Genius Chapter 50: “Not going to kill me?”

Chapter 50: “Not going to kill me?”

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Watermelon, still dazed from being immobilized, was thrown backward before he could react, landing on his backside with his head spinning. He barely had time to lift his head before getting splattered in the face by mud as the two sides clashed.

The wind and rain intensified unnoticed, and Watermelon wiped his face, staring blankly at the increasingly fierce battle ahead. “How did it escalate to this?” he muttered in disbelief.

The summoner’s summons had summoned five creatures in a short period, launching consecutive attacks that left nearby marksmen with no escape but to ascend the trees. Amidst the wind and rain, arrows flew incessantly, with the two sides engaging in intense combat.

Su Mo took a moment during the battle to glance at the number of players in the hunting ground. From the current situation, it seemed that the ratio between hunters and prey was kept within a certain range to maintain a balanced competitive environment in the hunting ground. Once the number of prey decreased too much, the number of hunters would also sharply decrease, thus maintaining a relatively balanced arena.

He dodged the arrows flying towards him, but his health was significantly reduced. ReturnToSimplicity’s skillful operation was evident. Despite the complex terrain and the continuous attacks from the summoner’s summons, he maintained remarkable precision. Each arrow accurately predicted Su Mo’s movements. Aside from the marksman’s equipment advantages, such a high level of skill posed a significant threat to them if left unchecked.

Another barrage of arrows fell from the sky. Su Mo swiftly dodged and used the bear’s large body to block the damage, but the bear was ultimately killed by the consecutive attacks.

With the identities changing again in the hunting ground, some hunters became prey, and some prey became hunters. The reversed situation prompted the prey from the previous round to come out and engage, quickly drawing the attention of others.

“Incredible! Is our Zone 145 really this outstanding? So many experts, including the esteemed Cat and Watermelon,” remarked Chocolate Mooncake.

Opponents capable of engaging ReturnToSimplicity in battle??? Although ReturnToSimplicity was not currently ranked first overall, he had dominated the overall rankings for a long time! During the early days of Celestial Horizon’s launch, he single-handedly popularized the Flaming Thunder Mountain marksmen class. How many new players had joined Celestial Horizon because of his viral videos showcasing 30 kills in the wilderness? Many didn’t hesitate to jump into the Flaming Thunder Mountain marksmen class, all because of him.

As the news spread, many players gathered near the South Mountain, ready to watch this intense battle. As soon as they approached, the duel between the two had already reached a fever pitch. Both sides’ health was almost equal, and even in this terrain with its complexity and limited mobility, they were still able to quickly evade skills and change their attack direction, leaving the surrounding spectators in awe.

[Wow, these summons are too OP.]

[The summoner’s movement speed is insane!]

[I couldn’t tell if it was the arrows or the summons that were moving so fast.]

[This summoner… He can go toe-to-toe with ReturnToSimplicity?]

[What’s his ID?]

[He’s too fast, I couldn’t see clearly…]

Amidst the intense battle, the marksman began to suppress the summoner’s summons, intending to control Su Mo through skill casting. The marksman was well aware of the summoner’s weaknesses and, after killing the summoning bear using distance advantage, began to use rapid basic attacks to prevent Su Mo from summoning again.

Although Su Mo’s summoning was fast, it still required some time. Su Mo had no choice but to endure a few arrows and summon his creatures again during the timing gap. He leaped onto a tree, abandoning long-range combat with the marksman, and instead opted for close combat, utilizing his summoned creatures to gain an advantage. He surveyed the terrain around him and, taking advantage of the wind and rain, launched a pincer attack from both front and back.

An opportunity!

The sudden attack caught ReturnToSimplicity off guard. Solitary Wolf, leaping from below, struck him squarely, stunning him, followed by a powerful blow. Su Mo unexpectedly chose to close the distance rather than maintain it!

In the blink of an eye, Su Mo seized the opportunity, completing a round of output in just a few seconds. With a 30% health advantage, he turned the tables, reducing ReturnToSimplicity’s health to 15%. At that moment, a cold arrow shot from the distance. Su Mo raised his lantern staff to block the attack, then turned his head to see a figure lurking in the distant forest: another player!

“To the right, there’s someone in the tree.”

ReturnToSimplicity, upon hearing Su Mo’s voice, turned to face the player who was attempting to ambush them. Su Mo hastily warned him, “Don’t die,” before both of them split up to target other enemies.

