Glass Cannon

Silver Tower, lobby.

Gaoxin, Qiao Long, Sule, Meimei, and Dongfang Yi had all gathered there.

Peter and the Black Vest captain were there too, but they had not come to participate in the game. They had come to send people in.

That was the captain's duty. Otherwise, ordinary team members were not allowed to run around on their own.

Gaoxin had many bandages wrapped around him. Almost his entire exposed arm was tightly bound beneath them.

He walked to the round table and called for Number 97.

"Team matchmaking. Intermediate Game."

Gaoxin activated the matchmaking without the slightest hesitation.

He had expected a long wait, but they were matched almost immediately, as if someone had been waiting specifically for them.

They entered the elevator at once and were soon taken to the game arena.

Sure enough, there were already twenty-five people there. As soon as they arrived and asked, they learned that the game could begin.

Clearly, they were the last team.

It was a thirty-player match: ten Radiation Users and twenty Glass People.

The most eye-catching group of Radiation Users consisted entirely of muscular men. Each stood around 1.9 meters tall, and every one of them carried heavy weapons such as powered giant axes and powered hammers. They looked extremely difficult to provoke.

Since they were all white, and given their imposing appearance, Gaoxin wondered whether the Big Beard he had encountered before belonged to the same group. Could they all be members of some small gang?

As for the other group of Radiation Users, its leader was unexpectedly a woman.

She had golden hair and blue eyes, tied into Twin Tails. Yet she wore a black vest and camouflage military trousers, spinning two enormous guns in her hands as she asked in a sharp voice, "Number 97, is everyone here? Hurry up and tell us the rules."

Qiao Long also had two pistols, which could be bought for a few dozen points.

But compared with the Twin Tails' guns, they were on a completely different level. Those two weapons looked more like hand cannons.

The people standing with Twin Tails were also clearly Radiation Users. They carried heavy weapons and radiated an imposing presence.

Gaoxin and the others exchanged glances. As expected, the people matched into an Intermediate Game with teams were extraordinary.

None of them looked easy to deal with. There was no way they could handle this situation the way they had handled Silver Hand.

They immediately kept a low profile and listened carefully to the rules.

"'Glass Cannon.' All twenty players have arrived. The rules will now be announced. Before the game officially begins, no player may harm another player. Violators will be executed."

At the sound of this first sentence, the Glass People present could not help relaxing their brows.

It was hard to describe how comfortable they felt.

The other groups of Glass People also visibly relaxed.

The ten Radiation Users placed enormous pressure on them, especially Twin Tails. With two massive hand cannons in her hands, one shot from her could turn them into minced meat.

Number 97 ignored their thoughts and continued, "This game is divided into Black and White factions. Each faction can hold a maximum of twenty-five people."

"The thirty players will distribute themselves between the Black and White factions. Each faction must initially have at least five Glass People."

"Passing through the passage into the Black or White faction's base will establish your faction."

Everyone looked toward the wall. Two passages suddenly opened there. One was filled with white light, while the other was pitch-black.

They had wondered where the arena was. It turned out there were different entrances.

The Twin Tails woman asked, "What next?"

Number 97 calmly replied, "The remaining rules will be announced inside the faction bases. Everyone must enter the arena within five minutes."

Gaoxin's pupils contracted.

They had to choose their identities before even hearing the rest of the rules?

Meimei was the first to speak in a low voice. "Could the Black and White teams have different mission rules?"

"Not necessarily," Qiao Long said, shaking his head. "It could also be that the teams are formed after learning the rules, which would make the game easier."

Dongfang Yi said quietly, "Heh. This faction selection is a huge trap. It only says that each faction must have at least five Glass People, but it doesn't say the minimum total number of people per faction. Are they encouraging a twenty-five-to-five split?"

Sule added, "It also doesn't say whether we can switch factions, but we probably can. After all, it mentions the 'initial' distribution."

Gaoxin said coldly, "The five of us should try not to split up."

Split up? Indeed. The rules only said that thirty people would be distributed between the factions. They did not say that the six teams would be distributed as units. In theory, their team could be broken apart.

The others' expressions turned grim. The rules had not even been fully explained, yet the struggle could already begin.

This faction selection was merely an appetizer.

Fortunately, the rules had mentioned that players could not harm one another. Otherwise, the Radiation Users could have kneaded them into any shape they pleased and distributed them however they wanted.

"Hahahaha!" The Twin Tails woman laughed loudly. "I like black!"

