Chapter 17: Hunter and Prey, Predestined Predictions

Alister estimated that he still had about three-fifths of his spiritual energy remaining...

Using Shadow Displacement, Alister concealed himself on the fifteenth floor. He held his breath and looked back at the spot where he had just fought the slender ghostly figure, his eyes flickering.

His spiritual energy was his trump card for turning the tables, and he couldn't afford to waste it anymore.

"A game of hide and seek between shadows, huh?" Alister muttered to himself. He withdrew his gaze and silently moved through the space on the fifteenth floor.

"Roar..."

From above the floor, there came the muffled sound of heavy footsteps. The slender ghostly figure was also weakening its presence as it pursued Alister.

Tap... Tap... Tap... The sharp claws pierced the ground, creating a piercing sound...

Sensing the movement above the ceiling, Alister looked up silently, his gaze fixed on the area where there was no longer any activity...

Is the slender ghostly figure right above me?

Alister pondered for a moment, then shifted his gaze away and turned his body lightly, beginning to move in the opposite direction.

Tap...

The slender ghostly figure hesitated for a moment in its pursuit of Alister.

Then, from the floor where Alister was, there came the sound of the black shadow scythe cutting through the steel and concrete of the ceiling. It was a continuous and fragmented sound that sent shivers down one's spine.

The slender ghostly figure was trying to intimidate Alister, assuming the role of a hunter.

However, Alister remained unfazed, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

At the same time, he sensed that there was no emotional response from below, as the slender ghostly figure had anticipated...

"Roar..."

The slender ghostly figure let out a low growl, knowing that Alister had left that area. It turned around and began to slowly track the direction in which Alister had left.

The soon-to-be-demolished building in the Linggu District remained silent.

...

...

Time rewinds to when Alister encountered the trio.

"Good!"

The girl in pajamas' eyes lit up, being the first to agree to Alister's proposal to join forces.

The athletic youth and the office lady exchanged glances, seemingly seeking each other's opinions.

After three seconds...

"I have no objections. How about you?"

"I don't mind having an extra fighter."

Hearing the office lady's response after a brief thought, the athletic youth scratched the back of his head and nonchalantly accepted the proposal.

"Thank you for your agreement," Alister responded calmly and prepared to act together with the trio...

"Before we proceed, I have one last question." The office lady's gaze seemed to pierce through Alister as she spoke, "We dared to come here because we formed a team. What makes you, as a lone player, confident enough to challenge those guys above?"

Depending on your answer, I will consider retracting my previous words. That's what the office lady's eyes seemed to say.

Upon hearing this, Alister stopped in his tracks and looked towards the soon-to-be-demolished building, seemingly jokingly saying, "Since it's a soon-to-be-demolished high-rise, if we dismantle all the load-bearing columns on the first floor, those guys will be wiped out, won't they?"

"Do you think those players above won't have the ability to escape?" The athletic youth scoffed, "Even a competent E-rank player can achieve basic mobility skills."

In other words, during the time when the building collapses, the players above can easily evacuate to another location.

"The condition for evacuation is that the players have the ability," Alister replied, his gaze deep as he looked at them. "There will always be players who lack the strength to escape in time."

"Besides... it's just a tentative lesson for them," he added, spreading his hands. "Even if it's not effective, I can still retreat unscathed."

The office lady stared at Alister for a while before sighing deeply and motioning for the girl in pajamas to follow her.

"Let's act together then, but let's maintain some distance," she said.

"Okay." Alister took the lead and headed to the first floor of the building.

The trio looked at the black-clad player who had marked the load-bearing columns on the first floor and exchanged glances. Then, they began to move, their figures leaping up the surface of the high-rise.

"This is the twelfth one."

After marking the necessary load-bearing columns for the collapse, Alister took out his phone and made a note on the map, drawing a red cross.

On the miniaturized map of the Linggu District, twelve buildings were marked by Alister as "trump cards."

Indeed, teaching those players a lesson was just a side task. Alister's real goal was to prepare for the conquest of the slender ghostly figure.

"If I were the leader of those guys, in order to torment the players most efficiently, I would definitely lure the slender ghostly figure here and present them with a mass extermination gift."

After completing his tasks, Alister activated his abilities and shadow-displaced himself to the upper-level space, acting together with the trio.

"...It would be best to lure it here so I don't have to go looking for the slender ghostly figure myself."

Alister's eyes revealed a meaningful glint.

...

...

Seventh floor.

The hide-and-seek game between Alister and the slender ghostly figure continued.

After a period of ceasefire, Alister's spiritual energy had recovered to about four-fifths.

In the silent and deserted office, a battery-powered clock ticked away, its hands ticking, announcing the passage of time.

Alister opened the pale blue system panel, where the countdown numbers kept changing.

This sequence game had a time limit. If they failed to defeat the slender ghostly figure within the specified time, all players would be counted as defeated.

There were still two hours until the game ended.

The surviving players were generally smart individuals. With two hours remaining, it meant that they had two hours to consume the slender ghostly figure's state.

When the slender ghostly figure reached its weakest state, all the players intended to strike and achieve victory with their best condition.

A waiting game ensued, with no player daring to intervene in the battle during this time, and no player witnessing the defeat of the slender ghostly figure...

"To become a ghostly existence in this game, unnoticed and untargeted by any player, only to strike and influence the situation at a critical moment..."

"Even when the game ends and the dust settles, no one will know who the winner truly is..."

Resting his chin on his hand, Alister sat lazily on the abandoned office chair, reflecting on the strategies he had formulated at the beginning of the sequence game.

He looked through the window, gazing into the boundless sky of the Linggu District at night, and said with a touch of emotion, "To put theory into practice... I didn't expect it to be so naturally achieved..."

Alister had always adhered to the principle of "plans never catch up with changes" in his actions, or rather, he had anticipated the possibility of his identity as the "shadow" being exposed, or even worse...

In terms of results, this sequence game could be considered both a failure and a success for Alister.

"It's about time they discover me."

With that certainty, Alister slowly turned the office chair and stared at the closed door, silently counting down in his mind.

Three... The slender ghostly figure made some noise outside the door.

Two... A black shadow scythe pierced through the door!

One... The slender ghostly figure burst through the door, its long and narrow scythe swiftly slashing towards Alister!

After the back and forth with his prey for some time, Alister could basically conclude that the slender ghostly figure possessed considerable intelligence.

In other words, the slender ghostly figure would think and experience emotional fluctuations when being toyed with by its prey.

Because of this...

"Hello, goodbye." Alister greeted the slender ghostly figure with a casual tone, then activated Shadow Displacement and once again arrived in the lower-level space.

There is always a possibility of being manipulated.

Alister's basic plan was to lure the slender ghostly figure to the first floor, sever the load-bearing columns, and use Shadow Domination to immobilize it while the high-rise collapsed. Eventually, he would achieve the victory of defeating it.

But if he thought that way, he would be gravely mistaken.

Never underestimate your opponent; that was the fundamental principle of Alister's actions.

With limited intelligence, no one could guarantee that the slender ghostly figure would die when subjected to the level of an entire building collapsing. Since it had a second phase, it was only logical to anticipate its third phase.

His spiritual energy was his trump card and should not be easily depleted.

With that as the first premise, Alister had no intention of personally dealing with the slender ghostly figure.

He wanted to make the slender ghostly figure achieve its defeat on its own.

In the now-empty office...

As he watched his prey escape before his eyes once again, the slender ghostly figure's voice distorted, and its head trembled slightly.

"Roar!" It was somewhat annoyed.

...