Among the five avatars, it was the Bald Avatar's turn to perform enthusiastically. He said ominously, "I've decided not to directly attack you in front of the master."
"So listen up, monsters. For each wave of my attacks you withstand, I'll tell you about their abilities."
As he finished speaking, a giant axe suddenly appeared in his hand. He swung it, chopping down the nearest tree within his domain.
The tree collapsed with a thunderous crash under the immense force. The monsters in this domain were utterly confused.
What was going on? Why chop down trees?
They soon understood the reason.
After the tree fell, the Bald Avatar infused it with his ability. The tree began to transform as the power flowed into it, reshaping itself into a tree-man figure. When the tree-man opened its eyes, it immediately started wreaking havoc on the surrounding environment.
Debris, trees, electricity pylons, and other inanimate objects were destroyed. Some fused with the tree-man, forming new components, while others, like the tree-man itself, could move independently.
The Bald Avatar leaped up, standing atop the giant tree-man.
The monsters, of course, wouldn't sit idly by as their domain was being devastated. One opened its domain, allowing other monsters to launch attacks, while it immediately took action itself.
Its body disintegrated inch by inch, merging with the ground of the domain. When it had completely disappeared, the earth within the domain opened its eyes. The awakened ground angrily lashed out at the Bald Avatar and his animated creations.
A suddenly appearing swamp trapped the tree-man, impeding its movement. Having absorbed too many objects, the tree-man began to sink due to its excessive weight...
At the same time, as the tree-man sank, its energy was continuously drained by the swamp.
Seeing this, the other monsters launched their attacks. Flames, lightning, and countless other assaults bombarded the giant tree-man.
"BOOM—"
The numerous attacks striking the giant tree-man created a deafening explosion. The tree-man was blown to pieces, its broken trunk reduced to charcoal.
The energy blast swept across the entire domain, instantly creating a blank space within it.
Could they have taken one down?!
The monsters were hopeful. This bald human was too arrogant, not using a domain, and his teammates, as mentioned earlier, provided no support to the Bald Avatar.
"Cough cough... You guys are really heartless," the Bald Avatar stood up from the flattened ground caused by the energy blast, his mask not even slightly damaged.
"How is this possible?" The monsters couldn't help but exclaim. To withstand such an attack without even deploying a domain—was this really a human? Not a monster?!
The Bald Avatar reached out and stroked the air. A transparent figure, tens of meters tall, slowly lowered its head.
He laughed mockingly at their incompetence, "You weaklings, air is also inanimate. Anything inanimate can be brought to life."
Countless dense air phantoms opened their eyes, their eyeballs rotating to focus on monsters in all directions.
Being watched by so many eyes, the monsters instantly felt their scalps tingle.
"Let's say you've survived the first wave of attacks. Next time won't be so easy to pass. My partner's... domain is the Boundless Hell."
The Bald Avatar paused for half a second, letting the phantoms shield him as he quickly finished relaying the remaining information.
In the blink of an eye, the phantoms were hit by an ability, with blades of light exploding on their bodies. In an instant, countless blades of light dissected the phantoms into pieces, then into strands, and finally into scattered dust falling to the ground.
Punishment — Lingchi.
So far, the only attack aimed at the Bald Avatar came from the Punishment Ability Avatar, who calmly spoke again, "In his domain, all inanimate objects without consciousness come to life."
"Hey! At least make up a cooler name, will you?" the Bald Avatar was very dissatisfied, but his dissatisfaction was different from what one might expect.
The monsters took advantage of this internal squabble to communicate silently, secretly rejoicing that these abnormal humans had lost their minds, constantly fighting among themselves and leaking information.
The originally one-sided dangerous situation seemed to become clear again, and the monsters seemed to see a glimmer of hope.
Little did they know, this was all part of a scripted play.
As the dialogue and battle on the field continued, Qi Yuan's true self, who had transformed into reality and then back into illusion, remained deeply hidden, taking credit for nothing.
There was no such thing as an invincible avatar; it was the true self bearing the burden for them.
With so many monsters, there were bound to be a few who would overthink things.
Sensing the constant stream of domain skill unlock cards sent by the monsters, Qi Yuan smiled with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan.
In games like this, only the house ever wins.
...
At an abandoned park in the suburbs of Yukou City.
"Wake up!"
His cheeks were being violently slapped, and the force wasn't small. Fatty felt his head was dizzy and confused. In his daze, he waved his arms, trying to drive away the culprit disturbing his dream.
"Don't bother me, grandpa's sleeping..."
After being shaken vigorously, Fatty impatiently opened his eyes. A symbol that terrified him appeared in his vision.
The Patrol Team!
He sat up abruptly, looking left and right, searching for his reliable big brother.
"Brother Liang!"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, wanting to wave to his big brother... but his hands wouldn't obey.
Looking down, he saw silver bracelets on both his hands...!!!
Damn! Did I really get someone killed?!
Fatty was on the verge of tears, looking towards his big brother for help.
And so, he saw that his big brother was also wearing a pair of silver bracelets...
Well, that's alright then.
Fatty's startled behavior aroused the suspicion of the patrol team member. He looked Fatty up and down, then nodded to a nearby recorder, indicating to make a note of it.
The Special Patrol Team had been on standby at the abandoned building for some time before finally receiving a call from Captain Qi, telling them to come and wrap things up.
They came to the abandoned park with some skepticism, only to find a ground littered with corpses and people who had passed out.
The Special Patrol Team was once again shocked and impressed by Captain Qi's abilities, collectively drawing in a sharp breath.
To resolve everything without making a sound?!
Captain Qi had been very clear on the phone: the dead were killed by their companions, not caught in the crossfire of his battle with the monsters. He told them to investigate the cause of death themselves.
Therefore, the Special Patrol Team handcuffed everyone and took them back to the station for thorough questioning.
...
"Name."
"Qian Liang."
The clerk rapidly recorded on paper as the patrol officer questioned Qian Liang.
"Why did you participate in the End Game?"
"My sister went missing. I found in her chat records that she was forced into a desperate situation by some bastard. Not wanting to worry me, she joined the End Game. I want to know..." Qian Liang's voice gradually became hoarse, "Besides us, could there be any other survivors?"
Both patrol officers fell silent.
"...Go ahead with your questions."
Qian Liang let out a long sigh, suppressing his emotions. He had gotten his answer in their silence, an answer he had already anticipated.
He just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
The two patrol officers, mindful of Qian Liang's emotional state, got straight to the point.
They inquired about what happened in the amusement park, showed Qian Liang photos of the people he mentioned for confirmation, and then asked a question that puzzled him a bit.
"How many subordinates did Captain Qi bring?"
"Five... maybe six?"
"Six?"
Seeing the two patrol officers frown, Qian Liang added, "That person who transformed into a middle-aged man, if he counts, then it's six."