The Scarlet Witch is right here.
His former teammate picked up his crossbow, his eyes fixed on the spot, his ears listening intently for any sound. So many people hadn't been able to catch her last night; the Scarlet Witch wasn't as weak as rumored. He needed to be even more careful.
"Just to be safe." The former teammate retreated to the doorway, took out the flashbang, bit it open, threw it into the shadows, then closed the iron gate and covered his ears.
A loud "bong!" was heard.
"Ah—" A hoarse, banshee-like shriek came from inside, like sharp fingernails scraping across a blackboard.
Flashbangs, also known as blinding grenades, are a special type of flashbang chosen by the former teammate. They are different from ordinary flashbangs and have great destructive power against monsters.
Its explosion can produce a million candela of intense light; even if you close your eyes or turn your back and cover your eyes with a cloth, it won't help.
Moreover, its light is not ordinary white light, but high-temperature rays carrying ultraviolet rays, which would turn ordinary small monsters into ashes upon exposure.
Moreover, when it explodes, there will be a noise baptism of 180 decibels within a 1.5-meter radius, and the target will not be able to react in time, and will be temporarily blinded or even deaf.
Blindness, deafness, high-temperature burns, and ultraviolet radiation—no matter how powerful the Scarlet Witch is, she can't escape these.
Even though his former teammate outside the door covered his ears, he still heard an extremely loud noise, and he felt like his brain was about to be shattered.
A few minutes later, the tinnitus subsided slightly. He opened the door again, and the white light shining through the crack had disappeared, as had the sound. Everything had settled down.
A passing rat lay motionless on the ground, seemingly dead.
The former teammate, holding a crossbow, slowly approached the spot where the footprints had landed.
A corner of red appeared behind the machine—the red cloak they had seen before. The former teammate held his breath, his steps became lighter, and his movements more cautious.
Slowly, he saw a figure wearing a red cloak, curled up with his head in his hands, his exposed skin charred and cracked.
"Is he dead?" The former teammate frowned; the order was to capture him alive.
But he did not go forward immediately; instead, he first tested the waters with his crossbow.
The arrow pierced the exposed calf, and blue flames ignited on the wound, but the red shadow remained motionless.
The former teammate breathed a sigh of relief: Looks like he's still alive. No wonder he's a monster.
But he still carried his crossbow. Having seen many big scenes, he remained calm and composed, and he didn't let his guard down here either. In his previous missions, he had encountered plenty of those baited traps.
The last time I was defeated was mainly due to environmental factors and carelessness.
He slowly approached the Scarlet Witch on the ground, and the closer he got, the more his lips curled up in a smile.
"Click." A faint sound suddenly rang out. The player's foot seemed to have stepped on something, and his former teammate froze, his expression changing: "Oh no!"
However, it was too late. The mechanism had already been activated, and the steel cable hidden in the dust on the ground tightened, looping around his feet and lifting him upside down.
Just as his former teammate was about to save himself, a bloody arrow pierced his neck, hitting his carotid artery. It was then pulled out, and blood splattered everywhere.
He saw the Scarlet Witch in the red cloak, who had retreated to the safe zone, clutching her head and whimpering as if in great pain.
The special crossbow bolt had indeed caused him great harm, but he managed to endure it. Later, when his former teammate shot him in the ankle, he didn't even flinch.
A moment later, the Scarlet Witch raised her head, revealing two-thirds of her black, cracked skin covering a third of an egg-shaped body. The cracked skin fell away, revealing newly grown, translucent skin underneath.
His former teammate stared at him blankly. Behind the charred debris was a beautiful girl with porcelain-white skin, her eyes closed, a string of bloody tears streaming down her face, exuding an indescribable delicate fragility.
Like a butterfly emerging from its pupa and taking flight, life's beauty is silent yet magnificent.
Slowly, his eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes. They were clear red eyes, but not malevolent. However, his former teammate suddenly 'woke up'—he'd been killed by the monster, yet he was still marveling at its beauty?
"A bewitching monster."