As she spoke, she led several people toward the black passage without any intention of discussing things further.

However, the all-muscular Radiation User team moved even faster. They immediately stepped forward and blocked the entrances to both passages.

The man in the lead held a giant hammer. He slammed it onto the ground and said, "Beautiful, don't rush. How about joining the Viking Gang in one faction?"

"There are thirty people in total, so each faction should average fifteen. Our two Radiation User teams can join forces, and with five Glass People, it'll be perfect."

"You like black, so we'll all go black."

Twin Tails blinked her long eyelashes. "Sure."

The twenty Glass People present were speechless. Two Radiation User teams had joined forces at the very start and seized one faction.

That meant the other faction would inevitably contain only Glass People!

They were openly declaring their intentions: join forces with the strong and bully the weak.

Everyone thought that was the end of it, but Twin Tails' next words made the Glass People tense up even more.

"But Big Strong Man, since we're planning to make the teams unbalanced, why only take five Glass People? Bring them all to the Black team and leave five for the White team. Hee-hee."

The Glass People were numb. Twenty-five in Black and five in White?

But at her suggestion, the man with the giant hammer's eyes lit up. "Why leave five? Let's just bring everyone to Black and leave White empty."

Twin Tails rolled her eyes. "Are you stupid? It says that each faction can hold a maximum of twenty-five people. If the White team can't meet the minimum allocation, do you think the game will simply end and declare you the winner?"

"Maybe fifteen people will be randomly assigned to White. Our team could be split apart then, leading to a Black-and-White showdown."

The giant-hammer man grinned. "Whatever. Maybe being split up would be better."

Twin Tails shook her braids. "I don't want to split up. The four idiots behind me can't do without me."

The four Black Vests behind her remained expressionless, showing no reaction at all to being called idiots.

"At least leave five people for White and follow the rules. I don't care about the rest. Do whatever you want."

"I'm going to Black anyway."

With that, she headed straight for the black passage.

The giant-hammer man waved his hand, ordering the others to clear the way. Twin Tails' five-person team entered the base first.

Sule pursed his lips. "That woman is too lazy to make any arrangements. She doesn't care about the result of the division at all. She's incredibly arrogant."

"What is there to care about?" Dongfang Yi said quietly. "The faction selection may look like it allows for all kinds of tricks, but nobody knows the actual rules. Nobody knows which distribution would benefit them most."

"So she can't be bothered to do anything at the start. She simply leads her team to choose a faction first. That's the correct choice."

"Her entire team consists of Radiation Users, so they're a strong team. Wherever she goes, nobody can afford to ignore her."

"If the people outside think that having more people is better, they'll naturally follow her to Black. If they think fewer people is better, they'll all go to White. Either way, she won't be isolated, because at least five Glass People still have to be assigned to her."

"In short, she can't lose. She chooses a faction first, leaving the tedious arguing to everyone else, and she gets to enter the base first and familiarize herself with the terrain."

Qiao Long said calmly, "But we Glass People don't have that luxury. Otherwise, the five of us might end up alone in one faction."

Meimei pursed her lips. "Wherever the strong go, they become the center. Once they make the first choice, everyone else naturally has to plan around them."

Dongfang Yi chuckled. "We still don't know the rules. Maybe having the five of us occupy one faction would be better."

Just then, the giant-hammer man shouted, "The Viking Gang is also going to the Black team. We need fifteen more Glass People, leaving only five for White..."

Many Glass People immediately began volunteering themselves.

They all claimed to be obedient and promised to follow orders. They said they only wanted to survive, acting as if they had no bones in their bodies.

The giant-hammer man laughed and beckoned several of them into the black passage.

Some who were not chosen had tears in their eyes. One thin, short youth knelt on the ground and begged.

"Sir, please show mercy. I'm very obedient. I can't die. I really can't die."

The giant-hammer man said disdainfully, "Do you think I can die? What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Get your ass to the other side."

The helpless youth collapsed onto the floor, his gaze vacant. But he soon pulled himself together, stared at the white door, and walked toward it with determination.

Some others continued begging, while the giant-hammer man picked and chose among them.

Before long, the Glass People had become scattered and disorderly.

Only Gaoxin's team and another Glass Person team still remained together as five. The other teams seemed to have disintegrated on the spot.

Gaoxin frowned. "Their teams fell apart just like that?"

"There are two teams that should be NPCs," Qiao Long said. "They look like five-person teams that came together, but they probably don't even know one another."

