196: Chapter 196 Bai Zimo VS Qiu Yuhan

Just as Jiang You was in temporary seclusion, grinding away to get stronger, and Bai Lan was acting as a "gatekeeper" while pressed against the glass of Xie Fuyao's combat pod.

On the other side of the virtual battlefield, a peak showdown between members of Class F had reached a white-hot intensity.

[Group 2: Bai Zimo VS Qiu Yunan]

Map: [Abandoned Steel City]

This was practically a paradise tailor-made for Bai Zimo.

Under the dim sky, rusted skyscrapers towered everywhere, intertwined with a tangled web of metal pipes.

The air was filled with the acrid smell of electrical sparks and the scent of corroding metal.

"Boom!!"

With a deafening roar, two buildings dozens of meters tall were snapped in half by an invisible force, and tons of reinforced concrete were now defying gravity, suspended in mid-air!

In the center of that vast expanse of floating metallic debris, Bai Zimo was finally no longer the socially anxious shut-in who hid in his sleeping bag.

He hovered in mid-air, standing on a massive maglev steel plate, his hands spread wide, fingers moving rhythmically as if playing the piano.

His aura at this moment was like that of a monarch controlling the magnetic field!

"Magnetic Storm, Omnipresent Control!"

"Sister Yunan, my apologies."

Bai Zimo's voice, carried by the vibration of the magnetic field, came from all directions, laced with a hint of helplessness but also full of fighting spirit:

"Although statistics from our previous encounters show I only have a 34.6% chance of winning, this environment has boosted my win rate to 40%."

"I want to see if I can turn the tables."

"Magnetic Storm, Torrent of Steel!"

With a sharp flick of Bai Zimo's fingers.

"Clatter—"

The glass of dozens of surrounding buildings shattered instantly. Countless steel rebars, as if being flayed from the concrete, erupted outward and converged in the air into a hundred-meter-long steel python, hurtling towards the figure below with suffocating pressure!

Meanwhile, on the ruins below.

Qiu Yunan stood quietly.

She pushed up the glasses on her nose, the lenses refracting a cold, piercing glint under the lightning.

Facing the sky-blocking steel python above her, she showed not a hint of panic, merely closing the book in her hand gently.

Qiu Yunan spoke calmly, her voice cold and detached: "Zimo, you seem to have gotten much stronger than before, but you aren't the only one who has improved!"

"Zzzzt!!!"

Before she had even finished speaking, Qiu Yunan's formerly calm body instantly transformed into a blinding mass of lightning plasma!

SS-rank Supernatural Ability, Purple Heaven!

"Boom!"

A thick pillar of purple lightning shot into the sky, meeting the steel python head-on.

There was no collision sound as one might have expected.

The moment the lightning touched the metal, as if it had found the perfect conductor, it instantly spread along the steel rebars!

In the blink of an eye, the majestic steel python was dyed into a dazzling purple lightning dragon!

"What!"

Bai Zimo's expression changed in mid-air.

He felt the magnetic field he used to control the metal rapidly destabilizing and collapsing under the interference of the violent lightning!

"It's not over yet!"

Qiu Yunan let out a sharp cry, her figure instantly vanishing from where she stood.

The next second, she had transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, stepping onto the steel python she had "turned," and charged upwards, straight into the sky!

She ran through the jungle of high-voltage steel rebars as if walking on flat ground, the lightning in her hand converging into a three-meter-long lightning spear.

"Lightning Burst, Penetration!"

"Whoosh—"

The lightning spear tore through the sky with a piercing whistle that ripped the air, aimed straight at the center of Bai Zimo's forehead!

This strike was as fast as a startled swan and as powerful as a thunderbolt!

Bai Zimo's pupils constricted, his reaction speed also extremely fast.

He clapped his hands together, and countless shields compressed from high-density metal instantly appeared around him, layering and unfolding like a lotus flower.

"Bang!!!"

The lightning spear slammed violently into the metal shields.

A terrifying ripple of energy exploded in the air, the blinding light turning the entire virtual battlefield into broad daylight.

At the center of the explosion, the two forces were locked in a frantic struggle.

Both of them were geniuses with extremely strong control over their Supernatural Abilities, and for a moment, they were at a stalemate!

However.

Even if their techniques were comparable and their Supernatural Ability ranks were equal.

That most basic, yet most cruel weakness, was ultimately exposed.

That was their Blood Energy value.

Bai Zimo was only at the early Fourth Stage, a typical "glass cannon mage" with a Blood Energy value of only around 38.

And Qiu Yunan, as one of the big sisters of Class F, had a Blood Energy value as high as 57.0!

Such a gap might not be apparent during short bursts of combat.

But in this kind of high-intensity stalemate and war of attrition, it was fatal!

Only ten seconds passed.

Bai Zimo's forehead was already covered in beads of sweat, his face pale, his fingers controlling the magnetic field began to tremble violently, and his nose even started to bleed.

These were signs of both mental and physical exhaustion.

Bai Zimo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and gave a bitter smile: "As expected... is this the gap in base stats?"

Looking at Qiu Yunan opposite him.

Although she was slightly out of breath, her eyes remained bright, and the lightning around her not only didn't weaken but became even more violent as her fighting spirit rose!

"Zimo, it's over."

Qiu Yunan's gaze hardened, and she increased the force in her hand: "Lightning Burst, End!"

Boom!

The previously stalemated lightning spear suddenly surged, doubling in size, and that terrifying power of lightning instantly crushed Bai Zimo's final line of defense.

"Crack!"

The metal shields shattered on impact.

The purple lightning instantly engulfed the thin figure hovering in the air.

...

[System Judgment: Red Team has lost combat capability!]

[Blue Team Qiu Yunan, victory!]

Real world, lounge.

The combat pod door opened.

Bai Zimo stumbled out of the pod, his body still twitching occasionally: "Cough, cough... Sister Yunan... you really hit hard..."

"But... next time... I'll have another 2% chance of winning..."

Although he had lost, the kid's eyes were full of fanatical confidence.

On the other side, Qiu Yunan walked out slowly.

She took off her glasses and gently wiped away the condensation; although she looked slightly tired, that aura of a Lightning Queen was even stronger.

"Good fight."

"Your magnetic field control is very creative. If your Blood Energy could keep up, I would have had to use my trump card just now."

"Eat more meat when you go back, you're too skinny."

Bai Zimo grinned, not looking the least bit annoyed: "Understood... Big Sister."

Although this internal battle of Class F lacked bloody slaughter, the peak collision of techniques and Supernatural Abilities left the other contestants watching in stunned silence.

"Is this the strength of Class F?"

"Even a shut-in who plays computer games is this fierce?"

"That Qiu Yunan... she's too strong. I feel like these two are even more terrifying than the average main force of Class A!"

Everyone realized one thing.

Class F was truly no longer the problem class they remembered, but a terrifying team forged by top-tier powerhouses!

Each and every one of them possessed the terrifying strength to stand on their own!

And at this moment.

Everyone's gaze turned once again to another corner of the lounge.

There, another even more "heavyweight" showdown was about to begin.

It was Lu Xingye of Class F, battling the third-year chief, Cong Nanshan, who was making a desperate stand to maintain his ranking!