Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 36
In the narrow alley under the night sky.
The streetlight cast a sinister silhouette of the high-ranking officer from the S Army, making him appear like a viper slithering in the darkness.
Inside a nearby single-story house, the four players could only hold their breath, waiting for him to leave the alley. They refrained from taking any shots, not wanting to raise an alarm prematurely.
The area could be full of ambushes. With the assistance of the ghosts, they had cautiously made their way here, and they couldn’t afford to act recklessly now.
Only after the man was out of sight did the four emerge, one by one, jumping from the windows. They then circled back to the rear gate of the school.
The vast playground was brightly lit, and countless skeletal remains, glaring eerily under the illumination, seemed restless in death, as if yearning for revenge. Regrettably, their restless spirits were sealed by numerous talisman papers, rendering them unable to escape.
In the middle of the playground, there were about thirty wooden stakes with dark, dried blood visible on them. It was clear that many had been tied there and lost their lives. At the moment, 27 people were being herded under gunpoint and subsequently tied to the stakes. Through binoculars, Zhou Qian could see Jiang Yuqing prominently positioned at the center.
Once everyone was tied, a soldier approached Jiang Yuqing and spoke to him. Due to the distance, Zhou Qian and his team couldn’t hear the conversation, but they could guess that they were threatening him for some formulas or something similar.
About half a minute later, a series of explosions reverberated. The outskirts of the city’s core were under attack, with buildings being destroyed as the S Army advanced.
Now that Jiang Yuqing had been located, they didn’t hold back. Their intent was clear: destroy every possible hideout of the Falcon Squadron and, ideally, annihilate them.
Zhou Qian looked back to see half of the city ablaze.
However, upon closer inspection, the S Army had spared parts of the city. They probably didn’t want to damage the talismans and dog’s blood set up in haunted areas to avoid unleashing hordes of ghosts.
Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes slightly, then waved at his teammates, leading them back into the single-story house.
“Damn it! So frustrating!” He Xiaowei couldn’t help but whisper angrily, then quickly added, “Wait, how did Jiang Yuqing attend the wedding at the venue earlier?”
“I had thought that he might have slipped through the city’s smaller streets because there were fewer people. But now that doesn’t seem… possible.”
Yun Xiangrong pondered for a moment and replied, “Didn’t the officer mention that Jiang Yuqing was hiding in a basement? Maybe there are tunnels in this city? He could’ve used a tunnel to get to the wedding venue and then returned?”
Recalling the bizarre scene at the wedding where he had seen Jiang Yuqing, Zhou Qian nodded. “That’s very likely. Given that Jiang Yuqing and the others were found in the basement of the school cafeteria, maybe compared to other parts of the tunnels, the school offered better ventilation, ample food, and water supplies, making it their base.”
“The trapped scholars, with no combat experience, stayed hidden, unsure of potential ambushes in the city. Attending the wedding was an exception for Jiang Yuqing, given that he wanted to celebrate his comrade’s big day; hence, he took the risk.”
Zhou Qian lowered his voice. “No wonder he hurriedly gave the gift at the wedding, didn’t stay for the ceremony, and left without even entering the main hall. He needed to return to the city center urgently, concerned about his compatriots.”
“If the S Army found his compatriots while Jiang Yuqing was there, there might’ve been room for negotiation. Jiang Yuqing could’ve bartered his knowledge of the formulas with the S Army in exchange for their lives. But if they found out he wasn’t present, they might’ve simply executed them.”
Thinking of the bones on the playground, the two children forced into complicity, the bride in her fiery red dress, and the clear eyes of the girl from the photograph…
He Xiaowei’s anger bubbled, his chest heaving with rage.
Soon after, he heard Yun Xiangrong say, “Our mission is to take Jiang Yuqing to the west pier to catch a boat. So, if we follow the normal approach, we openly seize Jiang Yuqing, then take him through the heavy encirclement to the west pier… This is obviously impossible. It’s already hard for us to deal with the elite forces on the playground, not to mention the many more outside.”
“So, should we find a way to contact Jiang Yuqing and ask him for the location of the tunnels? Then we can use the tunnels to employ guerrilla tactics, moving outwards and escaping to the west pier?”
He Xiaowei said, “That’s also tough! How can we approach Jiang Yuqing and ask him where the tunnel is? How can we remember the complicated tunnel routes in such a short time?
“This world is actually constructed from Jiang Yuqing’s consciousness. In the real historical process, he might indeed have escaped through the tunnels. But for us, in this scenario, this task seems impossible!”
Walking to the window, He Xiaowei looked at the tower of the school from a distance and sighed deeply. “I heard Qian’er talk about his plan before, and it sounded so inspiring! I originally thought that we would rush to the tower and overlook the entire city center. We would take that highest ground, and whoever dared to approach would eat our bullets!”
Once the players captured the highest ground, when the S Army found Jiang Yuqing, whether they brought him to the playground or elsewhere, the city center was so small, and besides the tower, there were no other tall buildings. So, players could see every move of the S Army.
If things went smoothly, they could take down the enemies one by one. After that, they could take Jiang Yuqing and escape, shooting and throwing explosives and grenades along the way, with the four of them cooperating seamlessly until they brought Jiang Yuqing to the west pier…
However, all of this was just a fantasy in He Xiaowei’s mind.
He never expected the city center to be so brightly lit, and he never expected so many elite S Army troops, let alone… Jiang Yuqing and so many of his compatriots were now tied to the stakes on the playground.
“If we can’t come up with a solution… If Jiang Yuqing and those compatriots die. Our mission fails, right?” He Xiaowei said angrily, “I don’t care about the mission now; I just want to kill those S Army troops!”
For quite some time after this, only He Xiaowei and Yun Xiangrong spoke.
