Chapter 39: Waiting to hunt is like a blooming flower at the entrance to hell...
Congratulations! You have successfully paid 350,000 points in the store.
Your current points total is 838,512.
As the system emitted a crisp "ding," a small ball of light gathered at the front desk.
After the light faded, a pale purple Rubik's Cube was placed there.
Liang Jun reached out.
The moment the skin comes into contact with it, the cold metallic sensation is transmitted to the cerebral cortex.
at the same time--
[Unlock Item: Hunting Protection Shield.]
[Place this item next to the item that needs protection to automatically generate a transparent protective shield. Anyone other than the item owner or the designated player who touches it will be immobilized by the item until it is retrieved.]
This item will expire after three uses.
"How about it?"
Seeing the props appear out of thin air, Gu Keke wasn't surprised at all. Her gaze darted back and forth between the protective shield and Liang Xuan, her eyes filled with urgency.
"Have you received information about the item?"
"Um."
Liang Xun told Gu Keke all the information she had obtained: "Zhang Weiming and his group have this. They are trying to use this method to occupy the only remaining available parking spaces in the venue."
Gu Keke clenched her fist in anger and slammed it onto the dashboard in front of her.
"How could he be so shameless?!"
She glared at Liang Xun again, her cheeks puffed out. "So what now? What are you going to do with this protective shield you have?"
Liang Xun originally intended to throw it back into her storage space. After all, this seemingly very useful item only had three uses—
She hasn't figured out where to use it yet.
But when she turned around, she suddenly noticed the five-seater car next to her.
Liang Jun's eyes flashed, and she tried to communicate with the system.
"System, I want to assign this item to a specific player."
[Currently, permission to use "Hunting Protection Shield" has been granted to other players...]
Please state the name of the specified player.
Liang Jun said, enunciating each word clearly: "Gu Keke."
[The "Hunting Protection Shield" feature has been successfully enabled for player Gu Keke.]
After receiving the news of her success, Liang Jun held the pale purple Rubik's Cube tightly in her hand.
The seat prevented her from standing up. Fortunately, the car wasn't far from them, and Liang Jun put in a little effort, like shooting a basketball, and the magic wand flew through the air.
The edges of a cube are not as smooth as those of a sphere.
After rolling a few times on the ground, the prop came to a steady stop next to the side door of the car.
The protection mechanism has been activated.
[Protected object: Parking space B117.]
Gu Keke, whose name was called, kept a close eye on Liang Xun's every move.
Seeing that she finally breathed a sigh of relief, Gu Keke asked, "Did you protect that parking space?"
"right."
Liang Jun leaned back in her seat. "They have too many protective shields. If we don't do this, they might take over this spot too."
“But,” Gu Keke frowned, “this is only Zhang Weiming’s second challenge. A single protective shield costs 350,000 points. Where did he get so many points to buy so many items?”
Do you think he's the kind of person who would pay for things out of his own pocket?
Staring into Liang Xuan's serious eyes, Gu Keke shook her head decisively.
"That's definitely not the case."
"Then guess again, why is he frantically recruiting soldiers for himself?"
"That……"
As if Liang Xun's prompting had suddenly opened her eyes, Gu Keke instantly realized, "He's building up his points pool!"
Liang Jun nodded approvingly.
"If one person has a million, then three people would have three million..." Gu Keke's mind raced. "Zhang Weiming controls all these points, letting his players frantically buy protective shields, which is equivalent to monopolizing the available resources in the arena..."
Liang Jun agreed, "That makes sense."
Gu Keke became increasingly angry as she reasoned, "Since the mall is universal and the inventory of props is limited, perhaps we can buy the remaining protective shields and squeeze out the props available to Zhang Weiming and the others."
But before Liang Jun could reject it, Gu Keke had already rejected it herself.
She realized she had spoken too hastily and waved her hands repeatedly, "No, no, our base score is already lower than theirs. If we buy all the single items now, it will be extremely disadvantageous for us in the later levels."
"But are we just supposed to stand by and do nothing?" She looked like a wilted cabbage. "Is there really no way to stop them?"
"Yes," Liang Jun replied.
Then she noticed that Gu Keke's lifeless eyes suddenly filled with light.
Liang Jun's voice was weak and breathless, "But that has nothing to do with us."
Under Gu Keke's inquisitive gaze, Liang Xun continued to explain: "The last stock of flashlights was bought by that blue-eyed girl. Zhang Weiming and the other three have no direct light source to use, so they can only rely on their naked eyes to distinguish light and shadow. Perhaps we can seize this opportunity of inefficient execution and get into the seats they haven't had time to protect before they do."
Gu Keke's hope was rekindled. "You're right!"
No matter how meticulous the plan, it cannot outweigh the time wasted in the lost action phase.
Those demons seemed to have long forgotten about this hidden corner of Area B.
Neither of them encountered the demon again until Zhang Weiming's team completely disappeared from their sight.
Without the demon triggering the seat freezing mechanism, Liang Jun and Gu Keke cannot leave their seats.
Although this did protect them to some extent, the thought of the ever-changing situation outside, which they were completely unaware of, made them both somewhat anxious and impatient.
Liang Jun and Gu Keke exchanged a knowing glance and began to consider whether to start preparing another plan.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from around the corner.
