City of Sinister Fog (The Black Death) Chapter 140: The Hunt

Although Smiling Face had dispatched one Level 6 and two Level 5 agents to ambush Wu Hui, his primary target remained Round Spider.

Round Spider’s movements were extremely clandestine and difficult to track. Even when some of his subordinates and collaborators were located, he himself remained elusive. His level of self-preservation was even higher than Wu Hui’s.

One should never underestimate others. Throughout history, countless heroes have met their downfall simply because they disregarded seemingly insignificant figures. Smiling Face believed he had both Round Spider and Wu Hui in his grasp, yet these two were still kicking and struggling like grasshoppers.

"He's not here, but he must have just left," said the local Locust Department head, a fat man controlled by Smiling Face, as he entered Wu Hui’s safehouse with two subordinates. "Very alert."

Beneath their feet, a magic circle flared. A lion’s head appeared, spewing flames.

An instant later, the entire supply cache began to explode.

From a distance, Wu Hui and Ren Yin watched as the flames swallowed the safehouse.

"If he were a Level 5, he’d be dead or crippled by that," Ren Yin remarked. "A Level 6 might be more troublesome."

"Prepare for combat. None of them died, and they’ve already discovered us," Wu Hui sighed. Their ambush had been somewhat rushed, but not much time had passed since Ren Yin noticed someone approaching until they departed via shadow nodes.

Li Xiaojing unleashed her shadow clones. The shadows rose, transforming into exact duplicates of her, and charged forward wielding baseball bats. Wang Xiaodie and Wu Hui’s summoned creatures swarmed the enemies from all directions.

When encountering danger, sending in the summoned creatures first was an iron rule of survival.

Ren Yin drew another Solomon magic circle. Now approaching the level of an Intermediate Player, she could temporarily command the power of the Seventy-Two Pillars—albeit those of lesser rank.

The Sixty-Ninth Pillar, Decarabia.

A pentagram appeared, transforming into a giant bird that bore Ren Yin into the sky. She set up her sniper rifle and took aim.

She had three special bullets left, a gift from Wu Tong.

The muzzle spat fire.

The bullet streaked across the vast sky.

Direct hit.

The Locust Department head had barely recovered from the explosion and flames when he was struck head-on. Having not participated in the game for many years, his combat prowess was incomparable to a veteran Level 6 like Liu An. A single shot left him half-crippled and incapacitated.

With the lead Level 6 neutralized, the remaining Level 5s, while not incompetent, stood little chance against the combined efforts of Wu Hui and Ren Yin.

The area around the safehouse was their home turf, just like the villa.

Ships and waves appeared beneath their feet. Wang Xiaodie leapt onto a vessel; her corpse-like body began to shift. Two new eyes sprouted on her face, and four black, insectoid limbs extended from beneath her maid outfit.

Her original limbs also began to mutate and darken.

She looked like a spider.

After obtaining the Hundred Insect Manual, her strength had long since exceeded the cap for Level 3. In a head-on confrontation, even Wu Hui wouldn't dare guarantee a win against her. Given this level of power, it was only natural that the next game would be Level 5 difficulty.

Eight insect claws danced like sharp blades, and from some hidden part of her body, she spat silk, instantly weaving a giant web that lunged toward their opponents.

Wu Hui narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to activate a curse card. He targeted the Level 6 player from the Locust Department. A "Falling Rock" spell activated, crushing the man. The Black Knight and Warg pounced, tearing into him.

He appeared to be dead.

Yet, Wu Hui did not let his guard down for a second. All his ranged summons continued their assault, and he himself fired his crossbow repeatedly. Lightning and ice surged over the fat man pinned under the boulder.

The Locust Department head had been away from combat for far too long; he proved remarkably fragile in the face of Wu Hui’s ambush.

Li Xiaojing’s strength had also improved significantly since the last game, and she was no longer limited to a single clone. Together with her, three figures on skateboards, wielding baseball bats, wove through the fray to strike at the enemies. The combat power displayed by her dolls reached near-Level 6 levels, though they could not be maintained for long.

She and Wang Xiaodie each took on a Level 5, showing no signs of weakness. They might lack endurance, but their burst power was more than most Level 5s could handle.

Wu Hui signaled Ren Yin and Li Xiaoyue to hold back, in case the enemy had other preparations.

If this was all there was to it, they had already won.

The next moment, however, a massive plume of black mist erupted from the corpse of the Locust Department head, swallowing both Wang Xiaodie and Li Xiaojing.

"Damn it."

Li Xiaoyue’s expression twisted instantly. The telepathic link between the twins was strong; when one was affected by the black mist, the other followed suit. Both were plunged into a state where they could not suppress their desires or control their actions.

Wang Xiaodie, conversely, could still be controlled by Ren Yin through their contract, even if she couldn't control herself.

Wu Hui knit his brows tightly and moved to restrain Li Xiaoyue first. Given her frail physique, it was simple for Wu Hui to truss her up and freeze her to the wall with ice. To prevent her from using mental powers, he also knocked her unconscious for good measure.

He acted with such swiftness that there was no room for hesitation or sentimentality, nor did he dwell on the fact that Li Xiaoyue had confessed her feelings to him just yesterday alongside her sister.

At the same time, he ordered Wang Xiaodie to retreat and called for the Warg to drag Li Xiaojing back.

Li Xiaojing’s expression was contorted, and her gaze toward Wu Hui grew increasingly feverish. This was more troublesome; Li Xiaojing’s physical fitness was far superior to her sister’s, making her harder to subdue.

Ren Yin fired her rifle, using the last two special bullets to finish off the two remaining Level 5s. She then ended her summon, dismissed the giant bird, and landed to help Wu Hui deal with Li Xiaojing.

"Xiaojing, are you still in your right mind?" Wu Hui asked while adjusting his glasses.

"As long as I catch Wu Hui, he will be mine alone... He won't be able to go to Ren Yin and Wang Xiaodie’s rooms every night anymore... Clearly, I was the one who met him first... Why is my progress the slowest..." Li Xiaojing muttered to herself. Seemingly having lost all reason, she charged at Wu Hui with her baseball bat, accompanied by her two clones.

Wu Hui frowned. Neither killing nor defeating Li Xiaojing was difficult, but capturing her quickly while ensuring her safety was a bit of a headache.

"I suggest you let the sisters vent their desires; perhaps they will return to normal," Ren Yin said, walking over to Li Xiaoyue. "They have telepathy. If you do something to one, the other will feel it too."

Ren Yin reached out and began to tickle Li Xiaoyue’s armpits.

Li Xiaojing’s body began to tremble, clearly feeling the ticklish sensation as well. Ren Yin’s assault became increasingly aggressive.

An opportunity.

Wu Hui raised his hand, sending several ice thorns flying to disperse Li Xiaojing’s clones. He then removed his glasses, his body taking on a greyish hue.

He first kicked her weapon away and then moved in close. This way, it was less likely to be fatal. But the situation played out differently than he expected. Li Xiaojing threw herself at him regardless, wrapping her arms around him and beginning to bite at his face with wild abandon.