Fighting Players, Sui to the Rescue

In the shantytown on the border's northwest side.

A young man in a leather jacket, holding a short blade and bearing the ID "Agile Dog in the Mountains," looked far too excited.

"I can't believe we're already teaming up to take down a boss! It's so soon!" he said excitedly.

"Thanks for the heads-up, bro. We finally get a piece of the action," he went on.

Another young man stood beside him, wearing sunglasses and a cleric's robe. His ID was "Tentacles Aren't Evil God," and he clicked his tongue in disdain.

"Look at you, panting like a dog," Evil God teased.

Mountain Dog pointed at his ID. "What, you blind?"

Winter said, "All right, enough messing around. Gheros said he's bringing Mad Dog over."

"Let's go over the plan and the intel one last time," he continued.

The other three nodded and huddled together.

Winter took out the plan and blueprints. "Mad Dog. Level-seven elite boss, 1,200 HP. He hasn't activated his Abyssal Projection. He's incredibly strong and specializes in close combat."

"His usual weapons are a spiked club and a modified sawed-off shotgun that can fire three shots in a row."

"He's also wearing an engineering exoskeleton that gives him an extra 160 kilograms of strength."

"He's extremely aggressive and hits like a truck. At our current level, only 108 can take a hit. The rest of us will die if he catches us."

"His weaknesses are that he's simple-minded and quick to lose his temper. And since his engineering exoskeleton isn't suited for combat, he isn't very agile."

"Remember, keep moving. Don't get greedy with your attacks. Circle him and strike."

The three nodded to show they understood.

Winter asked, "Are the mines planted?"

Evil God nodded. "All set. Freshly modified battery mines. They'll have no trouble frying the exoskeleton's circuit board."

Winter nodded. "Save your skills. We'll only have ten seconds to attack while it's disabled."

"Aim carefully, and don't wreck the exoskeleton. It's the only valuable thing this boss has!"

The three flexed their hands. "Don't worry!"

After a pause, Winter reminded them, "Be ready for Gheros to turn on us. A two-faced boss like him loves catching people off guard."

Evil God said, "I've set up a way to contact the Revolutionary Army in an emergency."

Winter nodded. "Good. Get ready to pull."

"We only get one shot. If we fail, Gheros will probably lose faith in us."

Sui led Mad Dog and the other three across the warship shantytown to an abandoned area on the northwest side.

Moss and weeds covered the old tents and houses. Everywhere they looked, the place was desolate and run-down.

"They're here?" Mad Dog asked, puzzled.

"If they weren't, how would they stay hidden?" Sui replied.

Mad Dog's muscle-packed brain gave it no further thought.

As far as he was concerned, Sui wouldn't dare plot against him even if he had a hundred lives.

After jumping over three filthy ditches, the five spotted a dilapidated two-story building that showed clear signs of habitation.

Mad Dog kicked Sui. "Go! Scout ahead!"

A murderous glint flashed in the eyes of Alton and the other two.

If their boss hadn't repeatedly warned them that Mad Dog absolutely could not die by their hands, Alton would have drawn his gun right then.

Sui had given them a new lease on life.

Seeing their big brother humiliated filled all three with rage.

Sui gave them a look, then made a show of walking forward.

Winter, hiding in the distance, saw Sui approach and quietly told Mountain Dog, "Plan two. Go meet him, then pretend to attack Gheros."

Mountain Dog's class was Deceptive Agent, a speed-focused class similar to a thief or assassin.

His innate skill, Sprint Burst, increased his speed by 40 percent for five seconds, making him perfect bait.

Mountain Dog nodded. Then he shot out like a ghost, pressed his blade to Sui's neck, and demanded, "Who are you?"

Sui immediately shouted, "Mad Dog! Help!"

The moment Mad Dog saw Mountain Dog, his eyes gleamed with bloodlust, and his massive body erupted with astonishing power.

He charged at incredible speed, like a bear fired from a cannon.

Then he swung his spiked club at Mountain Dog.

From the look of it, he intended to crush Sui along with him.

He had no intention of letting the boss know Sui had helped make this happen.

Besides, after yesterday, Mad Dog had begun to feel that Sui threatened his position.

Today was the perfect chance to get rid of him too!

"Die!" Mad Dog roared, his face twisted with madness.

He loved watching blood and gore spray everywhere.

Mountain Dog wasn't surprised. The intel had told him exactly what kind of person Mad Dog was.

Prepared for this, he kicked Sui away and used the recoil to launch himself backward like an arrow.

"Enemy attack!" Mountain Dog shouted. Then the burly 108 "hurriedly" ran out. The moment he saw Mad Dog, he lunged forward and struck hard.

Bang!

The punch landed squarely on Mad Dog's chest.

[-15]

"Damn, he's tough!" 108 cursed.

Mad Dog flashed a savage grin and swung his enormous fist straight at 108's head.

108 scrambled back. "Run!"

The two turned and fled.

