Sent Sky-High

Long Ming fired at him at once. Bang! The bullet struck the player in the abdomen. But the man didn't go down. Instead, he threw himself at Long Ming with everything he had, both hands clamping onto the Gecko pistol, shoving him back into the living room. Bang bang! Long Ming squeezed off several more shots, but the man still hung on for dear life. "Now's my chance!" Haman rushed into the living room, raising his submachine gun to mow Long Ming down. Luckily, Shi Qiang leaped out from the other side at that moment, grabbed the gun, and shoved the barrel aside. Bang bang! The bullets raked straight into the wall beside them. "Bastard!" Another of Haman's underlings charged in and slammed Shi Qiang to the floor, and the two went rolling, wrestling across the ground. Long Ming kicked away the player clinging to him, raised his pistol at Haman, and pulled the trigger. Click, click! He was out of bullets. Haman immediately raised his submachine gun again. Long Ming hurled the empty Gecko pistol straight at him, smacking Haman right in the face, then darted forward and kicked the submachine gun flying with a vicious strike. Haman staggered back a step—then charged like a wild beast, smashing a fist at Long Ming with savage ferocity. Long Ming twisted sideways and dodged the punch. Haman hammered another one at him. Long Ming backed away, raising his arms to block. Seizing the opening, Haman leaped into the air and drove down a vicious elbow. Long Ming's eyes sharpened. He raised both hands to meet it. Thud! The blow sent him staggering back several steps before he could steady himself. "Not bad, kid. So you've actually trained." Haman finally understood why this fellow was such a tough nut to crack. "Right back at you!" Long Ming's face grew darker still. This Haman was very much like a Star Tower City military officer—at the very least, a retired one. "But with just this much skill, you're still green!" Power exploded from Haman in an instant as he hammered punch after savage punch at Long Ming. Long Ming blocked without pause, backing away step by step. Meanwhile, Shi Qiang and Haman's underling were still locked in their scuffle. Seeing he couldn't subdue Shi Qiang, the man went berserk and rammed his head at him. Thud! But it was the underling whose head spun with dizziness, as if he'd slammed it into a wall. Shi Qiang seized the chance, snapped his own head forward, and smashed it back into him. The man's vision swam at once, and Shi Qiang hammered fist after fist into his forehead. As for Long Ming, though he was at a disadvantage, he showed no panic, his expression utterly calm. He crossed his arms to catch Haman's punch and drove a vicious kick into his body. Haman staggered back a step. Long Ming pounced on the opening, charged in, and smashed a punch at him. Haman didn't dodge. He took the hit head-on and smashed a punch right back. The two of them traded blow after blow, fist after fist sinking into each other's bodies, until both were forced back, faces twisted in pain, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. Haman's presence might have looked stronger than Long Ming's, but this wasn't reality—their body stats were identical, so he couldn't gain any real edge. He glared viciously at Long Ming. "Kid, state your name!" "Dead men don't need names!" Long Ming shot toward him with fierce speed. A glint of cold light flashed through Haman's eyes. Reversing his grip, he drew a dagger from his tactical belt and slashed it at Long Ming's neck. Long Ming twisted aside—but a thin cut opened on his body all the same. He frowned, hurriedly retreating to open up the distance. Just then, Shi Qiang came charging in from behind and wrapped his arms around Haman. "Bro, I've got your back!" "Looking to die!" Haman raised his arm and drove an elbow backward into Shi Qiang. Shi Qiang hissed in pain, his grip loosening at once, and Haman spun and kicked him flying. Long Ming pounced on the opening without hesitation, darted in, and landed a kick square on Haman. The man went flying outright, crashing heavily to the floor. Then Haman spotted the submachine gun lying where it had dropped. He scrambled up and reached for it. Long Ming instantly drew the tactical dagger from his pocket and hurled it. Thunk! The blade buried itself squarely in the back of Haman's hand. "Agh!" Haman