Chapter 42 Is My Opponent Mu Wanqiu?

"My opponent is Mu Wanqiu?"

Gu Shen used heart sound transmission.

"Exactly."

Chu Ling smiled and said, "She is an 'S-class' on whom the entire investigation corps places high hopes. She's on your level, so she should be the most suitable opponent for you right now, right? You can't be distracted in this kind of battle."

"Buzz!"

The roar of blades grinding against each other brought Gu Shen's thoughts back to the battle.

The red source armor pressed into the snow sprayed flames from its tail, and it suddenly exerted force, shaking off Gu Shen's long saber!

Gu Shen didn't want the stalemate of this tug-of-war to be broken. He steadily suppressed Mu Wanqiu, and as long as he continued to fight like this… he would be able to win!

His long saber was shaken off, and he quickly steadied himself, then slashed out again—

But this time, he struck empty air.

Snowflakes danced wildly.

Mu Wanqiu, manipulating the source armor, didn't immediately jump out of the pit after shaking off Gu Shen's long saber, but instead dived straight down!

This was simply an inhuman choice…

This frozen tundra had deep snow, so she could indeed sneak and burrow, but it would consume a large amount of mental energy.

Gu Shen looked around at the silent snowfield.

He had completely lost sight of his opponent, and could only silently grip his saber and wait.

It was very clear.

Mu Wanqiu wanted to exchange mental energy consumption for the absolute advantage of her next attack!

Gu Shen smiled.

He took the initiative to speak, saying, "Miss Mu, I have long admired your name."

The snowfield was silent, and no one responded… Gu Shen didn't mind.

No response was fine. If Mu Wanqiu continued to sneak and search for an opportunity, his next words wouldn't be abruptly interrupted.

"It's an honor for Gu to be able to duel with Miss Mu… but why doesn't Your Excellency act a little more honorably?" Gu Shen said lightly, "Wouldn't it be more clean and decisive for you and I to engage in a head-on fight, a fair battle?"

Of course, this wasn't an invitation from Gu Shen's true feelings.

He himself wasn't exactly an "honorable" person.

If it was a battle that he was determined to win, then Gu Shen would definitely try every means possible to seize the advantage… but at this moment, Mu Wanqiu was doing what he was supposed to be doing, putting him at a disadvantage.

Considering that the roughnecks of the Northern Continent valued martial ethics, perhaps this rhetoric would be useful to Mu Wanqiu.

Unfortunately.

After waiting for a few seconds, the snowfield remained silent, with only his own voice echoing repeatedly.

It seemed that Mu Wanqiu didn't buy into this at all.

This woman's fighting style was very similar to his own.

What she pursued wasn't the "process," but the "result"!

Gu Shen was silent for a moment.

He suddenly laughed and said, "Miss Mu, although you're hiding very well, I have a way to find you… do you believe that?"

…

…

"Do you think it's possible?"

On the thirty-seventh floor, the battle inside the combat pod was underway. Although it was currently in a stalemate, the situation remained tense.

But outside the combat pod, there were two observers.

The [Deep Sea] on this floor had been disconnected from the main brain, leaving only the local area network, but it could still display real-time battles on the big screen. Lu Zhe, floating in the air, smiled and said, "We've both played in that combat pod… Although it's a 'toy,' it's not easy to find a lurker in such a large snowfield."

"The difficulty is too great. It's like finding a needle in a haystack."

Zhong Yuan shook his head and said, "Don't even mention Gu Shen. If Mu Wanqiu is determined to hide, I'm afraid even you… wouldn't be able to find her, right?"

"Indeed…"

Lu Zhe didn't deny it. He looked at the screen and said with a smile, "I think this thing still has some bugs because it was just designed. There's really no way to crack stealth. As long as you hide under the snow layer, there's no need to fight. No one can find anyone."

"Xiao Qiu's fighting style is like that."

Zhong Yuan said calmly, "Gu Shen probably wants to use reverse psychology to trick her into revealing her aura… Unfortunately, Xiao Qiu won't fall for it."

"I have a feeling… that perhaps Gu Shen isn't bluffing." Lu Zhe said softly, "Some things that I can't do doesn't mean that others can't… Moreover, there's another interesting thing."

"Hmm?"

"Didn't you notice? These two guys… actually have very similar fighting styles."

Lu Zhe sighed and said, "Xiao Qiu and Gu Shen both seem to be ruthless people who won't stop until they achieve their goals. Prepare to forcibly disconnect the combat pod link, lest this fight gets too real."

…

…

Under the snowfield, a red source armor was sneaking.

Mu Wanqiu had carefully selected a safe location under the snow layer and sat down cross-legged. She used her mental energy to wrap herself in a sphere, enduring the extreme cold of the snow and ice world. In just a moment, fine snow particles had condensed on the surface of the source armor.

After all, this was just a world constructed by the "virtual network." Although it consumed mental energy, in the eyes of true experts, it was ultimately just a toy.

Her mental energy was strong enough.

The consumption of sneaking was not a problem at all.

