She Didn't Die

"Sin City is definitely going to sell like crazy." Director Yin was also at the venue, muttering as he watched the moment Bliwell Huabin Avenue exploded on the big screen alongside the Game Department head.

The Game Department head fell silent for a moment, then clenched his fist excitedly and said, "No matter how much I get criticized, it's worth it. This game was meant for Xu Lingqu to play. I'm pulling all the promotional PVs and replacing them with this footage—not a single frame cut!"

This was the most unbeatable marketing in the entire galaxy!

The explosion on Bliwell Huabin Avenue triggered wave after wave of gasps, with exclamations of "Holy shit" rising and falling in succession, like a symphony playing for the crowd in the stands.

All thirty-two Dolanston students on Bliwell Avenue were eliminated, not one spared. Meanwhile, the supercar carrying Xu Lingqu and Shen Shouli, half its body engulfed in flames, raced toward the sea, and for a moment everyone held their breath for them.

Fortunately, after the seawater quenched the flames, the supercar didn't explode or sink, giving them ample time to escape.

The two opened the doors and quickly swam toward the shore. Alongside Bliwell Huabin Avenue, there was a lower stone ledge that allowed them to swim ashore and return to Sin City.

Xu Lingqu was a bit faster; she climbed onto the ledge first, turned around, and sat down. The air still reeked of burnt cash, and debris littered the ground. She pushed her wet hair back and smiled at Shen Shouli, who was still in the water.

"We made it."

She had already prepared for the worst—the possibility of going down together with them.

Shen Shouli, still in the water, looked up. At that moment, Xu Lingqu was illuminated by the residual glow from Bliwell Huabin Avenue, as if a layer of light had been cast over her, making her sea-soaked hair and those obsidian-like eyes shine even brighter.

She smiled, marveling at their narrow escape, and Shen Shouli's world was reduced to the sound of his own heartbeat.

Xu Lingqu peeled off her white lab coat, which had stuck to her skin with seawater. After her brief remark, she spoke into her comms earpiece to reassure the others at Moye and directed some of those who had been standing by in the city to move toward Bliwell Huabin Avenue.

She turned around after speaking, and Shen Shouli was still soaking in the sea.

"Are you going to take a bath in there?" Xu Lingqu asked, puzzled. "The sea surface is covered in gasoline that Jia Xiangying washed down with her rain."

Shen Shouli: ...

-

After the incendiary round was fired, Liu Zheng didn't stop.

She had prepared for the worst—even though Xu Lingqu and Shen Shouli had avoided the explosion and headed for the sea, there was still a chance they wouldn't return.

For now, the gap between Dolanston and Moye had been closed, and even widened—Moye was now leading Dolanston by over a dozen points.

The priority now was to maintain that advantage until the third broadcast signaled the end of the match. She couldn't let Xu Lingqu's absence cause chaos; Jia Xiangying of Dolanston was still out there, ready to organize a counterattack at any moment.

She first hid in the shadows, using sniper rounds to take out the people Jia Xiangying had sent to locate them, protecting Guan Zhongli, Wang Qihu, and Xu Xiqin, who were still on the electromagnetic vehicle.

Wang Qihu had passed out, but Xu Xiqin and Guan Zhongli had no intention of leaving him behind.

The two dragged him out of the vehicle. Guan Zhongli initially tried to support Wang Qihu, but Xu Xiqin, annoyed by his sluggishness, hoisted Wang Qihu onto her back and ran off.

Guan Zhongli was stunned—such a big guy like Wang Qihu, and Xu Xiqin just carried him effortlessly.

After dealing with a few more of the enemy, Xu Lingqu's voice came through the comms earpiece.

Liu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how much she had mentally prepared for "we must stay calm even without Xu Lingqu," the reality was that, as long as Xu Lingqu was confirmed present, everyone could truly relax.

"Welcome back, Commander," Liu Zheng said into the comms.

"Mm." The entire Bliwell Huabin Avenue was wrecked; Xu Lingqu and Shen Shouli found a relatively intact stretch and re-entered Sin City. "No rush to clash head-on with Dolanston. Wait for the second broadcast. With their heavy losses, we can consider a decapitation strike on Jia Xiangying."

Earlier, when Dolanston had ample manpower and the News Building was easy to defend but hard to attack, a decapitation strike on Jia Xiangying was a bad strategy.

Now that their total numbers were lower than Moye's, and their S-class solo soldier Hei Yingzhi was eliminated outright, while another S-class soldier Jiang You's ability and Jia Xiangying's own ability had already been wasted, and with Jia Xiangying's location known, a decapitation strike was entirely viable.

Of course, hiding and avoiding battle to preserve their lead could also secure a victory, but that wasn't Moye's style.

A turtle-style win wasn't Dolanston's powder-keg style, nor was it Moye's.

"Mm." Liu Zheng acknowledged in the channel, then suddenly added, "You two should change your clothes while you have the chance—things are about to get busy."

Xu Lingqu played along. "Why is that?"

"Because your clothes are salt-soaked from the seawater (and you're pretty salty right now)."

Jin, who had been listening intently to the whole exchange: ...?

The two salty people, Shen Shouli and Xu Lingqu, found a clothing store. This time, they didn't rob it. They were lucky enough to find some relatively intact bills on the road and paid for two white-collar uniforms, taking turns changing in the fitting room.

Once they had changed, the second broadcast began.

"Moye Military Academy remaining: 61. Dolanston Military Academy remaining: 40. After this broadcast, the decapitation mechanism is activated. Moye's decapitation target: Xu Lingqu. Dolanston's decapitation target: Jia Xiangying."

"Let's settle this with the young lady."

-

After that explosion, Jia Xiangying stood frozen for about ten seconds, then quickly bent down to pick up the pen that had slipped from her hand.

The match wasn't over. She had lost the bet, and her losses were heavy, but that was no reason to give up or surrender.

"The Moye students we were targeting for easy kills—hold off on them, just keep tracking," Jia Xiangying said, resuming her position as the weather anchor. "Also, pull back the ones who went to scout sniper positions as soon as possible."

If Xu Lingqu had died in the sea, then according to the match mechanics, after the second broadcast Moye would have to select a new commander, and with the decapitation mechanism active, if luck was on their side, the new commander might just be among the targets they had already locked onto.

But Jia Xiangying's fantasy was quickly shattered by the second broadcast—Xu Lingqu wasn't dead.

Even after all that, she still hadn't died. Jia Xiangying was momentarily speechless, but she quickly reeled in her wandering thoughts and refocused on the battlefield.

"Then reel in the net immediately. Narrow the gap first—kill as many as you can, then... return to the News Building quickly. I have a feeling Xu Lingqu will still come after me for a decapitation," Jia Xiangying immediately began redeploying.

She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at Sin City's bright night lights. Xu Lingqu—will she come to kill me herself?