screamed in agony. Long Ming rushed in fast and kicked him in the head, sending him flying a second time. Then he snatched up the dagger Haman had dropped and threw it at him! Thunk! The blade struck him square in the neck, and blood came gushing out. He toppled over, unwilling to accept it, blood welling from his mouth as he spoke. "You—" "Sorry, but I win!" Long Ming said it flatly, then walked over to Shi Qiang and pulled him to his feet. "Finally took care of them," Shi Qiang panted. Long Ming let out a breath of relief. He walked over to the submachine gun, crouched, and picked it up, then turned to Shi Qiang. "We can't stay here. Grab a gun, quick, and let's move!" "Right!" Shi Qiang scrambled up and ran to the foot of the stairs, where he picked up a single-shot rifle. Long Ming led him toward the back door—but just as they reached it, they heard movement outside. "No good—front door!" They rushed for the front, only to find a crowd of figures waiting outside the moment they arrived. "Damn it, upstairs!" Long Ming decisively hauled Shi Qiang up to the second floor. Just then a man came hurrying over with twenty players—a man in a black robe, slanted bangs covering one eye, his gaze like a wild beast's. "Captain Duolake! I think we're too late. Haman and his men have been wiped out." It was a woman in a black robe, tanned skin, bright clear eyes, brimming with youthful energy. "What a pack of fools. Nearly wiped out just clearing a few solo players." Duolake replied to An Mi, his expression gloomy. By the second-floor window, Shi Qiang turned to Long Ming in dread. "It's over. We're surrounded." "What's there to panic about!" Long Ming carefully poked his head out. At the sight of the encircling players, his face grew uglier still. Had he kicked over a hornet's nest? This many people, just to corner him? They thought far too highly of him. One of them, a black-robed man with a scorpion tattooed on the back of his right hand, spoke up. "Captain, let me take a squad and wipe him out!" "Go ahead, Laiduo!" Duolake swept his hand. Laiduo immediately led four pistol-wielding underlings in an assault on the building. But the moment they closed within range— Long Ming leaned out just a sliver, raised his submachine gun, and let loose a burst. Bang bang! One of Laiduo's men took a headshot outright; another was struck in the thigh and dropped to the ground howling. At once, Duolake's underlings all raised their guns and fired at the window where Long Ming was hiding. Bang bang! Long Ming hastily ducked back as a hail of bullets hammered the wall. Laiduo took the chance to fall back with his remaining men. Seeing Laiduo driven off, Duolake was at the peak of his fury—this many people, and they couldn't bring down one solo player. He had just been about to order everyone in when Long Ming suddenly called out in mockery: "Friends out there, you must be loaded! Three thousand Yiwei coins a bullet—how many shots have you burned through already? Keep this up, and are you sure you can break even?" At those words, Duolake's gaze turned colder still, and he raised a hand, signaling all his underlings to halt. An Mi lowered her voice. "Sir, what do we do now?" "Hmph. I have my own way." Duolake turned to an underling beside him and murmured a few instructions. The man turned and left at once. Then Duolake silently counted off the time, and when it was about right, he swept his hand. Five underlings armed with axes and clubs immediately charged the building. "Still charging?" Long Ming raised his submachine gun and let loose another burst. Bang bang! Three players dropped in an instant; the other two fled back in terror. "Haha, you're no good at all—a whole crowd, and you can't beat the two of us. You're just trash!" Shi Qiang jeered, laughing at the sight. Just then, a player slipped soundlessly in through the back door on the first floor. Long Ming heard the movement below at once and ordered, "Someone's crept in. Go watch the stairs." "No problem, leave it to me!" Shi Qiang immediately ran for the stairway. The intruder raised his hand, seized the fuse sticking out of his backpack, and yanked it—then charged straight for the stairs. Shi Qiang saw it and froze solid. Before he could even open his mouth— BOOM! A violent explosion tore through everything, blasting the entire building to pieces.