Xu Huo had originally planned to go to the reservoir on Wenshan, but he unexpectedly ran into these people on the way.
The hollow below Wenshan was half water, half mud. It used to be covered in aquatic plants, and from above the water had looked clear, but now the hollow had turned into an inky pool, as if formed from pooled black rain. On close inspection, although raindrops still hit the surface, some droplets flew upward instead of down.
The air above the hollow seemed to be a warped space, with water above and water below. Looking up at the dark, oppressive clouds, the answer was obvious — this was the source of the black rain.
Seeing three of the numbers that had risen to "10" moving toward his side, he stubbed out his cigarette butt and tossed it into the luggage compartment, then spun and sprinted for the trees behind him.
As he accelerated, the rain’s weight hitting his body multiplied, but for players wearing protective suits it was no great hardship. Just as Xu Huo was about to enter the trees, he suddenly stopped one second before, and held the Severing Ties Door forward as a shield.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bullet-like raindrops all struck the door. When the noise subsided slightly, he planted one hand on the door, flipped up, and vaulted into a tree. As the door retracted, he landed on the next tree.
The dense woods formed a natural barrier; thick leaves blocked part of the black rain, and sturdy trunks could stop some of the raindrop bullets.
Behind him, three players wearing raincoat items slipped into the forest. The middle one made a hand signal, and the two on either side flanked around. They were not particularly fast, but they ran in two arcs cutting toward the center. When people ran like that their speed showed strange acceleration, and in a few strides they had closed in behind Xu Huo.
"Follow traffic control, fall back!" one of the raincoat-wearers said in broken Chinese.
When Xu Huo heard the voice, he involuntarily stopped, but he did not retreat as they instructed.
The two raincoat-wearers hesitated for a moment. One of them waved a hand toward Xu Huo’s back and a gale struck from the side, forcefully knocking him from the tree!
The raincoat-wearers charged forward, but the falling Xu Huo suddenly paused mid-air, then changed direction and flew backward.
"Flight item!" one raincoat-wearer called out.
"Not very fast!" another said.
They coordinated well, and almost at the same time as Xu Huo’s movement they curved around and got in front of him.
Xu Huo drew his water jet gun and aimed at one of them, forcing an opening, then hooked himself up on a tree. The cutting plane formed by the Crimson Sword flashed through the woods and disappeared quickly.
The raincoat-wearers used defensive items to block the sword-energy cut, then launched a firework projectile. The firework hissed upward, and Xu Huo instinctively lifted his head, losing control of his sight for a moment.
Seizing the chance, the raincoat-wearers advanced, but at that moment Xu Huo swung out the Lament of Plants from his hand. The piercing, shrill sound forced them to halt and cover their ears.
The three were at a standstill, but a set of flying shackles interrupted them. Xu Huo dodged urgently, yet his right foot was still ensnared. The shackle was special — its other end was directly attached to the ground.
The Universal Lubricant item didn’t remove the shackle. He quickly slashed a sword toward the third raincoat-wearer, then crouched and smeared the shackle. The metal item instantly melted into powder!
"Swallowtail!" the third raincoat-wearer cried, waving both hands. Two black shadows shot from his sleeves so fast they nearly sliced through the rain curtain, drawing a fierce arc as they lunged at Xu Huo!
"Stop right there!"
"This area is not passable!"
The other two raincoat-wearers simultaneously used retention items. Xu Huo couldn't move his feet. Facing the three of them, he threw out kite string, then used the Two-Half Magic Trick and the Murmuring Sphere!
Clang, clang, clang! Three consecutive attacks were blocked by the Mobile Metal. Realizing the Swallowtail could lock on and strike repeatedly, Xu Huo reeled in the kite string and pulled the nearest raincoat-wearer toward him.
When the kite string threaded through a person, their body weight lightened and they couldn't use their legs properly. The raincoat-wearer, unable to control his body, pulled out an iron discus item; its great weight pinned him to the ground!
At the same time, another raincoat-wearer freed himself from the Two-Half Magic Trick and lunged at Xu Huo. The Swallowtail flew in from the rear!
The throwing darts and the Swallowtail attacked in tandem, and Xu Huo was pinned in place, unable to dodge. To prevent him from deploying more items to block attacks, the raincoat-wearer who used Swallowtail darted to his right side. Wearing metal gloves, he grabbed for Xu Huo’s right arm: "Muscle ache…!"
But at that moment, the raincoat-wearer's hand closed on empty air. Two items that had passed through Xu Huo's body struck a nearby tree as if they had gone through nothing at all!
Before the three could react, the two metal blades embedded in the tree turned to powder like the shackles had.
The raincoat-wearer kneeling on the ground pressed the kite string to the dirt with his iron discus and reached for scissors to cut the string at his chest. Unexpectedly, the cut severed his own raincoat item!
Black rain flowed in through the tear. Shocked, the raincoat-wearer leaned back; his companion hurriedly pulled him, shouting, "Careful!"
They turned around, only to discover that behind them the ground had somehow turned into that hollow.
All three realized something was wrong, but at that moment a black arm reached up from beneath the water and a dried, skeletal hand clamped onto the raincoat-wearer's shoulder who was facing away from the hollow!
"Come down and join me… come down and join me…"
More and more hands reached out from the water. The raincoat-wearer who had his back to the hollow struggled and could not escape. He was dragged down into the water, his mouth and nose gradually submerged.
The raincoat-wearer crouching beside him was affected too, frantically grabbing his hand to pull him out. Instead of rescuing him, his own legs began to sink. By the time he wanted to give up, it was too late; he was trapped in the hollow calling for help: "C, save me!"
C was the raincoat-wearer who had deployed the Swallowtail. He drew his gun and fired wildly to the left and right of the two, shouting, "Look clearly, there’s nothing around!"
Unfortunately, the two were lost in illusion—one lying on the ground, the other standing frozen, both clutching their own throats while begging for rescue.
"Get out!" C fired into the surroundings. The bullets’ random spray seemed to stir something. He kicked off and shot behind a large tree, and when he raised his gun he saw a woman's face.
"My dear…"
Bang! The gunshot rang without hesitation. C quickly withdrew from behind the tree, abandoned his two companions, and retreated toward the hollow while contacting other teammates via his communicator.
But as he raised his hand, he realized his hand and the back of his palm had turned black without him noticing. Looking down, he saw the raincoat on his body had long since been breached!
"This isn’t Mutant toxin…" The poison spread too fast. C felt he might still be hallucinating, so he stabbed his own arm with a knife…
