Chapter 88

"They're here!" The civilians in the outermost shelter tensed the moment they heard the bugle call drawing nearer.

"Second brother, you're the best shot among us. I'm giving you this pistol I just got. Hide in the basement—if we're all wiped out, slip out quietly and kill those bastards while they're off guard. You're our last hope!"

"Fourth sister, you... Third sister, Fifth brother, the three of us... everyone, don't be reckless. Every one we take down is one less. If there's no chance, run upstairs. The guards on the second floor are holding the line—they'll pay a price to get up there."

The oldest of the middle-aged men was nervous, repeating the words he'd already said a dozen times. He wanted to say them again, but there was no more time.

"Big brother, be careful."

"You too."

"Guard, you be careful as well."

The five siblings—unrelated by blood—looked at one another, eyes reddening. When the shelters had first been assigned, they'd known this day might come, but none of them had tried to swap places. They were all alone in the world; they weren't that afraid of dying.

They'd thought they had nothing left to hold onto. But a few drifters gathered together, jokingly called each other brothers and sisters, and somehow found something to live for.

"They're here!" The sound drew closer; there was no time for farewells. They scattered and hid, hearts pounding like drums.

The Rebel Army entered from the southwest, flooding the streets in disarray. They'd prepared to kill anyone they saw, yet found not a single figure on the road. Surprised, the Rebel Army officers quickly adapted—search the houses! Clean this area out thoroughly, leave no survivors.

The one wearing the highest rank issued his order with vacant eyes, and the men behind him fanned out into the maze of side streets. Each house got one special-rank officer and ten soldiers, while the rest pushed forward along the main road.

On the second floor of the shelter, the guard team watched hundreds of Rebel soldiers surge onto the streets, their hearts nearly breaking. This street had only a dozen or so shelters, eighty-seven people total. How could they fight hundreds?

Then, several indescribable strands of bizarre wire mesh crawled up from below, threading through the Rebel soldiers' ranks, stirring chaos and screams. They wove together densely in an instant, swallowing a swath of the enemy whole.

The guard stared at the incomprehensible sight, too shocked to react, then gripped his gun and started firing without pause—whatever that thing was, let them see the sun! War's shadow had hung over this land for far too long.

Even after the wire mesh devoured nearly a third of the Rebel Army, plenty still made it into the shelters.

A Rebel soldier shot out the lock; another kicked the door open, and a pot of boiling water splashed over them.

"Fuck!" The man screamed, charging in and spraying bullets. A cry of pain came from inside. The others shoved their way in, the special-rank officer fastest of all. He was terrifyingly strong, smashing the cheap shoe cabinet by the entrance with one fist as if showing off, his eyes blazing with savage cruelty.

"Third sister!" The fifth brother, hiding under the empty sofa in the living room—the safest place being the most dangerous—spotted a lone Rebel soldier in the bedroom. He wanted to call out, but the man didn't answer. The fifth brother scrambled out from under the sofa, hunched over, and dashed behind a pile of wood beside the bedroom curtain, bracing for bullets to punch through—but they didn't. Lucky for him, he hadn't been spotted.

The fifth brother grabbed the curtain rod and waited. When the Rebel soldier approached the bed by the curtain and opened fire at the figure huddled under the covers—bang bang bang—the fifth brother lifted the curtain rod like a death sentence and lunged.

The rod clattered down. The Rebel soldier screamed, blinded by the curtain, as the fifth brother's dagger drove through his body without hesitation. Shouts and curses came from outside the bedroom. The fifth brother's hands trembled as he tried to grab the man's gun, but the curtain tangled him up. In the final moment, he snatched the grenade from the Rebel's belt and leaped out the window into the yard before the others burst in.

Elsewhere, another Rebel soldier got doused in filth water. Something was in his eyes and he couldn't see; panicking, he sprayed bullets wildly. Two hands grabbed his ankle and yanked hard. He screamed, toppling over, and something hard slammed into the back of his skull.

In just a few minutes, two men had died. The special-rank officer grew angry. He stopped toying with them; his speed and reflexes sharpened suddenly. When the fourth sister and the big brother tried to ambush another Rebel and failed, they realized the enemy was on guard now.

"Upstairs!" The big brother rapped the signal and bolted for the stairs, but the fourth sister, in a bad position, caught the Rebel's eye.

