Chapter 438: Post-match Analysis (2)

My name is Lin Xuan.

I admit I'm not as smart as them.

But.

Are these two idiots treating me like an idiot?

What the hell!

What the hell!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. The precedent of Hua Changsheng dying to a Distance-Free kill just happened, yet Lin Xuan didn't guard against their Distance-Free kill.

This already explained the problem.

In other words.

…

"I'm not playing anymore!"

Lin Xuan threw the Liar-Slayer on the ground, plopped down on a chair, and ignored the two of them.

Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong exchanged a glance and simultaneously raised a middle finger at Lin Xuan.

Then they ignored him.

Chen Ran took a deep drag of his cigarette, put away his playful expression, and said solemnly: "I keep feeling that the two Hunter Teams in this Instance..."

"Had a problematic level of skill!"

Qiu Yinong nodded: "I have that feeling too. In my opinion, the strength of a Hunter Team lies in collaboration. But the two Hunter Teams in this Instance gave the feeling that they were somewhat lacking, almost like..."

Suddenly, Qiu Yinong thought of something and looked at Chen Ran in astonishment: "Do you mean that the purpose of these two teams was to inflate our egos to kill us?"

Chen Ran nodded and pointed at Lin Xuan.

Qiu Yinong understood instantly.

Setting skills aside, Lin Xuan's level was only average among Three-Stars.

But at the beginning of this Instance, Lin Xuan was as arrogant as one could be.

The reason was.

Under the dual effects of his skill and the protection as a Reserve Teammate of the 9th Floor Master, he mistakenly overestimated himself.

Moreover, the players he dealt with previously were all One-Star and Two-Star, or even ordinary Three-Star players, whom he handled with ease, further causing Lin Xuan to overestimate his own strength.

This led to him displaying that arrogant attitude when he first entered the Instance.

But he was lucky. Throughout the whole process, Chen and Qiu were attracting the firepower, and these two wouldn't kill Lin Xuan. This allowed the ego-inflated Lin Xuan to gradually sober up and recognize himself again.

By the same logic.

The purpose of those two Hunter Teams should also have been inflating egos to kill, causing Chen and Qiu to mistakenly overestimate their own strength.

In other words.

After the ego inflation, comes the true one-hit kill, which means in the next Instance...

What was even more fatal was.

In the previous Instance, Diwu Zeyi died due to freedom, and in this Instance, Shu Renjun died due to the Instance mechanics. In reality, Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong hadn't truly achieved a battle record of...

Killing enemies two star ranks higher!

They didn't know their own upper limits!

"Hey, don't stare at me with that kind of look, I'm getting scared." Lin Xuan felt a bit creeped out being stared at by the two.

Chen Ran silently smoked his cigarette, while Qiu Yinong silently chewed her chewing gum.

They clearly knew that since the ego inflation phase was over, in the next Instance, they would highly likely face a top-tier Five-Star Hunter Team. This would be a team with a clear goal that wouldn't consider the overall situation at all—the kind that would use Combo Skills the moment they encountered Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong.

'We cannot advance to Four-Star!!'

This was the shared thought of the two. Once they advanced to Four-Star, they would face being tracked by a top-tier Six-Star Hunter Team.

Six-Star slays Ego!

Thinking of this, the two instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Previously, they had been thinking that if they went back and participated in the Hell Great Escape, they might be able to earn enough points to advance to Four-Star.

Now, how could they dare to advance to Four-Star?

The safest method was to accumulate enough points at Three-Star and directly advance to Six-Star.

But the problem was.

Although the probability of Hell birthing Superego Players was very small, it couldn't withstand the massive base number.

If these Superego Players didn't want to submit to a certain Floor Master, they would be tracked. As long as they were tracked, they would be stuck at Three-Star for a very long time; after all, if they advanced to Four or Five-Star, a single Six-Star Ego Player could finish them off.

In other words.

If the two of them stayed at Three-Star, then in the upcoming Instances, the players they would encounter...

Three-Stars had strong skills.

Five-Stars had strong overall strength.

Four-Stars were actually the easiest to bully!

Moreover, coming out of this Instance, the two's paper battle record was quite luxurious.

It was not guaranteed that there wouldn't be Three-Star Superego Players who chose to track them, aiming to drive the tiger to devour the wolf.

