pre-match intelligence warfare."

Perhaps many people would scoff at this approach, because competition is not mathematics, and the essence of competition lies in the unpredictability of its process and results. But it is undeniable that these pre-match preparations may indeed affect the outcome of the match. As long as these behaviors are within the scope allowed by the rules, there is nothing wrong with them. It can even be said that this is also part of the strength.

Of course, from the perspective of the Peak Hegemony competition mode, no matter how well the pre-match intelligence work is done, it may not be useful when the real fight starts. Taking the recent match of Hell Front as an example… as long as your team is lucky enough (maybe because Brother Jue is not around), and just happens to be randomly assigned a map that is extremely beneficial to the team, then there is no need for any intelligence support…

“Phew… at least I dodged it…” Sheng Yu Pian breathed a sigh of relief after dodging the second round of continuous bullets, “Now I can rest assured…”

There was naturally a reason why a very steady player like him would say the word "rest assured."

In fact… Sheng Yu Pian’s concern for Name Really Hard to Take was only in those two skills just now. Because the power of [Boundless Snipe] will not decay due to obstruction, he cannot "carry" this move; similarly, [Berserk Firepower], which can strengthen and re-trigger Boundless Snipe, must be dealt with by evasion.

And when these two moves enter the cooldown stage together, Sheng Yu Pian has nothing to worry about…

Because… his main ability is "sound." In addition to providing various reconnaissance methods that can be described as heaven-defying, another significant effect of this ability is that it can provide extremely strong long-range defense capabilities.

If Brother Jue were here today, he would know at a glance… this vice-captain of the Order First Team can ignore most A-level and below ranged attacks just by relying on the two passive skills [Enhanced Sound Barrier] and [Bass Area]; as for ordinary gunshots… it's like they don't exist to him, he can even take an RPG head-on within ten meters.

“Damn it… didn’t kill him…” When Name Really Hard to Take was changing the magazine, he was already quite annoyed in his heart.

From the perspective of a shooting player, or rather from the perspective of a sniper… shooting a target in an open area from such a perfect sniping point, and using his two must-kill combo skills… then he must be sure of success. Even if he couldn't kill the opponent, he should at least inflict some damage, right? But the result of returning empty-handed in front of him really made him a little embarrassed.

“Forget it, calm down… as long as… what!” Just as Xiao Ming changed the magazine and re-aimed, he was surprised to find that the distance between the opponent and himself had been shortened by half.

“I’ll go… coming so fast…” Xiao Ming exclaimed, and didn’t forget to take action, “Are you kidding me!”

Bang—

He complained, and also pulled the trigger, this time firing a special ammunition - [Incendiary Bomb].

However, this kind of shooting without skill bonus is like a decoration in Sheng Yu Pian’s eyes…

But it was seen that when the bullet flew to a range of about ten meters above Sheng Yu Pian's head, it seemed to suddenly immerse itself in a liquid with extremely high density, almost completely stopping, and detonating with the minimum limit of power. Before the sparks of the explosion were extinguished, Sheng Yu Pian's figure had already left the range of the explosion.

Seeing this scene, Name Really Hard to Take immediately made a very correct judgment - run.

The three attacks just now had already made Xiao Ming vaguely aware of something… Although he didn’t have time to think things through at the moment, his combat intuition had driven him to react.

“As expected of someone from Bingdi (Ice Emperor) (the reputation of Bingdi is no longer what it used to be, the era when only the 'Hard-to-Name Three Musketeers' were relatively famous is over)… he made a very wise response before falling into a desperate situation.” Sheng Yu Pian thought to himself as he accelerated his pace towards the opponent, “But… it just slightly delayed the time for me to catch up…”

Indeed, it is almost impossible to escape under Sheng Yu Pian's pursuit. It would have been fine if he hadn't been discovered by him in the first place, but once he was "located" by this human-shaped radar, there was no escape…

At this moment, Sheng Yu Pian had already locked the focus of his [Heavenly Hearing] on Xiao Ming; the other party's speech, footsteps, breathing, and heartbeat… all could not escape his auditory positioning. Unless Xiao Ming could shake off the opponent by a distance of more than two kilometers within an extremely short period of time, otherwise Sheng Yu Pian could chase him to the ends of the earth.

