In the Killing Competition game, Kraken arrived near a certain abandoned building under the guidance of the cheongsam girl.
He sat down against a wall to rest.
His physical exertion was greater than expected.
Although those zombies hadn't managed to injure him, every muscle was exhausted from being in a state of high mental tension.
He let himself relax as much as possible while pricking up his ears to stay alert for any movement in the surrounding area.
The countdown ended.
In the system interface, the positions of all participants instantly appeared on the map.
Densely packed light points were scattered across every corner of the game map.
Kraken glanced around his own position; the nearest light point was at least eight hundred meters away, with several buildings and streets in between.
He was safe for the time being.
He let out a soft breath, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes to rest.
The girl would help him monitor the surroundings, so he could safely catch a few minutes of sleep.
However, less than three minutes after he closed his eyes, a slight stinging sensation erupted near his temple.
It wasn't painful, but it was enough to wake him instantly.
Kraken opened his eyes, his body instinctively entering a state of high alert.
In his vision, the girl's text surfaced:
【Don't make a sound. Something's up.】
【While you were resting, someone suddenly appeared very close to you.】
Kraken's breath hitched.
The girl marked the target in his vision.
A pale red phantom appeared on the other side of the building where he was hiding, no more than fifty meters away!
How was that possible?
When the countdown ended just now, that spot had clearly been empty!
How could a participant have reached this position in such a short amount of time?
【The other party appeared out of thin air.】
【Normal participants in this game do not possess spatial transfer abilities.】 the girl reminded him through text.
Kraken's heart rate quickened. He almost immediately thought of one thing.
The intelligence provided by the Order Alliance had explicitly mentioned that this Killing Competition game had a viewing gallery.
The distinguished guests in the gallery could not only place bets but also enter the game personally to find some fun.
They didn't need to take any responsibility, didn't have to follow any rules, and could do whatever they wanted in the game.
They weren't participants; they were the true VIP players of this game!
【The other party is heading your way.】
Kraken narrowed his eyes. Was he coming for him?
Had his performance just now been too prominent, attracting someone's attention?
He had no time to overthink it and quickly checked his weapons.
Rifle, pistol, dagger, smoke grenade, flashbang. He made sure he was ready for combat at any moment.
Footsteps were approaching—light and steady, completely unlike the cautious and nervous steps of an ordinary participant.
The other party didn't care about being discovered at all.
Kraken held his breath and peeked his head out to look.
Amidst the ruins not far away, a figure was slowly approaching.
It was a man in his early thirties, wearing a set of dark gray tactical gear. The fabric looked much more high-end than the bulletproof vest Kraken had scavenged.
He had armor on his chest, two exquisitely designed pistols at his waist, a tactical knife strapped to his thigh, and a light submachine gun on his back.
A full set of fine equipment.
The gap between a participant who could lose their life at any moment and a VIP player who entered the game for fun was truly staggering.
This gap was reflected not only in their equipment but also in their vastly different mental states.
The other party's pace was slow and leisurely, as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard. The expression on his face was relaxed as his gaze slowly swept over the surroundings.
Finally, his gaze landed in the direction where Kraken was hiding, and he spoke lazily.
"Come out."
"I know you're there."
Kraken didn't move.
The other party was in no hurry either, standing in place and continuing to look in Kraken's direction with the eyes of a hunter sizing up its prey.
"Number 023, I'm quite curious about you."
"I watched your performance just now; it was very interesting."
"Your route selection, the timing of your actions, and your way of handling those zombies were all very clean and efficient. Every step was perfectly on point, as if you were using cheats."
Kraken's fingers tightened around his rifle.
Number 023? Was that the number those people had assigned to him?
The other party took a few steps forward and continued, "Stop hiding. You have nowhere to run in my eyes."
"Could you tell me exactly how you managed to perform like that?"
Kraken remained silent for a few seconds. He knew that continuing to hide was pointless, so he simply stood up from behind the wall and met the man's gaze.
"It's nothing. Just good luck."
The man raised an eyebrow and walked forward at an unhurried pace, a look of mockery appearing on his face.
"Luck?"
"Number 023, do you think I'd believe that kind of nonsense?"
"I watched you for a long time. Every movement, every pause, and every choice you made was incredibly precise. Someone participating in this game for the first time shouldn't perform like that."
"So, tell me the truth. How exactly did you do it?"
Kraken glanced at the man with a look that said he was an idiot. There was no way he would tell the truth about something like this even if he were beaten to death.
"I'm simply that strong. Such a performance is just my normal level."
"You're just incompetent yourself, so you think someone else's normal level is some kind of over-the-top performance."