"Are NPC players forced to participate?" Gaoxin asked.

Qiao Long nodded. "Yes. But no force is specifically designated for that purpose. The authorities have no power to enforce anything outside the Silver Tower, so they mainly rely on the local gangs in power to escort NPCs here. The Silver Tower authorities cooperate with the local powers on this matter."

"There is only one partner in each Silver Tower's region. Whichever faction is strongest gets the quota. I heard they receive quite a few Redemption Vouchers. In short, working for the Silver Tower comes with payment."

Qiao Long continued explaining many things about NPCs.

Gaoxin sighed. NPCs could not choose the difficulty or whether to form teams. They were merely there to make up the numbers.

This game had matched ten NPCs. They were probably nothing more than expendable materials.

Wait. Expendable materials?

Gaoxin frowned. The game was called Glass Cannon, and the faction rules required at least five Glass People. There had to be a connection.

Could it really be literal? Were the Glass People the "cannonballs" of their respective factions?

The more Glass People a faction had, the more cannonballs it possessed. At least five cannonballs were required, or the game could not proceed?

He immediately voiced his speculation. Everyone frowned deeply.

Could it really be this cruel? How exactly were these cannonballs supposed to be used?

"If it's only the five of us, we'll probably suffer a huge loss." Dongfang Yi immediately rejected his earlier suggestion.

Qiao Long suddenly said, "I understand. Leave it to me."

He no longer hesitated. He rushed to the nearby Glass People team that was still grouped together and began speaking to them.

Gaoxin knew that he was trying to recruit allies.

It would be difficult to ally with the Radiation Users, and the NPC players could not be relied upon. Their only option was to win over another group of normal players.

"What are you saying? You, you... and you lot, come over here." The giant-hammer man was still selecting people.

He had his eyes on Gaoxin and Sule, as well as several physically robust players from the other team.

Gaoxin immediately brought Dongfang Yi and Jin Meimei forward as well.

"Why is there a woman? No, no. We don't want women. You, go to the White team." The giant-hammer man acted imperiously.

Meimei gritted her teeth and said nothing.

Gaoxin smiled. "Since you don't want us, then forget it. We'll all go to White."

With that, he led the others toward the white passage.

However, two muscular men guarded the entrance to the White passage. They glared at Gaoxin. "Glass People, your faction is decided by our boss!"

"Get lost!"

Gaoxin stopped where he was without retreating in the slightest.

The giant-hammer man also walked over. "Kid, can't you understand? I only want you two. The other three can get lost."

Gaoxin shot back, "I was going to try joining your team, but I didn't expect you to be this stupid. I think I'll be better off going to White."

"What did you say?" The brawny man guarding the entrance flew into a rage. He pointed at Gaoxin with an expression that looked ready to devour him.

Gaoxin was not frightened in the least. He stared at him. "What? You want to touch me?"

The game rules clearly stated that players could not harm one another at this point. Violators would be executed.

The other party remembered that too, which was why he had chosen to block the entrance with his body instead of attacking.

"Kid, do you really think I don't dare touch you?" The giant hammer slammed heavily into the ground, and the giant-hammer man looked imposing.

"It only says we can't cause harm before the game officially begins. Once we're inside, you won't be anything more than a toy in my palm."

Gaoxin retorted, "A bunch of idiots, thinking you're so impressive. All I know is that we're all toys for the audience. Tell me, are you from the 'Emperor What' Group?"

The giant-hammer man merely glared at him in silence.

But one of the muscular gatekeepers cursed, "Fuck, you really think I don't dare kill you? Crushing you would be as easy as crushing an ant!"

Gaoxin did not retreat even one step. He shrugged. "Only children treat crushing an ant as an impressive achievement and run to tell their daddy about it."

"Fuck!" The muscular man lost his temper on the spot and directly swung a slap at him.

The giant-hammer man said coldly, "Enough."

The muscular man had not truly lost control. The slap was not meant to land. He intended only to frighten Gaoxin, stopping his palm beside Gaoxin's face and letting the wind from it brush him.

However, he had underestimated Gaoxin.

In an instant, Gaoxin thrust his head forward and closed the distance, moving extremely quickly.

The palm was coming too fiercely. The man had not expected Gaoxin to be so agile, and for a moment, he could not stop completely.

"Pfft..."

With a soft sound, the instant the slap stopped, it had already landed on Gaoxin's face.

The force was not heavy. At the critical moment, the man had still controlled it. At most, it counted as a light pat on Gaoxin's face and nose.

