“Hmph… these things you’re describing…” K3 chuckled, grabbing Feng Bujue’s collar with one hand, “I have absolutely no interest in them.” His right arm was already swinging, “No matter what kind of existence you are in your world, in my world, you’re just a set of data projections standing in my way.”

The fist moved, and a crimson flash streaked through the air. This deadly strike was coming, and it seemed Feng Bujue was doomed without a doubt.

This time, K3 directly grabbed his opponent and punched him right in the face. He didn’t care whether Feng Bujue had dodged the finger flick earlier through his own ability. Right now, there was no way this kid could avoid this attack again.

*Bang* A sound rang out as K3’s fist struck a hard object. The energy coiled around his fist collided with the object, causing a burst of light.

Feng Bujue’s head didn’t feel any impact. For some reason, the Casey Jones Mask automatically changed to its display state, appearing on his face.

A second later, a series of cracking sounds rang out. The hockey mask on Feng Bujue’s face was covered in cracks and quickly turned into countless data fragments, then dissolved into dust.

[Your equipment “Casey Jones Mask” has been destroyed]

[Your Brawling specialization bonus has disappeared, current rank is E]

The system’s notification announced these two very bad pieces of news.

Feng Bujue was caught off guard by this sudden and unusual situation, thinking, “Equipment can be destroyed!”

This time, Feng Bujue had miscalculated. He hadn’t expected that in this kind of absolutely irreversible crisis, the protagonist halo’s method of forcibly saving the player… was to trigger some kind of “equivalent exchange” principle.

Right now, it was just breaking equipment. If he allowed K3 to continue launching various fatal attacks with this foolproof method, the halo would further upgrade this method of transferring losses, such as forcibly consuming survival value replenishment agents in his bag, or transferring the damage to other teammates in the script.

K3 was slightly surprised to find that his opponent was still alive, but he didn’t hesitate. He used both fists in succession, rapidly throwing a series of jabs at Feng Bujue’s torso. In an instant, multiple fist shadows appeared, but K3’s fists all struck an invisible barrier. The force was dispersed by a transparent medium.

This time, it wasn’t the effect of the protagonist halo, but the merit of the Echo Armor. The reason the sonic barrier didn’t work when Feng Bujue was knocked away earlier was because the Echo Armor’s sonic barrier enveloped the outside of the player’s body, and Feng Bujue was subjected to the impact in close contact with the opponent. But now, the sonic barrier was triggered normally. Facing this kind of high-speed, multi-point attack, the sonic barrier had a very significant defensive effect.

K3’s jabs, which increased speed and striking points, naturally had a greatly reduced power, to the extent that they couldn’t break through the Echo Armor’s defense at all.

If K3 had simply delivered another heavy blow, Feng Bujue would still have had to rely on the protagonist halo to defend. But he changed his attack method, trying to test Feng Bujue, but unexpectedly backfired, making Feng Bujue’s defense methods even more difficult to grasp.

“The finger flick aimed at the head deviated from the target for unknown reasons, and the close-range heavy blow was resolved by the suddenly appearing mask. It’s impossible to judge from the data flow whether he used any sensory interference skills, and it doesn’t look like an active defense skill…” In these few seconds, K3’s logic program was deducing what Feng Bujue had done, “The high-speed jabs launched at the torso, the attack points cover all internal organs, joints, bones, diaphragms, and other parts. If his reaction speed is indeed very fast, he should reflexively respond and dodge… and if his strength is defense, then this round of attacks can also identify his weaknesses.”

“But… he didn’t make any defensive movements, nor did he evade. A set of data appeared without warning, blocking my attack, and the defensive barrier only appeared when my fist reached a certain distance from the surface of his body, and precisely blocked the striking point of the fist. Is this a skill or the effect of equipment…”

“Although the ‘light’ on this kid is more dazzling than that of ordinary level 18 players, his combat power is definitely not as good as those two GMs, and that Meng Jingchan next to him is also stronger than him, why… why can’t I kill him?”

K3’s series of thoughts flashed through his mind in a very short time. As an AI, the field he can think in is quite limited, but the speed at which he considers problems is definitely not slow.

Seeing that the attack was ineffective, he decisively decided to launch a stronger move to eliminate the enemy.

The crimson dragon tattoo on his right arm burst out with a strong light. Even through his sleeve, the texture of the dragon’s body could be seen. An astonishing aura bloomed, like a pair of invisible hands, pressing down on Feng Bujue’s shoulders, making him unable to move.

“You’re more troublesome than I thought…” K3 still had a cold smile, “I want to see how long you can last.”

K3’s fighting style was simple, direct, and overbearing. Since the previous attacks were useless, he would strengthen his moves. If that was still useless, he would come up with even stronger moves… and so on, constantly increasing his destructive power. So far, no one had ever forced him to use his full strength. In past battles, as K3’s combat power gradually increased, his opponents had to keep up with this intensity. But… including Vayru and all the monsters, players, and GMs who died at the hands of K3-Crimson Iron… when faced with this opponent who grew stronger with each battle, none of them could withstand his move, “Crimson Dragon Fist Flame.”

