Chapter 87

[Zhou Han is so unlucky, yet he's also incredibly lucky. On the one hand, he was almost off track to find Qiao Ning, but then he made a turn and took a shortcut. At this rate, he'll be running into Qiao Ning in less than five minutes.]

Just as Qiao Ning saw this, the screen went black, the comments disappeared, and then it flashed again, displaying the four large characters "Insufficient Energy".

Qiao Ning: "...?" So this one needs to be charged?

But the instructions on this device don't clearly state what is needed to power it.

Qiao Ning tried to take out the energy stone and place it in the groove behind the bullet screen, but there was no response. Clearly, the energy was incorrect and it couldn't be charged.

Qiao Ning tried different beast cores, even adding fragments of dark stone, but the result was the same. There was no reaction at all.

There was nothing she could do but put it away for now.

The comments section said that the man named Zhou Han wanted to obtain the clue she had. Qiao Ning remembered that this man had killed over a hundred people, triggering the conditions for obtaining the clue, and he also had a clue.

Fortunately, the clues she had were too ambiguous. Perhaps by adding Zhou Han's clues, they could obtain some useful information.

Yesterday her clue was "Garbage Sea," and today it's "Waterspout."

Qiao Ning knew the meaning of "dragon sucking water"; it was an ancient term for a whirlpool.

However, the sea of ​​garbage is full of whirlpools, and this clue alone is not enough to get anywhere.

Knowing that Zhou Han was about to find her, Qiao Ning simply stayed put and waited for him to arrive.

About two or three minutes later, Qiao Ning, with her keen hearing, heard the sound of the car moving.

Then a Class 6 car quickly came into her view, making a turn and stopping ten meters in front of Qiao Ning.

The car door opened, and a very tall and exceptionally robust man stepped out.

This person was definitely the tallest player Qiao Ning had encountered in all the Calamity Worlds, probably over two meters tall. Even through his clothes, the lines of his muscular physique were clearly visible.

“You are Qiao Ning,” Zhou Han said with certainty.

Although he couldn't remember other people's faces very well, Qiao Ning's face was so beautiful that it was unique among the players, making it hard for him not to remember her.

Zhou Han still vividly remembered the scene of Qiao Ning killing someone to establish her authority, so he didn't treat her with the same indifference he showed to others. In his view, only those who were strong enough deserved his respect.

Before he could speak further, Qiao Ning said first, "I need the clues on you."

She wasn't sure if she could get any clues after killing the person. The system was notorious for being unreliable, so she had to consider all the possibilities.

Otherwise, Qiao Ning wouldn't be wasting her breath talking to him.

Zhou Han stared at her for a while, then suddenly laughed: "What a coincidence, I also want clues about you."

Zhou Han killed more than a hundred people in one night, so he could not possibly be a kind person, and... he also lacked martial ethics.

While he was talking to Qiao Ning, he had already used some kind of weapon that could kill her instantly.

Unfortunately, Qiao Ning's red defensive gear could block a fatal attack by consuming a large amount of equipment durability.

After blocking once, the equipment's durability is almost zero.

Qiao Ning immediately put on another set of clothes.

Zhou Han didn't expect this sneak attack to kill her in one blow; otherwise, Qiao Ning's title as the number one player in the game would be somewhat undeserved.

"I'll give you a chance. You can tell me the clues, and I'll let you go." A weapon appeared out of thin air in Zhou Han's hand, resembling a laser cannon from a space movie.

“Once I activate this, you won’t have a choice.” Zhou Han was clearly unsure whether he could obtain any clues about Qiao Ning after killing her. So he wanted Qiao Ning to tell him on her own initiative.

Qiao Ning had dealt with all sorts of pets and seen countless types of superpowers, but this was the first time she had faced other people's technological weapons head-on.

"You can give it a try."

As Qiao Ning answered him, she activated her defensive ring, and a halo of light appeared around her, enveloping her entirely.

Ice Scale was whimpering anxiously in the car, but Qiao Ning had instructed it not to get out, so it could only watch Qiao Ning fight the enemy from inside the car.

Ice Scale is indeed powerful, but its fighting style is too reckless, charging around without any regard for its own safety. Players have all sorts of methods, and there's no guarantee that there won't be something that could hurt its weaknesses, so Qiao Ning tries to prevent it from attacking whenever possible.

