Chapter 319: Airdrop

Chapter 319: Chapter 319: Airdrop

To them, the odds of this world yielding any good loot were low. Besides, their top priority was to eliminate the Twilight Guild and claim victory.

After all, their vice guild master was watching from the outside. If they messed this up, there would be hell to pay.

"Ask, sir... what about the Twilight Guild?"

Jia Ting’s question was tinged with worry. He knew that clearing out the solo players meant splitting their forces.

"They’ll also be clearing out the solo players first," Ask replied coldly. "We’ll use the main road in the city center as a dividing line. After we’ve cleared the field, we’ll settle the score."

"Understood. All units, break off into squads. Clear out every solo player in the city’s western sector. Rendezvous back here once the task is complete!"

Jia Ting immediately opened his comms channel to issue the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The squad members replied in unison.

...

Meanwhile, Long Ming was making his way from a northern town toward Anska Mechanical City.

The town he’d landed in wasn’t too far from Anska Mechanical City.

Just then, he spotted an Airdrop Pod descending toward the northwestern edge of Anska Mechanical City.

A look of surprise crossed Long Ming’s face.

’An Airdrop Pod? And it’s landing so close to me, too.’

After a moment’s hesitation, Long Ming changed course and sped toward the Airdrop Pod’s landing zone.

...

「The Northwestern Edge of Anska Mechanical City」

In the center of a ruined area, a deep crater marked a recent impact.

An oval-shaped mechanical pod lay inside the crater.

Just then, five solo players on jet-powered hoverboards zoomed over.

"Haha, it’s really an Airdrop Pod!"

"We’re gonna be rich!"

"Let’s grab it and get out of here."

"Got it!"

...

But just as they thought the prize was theirs...

VWOOM~

The air tore with a high-pitched whine.

Startled, the players glanced back over their shoulders.

More than a dozen drones were hurtling toward them at incredible speed.

"Shit!"

They immediately swerved on their hoverboards to evade.

But while they might dodge one, they couldn’t dodge them all.

KABOOM!

A massive explosion erupted.

The team of solo players was wiped out in an instant.

"Nice one!"

A man in second-generation agility-type mech armor charged toward the Airdrop Pod, speaking into his comms as he ran.

"Xin Rui, cut the chatter! Grab the pod and fall back! We’ve got a swarm of players heading our way. We’re about to get boxed in."

His teammate’s voice echoed in his ear.

"Fuck, are these guys bloodhounds or something? How’d they get here so fast?"

Cursing under his breath, Xin Rui accelerated toward the Airdrop Pod.

He reached the Airdrop Pod in no time. But just as he was about to excitedly pry it open...

...a figure landed directly on top of it.

Startled, Xin Rui looked up. A fearsome, red, skull-like face stared back at him.

His heart skipped a beat. On pure instinct, he swung his blade at Long Ming.

CLANG!

Long Ming shot out his left claw and caught the blade.

Xin Rui’s expression changed dramatically. A primal sense of danger screamed at him, and he decisively let go of his weapon and backed away.

Long Ming was a little surprised himself. ’He’s just a solo player, but to brave a 3x3x3 instance, he must have a few tricks up his sleeve.’

Unfortunately, Long Ming didn’t have time to waste. He activated the power of his Red Demon armor, vanishing into a blurry afterimage.

"Where’d he go?"

Alarmed, Xin Rui whipped his head around, scanning his surroundings.

Just then, Long Ming reappeared behind him, his body radiating a blood-red aura.

Xin Rui’s instincts screamed. He had just started to turn his head when...

CRUNCH!

...Long Ming’s blade sliced his head right off.

"Aaargh!"

Xin Rui let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Xin Rui, what’s happening?"

...

His companion’s frantic shouts echoed from Xin Rui’s comms unit.

After dealing with Xin Rui, Long Ming leaped in front of the Airdrop Pod and scanned it with his wrist device.

"ALERT: Supply pod detected. Open?"

"Yes!"

Long Ming confirmed without hesitation.

CLICK!

