by N. Heller
"Click!" The choker’s metal clasp snapped together perfectly. She touched the moderately cold choker which was now around her neck, then she grinned at Hu Changzai, "Okay, what sort of ability will you give me…"
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud boom! A strong wind washed over them as they were buffeted by a rain of sawdust. They took a few steps back and turned to look. They discovered that the meeting room’s door had been obliterated. Amidst the cloud of sawdust in the air, they could see a large figure… it belonged to one of the previous duoluozhongs.
Compared to the average duoluozhong, it had an extremely hard mouthpart which was at
least one segment longer. With a single attack, the wooden door and even a portion of the wall disappeared, leaving only a large, serrated hole. The duoluozhong’s buzzing voice raised the goosebumps on their skins, "Great! I found you first!"
Lin Sanjiu stared at it and went into a fighting position.
"Take that thing off your neck, and I’ll grant you a quick death." Unexpectedly, the duoluozhong did not run away in fear even after seeing the choker; instead, it let out a cruel laugh. Lin Sanjiu suddenly thought of a possibility when she remembered what Marcie told her before. When people obtain a special item, they usually try to get hints about its usage from the item itself, just like the Ability Polishing Agent. If there were no hints, one had to try to activate it. Once the item has been used once, the user should be able to figure out its effect. However, for items that looked too dangerous or when the user had no clue on how to activate the item, the owner might not even be able to guess the name of the item… Likewise, she was sure that nobody could guess the crux to using this Pygmalion Choker was actually dependent on one’s companion. Thus, it was apparent to her that the duoluozhong in front of them had no idea about the effects of the item.
"Hey, Hu Changzai. Before this New World descended, what was the last superhero movie
that you watched?" Lin Sanjiu asked, unruffled by the situation.
A knowing smile appeared on Hu Changzai’s face. He wiped off the bloodstain and dust on
her spectacles and said, smiling, "Iron man."
"Okay, let’s test it out!" Lin Sanjiu beamed showing her dimple.
The duoluozhong had a faint inkling that things were about to get nasty. It swung its mouthpart, getting ready to charge forward. It saw Lin Sanjiu’s fist glow with a white light. Suddenly, he felt a blast of air currents like that of a tornado, accompanied by an explosive boom, and the blast hit him.
The duoluozhong did not even have the chance to attack. It disintegrated into fine dust just as with half the building. The remaining half of the building wobbled for a few moments as if it were drunk. Then, a few broken bricks, concrete pieces, and sawdust fell successively...
Hu Changzai sat on the ground, startled by the blast, he looked at the back of the woman in front of him. He only regained his senses after some time, muttering, "How… how high is your Potential Growth Value!?"
Chapter 48 - When Septimus Was by himself
They heard a faint sound of an explosion in the far distance and felt the ground shook for a moment following that explosion. Septimus wiped the perspiration from his forehead while he turned to look behind him. In the darkness, all he saw was the vast ruins of the city, disfigured by the intense heat that enveloped around them—Other than that, he did not spot any peculiarities.
After exhausting all their energy, running continuously for ten minutes at their maximum speed, the four members of the squad were now very far from the spot where they were separated from Lin Sanjiu. The number of duoluozhongs chasing behind them had long dwindled to less than half the original sum, and the remaining few were quickly killed off with the joint efforts of Griselda and Gao Fei. Blood and pus spurted, sprayed, and splattered everywhere, creating a literal path of bloodbath behind the few of them… Fortunately, they were out of danger, for now.
Panting heavily, Gao Fei plopped down on the floor, wiping sweat off his face as he commented, “Even though it isn’t right for me to say this… If Luther’s friends didn’t get into trouble then, we might not have escaped so easily.”
Septimus’s face visibly darkened when he heard these words. He gave his face a rough wipe and remained silent with a somber expression. Not far from him, Xu Xiaoyang stood quietly with Griselda, guarding her like a bodyguard.
