Chapter 302: The Drama (Part 4)
At this point, only through the slow-motion replay did the light-brain allow many players to clearly see the details. The formation of the three Mithril Golems had been perfectly maintained, encircling Wayne Sturwell so that he had no way to escape.
But with the close-up, players saw that his gaze remained calm. One shot, two shots, three shots in succession—each bullet hit the exact same spot on the first Mithril Golem, forcing it to retreat a full step. That step happened to block the path of the other two Golems, causing them to collide head-on with each other. It was a move of absolute brilliance.
And Wayne Sturwell's display didn't end there. With flowing movements and fluttering robes, he weaved among the monsters, slipping past each attack with elegant sidesteps, striking back with explosive firepower. Then, an even more shocking scene occurred. With a casual lift of his hand, one of the bosses suddenly turned traitor and began attacking the other two.
That was the final straw. Within minutes, the remaining two bosses fell dead on the spot.
Watching Wayne Sturwell dispatch three bosses near level 70 "effortlessly," viewers were stunned. Jinse even replayed the fight over and over, the impact hitting maximum.
Next, Wayne Sturwell explored the three chambers of that passageway. When faced with countless black wraiths in the third chamber, he decisively chose to retreat, turning instead to explore the other two corridors.
By now, including Jinse, all the players were fully immersed in the unfolding story, as if walking alongside the protagonist through the shadowy tomb. They followed him past ever-burning lamps, down mural-covered corridors scarred by time, and felt the heavy pressure emanating from the depths of the hall.
A close-up showed Wayne Sturwell's left hand suddenly swelling. With a flash of golden energy, a small hole burst open at the edge of his palm, and tiny black worms wriggled out, burning to ash.
It was clearly a curse.
Before they could even react, the great door ahead began to shake, and the BGM abruptly turned urgent.
The view pulled back to reveal Wayne Sturwell running without hesitation. Behind him, a shadowy wraith clung close, freezing the entire corridor with its trail of frost. The danger was overwhelming.
Luckily, he escaped by teleporting out of the central corridor, forcing the black wraith to retreat unwillingly. Only then did all the players breathe a sigh of relief.
By this point, many players were genuinely anxious for Wayne Sturwell. Jinse scrolled through the bullet screen—over 200,000 comments had already piled up in no time. This episode of the serial drama had no dull moments at all, far more tense than the previous two. If not for knowing Wayne would eventually make it out of the tomb, even she would have been unbearably nervous.
Now only the final corridor remained. Just like before, Wayne Sturwell crushed a level 68 Obsidian Gargoyle and entered a display room filled with jars. The screen split into two perspectives: one showed him with a hand in his pocket, calmly walking deeper in; the other revealed, on the far side of the jars, a twisted monster of flesh and blood holding its breath, waiting in ambush.
The BGM shifted quietly—it was Wayne Sturwell's execution theme.
Though the scene was terrifying, by this point players no longer worried for him. Once the execution theme played, it was the opponent who needed to fear.
The split screens merged again. Wayne, seemingly unaware, stepped into range. When the monster lunged in ambush, he sidestepped with unhurried ease, drew his gun, and fired in rapid succession.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The monster was visibly powerful, boasting both self-healing and great strength, but before Wayne Sturwell's mastery and insight, it looked like nothing more than a dull bird.
In less than 50 seconds, the massive flesh golem fell dead on the spot.
The sharp contrast in size between the two gave an overwhelming visual impact.
Before players could react, the sound of jars cracking echoed behind him. The camera panned to reveal countless flesh golems crawling out, surging toward Wayne Sturwell.
Fortunately, he was already moving swiftly toward the last three chambers. In the left chamber, three nearly level-70 Gargoyle bosses awaited.
Using the same method as with the Mithril Golems, Wayne easily dispatched them. One particular scene was even ranked among the top ten "iconic moments" of the Gunslinger class, a textbook example of control-based Gunslinger play.
After seizing control of one Gargoyle, Wayne made it unleash a tornado, sweeping the other two into the air. What followed was a dazzling shooting display.
His gunfire seemed erratic, but every shot struck both airborne Gargoyles at the exact same time, keeping them suspended, rising and falling again and again.
The light-brain slowed the playback just enough so that Wayne Sturwell's shooting matched perfectly with the rhythm of the execution theme, hitting each beat with flawless precision.
Close-ups revealed even more detail. Wayne appeared to be using a variant of the Mozambique Shooting Method. Each time the Gargoyles tried to stabilize and spread their wings, they were struck simultaneously, their balance shattered, flung upward again. Considering the distance between them wasn't small, pulling off such perfectly timed dual shots was nothing short of impossible.
"Gunners really are amazing!" Jinse's eyes sparkled.
Finally, Wayne sent his last two bullets into the two Gargoyles, watching them fall one after the other. The bullet screen erupted in frenzy.
"Wayne is insane! Toying with three level-70 bosses like that—he's gotta be higher than 70!"
"Definitely higher. The growth of this protagonist is terrifying."
"Say no more, I'm rewatching this from the start!"
…
By now, over two-thirds of the video had played. Wayne Sturwell went on to explore the central and right-side chambers, uncovering clues and even finding a mirror. With a casual swing of his sword, he instantly killed his mirrored self and smoothly exited the tomb. The bullet screen exploded again: "Wayne Sturwell is ruthless—so ruthless he even one-shots himself!"
When he next appeared, it was already on the battlefield of Richie Burke and Aaron Ingersoll.
With one hand in his pocket, Wayne strode forward effortlessly, dodging falling shells as if strolling. Behind his fluttering black coat, pirates—friend and foe alike—collapsed in dizziness. Close-ups showed their dilated pupils, the look of fear pushed to its very extreme.
"He's here! Wayne Sturwell's Conqueror's Haki!"
Then, with just three shots, Wayne nonchalantly gunned down Aaron Ingersoll, who had been towering like a final boss. The execution theme surged to its climax, its pounding drums matching perfectly with the moment.
At last, the players felt fully satisfied. From the nerve-wracking tomb to the unstoppable massacre in the real world, their emotions soared like a roller coaster. The bullet screen filled with ecstatic outbursts, everyone swept up as if watching a blockbuster adventure they themselves had lived through.
Zhou Ning: ???
Truth be told, even he was enjoying himself. He realized his skill at showing off had improved, just a step away from rivaling the vampire version of Zhou Ning.
Yet for some reason, the light-brain hadn't included his own experience in the Mirror World, skipping straight to when he reemerged. Perhaps to avoid spoilers?
——