Player Reload
Chapter 329 - Three Hundred and One: Apportionment

Chapter 329: Chapter Three Hundred and One: Apportionment

The tendril-like shadows coiled around everyone’s necks like scarves, circling them several times. They were tangible but ethereal, devoid of any physical sensation or temperature.

Li Cheng frowned deeply. He suddenly leaned back, rolling on the floor, then reversed to stand on his hands straight up. He spun in midair, remarkably performing breakdancing right where he stood.

The Talisman Nail drew a dragon watching, stunned and wide-eyed, and instinctively said, "Bro, did you get electrocuted?"

"He’s not electrocuted,"

Zhao Zijing, familiar with Li Cheng’s methods, explained, "He’s just testing the limits of the shadow tendrils."

The Divine Calamity’s tendrils were as elusive as shadows, impossible to touch, able to stretch, shrink, twist, and bend at will. No matter how players evaded or retreated, even with teleportation, they couldn’t escape.

Hearing their conversation, Li Cheng, who was striking a pose, suddenly turned his head and took out a crackling electric stun baton from his pocket, calmly saying, "Actually, I did get electrocuted. The stun baton I used for self-defense earlier had a short circuit."

???

No way, bro. At Lv16, you don’t need an electric shock device for self-defense, right?! Did you specifically carry it in your pocket just so others could mock you? Sustaining an electric shock just to satisfy some twisted fun is too much! Aren’t you afraid of damaging yourself?

All sorts of nicknames: Shock Stick Bro, Bliss Stick Bro, Mad Stick Bro.

The Talisman Nail drew a dragon’s eyes widened, and he was caught between wanting to mock loudly and being forced to stay serious due to the current deadly situation.

The other players in the meeting room were in chaos. Some swung their blades at the tendrils, cutting through thin air.

Some used teleportation skills, teleporting kilometers away, only to return with grim faces. Clearly, teleportation wasn’t effective.

Others took out Emergency Escape Cards, waving them forcefully towards the front. But... there was no reaction at all.

"How can this be?!"

A player named [Camus] looked distraught. The Emergency Escape Card was a special item from the killing field, with a much higher priority than ordinary equipment. Only epic-level spatial locking items could interfere with it.

The fact that teleportation could be used indicated that the space wasn’t locked. So why was the Emergency Escape Card ineffective?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dorling Gray took the [Resurrection Repair Gun] and fired five shots at his temple, with a delay of one minute.

But after one minute, his head was fixed, and the shadow tendrils around his neck were still tightening, coiling more than four loops.

"The more you understand Divine Calamity, the deeper its influence..."

Dorling Gray’s face was extremely grim. "No, Divine Calamity is supposed to be unique to the killing field. Why did it appear out of nowhere in this Otherworld?"

Dorling Gray’s question was destined to go unanswered,

"Seeing" itself is a way to obtain information and gather intelligence. Over time, all players in the room realized that the shadows on the ceiling were becoming clearer, and that mass of sludge gradually revealed its true form.

It had thousands of eyeballs, irises blue or gray or green, pupils either round or square or vertical, blinking nonstop, taking turns observing everyone present.

"There’s no other way."

Bai Jixiong took a deep breath and turned to Li Cheng, saying, "Brother Ant, I’m going to do something very aggressive. Please protect me."

"Sure."

Li Cheng stepped back two steps, giving Bai Jixiong some space,

Only to see the latter sit cross-legged on the ground, with arms crossed in front of him, curling into a ball, and once again utilizing the Druid’s transformation ability, turning into... a piece of limestone rock.

A rock can’t think, so it wouldn’t unconsciously picture the Divine Calamity, theoretically enabling escape from its influence.

But...

Crack. Crack.

The lime rock that Bai Jixiong transformed into gradually got frost marks from low temperatures, flaking and chipping off.

Bai Jixiong hurriedly reverted to his human form, his neck red from frostbite, with skin peeling off in layers.

’I see now. Even if the player stops their brain from functioning, giving up on thinking, the body itself remains. The body will still interact with the real world.’

Li Cheng had an epiphany, "Interaction generates information. Information deepens the influence of Divine Calamity.

This ’hunting’ cannot stop once it starts."

The question is, how to counteract it?

Li Cheng turned off the electric stun baton in his hand, his mind racing.

Emergency Escape Cards, teleportation, and shutting down the brain—none of these tricks worked. Even his most mysterious Liangyi Blade wasn’t suitable for the current situation.

Unless...

Li Cheng thought of something, and looked up to the people present, asking, "The Divine Calamity’s killing method directly disrupts the bioelectricity within players, causing instant death.

Does anyone have a skill or item that can reduce incoming damage? The higher the mystery, the better."

"I do."

After a moment of hesitation, the player named [Camus] raised his hand, taking out a skill scroll.

[Skill Scroll Name: Soul Chain]

[Attribute: Consumable (Only two uses left)]

[Type: Spiritual Energy]

[Usage Method: Active]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Special Effect: Damage Distribution. Redistributes 80% of the damage taken by the user to other connected units. Can connect up to 20 units, and units must be willing. Soul Chain lasts a maximum of 5 minutes. Connected units can choose to disconnect at any time]

[Consumption: 200 Spiritual Power Value]

[Cooling Time: 5 hours]

[Use Conditions: Player level 15 or higher]

[Notes: Damage distribution has diminishing returns. When 3 units are connected, each unit bears 33% damage. When 20 units are connected, each unit still bears 10% damage]

[Notes: Before the god Guan Yu, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, we sworn brothers, vow to share fortunes and face adversity together]

Um... ignoring the remark full of slots, this skill scroll is indeed a god-tier skill, capable of significantly redistributing and reducing damage.

80% fatal damage shared among a few people, paired with some Life Potions and such, should be survivable... right?

"Great."

Li Cheng’s eyes lit up, turning to Dorling Gray and said, "Your pistol looks like a Nagant 1895 revolver that fires 7.62mm R bullets, with seven rounds. You fired six shots earlier, leaving one last round, correct?"

Dorling Gray asked cautiously, "Correct, what do you plan to do?"

"Shoot Sonic in the head."

Li Cheng said, "Aim right between the eyebrows and pierce the skull."

Dorling Gray’s expression hesitated. He had thought the last bullet for himself, allowing him to last a second or two longer than the others.

But hearing what Ant said, there might still be hope?

Dorling Gray gritted his teeth and asked, "You have a way?"

"Might as well try."

Li Cheng spread his hands, saying calmly, "The fact that information about Divine Calamity can be circulated means that the FBI’s Special Incident Department has at least repelled it once or escaped successfully.

Among us, only Sonic knows the specific details. I need to read the information in his mind. During this period, everyone must use Soul Chain to share the instant-death effect of Divine Calamity on me."