Player Reload
Chapter 222 - 203: Unboxing

Chapter 222: Chapter 203: Unboxing

The Bat Wing Motorcycle’s heavy tires rolled over the grass, the Hell Engine empowered with Demon Power spewing sulfurous smoke, providing a powerful thrust.

Behind the seat, the Gray Rain Iron Ball, chained to the motorcycle, rolled rapidly. As a liquid metal, Gray Rain could freely distribute the ball’s inner weight, flexibly adjusting its rolling direction.

Thud!

The large iron ball, carrying massive kinetic energy, hit Cliff’s upper body accurately, sending him flying like a bowling ball.

Indeed, Cliff could use Six Styles Iron Block and Armament Haki to strengthen his defense, preventing serious injuries.

But one cannot move while releasing Iron Block, Li Cheng and Gray Rain precisely seized the timing, exploiting the swaying before and after the release of Iron Block to maintain suppression over Cliff.

Thud!

The iron ball hit the target once again, and Li Cheng, driving the heavy Bat Wing Motorcycle, took advantage of the brief gap to turn his head towards the side.

In the distance, a hot air balloon was slowly crashing. From its crude construction and the color of the gas bag, it was known to be Li Cheng’s own made hot air balloon aircraft.

The next reincarnation cycle had already begun, and a new player squad had entered the game.

It always felt like there was something wrong...

Li Cheng, who had activated the Multi-threaded Brain Domain Method, thought rapidly. According to Mithril, killing everyone at once (including the strongest Cliff) was the only way to break the cycle.

Killing most of the people would cause the cycle to restart.

The crash of the hot air balloon was clearly caused by Zhao Zijing in this cycle. She probably wanted to pull people from the next cycle in.

The problem was, in this cycle, Li Cheng and his team had not encountered their past selves.

If Zhao Zijing got lost in the underbrush and didn’t meet the next squad, it meant a repeat cycle.

If Zhao Zijing successfully met with the next team, it would equate to opening up a new storyline, meaning at least two different cycle modes exist...

While Li Cheng was pondering, the iron ball hit the target again, but this time the tactile feedback was different.

Cliff had released the Iron Block at the last moment, crossing his arms in front of his body, trying to withstand the hit solely with Armament Haki and bodily defense.

Thud!

Cliff was violently knocked away, his left hand clearly broken, the arm abnormally bent.

A gruesome smile still plastered on his face, he stepped through the air and used Six Styles Shaving to instantly alter his trajectory, landing in a crater.

That crater was where Li Cheng and others discovered the burial place of the Mercury Alloy Guild member "Bismuth Yellow."

Cliff plunged his legs into the ground, lifted the metal tombstone of Bismuth Yellow with one hand, twisted his waist like an ancient Greek sculpture, and aimed at the approaching large iron ball.

Clang!

The metal tombstone, like a racket, struck the Gray Rain Iron Ball head-on.

Gray Rain was sent flying back but, fortunately, as a liquid metal, she melted into liquid on impact with the mud pit, transforming rapidly like a water-filled balloon, dissipating the kinetic energy.

The blood vessels under Cliff’s skin in his intact right hand had burst from briefly enduring the massive force, making the entire arm look a bloody red.

As if not feeling any pain, he took the twisted and misshapen metal tombstone and hurled it fiercely towards Li Cheng on the motorcycle.

The tombstone sliced through the air, blocking the path ahead.

It was too late to brake; Li Cheng stepped on the pedal, leaping upwards, tilting the motorcycle to drift as he brushed past the lower edge of the tombstone.

Man and bike separated, Li Cheng landed steadily, immediately feeling a strong wind rush towards his face.

Cliff unleashed Six Styles·Shaving, sprinting in front of Li Cheng, his right fist booming toward the face.

Instant Thunder, activate!

Electric light danced between the hairs and fingertips, the Instant Thunder Skill temporarily boosting the speed of the body, allowing Li Cheng to react in time and counter with a punch.

As the fists collided, Li Cheng was forced back more than ten steps, both his elbow and wrist dislocated.

Just as Cliff was about to pursue the attack, he was sprayed with black water from the Death Curse Torrent, and at the same time, he felt a heaviness in his chest—

A Gravity Energy Ball attached itself to his chest, along with a bomb pack weighing at least three kilograms.

Boom—

The bomb pack detonated with a loud explosion, lifting a cloud of smoke and dust on the spot.

From within the dust, Cliff, who had simultaneously activated Iron Block and Armament Haki, remained standing unscathed, except for a patch of burnt hair and a blackened face.

"No motorcycle, no speed advantage, what else do you have?"

As Cliff spoke, a puff of black smoke billowed out of his mouth like an animated character.

Compared to the Skills in the killing field system, self-taught abilities like Six Styles·Shaving had the advantage of shorter Cooling Times and fewer restrictions.

Without his motorcycle, Li Cheng was like a target in front of Cliff, who could freely use Six Styles·Shaving.

"I still have this."

Li Cheng activated the Assembly Puppet Special Effect, disassembled his dislocated right hand, realigned the Broken Bones, and put it back on, saying earnestly, "Cliff Duncan, twenty-six years old, once lived in an apartment located between Domino’s Pizza and Central Railway Hotel in Sydney City Center, Australia.

His mother is a travel company marketing manager, his father a middle school teacher. He has had five ex-girlfriends, Susan, Anna, Julie..."

Li Cheng reeled off Cliff’s detailed information all in one breath, and Gray Rain, who was climbing out of a pit not far away, looked especially astonished upon hearing this, and instinctively exclaimed, "Holy shit, dude!"

In the early days of the Slaughter Field Game, too many players exposed their personal information and were located and captured by major corporations, gangs, mercenary groups, and even national intelligence agencies.

Either killed or stripped of their player qualifications.

Or their friends and family were taken to coerce the players into cooperation.

This history led to players nowadays placing extreme importance on their personal privacy.

Any act of prying into someone else’s identity was equivalent to the greatest provocation, capable of leading to a fight to the death.

While Cliff was still "alive", he paid a portion of his Game Coins as taxes to the Australian government every month, so his personal information was also protected by the Australian government.

But as the Mercury Alloy Guild collectively disappeared for an entire year, he was marked as deceased, some of the information was declassified, and transferred to the Global Supernatural Alliance.

This was followed by GOC-style protection work on Cliff’s parents, similar to the United States Federal Witness Protection Program (i.e., moving to another country and starting a new Life incognito).

This setup was mainly to prevent players from seeking revenge and killing each other’s entire families, which would throw social order into chaos.

Li Cheng had no qualms about considering himself a hero, and he did not hesitate to report all the details he had seen on Zhao Zijing’s tablet.

"Just because you can’t get out, doesn’t mean we players who took on the killing field’s missions can’t. The grasslands will keep cycling, and as long as one of us gets out and goes back to the real world to talk about this place...

What do you think will happen to your friends and family?"

Li Cheng spoke with the demeanor of a true villain, "The right thing for you to do is sit down and talk about cooperation. You wouldn’t want your parents to know you’re here killing the innocent, would you?"

"...Hmph."

Cliff was silent for a moment, his eyes fierce and brutal, "If I kill all of you, then no one will know."

Before his voice faded, he lifted his leg and side-kicked straight at Li Cheng’s temple.