71: Chapter 71 Desperate Situation
Rumble!
As Lin Yuan crushed the purple formation plate in his hand, the deathly silent air within the warehouse instantly began to boil.
Countless thick bolts of purple lightning, like chains reaching out from the void, surged wildly from the four corners—north, south, east, and west—carrying devastating high-voltage currents.
[Consumable Item: Nine Heavens Thunder Prison Formation (Incomplete Version) - Activated!]
Violent thunderous plasma raged within the confined space, turning the warehouse into a purple purgatory.
Standing at the center of the formation, Wang Hai's calm expression, which had been like a cat playing with a mouse, instantly froze.
"Zzt, zzt, zzt!"
Over a dozen lightning chains as thick as a child's arm coiled around him like spirit snakes, tightly locking his limbs and neck.
"A formation?!"
Wang Hai's pupils constricted slightly, but he did not panic. As a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster, his reflexes were pushed to the extreme.
"Hmph! Mere parlor tricks!"
Wang Hai snorted coldly, his body jolting violently.
Buzz!
A layer of dark red light, three inches thick, instantly erupted from his body. It was the signature defensive technique of a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster—[Astral Qi Armor]!
This armor was compressed from high-density True Qi, with a hardness far exceeding B-grade alloys, capable of even withstanding heavy artillery bombardment.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Those seemingly terrifying lightning chains, upon contact with the dark red armor, were snapped like fragile hemp ropes, dissipating into a sky full of electric arcs.
"Is that all?"
Wang Hai stood in the center of the thunder prison, allowing the surrounding lightning to strike his protective Astral Qi. It crackled and popped, yet could not even lift a corner of his clothes.
"A Third-Rank is just a Third-Rank after all. You have no idea what it means for 'a Grandmaster to be like a dragon'."
Wang Hai took a step forward, the lightning beneath his feet crushed by his stride:
"Even if I stood still and let you hit me all day, you still couldn't break my defense!"
Despair.
A suffocating sense of despair loomed over the hearts of Xiang Lie and Su Xiaoxiao.
Is this what a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster is?
Before this flawless turtle shell, the offensive techniques they took pride in appeared pale and powerless.
"Can't break your defense? I'll crash through you even if it kills me!"
A look of determination flashed in Xiang Lie's eyes. As the bait, he knew he had to buy time.
"Bull Rush!!"
Xiang Lie roared, raising the heavy B-grade alloy tower shield in his hand. His blood essence burned as he slammed violently into Wang Hai's back.
However, Wang Hai didn't even turn his head; he merely flicked his sleeve backward nonchalantly.
Bang!
A terrifying invisible force erupted like an overwhelming tidal wave.
Xiang Lie felt as if he had crashed into a moving mountain.
Crack!
That sturdy alloy tower shield was actually torn to shreds by that force!
"Pfft!"
Xiang Lie spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward even faster than he had come. He slammed heavily against the wall, his chest caved in and at least three ribs broken.
"Xiang Lie!!"
Su Xiaoxiao screamed, tears streaming down her face. Gritting her teeth, she slammed down the detonator in her hand.
"Go to hell!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hundreds of C-grade high-explosive mines buried around the warehouse detonated simultaneously!
Terrifying flames and shockwaves instantly engulfed the entire warehouse, the massive explosion even drowning out the thunder.
This power was enough to level a small bunker!
However, when the smoke and dust cleared...
A figure still stood tall and upright on the spot.
Wang Hai brushed a bit of dust off his shoulder. That layer of dark red Astral Qi Armor still shimmered with light, without even a single crack appearing.
Unscathed.
"Too weak."
Wang Hai's gaze pierced through the dust, locking onto Lin Yuan, who seemed to be at his wits' end.
"Die."
Wang Hai tapped his foot, and his figure vanished instantly.
Ground Shrinkage!
This was a movement technique of a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster involving spatial laws. Even under the suppression of the Thunder Prison Formation, his speed remained too fast for the naked eye to track.
In the next second, he appeared directly less than three meters in front of Lin Yuan!
That palm, wrapped in dark red Astral Qi, reached for Lin Yuan's throat like the Grim Reaper's scythe.
It's over.
Everything is finished.
In everyone's eyes, this was the inevitable outcome of a Third-Rank provoking a Sixth-Rank.
"Can you withstand the cheats of a pay-to-win player?"
Lin Yuan suddenly flicked his right hand.
