So if someone's armor becomes top level, do they automatically win the match? Not quite. A shot to an uncovered area—like the head, neck, joints, or any gap the light armor doesn't fully seal—still deals direct damage. Vitality keeps dropping until they use medicine pills, or bandages to stop the bleed.
I decided to use the low-level boosting stone on my new long-range gun right away.
Just then, a message popped into my mind from Ruyi—telepathic Team chat, crisp and urgent.
"Roxa, come here quick. I spotted a three-person team. One has a gun, the other two are packing throwing knives, and I don't know what else they're hiding in their storage pouches. I'm hidden right now. You draw their attention, I'll attack from behind. And btw, thank you—you were right. I found some seriously good loot here. Sorry for doubting you. Have you found your loot yet?"
I replied instantly: "Yes, I found loot too—and I already got a kill. On my way to those three. Stay put."
Ruyi went quiet for a second, stunned. Roxa got a kill? She figured it must've been some unlucky and slow player with zero gear. No way her newbie teammate could've taken down anyone properly equipped... right?
She stayed crouched, waiting.
Meanwhile, I saw Ruyi was at least 60 meters away on the map. I started running toward her position—but quickly realized this outfit was terrible for sprinting. The tight, restrictive fabric chafed and slowed me down. Note to self: change into something more comfortable later.
I slowed to a careful walk instead.
That's when I spotted the house ahead. Through a cracked window on the second floor, a girl player was watching me approach—eyes wide, probably thinking I hadn't noticed her yet.
I gave a small, almost polite smile in her direction.
Then, without breaking stride, I pulled the enhanced gun from my storage pouch, aimed, and fired.
Bullseye~
The shot cracked like thunder. The window shattered inward as the bullet punched straight through her head. Her body jerked once and slumped out of sight.
I managed to get another kill. I walked toward the house in the distance. There, the girl had already turned into a skeleton. I clicked on her forehead symbol. Nothing valuable—just a flying sword. No weapons, no loot, no pills.
A white ball appeared above her skeleton head, flickering as if it wanted to speak. I muted it without a second thought.
Then I took the flying sword, stepped onto it, and flew toward Ruyi's direction.
On the other hand, the girl now in white ball form was furious.
How could that person kill me like that? I was clearly hidden!
She shouted into the empty space.
Just then, she noticed another white ball floating nearby.
"Hey, you were also killed by her? Did you see how I died?"
The other ball was the devil-outfit player from earlier. He replied calmly.
"Well… I don't know if it was luck, skill, or cheating. But that girl looked straight at your head and fired. I didn't even see you until she smiled in your direction. And yes—I was killed by her too. Let's follow her. We should find out more."
The girl in white ball form agreed.
All players who turned into white balls after dying could talk freely with each other. No restrictions, no distance limit. They could also choose to ignore anyone they didn't want to hear.
The two white balls drifted after me, silent and invisible.
***
Meanwhile, I had reached the house where Ruyi and those three persons were.
This wasn't a normal house. It was a mirror maze—walls of polished glass twisting into endless corridors, reflections bouncing light in confusing patterns, false doors leading to dead ends.
Without special goggles, exiting was almost impossible. Players mostly avoided these places because getting lost was easy, but the loot inside was always good—high-value weapons, attachments, pills hidden in the reflections.
I stood on the roof, the wind carried distant gunshots and faint shouts from other parts of the frontier. Below me, the entrance yawned open—a dark maw framed in rusted metal.
I spotted a player outside the gate. He stood on patrol, watching carefully. He muttered under his breath, voice low but clear to my sharpened ears—I focused my hearing on him, picking up every word.
"We just found a target, but she managed to run and hide in this house. I don't know what my two teammates were thinking, deciding to follow her inside. But I'm smart—I didn't follow them."
He laughed softly to himself.
I took out my crossbow, tucked the last arrow, and fired.
The bolt was silent—no gunpowder crack to alert others. My gun had no silencer, so I didn't use it.
The arrow reached him in a heartbeat, embedding in his neck.
Now only 1 arrow remains.
He died instantly, body collapsing. I jumped from the roof, landing softly beside the skeleton. I clicked his forehead symbol.
Quite a bit of loot appeared: a rope, a knife, a smoke bomb, one grenade, two landmines. No gun, though.
Not much overall. My storage pouch wasn't large—I couldn't carry everything on me without slowing myself down. I could upgrade the pouch later with boosting stones.