Chapter 31: Lurking in the Night, Hunter of Players

"Sorry, your game is over."

As those indifferent words fell, the scar-eyed man's psychological shadow was immediately overwhelmed. Then, an incredibly sharp shadow spike pierced through his chest.

Splatter... Blood flowed from his chest, staining the ground crimson.

"..." The scar-eyed man looked down at his chest in disbelief, his pupils unfocused, stumbling for a moment.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the opportunity, the nearby E-rank player quickly fled the scene, leaving only Alister and the scar-eyed man.

Despite confirming that his opponent's heart had been pierced, Alister didn't let his guard down and once again used his psychic power to manipulate the scar-eyed man's psychological shadow.

"Shadow..."

Then, he raised his hand, and nine shadow spikes manifested around him, locking down all possible movements like fangs.

"-Pierce."

With a command, following the movement of his hand, the shadow spikes from all directions impaled the scar-eyed man in nine places, extinguishing his life force.

Like a puppet being controlled, the scar-eyed man was lifted into the air, his arms hanging lifelessly, and his red blood pouring into the cracks in the road.

However...

"Hahaha... Hahahaha!"

The scar-eyed man didn't die, instead, he let out a weak laughter while slowly raising his hand. An injection syringe appeared out of thin air in his palm.

Then, with a swing of his arm, he injected the dark purple liquid from the syringe into his neck, and a dangerously aura immediately erupted, breaking free from the impaled shadow spikes!

He raised his deep black eyes, staring at the black-clad player with a murderous intent.

"Player has obtained status - Fear Immunity."

"Player has obtained status - Health Recovery."

"Player has obtained status - Slight Increase in All Attributes."

"You will regret opposing me." His expression turned grim.

While the scar-eyed man injected himself, Alister reevaluated his opponent's danger level and used Shadow Blend to retreat to a safe distance.

Realizing that his opponent was immune to the psychological shadow after injecting the substance, Alister sighed inwardly, realizing that no opponent could be underestimated, and decisively withdrew the meaningless shadow spikes.

The scar-eyed man took a few steps towards Alister, crossing an old road speed bump, dissipating the shadows as he moved.

He twisted his neck, producing cracking sounds, and the wasteland technology armament on his right arm emitted hot exhaust gases, with crimson energy flowing along the patterns.

Clearly, he had completely recovered from the previous piercing attack.

"You have a lot of tricks."

With his heightened senses, Alister sighed lightly, evaluating his opponent, and responded calmly, "And then?"

"And then?" Luo Zhong tilted his head slightly, his expression turning cold. "I have no obligation to answer questions from the dead."

In an instant, the crimson energy erupted, and a high-impact light blast tore through the air, directly targeting Alister's life!

"Oh."

Alister coldly responded as he merged into the shadows, evading the attack without fear.

In his heightened senses, any conventional attack was a known variable, and Alister could always make evasive actions ahead of time.

With Alister's evasion, the traffic sign behind him became the scapegoat, being hit by the crimson energy blast and creating a hollow cavity.

With the broken speed limit sign, the whispering evening breeze, and the distant sound of speeding vehicles...

The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive, and the streetlamp flickered.

Luo Zhong frowned when he saw Alister easily evading the attack, and exhaust gases were emitted from his armament, accumulating energy, then unleashing another blast!

The crimson attack shattered the night, creating a cool gust of wind!

Boom! The tremendous recoil caused Luo Zhong to stagger slightly, and his breathing became heavy for a moment.

Naturally, this attack was also easily evaded by Alister.

Blending into the shadows below and then emerging from another shadow.

The trees along the road rustled, and with his left hand inserted in his coat pocket, Alister observed the intertwining shadow blades with interest, making a simple evaluation:

"Your attacks lack speed."

"Mode Two."

Ignoring Alister's evaluation, Luo Zhong said in a cold voice.

In the next moment, the armament on his right arm opened up, emitting high-temperature gas and revealing a menacing structure with multiple gun barrels inside.

"What rank are you?" He furrowed his brows, his voice heavy. "Your aura seems like that of an E-rank player, but your reaction speed is that of a higher-ranked player."

It was common knowledge that the system only granted players one ability, without any exceptions.

If one could manipulate shadows, it was impossible to possess exceptional perception values.

The most likely possibility was that the opponent was a higher-ranked player disguised as an E-rank.

To Luo Zhong's question, Alister responded with a mysterious smile, "Why don't you guess?"

As the voice merged into his mind, Luo Zhong confirmed without a doubt that the opponent was a higher-ranked player disguised as an E-rank.

And precisely because of that, it reminded Luo Zhong of past events he didn't want to remember.

"...I hate you." He suddenly gritted his teeth, veins popping on his forehead. "I hate you high-ranked players who hide your true strength to toy with your prey."

Seems like he's a criminal with a story.

Alister remained silent, shaking off the dust from the shadow blades and had no intention of interrupting Luo Zhong's confession.

To understand the malice of this world, it was necessary to listen to the confessions of sinners.

"I had a perfect family, a wife waiting for me at home, a well-behaved and adorable daughter..."

Luo Zhong's eyes flickered with cold light, and each word he uttered was filled with suppressed hatred. His armament's mechanical structure began to operate.

"But because of people like you..." He hesitated.

One second passed, and Luo Zhong suddenly felt relieved, speaking in a self-deprecating tone, "Hehe... Yeah... it's a dog-eat-dog world, and I should have understood that long ago."

"So you want to change the world?" Alister tried to understand him.

"Change the world? Haha... What nonsense!" Luo Zhong responded with a cold laugh. "What right do I have to change the world?! And why should the world be changed?!"

He fully activated the armament on his right arm, "What needs to be changed is my own weakness!!"

"Wea...pon...s, full, power!"

Luo Zhong shouted those words as if he were giving his all, and an uncontrollable murderous intent erupted. Crimson light rained down, devouring the person locked before him from all directions!