The northern and southern sides of the Xin Yue Hu village were engulfed in raging flames, causing many timid players to either hide inside their houses or scatter and escape the village. The majority of those who remained were loyal to Han Bin, and a few brave individuals took advantage of the chaos to commit murder. Since Han Bin took control of Xin Yue Hu nearly a year ago, this was the largest turmoil the village had experienced.
Bai Er had disappeared without a trace, but Qiao Jingting immediately noticed Shu Ai backed into a corner, under attack by two level 3 players who were eager to claim her points.
Qiao Jingting rushed over and kicked one of them down, then swung his long arm, striking the other player’s back with a hexagonal mace, instantly incapacitating him. The player on the ground saw Qiao Jingting and fear filled his face. He tried to get up and run, but Qiao Jingting stabbed him in the neck, causing him to collapse once again.
Shu Ai gasped for breath and said, “If we could kill them, they would be dead already.”
“Stick with me and let’s cooperate,” Qiao Jingting said. He knew that he couldn’t recklessly retaliate due to the level restrictions. If it weren’t for the limitations imposed by their levels, Zheng Wei might not have died at his hands. From this perspective, having a lower level was a significant advantage. However, he now only had 126 points left and needed to level up to earn more.
“Be careful!” Shu Ai’s pupils contracted, and she pushed Qiao Jingting forcefully. But her reaction was still slow, and a cyan-tipped arrow pierced Qiao Jingting’s shoulder.
The arrow was likely coated with a neurotoxin that caused intense pain upon contact with the skin. Qiao Jingting screamed in agony as his arm went numb, and the toxin rapidly spread throughout his body.
As Qiao Jingting turned his head, he saw a figure quickly disappear behind the house. It was the level 4 player that Shu Ai had mentioned, the one who used a silver ice device around his elongated neck.
“Pull it out quickly,” Qiao Jingting gritted his teeth.
Shu Ai, unfazed, calmly said, “Endure it,” and then firmly pulled the arrow out.
Qiao Jingting’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. He used a healing scroll to barely control the toxin, but he couldn’t immediately alleviate the pain caused by the poison. Anger surged within him as he held his weapon and ran towards the person shooting cold arrows.
The person behind the house flashed again, holding a crossbow in his hand, shooting two bolts in rapid succession. Although the crossbow’s speed was far slower than a bullet, Qiao Jingting could barely dodge behind obstacles. It was difficult for him to approach the opponent.
Shu Ai signaled him with her eyes and quietly disappeared into the darkness, planning to flank the enemy from behind.
Qiao Jingting realized that despite being level 4, this long-necked person intended to kill him. The first bolt was aimed at his vital spot. He couldn’t afford to be careless. He switched his mace to his left hand, held the submachine gun in his right hand, and sprayed bullets toward the wall corner. The gunfire provided cover as he advanced.
The opponent clearly had a protective shield, but shields had a limited lifespan. Nobody wanted to withstand bullets head-on. Qiao Jingting suppressed the opponent with a magazine, successfully reaching the eaves of the house, separated from the opponent by a wall corner.
Both of them sensed each other’s presence but didn’t dare to make any reckless moves.
Qiao Jingting felt that Shu Ai should have almost circled around to the enemy’s rear. He pushed off the wall and once again climbed onto the roof. The roof area was limited, and the opponent would surely take the opportunity when he had difficulty dodging to shoot his crossbow. It would provide the perfect chance for Shu Ai.
The long-necked person emerged from under the eaves and fired a rapid volley of shots. Qiao Jingting quickly lay flat on the tiles, rolling several times in succession, narrowly evading the shots. In the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Shu Ai moving in the shadows. He took out the submachine gun again and sprayed erratically below, diverting the opponent’s full attention.
Suddenly, Qiao Jingting heard the sound of something hitting the tiles nearby. He noticed flickering sparks not far away but couldn’t see clearly what it was. When he realized it was a grenade, he swiftly rolled off the roof.
The hand grenade exploded with a bang, but fortunately, the house’s protective shield withstood the blast’s shockwave, and not a single tile was lifted. Qiao Jingting managed to dodge in time and landed safely.
The next second, the long-necked person’s miserable scream came from behind the wall.