The onlookers were surprised to see the sudden halt in the fight between the two experts. They paused and headed in different directions to take down other targets.

Observing the situation from a distance, Watermelon, who had previously witnessed ReturnToSimplicity’s condition, was stunned to see him sitting on the ground, drinking health potions and restoring his health from 15% to 70%.

“15%…” Watermelon shivered. “Does the boss really go this hard even against acquaintances?”

Luckily, he had chosen to side with the boss in advance… Wait a minute! What kind of card is the boss playing? Why is he fighting so fiercely?

At this moment, two notifications popped up in the hunting ground:

[Hunting Ground] Momo killed Venomous Beauty.

[Hunting Ground] Momo killed Naughty Chili.

Watermelon, now in possession of the prey card, involuntarily took two steps back. Alright, got it. The boss has become a hunter for real.

With 30% health, he completed two kills, and the player lurking in the shadows dared not show themselves. Su Mo descended from above, stopping beside ReturnToSimplicity. He furrowed his brow slightly, uncertainly asking, “ReturnToSimplicity… UnchainedWanderer?” 

“It’s me,” Yu Zhen replied, looking at him. “You’re not going to kill me?”

The atmosphere around was momentarily a bit quiet, and Watermelon sensed a hint of something not quite right. 

Listening to this, Watermelon, rarely astute, asked, “What does that mean? You two don’t know each other? No, no, that’s wrong, you know each other.”

Su Mo had no idea that the formidable opponent he wanted to kill was actually his regular team member. Now, recalling carefully, ReturnToSimplicity’s movements did resemble UnchainedWanderer’s, especially here at Valor Peak. How many members of hostile factions had they buried together here? They were both so familiar with the terrain; the only difference was the rhythm of their skill operations.

Array Master was a magic-based profession, while Marksman was a physical-based profession.

“You…” Su Mo was about to ask why Wanderer didn’t say anything, but then realized he hadn’t asked either. He answered, “Not killing. Last time in the wilderness, you didn’t kill me, so that evens things out.”

After saying that, he reached out slightly, his intention obvious.

Holding his hand, Yu Zhen was pulled up by him. “Not asking me?”

“Not asking,” Su Mo didn’t delve into these matters. In the end, there wasn’t much difference. “I know you’re familiar with the game, but I didn’t know ReturnToSimplicity was your main account… Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

In that situation just now, if someone hadn’t interrupted the fight with a surprise attack, according to that rhythm, Su Mo would have likely killed ReturnToSimplicity, and then they would be eliminated.

“Probably wanted to have a fight with you.” Yu Zhen also didn’t know why he didn’t speak up about the truth just now. It’s just that when he saw Momo making a move, he suddenly wanted to PK with him. They were used to being teammates but had never fought each other head-on. Even when they sparred, it was to test each other’s skills. Such disregard for consequences was indeed rare.

Especially when Momo abandoned distance and fought him face-to-face, knocking him down from the tree, he didn’t anticipate that move.

In the environment just now, the best retreat for a summoner was to use terrain obstacles to block positions and summon safely. The summoner didn’t need to show up at all, as long as they found a safe place, they could output stably from there. But Momo didn’t do that. His style was bolder and more aggressive.

In a real fight, Yu Zhen wasn’t sure he could completely counterattack. Momo not only remained calm in dungeons but also excelled on PvP battlegrounds… Or rather, dungeons limited his development more. Once on the battlefield, he was like a reckless attacker, and once his weaknesses were exposed, he would be counterattacked.

Just like the first time they met in the wilderness, his initial impression was that this person was exceptionally bold, as if always adventuring and everything was within his expectations.

“That strike from the tree, you let it go,” Su Mo recalled. If it were UnchainedWanderer, he wouldn’t have given him so much time for output afterwards.

Yu Zhen said, “My gear on this character is better than yours. Even if I win, it’s not fair.”

Watermelon looked at these two people, not really understanding, nor really comprehending. This back and forth made him seem like an outsider.

“But it was thrilling,” Su Mo didn’t care about that much, “Let’s fight again next time. What card are you holding?”

“Hunter card,” Yu Zhen glanced at the remaining number of his talisman. “The best advantage of the Hunter card is in the first hour, not as good as the prey later.”

