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墨書 Inktalez
Without a sound, a member of the Cosmic Insect Faction was struck down. Freyr quietly carried him out and leaned him against the wall by the door. He tore off the Cosmic Worm mask that clung to the man's face, waiting until his pulse and breathing stabilized before he felt safe enough to leave and continue with his secret mission.
Originally, this thankless task had nothing to do with him. Perhaps once the man woke up, he would alert others. The removal of the outsider's mark signified their elimination from the game, but it did not imply that these outsiders would resort to underhanded tactics for victory.
Freyr took several deep breaths to calm his mind and emotions before stealthily slipping back into the room filled with the white mist of Dry Ice vapor.
"Meow!"
Freyr mischievously called out, perked up his ears, and listened for sounds nearby.
Heavy breathing echoed around him, erratic and uncertain. Freyr sensed something was off; the panting came from directly behind him. At that moment, Freyr gripped his Wooden Stick tightly and swung it back swiftly. The opponent winced in pain as he struck true, but due to the angle, he could not determine which Target he had hit.
The force of that blow was considerable; for an ordinary person, taking such a hit would require them to evade further attacks while searching for a new position.
Freyr smirked as he noticed the breathing seemed to fade slightly. He knew this person wouldn’t get far. Relaxing his nerves, he tightened his muscles to feel the sounds around him—every heartbeat and faint breath was captured by his ears. No attack could be executed without revealing some flaw; it was during an attack that one was most vulnerable. Thus, Freyr believed he needed to strike quickly before his opponent could regain their footing, aiming to take down this adversary swiftly so he could possess two Red Badges.
He tapped the Wooden Stick lightly on the ground a few times, intentionally creating a distraction.
After taking a few steps, he heard soft clicking sounds on the floor.
A shadow lunged at him but missed entirely because Freyr had moved just a few steps away while tapping the ground with his Wooden Stick. The Cosmic Insect Faction member felt a sense of suffocation as oxygen dwindled in his brain. If he were to remove his mask, one might see a once-pale face now turning purple like a pickled eggplant, the color spreading down to his neck—a sight that could lead to shock or worse.
Suddenly, all sounds in the lab ceased. The shadow panicked and began looking around frantically. Freyr slowly approached the shadow, deeply understanding its physical and mental anguish; its breathing became rapid and erratic. He stopped just behind it, holding the Wooden Stick horizontally as he reached toward its chin.
The opponent seemed to sense something was wrong but it was too late. Though still struggling fiercely, if they engaged in close combat, Freyr had a chance to end their life in an instant. It wasn’t a battlefield; it was merely about forcing out the oxygen trapped in their lungs. He kicked hard against their back, causing their body to arch sharply.
This situation arose from cause and deliberate arrangement; in a flash of time before any punches or kicks could be exchanged, another member of Cosmic Worm drifted off into unconsciousness.
A sly smile crept across Freyr's face as he approached closer. He grabbed the unconscious member's arm and helped him outside, leaning him next to another fallen comrade. He yanked off that mask with great effort, only to find it stubbornly clung as if fused to their head. After much struggle, he finally tore it away, revealing a delicate face now swollen and purple.
The bluish-purple skin gradually regained its color from cheeks to neck until it returned to its original pale hue. Upon closer inspection, Freyr realized this was a female member—hence why removing her mask had been so difficult. Her hair was tightly bound up with a portion left in a ponytail. As her breathing became more regular, Freyr stood watching her for a moment before feeling an odd sense of familiarity; she resembled someone he thought he had seen before.
After hesitating for quite some time, he tapped his head as if trying to recall something familiar yet elusive. Just then, the girl suddenly opened her eyes. Their gazes locked for an instant; she touched her flushed cheek and glanced over her body—her clothes were neat except for her head feeling slightly dizzy—as if nothing else about her Targets posed any issues.
Freyr coldly glanced at the girl. "According to the rules, if I knock you out, that means I've won. You are out of the game, and fallen soldiers have no right to continue fighting. The Red Badge is mine by regulation." With that, he reached out to touch the girl's chest, a wicked smile on his face, as if he were casually tearing off a bandage.
