“Alright, thank you to Young Master Plague for that relatively serious commentary…” Mr. You said, as he stretched out his hand and gestured towards the large screen, “Let us unveil the mystery!”

In the desert, Xiao Tan and Bei Ling couldn't hear any sounds from the live show, nor could they see any cameras around them. How the images were transmitted was anyone's guess.

A moment ago, after the two advanced on their respective slides for a while, their eyes were suddenly filled with white. The blinding sunlight shattered the darkness, and the surrounding temperature rose sharply, as if they had fallen out of a spatial rift in mid-air.

The desert seemed very peaceful. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but yellow sand. No cacti, no animal bones, no rocks, and certainly no oases… The strangest thing was that in such an open place, there was no wind. Furthermore, the desert before them was completely flat, with not even a slightly higher dune in sight.

"These conditions are quite suitable for shooting," Bei Ling said, shielding her forehead with her hand as she surveyed the surroundings.

Xiao Tan smiled sheepishly, first offering his thanks, "Um… thank you for accompanying me."

"Ah~ it's nothing, it's just strategy. Since the combat portion can be shared by multiple people, we should make good use of the rules. It's your fault for being so clumsy and weak," Bei Ling replied in a helpless tone, while raising her hand to loosen the collar of her clothes. She was wearing a full set of special forces gear, so naturally, she was uncomfortably hot in this temperature.

Xiao Tan didn't pay much attention to Bei Ling's assessment of him. He knew there was no malice in her words. "Speaking of… in this kind of environment, where will the enemy come from?" He raised his head. The sun was blazing overhead, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The intense light made it impossible to open his eyes wide. "If it's from the sky, will it be a giant black vulture-like monster?"

"If that's the case, if the monster comes from the ground, it'll be a super-large worm?" Bei Ling retorted.

They were both wrong…

At that moment, at the live show, Mr. You was just about to reveal the answer. His next words were: "He is… from Cybertron… Desert… Tiger!"

A tsunami-like cheer erupted from the audience.

At the same time, Desert Tiger entered Xiao Tan and Bei Ling's line of sight.

He appeared on the distant horizon, approaching at an alarming speed, a trail of dust rising behind him.

Desert Tiger's appearance upon arrival was that of a giant mechanical tiger, with a yellow and black tiger-striped pattern on its metal body. Although he hadn't gotten close yet, Xiao Tan could already visually estimate from a distance that this monster… or rather, this Transformer… wasn't too big. He guessed that when he transformed into robot form, he would only be about five or six meters tall.

Bang—

The gun had already fired.

Xiao Tan turned his head and saw that Bei Ling was already lying prone on the ground, her sniper rifle propped up, and she had already fired the first bullet.

In this windless, bright, and open arena, as a player specializing in shooting, if you couldn't do something before the enemy got close, then you were definitely unqualified. Even if you couldn't end the battle directly at long range, you couldn't let that big metal lump approach unscathed.

Under good sniping conditions, Bei Ling decisively aimed at the head and fired. But unfortunately, her first shot missed the tiger's head. Of course, this was because Desert Tiger was moving. If the opponent was stationary, in this kind of environment, even a shooting-specialized player with an F rating could hit it with a sniper rifle that had a scope and was functioning properly.

"How troublesome…" Bei Ling licked her lips and immediately prepared her second shot, pulling the trigger.

Bang—

This time, the target was closer, and in the scope, it seemed almost within reach. And this shot did indeed hit.

Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was luck, but this time Desert Tiger was not only hit, but the bullet happened to enter his left eye, leaving a dark hole in the tiger's face. A ball of sparks erupted at the moment of impact. But Desert Tiger was not an organic creature, but a living robot, so such an attack was not fatal.

Bang—The third shot.

After firing this shot, Bei Ling didn't even bother to see if it hit. She immediately put the sniper rifle back into her knapsack, then took out a German-made MP5 submachine gun, raising it and aiming.

Although this gun was a store-bought item, it was expensive. For shooting-specialized players with some financial means, this submachine gun was an excellent choice in the early stages of the game. Weighing less than three kilograms, it had a high rate of fire, low recoil, high accuracy, and a fast reload speed. As a mature, standard weapon, the MP5 was the preferred choice of many special forces units around the world for a considerable period of time due to its reliability and excellent performance.

Da-da-da-da…

When Desert Tiger had come within thirty meters of the two, Bei Ling began to unload the bullets from her submachine gun. The third shot she fired with the sniper rifle had hit the monster's chest, but the armor there was obviously thicker, and the sniper bullet failed to penetrate it, leaving only a bullet mark.

Xiao Tan also took out his Winchester and held it up in front of him. Although his heart was racing and his palms were sweating, he didn't rush to pull the trigger. After several scripts of training, at least Xiao Tan had a certain understanding of the characteristics of the weapons he possessed. He knew very well that the shotgun in his hand could only exert its maximum power when fired at close range. Firing from dozens of meters away, even if what was rushing over now wasn't a Transformer but a battered armored vehicle, it probably wouldn't cause any damage.

The MP5's bullets swept across the front of Desert Tiger, causing sparks to fly, but failed to slow him down. When he approached within ten meters of the two players, his two hind legs stomped down with force, leaping high into the air…

The sunlight cast a giant tiger shadow on the sand. In the short few seconds that Desert Tiger was airborne, the shadow on the ground underwent a dramatic change.

Obviously, Desert Tiger was transforming in mid-air. The original tiger-shaped head opened and twisted, a robot's head protruding from its torso. The four curved beast legs twisted, folded, compressed, and extended at bizarre angles. The mechanical arms inside its torso were exposed, and the outer tiger-striped armor attached to the outer layers of the limbs like armor. The bullet holes that had been in his head just now had all shifted to inconsequential positions. It seemed that his tiger form was used for high-speed propulsion and taking hits.

The entire transformation process looked chaotic, yet swift and efficient. This tiger, leaping into the air, transformed into a robot warrior more than six meters tall before landing, attacking the two players.

After transforming, he spoke…

A mechanical voice, devoid of any emotion, sounded: "Humans… obliterate… reshape…"