Qiao Jingting ran over to see Shu Ai’s curved blade embedded in the person’s back, with nearly half of the blade pinned into his flesh from the scapula.
Qiao Jingting swung his hexagonal mace and struck the person’s back three times, causing him to collapse. Shu Ai approached, pulling out her curved blade. She grabbed the hair on the back of the long-necked person’s head, hesitated for a moment, and then clenched her teeth, slitting his throat with the blade.
Qiao Jingting said, “Did you level up?”
Shu Ai nodded, but there was no trace of joy on her face. Instead, she wiped the curved blade on the person’s clothes with disgust, then stared at the corpse for a few seconds, her gaze profound.
Qiao Jingting saw a familiar expression on Shu Ai’s face, just like the first time he killed someone. He said, “If you don’t kill him, it will be you lying here.”
Shu Ai whispered, “I know. But every time I kill someone, I can’t help but wonder, what is all of this for? Look, he’s probably just a student at his age. If we were to meet in the real world, there would be no reason for us to harm each other…”
Qiao Jingting was speechless, unable to offer any comforting words or even console himself.
They were forced to engage in intrigue, conspiracies, and the extinguishing of humanity in this game. Hunting and killing their own kind—for what purpose? The most despicable thing was that the person or god who created all of this…
Another explosion in the distance woke them up.
Qiao Jingting lightly patted Shu Ai’s hair and said, “We don’t know what this game is for, but we fight to survive.” With that, he lifted his weapon and headed towards the source of the fire.
Shu Ai looked at Qiao Jingting’s tall and resolute figure, a figure that seemed to resemble her protective older brother who always stood in front of her. Her eyes welled up with tears, her vision slightly blurred. She rubbed her eyes forcefully and repeated in a soft voice, “To survive.” She hurriedly followed after him.
The two of them searched everywhere for Bai Er’s figure, but the boy had disappeared without a trace. However, his level continued to rise, and Shu Ai noticed that he had already reached level 5, the same as her.
The destroyed villa where Han Bin resided was just ahead. The houses in the newbie village couldn’t be destroyed from the outside, so the explosion must have originated from inside. Who blew up the house? Was it Zou Yidao?
Their ultimate goal was to kill Han Bin, but where was he?
As they were about to investigate, more of Han Bin’s henchmen discovered them, and bullets began flying, creating chaos.
If they were surrounded, it would be troublesome. Qiao Jingting had no choice but to brave the hail of bullets and charge out. Bullets rattled against his energy shield, causing its percentage to rapidly decrease, from 96% to 79% in an instant. With a loud shout, he knocked down a player who was shooting at him, then leaped up, dispersing a few more players. His hexagonal mace wreaked havoc in all directions. The weapon’s damage was brutal, leaving almost no visible blood on the surface, but once it hit, it would break bones and rupture organs. For a while, no one dared to approach him.
Shu Ai stood back-to-back with Qiao Jingting. Her offensive capabilities were not strong, but fortunately, most players in the newbie village were weaker than her. She could reliably guard Qiao Jingting’s back.
However, the enemy had the advantage in numbers, and if they didn’t break free soon, they would be at a severe disadvantage.
Qiao Jingting quickly scanned the people surrounding him. A conspicuous green number “2” flashed in his vision. His eyes widened, and he swiftly twisted his waist, executing a spinning kick that landed squarely on the incoming player’s face, clearing the obstacle. He stepped on the fallen player’s back and rushed out, leaping into the air. His hexagonal mace came crashing down, striking the player’s Baihui acupoint.
For those who hadn’t experienced bloodshed, it was hard to imagine that the hardest part of a person’s body, the top of the head, would burst open like a watermelon.
A spray of blood mist filled Qiao Jingting’s vision, accompanied by familiar fluorescent text: “Congratulations to player Qiao Jingting for killing a level 2 player, earning 1000 points, and successfully advancing to level 3. First level-up, unlocking the achievement ‘Eagle,’ and receiving an additional 200 bonus points.”
The first level-up momentarily stunned Qiao Jingting. He was scratched on the waist and abdomen, the wound was large, but luckily not deep. He locked his sharp gaze onto the person who attacked him. The fear in that person’s eyes gave him a sense of superiority that transcended humanity. He revealed a grin, unbeknownst even to himself, and charged forward a few steps, delivering a strike to the person’s neck with his mace.
