Chapter 77: The Yellow Oriole Behind

Blue Corporation was indeed far stronger than the ragtag group from the old Brotherhood of Heaven and Earth. Dozens of energy staves sent crackling orbs of lightning into the air, gradually coalescing until the electric energy whirled and transformed into a phoenix wreathed in dazzling sparks. The creature grew ever larger, its body swelling with the surging power of electricity, illuminating the entire burial chamber in a brilliant, uncanny light.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” the bystander exclaimed in sincere awe, and even Wu Hua was stunned by the spectacle.

Three minutes later, all twenty or so warriors encircling the boss had fallen, leaving chaos in their wake.

Meanwhile, the psionics in the rear had finished channeling their ultimate move—a massive force field, crystal-like in appearance, enveloping the electric phoenix entirely.

“Three, two, one—let loose!” Yueying Qiuxia commanded.

Everyone swung their arms in unison, sending the electric phoenix hurtling toward the boss.

Blinding sparks erupted from the phoenix’s body, making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open, and then boss and spell collided.

A deafening roar split the chamber, and a gigantic white hemisphere of energy blossomed at its center, detonating like an atomic bomb. A mushroom cloud soared upward, while a ring-shaped energy shockwave swept outward, hurling chunks of stone, tattered clothes, battered hats, and fallen blades and crystals in all directions, raising a violent gust.

Everyone from Blue Corporation threw themselves to the ground, and even the lid of the coffin where Wu Hua and his companion hid was blown off by the blast, a testament to the terrifying power of this ultimate move.

The green damage number: “-68,921!”

“My goodness!” the bystander gasped, nearly forgetting to breathe.

Wu Hua was equally dumbstruck. He triggered “Precision Calculation” once more. The boss’s HP: 32,458 out of 300,000.

“They really are something else. No wonder they’re unafraid even of the big bosses,” Wu Hua marveled.

The boss, having endured the full force of the ultimate move, slowly rose from the massive crater blasted into the ground. Though still alive, its movements were visibly sluggish, its attacks greatly weakened—each strike now dealing only about 1,500 damage.

Yet Blue Corporation had also paid dearly. Teamwide ultimates could indeed yield results greater than the sum of their parts, but the side effects were equally severe. Once unleashed, all those channeling the spell suffered drastic drops in defense, mana, stamina, and fatigue—recovery potions couldn’t restore stamina or alleviate exhaustion. Controllers and psionics lost mobility, elemental control, accuracy, agility, and concentration. It was truly a case of sacrificing eight hundred to kill a thousand.

Ten minutes later, the boss was on its last legs, but fewer than fifteen members of Blue Corporation remained.

Wu Hua’s skills had been in constant use; the boss’s HP was now 16,037 out of 300,000. He and his companion quietly raised their guns and attached suppressors.

When the boss’s HP dropped below 10,000, only six members of Blue Corporation stood—Yueying Qiuxia, Hanmei Aosnow, and four psionics.

Hanmei Aosnow and the other psionics adopted the same stance, arms outstretched in an embrace, sending waves of white force from their gloves. Once more, they conjured a force field, trapping the boss in place.

Wu Hua recognized the technique—“Psionic Bind.” Useless against players, but devastating to monsters.

Clearly, the psionics had fought to their limits and could no longer muster offensive force waves; they could only use this supporting spell to immobilize the boss.

Psionics typically disliked this spell—it was like a martial artist projecting inner energy until utterly drained, leaving them completely exhausted.

Yueying Qiuxia’s actions confirmed Wu Hua’s suspicions; she was indeed a metallurgist, and a skilled one at that.

Five human-sized mechs surrounded the boss, each avoiding close combat to prevent being smashed to scrap with a single blow. Instead, the mechs’ mechanical arms, each equipped with MP5s, circled at a distance, unleashing suppressive fire.

Building such mechs required immense expertise, and for Yueying Qiuxia to operate five simultaneously was no small feat. But genius she was not—handling five units required utmost concentration, her fingers dancing over the remote control like a pianist, oblivious to the two predators quietly drawing near behind her.

The six women of Blue Corporation fought with their lives, uncertain how much longer the boss could hold out, knowing only that their side could last mere minutes more. If any one of them faltered, it meant total defeat.

When the boss’s HP fell to 3,000, a sudden “bang”—everyone’s vision went white, searingly bright and blinding.

Their first instinct was to cover their eyes.

Pain! A stabbing agony, as if needles pierced their brains.

Even Wu Hua himself hadn’t expected that this Model 98 flashbang would be so effective. There were stronger types that could even cause permanent blindness, but for Hanmei Aosnow and the others, this flashbang was fatal. All of them dropped to the ground.

Hanmei Aosnow’s first clue was a faint “swish swish swish”—the sound of suppressed gunfire. Then came a rattling crash, a sound she knew well—monsters only made that when they exploded with loot.

Half a minute was more than enough time for Wu Hua to act: he swept all the boss’s rare drops into his backpack in fifteen seconds. In this world, mastery of loot-snatching was a player’s most vital skill.

Without hesitation, Wu Hua turned his gun and shot Yueying Qiuxia squarely in the forehead, leaving a vivid red mark like a beauty spot.

Metallurgists rarely invested in constitution, and her HP was low. This headshot was a critical, dealing a whopping “-10,287” in golden damage.

Whether due to proximity or sheer speed, there was no blood—Yueying Qiuxia could only widen her eyes and mouth in shock, then collapsed backward with a crash. Her five mechs vanished with her in a flash of white light, returning to town.

She had fought valiantly to slay the boss, yet never knew how she died. Her screen was still snowed over with static, displaying only the system message: “You were slain by player Berserk.”

When Hanmei Aosnow and her companions’ vision cleared, they saw the bystander gleefully rifling through the loot, while Wu Hua’s AUG was trained steadily on her. With its odd, claw-like design, the AUG looked like a monster’s talon, promising instant death if she so much as twitched.

To add insult to injury, both Wu Hua and his companion wore Blue Corporation’s female soldier uniforms—berets askew, ties crooked as red scarves. Hanmei Aosnow was reminded of the infamous “Brother Chun.” On any other day, she would have laughed aloud; now, she didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.