Chapter 156: The Death of Tuantuan (Part I)

"Understood!"

At Guo Xuemin's command, his subordinates immediately sprang into action, emerging from the shadows on all sides.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Instantly, the roaring of artillery and heavy machine guns echoed once more across the safe zone. The firepower that hadn't been unleashed upon the BOSS in time was now mercilessly poured onto the Hydra in the center of the arena.

Beyond that, the remaining large group of Awakeners, seemingly spurred by the gunfire, abandoned their pursuit of the remaining treasures and began firing at the massive serpent with bloodshot eyes.

In truth, aside from those swallowed by the serpent, many green and blue treasures of extremely high value still remained. At this stage, most Awakeners possessed no blue equipment, and even green equipment was scarce.

In the past, these Awakeners would have eagerly scrambled to pick up even a piece of green equipment. But the situation was somewhat different now, especially after having just witnessed dozens of golden and purple beams of light, which momentarily made the Awakeners disdain the green and blue gear altogether.

After swallowing the treasures, the giant serpent felt continuous roars ringing in its ears, and excruciating pain racked its entire body.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Sounds of colliding steel rang out as the pouring bullets were, without exception, deflected by the thick scales covering the serpent's body. Although bullets and explosives posed little direct threat to it, their sheer numbers were overwhelming, and mixed within the surrounding attacks were streaks of magical skill brilliance.

While physical attacks might be ineffective against it, magical assaults could not be so easily ignored. For a moment, the serpent was beaten into a bloody mess, letting out continuous screeches as its health plummeted rapidly, soon nearing a dangerous threshold.

Hong Ling, perched atop its head, was having a miserable time as well. Even pressing her entire body flat against the serpent's head did no good, as stray bullets struck her intermittently, not to mention the many people intentionally firing directly at her.

Hong Ling's vision was completely dominated by flashes of gunfire, making it impossible to see the current situation clearly, but she knew just by imagining that it must be unimaginably dangerous.

Fortunately, they had already secured the lion's share of the rewards, fulfilling their duty to Kong Zhe. Escaping and preserving their own lives was the top priority now. Hong Ling hastily patted the giant serpent beneath her and shouted, "Let's run!"

"Roar!"

The giant serpent swung its massive body horizontally and let out a roar, its powerful tail lashing out with tremendous force that instantly cleaved several nearby Awakeners in half.

Having forced the surrounding crowd back, the serpent hesitated not a moment. It raised its tail, scooped up Hong Ling from its head, and then began thrashing its limbs, rapidly burrowing into the ground.

Burrowing was a signature skill of all serpentine magical beasts, and Kong Zhe's Hydra seemed exceptionally proficient at tunneling.

Within mere seconds, the giant serpent vanished completely underground. This left all the Awakeners cursing under their breaths, utterly helpless against it!

...

The rain-coated woman was running swiftly while cradling the unconscious Tuan Tuan. Yet, amid her flight, her attention was still drawn to the various treasures scattering across the sky.

Her mouth hung open as she tilted her head to stare in shock at the magnificent sight above, until she almost tripped over a rock and snapped back to reality. She was running for her life!

The rain-coated woman hastily shook her head and resumed her desperate sprint.

These treasures were certainly alluring, but mostly to Awakeners; their value was much lower for Espers like her. They couldn't use them directly, and at most, could only sell them to the organization in exchange for some contribution points.

Normally, she wouldn't mind fighting to snatch one or two pieces. But since she was currently fleeing for her life, those few contribution points were beneath her notice.

Yes, she looked down on most treasures, unless—it was gold-tier equipment!

...

"Huh?"

The rain-coated woman had indeed planned to ignore the items falling from the sky, but soon she noticed an unexpected sight.

At a rooftop not far from her, a piece of gold equipment happened to land, and right beside it was a beam of purple light. A gold and a purple piece of equipment had fallen there simultaneously!

Most importantly, around that rooftop, aside from her, there was not a single soul.

This caused the rain-coated woman's footsteps to hesitate involuntarily as she debated whether to go over and pick them up.

The value of gold equipment was in a completely different league compared to the rest. Handing a piece of gold equipment over to the organization would yield a reward comparable to completing a B-rank mission. This reward was substantial enough to tempt the currently cash-strapped rain-coated woman.

Her eyes darted back and forth for a moment before she gritted her teeth, glanced behind her, and quickly confirmed that the young man was still far away. Even if she wasted a little time picking up the equipment, she would still have plenty of time to escape.

Given that, why not pick it up?

Making up her mind instantly, the rain-coated woman tightened her grip on the girl in her arms, altered her course slightly, and rushed toward that rooftop.

...