The man stared at him for a few seconds, then shrugged and said helplessly, "Fine. Since you won't talk, I'll have to use my own methods to make you tell the truth."
"You and I are different. In this game, I can do anything. I have plenty of strength and means to pry your mouth open."
The moment his words fell, his hand drew the gun from his waist with incredible speed.
Kraken's pupils constricted, and he instinctively threw himself to the side.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the ruins. The bullet grazed his ear and hit the wall behind him, kicking up a spray of stone fragments.
Kraken rolled behind another wall, his heart pounding wildly.
So fast!
The man held a gun in each hand, firing with both simultaneously as bullets poured toward him.
Kraken had no time to counterattack; he could only dodge desperately, rolling from one piece of cover to another as the surrounding walls were shredded.
【Three meters to your front-left, behind that pile of scrap metal.】
The girl's text appeared at the right time.
Kraken didn't hesitate and dove toward that direction.
Bullets chased his heels, with the nearest one striking less than ten centimeters from his calf.
He rolled behind the pile of scrap metal and finally got a chance to catch his breath.
【The opponent's equipment is far superior to yours; your chances in a head-on fight are extremely low.】
Kraken knew that, of course.
The man's marksmanship was precise, his reactions were incredibly fast, and those two guns were clearly high-end models with a rate of fire and power that far exceeded the ordinary rifle in his hands.
Even worse, the other party's movement speed was also incredibly fast. Kraken hadn't even seen clearly how he moved before he had already charged so close.
Is this the VIP privilege?
【I'll interfere with him. Seize the opportunity to counterattack.】
【I will make his thinking sluggish and cause slight deviations in his attack timing.】
Kraken was stunned for a moment.
The next second, the gunfire suddenly faltered.
The rhythm of the man's shots slowed down by a subtle beat.
That beat was very short and hard to notice, but Kraken felt it.
Immediately after, the man's movement speed also slowed down by half a beat.
The route that should have led him directly to Kraken's hiding spot inexplicably deviated slightly, forcing him to take an extra two-meter detour.
【Now.】
Kraken didn't dally. He immediately peeked out from behind the scrap metal, and the rifle in his hands instantly opened fire.
Da-da-da-da.
Bullets poured out.
The man immediately dodged, but that moment of sluggishness made his movements a few tenths of a second too slow.
A few bullets grazed his armor. Although they didn't penetrate, they forced him back several steps.
"Interesting, you can actually hit me?"
The man steadied himself. Instead of being annoyed, the playfulness on his face grew even more intense.
He charged again, even faster and with even more ruthless marksmanship.
Kraken dodged and hid, but he still took a bullet to the shoulder. Fortunately, it was only a graze, but blood was already seeping out.
【To your back-right, in his blind spot.】
Kraken gritted his teeth and rolled, barely dodging a wave of attacks.
The other party was relentless, but every time he was about to catch up, he would become strangely sluggish.
Sometimes a footstep would be slow, sometimes his aim would deviate by a few millimeters, and sometimes he would suddenly get distracted.
These deviations were extremely small—so small that he couldn't even detect them himself. But as they accumulated, they allowed Kraken to escape death time and again.
【He's losing patience. Prepare to counterattack.】
Kraken glanced at the weapons in his hands.
Flashbang.
Smoke grenade.
He only had one chance.
He took a deep breath. In the moment he dodged another attack, he pulled the pin of the flashbang and threw it behind him.
Bang!
A blinding white light exploded.
The man instinctively closed his eyes, and that more obvious sense of sluggishness entangled him once again.
Kraken leapt out from behind the cover, aimed his rifle at the man's chest, and fired frantically.
Da-da-da-da.
The bullets struck the armor. Although they didn't penetrate, the impact sent the VIP player stumbling back, his center of gravity unsteady.
The man let out a roar and forced his eyes open, aiming his gun at Kraken.
Another deviation. The moment he pulled the trigger, the muzzle shifted by an inch.
The bullet flew past Kraken's cheek.
Kraken had already reached him and smashed the rifle directly into the man's face!
Bang!
The VIP player was struck so hard he staggered back, instinctively raising his hands to block.
Kraken's left hand had already drawn the dagger from his waist and stabbed it fiercely into the man's neck.
With a squelch, the blade sank into the flesh.
The VIP player's eyes widened to their limit, his mouth fell open, his body swayed, and he slowly collapsed.
Kraken stood there, the wound on his shoulder throbbing with pain, and his muscles trembling all over.
He had won.
The surroundings were silent, with only the sound of his heavy breathing echoing.
In his vision, the girl's text slowly appeared:
【Well done.】
Kraken didn't stop to rest; he immediately stripped the high-end equipment from the corpse and put it on himself.
Rate on N.U.
