Chapter 16: Phase Two?
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In a space of absolute darkness, an arena more than two hundred meters in radius hung silently in the void. Above the arena, everything visible was an expanse of nothingness. Only the lights shining in from all around the arena offered enough illumination to keep one from losing their composure.
“What is going on?”
“How did I get here?”
“Wasn’t I supposed to be taking the game testing assessment?”
Zhao Hu rose to his feet, staring blankly at the empty space around him, utterly unable to understand what had happened.
Only a moment ago, he had been lying inside a virtual game pod. Now, it was as if space and time had shifted. A bone-chilling cold radiated through his limbs, and every breath sent a stream of icy air straight into his lungs, making his entire body tremble uncontrollably.
Before Zhao Hu could recover, a resolute, one-eyed man appeared in the center of the arena.
No!
In Zhao Hu’s eyes, the figure standing at the center of the arena was nothing like a human being.
Standing a full two and a half meters tall, the enormous man made Zhao Hu—himself two meters in height—look like a child.
System: Survive for twenty seconds.
“Is this a game?”
Zhao Hu froze when he heard the system prompt, completely unable to believe that this was real.
Although many virtual games focused on reproducing the player’s five senses, Zhao Hu had never experienced anything so realistic in his life. The cold that pierced straight into his lungs with every breath was especially unbearable.
It was as though he were standing naked in the depths of winter while someone poured ice water into his mouth from a kettle without stopping—and, from time to time, even asked him whether it tasted good.
Just as Zhao Hu regained his senses and prepared to face his opponent properly, showing him what it meant to possess invincible iron fists, Qin Mu moved.
With one step, the marble slabs beneath him cracked apart. Qin Mu was like a gust of wind, crossing the fifty-meter distance and appearing before Zhao Hu in less than two seconds.
“So fast!”
“So strong!”
Looking at Qin Mu, who towered before him like a small pagoda, Zhao Hu drew upon his years of combat experience in Pilgrimage and immediately understood how terrifying this man was. He was absolutely not someone Zhao Hu could confront carelessly.
As Qin Mu’s fist came crashing straight toward him, Zhao Hu instinctively leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the blow. But he had retreated with such force that he fell to the ground and rolled several times before finally regaining his balance.
“That was close. His speed and strength are both far beyond mine. If I’m going to last twenty seconds, I have to keep my distance.”
Watching Qin Mu remain still instead of pursuing him, Zhao Hu continued analyzing the situation in his mind.
The test only required him to survive for twenty seconds, not defeat Qin Mu. That undoubtedly reduced the difficulty considerably. Even so, lasting twenty seconds against someone vastly superior in both strength and speed was no easy task.
After rolling three times, Zhao Hu sprang back to his feet in a kip-up—and suddenly froze.
At some point, Qin Mu had already appeared directly in front of him. A single fist filled his entire field of vision.
Boom!
“Did I just die?”
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Zhao Hu stared at the screen of the virtual game pod, utterly dumbfounded.
So fast!
It was unbelievably fast!
Zhao Hu considered himself a formidable close-quarters fighter. Few experts could force him to take a battle seriously. Even against opponents with astonishing strength and speed, he could still rely on his agility to restrain them to some degree.
But during that battle, Zhao Hu felt that he had been completely focused. Even so, he had failed to react in time and had been struck head-on by the fist.
“Again!”
Without another word, Zhao Hu paid another 198 and revived himself for another round.
Whatever the case, he was known as the Unrivaled Iron Fist in Pilgrimage. If he could not even survive twenty seconds against an unarmed NPC, he would become a laughingstock once word got out.
Besides, a game with such an unprecedented level of realism made combat feel entirely different. How could he not try again?
His view shifted, and Zhao Hu once again appeared on the arena. This time, he was neither confused nor flustered. Almost immediately, he fixed his gaze on the center of the arena and waited for Qin Mu to appear.
“I refuse to believe I can’t beat you—or at least dodge you!”
