Chapter 1356: Chapter 1357: Confrontation

However, in Dr. Duor’s view, this is not considered important information because the Ya Clan people generally have a shorter lifespan than those in Zone 023, maturing early and dying early, which is not unusual.

The boy Xu Huo encountered in the abandoned city reported an age older than he appeared. If malnutrition was not considered, that child should be younger than he appeared. Xu Huo was only eleven or twelve years old, or possibly even ten.

At a younger age, gaining a more mature body has value from some perspectives, such as with clones. Clone bodies require the same growth time as normal people; completion of cloning doesn’t mean they grow like mutated plants and animals. However, if replaced with Ya Clan people, the timeline for this gain would be greatly reduced. For certain purposes, clones don’t need to live to a ripe old age.

However, these are all speculations, and there is currently no empirical evidence to support them. Only after clearing the level could they go to Dr. Duor’s mentioned laboratory, and the city where the New District Government is located.

Considering that the current Dr. Duor and the one in the frame both do not know how many stand-ins there are, and the successful escort rate is so low, this Dr. Duor did not pack himself into the “World in the Painting,” but instead put on an Invisibility Cloak and hit the road directly.

Bai Jing and the mission players were still wrestling, neither side noticing Dr. Duor’s whereabouts. However, the dummy player that left earlier had caught up with him.

The opponent excelled in tracking. Xu Huo adjusted directions several times and used interference props on himself and Dr. Duor but could not shake the opponent. He simply stopped at a place.

The dummy player attacked the Ya Clan people like Bai Jing. When he first appeared, Dai Song left proactively, so he was very likely a player from Twin Cities.

However, nothing is absolute.

Set “Everything Wants to Slice” and “Fluttering Snowflakes” around.

A large number of dummies appeared around, quickly filling the view. They agilely climbed and jumped among the trees, at times keeping up with Aliens. But they differed from Aliens in that living beings could feel pain and had fear, whereas these dummies would follow orders as long as their parts could still move.

Fortunately, the equipment of these dummies was not outstanding; otherwise, with such numbers and flexibility, they’d be trickier than ordinary Aliens.

The majority of the outer-line dummies could be intercepted using secant lines and trap props, but separated heads or limbs could slip through the gaps in the secant line. Xu Huo didn’t fully block the path and left a certain gap in the center, slowly letting some metal dummies in for sniping.

These dummies had no chance of close combat, so there was no way to pre-emptively figure out Xu Huo’s props or combat routes, including those burrowing dummies.

“I’m kind of curious what prop can store so many dummies,” Xu Huo said, looking in a certain direction. From just now till now, the opposing player had released more than a hundred dummies, more than enough to start a factory. It’s impossible for a luggage compartment or ordinary storage prop to hold so many; it should be a pretty good site or container prop.

This time the dummy player wasn’t too far away, not hard to find. The opponent was also prepared. When Xu Huo showed up behind him, he immediately used a Flash Device, blocked vision, and unhesitatingly sprinted toward Dr. Duor’s position—Xu Huo was all alone, and no matter how many fakes he made with psychic power, only one had real combat power; the others were fake. So this was the best opportunity!

Breaking through the “Everything Wants to Slice” defense line, using Defense Props to withstand the “Fluttering Snowflakes” slaughter, the dummy player hurried to the position Xu Huo previously occupied, reaching out to grab the invisible Dr. Duor…but at this moment, a hand grabbed him.

The fake face with dummy makeup on the dummy player showed surprise. He immediately tried using a prop to get rid of Xu Huo but unexpectedly the prop didn’t work. When he was in doubt and suspicion, a gun suddenly aimed at him!

Thanks to advanced technology from District 001 and special treatment, the sound of gunfire was very faint, but that didn’t mean its lethality was low. The first few bullets were blocked by dummy players using their arms—they wore Defense Props on the arms, and although the props weren’t damaged, the impact still forced them back. At this point, Xu Huo revealed himself, making a chopping gesture with his hand.

Covered by spiritual power, the Black Blade was too close for using interference props. The dummy player could only judge what was in Xu Huo’s hand based on his actions and common sense. He dared not use the defense props worn on his body directly, but opened a Defensive Barrier instead. Unfortunately, that barrier was shattered as soon as it was set up, without causing even a slight disturbance to Xu Huo’s movement.

The dummy player leaned back, limbs locked on the ground, quickly crawling backward. But he didn’t give up on Dr. Duor, throwing out a feint to distract Xu Huo, using props to block the bullets from behind. When he was just twenty meters away from Dr. Duor, he suddenly disappeared in place, switching directly to his side, and said “clear way” toward the front, creating a relatively less winding green-glow-surrounded path through the gap in “Everything Wants to Slice.”

Taking advantage of the lull before the next wave of bullets, the dummy player hauled Dr. Duor into the green path.

Xu Huo looked back, put away the Combat Mech first, then remotely tapped the secant line, cutting off the path with two intersecting lines.

Dr. Duor was just an ordinary person; even if he was being carried, he couldn’t avoid falling. Before the dummy player could pull him back up, the triple Defensive Barrier enveloping them was destroyed by suddenly retracting more than ten secant lines. These lines stopped just at their feet, as if locking them in a small cage.

The sudden tightening and halting of the secant lines shocked the dummy player. Subconsciously, he looked at Xu Huo in front of him, quickly thinking of a way to escape.

The dummies began moving again, but this time not toward them, but in the opposite direction, dispersing nearby, destroying large amounts of surrounding trees, and then pushing the fallen trunks toward the secant line area.

Ordinary trees were, of course, insufficient to hold open the secant lines, but there were enough of these trees, and they were thick enough. One after another fell, and even if they were cut, they could block some of the secant lines, not to mention those wedged right on the secant lines, blocking the lines’ sharpness in another way.

As the dummy player dodged with Dr. Duor, he shouted to the air, “Nature Dry!”

In this area, whether it was fallen wood or crisscrossing secant lines in the air, or even grass on the ground, as he finished those three words, all were covered with a faint white light, as if shrouded in something, instantly losing flexibility, becoming dry and hard.