Hidden PVP Information!

Upon seeing the signal, Jack wasted no time. He stepped forward quickly, a stone clenched in his right hand behind his back. Though his gait was a bit odd, no one seemed to notice.

Tom followed close behind, his hand buried in his windbreaker pocket, also gripping a stone as he rapidly closed in.

A few seconds later, Jack reached the display case and swung his arm up to smash down! But just as his hand, clutching the stone, rose into the air, a soft pop suddenly sounded from beside him!

Jack's body convulsed, his face twisting into an expression of disbelief. He froze entirely, his eyes dimming rapidly. He staggered back two steps, leaning against the wall to steady himself, then slowly slumped sideways.

Tom, however, didn't notice Jack's subtle changes. His mind was probably churning with thoughts of the remaining two hundred dollars. He timely stepped in to take Jack's place, charging forward—but another hiss rang out. Tom froze on the spot, his whole body trembling like a leaf in a storm.

It was then that the seemingly lazy middle-aged guard shrugged, cigarette dangling from his lips, and sauntered over. Without hesitation, he reached out both hands, grabbed Tom and Jack by the scruffs of their necks like an eagle snatching chicks, and tossed them straight out the door! The other visitors were stunned by the sight; one woman even covered her face and screamed.

Fang Linyan's heart jolted violently:

"This guy is actually protecting the Mayflower Compact? Damn it, is he a Contractor too?"

With this crucial piece of information, clarity suddenly dawned on Fang Linyan:

"That's it. No wonder this milestone looked easier to complete—it's only superficially lower in difficulty!! I didn't notice before that the Scholar milestone had a question mark after it. Now it seems the hidden content behind that question mark is (PVP)!"

"My Scholar milestone requires touching the Mayflower Compact, so his milestone probably involves protecting this thing. I was careless, truly careless! No wonder the Scholar milestone was placed last among the options."

"Still, I shouldn't have revealed myself earlier. I used those two to do the dirty work, so I probably haven't been noticed yet."

Having pieced together the cause and effect, Fang Linyan's mind began to roar, and a chill ran through his entire body.

He also realized that what he now faced was likely the greatest crisis of his life. If he couldn't make an effective move in the next two or three seconds, he'd be in grave danger! In this split-second of life and death, Fang Linyan's brain worked like an overclocked computer CPU, spinning wildly and surging to its peak in an instant!

At the same time, the seemingly ancient Black Old-Fashioned Phone he carried seemed to sense his crisis. It rapidly heated up, its screen glowing bright, but instead of normal text, it displayed a flood of 0s and 1s, streaming past like flowing water, and in an instant, it resonated with Fang Linyan's mind.

Fang Linyan himself felt nothing of this anomaly. He only noticed that his thoughts were unusually clear, everything flowing like clear spring water over smooth stones—pure, transparent, and eerily serene! Not only that, but if one magnified his pupils hundreds of times, they would see the same torrent of 0s and 1s streaming within, as if the Black Old-Fashioned Phone were transmitting data to him.

In a mere fraction of a second, Fang Linyan's brain raced, replaying everything he had observed since entering Hall 4 like a high-definition movie, frame by frame in slow motion.

Not only that, but various data from his surroundings automatically calculated themselves, popping up at the mere thought. For instance, his distance from the case holding the Mayflower Compact was 5.623 meters, his current walking speed was 4.22 km/h, and the hall's height was 11.274 meters.

"Hmm!" Fang Linyan's heart suddenly leaped. He discovered an extremely vital clue. His brain calculated thousands of possibilities in an instant, listing the three most likely scenarios, and he made a decision.

Then, without changing his expression, Fang Linyan quietly sidestepped, moving closer to another exit just three or four meters away.

But at that moment, the middle-aged guard turned around, his eyes narrowing as he began sizing up Fang Linyan. A cold smirk curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Playing it cool, huh? But you're still too stupid. When I tossed those two out, everyone else was either screaming or frozen in shock. Only you were calmly walking away. Such petty tricks are laughable, hahaha!"

The middle-aged guard's smirk turned icy. With a flick of his wrist, a short, compact black stainless steel hand crossbow slid out from his sleeve. It was small enough to be covered by a single palm and matched the color of his sleeve perfectly, making it extremely hard to spot.

He raised his wrist slightly, aiming the crossbow at Fang Linyan. On the crossbow was a steel needle, crackling with blue electric sparks! Earlier, Tom and Jack had been hit by these electric needles, instantly paralyzed and numbed.

But the middle-aged guard never expected that, just as he subtly aimed and raised his hand, Fang Linyan let out a loud shout, as if unwilling to go down without a fight. He spun around, raised his hand, and hurled a stone straight at the glass case!

In that instant, the middle-aged guard froze for a moment, his finger hovering over the trigger, unable to press down. In a mere 0.1 seconds, he made his decision! He immediately turned, aimed, and fired. A dark steel needle shot out, its tail sparking with electricity, intercepting the stone Fang Linyan had thrown midair and deflecting it.

The middle-aged guard's actions were easy to predict. In his eyes, a weak rookie like Fang Linyan could be killed anytime, but if that stone hit the case, his Scholar milestone would likely fail. So intercepting the stone was the top priority! Taking care of Fang Linyan afterward would be a matter of seconds.

When Fang Linyan saw his thrown stone get deflected, a glint flashed in his eyes. He knew his first step had succeeded.