The energy drawn from the body repairs the damage, and the hunger grows heavier with each passing day.
Ren Yifei's vision had been completely dark, but now he could see something. He saw dark veins emerging from the darkness; they were flowing magma, gushing out from the cracks, turning golden yellow.
It smells so good...
Hunger stretched his reason to a taut line.
Blood gushed from his neck, his life was slipping away, but his former teammate saw the Scarlet Witch on the other side laugh.
It wasn't the kind of laughter that humans have; the emotions weren't that complicated. It was just a simple laugh. The nose smelled the blood flowing from his body, and his face, stained with a lot of blood, showed an expression full of appetite.
So badly injured, yet still thinking about food—she really is a monster. Her former teammate reminded herself once again not to be seduced by her beauty.
"Phew—" He had been careless.
Having learned to design traps, they can endure the pain of losing their sight and hearing, being burned, and being shot by silver objects, remaining motionless until their prey takes the bait.
This is a fearsome hunter, not a prey.
Having brains is more terrifying than having physical strength. Give him another chance, and he will grow into a monster that threatens the entire human community. No wonder the authorities are focusing their efforts on dealing with him.
The former teammate, enduring the pain of severe injuries, began to devise a strategy for counterattack.
Dying at the hands of a player disguised as an NPC in the last dungeon was already a joke; dying at the hands of an NPC this time would be an even bigger joke.
The former teammate, hanging upside down, swayed precariously in the air, the steel cable digging into his ankle, drawing blood. Blood also flowed from his neck; the monster had pierced his artery, pulled it out, and the barbs caused further injury.
Fortunately, the player's physical condition was better than average, and they could last for another two minutes before their former teammate had already obtained the item.
Give him another minute, no, half a minute, and he turned the tide.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch's wounds were rapidly healing, and her unfocused eyes regained their light. She looked at her former teammates, her eyes sweeping over the vulnerable spots on their bodies, her expression both innocent and cruel.
A former teammate saw this expression; it's from an animal documentary where big cats select their prey during a hunt.
Oh no, the monster has recovered!
The former teammate thought to himself, "This is bad. This monster's regenerative ability is too strong. Anyone carrying this much weight would be in deep trouble, yet he can recover almost everything in just two minutes?"
Fortunately, he had already found his item card and materialized it into a black crossbow with small wings on both sides.
All that's needed next is to shoot an arrow into the heart.
Since Fangzheng's self-healing ability is so strong, he won't be easily killed, so you can aim for his vital points.
The former teammate, preoccupied with collecting items, missed a fleeting danger signal in the eyes of the opposing Scarlet Witch.
"An isolated island?" Another voice, besides his, rang out from the factory, a hoarse, human voice.
That voice? The former teammate shuddered, but he was too slow. The silver arrow pierced his throat and severed his trachea.
The former teammate stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but his vision gradually blurred.
Blood gushed from his throat, and the Scarlet Witch before him still looked like a little monster, innocent yet cruel.
"What a coincidence, we meet again. You seem to really like using crossbows," the voice continued in a low voice.
The former teammate's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open: "Damn..." He died in agony a second later.
He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Ren Yifei licked his newly grown sharp teeth, desperately suppressing the burning appetite within him.
Last night he realized he might have been marked by something, so he set this trap. If he was just being paranoid and nothing happened in the end, that would be best; if he wasn't being paranoid, at least he was prepared.
I never expected to catch such a big fish today, a working-class player I met once in the last dungeon.
I checked his pulse; he was really dead, not faking it.
"If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze." The previous player, a typical office worker, taught him that killing someone must be swift and decisive, leaving no room for retreat, to avoid being killed in return. Now he's putting that advice to use.
Blood was still flowing from the corpse, which looked to Ren Yifei like a pizza covered in cheese, its aroma tempting his hungry stomach.
Ren Yifei has no moral fastidiousness and feels that he cannot drink this player's blood.
But the blood had already mostly drained out; he had just punctured the carotid artery.