Freyr held two Red Badges in his hand and kicked them into his outer coat pocket. He slowly lowered his head to look at the two people who had been eliminated nearby, silently returning to the laboratory without making a sound.
In the lab, Freyr quickly found the remote control on the experiment table and activated the automatic exhaust fan. He crouched down next to the Iron Container and tightened the valve securely. Some Dry Ice had evaporated, but a portion remained inside the Container. He reapplied two heat dissipation sheets inside the Iron Container.
Freyr cradled the Iron Container in his arms as he moved, aware that he still lacked the ability to fight alone. He would need the Dry Ice for what was to come. With one hand gripping a Wooden Stick, he cautiously made his way out of the laboratory.
He switched his pager back to normal communication mode. Given how much time had passed, it was hard to imagine how many people could still communicate with him normally. The fate of the team rested on his shoulders, and with no other options available, he waited for Cosmic Worm to detect a normal signal. The only course of action left was to escape; there was no other way to prevent Cosmic Worm from overwhelming them.
The minimum lineup mirrored what Freyr had encountered before; each member of Cosmic Worm had a companion nearby. This was part of their experimental strategy, equipped with high-tech search capabilities. If he guessed correctly, Cosmic Worm operated as a group, employing a strategy of mutual support.
Their goal was to eliminate as many enemies as possible and collect more Azure Blue Medal Totem Marks than mere heads. Even if they encountered skilled opponents along the way, as long as other Zerg teams sent two members on missions, their overall Score would still favor the Cosmic Insect Faction for ultimate victory.
Freyr pondered for a moment, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath. He glanced at the fallen members of the Cosmic Insect Faction on the ground. After some thought, he quickly picked up a Fire Axe lying flat on the ground and called out to the eliminated girl to take off her Black Vest.
As he took the vest from her, he tore it into strips and used them to secure the Fire Axe on his back.
With that done, he planned to leave this place. After walking for about ten minutes, a loud noise erupted from his pager. A somewhat coarse voice shouted, "Damn it! Zhou Bozhen! Just like before, but this time let's change tactics. You lure them in while we flank them from both sides."
At that moment, those inside the room set up for communication were unaware that every move they made could be monitored unless they issued silent commands. Any careless remarks could easily be overheard by others in their faction. Zhou Bozhen's voice trembled with fear as he replied, "This is different from our previous agreement; this time the risks are too great. If there's no benefit, I'd rather find a safe place to hide."
"How can there be no benefit? If our Team wins, won't there be plenty of rewards? We won't let you be just cannon fodder! Right now, you're my most reliable partner; you're my brave wingman! When the Host is in trouble, it's only right for you to support him! Running away at such a critical moment isn't what a real man does! Why do you look so scared?"
"It feels like being sold out and then counting your money for you!"
"We'll support you from behind; don't worry, we won't let you get hurt."
At that moment, in a dark corridor, two members of Cosmic Worm wandered back and forth like Undead soldiers aimlessly searching for something.
Perhaps they had entered an interference zone; these two shadows could only find suitable signal points by pacing back and forth.
"Running away was the ideal solution, but now that escape was no longer an option, it was time to act—damn it!" At this moment, the perfect opportunity to flee had slipped away.
Zhou Bozhen peeked his head out, looking around, and sure enough, he spotted someone wearing a Cosmic Worm mask approaching from a distance.
"It’s time to use you; I’m counting on you!" Xiong Tai said with a twitch of his lips, giving a slight smile and a thumbs-up as encouragement.
Zhou Bozhen felt a thousand reluctances in his heart; his legs were almost giving way. It wasn’t that he lacked courage; he just feared that he might falter at a critical moment and expose himself.
After pondering for a long time, a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed his mind. He finally mustered up the courage. At that moment, a long leg slowly extended from the edge of the wall in the darkness, striking a seductive pose as if to entice.
At this point, Zhou Bozhen was nearly going mad. If it were just some lecherous man, it would be one thing; but if there was a woman under that Cosmic Worm mask seeking revenge for his long, fair legs, what could he do? After all, he had two long, fair legs.
