Ambush

Lake Town, east of the Observatory Base. Captured players were tied up with ropes, black hoods pulled over their heads. "Star God Society, you bunch of lunatics!" "It's just a game, why are you pulling this shit?!" "Fuck your whole—" The captive players cursed at the top of their lungs in sheer fury. Standing before them was a young girl cloaked in black robes, with long, ash-white hair. Stray strands hung over her forehead, partially concealing violet eyes. Her skin was snow-white, and she wore a black meteor armband around her sleeve. Looking down at the prisoners, she spoke softly. "May the Star God bless you." As her voice fell... Bang! Bang! A volley of gunshots rang out, and the line of captured players was executed, collapsing to the ground. A tall, gaunt man in black robes stepped forward. His cheekbones jutted out sharply as if chiseled by a blade, and his face was covered in scars. He spoke in a low voice. "Lady Falina, they've mostly been dealt with." "Lyle, who is leading the Star Cluster Guild?" Falina asked, her rosy lips parting slightly. "It should be Qian Luobing and Qian Wei. Their entourage consists of their trusted inner circle, and they brought about a third more men than us." "The key to victory has never been numbers, but faith and strategy." "Lady Falina speaks the truth," Lyle replied respectfully, bowing his head. "And what about the Sin Abyss Guild?" "Padoka is leading their side." "Have our people prepare. Once we reach the Observatory, wipe them all out. We will be the sole victors of this instance." Though Falina's voice was gentle, it carried unwavering confidence and authority. "Understood." Lyle and the others immediately went into motion. *** Agatu Town. Clack! Xu Lie slammed the engine hood shut and announced excitedly, "All set!" "Let me test it." Zhao Chen nimbly climbed into the driver's cab and swiftly started the vehicle. Rumble! With a clamorous roar from the engine, the truck successfully roared to life. "The vehicle's good to go. Dino, you and Cheng Tong go grab the motorcycles," Zhao Chen instructed. Dino and Cheng Tong wasted no words, turning and leaving immediately. "Everyone, climb in!" Zhao Chen hollered back toward Qin Ye and the others. "I want the passenger seat." Qin Ye moved to get into the front; he certainly didn't want to sit in the back. "No!" Long Ming called out, stopping Qin Ye in his tracks. Qin Ye turned to Long Ming with dark lines running down his forehead. "What's wrong now?" "The passenger seat is the most dangerous spot. The one riding shotgun is usually the first to die," Long Ming explained coolly. "He's right!" Wei Zhang and several others nodded in agreement. Hearing that, Qin Ye stepped down, completely at a loss for words. "Guess there's no choice then, my generous employers. Looks like I'll have to take the passenger seat," Xu Lie chuckled as he climbed up. Long Ming then turned to Wei Zhang and the rest. "You guys go up first." Wei Zhang and his companions didn't argue and climbed directly into the open truck bed. Along both sides of the bed, long metal benches had been welded into place. Wei Zhang and the others took their seats. Long Ming looked at Qin Ye and the other young masters. "Get on." Resigned, Qin Ye and his friends clambered up. Finally, Long Ming and the remaining escorts climbed aboard as well, keeping Qin Ye and his group shielded in the center. "Zhao Chen, we're ready to roll!" Qin Ye yelled at the top of his lungs. "Understood!" Zhao Chen slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the truck shot forward. Basking in the cool breeze and watching the town's buildings whip past, Long Ming felt quite refreshed. Just then, Dino and Cheng Tong sped out from a side road on their motorcycles. Both twisted their throttles and surged ahead, taking point a hundred meters in front of the truck to clear the path. Before long, they drove out of the town and began winding their way along the Pan Mountain Highway. Long Ming gazed into the distance. Rolling mountain peaks filled his view, and the winding road traced along the ranges, stretching toward the horizon. The scenery was truly magnificent. Taking in the sight, Long Ming tapped his wristband to pull up the map. Most of it was still unrevealed. That was hardly a problem, though, as he had studied a detailed map of this instance on the forums beforehand. All he needed to do was rely on his memory to sketch a crude map manually onto the wristband, and the fog of war would lift. Long Ming finished the map in short order. Looking at their current position, his eyes flickered slightly. Judging by the route, the journey to the Observatory Base was bound to be turbulent. First of all, there were only four main roads leading into the Observatory Base. That meant players from all the surrounding towns were highly likely to cross paths along the way, making a bloody clash unavoidable. Second, outside the Observatory Base's outer city lay a hundred-meter-wide river spanned by a large steel bridge. That bridge was the second choke point on the way to the Observatory Base. Just then, Long Ming sensed an odd gaze and looked up. He caught Wei Zhang glancing sideways at him with a slightly erratic, manic grin. The other hired mercenaries were also eyeing each other warily. It was abundantly clear that no one trusted anyone else. The atmosphere in the truck bed grew distinctly tense. Over an hour later, the truck continued its drive toward the Observatory Base. Whether out of sheer luck or because they had spent so much time clearing players in town, they had not run into a single enemy along the way. "What kind of lousy road is this? All these turns are making my head spin," Qin Ye grumbled to Bai Xiu and the others. "Hang in there. Everything about this game is great except for one thing—it's way too realistic..." Bai Xiu and the other young masters were also aching terribly in the lower back from the bumpy ride. Ahead, Dino and Cheng Tong rode their motorcycles on the left and right, scouting the road for the truck. Both looked taut and exceedingly vigilant. Neither was running this instance for the first time, and they knew full well that the closer they got to the Observatory Base, the more perilous it became. Suddenly, Dino and Cheng Tong spotted a faint glint reflecting off the road ahead. Both of their expressions changed drastically. The very next second, before Cheng Tong could react, a slender metal wire sliced clean through his neck, severing his head. Dino's reflexes were far quicker. He yanked the handlebars back with all his might. Snap! The fine metal wire sliced into the front of the motorcycle, and Dino was thrown violently from the bike. "Enemy attack!" Seeing this unfold, Zhao Chen slammed on the brakes. Screeech! The truck skidded to a sudden halt. "Ow!" Qin Ye and the others were thrown forward by the immense momentum, crashing onto the truck bed with groans of pain. Long Ming and the rest of the fighters were jostled around as well, but they scrambled upright immediately. Rumble! Massive boulders came crashing down from the mountainside to their right. Immediately after, player after player poked their heads out, opening fire on Long Ming's group with single-shot rifles and vintage pistols. Bang! Bang! "Ah! I'm hit!" Lu Xu wailed, clutching his rear with one hand as he hastily pulled out a bottle of insect-heal serum and chugged it down. At the same time, Yan Huai swiftly deployed a folding shield, tossing one end toward a nearby escort. The man caught it instantly, and the two stretched the folding shield wide. Clang! Clang! Bullets pelted against the shield in a relentless hail.