“I am bad with words, please don’t take it to heart.” Gao Fei felt the inappropriateness of his words when he saw Septimus’s expression, “Even though she is… gone, she was a kind person. Don’t forget this, she sacrificed her life to save others.”
Septimus raised his hands to cover his eyes. After a while, he placed his hands down and pretended as if he was composed, but the corners of his eyes were still red. Gao Fei felt bad when he saw him acting in that manner. He sighed and said, “You’re both good people. If you didn’t yell for us to run, I would have been dead meat by now…”
When he heard this, Septimus gave a wan smile, “Shouting a sentence is not that big of a deal.”
“If you didn’t take the initiative to stay at the rear of the group with me, who else would even cover my back?” Gao Fei got a little emotional as he spoke and gave Septimus’s shoulder a slap. “I think you should be about the same age as me, right? Why don’t we become sworn brothers when we get back?”
The teenager laughed candidly, and before Septimus could reply, he continued wilfully, “I am 17 this year, my birthday is in July… What about you? You’re younger than me by 2 months? Ha, then you should call me big brother… Don’t worry! I think you should have noticed that my ability is quite useful and practical. If you are in trouble, I’ll definitely help—”
“Stop your jibber-jabber! Are you done resting?” Xu Xiaoyang interrupted him suddenly, “Let’s go!” Before they stopped to rest, Xu Xiaoyang had made it clear that they will have to make a detour before they return to Oasis to inform the executives to send more backup to help eliminate the duoluozhongs. Even though the girl tried her best to sound threatening, her sweet adolescent voice made each word sound much milder, so Gao Fei didn’t mind complying. He dusted himself off and stood up.
“Uhh… all of you can leave first, you don’t have to be bothered with me,” Septimus said suddenly, giving a feeble smile and avoiding Gao Fei’s shocked expression.
“What are you saying? If you stay here alone, you’ll be eaten by duoluozhongs.”
“Even if I tried my best to keep up, I will just slow you down.” Septimus sighed softly and confessed reluctantly, “Actually, I sprained my leg just now. Basically, I can’t even stand up right now.”
“That won’t do. If we meet the duoluozhongs again, it will be difficult for you to run…” Septimus protested to no avail as Gao Fei pulled Septimus’s arms over his neck, latched his arm under Septimus’s knees and carried him in a piggyback manner. Luther had a height of over 1.7m, so he fit quite comfortably behind Gao Fei’s 1.9m frame. Gao Fei had extraordinary strength so the weight of Luther’s body was really nothing much to him. He flashed a smile at Xu Xiaoyang and gestured for them to start moving, “Let’s go!”
“Busybody,” Griselda muttered under her breath as she crouched down for Xu Xiaoyang to jump on her back. With that, the four of them started moving again. Even though Griselda brought a map with her, it did not show the area beyond Long Hua Road. To make sense of their direction, they had to stop now and then to look around. There were even instances where they had to turn back when they found out that they were heading in the wrong direction. After they defended themselves against a few surprise attacks, the factory compound finally came into view in the distance. Just then, Gao Fei realized that the arms around his neck started to shiver.
“Luther, what’s wrong?” he asked a little worriedly.
Septimus replied in a weak voice, “I think… I think I have a fever. I feel very, very cold....”
“Huh? Are you sure? Let me check!” Gao Fei quickly stopped, shoc
ked by Septimus’s reply. At the same time, Xu Xiaoyang also turned to look behind...
Everything happened in a split second, it was so fast that no one could even react in time. Gao Fei’s neck was suddenly torn open as arterial blood sprayed in all directions, creating a shower of blood. With his throat severed, blood gushed continuously into his trachea. Gao Fei could not say a single word, he struggled and only manage to make a few gurgling sounds. His bloodshot eyes burned with fury, and as he stood tottering near the brink of death, he tried his best to reach for his back...
Septimus slid down from Gao Fei’s back nimbly, holding a blood-covered knife. He stared expressionlessly at Gao Fei who was withering in pain, then he lifted his leg and delivered a kick to the back of Gao Fei’s knee.
