Chapter 87

By the time Lin Tu hurried back to Polly Plaza, most people were already gathered and ready. They had known this day would come, but not so soon. Lin Tu swept her gaze across the crowd—anxiety, fear, and cowardice were tangled in their expressions. They could have endured the darkness if they'd never seen the light; but now, the brief taste of a good life made their present plight all the more desolate.

"Swear to defend our home!" someone shouted, raising a fist toward Lin Tu.

Scattered voices joined in, echoing the oath. The cries spread like a tide, carrying a strange strength across the square. It was as if an inexhaustible power had been poured into the people; they clasped the hands of loved ones and friends, drawing boundless courage from the hope that still flickered.

"Fight them to the death!"

"If they want to get past here, they'll have to step over my corpse!"

The players shouted along with the crowd, especially Guan Suixing. Lately, she had been running herself ragged—escorting someone to the hospital, fixing a roof or ladder for another, hauling timber, rescuing someone else's wilting wuta-cai seedlings. She had made quite a few friends; anyone who didn't know better might think she planned to stay long-term after the month was up.

Guan Suiyue watched her, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"They're already mustering. At best, twenty minutes; at worst, an hour before they're on top of us. We need to be ready!" Luo Yongzhi said.

"But..." Ready for what? Looking at the determination in everyone's eyes, Lin Tu couldn't help but hesitate. A thousand-plus against twenty-odd thousand—this was a chasm blood alone could not bridge. There was no such thing as victory; the best they could hope for was to preserve a handful of embers through devastating sacrifice.

Was it really worth it? If they surrendered, these flesh-and-blood people could all...

"Don't tell me you're thinking of backing out now," Guan Suiyue said suddenly. "Do you know? I grew up in a church. The eyes I've seen most are eyes praying. Their lives are shrouded in darkness, and they pray so devoutly for a miracle. Day after day, I stood before them, held their hands, and told them they would ascend to heaven after death—never once doing a single thing to actually help them."

"This is the first time I feel like I have to do something. Lin Tu, if you want to back out now, then you can look forward to the nightmares that have plagued me for over a decade coming for you next."

Lin Tu looked at Guan Suiyue.

"Post-Apocalypse Reconstruction Base Diplomat's Code: I will not offend unless offended; if offended, I will surely retaliate," Guan Suiyue declared, raising her sword and activating her skill. "All those within my sight are residents of my base. Any disgrace inflicted upon them, I shall repay twofold with this blade."

"From this moment on, my shadow will stand beside every resident of this base to honor my vow. All damage suffered by my shadows shall be borne by me alone. This oath holds until I voluntarily resign my position as diplomat—or until I die."

"Sister!" Guan Suixing stared at Guan Suiyue in disbelief. She couldn't imagine that her insufferable sister, who only ever talked about profit, would go this far.

"Can you trust me?" Yi Ying pulled out her flashlight magic wand.

"At this point, what's there not to trust?" Guan Suiyue was clearly exhausted after unleashing her skill.

"Please believe everything I say right now. Disaster Halo..." Yi Ying switched on the flashlight and aimed it at Guan Suiyue. "You won't feel fatigue now. Your strength will be greatly enhanced. Your body will be as hard as steel. After a lethal blow, you have a..." She frowned slightly before continuing, "a 50%... 30%... 10% chance of surviving."

"Sorry, this special item's level is too low. That's the best I can do."

"It's enough," Guan Suiyue said.

"Give me one too!" Guan Suixing huffed. "I'm not useless either!"

"Me too." Luo Yongzhi, Li Yuanyuan, and even Liu Sheng spoke up.

"I'm not much of a fighter, but if anyone gets hurt, I'll carry them out in time. Where there's life, there's hope—nothing matters more than survival," Liu Sheng added, afraid others might think using the skill on him would be a waste.

Lin Tu watched them, her fists clenching involuntarily.

"What? Are you..."

