Global Game: I Can Choose Instance Rewards-Chapter 567 - 382: Death and Retreat (Part 2)
"Tu, why hasn’t Mad Hornet reacted yet? Is he pretending to be dead?"
The first to notice this abnormal situation was naturally the bespectacled young man from the side of the superhumans. As someone with Spiritual Perception powers, he constantly monitored the battlefield’s dynamics. Currently, everyone was locked in a fierce battle, but the usually reckless and carefree Mad Hornet exhibited abnormal behavior, lying decapitated on the ground for several seconds without showing any signs of his hundredth resurrection.
"What? Mad Hornet hasn’t gotten up yet?"
Upon hearing the reminder from others, the short, chubby middle-aged man, who was originally using his earth powers to assist other partners in battling the three players, was shocked. He quickly redirected his focus to the position where Mad Hornet was decapitated by an unknown attack. The result was as the bespectacled young man described; Mad Hornet lay unusually still on the ground, his decapitated head with eyes slightly open, revealing a slightly surprised expression, looking no different from a typical corpse.
It is worth mentioning that the black female player, who was tormented by Mad Hornet, also displayed a very suspicious expression at this moment. This mechanical summoner, protected by severely diminished armed robots, observed the headless Mad Hornet from a distance. She neither chose to approach nor ordered the robots to bombard him because she had witnessed countless times this strange opponent’s full-blooded return after being blown to pieces. But this time, it seemed he planned to change his style, opting to play dead on the ground for a while.
"Glasses, quickly use mental communication to contact Mad Hornet! I suspect something’s wrong with him! Given his character, he wouldn’t act this way!"
The short, chubby middle-aged man urged his nearby partner to confirm, sensing some troubling possibilities.
However, the bespectacled young man’s immediate response made the worrying possibilities grow infinitely larger, plunging his entire heart into an icy abyss.
"Tu... I just tried... but I can’t perceive Mad Hornet’s mental node..."
The bespectacled young man said this with a tone of disbelief, his expression slightly conflicted. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"What?! Are you suggesting Mad Hornet is dead?! That’s impossible!"
Upon hearing this, the short, chubby middle-aged man was shocked. His understanding couldn’t accept such an answer, because the organization had already verified through various means that Mad Hornet, a superhuman, had an innate combat advantage—he would not die, no matter what! Even leaders far stronger could not kill him!
"But... Tu, I am not joking... Should I try again?"
The strong bespectacled young man, seeing his captain’s reaction, felt a little uncertain. He also understood Mad Hornet’s uniqueness as a companion, so he forcibly suppressed his earlier judgment, wanting to concentrate his Spiritual Power again to probe the beheaded Mad Hornet lying on the ground.
But before that, he suddenly noticed another companion’s sudden death. The blond young man in another plaza area was suddenly killed by a Xia Country gunman player, causing him to break his train of thought and urgently report this emergency to the captain.
Putting aside the changes in the battlefield due to someone’s death, at this moment, in the luxurious room at the top of the black tower, Wang Zhifan’s face showed disappointment.
"How did that guy just die like that? Not even a slight struggle? He’s far inferior to the Undying Demon Dragon I encountered in the Demon King quest!"
His disappointment stemmed from his anticipation that this undying superhuman would offer some surprise, allowing him to experience the resilient force of another world. For instance, resisting his blade intent and repeatedly dancing on the edge of life and death, refusing to yield easily even if outmatched.
But the reality was entirely different; the undying superhuman was killed with a single slash without any noticeable struggle or resistance, much like a huge stone crushing a tiny bug—no fierce confrontation, just a bland outcome.
"It seems the nature of this world’s special powers isn’t fundamentally high. Despite the previous impressive display of death immunity and injury recovery, it turns out to be a paper tiger, lacking any real strength."
From this example, Wang Zhifan further understood that regarding power, low-level and high-level battles are entirely different matters. In low-level battles, a seemingly unbeatable BUG-like existence might just be a minor fry in high-level ones, not because he is too strong, but because his opponents are too weak or happen to lack the ability to counter him, leading to a misleading semblance of strength.
"Now, looking at these indigenous folk, fearlessly taking on any attack like clowns, maybe in the eyes of a higher-level existence, the power I currently possess is just a small trick in a shallow pond... The path to becoming stronger is long and filled with obstacles, possibly endless."
As someone from an ordinary background, Wang Zhifan is acutely aware of how smooth life has been since his rebirth, almost effortlessly attaining unimaginable power compared to other players, causing him to link himself with the just-deceased undying superhuman, gleaning some awareness from this.
Returning the perspective to the plaza, at this time, the superhuman side suffered two casualties in quick succession, equalizing the numbers of surviving personnel on both sides. However, accounting for two superhumans continuously hiding underground, not engaging directly, the situation became very unfavorable for the superhumans.
As the captain, the short, chubby middle-aged man couldn’t help but entertain the idea of retreat. After all, they were here for a mission, not to sacrifice themselves, and if they couldn’t defeat the enemy, it wasn’t necessary to persistently fight till the end.
The longer the battle, the more the superhumans’ abilities would be understood by the enemy, whereas the outsiders were different. They’ve always been known for their diverse and cunning strategies; no one knows what kind of trump card these mysterious guys would suddenly pull out until the last moment.
Therefore, prolonging the battle held no positive significance for a superhuman team that had already suffered losses. If they continued to push it, the surviving team members might ignore their captain’s orders and simply flee.
"Everyone listen up! Begin retreating! Glasses and I will help block the enemy! All surviving team members, leave through the main door!"
Underground in the plaza, the short, chubby middle-aged man, hiding here with the bespectacled young man, decisively issued his latest order through the mental channel.
He made this decision upon realizing that their ace, Mad Hornet, seemed to have died mysteriously and another blond male teammate suddenly perished.
He moved the underground space toward the brass door while using Earth Spear attacks, Earth Hands to pull, and Earth Walls to block to obstruct the enemy from pursuing his remaining teammates, enabling the last three team members, excluding the two of them, to escape toward the door.
During the process, this round, chubby middle-aged captain unexpectedly discovered that the enemy didn’t seem to be pursuing them with full force. Most attacks issued were from a distance, indicating a desire to protect themselves rather than continue fighting.
Undoubtedly, the players had their reasons for acting this way. For them, this instance was merely about survival. Killing NPCs offered no particular benefit and instead wasted armaments and energy, introducing additional risks, so when the NPCs wanted to leave, they couldn’t be bothered to hunt them down. Finding a way out of this peculiar black tower was a more pressing matter.
Wang Zhifan, witnessing the sudden shift in the situation, did not enforce any measure to continue the deadly clash between the two groups. Mainly because he felt that the collected combat data models were sufficient for repeated use, having achieved his goal.
"Let’s now simulate some player models so that the indigenous fighters still battling the monsters experience some difficulty... Hmm? The strongest native outside the tower also plans to enter? Then let’s start with him."
He noticed a native in a white coat capable of flying entering the black tower and prepared to take action.