But Gaoxin offered no resistance. Instead, he jerked his head to the side, sending blood spraying from his nose.

Blood splashed three feet. Gaoxin followed the force and fell, looking as fragile as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

"Bang!" Gaoxin's head struck the metal floor hard, immediately swelling with a bruise.

"Huh?" The man who had slapped him was dumbfounded.

The giant-hammer man's eyes widened too. He actually failed to stop it? Why the hell were you showing off?

The man who had thrown the slap was also bewildered. Impossible. I controlled it. How did it make his nose bleed?

He realized that Gaoxin was no ordinary Superior Glass Person. His bodily control was simply frightening. But by then, it was too late.

Number 97 said coldly, "Violation. Execution."

"Wait, that's not—" The man tried to argue, but a beam of white light descended over his head.

In an instant, his entire body turned to dust. Then even the dust vanished, evaporating into a cloud of green smoke.

Gaoxin covered his nose and stood up. He had witnessed the entire process. This was his first time seeing an execution. He did not know what kind of technology it was, but its power was astonishing.

He had been blasted straight into gas. It was simply impossible for a flesh-and-blood body to withstand it.

There was also suction from above, drawing away the green smoke so that the air molecules at the scene remained fresh.

"Brother!" Big Hammer shouted in shock.

The other musclemen were stunned by the turn of events, while Glass Person was utterly dumbfounded.

That was a blatant frame-up. Absolutely a frame-up.

"You!" The other musclemen stormed over, furious.

Gaoxin did not move at all. He merely watched as the group surrounded him.

"Fuck!"

"You're dead, kid! You're dead!"

"How dare you kill one of our Viking Gang!"

"You've got some nerve! Some real nerve!"

The three musclemen's faces twisted with rage. They wished they could crush him to death.

They raised their palms to strike, only to let them fall back onto their own foreheads and scratch an itch.

They reached out to shove him, but did not dare touch him. They only tugged and rubbed at the air...

They swung their fists to punch him, then withdrew them like lightning, repeatedly feinting.

Gaoxin simply stood there, watching the group surround him and massage the air beside his face, behind his head, before his chest, and at his back.

They made all sorts of feints, trying to trick him into blocking.

But Gaoxin stood there calmly. If he overreacted, they might get a chance to frame him instead.

"What are you doing? If you want to touch me, then go ahead. I don't mind letting you have a feel." Gaoxin smiled and suddenly stepped forward.

The three burly men immediately withdrew their hands and moved aside in unison, hoping to brush against him and frame him in the process.

But Gaoxin did not touch them at all. He slipped through the gap and stopped at the entrance to the White Faction's passage without entering.

"All right, stop making fools of yourselves." Big Hammer's voice was cold.

The three burly men unwillingly retreated, their eyes still fixed viciously on Gaoxin.

Gaoxin blocked the entrance to the White Faction's passage, looking as if he intended to bar the door.

Seeing his posture, everyone else froze. How had it become his turn to guard the entrance?

Big Hammer frowned slightly, then raised the corners of his mouth. "Kid, are you scared?"

Gaoxin remained calm. "Oh? Scared of what?"

Big Hammer spoke with cold, murderous intent. "You're blocking the entrance because you're afraid I'll enter the same faction as you and kill you outright without caring about the consequences."

Gaoxin shot back, "Want to try? Right now, I'm the 'door'!"

Big Hammer walked over and slowly pressed his face toward him.

Gaoxin did not retreat an inch. The tips of their noses were almost touching.

"I'm not that reckless. There'll be plenty of chances to kill you in the game. Even if you somehow survive, you still won't be able to leave the Silver Tower!"

He left those words behind, then led his group toward the Black Faction's passage.

Meimei said worriedly, "This... We've made a mortal enemy of a group of radiation users. If everyone makes it back to the lobby alive, we'll be done for."

Everyone had crammed the Silver Tower's rules from Qiao Long. No one could kill during settlement or inside the elevator, though fighting was allowed.

But once they left the elevator and reached the first-floor lobby, they would have completely escaped the Silver Tower's control. Not only could they fight, they could kill.

Yamaguchi Village had many groups. The Yakuza was the strongest, while the others were insignificant. The Viking Gang normally would not target a group of slaves outside, but now that they had become mortal enemies, so what if they killed a few slaves? At worst, they would pay the Yakuza some money.