As Qin Mu charged at him once more, Zhao Hu concentrated more intensely than ever, watching his every movement. The moment Qin Mu threw his punch, Zhao Hu retreated and dodged, maintaining a distance beyond Qin Mu’s reach.
One punch!
Two punches!
Three punches!
Zhao Hu avoided Qin Mu’s fists with almost mechanical precision. His grasp of the timing was flawless, bordering on miraculous. He continued like this for a full three seconds.
Boom!
Because of a momentary error in judgment, Zhao Hu was once again struck in the head by Qin Mu.
“I’ve figured out the rhythm of his attacks. Again!”
Zhao Hu paid another 198.
Five seconds later.
“Again!”
“Again!”
…
Only after Zhao Hu had died more than a hundred times was he preparing to begin another challenge when a communication alert suddenly sounded beside his ear.
“What is it? Speak quickly!”
Zhao Hu answered impatiently, his tone carrying a hint of accusation.
“Brother Zhao, we’ve already gathered everyone in the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty. We’re just waiting for you.”
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“Good! I’ll finish this fight and head over right away! Work out the plan first. I’ll be there soon!”
After speaking, Zhao Hu ended the call. He stood up and walked to the large refrigerator in the room. Taking out a chilled drink, he downed it in one gulp before paying another 198 to challenge Qin Mu again.
“This NPC really is a monster, but I’ve completely figured him out now. I know his attack rhythm and attack patterns. I shouldn’t have any trouble lasting twenty seconds this time.”
As Qin Mu appeared once more in the center of the arena, Zhao Hu was filled with confidence.
After dying more than a hundred times, Zhao Hu had thoroughly grasped every aspect of Qin Mu’s attacks. Earlier, he had even come within a hair’s breadth of lasting ten seconds, but a momentary lapse in concentration had caused him to lose the rhythm and get his head blown apart.
Now, however, Zhao Hu had drunk a specially formulated beverage that had left his mind intensely stimulated. His concentration would not falter again anytime soon.
One second…
Three seconds…
Nine seconds…
“Good! Ten seconds down!”
Zhao Hu’s face lit up with excitement as he dodged another punch.
Every one of Qin Mu’s attacks was lethal. The slightest mistake in judgment meant death. Even being grazed by one of his attacks was enough to kill.
By now, Zhao Hu had completely familiarized himself with Qin Mu’s attacks. Although there was an enormous gap between them in strength and speed, precise timing still allowed him to barely evade each blow.
As the eleventh second approached, Zhao Hu prepared himself to repeat the same cycle. Suddenly, Qin Mu took a step back, putting some distance between them.
“Phase Two?”
Zhao Hu was not surprised.
This was a boss fight. There was no way the game would deny the boss a second phase. It was practically a rule of gaming. In fact, if a boss as impressive as Qin Mu did not have a second phase, Zhao Hu would definitely go to the review section and leave a negative review.
At some point, Qin Mu had produced a silver spear more than three meters long. With a casual sweep of the weapon, a fierce gale nearly blew Zhao Hu off his feet.
“Come on! Let me see how powerful your second phase is.”
Looking at Qin Mu’s stance, Zhao Hu understood that the real battle had only just begun.
But before Zhao Hu could prepare to widen the distance between them, the silver spear in Qin Mu’s hands shot forward like a flood dragon emerging from the sea.
Seven spear images appeared at once!
“Damn it!”
Zhao Hu’s eyes nearly split apart as he stared at the seven spear images attacking him simultaneously.
Before this, Qin Mu had merely thrown punches. Zhao Hu had only needed to keep his eyes locked on the single fist he was swinging.
Now, however, he had to watch seven spear images at the same time. Was this game even going to let people play properly?
The next moment, Zhao Hu’s vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, his view had returned to the game pod, while communication alerts continued ringing beside his ears.
“Brother Zhao, people from Mythic Paradise suddenly attacked us. You still haven’t arrived. What should we do?”
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