Boom! Boom! Boom!
A loud noise echoed from the complex overpass in the Linggu Valley District, and in the dust that obscured the vision, several teams of players scattered and moved through the surrounding buildings.
Shattered traffic lights, broken steel and concrete, flickering dim neon lights...
"..." Emerging from the dust, a slender black shadow roared lowly.
"Grand Slam, watch closely!"
The spirited youth in sportswear shouted, and in an instant, he closed the distance and stood before the shadow, swinging his baseball bat with all his might!
Bang! The baseball bat collided with the shadow!
Intense wind pressure immediately erupted, shattering the concrete road several meters around and raising another cloud of dust!
The girl in pajamas, hugged by a teddy bear, watched all of this and asked from a safe distance on an electrical pole:
"Did it work, bat boy?"
At that moment, a female voice responded.
"Probably not." The office lady covered her injured arm. "The boss in the sequence game isn't that easy to deal with..."
The two players exchanged a glance, then turned their gaze to where the dust was settling, staring at it intently.
The overpass fell into a brief silence, and after two or three seconds...
"...Retreat!"
A shout shattered the silence, and the youth in sportswear dashed out of the dust, quickly leaping onto the rooftops of the neighborhood, passing by the electrical pole.
When the youth rushed past them, the girl in pajamas and the office lady didn't hesitate and immediately followed suit.
As the team formed by the three leading E-rank players announced their retreat, other groups of players watching from a distance followed suit.
This wasn't something that could be resolved in a short time. It was the consensus of the challenging players.
"Its movements are restricted in well-lit areas. Let's gather at the shopping mall first!"
The youth in sportswear, holding the slightly bent baseball bat, stepped on the electrical pole along the street, never stopping as he made his way to the rendezvous point.
The office lady gritted her teeth and temporarily covered her wound with demonic energy. She followed closely behind the youth, her black hair flowing as she said:
"If we had someone with a light-based ability, it wouldn't be this difficult!"
Complaining about the office lady's remark, the girl in pajamas, lying in the teddy bear's arms, sleepily said:
"Can we end this soon? I'm so sleepy..."
"..."
Meanwhile, a low growl came from the dust.
The slender, elongated black shadow, like a grim reaper, like a ghost, slithered through the shadows between buildings. Its arms were sharp shadow scythes resembling mantis arms.
With its highly distorted proportions, it could easily dodge long-range attacks from players and take advantage of its long arms in close combat.
Its head twisted like a second hand of a clock, "..."
As the guardian of the victory condition in the E-rank sequence game, a terrifying reaper walking in the shadows, satisfying the challenge difficulty for 985 players...
This creature burdened with numerous attributes locked onto its next target, vanished into the shadows, merging with them.
—The Thin Specter begins the hunt.
...
...
Inside an unadorned high-rise building, destined for demolition, on the 21st floor illuminated by a few dim lamps, a grim execution was taking place.
"What do you want to do?!"
An E-rank player, bound by magical chains and unable to move, was pressed to the ground, glaring at the group of E-rank players in front of him with gritted teeth.
Behind the captured player was the empty structure of the building, overlooking the city and sea under the night sky.
An occasional cold breeze blew in.
"Hehe..."
The weak male voice spoke up, and a pale, sickly man in a wheelchair, pushed forward by his subordinates, came into view.
He cynically examined the bound player, propping his chin up and playfully said:
"Just using you to boost my sequence ranking, don't mind it."
"Are you crazy?" The bound player gritted his teeth. "Has your brain gone bad?!"
Defeating other players did indeed raise one's sequence ranking, but defeating a player who couldn't even fight back would be considered a crushing victory by the system, almost negligible in its effect.
"Every little bit counts..." The sickly man coughed a few times, grasping his hand, "And don't you find it interesting? Having the power of life and death over others in your hands..."
"Let me go!" The bound player couldn't suppress his emotions. "How did they let you out of the mental hospital?!"
"Is that so?" The sickly man coughed a few more times, then pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, gesturing with his eyes to his subordinates behind him.
Thus, with his subordinates gently pushing the player from behind, he moved closer, adopting a more serious attitude, and looked down upon his helpless prey.
"Your attitude isn't very good." The sickly man drew a gun and pressed it against the player's forehead. "Just so you know, I've killed many before. Are you afraid?"
"Tch, death only returns us to reality. Count me unlucky!" The player sneered disdainfully.
"Oh? Since you're not afraid..."
A dangerous glint flashed in the sickly man's eyes, and he slowly retracted the gun, exhaling a breath.
"...then I've changed my mind. It also saves me some bullets."
Then, the sickly man glanced to the side, raised his pale hand, coughed once, and held out a dagger.
"..." The bound player swallowed hard, staring fixedly at the sickly man.
In the next moment...
"Player's sequence ranking has risen."
The bound player was finally deemed eliminated, transformed into pale blue system data, and sent back to reality.
The sickly man breathed a sigh of relief, then put away the dagger, using a white handkerchief to wipe off the bloodstains on his body.
Due to the extremely psychotic scene, even his subordinates who watched the execution wavered in their determination.
But the sickly man didn't mind. He looked at the players with a false gaze, then revealed a friendly smile, displaying his ability interface.
"Ability: Ultimate Five Senses"
"Rank: A"
"The player's visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile senses are greatly enhanced."
The pale blue ability interface shone, reflecting in the eyes of all his subordinates.
"Now that I've been chosen for an A-rank ability..." He pretended to be elegant, barely suppressing a cough. "I won't forget any of you when I rise to the top."
Although the subordinates obediently waited nearby, their eyes subtly ignited with a hint of fervor, showing some interest.
After all, an A-rank ability user, as long as they didn't die prematurely, would become a powerful A-rank player in the future, someone they E-rank ability users could never reach.
The sequence game was cruel, and the bestowed ability rank determined a player's upper limit of strength.
"Well then..." The sickly man pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, looking towards a dark corner. "Let's execute the next one."
In a world where the senses of everyone were clear and vivid, including their every move, breath, pulse, as well as their fears, apprehensions, and submissiveness, everything was under his control... Hahaha...
He laughed maniacally.