The Humvee raced wildly through the streets of New York, buildings on either side blurring past. Wen Rou stood atop the vehicle, ceaselessly scanning the surroundings with her binoculars.
The Bloody City did not distinguish mutants from ordinary humans through specific methods. To identify mutants, adventurers had to rely on their observations and discoveries. Most mutants, due to genetic changes, had some physical differences from ordinary humans, be it skin color, body shape, dressing style, or behavioral habits.
For most mutants, these differences were subtle, but to the adventurers, anyone with even slight discrepancies was worth their attention and suspicion.
"Suspicious target spotted 200 meters ahead to the right!" Wen Rou shouted. This was her fourth discovery, with the previous three being false alarms.
At her call, Jin Gang swerved the Humvee sharply to the right, charging towards the indicated location. A lean man with a hint of green in his eyes was walking down the street. It was this slight green tint that aroused Wen Rou's suspicion.
Noticing the approaching Humvee, the man turned and bolted towards a cluster of buildings.
"Target confirmed, he's trying to escape!" Wen Rou yelled.
Mutants, having fought humans for a while, were highly cautious of them. A human vehicle charging at full speed usually meant the occupant had identified the mutant and was taking action. Jin Gang and his team were using this tactic to force the mutants to reveal themselves.
Hearing Wen Rou's announcement, everyone tensed up.
"He won't get away," Hong Lang chuckled, pulling out a gun from the emblem.
He aimed the gun's scope at the lean man, gently squeezing the trigger. As the gunshot rang out, the bullet left the barrel. At the same time, the man leaped towards a nearby building. The bullet missed, flying just beneath his feet, and as it traced a beautiful arc through the air, the man had already landed on the building's wall. His hands stuck to the wall like suction cups, climbing swiftly between buildings like a giant gecko.
The Gecko Man's climbing path was erratic, making it difficult for Hong Lang to hit him. In a blink, he had reached the rooftop, pushed off the wall, and leaped into the air, gliding effortlessly onto the rooftop terrace.
After landing, he glanced coldly back at Hong Lang's team, his eyes filled with icy disdain, before turning to leave. In a city like New York, full of steel and concrete buildings, he moved swiftly from one rooftop to another, seemingly about to escape, when Shen Yi suddenly drew his gun and fired into the sky.
The bullet whistled through the air, tracing a perfect arc. As the mutant jumped to another rooftop and moved out of Shen Yi's line of sight, he was unexpectedly hit in the face by the bullet.
The mutant collapsed face-first.
A ding from the Bloody Emblem announced: "Contestant E5371 has killed a Level 1 mutant, earning one kill point."
"Nice shot!" Wen Rou exclaimed excitedly.
Successfully hunting a mutant, the team finally shed the embarrassment of having zero kill points. In the following time, Shen Yi's team encountered two more adventurers. Jin Gang and Wen Rou each killed one, earning a kill point.
The Bloody Emblem periodically chimed, reminding every adventurer that others were also fiercely pursuing their targets. Checking the rankings, some adventurers had already gained 7 kill points, including killing three mutants and one Level 2 mutant, within two hours of the mission's start.
"This isn't good, we're gaining kill points too slowly," Hong Lang shook his head in dissatisfaction. He was supposed to be the first to act according to their agreement, but the kill point he should have earned went to Shen Yi, and he had to wait for Shen Yi and Fatty to make their moves before he could act again. This was frustrating for him, but he had no choice since he had missed his opportunity.
Jin Gang, driving, spoke up: "I have an idea."
"We go after Wolverine and the others. These guys are well-known mutants we're aware of. We shouldn't waste time on lesser-known ones, let's take down the famous ones first."
Wen Rou immediately objected: "I don't recommend that. I'm sure each of these known characters is at least Level 4. Judging by the strength of the Level 1 mutant we just encountered and the kill points offered, mutants above Level 3 are not easy to deal with. According to the Bloody City's usual practice, characters like Magneto and Professor X will likely be even stronger. It's extremely risky to engage them without knowing their exact capabilities."
Hong Lang then suggested, "What about seeking help from the U.S. military? They should have some information on mutants, and we could join forces with them."
"I think it's challenging," Shen Yi shook his head. "Even if they have information on mutants, they would have already killed those they could and the rest would have escaped. Do you think they would share valuable information with us, or are they planning to bait us with such information? They have time to wait, but we don't. We only have 72 hours. As for working with the government... Do you think the government's efficiency will be higher than ours? Don't forget that the efficiency of a team usually depends on its least efficient component. They will only slow us down."
"But we need a solution," both Jin Gang and Hong Lang were getting anxious.
"Don't worry," Shen Yi said. "Mutants can't be completely hidden or dispersed. If they are going against the government, they must have organization and territory. We're not very familiar with New York right now, but we'll soon find piles of mutants, and then we'll all be busy."
His tone was calm, carrying a confident composure that gave everyone some confidence.
"Alright... Captain," Jin Gang replied in a drawn-out tone.
