I opened a shop on the Astral Train-Chapter 75

The entire battlefield was filled with the sounds of gunfire and bullets of all kinds of elemental forces flying everywhere.

Fu Xuan fired a grass-element bullet from an M4 rifle, hitting Kaeya.

Just as Kaeya was about to fight back, Fu Xuan's teammate Jing Yuan immediately shot a lightning-element bullet.

A flash of lightning surged across Kaeya's body, and a line of small words appeared above his head.

[Super Radicalization]

Kaeya originally had two-thirds of his health left, but it was instantly reduced to zero.

This kill went to Jing Yuan.

[Lurker Jing Yuan eliminates Defender Kaeya]

Seeing the extra kill count on his panel, Jing Yuan smirked.

"Fu Qing, let's keep up the good work!"

Fu Xuan looked at her kill count, which was still at zero.

"General, you keep stealing my kills. Do you feel no shame?"

Jing Yuan chuckled. "You can't say that. Fu Qing's first strike throws the enemy off balance, giving me the perfect opportunity to finish them off. We'll pool our kills together and aim for the MVP award—an extra 1,000 Stellar Jades."

Fu Xuan sighed, giving in. "Fine. For Luofu, I'll make the sacrifice."

Jing Yuan, satisfied with his persuasion, nodded. "Then let's continue hunting."

Just as he finished speaking, a fire grenade landed at their feet.

The fuse burned out in an instant.

"Bang!"

[Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Jing Yuan] [Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Fu Xuan]

Not far away, Klee sat on the ground, rubbing her forehead with her tiny hands.

"Ouch~ That hurt!"

She had been running too fast and crashed into a container.

After rubbing her forehead, she looked around. "Eh? Where's Klee's bomb?"

Diona, her teammate, giggled. "It looks like you dropped it when you fell... and it, uh, hit someone."

Klee gasped and nearly cried. "Ah! Klee blew someone up! Oh no~ Jean is going to scold me!"

Diona patted her back reassuringly. "It's okay, Klee. This is just a game. They won't get hurt."

Klee's eyes lit up. "Oh, right!"

She checked her panel. "Ah! Klee got two more kills! I wonder who I hit?"

Diona, still gripping her AK, scanned the surroundings. "I don't know, but we should get moving before someone else finds us."

Klee grinned and pulled out another bomb. "Okay~!"

—

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, Gepard and Diluc stood back to back, carefully advancing with shotguns in hand.

Suddenly, a lightning bullet zipped toward them.

Gepard took the hit and quickly warned Diluc. "Watch out! We're under attack!"

The two men dove behind a wooden crate.

Peering out slightly, Diluc spotted Lisa perched on a high platform, aiming her sniper rifle.

He frowned. "Why is Lisa shooting at her own people?"

Before he could voice further complaints, Lisa fired another shot.

Diluc barely managed to pull back in time.

He reloaded. "Gepard, draw her attention—I'll take the shot."

Gepard nodded without hesitation.

Counting down, he sprinted from cover toward a nearby container. Lisa turned her rifle toward him and fired—but missed.

The moment she took her shot, Diluc sprang up and unloaded a burst of fire at her position, forcing her to shift.

Gepard retaliated with his M4, bullets tearing through the wooden cover. Lisa's health bar plummeted.

But she remained calm—because help was on the way.

Before Diluc or Gepard realized it, Jean emerged from the side, M4 raised.

"Da-da-da!"

A spray of bullets cut through the air, and both men fell.

[Defender Jean eliminates Lurker Gepard] [Defender Jean eliminates Lurker Diluc]

Jean stepped forward, lowering her weapon. "Sorry, Senior Diluc."

The battle raged on, intensifying around the middle of the transport ship.

Gunfire roared, elemental bullets flashed, and the kill count climbed rapidly.

Although 1,000 kills seemed like a lot, with 25 members on each team, every player only needed around 40 kills to end the match.

In a battlefield this chaotic, 40 kills was hardly impossible.

Just as the combined total reached 500, a voice rang across the arena.

[Attention! The game has entered Stage Two! Airdrop supply crates will fall in the battlefield's center every minute. These contain powerful weapons, bulletproof vests, helmets, and more.]

[Attention! The first airdrop is now incoming!]

Everyone's gaze turned skyward.

A red supply crate floated down under a parachute.

Without hesitation, players from both teams sprinted toward it.

Whoever reached the crate first would have a massive advantage.

Eula was one of the first to rush forward.

Just as she neared the landing site, a fire bullet struck her in the head.

Her body shattered into light particles.

At the respawn point, Eula stomped her foot in frustration. "Damn it! Who was that?!"

A kill notification popped up.

[Defender Amber eliminates Lurker Eula]

The moment Eula saw the name, her eye twitched.

"Amber!!! I won't forget this!"

—

Elsewhere, Kafka dashed through an alley, dual-wielding UZIs.

Hu Tao suddenly leapt out in front of her, grinning. "Hehe! Kafka, prepare to die!"

Kafka reacted instantly, unloading a flurry of lightning-infused bullets before Hu Tao could fire.

Hu Tao dissolved into light particles.

Kevin, witnessing Hu Tao's elimination, jumped out, aiming his weapon. "Hu Tao!"

Before he could even pull the trigger, he felt cold metal press against his forehead.

Kevin hesitated. Looking up, he saw Kafka smirking.

"Kevin, you're a little reckless~"

Kevin gulped. "Uh... Kafka, maybe we can talk about this?"

Kafka tilted her head playfully. "Oh? You don't want revenge for your teammate?"

Kevin shook his head quickly. "No, no, no. My KD is more important."

Kafka's smile widened as she pulled the trigger.

[Alert: Lurker Kafka eliminates Defender Kevin]

March 7th had just finished dealing with Diluc, who had respawned, when she turned her rifle to cover Kevin and Hu Tao.

