Double A In Line Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Cooperation

Seeing the situation, Lin Sheng immediately steadied his body, gripped his fishing rod, and pulled back with force. In the already restless lake, the waves grew even more turbulent, and even the ground around the shore began to tremble faintly.

Accompanied by a violent sound like an explosion, a massive circular pillar of water shot into the sky, centered on the position of the hook. A giant carp covered in green spots appeared in the air before crashing heavily back onto the lake’s surface, sending water splashing in all directions.

It is out. Watch out for its mucus. Do not get too close during the first phase; use only ranged attacks, Lin Sheng said immediately after stowing his fishing rod.

As he spoke, he had already retreated several steps. Although the avatar he had customized was a wolf beastman, most of the skills Lin Sheng possessed were ranged magical attacks and healing spells. He followed the path of a battle cleric.

The exquisitely beautiful merman in the team was the warrior responsible for tanking damage.

The first phase of the boss fight was less of a battle and more like a rhythmic performance. With more teammates this time, it took only a minute for the boss to enter its second phase.

Upon entering the second phase, after the initial venom explosion, the boss appeared motionless. However, everyone cautiously prepared to dodge. With Lin Sheng’s prior experience, they knew the boss would swell in size and attempt to crush a player with a body slam; they just didn’t know who it would target this time.

After waiting quietly for about ten seconds, the fish that had been floating belly-up on the water suddenly flipped over. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, it continued to expand. Three pairs of transparent, thin wings sprouted from where its fins used to be. These wings seemed far too short for the boss’s massive bulk, but that did not stop them from flapping. The boss surged out of the lake and slammed down toward the elf.

The elf, who was already prepared, threw a grappling hook forward. It caught onto the giant rock where Cheng Yan was hiding. The moment the boss slammed down, the hook pulled the elf toward the rock, allowing him to successfully evade the attack.

The boss, having hit the ground, took flight again and hovered in the air. The green spots on its skin vibrated incessantly before once again firing venom that splashed in all directions.

The density of the venom was much higher this time, and the attack range had become enormous, covering almost the entire Moon-viewing Cliff. The group could only struggle to track the trajectory of the venom while searching for safe spots to dodge the dense barrage of toxic orbs.

This is turning into a game of Space Battleship, Ji Chen shouted while dodging.

Space Battleship was a bullet-hell game where players controlled a starship to dodge enemy attacks while fighting. Before the release of the Dream Realm, Ji Chen had been obsessed with that game and was quite good at it.

However, in this game, players controlled their own bodies. The operational experience Ji Chen had gained in his previous game did not help him here. He had to focus all his attention on the scattered venom orbs, finding it difficult even to squeeze in a quick complaint.

In that brief moment of distraction, a massive shadow loomed over him from above. By the time Ji Chen realized something was overhead, it was too late.

Just as Ji Chen rolled to the edge of the shadow, the boss’s body crashed down heavily from the sky.

When the boss took flight again, a large crater was left in the ground. Inside the crater, the robot’s originally brilliant silver coating was now smeared with a layer of disgusting green paint. The health bar floating above him had been halved by that single strike.

Holy crap! This boss actually deals poison damage too! The robot struggled to climb up and pulled an antidote from his backpack, chugging it down.

Who said this was a water battle? You made me switch my equipment specifically for this, so how am I supposed to fight! The merman, who had been trying to attack during the gaps in the boss’s slams, finally couldn’t help but roar.

Because Ji Chen had specifically mentioned the possibility of fighting in the water when he called him, the merman had switched to a set of warrior gear with water combat buffs. Almost all the skills in his skill bar were also built for underwater melee combat.

The result was that he currently couldn’t deal any effective damage to the boss. His ranged attacks were mere scratches due to his build, and he couldn’t reach the boss with melee attacks. Even if he was lucky enough to land a hammer blow or two, he would be hit by several globs of venom in return, forcing him to drink antidotes like they were water.

Damn it! How could I have known a fish could fly? Who knows which brain-dead designer created this boss, Ji Chen replied during the few seconds the boss’s attacks paused, all while dodging venom and firing ranged missiles.

The attacks were so dense that everyone was forced to concentrate all their energy on dodging and using skills, leaving them no time to observe their surroundings.

Just as the group was getting into the rhythm and managing to keep their health bars stable while slowly trading blows with the boss, the floating boss let out a strange screech.

The lake, which had returned to calm after the boss appeared, became restless once more. Continuous splashing sounds echoed across the water. Lin Sheng retreated two steps to avoid the venom and looked toward the lake. He saw many flying fish, identical in appearance to the boss but scaled down, surging out of the water.

The moment he looked over, these flying fish charged toward the group at extreme speed.

Oh man… Bang! The first to be hit by a flying fish was the merman, who was closer to the lakeshore. After a loud explosion, his already precarious health bar was instantly emptied.

Starting with his death, the other three also turned into white light one after another, respawning at the Moon-viewing Town revival point.

The group met at the revival point and stared at each other. People were coming and going around them, but the air around their group seemed to have stopped flowing.

Finally, it was Ji Chen’s frustrated grumbling that broke the silence.

