Rescue

The other side clearly didn't believe them, because their attacks never let up.

Lin Qimeng and her three companions obviously had a shorter vision range than their opponents, so they were mercilessly suppressed.

Though everyone on their side had Rare Mechas, all of them except Sister Hua's were melee mechs, making it difficult for them to show their strength while under fire.

"Dream, what do we do?" the assassin on the team asked.

"Run. What else?" Lin Qimeng said, activating her Propulsion Device and shooting off. The others immediately followed.

As long as the green hills remained, there'd be no shortage of firewood. There was no shame in running away.

Lin Qimeng and the others comforted themselves with that as they fled, and sure enough, they felt a lot better!

But the other team clearly had no intention of giving up on a team that might have the mysterious Shard No. 7.

Shard No. 7 had been hyped up to sound almost miraculous. Even a Professional Gaming Club wouldn't give up if there was even the slightest chance.

"This can't go on. We can't shake them at all," Old Ma, the War Rhino mech's pilot, said.

The two sides had been chasing each other for over ten minutes. With their vision suppressed, Lin Qimeng and her team had been pursued and attacked the whole time.

That was how professional players fought. If they had even the slightest advantage, they'd exploit it to the fullest.

"How about I sneak up on them again?" asked the pilot of the team's black assassin-type mech.

"Forget it. We might have to rescue you like we did just now, and it wouldn't be worth it!" said Sister Hua, the pilot of the crimson mech.

"Land! We'll fight them head-on. Even if we're wiped out, we'll make them pay!" Lin Qimeng said, her gaze turning cold. She really was ruthless.

But they truly had no way to escape. They were about to run out of MP.

Their opponents were clearly higher-level. If they kept running, they might not even have the strength to fight back.

They landed in an open area with the best visibility and prepared to face the enemy.

But before they could even get into formation, another missile came flying toward them.

Its target wasn't any of them, but the open space in the middle.

A loud BOOM! rang out as the explosion scattered Lin Qimeng's team in every direction. Fortunately, they weren't badly hurt.

What troubled them was that this time, they couldn't see their opponents at all. That meant their enemies had a complete grasp of the difference in their vision ranges.

The other side was clearly planning to use their overwhelming vision advantage to wipe them out here.

"Stop watching and help already!" After being hit by another sniper's bullet, Lin Qimeng sent someone a message.

Wang Qianduo, who was on his way over: "??"

"How did you know I was here?"

Lin Qimeng: "You know the game shows which map your friends are on, right? When you're on the same map, a green marker appears beneath their avatar.

"Enough chatter. I'm adding you to the team. Help me take out these bastards!"

A beautiful woman like her, swearing the moment she opened her mouth—she must really have been furious.

But Wang Qianduo hadn't been watching them. After finishing his treasure hunt, he'd been about to leave the Underground when he heard fighting break out again near the spot where he'd killed the Elite Demon Rat.

Curious, he'd gone over to take a look, and immediately spotted Lin Qimeng's distinctive Dragon Princess Mecha.

It wasn't that he wanted to watch. His vision range was far greater than either team's. He could see both teams, but they couldn't see him—and he couldn't attack them either.

By the time he'd decided to help, Lin Qimeng had already led her team away. He'd hurried after them the whole way and had finally caught up.

Lin Qimeng had thought the lone mech trailing far behind them was Wang Qianduo watching the fight, but that wasn't the case. He'd been trying to catch up.

Wang Qianduo was flying pretty fast, but the others were all piloting mechs above level ten, with Thrusters above level ten as well. He still couldn't quite keep up.

Fortunately, he didn't need to worry about running out of MP, so he'd managed to catch them.

"System Notice: Thousand King has joined the team!"

"We've got reinforcements?... Boss Lin, why'd you add a level-seven player... Holy crap!"

Seeing Wang Qianduo join the team, the Shield Mech's pilot had thought reinforcements had arrived. But when he saw Wang Qianduo's level, he'd nearly given up hope.

Then Wang Qianduo joined the team and shared his vision. The pilot felt as if the whole world had lit up, and immediately blurted out another "Holy crap!"

His mood had been like a roller coaster, full of dizzying ups and downs!

With Fiery Golden Eyes boosting it, Wang Qianduo's night vision was beyond what players at this stage could match.

