Chapter 371: I Forgot You Were a Hoarder Mouse
Bang! Crash! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Webs of frost fractured outward. The massive, frozen hand suspended in the mist groaned under the relentless pressure. A split second later, the core eye embedded within its palm shattered completely, obliterated by a classic, rapid-fire barrage of strikes. Ice shards rained down like glittering glass.
"Well done!" Stelle cheered, pumping a fist in the air. The heavy exhaustion clinging to her shoulders seemed to evaporate in the wake of their victory.
It was a flawless display of teamwork. Dan Heng had raised an absolute defense at the exact moment the hand tried to crush them. March 7th followed up with a pinpoint, ultra-long-distance sniper shot of Six-Phased Ice, locking the monstrosity in place. Lumine capitalized on the opening, triggering a perfectly timed elemental reaction that stripped away its defenses, setting the stage for Paimon's long-accumulated, full-power burst.
The intense, high-pressure environment acted as a crucible. With every coordinated strike, the unspoken cooperation between the two small teams sharpened into a deadly edge.
"Two on the right!" Dan Heng called out, his voice cutting through the lingering mist. He adjusted his stance, bracing his shield. "Forty-five-degree angle! They're trying to encircle Lumine!"
"Received! I've got the left!" Stelle gritted her teeth. Pushing past the burning ache in her calves, she raised her dual guns. Muzzle flashes illuminated the fog as she unleashed another volley.
Instead of dumping her magazines in a wild display of continuous suppression, she shifted her tactics. She conserved her stamina, weaving through the battlefield with precise footwork. Her fingers squeezed the triggers in measured, rhythmic bursts. Scorching flame bullets streaked through the air, carefully targeting the grotesque, twitching eyes embedded in the center of the giant hands.
The chaotic tempo of the skirmish finally fell under their control. No longer reacting blindly to elusive sneak attacks from the fog, the group took the offensive. They actively scouted the shifting shadows, baited the hands into ambushes, interrupted their lunges, and focused their fire with ruthless efficiency.
One by one, the troublesome appendages were frozen, blasted, and shattered into dust.
When the final giant hand disintegrated under a synchronized, devastating blow from the entire group, a heavy silence descended over the ruined battlefield.
The dense, swirling fog thinned just a fraction, lifting the suffocating weight that had been pressing against their chests. Still, weapons remained drawn. They all knew this calm was merely the eye of the storm. The evolving monstrosity lurking deeper in the mist could unleash an even greater threat at a moment's notice.
Yet, as the dust settled, every pair of eyes locked onto a sudden, miraculous sight.
Right where the giant hands had dissolved into nothingness, several glowing supply boxes materialized out of thin air, resting gently on the scorched earth.
They varied in shape and size. A few were rugged, military-green metal crates. Others were sleek, blue storage containers etched with complex, pulsing energy patterns. Sitting right in the center was a small, elegant briefcase shimmering with a faint, irresistible golden luster.
"Wow! Supply boxes!" Paimon squealed, her eyes practically morphing into the shape of Gear Coins. She zipped through the air, doing excited loops around the glowing loot. "After all that fighting, something finally dropped!"
Stelle's golden eyes widened, sparkling with sudden intensity. The exhaustion from the battle vanished instantly, replaced by the primal instincts of a seasoned looter. "Quick, quick, quick! Let's see what good stuff we got! These guns are great, but I really need some more advanced bullets!"
Lumine and March 7th exchanged amused glances, though neither could hide their own eager anticipation.
Dan Heng, ever the pragmatist, remained on the flank. He kept his shield raised, his sharp gaze scanning the thinning fog for ambushes, though the tense lines around his mouth softened slightly.
Time was of the essence. Bringer was still out there, fleeing deeper into the unknown. Wasting not a single second, the group descended upon the crates, executing a highly efficient looting operation.
Stelle practically dove for the golden briefcase. The latches clicked open to reveal three perfectly preserved, standard-issue Aether fuel cans, their energy readings completely stable. Tucked neatly beside them sat a small, heavy pouch brimming with faintly glowing Mysterious Fragments—a rare currency used for high-tier event shop exchanges—along with two fully loaded magazines of advanced incendiary rounds.
A grin stretched across her face, so wide it threatened to split her cheeks. She eagerly scooped up the treasure, shoving everything deep into her spatial backpack.