Meanwhile, in an open area a few hundred meters away, the surroundings were enveloped in a sky-filling blaze. Seconds later, the flames dissipated, revealing Kong Zhe's figure standing in place. A layer of Samadhi fire still shrouded his body.

Behind him, where the explosive man had previously stood, only a headless corpse remained.

Though the explosive man had invoked his so-called ultimate defense, it ultimately boiled down to explosive damage. Without the support of physical explosives, this damage was manifested primarily through the intense heat of the fire generated by the blast.

Kong Zhe had been injured back at Jincheng University because he was unable to use his skills at the time. But now... the Samadhi fire on his body didn't even fear the flames of the Giant Stag, let alone mere explosive fire.

Thus, Kong Zhe had effortlessly eliminated the explosive man just moments ago.

Flicking the blood off the Apocalypse Sword, Kong Zhe looked up in the direction of the rain-coated woman. However, what he saw unfolding over there made him frown, and a sense of foreboding rose in his chest. With no time to overthink, he broke into a frantic sprint toward the location!

...

The rain-coated woman landed on the rooftop after a few leaps. Staring at the golden and purple glows within arm's reach, her heart raced with excitement.

Rubbing the sweat from her palms onto her clothes, she eagerly reached out and grabbed both treasures.

They were a pair of earrings and a mask. The earrings, in particular, were carved with exquisite patterns and embedded with a pair of blue gemstones, looking exceptionally gorgeous. The moment she touched them, a refreshing coolness washed over her, instantly revitalizing her spirit.

Though she didn't know their attributes yet, it was clearly a top-tier treasure. The rain-coated woman even felt reluctant to turn it over to the organization and wanted to keep it for her own collection.

After admiring the items with fondness for a moment, she smiled contentedly, feeling that this trip had truly been worthwhile!

However, just as she was preparing to leave with satisfaction, she suddenly sensed something was amiss. Lowering her head to look down, the scene below filled her with shock.

The building she stood upon was now surrounded by crowds of Awakeners, all clutching weapons with their gun barrels aimed squarely at her.

The Awakeners stared at her with bloodshot eyes—or more precisely, at the gold equipment in her hands.

Following the three pieces of gold equipment swallowed by the Hydra, this was now the very last piece of gold equipment left, which inflated its perceived value in everyone's minds many times over.

Upon catching sight of that golden glow, everyone nearby swarmed in like hyenas catching the scent of meat, surrounding the area completely.

"Wait, I don't want this anymore..."

Sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, the rain-coated woman hastily moved to toss the necklace away, but her words came a step too late.

Moreover, fueled by the preceding chaos, the people present had already been driven to a bloodthirsty frenzy, losing much of their sanity.

"Damn it, this is really bad!"

Looking at the ferocious grins on the faces of the crowd below, the anxiety in the rain-coated woman's heart swelled. Without time to hesitate, she whirled around, took a running start, and leapt powerfully into the air, attempting to flee.

Yet, it was already too late.

"Damn it, trying to steal a free prize? Open fire!"

At someone's shout, amidst the rain-coated woman's panicked gaze, everyone simultaneously raised their weapons and fired at her while she was still suspended in mid-air!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."

Instantly, the entire rooftop area was swallowed by a hail of gunfire.

"No!"

From a rooftop a thousand meters away, Xue Feifei stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding in the distance.

Though unable to join the pursuit, she had kept her eyes fixed on the developments in the arena.

Thus, she clearly witnessed the crowd opening fire on the rain-coated woman in the distance. A chill ran down her spine, and an unprecedented terror gripped her heart.

Already anticipating the ensuing tragedy, she screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was futile.

The rain-coated woman possessed water-transformation abilities and naturally had nothing to fear from ordinary bullets, but the little girl Tuan Tuan in her arms did not!

As the volley of bullets passed through her body, the rain-coated woman was torn to shreds. The sound of splashing water echoed continuously; under such dense gunfire and artillery, within mere seconds, she completely dissolved into a puddle of water, falling from the air and seeping into the ground without a trace.

However, the flying bullets did not simply vanish. Having pierced through the rain-coated woman's body, the majority of the rounds continued with unabated momentum, striking the small, fragile body beside her.

Instantly, bursts of blood blossomed, scattering into the surrounding air like a bloody mist.

Stimulated by the scent of blood, the crowd completely lost their composure. Even though the rain-coated woman had vanished, the gunfire did not stop.

The small figure in the air fell like a butterfly with broken wings, eliciting deep pity.

Yet, no one stopped!

As if the most primitive ferocity lurking deep within human nature had been awakened, the Awakeners wore savage grins as they continued firing wildly at the tiny form in the air.