“Here it comes again?” Was Feng Bujue the kind of person who would let the other party blow up two pieces of his equipment? Absolutely not.

Just as K3 raised his arm, Feng Bujue turned sideways in a slightly awkward posture, stuck out his foot to trip him, and used the earth-shattering divine skill [Spoiled Child’s Low Sweep]. This was the last Low Sweep; after this trip, this consumable skill would disappear from Feng Bujue’s skill bar.

“You’re kidding me…” Originally, K3’s sentence was a rhetorical question, and there was a “ma” at the end, but he couldn’t finish it. The slightly mocking words came to an abrupt stop because he fell face down…

[Spoiled Child’s Low Sweep] only works on monsters. Feng Bujue used it with a bit of luck, but judging from the actual situation, the system did regard the materialized Derivative as a “monster.”

Feng Bujue passed him and stood behind him, taking out a weapon from his bag. He didn’t take out the pipe wrench and steel knife, but a more vicious weapon—a folding chair.

Meng Jingchan also happened to arrive at this moment. Seeing K3 in a face-plant state, he was confident that he had N ways to finish off this Derivative.

“You like to fight so much, right?” Feng Bujue said, brandishing the [Eighteen Bronze Men’s Folding Chair (Number Five)], “I’ve lost equipment, and I’ve used skills…” He said in a rather unhappy tone, “I’ll fight you until you’re satisfied!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the folding chair fell. Feng Bujue struck K3’s back fiercely, and Meng Jingchan’s sword wasn’t idle either. He accurately slashed at the back of K3’s neck, and it was an attack with skill effects.

[Name: Enhanced Edge]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Skill Category: Fighting]

[Effect: Increases the power of the next slash by 30% (must use a bladed weapon to activate this skill, cooldown time is five minutes).]

[Consumption: 5% of Stamina Value Cap]

[Learning Conditions: Fighting Specialization D, Level 20 or above]

[Remarks: A slash that exceeds the limit of power can sometimes change the outcome of a battle.]

This was a decent but very practical skill. Although it wasn’t the title skill of [Cold-Faced Killer], it was the move that Meng Jingchan used most frequently. Considering its effects, consumption, and learning conditions, this skill seemed very balanced. At the high-level stage, there should be similar passive skills that can replace it, but before level thirty, this was definitely a good, all-purpose skill for players with bladed weapons.

That’s why people called him the Cold-Faced Killer. At the critical moment, his attacks were fast, accurate, and ruthless, and the expression on his face would never have any particularly significant changes. He was definitely cold-faced and definitely a killer.

*Clang—*

After the sword fell, a strange sound rang out. This could only mean one thing: K3’s head wasn’t that easy to chop off.

A red aura wall appeared on the surface of K3’s skin. This defensive method had the same effect as Feng Bujue’s Echo Armor, and it stubbornly blocked Meng Jingchan’s sword. K3 didn’t even suffer a scratch.

And Feng Bujue was holding a folding chair and hitting K3’s spine hard. His attacks were also quite vicious. His attacks weren’t blocked by any invisible force, but… he didn’t hear the crisp sound of bones breaking, nor did he see any blood seeping out from under K3’s clothes. Feng Bujue was just like giving someone who practiced Iron Shirt a back massage, with a painless feeling. He was wondering… if the folding chair didn’t have the attribute of being indestructible, it would probably have broken long ago.

This brief exchange of offense and defense lasted less than ten seconds.

K3 had never suffered such a loss before. Only after he completed the entire “falling” action did he regain the ability to stand up again. And during this process, Meng Jingchan and Feng Bujue didn’t hold back at all when attacking his neck and spine.

But K3 still survived. He knew very well that the moment he stood up, he would be able to regain control of the battle. Although the tripping skill just now was hateful, it also proved one thing—these two players didn’t have any “killer moves”!

K3’s reasoning was correct. Indeed, neither Feng Bujue nor Meng Jingchan had mastered the kind of all-or-nothing, powerful active skill (such as the Makankosappo). If they had such a move, those few seconds just now would have been the best and only opportunity to use it.

Unfortunately, they both belonged to players whose fighting style was relaxed and resourceful. Neither of them had ever thought about getting this kind of skill, so the scene just now happened. Meng Jingchan’s attack at least added a buff skill, while Feng Bujue’s was just a normal attack.

It was normal for K3 not to die. Meng Jingchan’s slash made him consume a little bit of his qi shield. As for Feng Bujue, whose Fighting Specialization had dropped to E, using a thing that couldn’t even be considered a weapon to perform a normal attack, after so many hits, only caused K3 to lose about 5% of his health.

“Heh… simply ridiculous.” At this moment, K3 was completely convinced that the two people in front of him had no possibility of killing him. Even if he stood still and let them hit him, it would take the other party a long time to chop him down, “Go to hell!”