At this moment, the compound eyes of Cosmic Worm lit up. The fluorescent paint glowed in the dark, drawing all attention to that alluringly pale leg. It was as tempting as a seductress.
Clearly, the youth beneath the mask was salivating; he was a loser who had never seen beautiful legs or had the chance to be with a woman. The demons hidden within him filled his eyes as he released an evil grin, rubbing his hands together as he drew closer.
"Alright then, watch me! It’s just **; I’ll go all out and pull out my trump card!" Zhou Bozhen thought to himself as he licked his lips. The fair leg quickly vanished into the wall while a delicate finger emerged instead, playfully beckoning in the air.
Xiong Tai was also tense. As he heard footsteps drawing nearer, he didn’t know where to place his hands. He watched as the shadow on the wall stretched out under the glow of the fluorescent paint. That shadow moved closer at an agonizingly slow pace; clearly, they were almost within arm's reach—at most separated by just a wall.
Zhou Bozhen let out a faint bitter laugh but dared not make any noise. He desperately tried to catch Xiong Tai's attention with exaggerated facial expressions while his hand was being held by Cosmic Worm—gripped tightly and fondled. Knowing it was being held by a socially awkward loser made it even worse; if not for the mask, he would probably be licking him.
Thinking of this, Zhou Bozhen yanked his hand back forcefully and kicked Xiong Tai's leg lightly. Xiong Tai immediately snapped awake.
He dashed out quickly. Cosmic Worm's eyes glowed green and momentarily froze in surprise before shaking its head with a slight sigh; perhaps it couldn’t accept this sudden turn of events but didn’t immediately flee to attract attention from another companion.
Xiong Tai threw out his arms and launched himself forward with all his strength. This posture served two purposes: to intimidate the opponent and to deliver an attack that would be hard for Restraint to counter.
The Cosmic Worm member was knocked to the ground with cries of agony escaping their lips. At that moment, footsteps echoed loudly in the corridor.
Now there was nothing left to hide.
"Don't be foolish, hurry and grab the Red Badge. If I weren't stalling for you, would he have taken the bait?" Zhou Bozhen was extremely angry inside and without hesitation began to curse loudly.
Jumping out from one side of the wall, he didn't give the man much chance to react. In an instant, he yanked off the opponent's mask with one hand while pressing down on one of his arms with the other. Xiong Tai glanced at Zhou Bozhen and suddenly had a thought. Nodding, he quickly reached out and forcefully tore the Red Badge from the man's chest.
"Counting this chase and ambush, we now have three badges in our possession, and he still has a companion. This haul is quite significant."
Zhou Bozhen coldly looked at the scruffy teenager on the ground before placing the Red Badge into the inner pocket of his coat.
At that moment, a green beam of light shot over, also glowing like fluorescent paint. In the apocalyptic battlefield, most of the Zerg's eyes glimmered in the darkness like a deathly Will-o'-the-Wisp. As Zhou Bozhen wondered where the light source was coming from, he looked down to see a shadow extending towards his feet from another direction.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
The person wearing the insect mask was panting heavily. He glanced at his companion and then at the two standing opposite him.
Now both of them could see clearly that the Stink Bug was holding a Stun Gun in his hand. He showed no signs of regret; instead, he gave a thumbs-up and quickly drew it across his neck. Although the mask obscured his face, it was clear that a terrifying expression lurked beneath it. He walked over to his companion and stepped on Bearded Man's finger joints.
Bearded Man cried out in pain; he had already been eliminated and felt no restraint anymore. He shouted angrily, "What are you doing? I'm human too! It doesn't hurt! If I had a weapon, it wouldn't end like this!"
The Stink Bug blinked his compound eyes wide open and looked over. Xiong Tai swallowed twice and suddenly laughed, "This guy is not ordinary; be careful not to get shocked. Otherwise, if the Target gets hit, they could become paralyzed or suffer severe skin burns. It's too dangerous; just watch from behind me."
Zhou Bozhen's mission was already complete. Seeing the tingling current emanating from the Stun Gun, he took a few steps back after a moment and lowered his head slightly, saying softly, "Be careful."
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