Chapter 6: The Untouchable Winner and the Madman’s Last Stand

“Ah! Stay away from me! Just die!”

Watching A Fei and Kai Ge charge at him with reckless abandon, the young man standing near Wang Tianming felt a surge of fear.

He raised his gun, spraying bullets wildly in Kai Ge’s direction.

His fear had rendered his aim incredibly shaky, causing his shots to merely ‘trace the outline’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘miao bian,’ meaning to miss by a narrow margin, hitting all around the target instead of the target itself).

Despite the chaotic gunfire, Kai Ge managed to close the distance, lunging directly in front of him and bringing his blade down in a powerful strike.

Yet, no matter how chaotic the situation, with an enemy practically upon him, how could the gun possibly miss?

As the old adage went, how could a ‘flying dragon riding one’s face’ ever lose? (TL Note: A gaming meme, ‘fei long qi lian zen me shu,’ originating from Starcraft, meaning an overwhelming advantage that should be impossible to lose.)

Ah, my apologies, wrong scene.

There were no terrifying causality weapons or ‘words becoming law’ (TL Note: A powerful ability in cultivation novels where spoken words instantly manifest as reality) in this place.

Inevitably, the bullets found their mark, striking Kai Ge.

Reeling from the pain, Kai Ge unleashed a furious counterattack, desperate to eliminate his assailant before succumbing to his own wounds.

Alas, the damage dealt by firearms far surpassed that of a blade, and Kai Ge had already taken several shots even as his own attack connected.

The poisonous circle began its rapid contraction.

Kai Ge watched his health bar deplete with alarming speed, then collapsed helplessly to the ground.

In his final moments, he let out a defiant cry, “Heaven seeks my demise! I’m not using cheats!”

Immediately afterward, his body dissolved into a loot box, which clattered to the ground, presumably to join his good brother A Fei.

“Damn it! Are these two madmen utterly suicidal?” the young man with the ‘Dodge Cheat’ grumbled, clutching his wound.

“Ow, ow, ow, why is this game made so realistic? It even hurts when you’re injured!”

He began to apply bandages to himself.

“No medkits left, I used too many in those earlier brawls. Let me see if these two fools left any powerful healing items behind.”

The young man rushed to inspect the loot box Kai Ge had left behind, a practice commonly referred to as ‘licking the bag’ (TL Note: A gaming slang term, ‘tian bao,’ meaning to loot a defeated enemy’s dropped items).

He was, however, met with profound disappointment.

Kai Ge’s box was crammed solely with weapons and equipment, utterly devoid of any healing supplies.

It appeared that Kai Ge and A Fei had a clear division of labor: A Fei was responsible for scouting and healing, while Kai Ge specialized in sniping enemies.

Consequently, all the precious medical supplies were on A Fei.

By this point, the poisonous circle had already tightened its grip, leaving A Fei’s loot box stranded outside its boundaries.

The young man’s health was far from optimal, and he wavered, unsure whether to risk venturing to A Fei’s box, especially since he had no idea it contained a trove of medicine.

“It’s rather peculiar,” the young man mused, examining the game menu with a puzzled expression.

“The system indicates that only two players remain alive on the entire battlefield, which means there’s one other survivor besides myself.

Yet, I’ve scanned the surroundings, and I see no other living soul.”

He wondered, “Could there be another player utilizing an ‘invisibility cheat’ or perhaps a ‘burrowing cheat’ (TL Note: A cheat allowing a player to move underground)?”

“I must be cautious,” he thought. “If someone manages to sneak up on me, my current health won’t endure two slashes.”

After careful deliberation, the young man ultimately decided to search A Fei’s loot box.

With an unseen enemy potentially lurking nearby, an unexpected ambush could spell his complete annihilation.

If A Fei’s box contained powerful healing items, replenishing his health would make him far more secure.

Even if ambushed, he could leverage his immunity to bullets, using his gun to counter an opponent wielding a knife, a strategy that promised a stable outcome.

The poisonous circle had not yet reached its minimal size, and the current poison damage remained manageable.

The young man sprinted to A Fei’s loot box, and the moment he opened it, his eyes immediately lit up.

Without a second thought, he grabbed a powerful healing item and used it, restoring his health to full just as he was on the verge of death with only a sliver of health remaining.

Fortunately, the edge of the poisonous circle was not far from where A Fei had fallen.

He quickly snatched a few more medkits and dashed back, returning with more than half of his health replenished.

The young man maintained a cautious vigilance, then began to administer a second powerful healing item to himself.

With his health now significantly restored, even an ambush wouldn’t result in an instant kill; he would possess the strength to retaliate.

However, what utterly bewildered him was the continued absence of the unseen opponent.

Even after he had fully replenished his health bar, donned the best equipment, and reloaded his ammunition, the invisible figure had neither appeared nor launched a surprise attack.

‘Had I miscalculated?’ he pondered. ‘Could that person actually be outside the poisonous circle, merely surviving temporarily due to some skill?’

