Infinity, The Arcade Age

As Qin Ming ducked to the side, his eyes widened as he saw an energy orb curve mid-flight, narrowly missing him and smashing into an orc nearby. The blast sent the orc flying.

He swung his fist at another orc, striking its head and sending it spinning through the air before it crashed heavily to the ground. Qin Ming raised his pistol, finishing the downed orc before dashing toward the trebuchet.

The massive siege engine loomed ahead, its crude but imposing structure silhouetted in the moonlight. With a leap, Qin Ming climbed to the top.

Hawkeye and Air Cannon quickly followed, the three of them standing atop the trebuchet and raining attacks down on the encroaching orcs. Their relentless fire soon thinned the orcs' ranks, giving them a brief moment of reprieve.

Qin Ming paused and shouted, "Grenade!"

Hawkeye glanced up but didn't toss the grenade Twin-Guns had given him. Instead, he pulled the pin on his own and lobbed it under the trebuchet.

Qin Ming, perched at the perfect spot to throw a grenade himself, froze in shock. His pupils constricted as he realized what was about to happen. He turned to jump off the trebuchet, but a sudden rush of air reached his ears.

Boom!

A curving energy blast from Air Cannon struck Qin Ming square in the chest, detonating on impact and launching him into the air.

An instant later, the grenade Hawkeye had thrown exploded. The powerful blast shattered the trebuchet, sending splinters of wood and flames into the sky. Qin Ming, who had been flung into the orc ranks, was caught in the explosion's shockwave, disappearing amidst the chaos.

As the shattered trebuchet burned, the orcs rallied, converging on where Qin Ming had landed.

Hawkeye and Air Cannon exchanged glances before suddenly turning their weapons on each other.

Hawkeye loosed an arrow, striking Air Cannon's shoulder.

Air Cannon retaliated with a curving energy blast, slamming into Hawkeye's side.

Both grunted in pain but didn't relent, furiously attacking each other even as they fled to avoid being surrounded by orcs.

Just moments earlier, they had been cooperating. Now, they were locked in a vicious fight to the death.

Though the mission was set to Peace Mode, where killing fellow adventurers provided no rewards, their attacks were merciless. Their sudden betrayal mirrored the unspoken agreement earlier when they had simultaneously turned on Qin Ming.

In Peace Mode, adventurers gained no direct benefits from killing one another, but conflicts often arose due to competing interests.

Before finding the protagonists, the mission's difficulty had necessitated teamwork to survive. But now, with two protagonists on their side, completing the mission seemed almost guaranteed. The challenge was no longer survival—it was the division of loot.

Protagonists didn't share spoils, meaning any rewards from defeated enemies were left to the five adventurers to split. Fewer people meant larger shares for the survivors.

Air Cannon, having escaped the camp and taken cover behind a boulder, hastily stuffed a recovery item into his mouth. Growling in frustration, he fired three more energy blasts in quick succession.

The white orbs curved through the air, bypassing Hawkeye's cover and slamming into him. Hawkeye cried out in pain, arrows slipping from his quiver as he struggled to recover.

Realizing he couldn't win in a direct exchange, Hawkeye pulled out a special item and hurled it to the ground.

With a puff of white smoke, two figures clad in ancient armor emerged. One wielded a spear, the other a sword and shield.

"By the will of Wu!" they cried, charging at Air Cannon.

The item was a rare summon from Knights of Valour—a Wu Command Token.

Air Cannon's energy blasts excelled in one-on-one combat, allowing him to dominate opponents with their speed and homing capabilities. But against multiple enemies, his attacks were harder to control.

As the summoned soldiers closed in, Air Cannon struggled to aim his blasts properly. His automatic targeting system caused the orbs to veer off course, leaving his attackers unscathed.

Frustrated, Air Cannon roared and pulled an item from his inventory—a submachine gun from the Metal Slug world.

The H-Type SMG, a blue-tier weapon, unleashed a torrent of bullets, shredding the spear-wielding soldier and forcing the sword-and-shield soldier to retreat.

Hawkeye, who had been preparing another arrow, froze when he saw the intense firepower. Retreating behind cover, he peeked out cautiously.

Air Cannon, standing on the boulder with his SMG, snarled triumphantly. "Come on! Step out! Let's see if I don't mow you down!"

To punctuate his taunt, he fired another energy blast, which curved wildly before striking the sword-and-shield soldier, disintegrating it.

Hawkeye, cowed by the display, raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Wait! Stop! Let's stop fighting!"

Air Cannon sneered. "You think you can call the shots? Does this look like your Nightmare Space?"

"Listen to me!" Hawkeye shouted desperately. "I have a blue-tier rocket launcher from Cadillacs and Dinosaurs! One use per mission! We both have heavy hitters—we'll destroy each other if we keep this up!"

To emphasize his point, Hawkeye pulled out a massive shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, displaying it prominently.

Seeing the intimidating weapon, Air Cannon's face paled. He quickly ducked behind cover, positioning his SMG atop the boulder to aim defensively.

The two stared at each other tensely across their respective barriers.

Glancing at the distant orc camp, now engulfed in flames, they silently assessed the situation. After a few moments of quiet, they reluctantly lowered their weapons.

"How about a truce?" Hawkeye suggested cautiously.

Air Cannon nodded grudgingly. "Agreed. We've already dealt with one competitor; there's no need to keep wasting resources. Let's team up and finish the mission."

"Good. We split the loot 50-50 and take out the others later," Hawkeye added.

"Deal," Air Cannon agreed.

They packed away their weapons and stepped out from cover, shaking hands with forced smiles.

"Man, what a waste. That fight cost me seventy rounds of ammo—do you know how much it costs to refill this SMG?" Air Cannon grumbled.

Hawkeye chuckled awkwardly. "Tell me about it. I thought summoning those soldiers would be enough, but your firepower's insane."

Before Hawkeye could finish his sentence, a crimson beam of energy shot through the air, striking him squarely in the torso.

The beam's speed left him no time to react. His body shuddered, and he split cleanly in half at the waist.

Behind him, the massive boulder he had used for cover was also sliced in two, the edges glowing with residual heat.

Hawkeye's upper and lower halves fell to the ground, his stunned smile still frozen on his face.

(Chapter End)