Gamers Are Fierce

[Skill Scroll Name: Degraded version of Maitreya fusion]

[Properties: Consumable, disappears after one use]

[Type: Spiritual Energy]

[Grade: Perfect]

[Special Effect: Fusion. Two individual lives, under the premise of absolute voluntary agreement, merge with each other to form a new entity. The new life's soul, consciousness, memory, existence, personality, appearance, Spirit Power Value, Sanity Value, and other data are influenced by both parties. The new being is considered a player, possessing all the skills, equipment, and items of both players (with the capacity of each slot doubled). The fusion lasts for 20 minutes. After the fusion ends, both players will fall into a state of extended weakness.]

[Consumption: 50% of the total Spirit Power Value and Sanity Value of both merging players]

[Cooldown: 24 hours]

[Note: Experimental Analysis Report 1: The more similar the essential nature of the two individual lives, the higher the adaptability of the fusion product. Even individuals with vastly different life essences can fuse, but sometimes they may collapse midway and split back into two individuals.]

[Note: Experimental Analysis Report 2: During the experimental process, there were occurrences of memory and personality disorders after fusion ended. The weaker individual has a probability of being influenced by the stronger one's consciousness, memory, personality, and even appearance. Therefore, it is not recommended for the application department to use this skill in combat until more detailed experimental analysis results are obtained.]

[Note: Experimental Analysis Report 3: Regarding the experiment on 'whether two fusion products can undergo fusion again,' it is currently at a standstill due to the lack of a second skill scroll.]

The Degraded version of Maitreya fusion was indeed the Resentful Demon's trump card for this routine mission.

This skill was not just a simple fusion of him and Gulu Lugu; the "he" now had attributes approximately 70% higher than before, could use all the skills, equipment, and items of both players, and relied on an even more exaggerated Spirit Power Value cap and recovery rate to increase the power of various skills to a new level.

If the previous Resentful Demon and Gulu Lugu still had their individual flaws, then their current fusion product had completely reached a state where they complemented each other's weaknesses to the point of having no shortcomings.

Due to the great enhancement of all attributes, Gulu Lugu's mental control skills, which had been ineffective against powerful players, could now briefly control all players, causing them to stiffen and be unable to move.

The Green Flame Whip swept through swiftly. All the columns in the subway stations along its path were instantly severed, as if cut by a hot knife through butter. Some of the shattered stones that were struck and sent flying, even if only slightly grazed by the Green Flame Whip, started to melt in mid-air.

Just as everyone was about to perish under the sweeping whip, the Qinge Armor suddenly stomped on the ground, lifting up a pile of rubble. It knocked down Ash, Wu Mu, and the others who were stiffened and unable to move behind her, causing them to fall backward. Simultaneously, she, holding onto Li Ang, leaped high into the air, clinging onto the ceiling of the subway station like a spider, narrowly avoiding the sweep of the Green Flame Whip.

"Hmm?"

The Resentful Demon was slightly surprised. He did not know that the Qinge Armor's ability to move was not "soul-driven armor" but "the soul gives commands, and the armor executes automatically." Even if hit by mental control skills and rendered immobile, Miss Chai could still manipulate the Qinge Armor to perform various actions.

In the Grey-white World, with most of the beams cut and the load-bearing structures melted by the Resentful Demon's green fire columns, the ceiling of the subway station roared, and tons of rock collapsed. However, just as they were about to bury all the players, they swiftly restored and healed, becoming whole and undamaged as before.

The whip missed its target, but the Resentful Demon didn't care. With a flick of his wrist, he controlled the Green Flame Whip to trace a Z-shape in the air and return.

"Die."

The Resentful Demon uttered the word indifferently. The middle of the Green Flame Whip tensed like a bowstring and then violently snapped forward, aiming at Chuyin Huijin who lay on the ground. Its tip, utilizing the momentum from the recoil, bent slightly, intending to split open the more distantly positioned Wu Mu.

Wu Mu was relatively weaker among all the players, and Chuyin Huijin was a member of the Special Affairs Bureau, with unknown cards up her sleeve. It was best to eradicate her as soon as possible. The Resentful Demon no longer had dark clouds over its head, and the surrounding black mud had also been burned to nothingness by the flames. But, whether it was an illusion or not, a faint, lingering stench in the air, as persistent as flesh-eating maggots, caused Gulu Lugu's respiratory system to feel intermittent bursts of burning pain...

Just as the whip was about to strike its target, the Resentful Demon's wrist shook abruptly. A clear retching sound came from its head—under the influence of Li Ang's Drown in Misfortune Assassination Method, Gulu Lugu convulsed in a frenzy, spewing out a fountain, and its mental control skill was directly interrupted.

The whip swung off course again. Ash and the others, who had regained control over their bodies, immediately jackknifed to their feet, each using their own methods to evade the Green Flame Whip.

Before Ash and the others could launch a counterattack, suddenly, an abrupt change occurred!

The ground beneath everyone's feet shook violently. The continuous CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! sounds of fracturing rock layers were relentless, and the ground was covered in a dense network of spiderweb cracks.

Li Ang saw it clearly: the shaking of the metro station in the Grey-white World was not caused by any of the players, but by the actual metro station itself in the real world!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Countless beams and columns broke and split. Large sections of the metro station's dome collapsed from a distance, completely burying nearly half of the abandoned metro station's space.

All the players stopped their attacks. They struggled to stand firm in the violently shaking space and ran toward the entrance of the metro station. If they were truly buried alive in this space, even if players weren't crushed to death by tons of rock, they would have to expend great effort just to crawl out.

CRASH!

The glass and steel artificial dome at the entrance of the metro station collapsed, sealing the entrance.

At the same time, a faint mist spewed out from the cracks in the metro station floor. This grey fog spread rapidly in all directions, but then it suddenly stopped expanding. Preventing the spread of the fog was an ancient wooden hand-held lantern suspended in mid-air.

In the midst of the chaos, all the players' wristwatches vibrated in unison.

[The fifth barrier contraction has been completed; the sixth barrier contraction will begin in 10 minutes.]

[A special item has appeared; all players may confirm it on their wristwatches.]

[Item Name: All Bright Moon Palace Lantern]

[Type: Tool]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Special Effect: Home Lights. Dispels evil spirits and sinister fogs.]

[Consumption: None]

[Note: The All Bright Moon Palace Lantern cannot be stored in the backpack. It will not disappear after the end of this routine mission and can be stored in the backpack slot as ordinary equipment.]

[Note: Pick up the lantern, take the people you cherish, and escape this city about to be engulfed by the Misty Territory.]