“Thank you, Mr. Pestilence, for your relatively normal comments,” Mr. Yoo said as he turned to face the screen. “Now, let’s unveil the answer!”
In the desert, Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul were unable to hear anything from the live studio, and they were unable to see any cameras around them. Only God knew how the video feed was established.
Earlier, the two had been sliding down the slides separately before a blank whiteness enveloped their sight. The piercing ray of the sun broke through the darkness, and the temperature around them rose at an alarming rate. It felt like they were deposited there through a crack in the dimension.
The desert appeared calm. In the horizon, there was nothing but sand. There were no cacti, no animal bones, no rocks, and no oasis… The strangest thing was, in such an open space, there was no wind. The desert before their eyes was as flat as a pancake—there was not even a slightly protruding dune.
“This condition is surprisingly conducive for sniping.” Laughing Soul placed her hand on her forehead and looked around before making this observation.
Xiao Tan smiled shyly and then began by offering his thanks. “Er… thank you for accompanying.”
“Oh, don’t mention it. This is part of the strategy. If the combat part can be shared by many, it is only logical for us to make use of the rules. It’s no one’s fault that you’re both dumb and weak,” Laughing Soul said in a helpless tone while she raised her index finger to loosen the collar of her outfit. She was wearing a whole set of special agent gear, and naturally, she was burning under this temperature.
Xiao Tan did not take offense from the comment. He knew that there was no malice behind it. “By the way… where will the enemy come from if it is this kind of environment?”
He raised his head to the sky. Above them was the blazing sun. There were no clouds, and the intense rays made them squint whenever they needed to look into the horizon. “Will it come from the sky, like a giant bald-headed eagle?”
“Based on your logic, if the monster comes from underground, will it be a massive worm?” Laughing Soul said.
Both of them were wrong…
Back in the studio, Mr. Yoo was announcing the instrumental part. “He is from Cybertron… Desert Tiger!”
Tsunami-like cheers and applause rose among the audience.
At the same time, Desert Tiger appeared in Xiao Tan and Laughing Soul’s sight. He appeared on the horizon and was approaching them with incredible speed, leaving a trail of roiling sand behind him.
When Desert Tiger first showed up, he had the appearance of a robotic tiger. The exterior shell was also painted with black and yellow tiger stripes. Even though he had not gotten close, Xiao Tan could study this monster from the distance. This monster… or rather, this Transformer was not huge. Even in robot mode, it probably would not be taller than five or six meters.
Bang!
A shot was fired. Xiao Tan turned to look and noticed that Laughing Soul was already leaning on the ground with the sniper rifle locked and ready. She had fired the first bullet.
In this well-lit coliseum without wind, as a player that specialized in marksmanship, if she could not do some damage before the enemy arrived, she would have been a failure. Even if they could not end the battle at a long distance, she would not allow the enemy to saunter up to them without resistance.
With such perfect shooting conditions, Laughing Soul aimed for the creature’s head. Unfortunately, her first shot brushed past the tiger’s head. Of course, that was because Desert Tiger was moving through the sand. If the enemy was staying still, under such circumstances, with a normal rifle with a scope, even a player with an F in marksmanship would have hit the target.
“This is troublesome…” Laughing Soul licked her lips, readied the second bullet, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
This time, the target had gotten closer. Viewed from the scope, he was practically before her eyes, and this time, her bullet hit. Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was luck, but this time, Desert Tiger was not only hit, the bullet entered his left eye, leaving a dark hole on the tiger’s face. It created a spark when the bullet made contact. However, Desert Tiger was not a living organism but a living robot, so this shot was not fatal.
BANG!
After firing the third shot, Laughing Soul did not even check whether she hit or miss. She put the sniper rifle back into her inventory and pulled out a German MP5 assault rifle and took aim.
Even though she had bought this from the official shop, she did not buy it for cheap. For a sharp-shooting player with some economic backing, this rifle was the best choice in the earlier part of the game. It weighed less than three kilograms; had a fast firing rate, low recoil, and high accuracy; and did not take long to reload. As a mature standard weapon, the MP5, with its reliability and exceptional function, was the first choice for many special groups in the world for a long period of time.
Ratatatata…
When Desert Tiger was less than thirty meters away from them, Laughing Soul started to unload the bullets of her rifle. The third bullet that she shot from the sniper rifle earlier hit the monster’s front chest, but the layer of armor there was thick. The bullet was unable to shatter it, merely leaving behind a dent.
Xiao Tan also took out the Winchester and raised it. Even though his heart was racing and his palms were sweating, he did not pull the trigger in panic. After the experience of several scenarios, Xiao Tan had a rudimentary mastery of the few weapons he owned. He knew that the shotgun would cause the highest damage when the target was close to him. If he made the shot when the target was more than ten meters away, even if it was not a Transformer but a broken tank that was barreling toward them, it would not cause much damage.
The bullets of the MP5 rained down on the front of Desert Tiger, creating an endless array of sparks. However, it did nothing to decrease his speed. When he was about ten meters from the players, he gathered strength in the hind legs and leaped into the air…
The sun cast the shadow of a large tiger on the sand. In the few seconds that Desert Tiger remained in the air, the shadow on the ground changed.
Desert Tiger transformed in midair. The tiger’s head that was distorted turned, and a robot’s head poked out from his body. The four creature’s legs folded upon itself in impossible angles before compressing and extending. The robotic arms hidden inside the body extended outward, and the shell of tiger stripes shielded the robotic limbs like armor. The bullet holes that landed on his head earlier were moved to non-fatal positions. It looked like the tiger-form was merely for him to move and to suffer incoming attacks.
The whole transformation process looked complicated, yet it was swift and sharp. The tiger that leaped off the ground landed as a robotic fighter about six meters tall, and he charged at the two players.
After the transformation, he spoke…
Without any emotion, the robotic voice rang. “Humans… Destroy… Remake…”