The poisonous circle progressively tightened, shrinking until its diameter was a mere five meters.

Still, the concealed enemy remained elusive, causing the young man to grow increasingly anxious.

‘If that person possesses a ‘health lock cheat’ (TL Note: A cheat preventing health from dropping below a certain point or from falling at all), rendering them immune to poison,’ he reasoned, ‘then couldn’t they simply wait for the circle to vanish entirely, letting everyone else succumb to the poison, thereby securing victory?’

‘If that were truly the case,’ a chilling thought struck him, ‘then everyone would have been doomed from the start, nothing more than stepping stones and cannon fodder for that individual.’

The more the young man dwelled on it, the more profound his fear became.

Were it not for his own cheat, he would never have entertained the possibility of others possessing similar advantages.

Yet, precisely because he wielded such a formidable cheat, the existence of an even more potent one seemed entirely plausible.

As the circle constricted further and further, the young man’s panic escalated.

He began to scream and spray bullets indiscriminately in every direction, desperately trying to vent the terror gripping his heart.

“Ahhhhhh! I don’t want to die! Whoever’s out there, just perish! Ahhhhhh!”

The young man fired erratically in all directions, and naturally, some of his shots veered toward Wang Tianming.

Fortunately, Wang Tianming possessed the ‘Fated Zone’ (TL Note: A skill that renders him immune to being directly targeted by weapons or abilities, effectively making him an unhittable ‘safe zone’)—a truly bugged ability that prevented gun muzzles and melee weapons from ever aligning with him.

Thus, each time the young man’s spray of bullets threatened to strike Wang Tianming, the gun’s muzzle would subtly shift, ensuring he remained untouched.

This peculiar phenomenon, however, did not escape the young man’s notice.

Human survival instincts were incredibly potent, and in this dire moment, he remarkably discerned something amiss with Wang Tianming.

He immediately tried to train his gun on Wang Tianming, only to discover that he simply couldn’t get a lock.

Infuriated, he bellowed, “It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the last one alive, aren’t you? Speak up! I never expected it to be a cripple; your skill must be incredibly powerful!”

Wang Tianming remained silent, steadfastly maintaining his facade as a mere environmental object.

However, the young man beside him could no longer tolerate the situation, for the poisonous circle had contracted right up to his position, leaving him no choice but to advance toward Wang Tianming.

He drew the large machete he had procured from Kai Ge’s loot box earlier, raising the blade to strike at Wang Tianming.

The outcome, predictably, was the same: the machete, too, failed to lock onto Wang Tianming, rendering the attack utterly ineffective.

The young man, refusing to concede, attempted several more times, only to confirm that Wang Tianming was indeed untouchable.

He then roared at Wang Tianming, “Stop pretending! Do you truly believe I’ll accept you’re merely part of the scenery just because you refuse to speak?

Which of the trees, grass, or stones around here cannot be interacted with?

Yet, you alone are utterly impervious to touch.

Do you still dare to claim you’re merely a background object?

This is unequivocally a special skill!”

“Hmph, hmph, and what if it is?” Wang Tianming retorted, finally abandoning his pretense as he realized it was no longer sustainable.

He taunted the young man, “Can you even touch me?

Go on, pick up your gun and try to shoot me in the heart!

Grab your knife and attempt to slash my neck!

I can simply wait for the poisonous circle to slowly claim your life, while you, on the other hand, are utterly powerless against me, for you cannot even land a single blow.

Hahahaha, aren’t you absolutely seething?”

“You son of a b*tch (TL Note: A common Chinese expletive, ‘cao ni ma,’ literally meaning ‘f*** your mother’)! I’ll fight you to the bitter end!”

The young man discarded the machete he held, instead lunging at Wang Tianming with flailing fists.

“I’m going to beat you to death! Even if I perish, I’ll drag you down with me as my sacrifice!”

The outcome was, of course, entirely predictable.

Fists, being a form of melee weapon, were equally incapable of striking Wang Tianming’s body.

Not only did the young man swing at empty air, but in his sudden change of target, he momentarily lost his balance, tumbling headfirst into the encroaching poisonous circle.

By this stage, the circle’s damage was lethally high, and the young man’s health bar plummeted with alarming speed.

He scrambled back into the safety of the clear zone, but his health was now reduced to a mere sliver.

The poisonous circle, however, was right on his heels, threatening to engulf him once more.

“If neither knives nor guns can touch you, then I’ll simply blow you to smithereens with a grenade!

Hahahaha, you cripple, unable to move, just wait to be pulverized into dust by this explosion!”

Seeing his own demise imminent, the young man plunged into a frenzy, pulling the pin from a grenade and hurling it directly at Wang Tianming.

“Holy crap (TL Note: A common Chinese expletive, ‘wo cao,’ expressing shock or frustration), you absolute madman!

If you’re going to die, die alone! What kind of stunt is this, dragging me down with you?”

