Chapter 88

The title of Yidao Qincheng may seem ordinary, but no matter what title a player has, the abilities it grants are mostly very practical. For example, Xiaotan's [Panicked Ambusher] may seem much weaker than Yidao Qincheng's [One Sword, One Blade], but the title skill [Quick Retreat Slash] still provides a lot of operational space in battle.

Regardless of whether a player's title is weak, strange, or even perverted, the practicality of the title skills is undeniable. Even the weakest title will come with a skill that fits the player's characteristics and is definitely useful; there are no useless skills. Of course, "practical" and "powerful" are two different concepts, and a powerful title naturally comes with more powerful skills.

The title skill [Head Falls] of [First Step in the Blade Path] is no exception.

[Name: Head Falls]

[Special Ability Type: Active]

[Effect: Instantly appear behind the target and deliver a heavy slash to their neck, with five times the player's maximum strength. (2-hour cooldown, can only be used on humanoid monsters, must be within 3 meters of the target when the skill is activated)]

[Note: This move was created by the first-generation blade master, Guan Xiaoyu. At the age of eighteen, Guan Xiaoyu already had a fierce appearance, with tiger-like whiskers and a beard. After three years of training, he became an executioner for the imperial court. At the time, the government was corrupt, and eunuchs held power. Guan Xiaoyu beheaded countless loyal officials over the years, harboring deep resentment. At the age of twenty-three, Guan Xiaoyu decided to enter the world of martial arts, seeking justice and revenge. He created a set of "Beheading Blade Techniques," which became a legendary martial art, with [Head Falls] being the first move.]

Yidao Qincheng suddenly rushed forward, a smile appearing on his lips as he approached General Zaroff, getting within the three-meter range required for his skill. It seemed the enemy's head was already in his grasp.

A second later, Yidao Qincheng briefly disappeared from everyone's sight, then instantly reappeared behind Zaroff, his blade aimed at the back of the general's neck.

There was a dull thud.

Zaroff, as if he had known where Yidao would appear, struck with his elbow, hitting Yidao's ribs almost the moment he materialized.

Yidao's blade hadn't even touched Zaroff's skin when he was sent flying by the SS, crashing into the wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood. His eyes wide open, the shock and pain left him unable to move further.

The impact was so powerful that Yidao's internal organs were severely damaged. Although there were no external wounds, almost all of his left ribs were broken, and the displaced bones caused severe internal bleeding, giving him the [Bleeding] effect.

Yidao's health points dropped to 5 and continued to decrease. The others couldn't help him in time because Zaroff had already blocked their path, speaking in a cold, unyielding tone, "Look at your companion, how rash and impolite his actions were." He didn't even glance at the fallen Yidao Qincheng, knowing that the player wouldn't be getting up.

"If he were not so weak, perhaps I would have saved him, healed his wounds, given him the best food, ample rest, and training, so he could participate in my hunt again. Unfortunately..." Zaroff gestured.

Ivan, seeing the general's command, immediately walked up to Yidao Qincheng, drew his revolver, and aimed at the target's forehead.

"Save..." Yidao tried to speak, but he could only manage one word before his head was blown apart, his body vanishing in a flash of white light.

[Team Member: Yidao Qincheng, has died.]

Everything happened so quickly that Yidao's impulsive actions left the other four helpless.

In Feng Jue's view, Yidao's behavior was no different from suicide. Feng Jue knew that at the beginning of the script, any attempt to quickly clear the level with simple and brutal methods was impossible. Unless the person had a protagonist aura, taking risks out of侥幸 (侥幸 means侥幸, but in this context, it means taking chances or being侥幸) would undoubtedly lead to self-destruction.

Yijian, seeing his friend die in an instant, turned pale. He had also thought the two SS were not that strong, especially compared to the demons and monsters they had encountered in previous scripts. These two, who looked like ordinary humans, seemed more like friendly ambassadors. Ivan looked a bit more menacing, but General Zaroff didn't seem scary at all.

But Yijian didn't have a skill like [Head Falls], so he didn't attack directly. He had planned to discuss a joint attack with Yidao, but Yidao, wanting to make a grand entrance, relied on his title skill and suddenly charged forward.

What he didn't expect was that the SS could "counter" a high-speed skill, interrupting it before it could take effect and almost instantly killing Yidao with a single blow.

