Li Ang's utterance of that word was like touching a raw nerve for Bob.

His dark, weathered face twitched, his expression grim. With his double-barrel shotgun slanted towards Li Ang's feet, he said in a low voice, "You should know that for high-level players, it's possible to circumvent the restriction of not being able to harm teammates through certain means, right?"

"Uh... are you talking about that post on the player forum?" Li Ang raised an eyebrow, speaking casually.

Before undertaking this mission, a post titled "How to Take Your Teammates Hostage" had appeared on the player forum. It detailed various methods explored by large organizations on how to trap, harm, eliminate, and control teammates in slaughterhouse game scenarios.

The slaughterhouse game had a friendly fire blocking mechanism, but this mechanism could be bypassed.

For instance, if player A used a missile vehicle to fire a rocket at a target monster in a certain area, the resulting explosion and release of light and thermal shock waves could injure teammate B nearby—its destructive power would just be somewhat reduced.

Or player A, with the ability to soften earth and create mud pits, could turn the ground beneath them into sludge, creating deep sinkholes trapping teammate B, then cancel the ability and let teammate B die from asphyxiation. This process would not trigger System restrictions and would not result in System sanctions.

Similarly, player A could poison the drinking water to kill target monsters, which would also harm teammates who accidentally drank from the same source.

As long as there was no subjective intention to harm or kill teammates, it was largely possible to get around the restrictions set by the System. Especially for resourceful and versatile high-level players, scheming against a teammate was even easier.

They could, for example, unleash Mental Shock on the script world's natives, driving them mad and causing them to attack everything alive in sight; detonate a fuel-air bomb, indiscriminately depleting the oxygen in the area and suffocating teammates to death; or cast Buffing Skills with side effects on teammates (like Petrification, which increases physical defensive power but renders movement impossible).

Most importantly, the System only significantly weakened the strength of player-on-player attacks, but the residual impact could still be lethal.

The origin of that post was unknown, and it was quickly deleted from the forum. However, some Information Brokers, who monitored the forum 24/7, had copied down the content and either sold or gifted it to players who hadn't seen it in time.

Li Ang had seen the content of the post firsthand and was particularly struck by one sentence. "To a certain extent, the slaughterhouse game can be said to be omniscient and omnipotent. How could such a deity set up such a simple and crude friendly fire blocking mechanism that is virtually useless for high-level players? Perhaps the slaughterhouse game is silently encouraging high-level players to fight and scheme against each other, even within the script world."

To Bob, Li Ang's pensive silence as he considered the post's contents looked like he was simply spacing out, a clear disregard for his threat.

CLICK.

Bob disengaged the safety of his shotgun, its dark barrel now pointing at Li Ang. "Are you listening to me, kid?"

Li Ang snapped back to reality, looked at the scowling Bob, and smiled nonchalantly. "I originally thought that players who managed to reach this level wouldn't be idiots who can't differentiate between reality and the virtual world. Turns out there really are."

"Humph." Bob shook his head. "Do you think you're the smartest person in the world? That without you, we can't continue the mission? What I hate most are arrogant types like you, always thinking you're so clever and constantly babbling nonsense. Face reality. Everyone here for the mission is the elite of the elite, no less capable than you. Even without you, we can find other ways to complete the mission, and it might even be more low-key and safe."

What Bob said actually reflected the thoughts of John Joyce and the others. Li Ang's process of saving the lumberjacks and resolving the problems of the African-descended residents of Hamelin Town had been quite smooth, but it was too high-profile. In a world where deities might exist, being high-profile meant being more likely to draw attention. According to John Joyce and the others, it was better to stay hidden and gather information; Li Ang's style didn't mesh with theirs.

"You all think the same, don't you?" Bob glanced at the other team members, but no one responded or objected.

He turned his face to Li Ang and said, "Nobody sees you as the leader. Your unilateral decision just now to help the mayor solve the problem has actually become a hidden danger within the team, one that could very well endanger the other members. I hope you can be more cooperative and work with us instead of seeking personal glory."

With one hand, Bob pointed the muzzle of his gun at Li Ang's head; with the other, he retrieved a biscuit made from delicate bones and unknown herbs from his bag.

[Name: Sleep Life]

[Type: Consumable Item]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Special Effect: Daydreaming. If willingly consumed, the user enters a state of natural somnambulism for twenty-four hours. During this period, all attributes temporarily increase by three points, physical self-healing accelerates, and the recovery speed of Spirit Energy Value and Sanity Value increases by 40%. The user will not initiate attacks while sleepwalking and will exit this state if attacked.]

[Consumption: None]

[Cooldown: None]

[Method of Use: Must be willingly consumed.]

[Note: What exactly are dreams? Are they a reflection of the real world, or something from a different place altogether?]

[Note: My house is quite big, with a lot of goodies and even a gaming console. If you get tired, you can just go to sleep.]

This "Sleep Life" item originated from some ancient, secretive organization. It could be used to rapidly accelerate recovery, thanks to its "40% increased recovery speed of Spirit Energy Value and Sanity Value" effect, or to control others, due to the "will not initiate attacks while in a sleepwalking state" property.

The item's notes, however, were a bit odd.

Bob said indifferently, "This item can make a person 'calm down.'

"Don't worry, it doesn't have the function of Mental Control; it just makes the person a bit more 'obedient.'

"If you eat it, we can continue to be teammates.

"But if you refuse to cooperate...

"Heh. Don't think that the friendly fire reduction mechanism will save you. One shot from this, and even if you don't die, you'll be crippled."

Facing Bob's threat, Li Ang remained unfazed. He glanced at the silent teammates nearby and sighed. "I was actually looking forward to being good teammates with you, but it seems there's no hope for that... The World!"

Li Ang shouted sharply. Out of the void before him, a humanoid figure clad in Yellow Plate armor suddenly emerged. It was Miss Chai controlling the Qinge Armor. At this moment, she had adopted the appearance of "The World," the Stand belonging to the antagonist DIO from the manga "JOJO's Bizarre Adventure."

As a player, Bob had, of course, seen the famous manga and anime and knew about the Stand "The World" and its terrifying abilities. Though he didn't quite believe a player of the same level could possess such a freakish power, Bob subconsciously pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The double-barreled shotgun flared, but the swiftly advancing Qinge Armor had already grabbed the barrel, twisting it towards the sky.

In the night sky, dense, brilliant fireworks suddenly lit up. The townspeople of Hamelin Town, looking up in admiration, had no idea what terrifying heat those flames contained.

CRACK!

Bob's arm, still holding the shotgun, was twisted a full 360 degrees by Miss Chai. His neck was tightly clutched by a hand as firm as rock, his eyes bulging like a fish's.

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