Liang Jun subconsciously gestured to Gu Keke, signaling her not to speak yet.
"Not a demon, but a player," Liang Jun whispered a reminder.
She had barely finished speaking when the man quickly slipped into this corner.
The man was rather thin. From the side, he looked as thin as a sheet of paper.
He looked like he hadn't washed his hair in a long time; strands of hair clung to his forehead, and the grease on the top of his head was even more noticeable under the parking lights.
The yellowed shirt hung loosely on his body, its base color faintly visible; the bottom of the shirt was tucked tightly into his trousers; beneath the baggy trouser legs were a pair of old leather shoes that looked quite worn.
Liang Xun and Gu Keke quickly glanced at the people who had come over, then looked at each other discreetly.
They all remembered it.
This is the office worker following behind Zhang Weiming.
What is he doing here?
The office workers clearly didn't expect there would be other players here.
When he saw two figures sitting in the seats, he even staggered and took a few steps back.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset, began to ignore Liang Jun and Gu Keke's attention, and went about his work as if no one else was around.
He bent down and started checking from the first empty parking space.
As Leung Yung said, he did not have the direct light of a flashlight to assist in illumination, and could only rely on the naked eye to judge the light and shadow in a single, inefficient way.
This not only results in low efficiency but also places extremely high demands on the player's eyesight and endurance.
Liang Jun noticed that before the office worker had even finished checking the first parking space, he had already started rubbing his tired eyes and pounding his aching back.
The two women exchanged a glance, then silently looked away from each other.
This area had already been thoroughly searched by them. Of the five parking spaces, only the one currently in front of them and the one that had been protected were safe; the rest were not suitable for anyone to sit in.
No matter how long office workers spend working here, they will ultimately return empty-handed.
This idea took root in their minds until they witnessed each other pull out a dark green Rubik's Cube.
Office workers cherish the props they have.
He carefully weighed the dark green Rubik's Cube in his hand, and then placed it with utmost care directly in front of the first parking space.
This is a hunting shield for office workers.
This action signifies that he has already claimed the parking space in front of him.
Gu Keke's eyes widened immediately.
She turned back to look at Liang Jun in disbelief. Although she couldn't speak, her confusion was written all over her face.
Liang Jun naturally understood.
Her brows furrowed slightly, and her eyes narrowed and sharpened. Liang Jun shook her head slightly, signaling her not to make a fuss and to continue observing.
The office worker, focused solely on placing the props, failed to notice the subtle movements of the two individuals.
After confirming that the hunting shield was in place, the office worker slowly stood up with his hands on his hips and began to check the remaining seats.
There are five parking spaces available, but only one has already been occupied by a player.
For office workers, this means visually checking the remaining four parking spaces.
But his speed was so slow that Liang Jun and Gu Keke both experienced some visual fatigue.
This tedious drama is progressing steadily.
The next two parking spaces had too obvious lighting and shadow discrepancies. Commuters didn't need to spend much time or effort to avoid them.
The office worker was focused on completing the work assigned to him by his boss. He didn't even glance at the two women, and walked straight past their car to the last parking space.
Just as he was about to step forward for a closer look, he caught a glimpse of the Rubik's Cube on the ground to his side.
The Rubik's Cube is entirely pale purple. A faint metallic chill emanates from within.
It's like a datura flower blooming at the entrance to hell.
This is not his hunting shield.
It wasn't any one of them either.
The office worker, in a daze, withdrew his leg that was not yet in place, took a few more steps back, and completely left the parking space.
For the first time, he turned his gaze to the two little girls.
"Did you put this here?" He reached out and pointed to the Rubik's Cube not far away.
The two people looked over upon hearing the sound.
Gu Keke chose to remain silent; while Liang Xuan pretended to crane her neck, and after trying to observe for a while, she also hastily shook her head.
"I don't know, it was already there when we arrived."
Liang Xun appeared absent-minded, but her eyes were carefully observing the other person's every move.
Hearing her explanation, the office worker's eyes, which were fixed on the Rubik's Cube, showed a hint of confusion.
Liang Jun knew that he believed her.
Without showing any emotion, she continued the conversation, "Do you know what that is?"
The office worker averted his gaze and subconsciously met Liang Jun's eyes. Her eyes seemed to hold a deep pool, drawing his thoughts into them.
The office worker stumbled, quickly averting his gaze and staring down at the ground.
"I don't know either."
After saying that, he quickly walked to the first parking space, squatted down in front of the car frame, and carefully examined the dark green prop.
He's doing his final checks, preparing to leave.
Seeing that she couldn't get any more useful information out of him, Liang Jun sighed softly and turned her gaze away.
As her gaze shifted, Liang Jun noticed a dark shadow approaching from the corner entrance.
Gu Keke also noticed the anomaly at the same time, and she dared not breathe.
Seemingly sensing that some players had not yet taken their seats, the dark figure slowly drifted towards them, gradually blocking the only entrance and exit to this area completely.
The pumpkin head's hollow eyes kept staring diagonally downwards.
Liang Jun looked in that direction and saw that it was the back view of an office worker half-squatting.
The pumpkin's serrated edges have slightly upturned corners.
The demon slowly dragged its tail wings as it approached the unsuspecting office workers.
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Author's note: That darn graduation thesis...give me back my writing time...
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