Feng Jue sighed helplessly but quickly came up with a plan to use Yidao's death to gather more information. "Yes, General, my companion was indeed rash. If it were me..." He took out the M1911A1 pistol from his bag but didn't raise it, just holding it as if playing with it. "...I would try with a more advanced weapon." He gave the general a probing look. "You can't possibly catch bullets, can you?"

"Ha ha ha..." Zaroff laughed again. "Of course not, my friend. How could a human catch bullets?" He tapped his chest, and a solid thud echoed under his tuxedo. "So I wear some protective measures under my coat." He paused for a second and added, "But I know you are an excellent hunter with good aim. If you can shoot me in the head, I will face death with equanimity." He glanced at Ivan. "But I don't recommend it, because Ivan will stop at nothing to avenge me. Without a commander, he will no longer be a soldier but the most ferocious beast in the world."

Feng Jue got what he wanted and put the gun away, smiling. "Thank you for your kind warning, General. Then, I think we should take our leave."

"Hehe... See you later, my friend." Zaroff laughed heartily, his friendly and polite demeanor combined with his cold, ruthless nature making him a charismatic villain. His performance was so confident that it seemed he had no weaknesses, sending chills down everyone's spine.

Feng Jue gave a subtle nod to his three remaining teammates, signaling that it was time to leave.

Five or six minutes later, the four of them were back at the stone steps outside the castle. The whole way, they didn't dare to breathe loudly, run, or make any significant noise.

General Zaroff, who appeared at the beginning of the script, demonstrated almost hopeless strength and a suffocating presence. From Feng Jue's perspective, excluding the Time Master and Samodel, who were only heard and not seen, he had only felt helpless against Oink in the previous script. A wave SS like Dr. Ashford's mutation would probably be taken down by Zaroff with a dagger.

Finally, Feng Jue broke the silence with a summarizing tone, "Clearly, General Zaroff's human appearance means nothing. From a game perspective, he is a monster, with physical attributes ten times stronger than ours, a sharp mind, rich experience, and strong execution ability. We are his targets... or rather, his prey."

"Obviously, we could see that too," Yijian said.

"I don't know if you realized it after listening to my conversation with Zaroff or after Yidao Qincheng was knocked down by an elbow... but Yidao must have realized it after that, but it was too late," Feng Jue said. "Fortunately, we still have a chance. Let's discuss..."

"Wait a moment," Yijian interrupted. "I wanted to ask earlier. At first, I thought you were the type of player who gets really into the role, so you were talking to the wave SS. But later, I realized you seemed to know what Zaroff was going to do. What's going on?"

"Hmm... Explaining this now is just a waste of time, but it looks like you won't listen to what I have to say next if I don't explain," Feng Jue said, his expression suggesting, "Since you asked sincerely, I will kindly answer you."

"Stop being smug and get to the point," Siyu said coldly.

Feng Jue smiled after being called out. "Alright, this script's plot is based on a novel called 'The Most Dangerous Game.' The story is not long, basically about the protagonist... uh... a hunter, who is lured to the island by Zaroff and becomes the prey in a three-day hunting game.

The protagonist uses his jungle survival skills and hunting knowledge to hide, set traps, and outmaneuver the general, successfully surviving the time limit and even sneaking back into the castle on the third day to win the game."

He paused. "However, from the content of the novel, it's clear that Zaroff could have killed the protagonist on the first day. He just wanted to enjoy the hunt and keep it going, so he let the protagonist live.

In later encounters, Zaroff lost a few hunting dogs, but he always managed to escape the protagonist's traps at the last moment, suffering only minor injuries. Whenever he had an excuse, he would temporarily let the protagonist go, stop the pursuit, and return to the castle to rest before coming back."

"Does he want the hunt to be as fair as possible?" Suyu asked.

"Given the huge disparity in strength, that's just a wishful thought..." Feng Jue smiled bitterly. "The general just doesn't want his entertainment to end too quickly." He paused. "But Zaroff is a gentleman. Even though what he does is like a serial killer, he won't deceive us or go back on his word if he fails. His warning about the Death Swamp was sincere, and he genuinely hopes we will be 'hard to catch' to make his hunt more interesting."

"Alright... let's talk about the actual situation now," Feng Jue said, moving away from the steps. The others followed him to the edge of the jungle.