Indeed, starting as a hunter means that as soon as changes occur, the mission keeps changing. No matter how good the accumulated killing advantage is, changing the card is useless. But the prey card is different. The prey card can pick up talismans, which won’t drop because of changes in identity. As long as they pick up the talisman, even if they change from hunter to prey later, their talisman can still be used as a mission item.

“Then let’s go find talismans,” Su Mo said.

Yu Zhen asked, “Aren’t you planning to end the game early?”

“Not easy to handle, fewer prey, and people are getting smarter,” Su Mo glanced at Watermelon. “What card are you holding?”

Watermelon blurted out, “Hunter.”

Su Mo raised an eyebrow at his words, and with a swing of his staff, he hit him immediately. The latter screamed and quickly changed his tune, “Prey, prey! Bro, don’t come at me, I’ll really be done if you hit me again.” Watermelon said, “I just wanted to disguise myself. Can I have a chance to act?”

Su Mo replied, “It’s fine, you can continue acting.”

Watermelon was truly distressed. Being deceived by the two at the start was one thing, but he also foolishly escorted the big shot until the end and helped the big shot get the talisman. Indeed, he should have trusted no one. Thinking of this, he hesitated and looked at Yu Zhen, “Bro, are you also an actor?”

Yu Zhen, who was originally looking at the Valor Peak map, raised his weapon at the words, “Do you want to try?”

Watermelon said, “…Brother, forget it. It’s easy to cause trouble when playing with fire.”

He had a rash day today, with two assassin killers on his tail.

There were many players watching around, looking at the lineup of the three, but none dared to approach. Some had originally planned to test ReturnToSimplicity’s identity, seeing him as a fierce hunter, but when they saw the fifth-ranked assassin Watermelon by his side, followed by the killer summoner from earlier, they all slinked away.

[Hunting Grounds] Not Ideal: They were fighting so intensely just now, why did they suddenly stop?

[Hunting Grounds] Matchstick Seller: So what was the result?

[Hunting Grounds] Saltiest Fish: They’re together now.

[Hunting Grounds] Matchstick Seller: ?

What do you mean by “together”? The players in the hunting grounds were a bit confused, but ReturnToSimplicity should have gotten the prey identity, and this hour seemed a bit quiet. ReturnToSimplicity didn’t spam anymore. The players who were hiding felt relieved all of a sudden. Just thinking that the big killer couldn’t kill anyone, they seized the opportunity to come out and find the talisman.

And just at that moment, the killing announcement in the hunting grounds changed.

[Hunting Grounds] Momo killed Little Square.

[Hunting Grounds] Momo killed Three Kilos a Month.

…

Players: “…??”

The killer changed, not only did the killer change, but ReturnToSimplicity also stood beside the killer, as if aiding and abetting the cruelty. Occasionally, killing messages popped up in the hunting grounds, further reducing the already small number of players.

And it seemed like Momo and ReturnToSimplicity were always changing identities, as if the hunter’s identity was always favoring them.

As it got later, the talismans became harder and harder to find. Players who got the talisman chose to hide and wait for the battleground to end, while players who got the hunter’s identity were eager to complete their tasks as soon as possible. By the fourth hour, there were hardly any players left on the field.

Watermelon endured being prey for two rounds. When he finally became the hunter, he instantly became excited. “Is it finally my turn?”

He looked excitedly at the two beside him. Both killers, who had gotten the prey’s identity in the final round, looked at him upon hearing Watermelon’s cheer, their eyes carrying a hint of encouragement. “You can do it.”

[Hunting Grounds: 13 players, 3 hunters, 10 prey, remaining time for identity refresh 00:59:35]

Watermelon said, “…? How come there are only 10 people left?”

Su Mo said, “Minus us two, there should be 8 people left.”

Watermelon reacted belatedly, his previously jubilant heart cooled by a wave of cold water. Eight people, in such a vast Valor Peak, he had to find a prey and kill them within an hour, and there were two other hunters competing with him.

Yu Zhen said, “Time is running out, you can do it.” After speaking, he looked at Su Mo. “It’s almost noon, can you make it?”

Su Mo said, “There’s enough time, we’ll finish just in time to log off.”

Having obtained talismans before, Yu Zhen added, “Let’s find a place to rest.”

The two exchanged a few more words. Watermelon stood in front of the two prey, feeling like a waste for the first time. Would he dare to eat the meat that’s right in front of him? He didn’t dare.