He suddenly roared, slashing his right arm horizontally, and sending out a qi blade forward. This impact wasn’t as fast as his previous finger flick, but it was definitely not a speed that the two players could easily avoid. Its power was even more terrifying. When it was launched, the slash was about the width of a knife, but after its power was completely released in mid-air, it felt like a cement pipe was sweeping across…

It had to be said that Meng Jingchan was amazing. He was able to barely avoid this move with his instantaneous reaction.

Faced with this horizontal slash that was at the height of his chest, most people would bend their knees, bend over, or lean down, in short, they would go down to avoid it. But Meng Jingchan was different. His first reaction was to jump up. He climbed up a tree trunk not far behind him like a monkey. Although the big tree was cut off in the middle two seconds later, at least Meng Jingchan himself was not hit.

As for Feng Bujue… he also dodged. How did he dodge? Guided by the protagonist halo…

The process can be said to be incredible. The moment K3’s arm began to swing, the visual signal was on its way to Feng Bujue’s brain, and the protagonist halo had already started to take effect. When Feng Bujue’s brain reacted to the situation it saw and issued a command to dodge to his body, he only felt his feet slip… on the relatively flat terrain outside the shrine gate, without anything tripping him… he actually fell flat on his back.

It was as if the friction between the soles of Feng Bujue’s feet and the ground had instantly become zero. A little bit of lateral force made him slide like a corpse, and his whole body went horizontal in a second. Even if he took the initiative to lie down, it wouldn’t be possible for him to get closer to the ground faster than this action.

A gust of wind swept past, and Feng Bujue managed to dodge K3’s attack while lying down. Only this height of about half a meter above the ground was not affected by the impact. But the thing that Feng Bujue was worried about still happened. As he fell, the system prompt rang in his ear:

[Your item Survival Value Replenishment Agent (Medium) has been used]

[Your item Survival Value Replenishment Agent (Medium) has been used]

Two identical voices rang out one after another, and Feng Bujue’s head was spinning. Even in this critical situation, he clearly remembered that he only had two medium-sized Survival Value Replenishment Agents!

Each medium-sized replenishment agent can restore 50% of his survival value, but considering the diminishing effect of continuous use in a short period of time… Feng Bujue glanced at the blood bar in the menu. His health was now 89%, and it was indeed not full.

Although Feng Bujue dodged the other party’s slash, the Survival Value Replenishment Agent was still tricked by the protagonist halo, because his flat fall also caused him to lose health… so under the principle that the protagonist can’t die, he had to recover a little no matter what.

“Curiosity kills the cat…” Feng Bujue did a carp jump and jumped up, “If I had quit before I met you, there wouldn’t have been so many things, but now… the losses are constantly increasing.”

K3 looked at Feng Bujue and snorted, “I don’t know what kind of losses you’re referring to, but I’m very surprised that you’re still not dead.”

“However… this is really great.” Feng Bujue actually laughed, “It’s precisely the various conditions in this script that allow me to fight against a monster as strong as you.”

At this moment, a fanatical person might have impulsively fought K3 desperately due to the heartache of losing equipment, skills, items, and so on; a calm person should immediately quit the script to avoid further losses, and rationally reflect on his previous decisions.

Feng Bujue’s idea was quite strange. He actually felt that this situation was very “rare.” Without the protagonist halo, it would be as easy as flipping his hand for K3 to kill him; without Meng Jingchan on the sidelines, he would have no room to counterattack.

Being able to encounter a Derivative was already a very rare thing. Being able to fight head-on with a Derivative who was so strong for as long as possible was definitely an encounter that couldn’t be sought for Feng Bujue, whose actual fighting specialization was only E.

“I said, if you want to fight, I’ll accompany you to the end!” A crimson glow suddenly bloomed from Feng Bujue’s whole body. The color was slightly different from K3’s aura, closer to the color of blood. The temperature around him also rose sharply, and the air became blurred.

With his survival value restored, Feng Bujue simply activated the Spirit Gathering Technique again, and the Death Poker appeared in his hand.

“Oh? You can actually use this kind of power?” K3 was naturally warlike. When he saw his opponent’s fighting spirit, he naturally became excited.

The intelligence of a level three Derivative naturally already possessed something like “personality.” Although the Four Pillars Gods and their subordinates, these relatively high-ranking, unique monsters, also had their own personalities, these were all “set” by the system. The personality of a Derivative, like that of a human, was constantly grown and changed based on memories, experiences, and other factors.

K3 wasn’t the only one who was warlike. This personality was more common among Derivatives. For them, fighting was a matter of life and death. They were materialized data waiting to be erased, not players who could return to the login space after death. Even if they faced a stronger enemy, they only had one choice, which was to find a way to eliminate the other party.

This mode of thinking and action was imposed on them by a higher existence than the Derivatives. If Derivatives were life, then from the moment they were born, killing all the obstacles blocking their path forward was their only value, and no one could say that this was incorrect. Only by following this principle could they survive and evolve…

“Good… then let’s begin.” K3 said with an excited expression, “Kill, or be killed, that is our destiny. You want to understand the Derivatives, right? Let the blood of your false projections flow, and that will be the best way to communicate.”