As they continued their journey, they didn't encounter any other mutants. Mutants in New York City seemed to be hiding like mice in their holes, refusing to show themselves.
But looking at other adventurers, the rate at which their Kill Points increased was limited. Nearly half of the adventurers still had zero points.
In contrast, the Northern District was the most eye-catching. Four adventurers had entered the top ten, with the highest Kill Points holder having ten points, having killed six mutants, including a Level 2 mutant. However, the first-place holder didn't have the most mutant kills; the second-place holder had killed seven mutants and didn't seem to be relying on luck.
Another two hours passed, and everyone's harvest was still extremely limited.
However, Shen Yi didn't seem to mind at all.
As he had said, this was just the beginning.
While looking at the scenery outside, Shen Yi turned to Fatty, who was sitting next to him, and said, "Since we have some time, let's talk about how to obtain multiple abilities and how to increase the energy of our abilities."
Fatty replied reluctantly, "These details I learned from a senior adventurer during a past mission related to the X-Men. However, there are some things I'm not entirely sure about, so I can't vouch for their accuracy."
"Tell us what you know. We will evaluate its credibility."
"The usual way to obtain abilities is by killing targets with abilities. Abilities don't appear as scrolls or boxes; they form directly as an ability mark on the adventurer. For example, this?" Shen Yi raised his wrist, showing a small red mark that had appeared after he killed the lizard-like mutant.
"Yes, each mark represents a specific ability and its initial energy strength. After completing a mission and receiving an excellent rating, adventurers have a chance to gain one of these abilities, but it's random. Only those who perform perfectly can choose their ability. However, whether it's randomly assigned or chosen, it can only be an ability without direct combat capabilities. If you kill a mutant with direct combat abilities, such marks won't appear. Bloody City doesn't allow us to possess abilities with direct combat capabilities, like Wolverine's claws or Cyclops' laser vision. Abilities like Magneto's metal manipulation or Mystique's shape-shifting are allowed."
Shen Yi immediately asked Jin Gang, "Is this how you obtained your ability?"
"In that mission, I wasn't in the X-Men world, and there weren't many mutants. I only killed one mutant, and I didn't go through the selection process. I just obtained it directly upon returning, so I'm not very clear about it."
"How can we obtain multiple abilities, then?" Shen Yi asked.
Fatty hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know."
"What did you say earlier?" Hong Lang turned and yelled.
Fatty shouted, "I really don't know!"
"Then why did you mention it earlier?"
"I said I know there's a method to break the restriction, but I don't know what it is. Everything I've told you was shared by that senior adventurer. He claimed to have seen adventurers with two abilities at the same time, but he didn't know how they achieved it. He only knew that the traditional methods wouldn't work!"
Hong Lang sighed in frustration, "This fatso is messing with us. I really want to rip him apart!"
Jin Gang shook his head and said, "Don't say that. Remember, the use of abilities depends on energy. Without energy, multiple abilities are meaningless. For most people, abilities like Professor X's mind control, telepathy, and Phoenix's telekinesis are considered the most powerful. But they don't know that, in fact, most abilities are not inherently strong or weak because the more powerful the ability, the more energy it requires. Professor X's mental control, telepathy, and Phoenix's telekinesis fall under the category of indiscriminate effects and are considered super-powered abilities, but they also require a high amount of energy... Last time, when I used telekinesis for just three seconds to stop the bomb, it depleted all my energy. Abilities and skills are different. When your energy is depleted, it directly draws on your life force to maintain it, and the speed of drawing life force is terrifying. It almost killed me. So, I think it doesn't matter if there's no method to obtain multiple abilities. What's more important is how to increase our energy, which is the key. Fatty, if you don't even know that, then don't blame us for being tough on you."
Fatty immediately said, "I know that part for sure. Killing mutants has a small chance of dropping Energy Spheres. Energy Spheres come in levels one to five, and they can only be dropped by specific mutants. Each Energy Sphere increases energy by 10 to 50 points. The higher the level of the mutant, the higher the chance of dropping Energy Spheres, so higher-level Energy Spheres are easier to obtain. Besides, I heard there are other methods to obtain Energy Spheres, but I'm not sure about them. I only know that killing adventurers with abilities guarantees a 100% chance of obtaining Energy Spheres. For example, Jin Gang, killing him would give you an Energy Sphere that increases energy by 10 points. And this doesn't count as an inheritance."
Jin Gang grinned, "So, I can get Energy Spheres from killing you, right? Next time, be careful with your metaphors."
Fatty nodded vigorously.
Shen Yi thought for a moment and asked, "So, someone like Magneto, who can control metal, should require less energy to use his ability, right? That's how he could lift an entire bridge."
Fatty nodded, "Yes, the mass, precision, complexity, and range of what you control all affect the amount of energy required. Different abilities have different variations, but they all adhere to these basic principles."
Shen Yi's lips curled into a faint smile, "I understand now. It's not about how strong the ability is, but how well it combines with your own energy... In that case, let's all focus on hunting. When the time comes, we'll see who can obtain some good abilities."