However, there was one thing Sheng Yu Pian didn’t know, and that was… he had already fallen into a trap.

Moreover, he had fallen into a rather clever plan.

…………

At the same moment, in another place in the scenario, the "Red Thorn Forest Valley."

"Captain, Zui-ge (Brother Zui), something is wrong." After arriving at the heart of this forest valley, [Tun Tian Gui Xiao] (Devouring Sky Ghost Brave) noticed something, and his expression gradually became serious.

This was the first time he had shown such an expression since the s2 competition.

“What’s wrong?” [Wu Si Can Xuan] (Comprehending Death Meditating on Mystery), who was standing not far away, quickly turned his head and asked.

“This place… no… it should be said that this entire forest valley…” Gui Xiao said, looking around, his eyes flickering, “is all in a ‘formation’, and… this ‘formation’ is undoubtedly a trap set specifically for players.”

“Trap?” [Zui Wo Chang Ran] (Drunk Lying Regretting), who was standing on his other side, replied, “Who set it up?”

“Of course it was set up by the NPCs.” Gui Xiao replied, “The three of us went straight to this place without stopping as soon as we entered the scenario. Even if the teleportation point of the Bingdi team is here, it is impossible for them to set up a large formation with such power in twenty minutes, right…” He paused, “Besides… how would they know that we would definitely come here?”

“Can’t you figure out such a simple thing?” Suddenly, a voice came from the waterfall behind the three players.

The "person" who spoke had not yet appeared, but the players were already suspicious, because the voice sounded like a boy's child voice.

A few seconds later, the waterfall seemed to be split in two like a water curtain, and then, a thin figure slowly walked out from the mountain gap behind it.

In that instant, a gleam flashed in Gui Xiao's eyes, and then, he immediately lowered his voice and said to his two teammates, "Be careful… don't be deceived by this guy's appearance, he is a thorough monster…"

“Can see through the 'Truth Sequence', huh…” The little boy obviously heard Gui Xiao's words, he replied while walking on the water, walking forward, “In that case… you are that 'Tun Tian Gui Xiao', right?”

“That’s right.” Gui Xiao replied neither humble nor arrogant, and then tentatively asked, “But I don’t know who you are? What do you mean by your words just now?”

The little boy smiled coldly and replied, “What I mean is…”

He had only just started his words when another voice suddenly sounded, preemptively saying, "What he means is…" A figure suddenly jumped down from the waterfall with the words, while falling, "We Bingdi really knew that you guys would come here!"

The voice stopped, and the person landed.

But the person who came was wearing a white uniform with a light blue lining, and the "Bingdi" (Ice Emperor) character was clearly printed on the Ice Rose badge on his chest. Looking at that feminine temperament and curly hair, who else could it be but [Atobe-shao ye] (Young Master Atobe)?

"Oh~" Zui Wo Chang Ran raised an eyebrow, "What's the situation… we really fell into an ambush?"

"But… how is this possible?" Wu Si Can Xuan said in a deep voice, doubting.

“It’s very simple.” The little boy spread his arms and looked at the three members of Order, “I… have already set up this formation here, just waiting for you to throw yourselves into the net.” He paused for half a second, "Not long ago, when your two groups came to this planet, I immediately contacted Atobe and the others, so they also came."

“Heh… I understand even less now.” Zui Wo Chang Ran replied with a smile that was not a smile, “How did you know that we would definitely come here? Also… who exactly are you?”

“I… my name is - Dian He Wang (Cranefoundation King).” When Dian He Wang said this, he took a few steps forward again, and as he moved away, the separated waterfall behind him slowly merged together.

“The situation you are involved in today…” While speaking, Dian He Wang’s gaze swept across the faces of the three members of the Order First Team, “…is actually someone’s ‘test’ for you.”