Liang Chuan frowned.
"The Captain's state… isn't right.
Looks like he fought Mavuika—and lost.
No idea how he slipped out of her hands."
He focused on the Global Map.
ArrowHeart's squad was already crouched outside the Fatui outpost, ready to strike.
He wanted to stop them.
But it was already too late.
Clack—clack—
A skeleton wrapped in Natan clothing walked stiffly toward the Fatui gate.
SpecialGrace was piloting it like a pro, making the skull-faced puppet stride right into the enemy's territory.
"Stop! Identify yourself!"
The Pyro Gunner pointed his musket at the disguised visitor.
The skeleton didn't answer.
It simply turned its head toward him—
—and removed its hood.
A bare skull stared straight at the Pyro Gunner.
Even the hardened Fatui soldier recoiled.
SpecialGrace seized that single hesitation.
The skeleton whipped out a dagger and flicked it forward with unnaturally precise force.
A clean, perfect throw.
That was his specialty—
taking a brainless minion and giving it maneuvers it should never logically have.
But…
Despite the perfect throw, the stats told the truth.
A Level 10 skeleton with a two-star dagger?
It couldn't even scratch elite Fatui.
BANG!
One shot.
The skeleton's head shattered like porcelain.
Instant kill.
The gunshot echoed through the outpost—
and every Fatui soldier immediately converged.
Exactly as ArrowHeart's squad expected.
"Old Bai, are you SURE your poison works?"
SunsetWarGod asked quietly.
"放心吧."
LittleBaiAndOldPowder grinned.
"This is my level 10 poison powder. Tested it already.
Anyone who touches it—skin rots, internal corrosion, guaranteed death unless I give the antidote."
SpecialGrace, behind cover, clicked his tongue.
"Shame I don't have Corpse Explosion yet…
Otherwise with them all clustered like this?
One click, and BOOM—straight to heaven."
ArrowHeart smirked.
"They're about to touch the poisoned skeleton.
100% immersion or not, these NPCs still fall for basic traps—"
But before he could finish,
a cold, authoritative voice cut through the commotion:
"Don't touch it.
Such an obvious trap—
must I spell it out for you?"
The Fatui Captain stepped forward.
Weak-bodied but still terrifyingly composed.
He raised an arm.
With a sweep—
Icy wind erupted, blasting every trace of poison clean off the skeleton and scattering it harmlessly to the ground.
ArrowHeart's squad froze.
"…uh…"
So much for "NPC AI is dumb."
This was razor-sharp deductive reaction—and perfect counterplay.
The Captain turned his head.
"Come out. How long do you plan to hide?"
ArrowHeart's squad stiffened.
SunsetWarGod recognized him immediately and nearly choked.
"It's HIM! We're dead!
That's the Fatui BOSS!"
ArrowHeart blinked.
"How strong?"
"Stronger than ANYTHING we've fought!
He's the reason ALL players were forced into a rollback once!"
SpecialGrace cracked his knuckles.
"So? Fight or flee?"
ChickenWaterBubble raised his hand.
"Don't look at me. I'm a streamer—I HAVE to fight. Can't waste content."
ArrowHeart shrugged.
"Death isn't a punishment in this game.
We don't lose levels or gear.
Worst case, we lose some bio-energy.
We can afford that."
ChickenWaterBubble whooped:
"Good! Liu Boss has spoken! LET'S FIGHT!"
He jumped out of cover and unleashed Delayed Water,
a slowing field that washed over the Fatui ranks.
"Slowed them! Charge!"
ArrowHeart's arrows flew in a triple volley—
his new level 10 skill Triple Shot.
Three arrows, 150% power each—
AND no accuracy loss.
Beautiful.
Perfect.
Deadly.
…
Except not.
The three arrows froze inches from the Captain's chest,
suspended in blocks of ice.
Fatui mages and gunners counterattacked instantly.
Pyro shots. Cryo blasts. Electro flies buzzing.
The squad's tank, WallMan, jumped forward with his shield.
He was melted in one volley.
ArrowHeart gaped.
"Your ID is 'Wall', but this game doesn't HAVE a Wall class!
Your HP bar is PAPER!"
LittleBaiAndOldPowder frowned.
"It's not him…
Their damage output is just insane."
Then he took a deep breath.
"Looks like I need to go all-in."
He smeared his entire torso with poison powders.
Drank bottles of toxins.
Then strapped improvised bombs—crafted by their Mechanic Han Xiaomo—onto himself.
"Let these Fatui taste what a REAL toxin bomber is!"
He charged.
Three steps.
Freeze.
Locked in place instantly.
The Captain looked at him with calm disdain.
Ever since Liang Chuan threatened to self-detonate in front of him,
the Captain was hypersensitive to suicidal maniacs.
Anyone rushing in recklessly?
Cryo-stun first.
Ask questions later.
ArrowHeart's squad fell silent.
They weren't just losing.
They were being hard-countered at every move.
"This feels like fighting a Souls boss that reads your inputs…"
SunsetWarGod muttered.
"No matter what we do, they always have a perfect answer."
ChickenWaterBubble inhaled deeply.
"Well… there's one option left."
SpecialGrace blinked.
"…which is?"
ChickenWaterBubble grinned the grin of a truly chaotic gamer:
"Surrender."
"WHAT?"
ArrowHeart almost dropped his bow.
"You crazy? Players DON'T surrender to mobs!"
"Hey hey hey—
listen first!"
ChickenWaterBubble raised a finger.
"What if we don't surrender…
but defect?"
ArrowHeart, SunsetWarGod, SpecialGrace:
"..."
ChickenWaterBubble leaned in.
"Let's JOIN the Fatui."
"Become their undercover agents."
"Play INTERNALLY, sabotage EXTERNALLY."
"It's the perfect plan!"
The squad looked at each other.
"…That can work."
"…We really can try."
"…We're gonna die anyway…"
"Then we try!"
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