Seeing that the woman in front of him showed no sign of wavering or softening, Zhou Han immediately activated the laser cannon and fired a shot.

"boom--"

Unlike the loud bang of ordinary firearms, the laser cannon fired with only a low boom. However, the instant the energy was released, an invisible shockwave spread out, sending Zhou Han, the man holding the cannon, flying several meters backward.

In an instant, the nearest mountain of garbage was blasted away, leaving only a cloud of black smoke—the polluting smoke and dust produced by the burning of garbage by the laser cannon.

Even the garbage mountain is gone, let alone people? Although Zhou Han felt it was impossible for anyone to survive such an attack, he still searched through the polluted smoke and dust out of caution.

There was no trace of them, not even a corner of a body.

That's normal. The laser cannon is too powerful. Even a garbage dump turned into dust under its bombardment. The human body simply cannot withstand that kind of force, so it should leave no trace.

Zhou Han still felt that Qiao Ning died too easily. Was this all the strongest person had to offer? She died so easily?

Zhou Han first checked the clues on the system. When he found that he had not received any new clues about the Law Stone, he suddenly felt a chill and thought to himself that something was wrong.

Before he could even summon his pet, he felt something extremely cold pressed against his neck.

The thing merely approached without actually touching his skin, yet the biting cold forced him to metallize his entire body to save his life.

However, this self-preservation is only temporary.

He had witnessed firsthand just how extraordinary and bizarre Qiao Ning's ice-based abilities were; they were an irresistible force, even surpassing the power to devour glaciers.

Are you looking for me?

Qiao Ning's voice rang out.

Zhou Han was unable to speak. When his entire body was metallic, he had no senses, could not speak, and could not even move.

He wouldn't have used this superpower to save his life if he hadn't been forced into a corner.

Give me the clues.

"Can't speak? Then let me help you." Qiao Ning is 1.78 meters tall, but she still looks short next to Zhou Han, who is over 2 meters tall.

A stream of frost, emanating a chilling aura, flowed from her fingertips and flew towards Zhou Han's body. His originally metallic body began to condense a layer of frost on its surface.

As the frost thickened, finally, with a "crack," cracks appeared on Zhou Han's metallized body.

His eyes were wide open, his pupils slightly constricted, as if he were in great pain.

After the first crack appeared, a second one quickly followed, and a third one...

Just as cracks spread across Zhou Han's body, extending towards his vital head, he finally couldn't bear it any longer and deactivated the metallization of his head, letting out a sound:

"The clue is 'Enter the Waterspout.' Don't ask me what that means, I don't know. I've said everything I can, and I'm absolutely not lying to you!"

Qiao Ning stopped, too lazy to look at Zhou Han again, and snapped her fingers as she turned to go back to her car.

A gust of wind and snow swept in, enveloping Zhou Han and his vehicle. When the wind and snow subsided, there was nothing left on the ground except for garbage.

Qiao Ning returned to the car and tried to install the upgrade crystal into the groove of the bullet screen. Unexpectedly, this time it actually worked.

The comments lit up again, appearing one after another on the screen.

Does anyone know if the clues Zhou Han provided are true or false?

Is it still possible for the player to kill Qiao Ning in this level?

Stop dreaming. The probability of those players encountering a Law Stone right outside their door is much higher than the probability of killing Qiao Ning.

What is Qiao Ning planning to do? Could she really have believed the clues Zhou Han gave her?

What Zhou Han said is probably true; the clues to the Law Stones that a player possesses are transferred after death.

With so many whirlpools in the garbage sea, who knows which one is where the Law Stone is hidden?

Ignoring the comments, Qiao Ning drove to the shore of the garbage sea.

Looking at the vortex formed by countless pieces of trash and viscous liquid, Qiao Ning mentally prepared herself before grabbing the small Ice Scale and randomly choosing a vortex that didn't look too dirty and jumping in.

【No, she jumped already?】

[She jumped in with her eyes closed. I suspect she didn't even choose; she just randomly jumped into a whirlpool with her eyes closed.]

[If she manages to find the Law Stone by doing this, I'll livestream myself washing my hair while doing a handstand!]