Before she could react, a wind bullet struck her clean in the head.

[Alert: Lurker ??? eliminates Defender March 7th]

The battle continued, with chaos unfolding in every corner of the transport ship.

[The Lurker Ganyu eliminates Defender March 7th]

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Kafka turned around and saw Ganyu reloading her rifle nearby. She smiled and nodded in thanks.

"Much appreciated."

Ganyu gave a slight nod. "Let's keep moving and try to secure the airdrop."

The two continued forward.

—

Meanwhile, Zhongli and Welt crossed paths.

Zhongli sighed. "Mr. Welt, I never imagined we'd be on opposing sides."

Welt adjusted his glasses. "Neither did I."

Zhongli offered a small smile. "Shall we test our luck and shoot at the same time?"

Welt nodded.

The two aimed at each other, counted down from three, and fired simultaneously.

Zhongli vanished into light particles.

Welt exhaled lightly—only for a grenade to land at his feet moments later.

"Bang!"

[Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Welt]

—

Elsewhere, Seele and Bronya met face-to-face.

Seele clenched her fists. "This damn matching system! Why can't we form our own teams?!"

Watching the match from the spectator's platform, Aha chuckled. "Hehehe~ I bribed Yuri with 100,000 Stellar Jades to tamper with the matchmaking! Worth every coin!"

Yuri smirked beside him.

It turned out that Aha had asked him to spice things up, and for a hefty price, Yuri had adjusted the system to ensure friends ended up on opposite teams.

Seele versus Bronya.

Zhongli versus Welt.

Silver Wolf battling Kafka.

Ningguang against Keqing.

Everywhere, familiar allies were forced to fight each other.

The contestants? Not so amused. Aha and Yuri? Having the time of their lives.

—

At the airdrop site, the ones who made it through the chaos were Silver Wolf and Kafka.

Seeing Silver Wolf, Kafka smirked, ready to chat—

Only for Silver Wolf to open fire immediately.

"Heh! Kafka! I've been waiting for this! You're dead meat!" Silver Wolf yelled, spraying bullets wildly.

Kafka ducked behind the supply crate just in time. As Silver Wolf paused to reload, Kafka saw her chance. She rushed forward and delivered a swift kick, knocking the M4 out of Silver Wolf's hands.

Silver Wolf froze, cold sweat trickling down her forehead.

"Ka-Kafka..."

Kafka grinned. "You're as mischievous as Kevin~ Bao~ Goodbye."

She pulled the trigger.

[The Lurker Kafka eliminates Defender Silver Wolf]

Kafka turned to claim the airdrop, but before she could open it—

A grenade landed at her feet.

Her smile froze. "Klee!"

Boom!

Klee and Diona peeked out from behind a container.

"Yay! Klee got the airdrop!" Klee cheered.

Diona laughed. "Come on, open it! Let's see what's inside."

Klee eagerly pried open the box, her eyes lighting up. "Wow! It's a serial bomb gun!"

Without hesitation, she grabbed the grenade launcher and fired three explosives toward the Lurker base.

[Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Seele] [Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Welt] [Defender Klee eliminates Lurker Keqing]

A series of elimination alerts flashed across the battlefield.

The victims? Devastated.

They had just respawned—only to be sent right back to the respawn point without even firing a shot!

—

As the battle entered its final phase, the chaos only intensified. With advanced elemental weapons in play, the battlefield had turned completely insane.

Asmodeus pulled out a fire-element dragon's breath shotgun and aimed at a wooden crate. The crate disintegrated instantly.

"You can't hide forever, Nahida."

Calmly, Nahida tossed a grass-element grenade at Asmodeus' feet. Vines erupted from the ground, trapping him.

She walked up, Desert Eagle in hand. "Sorry, Your Majesty."

Bang.

[Defender Nahida eliminates Lurker Asmodeus]

—

Zhongli, pursued by Yanqing, darted into an alley. The moment he entered, he threw a rock-element grenade at the entrance.

A stone wall materialized, blocking Yanqing's path.

Yanqing narrowed his eyes and unloaded a full magazine from his M16. Eventually, the wall crumbled.

Reloading, he stepped forward—

Only for a barrage of rock-element bullets to strike him head-on.

He collapsed instantly.

Respawning, Yanqing glared at his 1:19 K/D ratio and felt his will to play drain away.

"These people are ridiculous! Either they camp together or use cheap tactics! If you've got guts, fight me fair and square!"

—

Time passed, and the match finally ended.

Everyone was teleported back to the playground, where a podium stood in the center.

Yuri and Aha stood beside it, microphones in hand.

Aha cackled. "Hahaha! The game's over! Did you all have fun? By the way, I totally rigged the matchmaking! Satisfied? You should be! Hahaha!"

The players shot him furious glares.

Especially Seele—who even pulled out her scythe, ready to strike.

Bronya and Ying barely managed to hold her back.

Aha's laughter grew louder. Seeing their frustration was exactly the outcome he wanted.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright, let's get back on track."

Everyone focused on him.

During the match, players couldn't see the total team score—only Yuri knew the final result.

Clearing his throat, Yuri announced, "Congratulations to the Defenders on their victory!"

Cheers erupted from the Defender camp.

Kevin jumped three feet in the air. "Yes! I won! A thousand Stellar Jades! Best day ever!"

March 7th grinned. "This dungeon is awesome. It's fun AND you earn money!"

Hu Tao nodded enthusiastically. "Right? I wonder what the next game will be! They said it changes daily."

Yuri gestured. "Defenders, line up to collect your rewards."

Hearing this, Kevin practically sprinted forward, hands outstretched with a huge smile on his face.

The Lurkers however...?

Absolutely dejected.