She poked her head out and shots rang toward her. But staying put was a dead end too. Gritting her teeth, she hoisted a table as cover and charged out.

"Damn rat!" The ranked Rebel grinned savagely, raised a hand to halt the firing, and drew his dagger, closing in on the fourth sister at an inconceivable speed.

He was so fast that he was beside her in a blink, the blade flashing cold.

"No!"

The big brother above screamed and ran down. The guard wanted to shoot but had no angle.

The fifth brother in the yard watched, eyes splitting with rage. He wanted to use the grenade to blow the bastard up, but there was no time.

Outside the front door, the second brother, unable to hold back any longer, left the basement, gunned down the nearest Rebel, but couldn't swing his aim around fast enough.

"I'll take you all with me!" The fifth brother screamed, about to pull the fuse, when he saw something he couldn't believe.

A figure materialized over the fourth sister—like an angel from myth, radiant golden hair cascading over a white robe, a slender sword in hand, a war goddess punishing all evil, charging at the deranged Rebel.

"Fourth sister! Fourth sister! Get up here!" The big brother grabbed her arm and hauled her up the stairs. The fifth brother froze, hand still on the fuse.

No one was afraid of the incomprehensible sight, because they recognized that figure!

"They're not ordinary people!"

"They've come to save us!"

"We still have a chance!"

This same scene was playing out in many other places.

Guan Suixing's fingers traced her cheeks, now blackened and bruised. The bloody claw marks made her look even more ferocious. But that ferocity made her stronger. She could practically take bullets with her body—they only drew blood, never pierced through. She was more of a monster than the monsters she faced.

"Go! Hide in the next shelter!" Guan Suixing called to those behind her.

She'd thought the locals, unfamiliar with special items, would be terrified of her appearance. Instead, they all shook their heads: "If we go, we go together!"

"We can help!" "How could we leave you here alone!"

Guan Suixing turned back to face the Rebel Army, let out a furious, piercing shriek, and lunged forward.

Luo Yongzhi fired wildly; Yi Ying held a gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other, sweeping its beam everywhere like an ice queen—anyone she caught in the light moved with unnatural sluggishness. Li Yuanyuan shielded Liu Sheng as they rescued people in a sea of blood, working faster with every shelter that fell.

Lin Tu threw down her [Furious Corn], telling the people inside by touch not to move, then dealt with the Government Army soldiers in the cornfield at top speed.

Beside her, Guan Suiyue's shadow glanced over, then vanished with relief. Lin Tu saw the bloodstains on her, the white robe nearly dyed red.

"Thank you! Thank you!" The people crouching in the cornfield, too afraid to move, saw Guan Suiyue's shadow floating above the ground through the dense stalks.

She knew there was no corn in the house, and knew no human floated in the air, so she knew who had dragged her back from the edge of hell. At the brink of death, she sobbed and thanked them over and over.

"Stay hidden. The cornfield will disappear soon." Lin Tu had no time to comfort her. Gun in hand, she walked out of the shelter and saw utter devastation.

She'd saved one, but she couldn't save everyone. There were too many Government and Rebel soldiers; the players were reaching their limits. Lin Tu was out of corn, Guan Suixing's special state had a time limit, Luo Yongzhi was nearly out of bullets, and Liu Sheng and Li Yuanyuan couldn't save anyone fast enough.

As for Guan Suiyue, Lin Tu could see she was at her breaking point. If any player fell, it would be her first.

So it still wasn't enough, was it? A bitter resentment surged in Lin Tu's chest. Why? The world was being toyed with by some puppet master, and even all their strength combined couldn't change its fate? She'd tried so hard, and still couldn't escape being played!

"Hey!" A shout came from not far away.

There were no allies around here. Lin Tu instinctively spun to shoot, but met a pair of hollow eye sockets—

Rui Si?!

"My friend said he saw you here!" He laughed. "It really is you, isn't it? You're the one leading these civilians in resistance!"

Several men in Government Army uniforms stood beside him. Lin Tu nodded before remembering he couldn't see, and was about to speak when they answered for her.

"Then you need us. Your strength alone isn't enough!" Rui Si had never spoken so cheerfully. He felt like laughing out loud. "Let's kill these motherfuckers together and build a new world!"