So, this randomness and uncertainty no doubt added many unknown factors to the entire battle situation.
Even if Grayfist clearly knew the direction of his opponent's next move, it was still difficult to precisely predict whether that player would suddenly pull out some strange, bizarre item to counter his offensive, instantly reversing the situation and creating dramatic changes...
However, no matter what complicated and unpredictable variables existed in every battle,
Grayfist could always, by relying on his own extraordinary strength, climb to the throne of PVP's peak.
If even those variables didn't exist? Then all the more, it was no problem at all!
Therefore, to him, fighting barehanded without any weapons was as easy and free as playing from God's perspective.
Grayfist only needed to focus his entire mind and body on every single move of his opponent, with no need to waste energy thinking about those ever-changing factors.
In such a situation, if Steve wanted to defeat Grayfist, it was indeed very difficult.
That brief battle just now only lasted about a single minute.
The fight was not intense, after all neither of them carried any weapons or equipment, and they were inside a small space.
For top-level experts like Grayfist and Steve, as long as one of them landed the first hit, that person had already won seventy to eighty percent of the battle.
In that fight just now, Grayfist also adopted a preemptive strike strategy.
Usually, in a small space, duels between experts would basically start with both sides circling for a while, finding a suitable entry point before taking action.
Grayfist had already seen through these battle patterns, and he also knew Steve well enough.
He was very clear that Steve would definitely not act recklessly at the beginning.
So Steve also opened up with a preemptive strike.
As soon as the battle broke out, Grayfist charged at Steve like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.
His speed was very fast, within the blink of an eye, he had sidestepped right in front of Steve. Without saying a word, he swung his fist and landed two solid punches right on Steve's forehead.
These two hits carried some personal grudge, full force, making Steve see stars, his head dizzy.
However, Steve was by no means ordinary. He quickly snapped back to his senses.
Seeing that Grayfist had not yet pulled back from close range, he immediately leapt forward, raised both fists high, and threw all his strength into a fierce blow aimed at Grayfist's face.
Grayfist had already anticipated this in his heart, knowing Steve would definitely counterattack.
He quickly tilted his head to the side, successfully dodging Steve's "punch to the face," shifting the damage of that strike onto his shoulder instead.
Taking advantage of Steve focusing on upper body attacks, Grayfist smoothly redirected his strength, raised his leg, and with a sharp kick straight to the chest, sent Steve stumbling back several steps.
Although Steve's counterattack was quite skillful, Grayfist still had the advantage of making the first move.
Even though later they traded blows back and forth, Steve's health bar remained lower than Grayfist's.
They didn't fight for long before Steve "ended in regret."
At this moment, seeing Steve's "corpse" vanish from in front of him, Grayfist finally came back to himself.
He had successfully defeated Steve. This victory had not come easily, but it couldn't be called overly difficult either.
Yet, facing this long-awaited fruit of victory, Grayfist showed no trace of wild joy or surging excitement. What appeared instead was a faint touch of mockery and bitterness.
'So, he wasn't really a mountain I couldn't climb over...'
'The one truly blocking me all along... was myself...'
Even he himself didn't know when it began, that within his heart, such a thought had quietly taken root, 'I am far inferior to Steve.'
What was even more frightening was that, as time went on, this idea seeped deeper into his bones, rooted so firmly that it clung to him like a nightmare, haunting him constantly, influencing his every word and action.
Over time, Grayfist's behavior grew almost crazed and obsessed.
Ever since he entered this game world, the only thought swirling endlessly in his head was to compete with Steve.
In whatever events Steve took part in, Grayfist would throw himself in without hesitation.
Even if some activities held no interest for him at all, he still dove in without looking back.
Nearly all of his free time was consumed by thoughts of how to contend with Steve, how to crush Steve.
He had completely forgotten why he liked this game in the first place, and had lost the mindset of enjoying the game.
But now, in this moment, he finally understood.
'Looks like I have to set out again...'
'This game world is far more exciting than Steve himself...'
Only at this moment did that long-held obsession in Grayfist's heart finally disperse into nothing.
He suddenly turned back, and a faint sense of sadness welled up in his heart.
Because of this obsession, he seemed to have missed out on too many beautiful things.
This game world was so mysterious, so colorful, yet Grayfist had always drowned in his baseless desire to compare himself with Steve.
It must be known, this place had already given birth to countless beings with self-awareness, truly a self-sufficient game world.
And beyond that, programmers from the real-world gaming companies had actually crossed over into this place.
Such unheard-of, novel-like settings had always deeply fascinated Grayfist. If it were the old him, he would have thrown himself fully into it, eagerly exploring this marvelous world full of endless unknowns and wonders.
However, the old Grayfist, trapped by obsession, had no time to pay attention to anything else, and naturally had no way to think deeply about such matters.
Now, with the fog lifted, Grayfist finally saw the light.
