Chapter 35: Steamroll
There exist glowing spores which float around in the mushroom forest like fireflies. It causes an itch if breathed in through the nose.
“Returning late from a hunt, the tired muscles were worked to the bone, two wolves stalked, from far away.” Zhen Yu abruptly recited a poem.
Zhao Siyu was startled and looked toward Zhen Yu with a weird expression.
She isn’t crazy, is she?
How can she still joke around in their current situation?
“They have marked us as their prey, w-what should we do?” Zhao Caiwei had a head full of sweat as she repeatedly turned back toward the seven male students stalking them.
“If push comes to shove, we’ll just fight!” Although Xu Qingshan didn’t like trouble, it didn’t mean that he was afraid of them.
Zhao Siyu glanced toward him; can’t you use your brain more?
She actually had a way out of their predicament, but Sun Yuan had the final say in their decision-making. As she wasn’t familiar with Sun Yuan’s personality, she was reluctant to speak out in case she incurred his wrath.
At the same time, she wanted to test Sun Yuan’s adaptability, resilience, and leadership.
If he proves himself to be a worthy leader, she will try everything to join his team.
“Sun Yuan, what should we do?” Bao Qi asked anxiously as she ignored Xu Qingshan’s suggestion.
Sun Yuan was much more powerful in her eyes.
“Bait the wolf to the tiger to create balance.” Sun Yuan answered concisely with nine words.
A slight smile could be observed on Zhao Siyu’s lips; she was satisfied with his answer.
“As expected, great minds think alike!” She noted his calmness when she peeked at him out of the corner of her eyes. It was as though there weren’t seven ill-intentioned men stalking them but seven smelly rats instead.
“What does that mean?” Bao Qi’s brain had long stopped functioning due to fear.
“There are many groups of players near the teleportation array. If we hurry over, we’ll enter a stalemate,” explained Zhao Siyu.
One tiger will suffer in a battle of two. But if there were three tigers, they wouldn’t quickly start a fight because a third party might benefit from their battle.
Sun Yuan glanced at Zhao Siyu.
She had a good head on her shoulder; she had the potential to be a strategist.
“What are we walking for then? Let’s run!” Wang Yu finally grasped the hidden meaning within the words and urged everyone.
“Oh, what’s the rush? Even if their number doubled, they would still end up as freebies for senior.” Zhen Yu had personally experienced Sun Yuan’s combat prowess; he would have no issue against their numbers.
“They looked poor; I don’t think I’ll gain anything from them.” Sun Yuan then hastened his steps.
The rest, too, hastened their steps as they followed him.
The group behind immediately chased after them when Sun Yuan sped up.
Zhao Caiwei—caught in an explosion the day before—hadn’t had anything to eat and was filled with fear. After running a little over 100 meters, she huffed and puffed and fell to the ground as her legs gave way.
“D-don’t leave me behind!” cried Zhao Caiwei.
“Stop running; we’re going to fight!” Sun Yuan stopped and passed the Wave spear over to Xu Qingshan. “Take it.”
“Is this a piece of equipment?” asked Zhao Siyu as she felt the spear curiously.
“Yeah.” Sun Yuan pulled out the Explosive bat from his backpack. “I’ll attack while you defend. Make sure you keep Zhen Yu and the girls safe.”
“Let me attack!” Xu Qingshan understood that the attacker would face much more danger than the defender. He had already owed Sun Yuan two favors; he wanted to take this chance to share the danger.
“You just defend; you’ll get your chance to attack in the future.” Sun Yuan took a deep breath and taught Xu Qingshan how to use the special ability of the Wave spear.
“There’s an additional attack?” When Xu Qingshan wasn’t studying, he worked to make ends meet. He seldom had the time to play video games, but he wasn’t unfamiliar with the concept as his roommates played them.
He gulped down a mouthful of saliva as he listened to Sun Yuan’s introduction of the Wave spear and subconsciously returned it.
“What’re you doing?” Sun Yuan was confused.
“I can’t afford to pay you for the spear if I break it!” answered Xu Qingshan.
Although he was jealous of his roommate’s computer and was generously given permission to use it, he always refused because he was afraid he would dirty or damage it.
“Qingshan, can you learn to be more flexible?” asked Zhao Siyu. “Now that we’re facing a crisis, you should be focusing on how to bring out the weapon’s potential so that you can support Sun Yuan.”
“Besides, does Sun Yuan look that stingy? He had already given you three honeydew mushrooms.” Zhao Siyu wasn’t sucking up to Sun Yuan. She honestly felt that he was a good person.
“This… I…” Xu Qingshan was embarrassed and overwhelmed that the girl he loved was scolding him and didn’t know how to react.
“It doesn’t matter if you break it,” consoled Sun Yuan. He got it for free anyway.
“Xiao Yu’er, is that also a piece of equipment?” Zhao Siyu asked as she observed the painted colors of the slingshot and the design of the bird projectile that Zhen Yu took out; it didn’t seem like a toy.
“Yeah, it was given to me by senior!” Zhen Yu pulled on the slingshot as she aimed valiantly but couldn’t bear to release the projectile; it was too costly.
Sigh!
How good would it be if I was as wealthy as senior?
She only felt envious when she recalled how Sun Yuan had already earned over thirty thousand points when the game had barely begun.
It’s decided then.
My next goal is to work hard and earn some points so that I’ll be able to unleash as many bird projectiles as I want.
Hearing this, Bao Qi’s eyes lit up, “Do you have any more equipment, Sun Yuan? I can help too!”
She only wanted something to protect herself with.
“I don’t have any suitable for you,” refused Sun Yuan.