Wang Tianming watched in horror as the grenade landed directly on him, seconds away from detonation, yet he remained utterly paralyzed.

His ‘Fated Zone’ skill was vulnerable to only two things: vehicles unrestricted by other skills, and grenades that required no target lock.

This was truly the end.

He had managed to ‘turtle’ (TL Note: A gaming slang term, ‘gou,’ meaning to play defensively or hide to survive) for an entire match, only to be outmaneuvered by a lunatic in the final moments!

Wang Tianming closed his eyes in utter despair.

The deafening roar of the grenade’s explosion thundered in his ears, swiftly followed by a searing wave of heat.

His body, already aching, was now engulfed in an even more intense agony.

Yet, this agonizing state persisted for only a single second.

In the very next moment, the ringing in his ears faded, the pain vanished, and an absolute tranquility descended upon him.

“Congratulations, Player Wang Tianming, on securing victory in this round!

May you have great fortune and prosperity; tonight, we eat chicken (TL Note: A popular gaming phrase, ‘chi ji,’ equivalent to ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner’ from PUBG), yay!”

Nina’s voice resonated in Wang Tianming’s ear.

Slowly, Wang Tianming opened his eyes, finding himself in what appeared to be a luminous, ethereal space.

Before him hovered a large, semi-transparent screen, emblazoned with the stark declaration: “0 Kills, Rank: 1st.”

“This round’s MVP has been awarded to Kai Ge, a truly deserving recipient with an impressive record of 28 kills!” Nina’s voice continued, “However, Player Kai Ge has already been eliminated.

Therefore, the reward items for this game have been automatically canceled and will not be disbursed.

All players, please take note.”

“What?

The MVP isn’t given to the one who ‘eats chicken’?” Wang Tianming exclaimed, a hint of disappointment coloring his voice.

“Does that mean at the end of a game, perhaps none of the living players receive any rewards?

Then what’s the point of participating in this game?

A life-and-death gamble where the ultimate winner can’t even recover their initial investment? That seems utterly pointless!”

“Now for the reward distribution,” Nina’s voice chimed in again, seemingly answering his unspoken question.

“Player Wang Tianming, as the sole survivor of this match, you receive a base reward of 1000 points.

As the only survivor, there would normally be an additional 500 points bonus, but this round was exceptionally unique, and Player Wang Tianming demonstrated no active contribution.

Furthermore, the skill provided by the system was excessively overpowered (TL Note: ‘IMBA’ is gaming slang for ‘imbalanced’ or ‘overpowered’), so these factors offset each other.

Regarding the points earned in this game, Player Wang Tianming, please select: would you like to convert them into cash?”

“It can be converted into cash?” Wang Tianming’s spirits instantly lifted at the mention of points, and he eagerly pressed for details.

“What’s the use of points? What’s the conversion rate for cash?

And if I don’t convert them, where do the points go?

Also,” he added, his questions coming in a rush, “can I choose to convert only a portion into cash and keep the rest as points?

If I don’t convert them now, can I do so later?”

“Points can be exchanged for special items in the system’s shop, all of which are supernatural series items, similar to MVP reward items.

The conversion rate between points and RMB is 1:1.

If you choose not to convert, the points will automatically accumulate in your player account,” Nina explained in detail.

“The decision to convert points can only be made immediately after a game concludes.

This requires players to consider the overall strategic allocation.

Furthermore, points can only be converted either entirely or not at all.”

“A player account? Do I have an account?

And where is the shop, how do I check prices?” Wang Tianming was positively thrilled at the prospect of exchanging for supernatural items.

The earlier display of powerful abilities had captivated him, and the thought of bringing such things into the real world filled him with excitement.

“Players who have survived five game worlds will automatically be added to a WeChat group.

This WeChat group will feature a dedicated currency exchange button, and your player account will be established within this group,” Nina continued to clarify.

“The shop system will also only become accessible once you join the WeChat group, at which point Nina will guide all players through its operation.

Specific pricing will only be known after you join the WeChat group, you see~”

“If I hadn’t just experienced such an unscientific game, I might even suspect you were a scammer, trying to trick people into joining a WeChat group,” Wang Tianming said, shaking his head.

“So, for someone like me who hasn’t joined the WeChat group yet, points are essentially useless.

I don’t even know if I’ll survive five games, so converting them to cash is the most practical choice.

One thousand yuan isn’t a huge sum, but it’s decent.

Nina, please convert all my points into money!”

“Player Wang Tianming has confirmed the conversion of all points earned in this game, totaling 1000 points, into 1000 RMB,” Nina confirmed.

“All cash has been handed to you.

Please check carefully!”

“What?

It’s actual cash?

Couldn’t you just transfer it to my card?” Wang Tianming stared blankly at the cash in his hands, a wry, helpless smile on his face.

“I thought you were so advanced, I assumed direct transfers would be possible.

I can’t move right now; how am I supposed to explain the origin of this thousand yuan to my parents?!”