Chase Game

Splash splash splash splash...

Ling Yi stood by the window, gazing at the torrential rain outside.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

After the first phase ended, Ling Yi fell into a dark and chaotic state, which lasted until just now when he finally woke up.

squeak - creak -

The wooden door of the safe house was pushed open, and Ling Yi's gaze shifted to see an old man wearing a straw hat and raincoat walking in.

"It's raining so hard..."

As the old man spoke, he took off his straw hat and raincoat and hung them outside the house before entering the wooden hut.

His weathered face was etched with the marks of time, but his eyes, polished by the years, had become even more profound and bright, like two gems set in an ancient scepter.

The old man's gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Ling Yi. He chuckled twice and said, "Heh... you're the only one left now."

Ling Yi did not respond, but his gaze never left the old man.

The old man didn't pay any attention. He walked to the fireplace, skillfully picked up a few tea leaves and threw them into a large bowl, then took down the long-spouted kettle that was already boiling and hissing.

A stream of boiling water flowed from the spout, swirled around in the bowl, and the tea leaves tumbled a few times with the water before finally settling at the bottom.

The old man, unfazed by the heat, picked up the bowl, brought it to his lips, and took a slurp, then exclaimed with delight:

"The red moon has passed, that beast won't be fierce anymore. If you want to chase after it, now is the best time."

The system announcement came as soon as the old man finished speaking.

[The second phase has begun. Player Ling Yi, your identity will be changed to "The Hunter".]

The second phase has a one-hour time limit. If you fail to successfully hunt down the fugitive within the time limit, the game ends in a draw.

This was the result achieved by Li Qingping, Tang Yuebai, Du Hengbo, Liu Hao, Zhang Qiang, and Ling Yi, who exerted all their strength and sacrificed five of them.

Ling Yi glanced at his skill bar. The skills for the Fugitive had dimmed, while the skills exclusive to the Hunter, [Instant Karma], had brightened.

In terms of props, apart from the disposable puppets that have already been used up, all other props are ready.

Now, he will be the pursuer, facing off against the fugitive Tibetan Mastiff in a final 1v1 showdown.

The conflict between the two sides is irreconcilable. The Tibetan Mastiff wants to escape, and Ling Yi is also carrying the expectations of his five teammates. Moreover, he is unwilling to hand over the power to decide his own fate to others.

He walked out of the house with firm steps.

An old man, carrying a bowl, said leisurely from behind, "Remember to wear a straw hat and a raincoat to avoid the rain."

Logically, this should be a hint from the NPC, indicating that this item will play a role later, but...

The wooden door slowly closed, and Ling Yi stood on the steps, looking at the thick rain curtain in front of him. He didn't think that the raincoat and straw hat he was wearing were of any use.

Regardless, he stepped into the rain.

Sure enough, large raindrops still pattered down on him, and he didn't get any shelter from the rain at all.

That's not all; what's worse is that he has to use one hand to hold down the straw hat, otherwise it will be blown away by the wind.

"Damn! Is the only effect of this thing a placebo...?"

He muttered a complaint, then stopped worrying about the straw hat. After putting it down, he began to think about how to find the fugitives.

Strictly speaking, this was his first time playing a chase game as the pursuer and the player as the fugitive.

At this moment, the straw hat was being pulled by the wind, like an untamed wild beast yearning for freedom.

While deep in thought, Ling Yi suddenly felt something was wrong. The direction in which the bamboo hat was being pulled was clearly against the wind!

Is it not a natural pull, but some kind of guidance?

He realized what was happening and started running towards the direction the straw hat was pulling. As he ran, the straw raincoat actually worked its magic.

As he ran, the large raincoat, which had originally made his movements difficult, now seemed to be gently lifted by a breeze, making his steps light.

Ling Yi felt a strange sensation in his heart; what kind of bizarre triggering conditions were these?

The direction pointed by the straw hat was where the Tibetan Mastiff was, and at this moment he had transformed into a half-human, half-dog form.

The heavy rain washed away all traces of his presence, preventing him from obtaining Ling Yi's location information.

In fact, even though the Tibetan Mastiff is currently a fugitive and has no aggressive means, its other identity as a "second-tier player" cannot be ignored.

Game privileges are earned through consistent S-rank ratings; a Tier 2 player means they have already achieved six S-rank ratings.

Ling Yi only had one chance, and the gap between him and the Tibetan Mastiff was still too large. Therefore, in order to be fair, elements such as straw hats, raincoats, and heavy rain were added to the game to achieve a balanced confrontation, an exciting process, and more variables.

This also aligns with the purpose of chase games as offerings to the gods.

The Tibetan Mastiff carefully observed its surroundings. Even though its remote positioning ability was limited, it could still quickly grasp any movement in its field of vision.

Ling Yi could also feel the pulling force of the straw hat getting stronger and stronger, which seemed to mean that he was getting closer and closer to the Tibetan mastiff.

He quickened his pace, but the pulling force became weaker and weaker.

This happened several times, and Ling Yi gradually figured out that he would be detected as soon as he got close to the Tibetan Mastiff.

If he could use both [Silence] and [Invisibility] simultaneously, he could perfectly solve this problem.

But both of these are skills associated with being a fugitive.

Despite his thoughts, he ultimately focused his attention on the [instantaneous karmic consequences].

He has two "karmic" marks, which means he has two opportunities to act.

He decisively planted one of the karmic marks on himself, and then manipulated the karmic cause to produce "good results".

Good deeds arise instantly—the Vajra body!

He could feel that his body had significantly improved in terms of physical strength, reaction ability, and speed of movement.

With a single leap, one can surpass the world record of ordinary people.

With the enhancement of his Vajra Body, Ling Yi could even defeat the Tibetan Mastiff in hand-to-hand combat, so he once again chased after it in the direction indicated by the bamboo hat.

The Tibetan Mastiffs were able to detect Ling Yi's presence and escape successfully on multiple occasions because of their ability to sense the environment and potential dangers.

This time, he successfully sensed Ling Yi's approach. Adhering to the principle of "retreating when the enemy advances," he started running again, but this time it was different.

He soon discovered that Ling Yi's speed had increased significantly, and if this continued, he would probably be caught up!

His experience allowed him to quickly analyze the situation and formulate a response.

His half-human, half-dog form began to change, and soon he turned back into a black Tibetan Mastiff. In this form, he ran on all four legs and his speed was much faster.

Ling Yi ultimately failed to catch up with the Tibetan Mastiff, only managing to spot a dark shadow flashing past in the distant woods.

He couldn't continue chasing anymore; the straw hat seemed to have gone into cooldown and was no longer effective.

For the next period of time, he will have to find it himself.