Ruyi nodded slightly, glancing around the quiet beach.
"Yes, it looks like there really is no one here. It's understandable—we came early after spotting the loot. Those players are probably still searching the continent. We were just the early birds. Okay, Roxa. Let's split up. You loot that way, I'll loot this way. Then we'll set traps and wait for others to come so we can eliminate them."
I agreed. We split up.
After some time, we met again near the mountain base. Still no one.
We decided to wait longer.
But as minutes passed, no players appeared. The shrinking zone began closing in—its edge now visible, a shimmering wall of energy creeping closer.
We quickly retrieved our traps and took to the air on my flying sword.
We hadn't found any other vehicles on the island—not much of an issue. We had good loot already. My flying sword would get us back safely. Still, it was regrettable we hadn't found a top-level boosting stone.
Just as we flew over the ocean, we spotted a disturbance in the distance.
A bomb exploded—not a normal one, enhanced by middle-level boosting stones. It had been dropped by a single player hovering on a flying sword above a ship. The blast missed slightly, destroying only half the vessel. Flames and smoke rose from the wreckage.
I saw an opportunity.
I grabbed Ruyi's arm and steered the sword toward them.
Ruyi didn't protest. She wanted to use the items she had looted—test them in real combat, get some kills.
We accelerated.
The player on the flying sword hadn't noticed us yet. He was focused on the burning ship below, laughing as he prepared another bomb.
The wind rushed past us.
Reaching closer, we saw the ship clearly: a five-person team. Three had already been killed by the explosion. The last two stood on the destroyed half of the vessel, firing desperately at the player hovering above. But they always missed. The ship was sinking slowly into the ocean, rocking violently. Their aim shook with every wave.
The player above kept retreating, never firing back. He floated on his flying sword, moving just far enough to stay out of range.
In his mind, he thought: There's risk I'll get hit and fall into the ocean. No need to fire now. They'll drown soon. I'll finish them then.
He retreated steadily, smiling faintly. After some distance, he stopped—watching calmly as the two players struggled on the tilting deck.
Then he lifted his head.
He saw me and Ruyi standing on my flying sword, guns in hand, directly above him.
He smiled wryly.
"Ladies… can you please let me go?"
He had already accepted his fate. He knew he would die. But still, he wants to say something.
Ruyi shot him.
We had agreed earlier: this free kill would go to her. The last two kills would be shared between us.
The player fell, turning into a skeleton mid-air. I caught him with the rope before he hit the water—I didn't want to search for the skeleton later in the ocean.
As we began looting, his white ball emerged.
We muted him immediately.
The white ball looked furious, then noticed the other white balls drifting nearby—the ones following us.
He asked them, voice echoing in the surroundings:
"Are you all killed by them? Why aren't you exiting the match? Why keep following them?"
The other white balls didn't answer right away.
They looked at the new arrival—this innocent-looking man who still didn't understand what had just happened. He had no idea that one of the two girls he'd tried to ambush was a monster in disguise. They had already labeled her a cheater in their minds. How could any normal player react faster than a bullet? How could anyone throw a rope with such precision that it caught a neck from that distance?
They told him everything—every detail of how she had dismantled their team without breaking a sweat. The man's expression shifted from confusion to shock, then quiet acceptance. He joined the group without another word.
Then he noticed three more white balls floating nearby—the same three he had killed with his bomb earlier. He laughed at them, mocking.
But those three laughed back—harsh, bitter laughs.
"Wow, you idiot. You got killed by those two girls."
"Well, this guy is really something. He ambushed us, but the girls ambushed him. What a joke."
"You get what you deserve."
....
Their laughter grew violent, echoing in the void. The man couldn't take it anymore. He muted them quickly. He didn't want to hear more.
Without another word, he began following the others—drifting silently behind the growing cluster of white balls.
On the other hand, Ruyi and I watched the two remaining players on the sinking ship. They struggled against the waves, firing uselessly into the air.
Just as they began to drown, we fired from above—clean shots that ended them instantly.
We descended quickly, landing on the tilting deck. We clicked their forehead symbols and looted what remained: better guns, ammo, a few pills, some attachments.
Five white balls appeared in our vision—the entire team we had just eliminated. We muted them without hesitation.
Then we took off again on the flying sword.