Chapter 55: Arrows in the Night Sky

"What is happening over there?"

The students scattered throughout the Ruined City zone looked toward the direction of the crumbling skyscrapers, bewildered by the commotion. Driven by curiosity, they began to drift toward the area where the two were locked in combat.

"What's going on? Half an hour ago, the map tracker showed that was where Feng was located. Is there a full-scale battle breaking out now?" Tuoba Lin, having just arrived at the edge of the Ruined City with Lu Ling and another senior student, asked with a puzzled frown as he watched flashes of light erupt in the center of the zone.

"Could it be that Tuoba Feng has gotten into a fight with someone?" Lu Ling replied.

He and the other senior student had rendezvoused with Tuoba Lin along the way using their map trackers, and they had been hurrying toward Tuoba Feng’s position ever since. Hearing the assessment, a look of worry crossed Tuoba Lin’s face, and he quickened his pace, leading the group toward the ruined buildings at full speed.

...

"Rat-tat-tat..."

The energy in the cannon-style sniper rifles held by Tuoba Feng and Gao Jianming had been exhausted, forcing the weapons into an automatic recharge cycle. With neither having gained the upper hand, the two continued their battle using assault rifles and light machine guns.

Both men were pale and disheveled, blood trickling from their ears. While they hadn't suffered any severe wounds, the exchange of cannon-fire had left their eardrums ringing and bleeding. Furthermore, the prolonged use of high-level sensory reflexes had left them dizzy, and their physical stamina was beginning to wane, leading to an increase in minor injuries.

Nearby, Nangong Kexin and Mo Qing watched with bated breath, both filled with anxiety. Nangong Kexin, in particular, had completely exhausted her stamina, and with Mo Qing guarding her, she found herself unable to escape, her desperation growing by the moment.

"Shhh!"

Just then, other students began to appear in the vicinity. Watching the two men still locked in a fierce firefight, they felt a stir of agitation; after all, every student eliminated meant a higher chance for them to become honor students. To them, everyone here was a potential enemy.

Gao Jianming and Tuoba Feng gradually sensed this as well, and they intensified their fire, both desperate to finish off their opponent and retreat.

"Bang! Bang!"

Gao Jianming, hiding behind a wall, suddenly stood up and unleashed a barrage of fire at Tuoba Feng. Unfortunately, Tuoba Feng also possessed Tier 1 sensory reflexes and reacted with extreme speed, dodging before the blue bullets could strike him. Tuoba Feng immediately retaliated, but Gao Jianming managed to evade the shots as well.

"Damn it!"

With no results and the battle at a stalemate, Tuoba Feng’s face grew increasingly ugly. His original goal had been to capture Nangong Kexin. This sudden interference by Gao Jianming was nauseating, Mo Qing could not come to his aid, and other students were gathering nearby. If this dragged on, he might find himself in danger!

"What should I do?" In his panic, a flash of inspiration struck Tuoba Feng. He suddenly shouted, "Mo Qing, grab Nangong Kexin and go!"

Mo Qing was taken aback, not fully understanding Tuoba Feng’s intent, but he strode forward, grabbed the struggling Nangong Kexin, and began dragging her away.

Gao Jianming’s expression shifted instantly. He had come here specifically for Nangong Kexin. Unable to bear it any longer, he raised his energy light machine gun and began firing at Mo Qing.

The blue bullets struck the pavement, sending sparks flying. Forced to let go of Nangong Kexin to defend himself, Mo Qing scrambled for cover by the roadside.

"Shhh!"

Just as Gao Jianming realized Nangong Kexin was safe for the moment, he hadn't even finished celebrating before he felt a volley of yellow bullets whistling toward him from the side.

The bullets were too fast. The moment Gao Jianming noticed them, he lunged toward a pile of rubble. Despite his quick reaction, his right thigh was struck during the evasion!

"Ah... Tuoba Feng, you coward!"