[Consumable: Astral-Breaking Poison Needle (System Produced - Guaranteed Quality)!]
Shuu!
A slender needle, capable of even swallowing light, was shot out silently, blending into the sky full of lightning.
It was too small, too inconspicuous.
So much so that Wang Hai didn't take it seriously at all, intending to shatter it directly with his protective Astral Qi.
Zzt, zzt, zzt!
That poison needle, worth 13,000 slaughter value, instantly corroded a pin-sized hole in the Astral Qi Armor and drilled inside without any resistance!
"What?!"
Before he could react, the poison needle had already pierced his skin and entered his bloodstream.
[Soul-Devouring Toxin - Erupt!]
Boom!
"Ugh, ah!!"
Wang Hai felt his entire body's blood essence freeze in an instant. The Astral Qi that had been flowing smoothly began to collapse wildly, as if it had met its natural enemy!
His face instantly turned a purplish-blue, and his body went rigid. The hand that had been reaching for Lin Yuan stopped in mid-air, trembling uncontrollably.
"How is this possible... What kind of poison is this?!"
Wang Hai looked at Lin Yuan in horror. He was a Grandmaster! He had long been immune to all poisons; even high concentrations of neurotoxins were useless against him.
But this needle... actually broke through his Astral Qi and paralyzed his nerves?!
"The poison that will take your life."
Lin Yuan didn't give him a single moment to breathe.
Strike while he's down!
"Kill!!"
Lin Yuan gave a thunderous shout, his eyes wide open as his mental power erupted without reservation.
cicada wing - Finishing Move: Dragon Drill (S-rank Complete Form)!
Buzz!
Nine dark silver flying knives, which had been poised for action, instantly merged in mid-air, transforming into a high-speed rotating silver drill.
This time, Lin Yuan poured in all of his mental power. His nostrils even began to bleed due to the excessive load.
"Die for me!!!"
Shuu!
The silver drill, carrying a space-tearing shriek, accurately followed the small hole in the Astral Qi corroded by the poison needle and drilled in fiercely!
It then pierced through the collapsed Astral Qi without any hindrance and stabbed violently into the center of Wang Hai's forehead!
The sound of the high-speed rotating blade churning inside the skull was hair-raising.
"Aaaaaargh!!!"
Wang Hai let out the most shrill and desperate scream of his life.
Black blood sprayed from all seven of his facial orifices simultaneously. His sinister eyes glared at Lin Yuan, filled with resentment and fear.
He never expected...
That he, a dignified Sixth-Rank Grandmaster and the influential "Black Shark" of the East Sea War Zone, would actually die at the hands of a Third-Rank junior!
Bang!
With a final sound, a mist of blood exploded from the back of Wang Hai's head.
The screaming stopped abruptly.
Dead.
A Sixth-Rank Grandmaster has fallen!
Xiang Lie clutched his broken ribs and leaned against the corner, staring blankly at the corpse, having even forgotten the pain.
Su Xiaoxiao's mouth hung wide open, and the detonator in her hand fell to the ground.
What did they just witness?
A Third-Rank... slaying a Sixth-Rank?
This is no longer just a cross-rank challenge.
This is a myth!
Huff... huff...
Lin Yuan stood by the corpse, gasping heavily for air, his face as pale as paper. The series of maneuvers just now had pushed both his mental power and mental energy to their absolute limits.
Yet he forced himself to stay upright, because in his mind, the pleasant system notification sound was frantically flooding the screen.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host! Successfully killed an Early-Stage Sixth-Rank Grandmaster (Alien Spy)!]
[Combat Evaluation: Mythic Rank (S+)!]
[Cross-Rank Kill Reward Doubled! Traitor Slaying Reward Doubled!]
[Obtained slaughter value: 100,000 points!]
[Dropped Item: Sixth-Rank Martial Dao True Intent Comprehension (Incomplete Fragment) * 1!]
[Dropped Item: Unknown Encrypted Communicator * 1!]
One hundred thousand slaughter value points!
Looking at the string of zeros in his account, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Lin Yuan's exhausted face.
He kicked Wang Hai's corpse, pulled out the flying knife covered in brain matter, and wiped it on the other's expensive night-walking suit.
"It seems..."
Lin Yuan sheathed his knife and turned to look at his stunned teammates. Though his voice was weak, it carried an aura of invincible dominance:
"Pay-to-win players..."
"...truly can do whatever they want."