A look of surprise flashed across the other person's face, but in the very next second, they slid backward along the sand surface, retracting the lasso while shouting toward Xu Huo, "Desert Fish!"
They didn't take out an item, so Xu Huo guessed this was likely characteristic power. However, now that the two of them were face to face, under the effect of "Seeing is Believing," the other's characteristic failed to take effect.
Gripping the Umbrella of Justice, he instantly swapped the Desert Windmill in his hand for the Crimson Sword. Sword energy extended, forming a thin cutting plane that swept toward the opponent!
With over ten ters separating them, even if he was fast, the other player still had ti to react. The mont he drew his sword, that player shrank down into the sand, and the sweeping sword energy cleanly sliced the transport vehicle in half from the middle.
Standing on the ground wasn't safe, so Xu Huo grabbed the piano wire and rose into the air, then looked back toward the station.
Rain and the sand-manipulation characteristic countered each other. Sand was continuously falling from the glass walls of the station. Shi Youzhi and the others had already entered the station. The protective barrier from the Square Box that a team mber had opened inside the station earlier was now shattered. Three people were covered in a layer of frost, frozen stiff and unable to move. anwhile, the station was crawling with giant Gold Sand Scorpions. These scorpions weren't just attacking the repair device;
they were also surrounding and trapping Shi Youzhi and his team.
"Wasn't it said those things don't actively attack people?" Wan Tingfang, standing inside a wooden barrel not far away, floated over on the sand. She glanced at his umbrella and said, "Your item is quite impressive, perfectly countering the enemy's characteristic. But you need to be careful."
Of the three transport vehicles, one was stolen, one was cut in half. Now Shi Youzhi and the others were trapped in the station, and the remaining vehicle outside was slowly sinking into the sand.
Xu Huo adjusted his direction and swung his sword, cutting the last remaining transport vehicle in half.
The mont the vehicle split, the sand imdiately stopped churning, then fell into complete stillness.
He stared intently at the sand surface, watching a number "6" erge from a spot on the left sand dune. Simultaneously, a "9" erged from a spot much farther to the right.
Friendliness values scored based on how much attention others paid to you. A value reaching 9 proved the other person wanted to kill you.
Seeing that one was heading for Wan Tingfang while the other had already entered the Crimson Sword's attack range, Xu Huo finally took out his pen. The characteristic "The Power of Writing" began to take effect. The "6" stopped moving, but the "9" did not. Since he couldn't see what the other looked like, he had to strike first.
Sword energy carved a five-ter-long groove into the sand surface. The spot that was hit then flipped up sothing like a sheet of tin foil, and soone rolled out from inside—but it wasn't the sand-manipulating player with the severed arm from earlier.
Xu Huo's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to move forward, a tal net appeared out of thin air about five or six ters above the sand. He retreated backward and saw the net plunge headfirst into the sand, then quickly retract like a fishing net, imdiately scooping up two players hiding within the sand.
That net was Wan Tingfang's item. She was standing inside the wooden barrel, pulling the net back. However, the two players inside clearly had no intention of surrendering without a fight. The mont they were dragged together, they vanished from the net one after the other.
"Seven down to three," Wan Tingfang retrieved her item. "This wave is stable. Captain Shi and the others should have no problem dealing with the remaining four."
The sand-manipulating player had already left the station area, but the remaining four players hadn't shown themselves. These people could hide in the desert, likely by borrowing this player's characteristic power. Now that the sand player was gone, they should have revealed themselves.
Xu Huo faintly felt sothing was off, but at that mont, a muffled thud suddenly ca from the station. Under the protection of Shi Youzhi and the others, one of the operating repair devices toppled over. The conical object on top of the instrunt cracked open, and the liquid inside flowed down the pipes connected to the repair device, injecting into the instrunt. Like an overused tungsten filant light bulb, the silver instrunt turned black from the inside out, visibly self-destructing.
At this point, Shi Youzhi had no choice but to abandon repairing the track. He shut down the other two repair devices, raised the machines into the air, and coordinated with his team mbers to evacuate the station.
The track repair devices had automatic flight functions. Black water spread across the desert, paving a straight road leading to the distant city. Two giant bubbles then protected the machines. Leaving a few people to cover the rear, Shi Youzhi exited the station with the others.
They didn't need to say anything;
Xu Huo and Wan Tingfang naturally followed the retreat. Along the way, Gold Sand Scorpions continuously lunged out, but their density and ferocity were nothing compared to inside the station. It wasn't difficult for Shi Youzhi and the others to handle them. However, She Ping, Ai Jia, and the others covering the rear had a bit more trouble before they could withdraw.
The closer they got to the city, the fewer Gold Sand Scorpions there were in the surroundings. Only after confirming they were safe did She Ping speak up, "These Gold Sand Scorpions were being controlled by soone, which is why they ignored our instrunts. Damned bastards causing trouble for no reason. Even if they snatched the repair device, they couldn't use it. Just giving us unnecessary headaches."
The expressions of the other team mbers weren't great either, because not only was one instrunt destroyed, but when it self-destructed earlier, it damaged part of the track. The subsequent repairs would require even more ti.
"Can't you just directly use an item to seal off this area?" Wan Tingfang asked doubtfully. "There should be items that can do that, right?"
"The responsibility scope of the Track Supply Departnt is only the train and the station. Areas outside the station don't fall under our jurisdiction," Ai Jia explained. "Generally, base staff cannot use spatial items to seal off territories outside the station."
In other words, they couldn't seal the area beforehand, nor could they concentrate firepower to bombard it afterward. The matter had to be handed over to the District 011 governnt to handle.
Typically, it would be resolved by the Enforcent Departnt.
"This station is going to be idle for a long ti again."
"Who's going to hand over to the Enforcent Departnt?" She Ping asked.
The other team mbers all wore expressions of polite refusal. It was Shi Youzhi who said, "I'll handle this matter. First, arrange for a vehicle to transport the repair devices back."
He went to contact soone using his communicator, while the others rested nearby.
Xu Huo privately asked Wan Tingfang, "Is the relationship between the Enforcent Departnt and the base not very good?"
"I haven't been here long either. I've only heard that so high-level officials in the District 011 governnt have friction with the base," Wan Tingfang lowered her voice. "Like today's attack, logically speaking, those people didn't even dare show their faces, so they definitely wouldn't stay guarding this place. But according to District 011 governnt regulations, after an attack incident occurs, it must be reported to the governnt imdiately. The Enforcent Departnt cos to handle it, and only after that is the second opening ti notified."
"The two sides don't get along, you understand."
If the relationship is bad, the Enforcent Departnt might drag its feet, and who knows how long the base would have to wait before it could attempt a second repair.
After listening, Xu Huo nodded slightly, but still felt sothing was off. The players who ca to steal things today didn't feel particularly strong. They were well-prepared, fired a shot and ran. They did manage to steal one transport vehicle, but compared to the earlier phase, the later efforts against the repair device only involved driving so Gold Sand Scorpions over. It all felt a bit anticlimactic.
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