Lumine popped the seal on one of the blue storage boxes. Inside, she found a generous cache of advanced ammunition, basic medical kits, and a few high-grade energy supplements. Tucked at the bottom was another Aether fuel can and a handful of Mysterious Fragments.
"I'm rich... I'm so rich!" Stelle muttered under her breath. She watched her event inventory fill up, a deep sense of spiritual fulfillment washing over her soul.
"Are these Aether fuel cans really that valuable?" Lumine asked, inspecting the glowing cylinder in her hand. "I just checked the exchange list. One intact can goes for eight hundred thousand Gear Coins!"
"And how many of these did that bastard Bringer casually smash just to create some chaos earlier?!" Stelle clutched her chest as if physically pained. "Do you know how much money that is?! It's infuriating! An absolute crime against natural resources!"
Paimon floated beside her, bobbing her small head up and down like a chick pecking at rice, fully embracing her inner money-grubber.
"Exactly, exactly! It's totally despicable!" Paimon crossed her arms, huffing indignantly. "Wasting all that good loot, and then turning himself into an ugly monster just to hurt people! We have to catch him, beat him up, and teach him the true cost of wasting treasure!"
"Alright, enough mourning over spilled fuel. The main objective comes first." Lumine secured her gains and turned toward the path where Bringer had vanished. The dense fog was already beginning to curdle and thicken once more. "He couldn't have gotten far. Let's move!"
"Right! The pursuit continues!" Stelle instantly dropped her grieving-looter persona. Her eyes burned with renewed fighting spirit as she pivoted on her heel and dashed forward.
But after only three steps, something felt horribly wrong.
Her boots felt like they were cast in solid lead.
Normally, with her superhuman physical fitness, her short-distance burst speed was formidable—even while suppressed by the domain's 'Balance Mechanism'. Now, however, it felt as though she were wading through a waist-deep swamp of molasses. Every step required a monumental effort, her thigh muscles burning in protest. She simply couldn't build any momentum.
She strained forward, only to watch Paimon lazily flutter her tiny cape and drift right past her. The little guide paused in mid-air, spinning around with a look of utter confusion.
"Stelle, what's wrong with you? Are you hungry?" Paimon asked, tilting her head. "Why are you running in slow motion? Didn't you just say we had to catch Bringer quickly?"
Stelle gasped for air, equally baffled. She looked down at her sluggish legs. "I don't know... it's been like this ever since I finished looting. My body feels incredibly heavy. My stamina is draining way too fast, like I'm sprinting with a boulder strapped to my back."
Hearing the commotion, Dan Heng halted his advance. He turned back, studying Stelle with a thoughtful, calculating gaze. "Stelle, did you overlook a specific mechanic when you were gathering supplies just now?"
"These Chat Group activities often apply hidden rules regarding 'weight load'or'carrying capacity'," he explained calmly. "Check your inventory. Did you pick up an item with a massive weight value, or... did you simply pick up too much?"
"Special things? No way!" Stelle blinked, the very picture of innocence.
"I just grabbed some bullets, the fuel cans, and those fragments. They're all completely normal items! Is it because of the fuel cans? But I saw Lumine picking them up too!" Her voice pitched up, laced with defensive skepticism.
"Then exactly how much did you pick up?" Paimon flew back, circling Stelle like an interrogator.
Stelle paused, tapping her chin as she counted on her fingers. "Let me think... three complete Aether fuel cans, a heavy bag of fragments, a few boxes of bullets, and... well, maybe some other miscellaneous things I found lying around nearby. It's really not that much!"
Despite her words, her tone grew noticeably less confident by the second.
"Not much?" March 7th groaned, massaging her temples. She wore a deep I-knew-it expression, her voice dripping with helpless exasperation.
"We were so busy fighting that I completely forgot who I was dealing with! You're a total Hoarder Mouse! If you saw a trash can with a slightly different paint job, you'd pry it open just to see what's inside! You literally vacuum up every single item you find and stuff it into your backpack until the seams burst!"
March threw her hands up. "Did you seriously stuff every single piece of junk you could physically lift into your inventory?!"
Dan Heng nodded slowly, validating March's accusation. "Stelle, the event backpack's capacity likely has a strict limit, or the items themselves possess hidden weight values that bypass spatial storage rules."
"Being overloaded will drastically penalize your movement speed, increase your stamina drain, and cripple your evasion capabilities. We require high-speed maneuverability to pursue Bringer through this fog. You have to drop some loot. You must make a choice."
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