Chapter 154: The Brutal Battle for Supremacy (Part Two)

"Stay right here!"

Leaving behind these words, Kong Zhe took a running start and leaped forward, bounding fluidly between the structures as he gave chase to the fleeing duo.

Xiao Lei watched Kong Zhe’s retreating figure rapidly shrink in the distance, but a sudden, instinctive wave of panic washed over her. It was a sensation she had experienced only once before—on that fateful day when she first encountered the Hydra.

Could Big Brother Kong Zhe be in danger? The thought made Xiao Lei’s heart skip a beat.

Clenching her tiny, sweat-dampened hands, Xiao Lei lifted her feet and dashed out.

"Hey—"

Xue Feifei cried out, wanting to say something, but it was already too late. There was nothing she could do now except silently pray in her heart that Kong Zhe would manage to rescue Tuantuan safely.

Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed that Xiao Lei was gone from her side. When she looked up, the little girl had already reached the edge of the roof and vaulted right after Kong Zhe. Xue Feifei let out a panicked shriek.

"Xiao Lei? Where are you going?"

"Sister Feifei, don't run around! I have to go help Big Brother Kong Zhe..."

Xiao Lei’s voice echoed in the night air, though her figure had long since vanished from Xue Feifei's sight.

...

The bomb-wielding man and the rain-jacket-wearing woman clearly noticed Kong Zhe pursuing them from behind, which only added to their panic, quickening the pace of their footsteps.

"Tatadatada..."

As they fled, passing by the boss monster, the roar of various machine guns reached their ears. Glancing over, they saw that a dense, almost impenetrable crowd of people had already encircled the boss.

Both the bomb-wielding man and the rain-jacket-wearing woman noticed that the boss's health bar had plummeted to rock bottom. Under the frenzied assaults of the surrounding mob, its HP had dropped below one thousand and was still plummeting rapidly.

Although the attack power of these firearms was not particularly high—with most dealing only a single point of damage, and many bullets directly deflected by the thermal shield coating its surface—as the saying goes, a colony of ants can kill an elephant. Under the frantic onslaught of so many people, the giant deer's health bar was still shrinking drastically.

Nine hundred...

Eight hundred...

...

Three hundred...

Two hundred...

Soon, it fell below one hundred.

"Boom!"

Finally, as a rocket-propelled grenade detonated squarely against the giant deer’s body, the boss let out a miserable howl and crashed to the ground, bringing an end to the battle that had raged for over an hour.

Yet, while the surface combat had concluded, another invisible war had only just begun.

Boom!

As the giant deer’s colossal corpse struck the earth, it immediately kicked up a thick cloud of dust.

The billowing dust choked the nearby Awakened ones into a fit of coughing, but nobody cared about that anymore.

Rumor had it that this boss monster would drop supreme treasures upon its death! Some even claimed that golden equipment would appear!

True or false, as long as there was the slightest possibility, they could not let it pass.

One had to know that the vast majority of the Awakened present had never even laid eyes on purple equipment, let alone golden gear. Those who possessed such items were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; only individuals with exceptional aptitude or heaven-defying luck, like Kong Zhe, could possibly obtain one through server-launch bonuses.

Everyone stared fixedly at the spot where the boss had died, eager to see if the rumors held any truth.

The boss certainly did not disappoint the crowd. Soon, the first piece of equipment popped out from the monster's carcass. A flash of purple light swept across the scene, instantly filling everyone with pleasant surprise.

It was indeed purple equipment! Though not golden, purple gear was valuable enough in its own right. Many people were already itching to move, preparing to fight for it. However, what happened next left everyone frozen in their tracks.

Not long after the first piece of equipment appeared, a second item popped out—this time merely green gear. But then, in less than a second's pause, a brilliant, golden radiance flashed across the area, causing many to rub their eyes in disbelief, thinking they were hallucinating.

Golden equipment!

There really was golden equipment!

Gazing at the scabbard-like object enveloped in golden light, the crowd erupted into a momentary commotion. Those with quick reflexes snapped out of their shock, shifted their footing, and sprinted toward the golden treasure at top speed.

Like a spark hitting tinder, this ignited the entire scene instantly. In a split second, over a dozen people broke away from every direction and charged straight toward the center.

Right behind them trailed several hundred more!

At this moment, the Awakened were undoubtedly far more passionate than they had been while fighting the boss, a massive horde rushing recklessly toward the center.

The more formidable Awakened deployed their respective tricks, activating movement and acceleration skills to streak past the crowd and reach the boss's side first. Without exception, every single one of them had their eyes fixed squarely on that golden scabbard.

Seeing the most precious equipment about to be snatched away by others, the rest grew frantic. Some even hardened their expressions, raising their guns to pull the trigger directly at the frontrunners.

Clang!

Just then, another soft chime rang out. Yet another piece of equipment leaped from the boss's corpse—and it was purple gear.

It still wasn't finished dropping?