The sound of the cervical vertebrae snapping was still clear amidst the chaotic scene, stimulating everyone’s nerves. The person’s neck bent at an abnormal angle, distorting their facial features. Their eyes bulged out as if they were about to pop out of their sockets. The gruesome sight was terrifying.
“Congratulations to player Qiao Jingting for killing a level 3 player, earning 1000 points, and successfully advancing to level 4.”
Qiao Jingting had no time to look at the system prompts. A restless and bloodthirsty anger surged within him. Everyone around him— their body size, facial features, skin color, expressions— seemed to lose their meaning. They were just numbers, some at level 2, some at level 3, some at level 4. Some could be killed, some couldn’t. They represented points, but they couldn’t be equated with what he understood as “human.”
When he rushed towards the next level 4 player, a gunshot rang out, and a .50 caliber bullet from an anti-materiel sniper rifle pierced through Qiao Jingting’s head.
Qiao Jingting’s body flew four or five meters away, and his hexagonal mace slipped from his hand. After landing, he lay motionless as if dead.
“Jingting!” Shu Ai gasped, clutching her heart as she ran over.
Although the gunshot didn’t penetrate the energy shield, it caused its defensive capacity to plummet from 72% to 37%. The power behind it was evident!
Those people wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity. They swarmed in, but Shu Ai stood in front of Qiao Jingting, blocking a wave of bullets with her body. Then she hoisted Qiao Jingting and ran towards a nearby building.
Bang!
A distinct gunshot, identical to the one that hit Qiao Jingting earlier, made Shu Ai feel like her waist was struck by a car. She tumbled to the ground in a sorry state, and Qiao Jingting fell alongside her.
Shu Ai glanced at her energy shield—it was at 31%! Although she didn’t faint, her lower body was paralyzed with intense pain in her spine.
The pursuers, holding various weapons, charged towards them with bloodlust and madness in their eyes, eager to tear them apart.
“Qiao Jingting!” Shu Ai shouted hoarsely.
Qiao Jingting slowly opened his eyes. The world before him was still spinning, as if the entire space was in a violent whirl. He wanted to vomit but couldn’t, retching violently. Shu Ai appeared to be moving around in his vision, a group of enemies running towards them with their bodies sideways. At that moment, he found it difficult even to stand up…
“Ah!” Qiao Jingting let out a low roar and a metallic sphere appeared in his hand, which he threw with force.
It was something else he picked up when he killed the Shallow-water Crocodile—a miniature bomb.
Low-level monsters didn’t drop anything good, but this bomb had a small blast range that was more than enough to kill a couple of people. It was also quite expensive, so he had been keeping it as a life-saving tool. He didn’t expect that he hadn’t even touched Han Bin’s clothes yet and already needed to use it.
Shu Ai shouted, “No!”
However, it was too late to stop him.
As soon as the bomb was thrown, Qiao Jingting regretted it. He remembered that he was now a level 4 player, and if the bomb killed someone of a lower level, he would lose all his equipment and points!
The bomb detonated the next second, blowing away the four people who were running towards them.
Two of the people on the outer periphery of the explosion seemed unharmed. One level 4 player was killed instantly by the blast, and another level 3 player was severely injured, missing limbs from the explosion.
Without hesitation, Shu Ai took out her remaining two healing scrolls and used them on the injured level 3 player. The healing scrolls’ restorative abilities were like a race against death.
Qiao Jingting immediately exchanged for ten healing scrolls and smashed two of them onto the person, saving their last breath hanging in the air.
Shu Ai crawled up from the ground with great effort, dragging Qiao Jingting into the darkness, out of the sniper’s sight. The two of them leaned against the wall, their chests heaving violently, taking a while to recover.
“Where’s my mace?” Qiao Jingting looked around, noticing his weapon lying not far from the explosion’s center. But he couldn’t approach it because the sniper must still be watching them.
Shu Ai was still in excruciating pain, too occupied to answer him.
“Where did Bai Er go?” Qiao Jingting clenched his fists, feeling the strength returning to his body. “Now we’re in trouble. All three of us are level 5.”
Although leveling up was a good thing, it also meant that they became living targets who couldn’t kill others.
“At least we obtained some points,” Shu Ai said hoarsely. “I bought a spare energy shield. You should get one quickly too. If it weren’t for this thing, we would’ve died just now.”