“Bam!” Just like that, the tall figure fell to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. Blood poured out from Gao Fei’s neck, and soon he stopped moving. Under the silent night sky, the cloud of yellow sand dust obstructed the view of the bloody, gruesome aftermath. As the sand settled again, it revealed Septimus’s serene expression—on Luther’s face.
Xu Xiaoyang was totally stunned. She gripped Griselda’s clothes tightly as she turned pale. It took a while before she could react properly to what had happened. “Why… did you kill him?” she only realized how dry her throat was after she spoke.
Xu Xiaoyang furrowed her brows. She did not question how he knew that information, but instead asked, “What if your friends are not dead?”
“If that was the case, I’ll just kill them both. I’m sure it’ll be easier than dealing with Griselda.” Septimus took two steps to the left, carefully avoiding the blood that was still spilling out from Gao Fei’s corpse. The atmosphere had frozen for a moment before Xu Xiaoyang commanded curtly for Griselda to continue walking. After that, she turned to look back at Septimus, “You better watch out…” Turning back to the front, not intending to give Septimus another gaze, she said, “Don’t talk to me when we’re back at Oasis. I don’t like you.”
Chapter 49 - Marcie’s Crisis
Thirty minutes before, when Lin Sanjiu was trying to carve out a bloody path through the sea of duoluozhongs and when Septimus was still running for his life with the others, Marcie sat in the infirmary. She packed up the first aid equipment and placed them back into the refrigerator.
[This infirmary is most likely the last place in Oasis—perhaps even in the entire Shenghai Municipal— with a working refrigerator,] Marcie thought to herself feeling somewhat impressed. Under such high temperatures, syringes would melt, drugs would lose their potency and stability, and rubbing alcohol may even explode. The only way to properly store these medical supplies now was to keep them in a refrigerator. She recalled the first-aid box she had found in a small pharmacy. To think that she had nearly tried to use those moldy bandages in the first-aid box on Luther’s open wounds previously! She was really too anxious at that time, thankfully Hei Zeji gave them his medicine.
“Hey, you’re still here?”
While she was engrossed in her thoughts, the infirmary door opened without warning, and someone popped his head in.
“Oh, Executive Chen. I am just about to leave.” Marcie smiled and closed the refrigerator door.
Chen Jinfeng walked in, sat down in a chair by the examination table and remarked, “I met Tie Dao in the corridor just now. What you did with the bandaging looked professional! What was your job before?”
“I worked in a laboratory,” she replied briefly not expecting that it would pique Chen Jinfeng’s interest even more.
“Oh? What’s your research field?”
“Life Sciences,“ Marcie said curtly, “Executive Chen, you can continue sitting here, I am leaving first—“
Before she could finish her sentence, Chen Jinfeng suddenly grabbed her wrist when she walked past him. He smiled at her, “You don’t have to leave in a hurry… I still have something to say to you.”
Marcie pulled back her hand quickly and looked at him. After he had paused for a moment, Chen Jinfeng acted indifferently to her reaction and continued, “Come, sit down… sigh. Let me tell you something. In Oasis, we don’t have a lack of talented people in different fields. The only thing is that we don’t have a doctor. We have a nurse who works in the infirmary. She can tend to superficial injuries and common illnesses, but she is unable to handle anything more. Since you were a life sciences researcher, I presume you are also knowledgeable in medical science?”
“Do you mean that you want me to work as a physician here?” Marcie asked, feeling a bit awkward as she sat down opposite from him.
Chen Jinfeng clapped his hands together and smiled, “That’s right! Are you willing to do that? It is a meaningful job to help and save people!”
“It’s possible… When there are no missions, I am sure I can come over here to help,” Marcie said as she considered his proposition, she wanted to continue, but she suddenly felt something on her hand—she looked down and realized that Chen Jinfeng was stroking the back of her hand with his short stubby fingers. Marcie stood up immediately and glared at him in shock and anger. She was rendered speechless momentarily.
