Xu Huo looked back at Yan Jiayu, who nodded and said, "Let’s follow and see."
Walking on the ground, they had to shake off attacking players, so their pace wasn’t fast. Keeping up with them in a hot air balloon posed no problem at all.
"Killing people by writing their names on paper and then crossing them out..." Yan Jiayu mused, "I’ve only heard of it once before."
Xu Huo nodded in agreement, "The elite player killed during the Super Prop incident."
To this day, the incident was still under investigation. Nie Xuan had leaked that the players who died inexplicably without any enemies around were listed in a specific order. According to the list, the players died one after another in quick succession, though they were scattered across different locations.
The list had been leaked from the predecessor of the Special Defense Department, the Special Affairs Bureau. The enemy had managed to kill over fifty players with just a list and without showing their face. The Special Defense Department couldn’t swallow this insult and had been searching for the perpetrator ever since, unfortunately to no avail.
The method this person used to kill was similar to the deaths of those on the list, which suggested they might be the one who had stirred up trouble in Zone 014.
"They must think that the Prop is on one of the players, which is why they’re killing on such a large scale." Yan Jiayu frowned, "But this Prop’s effect is unnaturally strong. Knowing someone’s real name allows you to kill them, leaving almost no player with a chance to escape."
Furthermore, it ignored distance, location, and defense. As long as a name was crossed off, the person would die. There was no discernible pattern in the Prop’s operation, which differed from the majority that required vocal "activation."
"Could it be a Super Prop?" Yan Jiayu speculated, "But those guys didn’t seem like they were in possession of a Super Prop..."
Before she could finish, she stopped herself and reconsidered, "Or maybe not."
After all, the Super Prop found in Zone 014 had ended up with a Low-Level Player, and not all Super Props have extreme lethal power—there are just as many defense-oriented ones.
"One got away," Yan Jiayu straightened her hair, "The one who kills with a pen. He went into a commercial building."
"He must be after the player who just left the building," Xu Huo said, "The fleeing player could also have been killed mid-way. His target is likely beyond the known scope."
"If they were carrying Advanced Items, they wouldn’t easily enter instances. Something protected by so many people—if they died in an instance, they would just be handing it over to someone else." Yan Jiayu pointed downward, "I’m going down."
The moment the hot air balloon was packed away, the two fell rapidly. Yan Jiayu deployed a parachute halfway down, while Xu Huo let himself fall to the very end, only taking out an "Upright Chair" right before he was about to hit the ground.
They landed separately, one on the rooftop and the other on the ground, without encountering each other, and headed straight into the building.
Yan Jiayu guessed that the gov players were protecting Advanced Items, but Xu Huo felt it could be the S-Version Drug instead.
If it were Advanced Items, there would be no reason for the players carrying them not to use them, rather than being secretive. Of course, if it was like "Three Seconds of a Lifetime," that would be different. However, there was news about a Perfect Potion in Zone 009—whether the doll’s arm contained the Perfect Potion, and whether it had been obtained by the gov players from Zone 009 was unknown. But without a doubt, the Perfect Potion was definitely worth fighting over even more than ordinary Advanced Props.
Looking up, Xu Huo climbed up the stairs and sensed someone falling rapidly from the middle of the building as he reached the third floor. In a second, he moved to the office floor and positioned Shelter 101 directly below!
The fleeing player had originally been using a prop to move between floors when unexpectedly, they stepped on Shelter 101. Unable to break through such a metallic prop from the game, and seeing Xu Huo beside them, wielding a crossbow aimed right at them!
The crossbow did not shoot a tangible arrow but a kind of semi-transparent ice, which pierced into the wall and then rapidly melted!
"I’m not after you," Xu Huo stated his position, but because of this momentary delay, the pursuing player had already come down from the floor above. However, no sooner had a pair of legs appeared than they were hit by a strange force, creating a deep groove in the ceiling and stopping only at the wall.
The next second, two people and a stone lion landed on the floor where Xu Huo and the other were.
"Da Mao, go!" Yan Jiayu commanded the stone lion to pounce. At the same time, she slapped a muscle doll sticker on her face, instantly boosting her speed to that of a bullet too fast to catch, and she crashed into the person by the wall!
Obviously, the player did not care about her headlong fighting style. With a slap on the shoulder, a blue light arc immediately opened in front of him. With the light arc for protection, he did not even bother to look at Yan Jiayu again, instead focusing on the stone lion that was slowly jogging from the side.
However, just as he was about to deal with the stone lion, Yan Jiayu, the human bomb, exploded onto him—not sure if she had other invisible defense props, but when she crashed into the light arc, it not only sent him through the wall but also cracked the light arc itself!
"What!" The other player couldn’t hide his shock and was then propelled to the outermost wall of the building, rebounding from a barrier sealed on the wall.
As the receiver of the force, Yan Jiayu didn’t look as disheveled as he did. She landed steadily in the center of the room and began flailing with the Demon-Subduing Pestle!
"Bang bang bang," a shield prop was cracked from the beating. The player hurriedly dodged and briefly used his characteristics to restrict Yan Jiayu’s speed before running toward Xu Huo!
His true target was the government player who had not yet escaped, but halfway there, a streak of cold light swept from the side!
The pursuing player quickly dodged sideways, and as he raised his hand, dozens of cowhair needles flew out from his sleeve.
Unable to use the Air Barrier for the time being, Xu Huo simply moved Shelter 101 forward and retracted it during the attack, simultaneously using "Extreme Fatigue" and "Progress Bar Disappearance".
Immediately, the player felt the effects of the props on him. With a press at the cuff, his clothing stood up like scales and then closed again. With the colors of his clothes changing once, he returned to normal, his face no longer showing signs of fatigue.
Yan Jiayu and the stone lion joined in. Da Mao, the lazy one, got hit on the butt with a stick and immediately directed all its fury at the pursuing player, resulting in the player being pushed back under the biting and tearing.
"Use the vase’s effect!" The pursuing player threw a mat on the ground. Amidst the commotion, Da Mao’s foot slipped onto it, getting one paw stuck to the floor.
But this was of little use, as the violently inclined stone lion simply dug a hole in the ground. Being unable to detach from the mat was no issue; it could just run with the floor panel attached.
Da Mao struggled, but Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu were equally relentless. Yan Jiayu fought in close quarters while Xu Huo provided props assistance and would occasionally spring forward unexpectedly. After three minutes of engagement, both sides had suffered injuries.