Qiao Jingting nodded, his eyes still fixed on his mace.
As he pondered how to retrieve his weapon, there were three consecutive explosions not far away, accompanied by a man’s angry roar.
The two of them exchanged glances. It seemed to be Han Bin’s voice.
Qiao Jingting gritted his teeth and quickly rushed out, darting towards his weapon.
The sniper rifle fired three shots but missed him. He rolled on the ground, grabbed the hexagonal mace, and got hit by a bullet in his left shoulder. His energy shield was instantly depleted, but he immediately equipped the newly purchased shield and swiftly took cover in the shadows.
Shu Ai also ran over along the wall, scolding, “You really are reckless!”
Qiao Jingting used a healing scroll while grinning at Shu Ai. “Let’s take a gamble.” When he was reckless, he gained something extra. If you aren’t afraid of death, death will also make way for you.
They ran towards the most concentrated area of the explosions.
In Xin Yue Hu, there were countless people who hated Han Bin. Now that the tree had fallen, monkeys had scattered. Han Bin’s subordinates had been killed off, so they didn’t encounter any threatening opponents on the way.
Suddenly, behind the demolished house, a massive… a massive stone hand emerged!
Both of them were stunned, staring in shock at the fist-sized hand raised high in the air, about to strike down heavily.
“What is that thing?”
“I… I don’t know,” Shu Ai stammered. “People who have undergone enlightenment have various abilities…”
At that moment, a ghostly white figure flashed in the darkness. Qiao Jingting quickly turned his head and saw a pale face floating among the trees.
Qiao Jingting’s heart skipped a beat, but he soon recognized the person and muttered in a low voice, “Are you trying to scare me to death?”
Bai Er ran over and said, “Seems like you’d rather die under a sniper rifle?”
“Huh?”
“I took care of that sniper,” Bai Er said.
“You killed him?” Shu Ai exclaimed in surprise. “He was a level 4 player.”
“I didn’t kill him. I broke his limbs and tied him up. He’s still useful,” Bai Er replied. “Now that we’re all level 5, if we want to leave the newbie village, we need to create three more level 5 players.”
Qiao Jingting nodded. “We’ll discuss that later. Have you seen Han Bin and Zou Yidao?”
Bai Er stared at him without blinking in the darkness. His pair of mutated pale grey eyes with a hint of faint red, combined with his pale skin, made him look like a specter from the underworld.
Qiao Jingting felt a chill run down his spine as Bai Er stared at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“You’re right, you’ve been quite lucky,” Bai Er said. “If it weren’t for you opening that door for me earlier, I would have killed you all and leveled up the fastest.”
Qiao Jingting slapped the back of his head. “If I hadn’t opened that door, you would have died a long time ago, let alone killing me.”
Bai Er was momentarily stunned by the hit, then became somewhat angry. “You…”
“What did you see? Han Bin and Zou Yidao, did you see them or not? Enough with the nonsense!” Qiao Jingting urgently wanted to know what was going on with that stone giant hand.
Bai Er realized it wasn’t the time to get angry and suppressed his anger. He pointed towards a burning villa. “I just got the information from a dead person. After Han Bin underwent enlightenment, he chose the ‘God’s Executioner’ profession, which has the highest point requirement and is the most formidable among the five professions. As for Zou Yidao, he’s an ‘Aberration.'”
“‘God’s Executioner’? ‘Aberration’?” Qiao Jingting asked.
“That stone giant hand is Han Bin. He turned himself into a stone man. And as for Zou Yidao…”
Before Bai Er could finish his sentence, a shadow leaped onto the collapsed ruins and then used the momentum to jump onto the stone giant hand. Swiftly climbing up the arm, they couldn’t see much, just a shadow. But it was undoubtedly Zou Yidao.
The difference in their sizes was too great, but in the blink of an eye, the stone giant hand was severed into two. They couldn’t even see what had happened.
“What is Zou Yidao?” Qiao Jingting asked.
“Hard to describe,” Bai Er said. “Zou Yidao is surrounded by enemies. Let’s go help him defeat Han Bin’s subordinates.”
![He Lived Like You [End of the World]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/HLLY.jpg "He Lived Like You [End of the World]")