Those past days... were far too exhausting, both body and mind.
Though Grayfist's competitive spirit was indeed strong, he mainly played games to relax.
Plus, he had played many games before, and his gaming talent was excellent. In nearly every game he was a top-tier figure.
So in those past games, he could still dominate the rankings while relaxing.
But after coming to this game, Grayfist only felt that playing it was more tiring than working a job.
Now he only wanted to relax and fully experience this game.
"Next step is to grow big and strong, and then go meet Black Knife."
Though Grayfist no longer carried the obsession of must win the Trial Grounds, he could not simply slack off.
After all, his brothers under him, as well as Steve's men, were all counting on him.
No matter what, Grayfist still had to fulfill his duty as a leader.
And besides, Grayfist was very curious, Steve, such a steady man, after meeting Black Knife, actually requested a life-or-death duel with him.
Grayfist was really curious, how exactly had Black Knife persuaded Steve into making such a move?
———
[Main World]
Seeing that no one was outside the Trial Grounds, Steve finally let out a sigh of relief.
Although he had voluntarily chosen to leave the Trial Grounds and wasn't afraid of being talked about by other players, he still worried that after leaving, he'd be swarmed and questioned by players. But now it seemed he had worried too much.
Seeing no one around, Steve finally calmed down and recalled the fight just now.
It had to be said, even now, Steve was somewhat drenched in sweat.
"Grayfist really does have some stuff..."
That heart-pounding battle just now, Steve had gone all out, holding nothing back.
Actually, at the start of the fight, Steve had originally planned to go easy depending on the situation.
However, as soon as Grayfist struck, it was two fierce punches, shattering Steve's original plan.
From that point, Steve completely abandoned the thought of going easy, and devoted himself fully to the fierce battle.
Only at this moment did Steve truly experience Grayfist's hidden strength. Even as battle-hardened as he was, he couldn't help but silently admit that Grayfist was indeed very strong.
Although the small space, close combat, and lack of equipment had favored Grayfist, it couldn't be ignored that Grayfist's astonishing insight was truly shocking.
Every time Steve tried to launch an attack, no matter how subtle or hidden his movements were, they never escaped Grayfist's sharp eyes.
Grayfist could always predict his next action with pinpoint accuracy, as if he had already seen through everything.
But this was within Steve's expectations, after all, everyone has their specialty. In PVP training, Grayfist had certainly practiced far more than him.
So, in reading people's reactions, Grayfist was definitely ahead.
And besides, when fighting him this time, Grayfist no longer thought like before, that he was beneath Steve.
That battle, Grayfist was confident enough.
So it wasn't surprising he won.
After reflecting for a moment, Steve put his thoughts away. His mission on this trip was important, and time was still pressing.
Collecting himself, Steve immediately contacted Pengpeng's men.
After about five minutes, a figure gradually appeared, it was Entity 303.
When it saw that the person was Steve, it couldn't help but show a look of astonishment.
'Huh? This... how could it be him...'
Entity 303 had at least heard of Steve, after all Steve was a top-tier big-shot among the player camp.
And earlier, when Steve had contacted Pengpeng's players, he hadn't explained the purpose of his trip in detail. So at first, Entity 303 only guessed that maybe a messenger would come. Who could have expected, it was Steve standing here.
Facing Entity 303's astonished gaze, Steve's lips curved slightly as he smiled.
"What? Didn't expect it to be me, huh?"
Hearing this, Entity 303 nodded, admitting it hadn't expected this.
"What? You also decided to defect... defect... defect to us?"
If it were an ordinary player choosing to defect, Entity 303 might not have been so shocked. But the problem was, Steve was not like other players.
He was a leader figure in the eyes of countless players. His every action carried huge influence, and to some degree, he could even represent the attitude and direction of most players.
Steve almost laughed out loud at Entity 303's words.
He had never interacted with Entity 303 before. He only thought that Entity 303 was powerful and gave off strong pressure.
But unexpectedly, Entity 303 was actually rather "easygoing" (kind of silly).
As Xu Yuan's trusted right-hand man, it actually didn't have any airs of being high and mighty.
Though Steve very much wanted to tease Entity 303 a few times, he held back, after all, business came first.
"I came out here just to help you guys solve the survival problem after the Void's entity-forming."
After speaking, Steve took out the Blade of the War God from his backpack.
"This was the champion's reward from the first Divine Realm Tournament."
"This weapon was created by Notch."
"Later, I discovered that this weapon, like many beings in this world, awakened consciousness."
"After connecting with it, it brought me to an independent space called the Item Dimension."
"That is a world of weapons, items, and blocks that have awakened consciousness..."
"As long as you gain their recognition, you can enter the Item Dimension."
"In the Item Dimension, the Void shouldn't be able to search you out."
"If you can enter the Item Dimension, then you will be complete enough."
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