It’s one thing to have minions, but why do they have to explode?

And the poison is so strong that my health just keeps dropping. I’ve run out of antidotes, the merman said in a very resentful tone.

At least we managed to grind the boss’s health down to a third. We should be able to clear it with more practice, the elf said, sounding somewhat optimistic. He had lasted the longest after the other three died due to his high mobility.

You think everyone has flashy footwork like you? Just dodging that venom was almost more than my brain could handle, and then those minions showed up at the end, the merman said, somewhat speechless.

Then why don’t you just switch to high-agility gear?

Switching gear won’t help. Don’t tell me I should try; don’t I know my own situation?

Then what do we do? If we don’t find a solution, the result won’t be much better if we try again.

Where is Huo Huo Huo? Lin Sheng asked as the others were discussing.

At his reminder, the others noticed that the snow leopard beastman who had teamed up with them had not been killed.

A pro, indeed. To last this long with level 50 health, the elf remarked immediately.

Hard to say. Maybe he just dropped aggro, the merman suggested.

He didn’t drop aggro; he’s still holding on. Lin Sheng’s expression turned a bit strange after receiving a reply from Cheng Yan. He says he found a blind spot in the boss’s attacks.

What? Then let’s hurry over there while the boss hasn’t reset and continue…

Before the elf could finish, he saw a familiar snow leopard beastman respawn next to the revival point.

Didn’t you say you found a blind spot? How did you end up dying back here too?

I did find it, but I couldn’t attack from that position, Cheng Yan said helplessly.

It turned out that the giant rock he had found at the beginning was one of the blind spots. While the others were fighting, Cheng Yan had successfully found several other blind spots. However, without exception, these spots were completely obstructed. Using ranged magic attacks would only result in them being blocked by the terrain.

After the others died, Cheng Yan had intended to keep hiding within the attack range and wait for the others to rush back and continue the fight. But unexpectedly, after the boss went a long time without taking damage, it automatically dropped out of combat and its health bar began to regenerate. In a panic, Cheng Yan stepped out and fired two fireballs at it.

The boss’s health stopped regenerating, and he was successfully sent back to the revival point by the exploding flying fish.

The malice… this is definitely malice from the developers, the group lamented after hearing Cheng Yan’s explanation.

After all, they provided blind spots to completely avoid attacks, but they can’t let players just hide there forever and use hit-and-run tactics. Lin Sheng thought for a moment and made a decision. Afterward, he specifically sent a private message to Cheng Yan. Thanks. You were a big help this time. If there’s anything you don’t understand about the game later, you can come find me.

I didn’t really do much, did I? I don’t want to trouble you, Cheng Yan said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the favor.

How could it be a trouble? Without your observations, we might have had to fight several more times before finding a solution. Lin Sheng looked at Cheng Yan with a bit of confusion. This person seemed a bit lacking in self-confidence.

After arriving at Moon-viewing Lake again, Lin Sheng had the four of them split into two teams to fight the boss in shifts. When someone felt they couldn’t hold on, they would retreat to a blind spot to rest, recover health, and reset their status. However, they had to ensure at least one person was always in combat with the boss.

As for Cheng Yan, he still hid behind a blind spot to make up the numbers, though he would occasionally peek out to chip away at the boss’s health.

This time, with room to breathe, they managed to survive despite making more mistakes than before, successfully whittling the boss’s health down to the final quarter.

At that moment, the boss, which had been highly aggressive, paused in mid-air. The faint green light on its body gradually became brilliant. The green circular spots covering its body began to elongate, merging with other spots to form eerie patterns that circled its entire body.

Another phase change? Ji Chen muttered to himself while looking at the boss in the sky. This is more troublesome than a dungeon boss.

After the cutscene ended, the boss attacked again. Fortunately, its attack patterns remained the same as before, without adding any other blood-pressure-raising mechanics.

However, someone soon noticed something was wrong.

They could no longer cast spells. With their skill bars completely locked, the group was quickly sent back to the revival point once again.

This boss’s toxin actually drains mana, and the antidotes are useless now. Ji Chen stood at the revival point in a daze for a moment before helplessly wiping his face, feeling utterly exhausted.

Let’s try again. There might be something we missed, just like those blind spots. There has to be a solution, Lin Sheng said after a brief pause.

Um… the elf hesitated for a moment before speaking. My anti-addiction time is up. I have to log off.

You’re a minor? Lin Sheng looked at the elf in surprise.

Yeah. Minors can’t play games?

Uh, no. Then go ahead and log off. As Lin Sheng spoke, he checked the system time and realized it was almost ten o’clock. He lost the desire to keep playing and said to the others, It is indeed getting late. We’ll continue tomorrow night. Is that okay with everyone?

After everyone confirmed they were available, they said their goodbyes and left.

That night, Lin Sheng’s dreams were filled with those venom barrages. The next day during class, those barrages would occasionally flash through his mind, making him a bit distracted.

Fortunately, he had already self-studied the material for this class, so he felt justified in his distraction.

Lin Sheng, why don’t you answer this question? While he was spacing out, the professor on the podium began calling on students.