"Let's go find some more animals tonight." Touching his stomach, Ren Yifei reluctantly turned his gaze away from the wound and began to examine the corpse.
The deceased player was found to have three items and an identity card, two of which were in the form of cards.
There was also an ultraviolet spotlight, a crossbow with a silver arrowhead, a bunch of keys, a base access card... quite a few odds and ends.
The three items are: Cross Black Hawk Crossbow, Multi-functional Potato, and Comic Generator.
Crossbow Black Hawk: Can damage all tangible objects within a 100-meter range. Ten bolts per instance. Automatically tracks targets within line of sight. Suitable for any instance.
Its functions overlap with Ren Yifei's nail gun, and it has a wider range of applications.
Transformation Potato: After eating it, you gain the ability to transform into any creature you want (only the appearance). It only requires a single hair from the other person. The ability lasts for 24 hours and is a one-time use item.
Comic Generator: Specify a target and automatically generate a comic book, recording all the target's activities in the previous 24 hours. Each copy can only be used once.
Looting a corpse yields more rewards than clearing a dungeon, no wonder players enjoy killing each other.
Ren Yifei looked at the Hundred Transformations Potato Card in his hand, then at the Comic Generator Card, and sincerely thanked the corpse: "Thank you for the supplies you sent."
"Swish, swish." The sound of many tires rubbing against the ground could be heard outside.
"Woof!" A dog barked outside, then stopped.
Ren Yifei looked up at the gate: It seems this player isn't alone; he's accompanied by a tail.
"Captain, we've arrived. The car is here, and it seems the people have entered a factory."
The team member's voice came over, and the drowsy hunting team captain sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes: "You stay there and see what happens."
"Yes, Captain."
A voice came from the other side, instructing the others to surround the factory while he and his men cautiously approached to probe its interior. Accompanying them were the team's well-trained hunting dogs.
The hunting team leader nodded. He felt reassured by the team member's steady and reliable work ethic.
Hopefully, this time I'll achieve something.
It turns out that the former player was being watched by the hunting team when he went out, and the base knew everything about what he was carrying, his purpose, and yesterday's incident.
They followed at a distance, tracing the tire tracks all the way to the factory. The hunting party leader wasn't sure if the other party was indeed looking for the Scarlet Witch, but even with the slightest hope, he wanted to give it a try.
He didn't know how much time had passed; the clock showed five minutes, but it felt like more than ten minutes had gone by. Finally, another message came from the other end.
"Captain, the factory is on fire."
"It's on fire?" The captain jumped to his feet. "How could it be on fire?"
The team member coughed twice: "This is a chemical textile factory, and there are still a lot of flammable chemical raw materials left inside. They can ignite at the slightest touch. I'm not sure who ignited those chemical raw materials yet."
"We haven't seen anyone escape from inside yet. The fire extinguishers on the vehicle aren't enough, so we may have to wait a while to find out the results."
"Okay, you need to watch out for the exits around you."
After an unknown amount of time, another message came: "The fire has been extinguished, and we have found several animal carcasses and one human carcass."
"Human? Our target?" The hunting team leader pressed his temples.
"Yes, he was already dead when the factory burned down. He was hung upside down and his throat was slit. His belongings are still there; his personal items, crossbow, and silver arrows are scattered on the ground, probably taken out by someone. There are also traces of high-temperature flashbangs used at the scene."
"Are there any other traces?"
"There are also several charred fragments that don't belong to humans, but we can't be sure it's the Scarlet Witch, only that it's very likely him. Furthermore, he must have been seriously injured by the crossbow bolts. Also, there are remnants of a trap at the scene, and this person was killed after falling into a trap."
There was a pause on the other end before the report continued: "The Scarlet Witch was not found at the scene."
"knew."
The hunting team leader hung up the communicator, his face grave.
Most monsters dislike fire, so they will set traps and set fires. If the Scarlet Witch did this, it only means that she has become more cunning.
"Two years ago, I was too soft-hearted and let him escape. That was the biggest mistake of my
life."
Author's Note: Afei: Surprised? Unexpected?