Gaoxin said coldly, "Then wipe them all out in the game. Do you really think they won't kill Glass Person in the game just because you avoid offending them?"

"These people clearly focus on violence in their games. Compared to them, I'm more worried about the other group of radiation users."

Qiao Long walked over. "The people from the Viking Gang aren't fools either. No gang would send five brutes to participate in a team game. At the very least, the leader couldn't be one."

"The one carrying the big hammer was extremely arrogant at first, but the moment Gaoxin tried to provoke him, he quickly calmed down."

Everyone understood. Since an organization had sent a team into the game, the leader naturally had to prioritize the game's interests. Otherwise, what was the point of sending in a group of men who cared about nothing but brotherly loyalty?

Gaoxin guarded the White Faction's entrance and said, "We can't rule out the possibility of switching factions during the game, but at least at the start, I don't want to be on the same side as radiation users—especially that lot."

Dongfang Yi understood completely. The Viking Gang had been bossy from the moment they arrived. If they ended up in the same faction as those people, it would be pure torment.

Since that was the case, it was better to offend them thoroughly. Weakening one of them was part of it, but the goal was also to take over the position blocking the White Faction's entrance.

With Gaoxin blocking the entrance, he held the initiative. Anyone who wanted to enter had to get his approval, and he only needed to go in last.

Even if the entire Viking Gang consisted of reckless brutes, they could not enter whenever they pleased.

"I've already reached an agreement with five others. They're willing to join us in forming a Glass Person alliance in the White Faction," Qiao Long said.

Gaoxin looked over and saw the young man leading those five nod slightly at him.

"Do you know them?" Gaoxin wondered inwardly. Qiao Long is pretty good at recruiting people.

Qiao Long smiled. "No, but I asked around. They're from the Servant Group. The leader is called Xing Shiping."

Gaoxin was surprised. "Servants?"

Then he remembered. On the first day, Fúshé had already had a group of Wa people select servants from among them. Rou Si's household also had people known as servant toys.

He had not expected servants to be allowed to participate in the games. Could Luo Yan participate as well, then?

Qiao Long explained, "The Servant Group has no real rules. Everything comes before their masters. Whether they can participate in a game is up to their master's word."

"Some of the powerful figures don't need anyone to serve them at all. They take in servants to cultivate their own 'private little Redemption Squads.'"

Gaoxin sighed. Luo Yan clearly pleased Rou Si greatly. There was no way Rou Si would be willing to send him into a game.

"You go in first..." Gaoxin moved aside slightly in front of the White Faction's passage, letting Dongfang Yi and Meimei enter first.

Afterward, he had Qiao Long lead the five-person servant group inside as well.

The four members of the Viking Gang glared viciously at Gaoxin, still refusing to enter the Black Faction.

That left Gaoxin with no choice but to keep blocking the White Faction's passage. The Viking Gang might suddenly charge into the White Faction at the last moment, or send one person over.

Though with one of their members already lost, doing so would be a terrible bargain, and killing him would merely vent their anger before they possibly lost to the Twin Tails' group.

Still, no one could say for sure that they would not be that reckless. At that moment, Big Hammer seemed to be thinking.

"Sorry, I have a watch. I'll enter at the last second. Are you sure you still want to keep staring at me instead of going in and familiarizing yourselves with the terrain?"

Gaoxin shook his watch as he shouted.

Seeing that no other Glass Person remained and only Gaoxin and Sule were guarding the White Faction's entrance, Big Hammer thought it over.

In the end, he turned and entered the Black Faction's passage, taking all the remaining Glass Person with him.

"They're in. We don't have to guard this anymore. Let's go in too," Sule said.

Gaoxin said solemnly, "Who said we don't have to guard it? Can't someone come back out after entering?"

Sule was speechless. From their angle, they could only see the Viking Gang enter.

But the passage was one thing and the base another. Only entering the base through the passage established one's faction.

They might suddenly send someone over to the White Faction at the last moment. No one could say for sure.

"I have to make sure there are no radiation users in the White Faction at the start. That way, at least we can maintain control within our faction."

Gaoxin watched his watch and waited until the final dozen seconds of the five-minute limit.

"Brother, hurry up and come in!" Meimei's voice came from deep inside the passage.

Gaoxin judged that the base was not far away, so he waited a few more seconds before pulling Sule into the passage and sprinting.

At this point, everyone's factions had been established. The Black Faction had nine radiation users and ten Glass Person.

The White Faction had only ten Glass Person.

P.S. Sorry.