She would rather wait for an opportunity here than keep fighting that madman like she had just done… and be suppressed so hard.

So after Gu Shen spoke, she simply listened to his words without any expression. She knew very well what Gu Shen's intentions were.

He wanted to lure her out for a fair fight?

She avoided the fight not because she was afraid of losing.

Even in a fair duel, she had the confidence to win… but why?

Why should she stand out just because Gu Shen wanted her to?

This S-class from the Eastern Continent was really laughable.

If he had the means to find her, then he might as well try.

Mu Wanqiu had enough confidence in her concealment skills. This snowfield was large enough; it was easy to hide, but difficult to find.

It wouldn't be so easy to find her!

But the next moment… the sound that echoed across the snowfield made her expression change drastically.

Gu Shen raised his head and shouted loudly into the air:

"Hey, is anyone there?"

"I want to fight ten!"

The combat pod's [System] had only just been developed, and there were still many things that needed to be improved… Just as A' Liuer had said, this combat pod was a toy, and the Northern Continent military had made it with that idea in mind.

A toy should serve its purpose as a toy!

Being available on call and granting every request were the basic qualities of the system!

As Gu Shen's voice fell, ten beams of light descended at the edge of the snowfield world… Those familiar source armor AIs gathered in the beams of light, and this time, as soon as they left the beams of light, they began to attack.

But the difference was…

Their attack targets were no longer just Gu Shen alone!

In the world sensed by the [System], there were two linkers in this snowfield!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

After leaping out of the beams of light, the ten source armor AIs instantly split into two groups, firing at Gu Shen and a certain patch of snow in the distance!

These foolish guys had reached the highest point of their lives at this moment!

Their bullets seemed to have gained the ability to see through walls, directly piercing through the snow layer!

"!@#…"

Mu Wanqiu gritted her teeth. She had no choice but to get up and dodge these damn bullets.

She, who was usually taciturn, was so angry at this moment that she almost cursed. The place she had carefully chosen to lie in ambush had been exposed so directly!

How could this guy named Gu use such underhanded tactics?

It was too despicable!

The calm snow layer surged for a while, then exploded. Mu Wanqiu's red source armor had no choice but to appear, and after appearing, a strong sense of oppression came from behind…

When these AIs started shooting, Gu Shen had already begun running toward the snow where Mu Wanqiu was hiding!

"Boom!!"

Two blades collided. Mu Wanqiu was slightly embarrassed and stumbled from the sudden saber strike, but quickly adjusted her posture and regained her balance. She blocked Gu Shen's next strike, then slammed a heavy punch into Gu Shen's chest!

Gu Shen also delivered a knee strike, ruthlessly knocking the woman away!

Gunfire intermingled.

The two weaved through the bullets, neither able to clear the mobs first. After being blasted away, they quickly stepped on the snow and crashed back together…

"Boom—"

The two long sabers were also shattered in a new round of collisions!

"Come!"

Gu Shen extended another invitation.

He felt the burning of his mental sea.

The quality of this battle was very high. He felt a long-lost sense of "urgency" and "limit"… Mu Wanqiu was a very good opponent, smart and powerful enough!

On the other side, Mu Wanqiu's emotions were not as stable as Gu Shen's.

She was faintly enraged.

Perhaps it was because her "hiding place" had been exposed, or perhaps it was because the other party was more "cunning" than her… Her mentality had changed. The snowfield duel at this moment was no longer a simple "spar," but had become a "duel" in which victory and defeat were a must!

"You'll regret this!"

Mu Wanqiu said in a low voice, and rushed forward without hesitation!

Although she was a mental-type transcendent… outside of this "virtual network," she was also an expert in combat!

She was a Northerner!

Two fists collided… on the frozen tundra, the cold wind howled, torn apart by the fist wind of the red and black source armor.

At the same time, inside the two people's dormant combat pods, there were faint sparks of electricity!

After all, this was just a "toy."

Under the premise of cutting off the [Deep Sea] network, mental transmission could be retained to the greatest extent, but an overly strong mental force was something the combat pod… could not withstand!

Gu Shen's blood was boiling. He could feel the surging of the blazing fire at this moment!

A punch!

It was as if something had exploded.

He and Mu Wanqiu's source armor each took a step back, and then the two of them twisted their waists again and exerted force!

As the second punch was delivered…

Through the source armor mask, he clearly saw the burning gaze of Mu Wanqiu on the other side of the red source armor.

Just like himself.

This guy was using all her strength in this battle.

With a "sizzle,"

The snowfield instantly dimmed, and the scene in front of Gu Shen suddenly disappeared. He had returned to the real world.

The mental network link of the combat pod had been forcibly disconnected!

He looked complicated and a little lost.

Which son of a bitch… did such a wicked thing?

With a "bang!"

Not far away, someone was venting their anger.

The hot-tempered woman piloting the red source armor drilled out of the combat pod, and slapped the combat pod that had dropped the ball at the critical moment.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…"

This slap directly caused the combat pod to emit green smoke.

…

…

(There will be another chapter at noon tomorrow!)