“Click.” The door was locked.
“What the hell are you doing!” Marcie panicked a little and quickly scanned her surroundings for something she could use to defend herself.
“Don’t be scared. I just want to talk to you,” as he said this, he walked over and sat on a small bed in the infirmary. He looked at Marcie and gave her an unsavory smile, “There are not many humans left in Oasis or rather the entire world. For human civilization to recover, it is not enough to rely on just the survivors. We must think about the next generation. So, the next step in my plan is to appeal to everyone to liberate themselves from the conventional taboos between men and women...” He patted the bed, signaling for Marcie to sit down beside him.
Without giving him a single glance, Marcie raced to the door like the wind. She reached for the lock and twisted it open easily. However, when she tried to open the door, it didn’t budge no matter how hard she pushed.
[Could this be his ability?]
Just as Marcie alternated between fear and anger, she heard Chen Jinfeng’s wet, obnoxious voice behind her: “Don’t you want to play your part in reviving human civilization? I heard that the more diverse parental genes are, the more intelligent their offspring will be…”
“Get away from me!” Marcie could not stand it any longer. She delivered a kick in Chen Jinfeng’s direction. Despite his short and bulky stature, Chen Jinfeng was surprisingly agile, so he dodged the attack easily.
“Don’t waste your energy. Once I activate my ability, this infirmary is my territory. There is no way you can leave without my permission, and no way anyone can come in…” He laughed as he threw his weight onto Marcie. Marcie buckled under the force and fell backward. Following which, Chen Jinfeng pushed her down and pressed his body against hers. He seemed to fully enjoy the woman’s resistance and the feeling of her struggling beneath him, he grasped both of Marcie’s arm with his hands. Without taking any other action, he sat on her and watched with narrowed eyes. “Wow, Caucasian women are really different… look at that buxom body…” He chuckled before violently thrusting his fist into Marcie’s stomach. Her body instantly curled like a shrimp. She was in so much pain that she could not even utter a word. Logically speaking, they both had enhanced bodies, so Marcie should be able to put up some resistance. However, she was now in Chen Jinfeng’s lair.
Chen Jinfeng grabbed her roughly, without any hesitation, groping her incessantly, “Oh, it’s so soft… Huh?” The firm roundness in his hands suddenly felt very strange—his hands were full one instance and empty the next. It was as if the woman’s body could evade him! Perplexed, he opened his eyes wide and stared. Under him, Marcie’s body flickered like a poor television image caused by bad reception. She disappeared for a second then appeared again with a sound of a snap the very next second. When she disappeared, Chen Jinfeng’s hands
immediately hit the ground.
Chen Jinfeng leaped up in shock, still staring at Marcie’s flickering body as he muttered, “What… what’s wrong with you…”
The person in front of him, whom now had almost an illusory quality and whose colors were fast fading, stood up and yelled, “Answer me!”
The circ.u.mstances changed, and Chen Jinfeng was now trying to get away from Marcie. “Who knows what they’re up to!” he retorted, a little anxiously. Feeling a sudden itch at the back of his neck, he touched the spot and realized that he had somehow received a small scratch wound. In an inexplicable manner, that small wound spurred him to reveal his hostility openly: “Consider yourself lucky today! Let me tell you the truth, those two friends of yours will never come back! If I want to get you, I still have plenty of chances in the future!” he warned menacingly.
Once he ended his sentence, there was a “snap” sound. This time, Marcie disappeared without a trace completely. Chen Jinfeng waited for a few seconds, but there was still nobody else in the room besides himself. Since he could not make sense of the situation, he quickly deactivated his ability and left the room hurriedly. Eight minutes after that occurred, Gao Fei carried Septimus on his back as the group of people started heading back to Oasis.
Chapter 50 - Sorry, I Destroyed Those Buildings
“What is with these tremors?” a man in a singlet, with a face full of sweat, asked. “It had been shaking for a while since just now… as if there is an earthquake. Then, the sounds of explosions…”