The entire supply pod split open.

A blinding blue light radiated from within.

A crystal shimmering with blue starlight and a metal box lay inside.

Long Ming immediately scanned the blue crystal.

Rare Blue Crystal.

Quality: Rare.

Long Ming’s eyes went wide with delight. He’d hit the jackpot! This was the power source for a top-tier V3 Mechanical God.

He then opened the metal box. Inside were five exquisite invitation cards.

A smile touched his lips as he stored the Rare Blue Crystal and the invitation cards.

Just then, a series of red dots appeared on Long Ming’s body.

Long Ming froze, then turned his head.

A man in a second-generation exoskeleton, flanked by three companions, was aiming a Light Beam Rifle at him. He threatened in a low voice:

"Kid, leave the goods behind."

Their eyes were filled with greed, having seen the Rare Blue Crystal drop.

"And if I don’t?"

"Then don’t blame us for looting your corpse," the man growled.

Long Ming was about to retort when another red dot settled on his forehead.

More solo players began to emerge from the ruins, all aiming their weapons at Long Ming.

Long Ming glanced around. A large number of solo players had him surrounded.

’These guys are fast.’

"Give the stuff to me!"

"Bullshit! It should be mine!"

...

The surrounding solo players all shouted threats at Long Ming.

Long Ming’s expression darkened. His eyes darted around as he calculated how to force a breakout.

WHOOSH-WHOOSH~

Just then, a dense volley of light beams strafed the area from behind.

"Aaargh!"

Solo players were cut down one after another.

The surviving solo players, shocked, whipped their heads around.

They saw players from the Twilight Guild charging in, picking them off with precise shots.

"Oh no, the Twilight Guild is clearing the field!"

...

The terrified solo players yelled.

Long Ming seized the opportunity and bolted.

"That guy’s getting away!"

Some of the solo players, seeing Long Ming escape, shouted in frustration.

"Forget him! Just run!"

"Fall back!"

The solo players scattered in every direction, fleeing for their lives.

They might be able to fight back and score a few kills, but it would be pointless. It would only draw in more of the guild’s elites, and they’d all end up dead sooner or later.

Their only option was to run for their lives and head for the nearest extraction point.

Meanwhile, the streamer Mude stood atop a tall building, his camera aimed at the distant chaos as he reported.

"Hey there, ladies and gentlemen! As you can see, the Twilight Guild and the Dawn Guild have begun clearing the field! The entire city is echoing with gunfire, and you can see a number of solo players making a break for the extraction points."

"A bunch of morons. They were warned not to enter, but they came in looking to die anyway!"

"Exactly. It’s hilarious, honestly."

"Tch, who are you to tell us not to enter? You don’t own the instance."

"Yeah, talk about being overbearing."

"Don’t you two guilds have beef with each other? Why aren’t you fighting? Why are you clearing us solo players out instead?"

"Let’s be real, you’re just doing this because you’re scared someone will snipe your quest. You guys want to have your cake and eat it, too!"

"If you’ve got the balls, say it with your real name. Stop being so passive-aggressive."

"Ooh, scary! Are you threatening us?"

...

Countless viewers erupted into a flame war in the stream’s comment section.

「A Dense Residential Area」

Long Ming sprinted and leaped across the rooftops of the residential buildings. Glancing back to confirm he’d shaken off the other solo players, he jumped down into an alley ahead.

BAM!

The moment Long Ming landed, he froze.

’Not good!’

He’d spotted barely visible threads crisscrossing the alley, all connected to tripwire mines.

KABOOM!

The mines all around him detonated in a chain reaction.

A massive explosion swept through the alley, instantly engulfing Long Ming.

"Haha, got him!"

A burly man in second-generation exoskeleton armor emerged with four subordinates, a giant axe slung over his shoulder and the Twilight Guild’s emblem branded on his chest. He was ecstatic.

"You’re amazing, Boss! You made him walk right into our trap! That Airdrop Pod is ours now!"

His companions chimed in, smiling at their leader, Lu Ang.