Chapter 108: Scrambling for Equipment

The wavy radiation continued to spread, creeping up the mountainside, though its colors grew increasingly faint—a reversal of the progression seen in the energy sphere moments before. It was clearly dissipating: black, purple, dark red, deep red, red, ink green, green, light green...

The surrounding slopes were coated in these various hues. The area where Wu Hua and his team stood became contaminated, and purple damage values floated above everyone’s heads: "-150!"

Fortunately, the radiation was weakening, but Qianqian was still frantically casting detoxification skills on the group. Wu Hua felt that the radiation gave the entire grassland a nauseating, fishy stench; upon smelling it, one felt a tightness in the chest and a roiling in the blood, as if their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

But it was not over yet. With a sudden "whoosh," the dark clouds in the sky unleashed a torrential downpour. Countless raindrops the size of beans began to fall. Upon closer inspection, the rain was blue, blanketing the entire Mulin Grassland and staining even the horizon in shades of azure.

Most of the players who had fled to the foot of the mountain to cling to life were healers. As soon as the rain touched them, their medical uniforms melted as if dissolved by sulfuric acid. Many female healers were left running naked across the hillside in their colorful bras and panties, only to be quickly dissolved by the acid rain. Their deaths mirrored those of the players poisoned earlier—reduced to piles of white bones, a truly gruesome sight.

Wu Hua finally understood why he had suffered a high fever earlier despite his high water resistance; this rain was truly something else. Looking at the grassland again, he realized the area looked like a battlefield shrouded in smoke. The blue rain was essentially "disinfecting" the plains, clearing the massive contamination left by the Queen Bee’s death radiation.

Of the ten thousand players from the Longcheng family, not a single one survived the radiation and the blue rain. The mountains and plains were littered with potions, equipment, and crystals—a testament to the lethality of a high-level boss.

Wu Hua realized in an instant that this boss was not meant for ordinary players. Whoever fought it died, with no hope of escape. The correct approach would require a vast formation of snipers, healers frantically casting heals and cleanses, high-level controllers unleashing long-range ultimate team skills, and dedicated logistical support. These conditions could not be met by a single family; it required the elite of a massive corporation. The fact that the Longcheng family had managed to whittle the boss down like this meant they had literally traded the lives of ten thousand people for the gear.

After a long while, the clouds dispersed, the sky turned a brilliant blue, the grassland regained its lush greenery, and the sun smiled again.

The system voice announced:
"Players Baofeng, Xuewu Qianshan, Tushu, Riwan, and Qianqian have eliminated the Level 43 Special Boss: Radiation Queen Bee. Pioneering the western region of the Dream Star City, Mulin Ancient Tomb, and Mulin Grassland is successful. Exploration progress: 2/3. All maps in this zone are now revealed. All team members receive 300,000 EXP, 5 Merits, and 5 Charm points. The team is granted 5 hours of 'Pioneer Guard' time at the central marble playground. Upon successful defense, jurisdiction over the area will belong to the team."

"Wahahaha! Awesome!" Tushu stood up and laughed heartily.
"So cool!" Yu Jialing and Qianqian high-fived each other.
Wu Hua said calmly, "Look down there."

Tushu looked down. The marble clearing had transformed into a shimmering plaza; this must have been the pioneer point. The crystals dropped by the Queen Bee had piled up into a small hill, topped with several pieces of equipment radiating various colored lights—a dazzling and beautiful sight.

"Hahaha, we’re going to be rich this time!" Tushu roared toward the sky.
Wu Hua said coldly, "Don't get too happy yet. Look over there."

The group turned their heads. On the mountain peak to the south, there were twenty or thirty people—evidently the players from the Longcheng family who had gone up to eat "Soul-Chasing Noodles" and had luckily escaped the catastrophic disaster inside the noodle stall.

Murong Longcheng was shouting angrily through a megaphone: "Baofeng, you little bitch, stealing my Longcheng family’s boss! Shameless! If I don't kill you today, I swear I'm not human!"

Before Wu Hua could speak, Tushu jumped up and shouted, "Brother, thank you! Thank you for clearing the way for us again! You’re my idol, you’re a great friend to the people, you’re my rose, you’re my flower, you’re my lover and my only care..."

Murong Longcheng was so infuriated he could have cried. He turned to his men and roared, "Notify headquarters to block the ancient tomb! We must kill them! You lot, get down there and grab the gear!"

Wu Hua said, "Those people were eating Soul-Chasing Noodles to restore their stamina earlier, so they’re definitely strong. I’ll provide cover; you guys go down and grab the loot. Keep your walkie-talkies on and listen to my commands."

The Star Wars system had a rule: after equipment dropped, it had a 15-minute ownership period. Once that time elapsed, it was finders-keepers. Wu Hua had stolen Murong Longcheng’s boss and killed his men, robbing him of EXP and Merit points; there was no way he would let them go.

Yu Jialing didn't say a word; she grabbed her gun and sprinted down, with Tushu and the others close behind.

Wu Hua aimed his rifle at the opposite peak. The distance was over 3,000 meters, out of the range of his Finland Star, so he could only aim at the plains below.

In a sense, looting equipment was a skill that didn't distinguish between veterans and novices. Faced with the temptation, both groups charged down the mountainside like madmen.

This time, Murong Longcheng had the advantage. He had worked hard to reach level 40 and had maxed out his "Charge" skill—an S-rank ability that covered 50 meters per second, allowing him to be the first to reach the bottom.

Although Tushu and Riwan also had the Charge skill, they were both Chip Warriors. Tushu had crafted a set of Twelve-Element Alloy Armor, and the high load capacity made him slower than Yu Jialing.

When Murong Longcheng stood atop the pile of loot, only five minutes had passed, and Yu Jialing had just reached the bottom of the mountain.

Wu Hua knew this was the moment of truth. With a thunderous "bang," the Finland Star spat out sharp muzzle fire.

"Pfft!" An explosive round struck Murong Longcheng’s leg, sending him reeling back five or six meters. A red damage value floated above his head: "-6932!"

However, he didn't die. He immediately activated Charge to dash forward again, simultaneously slamming a blood-regeneration potion.

"Damn it." Wu Hua cursed his own carelessness. That idiot Murong Longcheng was a level 40 Gene Warrior. Gene Warriors gained 150 HP per level, meaning he had at least 6,000 base HP, not including bonuses from physical specialization and gear. His HP was conservatively estimated at around 8,000. That was the benefit of a high level; his constitution was so monstrous that even the Finland Star couldn't knock him over.

Wu Hua pulled the bolt, chambering another round, and adjusted his focus to the base magnification—a 100-meter field of view.

Even with the zoomed-out view, he couldn't aim effectively. First, Murong Longcheng was cunning; after activating Charge, he didn't rush in blindly but ran in an "S" pattern around the pile of loot. His gear wasn't top-tier, but that meant his load was low, allowing for high speed, which made him incredibly difficult to track.

Second, Wu Hua’s proficiency with the Finland Star wasn't high enough to use the "Tracking Shot" technique. The "Tracking Shot" was a slang term for rapid-fire aiming—essentially keeping the crosshair locked onto a moving target regardless of how they ran. If you were caught in its sights, you were dead. It required extreme precision in aiming, movement, and timing.

"Bang—" The second shot rang out.

"Clang!" A small crater was blasted into the marble ground, sending dust flying half a meter into the air. Murong Longcheng had managed to dodge it through sheer speed.

Wu Hua knew that dragging this out would be disastrous for his team. Once the rest of the enemy snipers arrived and occupied the center, it would turn into a situation where the enemy would be stealing their boss and they would be the ones trying to loot the gear.