Fatal Shot
chapter-275

As expected! Feng Luo thought.

Hunting Tiger’s words confirmed his guesses. However, in this situation, the first to speak was not Big Pineapple or Feng Luo himself; instead, it was Phoenix, who asked, fully alert, “Then you’re saying that you’re here to avenge them?”

When she said that, she couldn’t help but glance at Feng Luo and Big Pineapple. What the scarred-face NPC was referring to were the three other Special Agent mission candidates who had been killed by Big Pineapple and Feng Luo. This was another incident that shocked and surprised her.

Of course, with the surprise also came joy. After all, this also meant that she had two fewer competitors in the mission. Joy was joy. The problem at that moment was the position of this “Hunting Tiger” with its signs of “beastification.”

Judging by the strength displayed earlier, even if the three of them were to work together—without knowing his weakness—their chances of victory would probably be close to zero.

“Avenge…” Hunting Tiger looked at the three, and from his gaze, it looked like he was assessing them. Then, unexpectedly, he said, “No! Why should I avenge them? Although I am their direct instructor, my number-one role is the examiner of the selection! The rules of the selection state that during the two days on the island, you are free to fight among yourself, and killing your opponent is not a problem! Of course, it’s not necessarily for two days. In the event of an emergency, I will discuss things with the other two instructors and change the examination method!”

Hunting Tiger’s words caused these three, who were on high alert, relax.

Even though Big Pineapple’s face appeared relaxed, he had more doubts in his mind. “Then… Why did you attack us just now?”

“This must be part of the examination!” said Feng Luo. Although the contents of his sentence were uncertain, his tone was firm.

“That’s right!” Hunting Tiger glanced at Feng Luo with admiration, but his gaze remained fairly calm. “Since I’m an examiner, I also have to bear the responsibility of the examination mission. We three instructors will test your abilities and make an assessment. As for your performance just now, it will affect your final position!”

“F*ck! An exam? The system didn’t even notify us! We’re screwed!” Big Pineapple’s expression changed; three black lines appeared on the side of his already dark forehead.

If I had known that this was a test earlier on, I would have initiated an all-out attack right from the beginning!

In the end, the three of them hadn’t managed to threaten this scarred-face man—not even after working together—so it was likely that their test results would be dreadful!

“One’s performance during emergency situations speaks a lot about a person’s strength!” Hunting Tiger’s gaze went from Feng Luo to Phoenix, then to Big Pineapple. “That’s why, before the test, there was no way for you to know our identities. And after the test, we also won’t be moving with you. Even if you battle against the people we’ve trained, we won’t interfere…”

“It all sounds so nice…” Big Pineapple mumbled softly. “But it’s just sweet talk…”

After all, Nightingale had interfered during their ambush on Light Armor Warrior Number 74. Nightingale had not only taken the supply box but also allowed Number 74, who had almost certainly been going to die, to live. The NPCs in War each had their own personality traits. Unless there was a system notification, the words of NPCs were not to be trusted 100 percent.

“The test is over. Your overall performance was very average. However, there are areas that can be further uncovered!”

By then, Hunting Tiger had already turned around and was walking toward the dark forest while carrying the alloy shield. When he turned around at the end, he glanced at the location where Feng Luo’s three Bladed Beetles were hiding.

“Remember one thing. It’s impossible to improve your strength to reach the peak by relying on external forces! To gain real strength, you can only rely on yourself to awaken your naturally born potential!”

After he said this, Hunting Tiger entered the forest, still carrying his alloy shield. His voice gradually faded with him.

Big Pineapple looked confused. “F*ck! What the hell does that mean? I feel like there’s a deeper meaning to his words.”

As for Feng Luo and Phoenix, they looked to be in deep thought. Feng Luo had a vague guess.

Naturally born potential? Does this mean our talent…?

After several seconds of silence, Big Pineapple suddenly slapped his forehead and shouted, “Ah, I forgot something!”

The other two raised their heads and looked at him. “What?”

“Just now, didn’t Phoenix say that, apart from the Hunter, there was another rebel army Earth Manipulator chasing her? We didn’t pay attention to that just now. By now, he’s probably gone!” Big Pineapple’s words were regretful.

“No,” said Feng Luo calmly. “Did you not notice the trail of fresh blood on Hunting Tiger’s shield when he appeared? The rebel army Earth Manipulator was probably smashed into a pile of mush by him a while ago.”

“How would I have noticed that?” said Big Pineapple. “It’s not like I have a pet with night vision that can help me scout like you. In fact, if it weren’t for the fact that it was too dark just now, I would never have been pressured so much by an NPC that I can’t retaliate,” he added, attempting to explain and defend his earlier clumsy behavior.

“Pet?” Upon hearing this, Phoenix looked at Feng Luo, surprised. “You need 1,500 points to unlock the pet bracer. You’ve already accumulated enough?” Clearly, from her words, one could deduce that she also had pets.

Big Pineapple flashed a wretched smile as he explained earnestly to Phoenix, “Not us. Just Old Feng. I don’t have pets! There, the pet is sitting on Old Feng’s shoulder!”

“Shoulder?” Phoenix’s eyes with crimson eyeshadow looked plenty interested. Then she shifted her gaze. “That… Is that a beetle?”

However, when she saw 24K—who was painted completely black by the camouflage paint and looked not much different from a normal beetle—sitting on Feng Luo’s shoulder, she couldn’t hide the doubt in her tone of voice. However, if Feng Luo had spent 1,500 points to unlock 24K, she guessed that 24K was probably something special.

“Number 99,” she said. “This pet of yours. It must have some special characteristics, right?”

“Old Feng?” Big Pineapple laughed.

24K’s stats and abilities were all Feng Luo’s private information. Even though Big Pineapple was the kind to put gals before pals, he still knew his boundaries and wouldn’t expose his secrets without Feng Luo’s permission.

“Yes…” Feng Luo nodded without caring too much.

Since they’d encountered Phoenix, they had to accept the fact that they would be working together as a team going forward. 24K’s abilities would be exposed in the end, so there was no need to hide them.

******

“What?! A Boss-grade pet? And it has a summoning skill?”

As Big Pineapple explained 24K’s skills—as well as its “Boss” status, which would certainly have shocked any player—Feng Luo’s gaze was already on the corpse of the Elite Level-40 Poison Snake not far away that had been killed by Phoenix earlier. Although Hunting Tiger had killed a Normal Bladed Beetle, there was an Elite-grade monster’s corpse nearby, which meant that Feng Luo could get another Beetle back. Moreover, with an Elite-grade corpse, there was a certain probability for him to incubate an Elite-grade beetle!

Incubating Bladed Beetle. Estimated time required: 300 seconds.