Chapter 53: Red Heart 5

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Red Heart 5

「Three minutes earlier.」

A player was fleeing for his life.

Hot on his heels were three soldiers in Exoskeleton Armor.

Clearly, due to their different abilities, not every player could easily take down these tin cans.

’Damn it, these tin cans are a perfect counter to me.’

’Most importantly, how is that bastard tracking my movements?’

Riding an electromagnetic skateboard, Red Heart 5 weaved and dodged, moving at lightning speed.

He wasn’t worried about the tin cans catching him in the short term, but riding at such a high energy cost could only be sustained for ten minutes or so at most.

BOOM!

A wall up ahead suddenly collapsed as a soldier in Exoskeleton Armor burst through, blocking his path.

Evidently, upon discovering this soft target, Felix had diverted forces from the tougher opponents.

’That bastard. Is he really trying to finish me off?’

"Go!"

Red Heart 5 casually tossed out three marble-sized pellets.

The instant they left his hand, the pellets flashed with magnetic light, erupting in layers of electrical arcs.

They were three miniature magnetic bombs.

Red Heart 5’s abilities were mainly focused on Disguise and assassination; direct combat was not his strong suit.

To compensate for his shortcomings, he had paid a hefty price for various magnetic bombs on the black market.

The miniature magnetic bombs had a built-in lock-on function. Resembling three balls of lightning, they zipped forward in a flash and stuck to the Exoskeleton Armor.

BOOM!

In the next instant, a magnetic storm erupted, and the violent explosion sent the soldier in Exoskeleton Armor flying.

On closer inspection, however, one would see that the explosion hadn’t caused any significant damage to the Exoskeleton Armor.

Still, Red Heart 5 had achieved his goal.

He knew the miniature magnetic bombs couldn’t kill his target, but the shockwave from the magnetic storm was enough to interfere with its maglev unit.

Without the maglev’s weight reduction, the soldier had no hope of catching him.

But that momentary delay was all it took for the three pursuers behind him to close the distance.

If he couldn’t turn the tables, Red Heart 5 would be in grave danger once Felix diverted all the Exoskeleton Armor soldiers to him.

Red Heart 5 was well aware of this. Since they wanted him dead, he wouldn’t hold back.

After a few tests, he had more or less figured out why he couldn’t shake them.

Hidden within the graffiti were countless tiny, watching eyes.

They had replaced the standard surveillance cameras, blanketing the entire city in a web of observation.

’In that case, I’ll just have to destroy them.’

As a veteran player, Red Heart 5 had long recognized the importance of Demon Dragon Plaza.

From the very beginning, his escape route had been aimed directly at Demon Dragon Plaza.

Felix seemed to have realized this as well, but unfortunately, the other tough nuts were too fierce, leaving his forces stretched thin.

"Light it up! Now, blow!"

Ultimately, Red Heart 5 managed to reach Demon Dragon Plaza.

A fist-sized ball of light shot from his hand, slamming viciously into the Demon Dragon Jade Wall.

BOOM!

This compact magnetic bomb was a hundred times more powerful than the last. The massive shockwave obliterated every building in the plaza.

After the massive explosion, the jade wall was gone, leaving only a crater more than ten meters wide in its place!

The massive explosion instantly drew everyone’s attention.

...

"Holy shit, someone really fucked up now. Somebody’s about to lose it!"

On another battlefield, Jiru gloated as the three soldiers in Exoskeleton Armor abandoned him and sped away.

Chen Qi found himself in the same situation.

Being the ’upstanding’ citizen he was, he immediately followed close behind the two soldiers in Exoskeleton Armor.

This wasn’t to watch the spectacle, of course, but purely to gather intelligence on the enemy.

...

"That bastard! How dare he desecrate my art?"

"Such a perfect work of art... utterly destroyed!"

"Unforgivable! That man must die!"

Seething with rage, Felix turned his gaze to Najir. The latter’s face was also a mask of righteous indignation; he was playing his part well.

"You should be able to use your power now."

"It’s time you proved your worth."

Felix’s eyes were filled with murderous intent. Najir hesitated for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

’Using my power now would only mean delaying the fusion by a few hours.’

’But if I offend Felix and he turns on me, there won’t be a ’later’ to worry about.’

Najir closed his eyes, and the third eye on his forehead began to blink.

What Red Heart 5 didn’t know was that everything he had done was in vain.

The destruction of the Demon Dragon Jade Wall had indeed taken out the plaza’s surveillance.

But it only created a temporary blind spot.

In a few minutes at most, everything would be restored.

Felix’s power was based on Spiritual Charm. Physical destruction merely caused the Spiritual Charm to temporarily lose its anchor.

If one were to observe Demon Dragon Plaza closely at that moment, they would see the blood-red patterns already starting to reappear.

...

"I curse you with misfortune!"

An eye materialized on the forehead of an Exoskeleton Armor soldier pursuing Red Heart 5.

Through this eye, Najir locked onto Red Heart 5.

Then, speaking like the harbinger of doom he was, he uttered his Curse.

After his ability advanced to Level 2, he could not only temporarily boost his own luck but also inflict misfortune upon others.

’My power can only force him to make a single mistake in the coming fight.’

’But that should be enough.’

Najir withdrew his power and began working to stabilize the two clusters of purple light that were on the verge of spinning out of control.

Every time he used his power, it interrupted the fusion process. Doing it too many times could cause the fusion to fail, or worse, allow the entity he was fusing with to take control.

"A single mistake?"

"Heh, more than enough. I’m going to hack him to death. I’ll tear him limb from limb!"

Felix was very satisfied with Najir’s performance. ’No wonder he was favored by that personage,’ he thought.

One small mistake in battle was more than enough to decide life and death.

By the time the late-arriving Chen Qi reached the plaza, he saw an unlucky bastard’s electromagnetic skateboard suddenly malfunction, delivering its rider’s head right under a chainsaw blade.

’So gruesome. I can’t bear to watch.’

Chen Qi offered a moment of silence in his heart for the unknown player. The man’s sudden wipeout was rather unexpected.

After the blood splattered, a playing card materialized in Demon Dragon Plaza.

It was the Red Heart 5, floating silently in the air.

Chen Qi remained impassive, showing no reaction.

After about three seconds, the card flickered a few times and vanished.

Another lucky soul in the Lanyu Kingdom had just become a player.

...

’He wasn’t a Traitor?’

’Was he a Loose Man, a player who hadn’t joined the Order Keepers?’

Witnessing all this, Chen Qi felt conflicted.

When a Traitor died, all of their fused Cards would manifest.

Therefore, Red Heart 5 couldn’t have been a Traitor.

’So, besides Kolos, who sent the other three players?’

Chen Qi scanned his surroundings and found he was the only spectator.

Just a moment ago, Najir’s presence had been exposed for some reason. It was only for an instant, but it had revealed his general location.

’Those other three must have gone after Najir.’