"Compound bow and arrow?"
Luo Wu Shang glanced at the arrow that had pierced through the Big Three-Wheeler's iron plating, her gaze involuntarily sweeping toward where it had come from, a trace of excitement in her eyes.
"Did we trigger a storyline?"
"Probably. A new map has been unlocked, so naturally there'll be a new storyline. I wonder what this one is about."
Zhang Qingwei pulled out the alloy arrow, which was over a meter long, and examined it carefully. She swung it a few times as well, her voice full of amazement.
"It seems like we can use these arrows too. The weight and feel are pretty good."
"They really are. Sharpen it a little, and it can be used as a stinger sword."
Luo Wu Shang also took the alloy arrow and swung it twice, her eyes brimming with delight.
She had been in this High Martial Descent for so many days now. Forget learning a martial skill she liked—even a weapon for practice had been unavailable to her. She only had an Alloy Shovel, which she would swing a couple of times when bored, and she felt that even her swordsmanship had grown rusty.
If she could get a stinger sword, even if it was not the kind of sword she usually used, it would still be infinitely better than having nothing.
"One hundred and thirty-seven meters southeast. Six people, four of them holding bows." Fang Zhen raised his head toward where the arrow had come from and calmly, precisely stated the other side's situation. "But those six don't seem to be human. They all have wings and are hiding in the ruined building."
"Everyone, get behind the vehicle!" Seeing how utterly calm Fang Zhen and the others were, Lin Qi was left speechless. He hurriedly gave the order while quickly retrieving weapons from the driver's seat.
In the wilderness, monsters were often only a secondary threat. The greatest danger was usually the drifters.
Under normal circumstances, unregistered drifters would not attack others for no reason, especially a five-person team like theirs driving a Big Three-Wheeler. Usually, that represented some gang faction out in the wilderness. Unregistered drifters would flee at the sight of them, much less take the initiative to attack.
At Lin Qi's order, however, everyone leisurely moved behind the Big Three-Wheeler, as if the matter had nothing whatsoever to do with them.
Just as everyone got behind the Big Three-Wheeler, a loud warning came from the distance.
"Hand over the Crocodile Fang Rhinoceros, and we, the White Feather Gang, will spare your lives and let you leave safely."
"Don't think you can escape by driving that junk three-wheeler. That junk heap isn't nearly as fast as we can glide!"
As the warning came from afar, Lin Qi had yet to recover from his shock, while Fang Zhen, Luo Wu Shang, Twilight of the Gods, and Zhang Qingwei all wore excited, thrilled expressions.
"I knew it. This time, we definitely triggered a special storyline."
"I think I heard of this White Feather Gang in the last storyline. They have some influence in the wilderness."
"Could the game be unlocking a new mode—wilderness dungeon combat?"
"That's entirely possible. I always thought this game was strange. Why create such a huge empty map, then make it so exquisitely detailed? Every frame is a work of art. So this was what it had been waiting for."
As they talked, the four of them poked their heads out from time to time, curiously looking toward the abandoned building in the distance as though they were gazing at a feast of rare delicacies.
Lin Qi, who had taken out an A5 Composite Longbow and Black Steel Arrows, was utterly speechless.
At a time like this, these four were still treating it like a show and gossiping over it.
It had to be said that people's joys and sorrows were never the same.
"The White Feather Gang?" Thinking of those three words, Lin Qi's expression darkened slightly.
Though the White Feather Gang was not a gang from the suburban district, it was a rather formidable gang among the wilderness drifters, roughly able to rank among the top hundred wilderness gangs.
There were millions of unregistered drifters in the wilderness. To make the top hundred, a gang would need at least several hundred members.
"Master, what should we do now?" Luo Wu Shang looked curiously at Lin Qi as he picked up his weapons, wondering how this storyline would develop next.
"What should we do?" Lin Qi fell silent as well. Their current situation was extremely unfavorable.
The White Feather Gang had six ordinary people, four with compound bows, and all of them had already taken up the most advantageous positions and locked onto them. On their side, they had three ordinary people and two underdeveloped ones. How were they supposed to fight this?
Yet the six from the White Feather Gang seemed to grow impatient with Lin Qi's silence. Another arrow shot out, piercing straight through the Big Three-Wheeler's battery.
"Fuck! My vehicle! My fifty thousand bits!" Lin Qi flew into a rage at the sight of his Big Three-Wheeler's battery being shot apart. He gave the order, "Get them!"
Although they only had three ordinary people and two underdeveloped ones.
All five of them had learned martial skills, and the strength they could unleash in a short burst was at the level of peak Quasi-Apprentices. He himself could even reach the Martial Apprentice level. He refused to believe they could not defeat six drifters.
When the four heard this, the smiles on their faces grew even wider.
At last, a new mode had been unlocked!
"Master, what about our weapons?" Fang Zhen asked tentatively.
Now that this new mode—or rather, this massive dungeon mode—had opened, it was indeed exciting. But it would be even better if they had some weapons.
"Weapons?" Lin Qi looked at Fang Zhen and the others.
