"Li Chun asked if you really have a job to offer her," said Gu Yu, holding the Girl in the painting’s phone, somewhat helplessly.
Previously, both the Special Defense Department and the National Security Department had tried contacting the Girl in the painting. No matter how they tried to persuade her, she wouldn’t leave the hotel she was working at, despite the fact that the hotel didn’t actually have any work for her.
However, when Xu Huo sent her an insignificant message asking if she wanted a part-time job, the Girl in the painting hurriedly called Xu Huo. The calls went unanswered, but she kept urging, insisting on getting through to Xu Huo.
"Yes, a real job," Xu Huo said with a smile, "The reward is a Bright Gentleman’s badge of honor. Are you interested?"
"Yes! Yes!" the Girl in the painting rushingly replied using her synthesized voice.
Xu Huo asked Gu Yu to pull up a map and then added, "Do you see the map? Do you notice anything different about it?"
"My house! My land!" Although the electronic voice lacked any emotion, Xu Huo could hear the Girl in the painting happily spinning around on the other end.
"All right, come here now." Xu Huo dug through the pile of ashes and unearthed the "Yu Yan" prop from Player C—a pair of thin blades shaped like swallows. Player C had detonated explosives, dying with two companions. Since they weren’t his kills, the only prop he could retrieve was the fallen "Yu Yan."
It was better than nothing. After securing the prop, Chief Wu called again.
"Thank heavens, I thought you were dead!" Chief Wu exclaimed with relief: "How are things? Are you alright? The Special Defense Department’s operatives have taken over. In twenty minutes, they might deploy heavy weaponry to bombard Wen Mountain. You can leave on your own, or evacuate with the helicopter."
Xu Huo looked in the direction of Wen Mountain, where helicopters circled overhead. "Did Special Defense Department Players enter the mountain?"
"You remember Wang Chaoqing, right? He’s also in today’s team. He tracked down the Players you mentioned entering Wen Mountain. We need you to confirm their numbers—there were eight inside the mountain."
The smoke was too thick for Xu Huo to see the situation near the hollow, but the rain hadn’t stopped, indicating that the Special Defense Department’s operation hadn’t yet yielded any tangible results.
"How many Players has the Special Defense Department dispatched?" he asked.
"Twenty-three," said Chief Wu. "Apart from three with special occupations, all the rest are Level D Players."
Xu Huo paused, "Are these really the elite of the Special Defense Department?"
Chief Wu faltered for a second, "What do you mean?"
"The Players are defending a hollow, unrelated to Wen Mountain," said Xu Huo. Out of over twenty people, hadn’t a single one noticed that the rain in the hollow was falling upwards?
"But all the Players have gone into Wen Mountain." Chief Wu had already ordered his subordinates to contact the Operations team.
"You’re missing one," said Xu Huo. "Only three Players died in the forest. With eight entering Wen Mountain, there’s still at least one more on the edge of the hollow. Wang Chaoqing didn’t spot him?"
"Not only did the Players not notice, but the aerial surveillance also didn’t detect anyone near the hollow," replied Chief Wu. "I’ll pull people out right away!"
He hung up in a rush. Xu Huo, grasping onto the piano wire, swung through a ring of fire and returned to the vicinity of the hollow. Still, he refrained from rushing out of the woods.
Indeed, as soon as he approached the hollow, he instantly drew someone’s attention, and the numbers ticking above the adversary’s head climbed steadily, brimming with killing intent.
Taking out binoculars, he surveyed the perimeter of the hollow. Finally, his gaze settled below one of the numbers—which was just an ordinary tree stump. It had been hollowed out by insects and snapped in the middle, leaving just over a meter of it standing, not thick enough to conceal a person.
It seemed the opposition had a Player adept at staying hidden.
The stump was situated right next to the hollow, in a relatively open spot. Such an obvious place hadn’t been detected by Wang Chaoqing, who was responsible for scouting and searching. This indicated that the opponent had very powerful abilities or props, ones that didn’t leave traces at first glance.
Xu Huo wasn’t sure if the Player could also hide his heartbeat and breathing. It was too far to verify for the moment.
Xu Huo placed the binoculars on a tree branch, not expecting that at that moment, a sniper’s shot would ring out from the other side, shattering the binoculars. The tree, thick as a man’s forearm, now sported a large hole in its center.
The assailant’s attack seemed to reveal his position, and the helicopter circling in the sky suddenly strafed the opposite side of the hollow. Bullets shredded the stump, and the numbers that had been atop it moved into the depths of the forest and were then obscured by trees.
With the person’s trail gone, the helicopter’s strafing didn’t stop, instead unleashing indiscriminate fire.
This wasn’t a bad strategy, but Xu Huo couldn’t stay nearby any longer.
He retreated a distance, found a tree to hunker down in, and intermittently shifted his position, hoping to let the hidden Player on the other side sense his presence.
Half a minute after the helicopter ceased its strafing, the ticking numbers reappeared. This time, they weren’t opposite him, but to Xu Huo’s left, only several hundred meters away, rapidly advancing toward him.
Xu Huo climbed down from the tree and casually arranged the "Number Grid" and "Murmur Sphere" before leaning against the base of the tree to rest.
Code-named B moved silently through the hollow. Recognizing Xu Huo as the umbrella-wielding Player from before, he concealed himself as he entered the woods.
His ability allowed him to move without making a sound, though he could only do so on foot. Thus, he approached Xu Huo slowly, deliberately taking a detour inside, until he had a clear view of the man crouching behind a tree, tending to his wounds.
Xu Huo was gravely injured, with wounds deep to the bone on his right arm and leg. It wasn’t a time when flesh could regenerate quickly—it was the perfect opportunity!
"Phut!" B pulled the trigger, sending a bullet at Xu Huo!
Just then, Xu Huo turned to grab a bandage, and the bullet grazed his shoulder, striking the tree behind him. His expression changed, and he immediately moved behind the tree, drawing the Water Cutter Gun and firing blindly at the source of the bullet!
B easily dodged the shots, dropped to the ground, and his transparent body flattened a patch of undergrowth. He quickly mimicked the appearance of the bushes. Regardless of how he moved, the bushes swayed with the wind among the trees, making them nearly invisible in the dim night, let alone detectable in broad daylight.
Xu Huo peeked from behind the tree, saw no movement, and hesitantly emerged. He quickly concealed himself behind another tree, using it for cover as he retreated in the direction away from the hollow.
B followed, taking potshots at Xu Huo like a cat playing with a mouse. Although he couldn’t kill Xu Huo, he forced him to keep changing positions like a frightened bird, and with a firebreak ahead, Xu Huo couldn’t cross.
"Thought he was a formidable Player. C’s death feels somewhat undeserved," B concluded after a few probes. The next second, however, he found his feet stuck to the ground. Just as he stood up, a streak of cold light came from afar. He ducked quickly, the light grazing his scalp, shearing the hair off the back of his head!