The darkness barely affected him. Now that he'd joined them, they could see every move the other team made.

Their opponents, who'd been suppressing them so relentlessly, no longer seemed mysterious. They even looked a little ridiculous.

When you were suppressing someone's vision, shifting your position based on their range made you a skilled player. But when your every move was under your opponent's gaze, and you were still wriggling around like that...

Wasn't it just ridiculous?

Sister Hua, the crimson mech's pilot, finally couldn't stand it anymore. She cast Blazing Vines, ensnaring one of their opponents and telling him, "Bro, you're exposed. Stop squirming!"

The mech hit by Sister Hua immediately broke free and fled in a panic. But now it was Lin Qimeng's team's turn to put on a show of vision suppression.

They were all professionals. Now it was their turn to show off!

But Wang Qianduo didn't give them the chance. A single Chain Lightning struck one of their opponents.

Then several numbers in the thousands appeared above the heads of every member of the enemy team, and the whole squad instantly collapsed.

Wang Qianduo was mainly worried he wouldn't be able to kill them in one shot, so he'd deliberately activated his newly recharged Fiery Golden Eyes skill.

Everyone: (д｀)

The damage was so explosive it nearly shattered their glasses. Could a level-seven mech really deal that much damage?

They stared at Wang Qianduo in stunned disbelief. Even Lin Qimeng couldn't suppress her shock.

When they'd fought the World Boss that day, she'd already gotten a rough idea of how much damage Wang Qianduo could deal.

But knowing that and seeing him take out several mechs with one hit were two different things. She was still stunned.

"Don't look at me like that. I wasn't watching the fight. You were just flying too fast for me to catch up!"

Wang Qianduo thought Lin Qimeng was blaming him, so he quickly explained.

"You... Forget it. You opened this place, right? What did you find?" Lin Qimeng asked. She was as practical as ever.

Wang Qianduo said, "The haul was decent, but the mysterious seventh shard doesn't contain a Hidden Quest. The seven shards fit together to form a treasure map.

"It should just be an ordinary item. This Underworld is just a regular leveling area, and the seven shards are probably bonus drops from monsters."

Wang Qianduo had figured it out after finding the treasure. The treasure chest the map led him to had only yielded a Fine-Grade skill.

Magic Energy Shield (Fine-Grade):

Cannot be upgraded

After charging for 3 seconds, forms a shield of Magic Energy to protect the mech hit by the energy, reducing the damage it takes by 15% for 120 seconds. Cannot be stacked.

Attack Range: 100

Casting Time: 3 seconds

MP Cost: 30

Cooldown: 20 seconds

The skill was pretty good, but not nearly good enough to justify how hard the shards were to collect. Then Zero discovered the seventh Demon Rat swarm.

The Demon Rats in that group were almost exactly like the Elite Demon Rat Wang Qianduo had killed, only much smaller.

Once Old Wang saw them, he finally understood what the tooth shards really meant. All those people had been struggling to decipher them for nothing.

"Is that so? Then let's forget about it and go level up!" Lin Qimeng said after a moment's thought. She didn't doubt Wang Qianduo.

"Uh... I'm out of stamina!"

Lin Qimeng: "...Seriously?"

"Seriously!"

"Hmph! Then get lost!" Lin Qimeng said, kicking Wang Qianduo out of the team before leading her squad away.

Wang Qianduo: "..."

With no stamina left, Wang Qianduo logged off dejectedly and went to sleep. It really was getting late.

He'd better get some sleep if he wanted to protect his hair.

He wasn't good-looking to begin with. Going bald on top of it would be hilarious!

"What's going on between you and that guy?" Sister Hua asked Lin Qimeng after their group said goodbye to Wang Qianduo.

"What do you mean? He's my subordinate. What could be going on between us?"

"Really nothing?"

"Really nothing!"

At that, Sister Hua silently decided not to ask any more. But what she thought was, "That attitude of yours, and you still say there's nothing going on!"

As Lin Qimeng's best friend since childhood, Sister Hua had never seen her act that way toward a man before.

Lin Qimeng was always polite to outsiders, giving them the impression that she was neither warm nor cold.

But with that man, she'd lost her usual composure and acted completely differently.

"Thousand King, huh?"