Chapter 29: The Twenty-Ninth Cup

Chapter 29: The Twenty-Ninth Cup

A team of players, clearly well-trained and originally from the combat department, relied little on their post-awakening abilities. Each had their own preferred weapon.

— Within the game, weapons and equipment had to be transported in from outside, and there were limited quantities. Only a small number of long-range combatants were equipped with guns, using them to restrain monsters from afar. Many others wielded cold weapons, showcasing a variety of martial skills.

In addition, there were many players who seemed to have come from unconventional backgrounds. These players generally had average physical fitness but possessed a wide array of abilities—lightning, ice arrows, fireballs—all colorful and reminiscent of fireworks.

Under the group's relentless assault, the tree demon’s health steadily decreased.

Xiaojie kept the tree demon’s attention firmly, demonstrating considerable experience in taunting monsters. She would occasionally stick her head out of the car window and shout, “Come get me! Come fight me!”

Then she would step on the gas, driving the milk tea van away, causing the tree demon to lose its mind and chase after her.

If it were an ordinary monster, this tactic might have dragged it to death, but the tree demon was massive, with a broad attack range. Even just chasing Xiaojie’s exhaust fumes, it could easily include nearby players in its attacks.

The ground bulged like waves as thick vines burst through, sweeping towards the milk tea van.

Q-jiang saw the vines in the rearview mirror and screamed, “Ah! Tentacles! Tentacles! Reverse! Crush it! Crush it!”

Xiaojie shifted into reverse, stepping hard on the gas. The van backed up, its rear bumper, shaped like spikes, collided with the tree demon’s vine, pushing it back. Xiaojie looked surprised, “This van has this feature?”

“Pretty cool, right? Only this one!” Q-jiang puffed up its chest proudly, then looked at Xiaojie curiously, “Aren’t you scared?”

“I am.” Even knowing that the milk tea van could deal damage to the tree demon, Xiaojie did not recklessly turn to attack. She remembered her duty and continued to move the tree demon within a certain range, “But you scream louder than I do, so I feel bad screaming.”

Q-jiang: “...”

Behind the milk tea van, He Wuning flipped to dodge the pursuing vine. This tree demon was quite cunning; each attack appeared aimed at Xiaojie in the van, but the angles were tricky, easily catching players off guard.

Before He Wuning landed, another branch stabbed out to impale him. Yi Luo’s snake-skin dagger sliced through the branch, and simultaneously, He Wuning thrust his dagger into the vine behind him, slicing off a long segment still writhing.

He Wuning glanced at Yi Luo, who smiled, “Didn’t steal your kill. That came from my left.”

“Hmph.” He Wuning snorted, tossing Yi Luo by the collar behind him. Yi Luo offered no resistance, switching positions with him. He Wuning’s dagger pinned a vine to the ground, raising an eyebrow in return, “That came from the right.”

These two didn’t rush to attack but stayed far behind the milk tea van, preventing the troublesome branches and vines from pursuing.

They delayed the tree demon’s progress, allowing the flamethrower cannon to operate at its own pace, firing and reducing the monster’s health significantly with each shot.

Once the tree demon’s health dropped to half, it finally became enraged. The large face on the trunk revealed anger, opening its mouth wide and howling. In the next instant, a cannonball was fired directly into its gaping mouth.

He Wuning studied the monster, unsure if it carried any fragments, but its facial expressions were eerily human-like, and its attack patterns were quite intelligent.

— It attacked the taunted target while trying to involve all players within its reach.

He Wuning was still pondering when someone behind him spoke seriously, “The warm and welcoming combat department offers the monster a spicy cannonball. Hilarious.”

He Wuning didn’t immediately understand what was being said and turned to look. It was Xing Yue’s deputy, previously unnoticeable, now standing beside them.

While dodging attacks, he looked at He Wuning, somewhat dejectedly asking, “Isn’t that funny?”

He Wuning: “...”

Yi Luo turned in surprise, “Cao Wu? You were telling a joke?”

He kicked aside a branch, looking conflicted.

Cao Wu took a deep breath and tried again, “Those vines, sometimes they look like S, sometimes like B. Hilarious.”

He Wuning silently turned away, his lips twitching. He had never heard such a deadpan, serious, and nonsensical joke before.

The friend behind them seemed unwilling to give up, persistently delivering dry jokes, “Does this tree face really need no moisturizing? So many wrinkles. Hilarious.”

Yi Luo looked away, unable to bear it, “What are you doing, Cao Wu! Can’t you go bother your captain?”

Cao Wu answered truthfully, “Captain finds me annoying. He says distractions lead to bad luck.”

Yi Luo heartlessly added, “Your captain gets unlucky without distractions.”

Cao Wu muttered while attacking the tree demon with his short staff, looking desperate, “Can’t you laugh? I’m really trying!”