Among the four, only Luo Wu Shang held an alloy arrow. The others were carrying Alloy Shovels. Sending them to fight the White Feather Gang like that was indeed a little excessive.
"Take a look and see what you can use." Lin Qi no longer hesitated and pointed directly at the two remaining compound bows and Black Steel Arrows on the vehicle. "You can borrow these for now."
Back then, to ensure some protection during wilderness travel, he had specially asked Luo Qi to forge three A5 Composite Longbows. Even Quasi-Martial Artists would normally use them for practice. Martial Apprentices would find them somewhat strenuous to use, but their power was certainly greater than the White Feather Gang's compound bows.
"Awesome! There's even a weapon trial feature."
"But why are the only weapons compound bows and arrows?"
"Having them is already good enough. Can't you see this is a long-range sniping battle? Of course we should use bows."
Fang Zhen was incomparably excited as he watched Luo Wu Shang and the others complain a little. Without another word, he picked up an A5 Composite Longbow and several Black Steel Arrows.
"Finally! Finally, it's my turn to shine!" Fang Zhen lifted the compound bow, which weighed over thirty kilograms, and said joyfully, "This feels amazing. It feels even better than practicing archery in reality. Is this the technological power of one hundred percent virtual realism?"
"I don't know how to use this bow either." Twilight of the Gods looked somewhat lost as he stared at the compound bow.
"If you can't use it, then just use the arrows as weapons. They weigh much less than the Alloy Shovel and suit our current strength." Luo Wu Shang put away the White Feather Gang's arrow, picked up a Black Steel Arrow, and nodded in satisfaction. "It can barely serve as a longsword."
"Then leave this bow to me." Zhang Qingwei picked up the compound bow, which weighed over thirty kilograms and was a full meter and a half long, and swung it twice. "It isn't as useful as a long saber, but it's better than nothing."
After watching the four choose their weapons, Lin Qi immediately felt a little regretful.
Of the four, aside from Fang Zhen, who was using the weapon properly, none of the others intended to use the compound bows as bows.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three arrows shot straight at Lin Qi and the others. However, because the night was so dark, their accuracy was clearly much worse, and all three struck the body of the Big Three-Wheeler.
"Looks like they're getting serious." Lin Qi looked at the arrows now aimed at people and gave orders. "Fang Zhen and I will provide ranged cover. You three find a chance to move in."
Lin Qi had some confidence in his archery. After all, he lived in the virtual era and had played plenty of virtual games, including many archery games.
Considering his physical condition, a longbow could be said to be the best choice. That was why he had Luo Qi forge three compound bows from the very beginning.
But before Lin Qi and Fang Zhen could launch their covering attack, Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei exchanged a glance. One held a Black Steel Arrow, the other a compound bow, and they charged directly toward the White Feather Gang.
"Have they gone mad?" Lin Qi's head nearly exploded when he saw this.
Did these two even understand coordination?
As Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei charged head-on, the six White Feather Gang members atop the building more than a hundred meters away were also dumbfounded.
"What gang are they from? Why is every one of them so bold?"
"Dark gray long-sleeved shirts, and they were all carrying shovels before. I haven't heard of this gang, but judging from their appearance, their gang's benefits must be quite generous."
"Who cares whether their gang's benefits are good or not? The four of us can take down these two!"
The four young featherfolk with wings on their backs stared contemptuously at Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei as they rapidly approached, drawing their bows to the full moon.
"The earlier arrows missed only because it was dark and the distance was too great. Do they really think we're clueless rookies?"
"Fire together within fifty meters. Take down the one holding the compound bow first!"
A young featherfolk man with a twin-wing insignia printed on his collar watched the two draw closer and began issuing commands.
Fifty meters!
Even under the already-dark sky, they were completely confident they could hit their targets every time at that range. Moreover, in his view, Zhang Qingwei on the other side was likely thinking the same thing, which was why she had approached.
For a moment, Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei drew closer and closer.
One hundred meters... eighty meters... sixty meters...
"Now!" the young featherfolk leader gave the order.
Four Steel Arrows tore through the air with piercing whistles, shooting precisely at Zhang Qingwei, who held the compound bow. They were so fast that they could not be tracked in the darkness.
Just as the arrows were about to strike Zhang Qingwei, she neither dodged nor evaded, continuing to charge toward the building.
"Has she gone mad?" The young featherfolk leader watched Zhang Qingwei refuse even to dodge and felt certain she had lost her mind.
Though evading the arrows of all four of them was impossible, as a person, she should at least struggle a little.
Just as the four arrows came within ten meters of Zhang Qingwei, Luo Wu Shang stepped ahead of her and blocked her path, the Black Steel Arrow in her hand suddenly swinging.
One streak, two streaks, three streaks, four streaks of black light slashed through the air. The black gleams flashed like stars exploding across the heavens.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
All four Steel Arrows were knocked aside and slammed heavily into the ground. Luo Wu Shang took two steps back, steadied herself, then followed closely after Zhang Qingwei.
"Fuck!"
"Is she human or a ghost?"
The young featherfolk leader watched the scene, his mouth hanging open in utter disbelief.
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