A Hard-Fought Battle (I)

Li Wei walked up to Shao Yang and deliberately glanced behind him.

"Where's everyone else? Are they behind you?"

After sensing Li Wei's presence and realizing there was nothing about him that posed a threat, Shao Yang grinned. "That's right. As their captain, I naturally have to lead the way. I even ran into a Strength-Type Enhanced Zombie just now. It took quite a bit of effort to finish it off!"

Just as I thought!

Li Wei had been wondering why the zombie hadn't caught up with them after all this time. It turned out that it had already died at the hands of this lunatic. But from another perspective, this lunatic really was a formidable fighter. After merging with over a hundred Guardian Yellow Papers, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

That meant even Zheng Yutong wasn't his match anymore!

"Hey, you guys go into the passage first and scout ahead. If you run into danger, fall back. Don't try to be heroes. He and I will go meet the others!" Li Wei called to Zheng Yutong, urging them to hurry on.

Though she was reluctant, Zheng Yutong chose to trust Li Wei's judgment. If a fight really broke out, the few newcomers wouldn't be able to help at all. They would only get themselves killed. Besides, she already had a somewhat blind faith in Li Wei. Perhaps he had a plan.

When Shao Yang saw Zheng Yutong and the newcomers preparing to leave first, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes, then quickly vanished. His face settled back into its usual affable smile.

Splitting up was fine too. He could take them out one by one. The young man in front of him and that woman were probably the most experienced members of the group. The rest were no threat.

With that in mind, Shao Yang walked with Li Wei in the direction they had come from.

"Is that the zombie you killed?" Li Wei spotted a corpse lying not far away. Judging by its thickset frame, it was indeed the Strength-Type Zombie. But with his Eye of Perception, Li Wei noticed something interesting.

The zombie wasn't dead. Its body had been badly damaged, making it look lifeless, but it was still alive. Remembering the Strength-Type Zombie's Regeneration ability, Li Wei immediately understood.

Shao Yang must have followed them to the Underground Garage and happened upon the zombie. His combat strength had increased, so he'd easily knocked it down and mistakenly assumed it was dead.

Shao Yang nodded. By now, there was no one else around. This was the perfect moment to make his move.

Seeing Shao Yang's expression, Li Wei understood what the lunatic was planning. He hurriedly said, "Now it's just you and me here. We're both smart people, so there's no need to keep pretending. You killed those newcomers just now and got quite a haul, didn't you?"

Shao Yang had been about to strike, but Li Wei's words stunned him. The mockery vanished from his gaze as he wondered what he'd done to give himself away. It couldn't be. And from what Li Wei had said, he seemed to know that killing people could make Skill Books and Guardian Yellow Papers drop.

Li Wei studied Shao Yang again. Shao Yang chuckled. "Good. Since you already know, I'll let you die with the truth. I killed those idiots and took their abilities and Guardians to increase my strength. I'm going to kill you for the same reason!"

Li Wei walked a few steps forward, then turned to face him.

"Don't you want to know how I figured out you'd killed them?" he asked calmly, as if he weren't worried in the least that Shao Yang might strike without warning.

Li Wei seemed completely defenseless, which made Shao Yang hesitate. He held back the skills he'd been about to use, but kept his body turned toward Li Wei. That left him with his back to the zombie's corpse.

"Why don't you tell me? Maybe I'll let you go," Shao Yang said. He really wanted to know how Li Wei had spotted the telltale signs.

Li Wei said nothing. He simply pointed at the Surveillance Camera above them. Shao Yang looked up, then suddenly understood.

"So that's how. I really did overlook it!"

To be honest, he had begun to admire the man in front of him. Li Wei had a cool head and astonishing powers of deduction. He must be a Mental Power Enhancer too. People like that often weren't strong fighters, but they were indispensable to a team. If he could, Shao Yang would have liked to bring him under his control.

Still, Shao Yang wanted Li Wei's mental abilities and Guardian more. He had just merged with over a hundred Guardian Yellow Papers, but they had only raised his four attributes by a total of ten points. That was because the newcomers had all received F-rank evaluations, the lowest possible. No matter how many he merged, the stat increase would always be limited.

"Enough. I don't have time to waste talking to you. After I kill you, I still have to chase down that woman and those little mice. Maybe I'll have some fun before I kill her. Heh!" Shao Yang dropped his friendly facade. He suddenly pulled a Submachine Gun from inside his clothes and fired at Li Wei.

Li Wei was just as quick, aiming his gun at Shao Yang. Both guns flashed at once, lighting up the dim Underground Garage.

But then something unexpected happened. Just before the bullets from either side could hit their target, some invisible force knocked them aside.

"This guy has armor!"

Li Wei and Shao Yang realized it at the same time. Li Wei had expected it, but Shao Yang was surprised. Armor that could turn invisible wasn't something just anyone could get. And to stop bullets at close range, the armor had to be a full set.

Even the lowest-grade Green Quality Armor was worth at least thirty thousand points!

Realizing his opponent was probably wealthy, Shao Yang intensified his assault. Guns were clearly useless, so he tossed his weapon aside and drew the two rapiers he'd used to kill those hundred or so people.

He'd gone to great lengths to acquire those weapons in a quest scenario. They had an attack rating of 20–34 and came with the Pierce skill. With them, he could easily break through even defensive armor.

Seeing the two rapiers, Li Wei knew the real fight was about to begin. Unfortunately, he'd lost his Centaur Battle Axe. With no other choice, he took out the Tactical Dagger he'd temporarily boosted before the mission.

After three Stacking enhancements, it had an attack rating of 8–14, gave him +3 Agility, and came with Cutting Enhancement. It was the best weapon Li Wei could use right now.

Of course, the dagger wasn't the only "weapon" Li Wei could use.

Now!

(Two updates only today. I have a headache and a cold! Also, I've been carefully reading all the comments in the book review section. I may not have replied to some of them, but that doesn't mean An Hei doesn't care. As always, I'll keep writing diligently to repay everyone!)