“How many pieces of equipment do you have, Sun Yuan? What are their effects?” asked Zhao Siyu. “Don’t misunderstand; I’m not trying to sound you out. I just think that we should know each other’s capability to work together better.”
“I currently have four pieces of equipment. A baseball bat, a pair of gloves, glasses, and a Hunting boomerang with absolute accuracy on its return swing.” Sun Yuan didn’t hide anything. It would be awkward if he gets caught using something he hid from them.
Besides, these low-end equipment aren’t worth much anyway.
“You have six pieces of equipment altogether?!” Zhao Siyu was shocked beyond belief.
It had only been two days since the game started.
How did you obtain so much equipment in such a short time?
Not even cashers are as strong as you!
You aren’t Silver Trojan’s son, are you?
Zhen Yu pouted her lips, this equipment isn’t even worth anything in senior’s eyes.
Sun Yuan still had tens of thousands of points, three divine coins, and a few worthless portions of dog food.
“I was just lucky.” Sun Yuan humbled himself as he glanced at Zhao Siyu.
He felt a little regretful that a thoughtful girl like her, who could calmly analyze the situation under stress, was unable to contribute much in terms of combat power.
“They are coming!” shouted Xu Qingshan.
Seven male undergraduates rushed forward and stopped about ten meters away.
“My fellow schoolmates, there are many players here who are out to rob people of their honeydew mushrooms. We’ll ensure your safety if you pay us three mushrooms; what do you think?” suggested Qin De. He looked honest with a square face.
“We don’t need any protection,” screamed Bao Qi. “Go away!”
“Bao Qi, shush!” reprimanded Zhao Siyu.
She felt helpless at the same time.
Although the square-faced guy appeared to present conditions for negotiation, he was actually testing the water.
If the other party does not have any mushrooms, they would reply so. This would allow him to avoid unnecessary battles. But Bao Qi’s ‘we don’t need any protection’ revealed that she was in possession of honeydew mushrooms.
“We don’t want to hurt you guys if possible, so why not give us five mushrooms, and we’ll leave. How about it?” Qin De first looked at Xu Qingshan’s spear before focusing on Sun Yuan.
This youth was the team leader.
It was apparent from the looks the girls were giving him that his words held weight.
“Qin De, why are you talking to them? Let’s just attack!” Zhang Ping was flustered. “There isn’t much time left.”
“Have you guys seen Shen Jingran?” asked Sun Yuan. Apart from Qin De, the other boys didn’t look like they exercised much.
As Zhuo Wen held no fame on campus, it was useless for Sun Yuan to inquire about him. Shen Jingran, however, was known as the goddess of the foreign language faculty.
“Why? Are you itching to suck up to her?” Zhang Ping sneered.
Smiling gently, Sun Yuan suddenly shot out towards Zhang Ping like a shell from a tank.
Leg raised; knees hit!
Before Zhang Ping could even react, Sun Yuan was already in front of him and dealt a blow to his stomach. The severe pain felt as though his organs were collapsing.
Peng!
Zhang Ping was sent flying backwards uncontrollably; Sun Yuan’s arm stretched out towards him while he was still in the air.
He was grabbed by the hair and pulled back towards Sun Yuan, where he took another knee to his body.
Peng!
Argh!
Zhang Ping shrieked as he bent forward and fell onto his knees with a loud thump.
Sun Yuan raised his legs and stepped down on Zhang Ping’s nape, trapping the screams in his throat.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ping was devoid of all strength as he lay suffocating beneath Sun Yuan’s feet.
Swish!
None of the boys had any intention to save Zhang Ping as they panicked and distanced themselves from Sun Yuan.
This…
Isn’t his physical ability too high?
Qin De was taken aback by Sun Yuan’s series of explosive blows; He knew how terrifying those blows were because he liked to exercise.
It was impossible to attain a physique like that without exercising at least eight hours a day.
“Have you guys seen Shen Jingran?” Sun Yuan asked again.
This time, no one ran their mouth saying that Sun Yuan wanted to suck up to her. In fact, no one dared to speak out.
“I’m asking a question. Are you listening?” reprimanded Sun Yuan.
“I-I have!” Qin De smiled brightly as he pointed in the ten o’clock direction.
“Thanks.” Sun Yuan removed his foot when he noticed that Zhang Ping was about to lose consciousness. Still, Sun Yuan kicked his stinky mouth for the sarcastic remarks and the clamoring he made when attempting the robbery.
Peng!
Zhang Ping’s head snapped back, and he spat out broken teeth amidst a mouthful of blood.
“Let’s go,” said Sun Yuan as he led them away.
Despite exposing his back to Qin De and the rest, none dared to attack with the opportunity presented before them.
“H-he’s incredible.” Bao Qi and Wang Yu trembled from excitement. They thought they were about to face a tough battle, but Sun Yuan managed to overcome the situation alone.
“I finally understand why Chu Yuntao and Li Minglu were trying to win him over.” Zhao Siyu was terrified.
It was their blessing that Sun Yuan had no evil intention toward them. Otherwise, Xu Qingshan would throw his life away in vain if he sacrificed his life for her.
But Zhao Siyu quickly bounced back from her thoughts and perked up.
I should be counted as part of the team, right?
With an incredible leader like him, it would be smooth sailing from here on out. I wouldn’t need to suffer anymore; at the very least, I wouldn’t go hungry, and I wouldn’t need to worry about being robbed.
“A-are we letting them off just like that?” Someone asked as he looked at the shrinking figure of Sun Yuan and friends. He was unwilling to let them go; they had the mushrooms.
“What can we do? Can you beat that guy?” Qin De lowered his head and took in Zhang Ping’s tragic appearance. Heaving a sigh, he gritted his teeth and chased after Sun Yuan.
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