In the open, the moonlight provided enough illumination, but the three others, except Feng Jue, took out their lighting devices. Suyu used a lantern, Yijian and Bupa used flashlights, though of different models.

Feng Jue picked up a branch and started drawing in the mud. "In the study, I stood closer to the front, and I saw a map on Zaroff's desk. When he showed us his 'ship trap,' the lights at sea clearly illuminated the coastline, and I could confirm that the map showed the island we are on." He drew an irregular, olive-shaped figure. "The island is roughly this shape. The castle is in the center, built on high ground, offering a view of the entire island." He suddenly looked up. "Can you find north?"

"Hmm..." Yijian looked up at the sky, seemingly about to guess a direction.

Bupa pointed to the night sky. "Is that the North Star?"

"Very good." Feng Jue nodded, using the branch to point at the drawing. "This is north, this is south, and the swamp is here..." He pointed to one end of the olive shape. "Before we decide on an escape plan, I need to point out a few differences between the novel and this script."

Feng Jue always seemed very reliable and composed when reasoning and planning, with no trace of carelessness or frivolity. His speech was persuasive and had a unique charm.

"First, the protagonist in the novel, if I remember correctly, is named Rainsford... his game time is three full days, while we only need to evade pursuit for five hours. It seems easier in terms of time, but it might not be a good thing. As I mentioned earlier, Zaroff let Rainsford live several times because he didn't want the hunt to end too soon. Our situation is different; Zaroff will definitely attack us when he finds us.

Additionally, the novel doesn't mention any other animals on the island, but when I was talking to Zaroff in the study, he clearly stated that there are pythons, wolves, tigers, and even wild boars, which are quite aggressive. So, besides evading the general's pursuit, we also need to be wary of the animals in the dark.

Third, as you've seen, he's incredibly strong. In the novel, he is also depicted as very strong, but it's a realistic horror story, not a sci-fi or superpower story. The Zaroff we face, however, can kill with a single elbow. He is a tactical wave SS that we cannot confront directly. The main task of the script is clearly how to successfully evade his pursuit."

Yijian interrupted, "But when you took out the gun, didn't Zaroff imply that he would die if shot in the head? If I had the gun, I would have shot him at that distance; it's close enough for a high hit rate."

"Doing that would mean you, and all of us, would be dead..." Feng Jue shook his head. "When I took out the gun, it was just to see Zaroff's reaction and gather some useful information." He looked up, his expression uncertain. "From what I know, the prototype of modern bulletproof vests appeared in the 1950s, and the author of the original novel, Richard Connell, died in 1949."

He changed the subject. "Despite this, Zaroff calmly stated that he was wearing something like a bulletproof vest and was unimpressed by the M1911A1 pistol in my hand. Clearly, those words were a direct hint from the system through this wave SS."

"Using firearms to kill Zaroff won't work?" Suyu, the quickest to react, asked.

Feng Jue snapped his fingers. "Correct." His gaze swept over Yijian and Bupa. "The system generates the script based on the players' actual situations. I think... none of the four of us, including the already deceased Yidao Qincheng, are specialized in firearms, and we don't even have any."

Indeed, among the four, only Feng Jue had a pistol with only four bullets, and he was the one with the highest firearms specialization.

"Actually, the last few words I got from Zaroff, interpreted from a game perspective, mean... if you must use a gun against him, hitting the body won't work; you must hit the head.

Normally, there are only two scenarios where we can achieve this: the first, as you said, is to strike at the close distance; the second is to hit the alert Cossack in the dark with a poor specialization level, which is like a lucky shot.

Clearly, the first scenario is more feasible, but even if successful, it would be futile. As the general said, Ivan would immediately take over Zaroff's wave SS status and launch a frenzied pursuit. At that point, the script's setting might no longer resemble the 'real world.' If Ivan goes berserk, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned into the Hulk. If that happens, we won't even be able to leave the castle alive."

"Phew..." Feng Jue exhaled a long breath. "In short, the theme of this script is one word—run."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go..." Yijian started to say, but Feng Jue raised his hand to stop him. "I'm about to tell you how to run."

"How to run?" Yijian asked.

"Run separately." Feng Jue answered.

"Why?" Bupa looked nervous.

Before Feng Jue could answer, something happened that disrupted his entire plan.

Suyu's figure suddenly vanished in a flash of white light, and the system announcement followed: [Team Member: Suyu Ruoli, has disconnected.] (To be continued.)