While the Awakened were still processing their confusion,

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

A continuous sequence of metallic clatter began to echo. To the absolute astonishment of every Awakened present, the spot where the boss's corpse lay suddenly erupted like a geyser bursting through the earth’s crust, spewing forth all manner of colorful treasures.

Most of these were gold and silver coins, but alongside them were plenty of various-colored pieces of equipment, punctuated by frequent purple items and the occasional golden drop.

The crowd saw it clearly: to name just one category, they spotted at least a dozen purple items! And as for golden equipment, there were a staggering four pieces!

At that moment, the crowd completely rioted!

Even the calmest of the Awakened had lost their sanity, overwhelmed by the treasure geyser unfolding before their eyes. No one cared about anything else anymore; everyone charged frantically toward the boss.

However, human speed inevitably varied, and not everyone possessed teleportation abilities.

The central area was only so large, and it quickly packed to maximum capacity, leaving those behind unable to push their way in.

Yet it was precisely this inability to enter that triggered an even greater catastrophe.

Compared to the nearly eight hundred Awakened, those who managed to squeeze inside were a minority. Were the outsiders supposed to just stand back and watch helplessly as others plundered treasures that rightfully belonged to them?

Of course not!

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a gunshot, an Awakened on the outer ring of the center cried out and collapsed to the ground.

"Kill them! Slaughter them without mercy!"

Someone shouted this command, and like a breached dam, the roar of artillery and machine guns mixed with the blast of various skills resounded once more across the space.

This time, however, the muzzles were no longer aimed at the boss, but at their own compatriots.

Even if the average combat power of a single Awakened was not particularly high, and their usable skills numbered only one or two, the simultaneous outburst of over a hundred Awakened produced a cataclysmic effect.

With frenzied expressions, they unleashed firepower ten times more intense than their assault on the boss moments ago, instantly turning the innermost zone into a complete death trap.

Wails echoed without interruption. Awakened fell one after another.

By this point, the smarter ones had realized the severity of the situation. Tossing aside whatever equipment they had managed to grab, they hurriedly scrambled out of the ring. Seeing that they carried no loot, very few people bothered to trouble them.

Yet those who maintained their composure at a time like this were a minority; the vast majority remained intoxicated by the shockwave of the treasure geyser. Facing a hail of bullets, they refused to retreat, desperately reaching out for the golden equipment—only for such individuals to die all the faster, riddled with holes the moment their fingers brushed against the golden gear.

The very next second, the golden equipment would bounce into someone else's hands, only for that person to quickly repeat the fate of their predecessor.

Bright red blood splashed everywhere, completely staining the surrounding earth. Especially in the center, the stench of iron and blood had grown thick enough to induce nausea.

...

Amidst the roar of artillery and gunfire, the bomb-wielding man and the rain-jacket-wearing man fled frantically toward the exit.

The chaotic melee had unfolded right before their eyes, and they had seen the treasure geyser as well, yet they lacked any spare capacity to care. Directly behind them, that young man was tailing them like a ghost, and the distance between them was steadily closing.

"Damn it, why is he so fast?!"

The rain-jacket-wearing woman swore. She vowed to herself that she was currently moving at the fastest speed of her life, fleeing for her life like a cornered rat with its tail between its legs, looking utterly disgraceful.

Even so, she still couldn't shake him off! She could already feel the scorching heat radiating from the flames on the young man's sword against her back. This filled her with boundless anxiety, pushing her terror of the young man to its absolute peak!

"...This won't do!"

The bomb-wielding man's face turned grim. Amidst his high-speed sprint, his gaze darted around before he abruptly turned his head and shouted, "At this rate, neither of us is getting away... You take the target and go first; I'll hold him off and buy as much time for you as I can!"

"What? But you'll—"

"No time to explain! Just run, I have my own way of getting out later!"

Leaving those words behind, the bomb-wielding man suddenly altered his footing, swerved in a completely different direction, and continued his escape.

...

Kong Zhe stared expressionlessly at the two figures ahead, the flames upon his Apocalypse Sword condensed into a solid, tangible form.

He, too, was pursuing them at his maximum speed, and he had already closed the gap significantly. At this rate, he should be able to catch them before they escaped the base.

However, Kong Zhe suddenly noticed the two figures ahead splitting up, bolting away in opposite directions.

This caused Kong Zhe to frown. Given the current situation, he could clearly only chase one of them.

Which one should he pursue?

Without a second thought, Kong Zhe locked his gaze onto the direction of the rain-jacket-wearing woman.

Rescuing Tuantuan was his primary objective right now; dealing with these two individuals could be postponed slightly.

Therefore, without altering his trajectory in the slightest, Kong Zhe charged straight after the woman ahead.

Boom, boom, boom!

Yet the moment Kong Zhe accelerated, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye—several small stones came hurtling toward him, followed immediately by a series of massive explosions erupting all around him. The sheer concussive roar momentarily drowned out even the gunfire echoing from the giant deer's corpse.