Seeing them panic, Mad Dog grinned viciously. "Think you can run?!"

He turned to Alton and the other two. "Circle around and cut them off."

"If they get away, I'll tear you apart!"

With that, he chased after them at top speed.

Alton and the other two instead hurried over and helped Sui up.

"Big brother, are you all right?" Mota asked anxiously.

Sui shook his head and stood with a smile. "Go keep watch over there. Don't let anyone else come near."

"Mad Dog dies today!"

The three nodded eagerly, then quickly spread out according to plan.

Mad Dog chased the pair for about fifty meters before catching up to them in an abandoned courtyard.

"Die!"

The terrifying spiked club swept toward them with a frightening rush of air, making 108's and Mountain Dog's scalps prickle.

Evil God's voice came through. "The mine's set. It goes off in thirty seconds."

Since he had cobbled it together from batteries, he couldn't trigger it remotely. He had to set a timer in advance.

108 said, "Got it! Where's the buff?"

As soon as he spoke, both men felt their bodies grow lighter.

Evil God said, "You're buffed. Get in there!"

Evil God's class was Preacher. Its innate skill, Encouragement Blessing, increased the speed and strength of up to three targets by 20 percent for one minute.

The boost made the pair much more confident.

After they nimbly dodged two more attacks, Mad Dog frowned. "What's going on?"

His people skills and intelligence were both poor, but his fighting instincts were sharp.

He could clearly tell that the two had suddenly gotten faster.

Before he could make sense of it, they doubled back and attacked.

Mountain Dog thrust his short blade at Mad Dog's neck.

108 swung his massive fist at Mad Dog's head.

Mad Dog sneered. Rather than dodge, he swung his spiked club, using offense as defense.

Faced with such a heavy weapon, the two had no choice but to break off their attacks and dodge right.

Winter swallowed. "Twenty seconds. Ten meters. Move faster!"

Hearing him, the pair quickened their evasive steps. Mad Dog thought nothing of it and charged after them.

"Ten seconds. Three meters... Hold on!"

"I can't hold out much longer!" 108 roared.

Just as the terrifying spiked club was about to strike 108, Winter's eyes suddenly flared with blinding light.

The next instant, Mad Dog's body froze.

The Hacker Analyst's innate skill was Quick Hack, which let him swiftly control or briefly disrupt electronic devices.

At Winter's current level, he could only make an exoskeleton like this seize up for one second.

But one second was enough.

The two seized their chance and stumbled clear of the fatal blow.

The sudden pause broke Mad Dog's rhythm, and the club's tremendous momentum made him lurch forward.

"Zero meters!" Winter shouted excitedly.

The next second...

Bzzzt!

A burst of blinding electricity and an explosion erupted from underground.

Mad Dog's body went numb, and he realized his exoskeleton had stopped working!

"Damn it! A trap?!" Mad Dog said in shock.

While he was still reeling, a deep voice suddenly rang out.

"Uppercut!"

Bang!

Before Mad Dog could react, a devastating blow slammed into his jaw.

The impact blanked his mind for a moment.

[Weak-point critical hit!]

[Stunned!]

[-100!]

"Holy shit! That SS-grade prosthetic is insane!" Evil God exclaimed.

"Bullshit! I used my innate skill!" 108 snapped.

The Mechanical Modder's innate skill was Boost Overload, which made the next attack deal triple damage.

"What are you standing around for?" Winter shouted. "We've only got ten seconds!"

All four pounced.

108 hammered Mad Dog's head with his huge fists.

Mountain Dog drove his short blade toward Mad Dog's throat.

Evil God and Winter attacked Mad Dog's leg joints with small daggers.

The searing pain tore an instinctive roar from Mad Dog.

"Die! Die! Die!" Mad Dog had lost himself completely to madness.

His monstrous body dragged the disabled exoskeleton into motion. With a violent struggle, he threw all four of them off.

"Holy shit, he's too strong!" 108 cried in alarm.

Mad Dog's skull was caved in at two points, his throat was slashed open, and blood covered his body.

On instinct, Mad Dog pulled the modified sawed-off shotgun from inside his coat.

He fired at 108 and Mountain Dog, the two closest to him.

We're done for! The two had only just struggled up after being thrown. There was no way they could dodge.

Winter froze. If their two main damage dealers died, he and the other support player might not be able to finish the boss, even in his battered state!

Bang!

The gunshot rang out, and a swarm of alloy pellets shot forward, propelled by a powerful electric charge.

We're done! Party wipe, right at the finish line! All four had the same thought.

None of them had expected the boss to have one last burst of strength.

But a moment later, neither 108 nor Mountain Dog felt the pellets hit.

They looked up and saw Sui standing calmly before them with his left hand raised.

Less than a meter in front of him, dozens of pellets hung in midair as though held there by telekinesis.

"Holy shit!"

At the sight of him descending to save them like a god, all four were so moved they could have cried.

In the players' eyes, Sui was their god!