Chapter 176: Midget and Giant

Adam's team was on the way to the area where the trap had been prepared, but they were still quite far away, and another team got there ahead of them.

It was Midget and his teammates.

In the psychic world, Midget was still a midget, much as he was in the real world.

However, he had the ability to expand or shrink his body at will. At the upper limit, he could transform into a giant that was over 10 meters tall, possessing boundless strength and astonishing destructive power.

As for his teammates, all of them were artificial adapters who also possessed outstanding combat prowess.

He had formed a team with artificial adapters as everyone had the same goal of earning money, so what they needed the most were points cards and exit cards.

Midget was very cautious and flexible in his approach, avoiding enemies as much as possible, as well as refraining from using any of the battle cards that they found. Upon encountering acquaintances, he would use those battle cards to trade for points cards and exit cards.

During the past two editions of the battle royale, this approach had earned him a fortune. There were many people who were only participating in the battle royale for money, so it was very easy for him to find teammates with common objectives, and given his powers and extensive experience, everyone placed a lot of trust in him.

"Mole, you go and take a look up ahead. I don't sense anything wrong, but it's always better to be safe than sorry."

"I'm on it, Boss!"

Under Midget's orders, a man with a mouth that was as long as a mole's plunged headfirst into the ground. After burrowing into the ground, he was like a fish in water, "swimming" through the sand and rocks without any impediment as he approached the cluster of buildings through an underground route.

Mole wandered through the cluster of buildings for a while, discovering the anomaly and some cards in the process. Through the use of his abilities, he was able to avoid the anomaly and grab the cards without being detected.

However, right as he was preparing to leave, the anomaly that had failed to discover him this entire time somehow managed to detect at the last moment, and it crashed directly into the building that he was in before charging after him.

Thankfully for Mole, his fleeing abilities were far more potent than his combat prowess, and as soon as he sensed the dangerous situation that he was in, he immediately turned to plunge into the ground. However, the ground that usually parted like water for him had suddenly become as hard as a steel wall, making it impossible for him to dive into it.

Immediately thereafter, he saw the technomantic array that was just barely visible on the ground.

Fuck, I've been screwed!

That was the last thought that ran through his mind before he was torn to shreds by the anomaly.

Outside the cluster of buildings.

Midget and his teammates had also been alerted by the commotion caused by the anomaly crashing through the building.

He couldn't see exactly what had happened, but he saw an anomaly barreling its way into a building, following which what sounded like a brief scuffle ensued.

As a veteran campaigner in these battle royales, he was able to develop a rough idea of what had happened based on observation alone.

"It looks like Mole was discovered by the anomaly. If he's not back in a minute, then he's dead."

"What do we do then? Do we still go in?"

The other two members of the team both turned to Midget for further instructions.

Midget was also rather hesitant about how to proceed.

"Given Mole's abilities, it's usually very unlikely that he ends up getting discovered. However, we can't judge artificial anomalies with normal logic. There could well be some artificial anomalies whose hosts have had their ears and noses removed, making them yearn excessively for the ability to hear and smell. If it's just an artificial anomaly, then that wouldn't be much of a problem. However, we could be in some trouble if there's another team here."

"But it looks like the buildings in the area are all relatively unharmed aside from the one where Mole was just attacked. Surely no one else has discovered this place yet."

"I agree. Given the destructive power of that anomaly, if another team had visited this area, then they should've already been discovered, and the destruction shouldn't be limited to just a single building."

Midget's trio was standing on a vantage point, analyzing the layout of this supply point and the properties of the anomaly there.

"Like you just said, an anomaly capable of discovering Mole has to be one with extremely heightened senses, so no other team should've been able to infiltrate the area without being discovered."

"That's all true, but you can never be too careful."

Midget was still rather hesitant, but the other two artificial adapters were unwilling to wait any longer.

They needed money to survive, so they yearned for money far more than Midget did. Hence, they were doing their best to convince Midget to act.

"All of the signs indicate that this is a perfect area to explore. On top of that, Mole has already fallen here. If we don't enter this supply point, the next one may be even more dangerous."

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Exactly. We're participating in the battle royale, surely we have to take some risk."

Midget's brows were tightly furrowed as he carefully assessed what his telegnosis was telling him, and in the end, he gritted his teeth as he nodded in response. "You're right, there's no way to completely avoid risk in a battle royale. Prepare for battle! We'll scour the area for cards after we deal with that anomaly."

"Yes, Boss!"

The other two members of the team were very excited to hear this, and the trio quickly entered the supply point with Midget leading the way.

After entering the area, Midget immediately adopted his giant form as a precautionary measure.

His two teammates were ones that he had carefully selected, and one of them was able to enhance his powers through the use of blessing technomancy, while the other transformed into a suit of armor that encased his entire body.

A scout plus two support adapters had always been Midget's preferred team composition, with himself acting as the sole offensive unit.

After liberating part of his power to transform into a seven-meter-tall giant, Midget's new form immediately caught the attention of the anomaly in the supply point, and it instantly rushed out, revealing itself to be a burly tank.

Midget was rather taken aback by the sight of the oncoming anomaly. He had thought that the anomaly would've had to have been something similar to Thousand Eye, given that it was able to discover Mole.

However, this anomaly was a 3.5-meter-tall wall of muscle, and none of its features suggested that it had any heightened senses.

Despite his surprise, they were already here, so it was too late to turn back.

Thus, Midget immediately charged toward the approaching anomaly before giving it a vicious kick.

In the face of Midget, the massive anomaly resembled a small child, and it was sent flying for dozens of meters by Midget's kick, crashing through several buildings before it finally came to a rest.

However, these artificial anomalies knew no fear, and it immediately clambered out of the rubble to search for its target, only to see a massive foot crashing down onto it from above.

A resounding boom rang out as the giant foot crushed it back into the ground.

However, that wasn't the end of the assault. Midget's enormous foot came crashing down over and over again, stomping onto the anomaly with relentless brutality. In the face of Midget's immense power and tremendous body weight, the surrounding ground was stomped to countless pieces, and the anomaly was also being crushed to a pulp.

At this point, the concealed four-man team outside the supply point was preparing to intervene.

Of course, they weren't going to help Midget. Instead, they were going to help the anomaly.

"Looks like we've got an S tier combatant on our hands. That anomaly isn't going to be able to last much longer."

"Should we come out right away or cause some trouble for them first?"

"We'll cause some trouble first, then come out to deal the finishing blow!"

"Sounds good to me!"