Guan Suiyue started to say something, but Lin Tu pulled out her long blade. "Li Yuanyuan, I remember you have an item that lets specific people hear your voice?"

Li Yuanyuan nodded. "It's a bit of a niche item—it only lets people you touch hear your voice. But the duration is fairly long, about twelve hours. If you need it, I can give it to you right now."

After borrowing the item, Lin Tu said, "And I need you all to do me a favor." She pulled out eight rolls of wire mesh from her pocket. "We don't have much time. Please place these at the entrances and intersections of Charlie Seventh Avenue, Polly Avenue..."

The group took the wire mesh, surprised. "Plant-type special items?"

Ordinary players couldn't tell whether these were Perfect Fruits, but as far as they knew, plant-type special items were quite rare. Producing eight at once like this was genuinely impressive.

Luo Yongzhi, however, took it in stride. He scratched his head. "Sister Lin's skill at cultivating plant-type special items has improved again."

Lin Tu looked at the players before her—from a certain angle, all of them had been dragged into this melee because of her. Silently, she pulled six ears of corn from her backpack and handed one to each of them. She didn't bother explaining how to use them, because the moment the players received the corn, information about it popped up on their phones.

"Where do we put this?" Li Yuanyuan was about to ask, but then she saw the message on her phone and a look of delight crossed her face. "Huh? This is..."

"These are for you," Lin Tu said. "Use them if you're in danger."

"What about you?" Yi Ying asked with concern.

"I still have seven left." The corn matured once every twelve days, and in the fifty-two days she'd been here, she'd already harvested four times—twelve ears in total, more than enough for herself.

Yi Ying's mouth twitched. She should have known better than to ask. How could she possibly understand the ways of a big shot? She thanked Lin Tu and stowed her corn away safely.

The players quickly huddled up to hash out their strategy. When they turned back, the civilians had already been watching them with expectant, anxious eyes for some time.

Lin Tu took out a megaphone and swept her gaze across the thousand-plus people from left to right. She saw many familiar faces—Abel, David, Na Wei... After this brutal war, many of their faces might never be seen again. But... she also saw in their eyes an unwavering will not to retreat.

It felt as though a thousand voices spoke through her throat at once: "We swear to defend our home!"

"Fight!"

"We will not retreat!"

"Fight them to the death!"

Lin Tu pressed her hands down, calming them, and laid out the plan: "We're not charging out to meet them. From now on, everyone returns to their homes. We'll fight them street by street using our shelters, our furniture, and the defensive structures we've built. The guard teams are to disperse into the shelters, using them as cover to pick off isolated Rebel Army and Government Army soldiers."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Rebel Army and the Government Army are both our enemies, but they're also each other's enemies. We need to use that. The moment the Rebel Army and the Government Army clash, the fighting will erupt on its own. All we have to do is hold our defenses and reap the spoils while they're distracted. Our chances of winning are still very good."

In Lin Tu's view, that was the only way to win.

Once she finished speaking, Luo Te, Luo Yongzhi, and the others began assigning roles. After a brief silence, Polly Plaza buzzed with activity once more—except this time, the square was no longer filled with dread. The crowd organized itself out of chaos, urgently distributing supplies and heading to the positions they would hold.

Lin Tu slipped into the crowd and found Abel, Ju Yi, Meli, and the children tagging along with them. She handed an ear of corn to Abel and explained how to use it.

"Is it... really? How is that possible!" Abel was utterly incredulous.

"I knew it!" Bu Daixi wore a triumphant expression. "Sister, you must be a doll that came to life. You definitely knew my mom—you just can't tell me, right? That's how it goes in fairy tales!"

"Take care of yourselves." Lin Tu patted her head, neither confirming nor denying her words.

Time passed with terrifying speed, especially when everyone was busy. With the wire mesh deployed and most of the civilians back in their shelters, the quiet streets finally welcomed the invaders they had been waiting for.