Chapter Fifty-Two: The Pursuers Arrive

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The allure of Star Wars lies in its unpredictability. When Wu Hua logged in the next morning, the weather across the entire Mulin Grasslands had changed. The blue skies and white clouds were gone, replaced by an expanse of dark clouds. A misty drizzle enveloped the grasslands; all the surrounding hills were shrouded in rain and fog, visibility was extremely low.

Wu Hua could tell there must have been a torrential downpour last night. He took out his sensor and measured:

Temperature: 19
Heat: +18
Liquid Level: 52%
Air Sensitivity: 51%
Vacuum: 10%

These numbers meant that one would feel cold, the ground was slippery, the air thin—not suitable for intense activity. Those with weaker constitutions would suffer from lack of oxygen. Guns with poor performance, like the M16, were useless here, though fortunately, the AUG would not be affected.

After a while, Tu Tiao, Ri Wan, Su2o, and Ling Ling logged in one after another. Ling Ling informed them that Lan Lan and Qiao Qiao couldn’t make it due to other commitments. Wu Hua felt a twinge of regret; losing a team member meant losing a measure of strength.

Once everyone had formed the party, they looked down. The queen bee was still sprawled lazily across the field, apparently enjoying the rain.

Wu Hua hadn’t spoken yet, when Tu Tiao spoke first: “I spent most of last night researching. It seems no one has ever come to the Mulin Tomb. No one’s ever been here. Crazy Bro, what should we do now?”

Ri Wan interjected, “I think we should ask for backup.”

Just then, the system voice sounded at the perfect moment:

“Distinguished player Crazy Blast, the Hunter Mission has been initiated. You have entered the wanted list. This Hunter Mission is rated B-class. You have 24 hours to escape. During these 24 hours, you cannot log off, cannot enter cities, and cannot use any federal public transportation. If killed, you will lose two levels. Repeat: Distinguished player Crazy Blast…”

Wu Hua was stunned. Someone had actually applied for a Hunter Mission against him through the Federation—a first for him. He felt both surprised and exhilarated.

System voice:

“The players who initiated this Hunter Mission are as follows: Maragobi, Chrysanthemum Three Fury, Invincible Rogue, Return to Afghanistan, Aryogen, Howl Root, Stay-at-Home Not Recording Root, Three Days Without Shower, Green Legion, I Only Use Nunchucks…”

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“What the hell kind of names are these?” Wu Hua stared in disbelief.

The Hunter Mission had one advantage: the hunted player could see the list of pursuers on their receiver. The tally came to a staggering sixty-eight people.

It was clear that Maragobi was determined to finish Wu Hua off. He’d already suffered two defeats at Wu Hua’s hands and now planned a large-scale retaliation.

Tu Tiao noticed Wu Hua’s shocked expression as he gazed at the receiver and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong? Is backup here?”

Wu Hua chuckled, “Yes, backup is coming soon. We’d better find a place to hide first.”

Tu Tiao was puzzled, “Why do we need to hide when backup is coming?”

Wu Hua smiled, “This kind of backup is here to clear the path for us.”

Tu Tiao wasn’t stupid; after a moment’s thought, he grinned, “I like outsmarting people, heh.”

***

“Target: Crazy Blast; Location: Blood Wasteland, Mulin Grasslands; Coordinates: 3912, 8884…” Staring at this row of data, Maragobi allowed a smile to creep onto his face. “That bastard, let’s see how I deal with him today.”

Chrysanthemum Three Fury beside him said, “No matter what, we have to get his AUG today.” He was clearly still bitter about what happened at the Divine Light auction a few days prior.

Return to Afghanistan said, “Relax, he can’t get away. He’s killed so many of us—he’s definitely a blacklisted name now. He wouldn’t dare come out of that Mulin Tomb.”

The group discussed animatedly, each with clenched teeth and steadfast determination.

…

The “Mi10” heavy transport helicopter circled overhead, heading west like a giant dragonfly. Maragobi exhaled deeply; to kill Crazy Blast, he had spent a fortune renting two helicopters from the Stardream Shopping Center, and mobilized several elite fighters from his “Tiandihui” family.

Crazy Blast was infuriating. The first time in Wind Forest Volcano, he lost two levels and two pieces of purple gear—so angry he couldn’t sleep for three days. The second time, at the Divine Light auction, Crazy Blast played him, costing him hundreds of thousands of credit points—a true loss on both fronts. And the third time, the guy managed to kill fifteen of his family members with a purchased gun. Maragobi felt that, at this point, playing the game was pointless—utter failure.

Thus, with all the gathered intelligence, he believed now was the best time to hunt Crazy Blast.

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It would take the helicopter just over thirty minutes to reach the Blood Wasteland, and another twenty minutes at most to reach the grasslands from the tomb—an hour in total, after which the system would provide Crazy Blast’s precise location.

Maragobi’s judgment was spot-on. As the grasslands came into view, Crazy Blast’s coordinates had shifted slightly; Maragobi calculated that he was just over the hill, theoretically no more than twenty-five hundred meters away.

In the squad, “Green Legion” was the scout. He peered through his binoculars, puzzled. “Boss, there’s nobody anywhere. Did they go to the other side of the mountain?”

“Impossible,” Maragobi replied confidently. “It’s all unknown territory. Would he risk going off to die? Search thoroughly—he’s definitely nearby on these grasslands.”

“But, boss…” Green Legion pointed to the field below. “Look down there.”

The Tiandihui members all looked down. The silhouette of the queen bee appeared before their eyes.

“What the hell is that?”

“Looks like a boss!”

“What do you mean ‘looks like’? I’d say it definitely is.”

...

Maragobi found it odd—a giant bee out in the open. Clearly, Crazy Blast was dealing with it, and after receiving the Hunter Mission alert, he must have gone into hiding.

That meant Crazy Blast was certainly capable of handling this monster bee; what he feared was this group of pursuers.

To be honest, Maragobi’s crew were all high-level, around twenty-seven, better equipped than most, and full of confidence. But their thinking did not match their high level.

“We have no reason to fear that guy. Let’s go, down the mountain.” Maragobi waved his hand and led the way.

A team of over sixty slowly moved up and down the slope. At that moment, the rain intensified, drumming the grass, and the entire sky above the grasslands was shrouded in mist and rain.

Maragobi’s guess was entirely correct. Wu Hua was indeed hiding on the opposite slope, and his group had dug a hole in the grass, lying low and refusing to use scopes or binoculars to avoid giving away their position through reflected light—because Maragobi would have to cross the central field to find them.

Wu Hua understood their psychology perfectly. Maragobi was eager for revenge; to circle around the mountain would mean taking a huge detour, and by the time he got there, most of the time would have passed—he would think Wu Hua had escaped again. Pursuit had to be swift. Frankly, every minute of the Hunter Mission meant credit points draining away.

Just like Murong Longcheng before him, Maragobi had unwittingly become Wu Hua’s path-clearing vanguard.