Chapter 191: Overclass

The group conducted a series of tests and experiments on the power conduit, including but not limited to fabricating task batteries from available materials;

powering the batteries with diesel generators and transformers;

modifying the conduit using the Artificer's spellcasting abilities;

all attempts ended in failure, including digging downward through the soil to locate the conduit's source, which was also proven unfeasible—

the rock layers below were too thick, too hard to drill through.

"It's been five hours since we fell into the grass."

The Crimson Racer glanced at the time on his wristwatch and chuckled bitterly: "The only good news is that, in this area, the battery's charge has stopped dropping."

"What good is that?"

Midnight Howl's face twisted in fury as he slammed a fist into the ground, kicking up dust. "Who the hell knows if the Arena System will let us leave after the mission time limit expires and we fail."

If we're stuck here forever, what's the difference from being dead?"

Players usually bring their own compressed biscuits, energy bars, and drinking water to avoid ingesting toxic food in script worlds, enough to last months.

But if this patch of grass truly is, as Midnight Howl suspected, infinite in time, any food supply will eventually run out.

"Hmm…"

Gray Rain had donned the cosplay long robe of Lu Xun, a e-cigarette dangling from her lips, frowning with the intense, contemplative expression of deep thought.

"Fuu—"

She exhaled a puff of strawberry-flavored smoke and mused: "This situation reminds me of a book I read a few days ago—a sealed room you can't escape unless you make love."

"Are you sure you read an actual book? Don't use Mr. Lu Xun's image to say things like that."

Li Cheng winced and delivered a sharp palm strike to Gray Rain's shoulder—he wasn't worried about food at all.

Gray Rain was a liquid-metal robot and didn't need to eat.

Li Cheng himself had the item 【Assembled Puppet】, and if all else failed, he could assemble solar panels onto his own head to power his entire body with sunlight.

Besides, the Arena never issues impossible missions.

This deadlock felt more like an essential clue or item still undiscovered.

Suddenly, Midnight Howl seemed to sense something, his expression shifting instantly, nostrils flaring as he snuffed the air violently.

"Six o'clock direction—bloodstained odor approaching."

He growled low, muscles swelling, bursting through his clothes and boots to reveal his fitted battle suit underneath.

His nose protruded forward, ears sharpened, dense black fur sprouting across his body as he rapidly transformed into a werewolf over two meters tall.

That wasn't enough—he grabbed a dozen syringes and jammed them into his neck, injecting all the unknown colored liquids into his veins.

"Ugh—"

With a prolonged groan of agony, his werewolf form grew even taller, swelling to nearly three meters.

His eyes glowed with eerie red light, his ten fingernails sharpened into dagger-like claws that sliced the air with a hiss.

The others readied for battle: Zhao Zijing spread his palm, causing nine metal spears to hover aloft;

the Crimson Racer released all his Pokémon, surrounding himself in a protective circle;

Li Cheng's mechanical arms raised rifles and cannons, vigilantly aimed forward;

Gray Rain's combat power lay entirely within herself—nothing to prepare—so she simply adopted a stern expression and sucked hard on her strawberry e-cigarette, exhaling thick smoke rings.

The tall grass swayed and trembled as heavy footsteps drew nearer; a massive shadow emerged from the dense green foliage, lifting its head.

It was a giant, muscular man with ashen skin, bare-chested, his body covered in grotesque scars, a rusted steel nail as thick as two fingers driven into his skull.

Cliff, a close-combat specialist of the Mercury Alloy Guild, Australian, his power system based on the Marine Six Styles from One Piece.

According to the now-dead 【Bismuth Yellow】, Cliff had betrayed the Guild and killed the rest of the Mercury Alloy members.

"Heh… heh."

Cliff used his massive, palm-sized hand to gently part the tall grass, walking forward with a sickly grin, his eyes devoid of madness or self-will—only dull emptiness and numbness.

Just by looking into his eyes, Zhao Zijing knew there was little point in trying to communicate.

But for the sake of some remote possibility, he took a deep breath and spoke calmly: "Are you Cliff from Sydney, Australia? I'm from GOC."

"Who should I kill this time?"

Cliff ignored Zhao Zijing entirely, muttering to himself as his gaze slowly shifted toward the werewolf form of Midnight Howl.

Shhh—

The next instant, the massive Cliff vanished from his spot, appearing instantly before the werewolf as if teleporting.

Too fast.

Only afterimages remained on the retina; Zhao Zijing realized it belatedly, his face paling.

Restricted by the Mysterious Lock's suppression of spatial teleportation, Cliff hadn't used a teleport skill—he'd simply broken through to the center of the group with absurdly exaggerated speed.

This technique was called 【Six Styles: Razor】, where one rapidly stomps the ground, using explosive reaction forces for high-speed movement.

Shh!

Cliff delivered a simple, unadorned uppercut straight toward Midnight Howl's chin.

The latter's heart pounded violently; the dozen forbidden drugs injected into his body triggered an extremely complex biochemical reaction within his blood vessels, spine, and brain.

Heart rate surged, reaction time accelerated, pain suppressed, strength amplified, combat instincts heightened.

Under the combined effects of his werewolf transformation and the forbidden drugs, Midnight Howl actually reacted in time—

his left wolf claw seized Cliff's incoming uppercut, while his right claw slashed diagonally downward toward Cliff's already wounded chest.

Clang!

The wolf claws failed to pierce the heart, instead being violently deflected—Cliff stood motionless, having activated another Six Styles technique, 【Iron Body】, temporarily reinforcing his body's defense to make him impervious to blades and bullets.

He swept his left leg low, though shorter than Midnight Howl, his strength vastly superior; he effortlessly knocked the werewolf's legs askew, sending him tumbling sideways, off-balance.

Before Midnight Howl could hit the ground, Cliff twisted his body sideways and delivered a powerful side kick straight to the werewolf's chest, launching him hard into the Y-shaped conduit, his neck bent nearly 180 degrees.

According to the data, Cliff is a Lv20 melee Awakener; even though he is clearly insane and wounded, his stats on paper are far, far stronger than any player present.

No one dared hold back. The car racer commanded his Pokémon to unleash their strongest moves—Roselia's Petal Dance, Cyndaquil's Flame Inferno, Pichu's Thunderbolt, Pidgeotto's Aerial Ace—bombarding Cliff's position with a furious barrage.

All manner of skills slammed into the barren land, kicking up a sky-filling cloud of dust.

"Looking for me?"

A low voice suddenly rang out beside the red-clad car racer. The racer's heart skipped a beat, and in his peripheral vision he saw Cliff use Soru once more, flashing to his side.

At the critical moment, the Primeape at the racer's feet leaped high and unleashed 【Facade】, driving a punch toward the side of Cliff's head at his temple.

Cliff repeated the same trick, using Tekkai to block this life-risking strike, then drove another fist straight through Primeape's body. His palm, slick with fresh blood and fur, seized the racer's skull in an iron grip.

(End of Chapter)