But none of this was the key point!

The key point was...

The two of them looked at Lin Xuan, then turned their heads to exchange a glance, both secretly nodding.

Lin Xuan shivered. This time, their gazes clearly carried killing intent.

"What are you doing? Oh my, what did I ever do to you guys?" Lin Xuan pulled a long face.

Chen Ran took a deep drag of his cigarette, revealing a smile showing two rows of teeth, and said: "I just made a resolution. If you dare to advance to Four-Star before us, in the future, no matter what star rank, as long as we meet in an Instance, we will..."

"Butcher you!"

Lin Xuan: "..."

Although this was a Future Lie, and would disappear once they exited the Instance.

But looking at their eyes, Lin Xuan knew they were serious.

He put away his previous expression and also looked at them seriously: "I know what you guys are thinking, but whether I advance to Four-Star or not isn't up to me. Bound by the treaty, if the Boss tells me to advance to Four-Star, I cannot refuse."

"However."

He changed the subject: "The three of us are considered a passive team, controlled by the Boss. As long as he isn't stupid, he will wait for us to slowly grow up and handle matters for him. Therefore, there's a high probability he won't force me to advance to Four-Star."

"Moreover, this time there was only one Hunter Team tracking you. Gao Lan's Hunter Team was one you actively tracked. I think what you said about inflating egos to kill doesn't hold water."

"Also, the Boss came forward to pressure the 1st Floor Master. Theoretically speaking, the 1st Floor Master shouldn't send people to track you anymore."

"What are you guys afraid of?"

Hearing this, Chen Ran covered his forehead, organized his wording, and pointed at Qiu Yinong: "There is a high probability that she already fell victim to The Almighty's skill in the previous Instance. After exiting the Instance, she met Gao Lan, whom she knew while alive. Do I need to continue?"

Lin Xuan's eyes widened. He felt his own body trembling: "Y-Y-You mean, you tracking Gao Lan, all of this was the result of The Almighty's skill design?"

Since the skill was Omnipotent, there definitely existed causal effects: because they needed to verify that the 18th Level wasn't a virtual world, they met Gao Lan after exiting the Instance.

Theoretically, it made sense.

If it was designed by The Almighty, then the two Hunter Teams really were for inflating egos to kill!

Since the ego inflation was over, next would be the true one-hit kill.

What was the one-hit kill?

Lin Xuan advancing to Four-Star, meaning Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong would also have to advance to Four-Star if they wanted to continue tracking him.

Advancing to Four-Star meant they could encounter...

Six-Star slays Ego players.

But this still wasn't the certain kill.

The true certain kill was...

There are four Six-Star Ego players, appearing in the form of a Hunter Team. As for the fifth position, it would be a Four-Star player who facilitates these four people's Downward Compatibility, forming a Six-Star Hunter Team.

Therefore, if Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong wanted to evade the Six-Star Hunter Team, they had to make Lin Xuan stay at Three-Star.

And the crucial point here lay in:

The Alliance leader couldn't possibly tell the 9th Floor Master that Chen Ran was a True Self Player.

Simply put, if he did, the 9th Floor Master would hunt Chen Ran to extinction.

If Chen Ran was pushed to the brink, he would self-destruct, dragging all the players of the 18th Level to die together with him.

So from Chen Ran's perspective, the Alliance leader wouldn't let the 9th Floor Master order Lin Xuan to advance to Four-Star in any form, so this one-hit kill could be evaded.

Evading it was also very simple. Since neither the Leader nor the 9th Floor Master would interfere with Lin Xuan, Chen Ran only needed to control Lin Xuan and prevent him from recklessly advancing to Four-Star on his own to evade it.

This trap was very ingenious; it was a certain one-hit kill, yet it could also be evaded. Even if Chen Ran deduced it, he wouldn't develop thoughts of self-destructing with the 18th Level. It was handled just right.

Lin Xuan looked at Chen Ran, then looked at Qiu Yinong, seeing their expressions remained as usual.

'The two of them almost stepped into the abyss, yet their expressions at this moment are terrifyingly calm.'

'No, is this right?'

'Also, it seems I've been dragged in by these two idiots. Is it still in time for me to back out now?'