Gao Jianming’s face turned deathly pale, his veins bulging. He clutched his bleeding right thigh with both hands, gritting his teeth in fury. He had not expected his opponent to resort to such despicable tactics.

"Heh, and you wanted to play the hero saving the damsel?" The mocking voice grew closer. A few seconds later, Tuoba Feng approached cautiously. Seeing Gao Jianming lying on the ground, his machine gun discarded and his combat capability gone, a sneer of contempt curled his lips.

"You..." A flush of unnatural rage rose on Gao Jianming’s pale face as he glared at the grinning Tuoba Feng.

"You really are nothing but trash!" Ignoring his gaze, Tuoba Feng stepped forward and kicked Gao Jianming in the chest. He then clutched his rifle in one hand and grabbed Gao Jianming by the hair with the other, dragging him across the road like a dead dog.

"Fu... Yiming!" Nangong Kexin had not expected the situation to turn so quickly; before she could react, he had already been defeated!

Now that she was held by Mo Qing, even suicide was difficult. Were they really going to take her and use her to threaten Yuchen?

"Haha! So you wanted to save Nangong Kexin? Today, I’ll make sure you get eliminated right in front of her!" With those words, Tuoba Feng raised his gun to Gao Jianming’s forehead, ready to finish him.

"Tuoba Feng, just wait until we're out of here! I will kill you!" Gao Jianming, trembling with humiliation, spat out the threat before Tuoba Feng’s mocking gaze. He was already planning how to deal with Tuoba Feng once the assessment ended.

"Trash!" Tuoba Feng just grinned, uncaring, and pulled the trigger.

"Shhh!"

As the bullets pierced his body, Gao Jianming began to flicker and finally dissolved into a shower of light—he had been eliminated!

Storing his mecha, Tuoba Feng looked at Nangong Kexin with malicious intent and sneered, "Heh, Nangong Kexin, you might as well give up. Just roll out of the Illusion Island with your brother!"

He was about to drag Nangong Kexin away with Mo Qing when he realized the hour-long cooldown on his space ring's map tracker had passed. He pulled it out to check how far his older brother, Tuoba Lin, had traveled.

As the map unfurled, the first thing he saw was that his brother, along with Lu Ling, had already reached the Ruined City zone and were very close, seemingly about to arrive at any moment.

He excitedly said to Mo Qing, "Great! My brother is here. We can link up immediately!"

Mo Qing nodded happily, surprised by how quickly Tuoba Lin had moved; he had expected the rendezvous to take until the following morning.

The same scene played out among the surrounding students. Seeing three more people approaching, they turned and left.

Tuoba Feng then turned his gaze to the rest of the map. After a dozen seconds, he finally found his target—Nangong Yuchen!

Nangong Kexin saw it too.

Nangong Yuchen was just at the edge of the forest zone, still a great distance away. Even at full speed, it would take at least two hours, and since it was already night, he wouldn't be able to make it today!

Seeing this, the last glimmer of hope in Nangong Kexin’s heart shattered, replaced by self-reproach and fear. If she were used as leverage tomorrow and both she and Yuchen were eliminated, what would happen to their parents?

The more she thought, the more grief and guilt consumed her. Just as she sank into despair, the dim light in the corner of her eyes suddenly flickered, growing bright.

"3, 2, 1." The one-minute window for the map tracker expired, and it went back into cooldown.

"Heh, it’s a real shame. Your brother is too slow. Looks like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow for you two to meet!" Tuoba Feng put away the tracker and turned to Nangong Kexin with a playful sneer. He had already decided how to deal with Nangong Yuchen tomorrow; he had even imagined the scene of Nangong Yuchen being eliminated by his own hand.

The thought excited him so much that he let out a laugh. "So what if your brother is a freak who cultivates three paths at once? He’ll still be eliminated by me in the end! Hahaha!"

Before his arrogant laughter could fade, a crisp voice cut through the night.

"Is that so?"

The moment the words fell, they were followed by three blue arrows that tore through the darkness, lighting up the night sky like dazzling blue meteors as they descended!