He Wuning, pretending not to hear, remained silent.

Yi Luo rubbed his temples, genuinely saying, “I can’t laugh. Even with my low sense of humor, I can’t laugh.”

“Why do you have to tell jokes now?”

Cao Wu looked pained, “It’s my ability!”

“‘Laughter leads to GG,’ the more laughter around me, the higher my attack power. Please laugh!”

“Tsk, what are you guys doing standing there?” Xing Yue roared, rushing over and slashing a vine, then tripped over his feet.

Yi Luo stifled a laugh.

The deputy immediately took advantage to attack.

Xing Yue: “...”

“Ahem.” Yi Luo cleared his throat, explaining, “I laughed to help him increase his output, not at you.”

Xing Yue looked unconvinced but refrained from attacking He Wuning, venting his frustration on the tree demon instead.

Yi Luo turned to He Wuning, “At least he tripped. Normally, he trips on flat ground, no obstacles needed, ready for a drama lead role.”

He Wuning looked up at Xing Yue, whose transformed form was larger, bursting his shirt to reveal a muscular torso covered in fluffy fur. He Wuning couldn’t help imagining Xing Yue as a drama lead, his lips curling slightly.

But he quickly suppressed his smile, raising his chin at Yi Luo, “Childish.”

Cao Wu had somehow returned to their side at some point: "I remembered a joke. Once upon a time... hilarious."

He almost told a dry and lengthy story, leaving Yi Luo completely confused and numbly twitching the corner of his mouth: "May I ask, why do you add 'hilarious' at the end of every sentence?"

"Oh." The deputy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Because what I say is super boring, but my wife taught me that nowadays, when something is really funny, everyone says 'hilarious.'"

Yi Luo turned back without any expression: "Someone like him can have a wife, hilarious."

He Wuning raised an eyebrow: "Jealous?"

"Me?" Yi Luo raised his eyebrows. "Why would I—"

The tree demon's thick roots rose from the ground, lifting a large patch of soil covered with vegetation, interrupting the conversation between Yi Luo and He Wuning. They both grabbed the intertwined vines on the tree demon and jumped up.

Xing Yue shouted: "Up the tree! Be careful, don't get buried!"

The vines attacked again, but now they had to rely on them for support, so everyone had to endure it.

Master Zhi Yin tore through several vines with his bare hands, climbed the tree demon's dry bark to He Wuning's side, and shouted: "Mr. He, hold on to me!"

He Wuning was momentarily stunned, but seeing Master Zhi Yin's sincere expression, he realized the master genuinely feared he might die as a fragile character.

Before he could respond, Yi Luo suddenly interjected: "Master, isn't this inappropriate?"

Another cannon blast, and the tree demon's health dropped below 30%, its movements slowing down. Its roots sank back into the ground, and the vines covering its body suddenly surged, layer upon layer, forming armor around the entire trunk!

He Wuning felt something was wrong and immediately leaped off first: "Jump!"

Yi Luo and Master Zhi Yin followed closely behind. Some slower players were directly entangled by the tree demon's vines, being dragged into the vine armor.

Yi Luo pulled out his gun and shot the vine entangling a player, breaking it. Xing Yue quickly reacted: "Ranged attacks! Save the people first!"

"Stop the cannon fire, save the people first!"

Bullets, arrows, even slingshots—ranged players gritted their teeth, firing amidst the hail of projectiles. He Wuning frowned: "Its health hasn't changed."

"Huh?" Yi Luo looked up in surprise.

He Wuning slowly shook his head: "Not that it hasn't changed, but it's recovering."

"It's fine," Xing Yue landed beside them. "Once we rescue those trapped, we'll—"

Before he finished, a vine suddenly shot out from under his feet—the tree demon wasn't done with the players it had already caught and was looking for new prey!

Xing Yue slashed the vine around him, but the vine wouldn't let go, wrapping around him continuously.

Xing Yue's face changed dramatically: "They're draining my blood!"

"Xiao Zhang! Xiao Zhang, wake up, don't close your eyes, Xiao Zhang!"

"Move quickly! Captain!"

"No, one over there has already stopped moving! Hurry up!"

He Wuning suddenly gripped the dagger in his hand and asked Yi Luo, "Do you want to bet?"

Yi Luo had already switched to his customary sniper rifle: "Bet."

"Wait for my signal," He Wuning chuckled, lowering his body as if skimming the ground, gliding past the swaying vines on the surface. With his dagger, he severed the vines that barred his path, and like a gust of wind, he charged upwards towards the higher reaches of the tree demon.

Author's Note: BFF: Have you finished updating your writing?

I: Done writing! Today's writing was so thrilling! Tentacles ♂Furry ♂Outdoors ♂Woohoo!

Buddy: What on earth are you writing there? It's quite something, rwkkrwkk!

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