Situ Qing, always a woman of few words, remained silent, which was normal. Although she was a strong fighter, she rarely offered constructive suggestions when wisdom was required.
But now even Zhou Qian had been silent for a long time, which seemed unusual.
He Xiaowei turned to look for Zhou Qian. He saw Zhou Qian standing in the shadows of the building, in a spot the streetlight outside didn’t reach. All his expressions were hidden in the darkness, making him hard to read.
He Xiaowei walked over and asked, “Qian’er, don’t scare me. If you’re out of ideas… Wait, didn’t you say you had a real plan?”
After a moment, Zhou Qian’s deep yet confident voice came. “Don’t worry. I led you through the side quests, and I brought you into this main quest of this difficulty level. So I will definitely get you out.”
He Xiaowei uncertainly asked, “So, what now?”
Zhou Qian succinctly replied, “Wait.”
He Xiaowei: “Wait… for what?”
“For the two little dragons I sent out,” Zhou Qian said. “I can sense they are still alive. Now the external S Army has accelerated their sweep, moving quickly towards the city center. This might actually work in favor of my plan.”
“So your plan is—” He Xiaowei’s heart began to beat fast in excitement.
“When the time is right, you all follow my instructions.” As Zhou Qian said this, his eyes gleamed in the darkness.
Zhou Qian quickly stepped out of the shadows and opened the window. The depths of his eyes lit up brightly when hit by the lamp’s light.
“The S Army outside is heading towards the city while bombing houses on their way. They might bomb this place soon, so we need to leave this single-story house quickly.”
“By the end, a large number of the S Army will probably gather at the playground. It will be even more challenging for us to enter at that time. So, while there are only about ten people there, we should find a way in.”
Glancing in the direction of the school’s back playground, Zhou Qian continued, “There are a few big trees near the edge of the playground, close to the back door. Their canopies are dense and away from the light source. Let’s hide there for now.”
After issuing instructions to his team, the four of them quietly returned to the back door.
Through the iron gate, everyone attentively watched the movements on the playground.
The dozen or so S Army soldiers seemed to be waiting for their officer and the rest of the troops. Although the main forces were not present, they remained alert, each holding a gun, vigilantly monitoring their surroundings.
After observing for a while, Zhou Qian noticed a consistent and apparent pattern in their movements.
They all faced west uniformly, turned right to the north after two minutes, and then turned right again to the east two minutes later, and so on.
So, when they all turned their backs, Zhou Qian quickly signaled Situ Qing and He Xiaowei.
The two promptly drew their weapons and used their abilities, minimizing the noise.
After a moment, very soft bell and string plucking sounds emerged, fading quickly as if carried away by the night wind, almost like an illusion.
But this wasn’t an illusion. The sound was real.
The sound waves, together with a slight snowy breeze, swept across the ground. Two minutes later, from the alley behind the single-story house to a part of the back door of the playground, the talisman paper and dog blood vanished.
Time was limited, and the area they cleared was small. But for now, it was enough.
After clearing the ground, Zhou Qian threw a few pebbles he had picked up earlier onto the road behind.
The rhythmic “tap-tap-tap” of the pebbles was a pre-agreed signal with the hidden ghosts.
At that moment, upon hearing Zhou Qian’s signal, a dozen ghosts appeared.
At Zhou Qian’s gesture, they quickly passed through the school’s back door, heading straight to the playground.
A significant part of the playground was still covered with talisman paper. If the spirits rashly entered the covered area, they would be sealed.
But the S Army soldiers stationed at the playground didn’t know that the talisman paper near the back door had been cleared. When they looked at the back door and saw a group of ghosts rushing at them, they initially believed that the talisman paper was ineffective against them.
The soldiers of the S Army were thrown into a momentary panic. Their formation quickly disintegrated, and they hurriedly discussed countermeasures. Two even ran off with their guns, perhaps to seek advice from an officer.
However, their confusion didn’t last long.
Firstly, these soldiers were well-trained elites from the S Army and would not flee easily when faced with danger. Secondly, they soon realized that the ghosts only hovered near the back door and couldn’t approach them.
After a while, they noticed the ghosts had retreated.
No matter how powerful those two kids were or how many ghosts they sealed, there must be some that slipped through the cracks in the city.
Regardless, with the talisman paper and dog blood covering the playground, it seemed the ghosts couldn’t get in.
This was what the soldiers thought.
They were unaware that during their brief moment of chaos and negligence, four people had sneaked into the playground using the ghosts as a distraction. These individuals then climbed up two tall trees and concealed themselves among the dense canopies.
After the four players successfully sneaked into the playground and hid in the trees, they waited, just as Zhou Qian had suggested.
About fifteen minutes later, the main forces of the S Army arrived.
The school’s back door faced a residential area, with long streets on the other three sides.
From their vantage point in the trees, the players could vaguely see that the three streets were packed with people, giving a sense of the scale of the S Army’s numbers. It was indeed not a situation where players should confront them head-on.
The three wide streets were packed with people. Not only that, but in no time, the back field was occupied by countless soldiers from the S Army. Looking around, the entire field had been divided into squares, with only the central area left empty. That was where our 27 compatriots were tied up.
Soon after, the interrogation of Jiang Yuqing officially began.
The officer that the players had seen before walked out, and he started to loudly berate and threaten Jiang Yuqing.
As befitting someone of a general’s stature, his voice was intimidating, making one’s blood run cold upon hearing it. Even the soldiers from the S Army standing next to him straightened up, not uttering a word or even daring to blink.
Hidden in a tall tree, Zhou Qian remained as still as a mountain, staring intently at the bound Jiang Yuqing.
Though he held a military rank, Jiang Yuqing was always a scholar, having never held a gun. His demeanor was still scholarly and refined. Yet, at this moment, he showed no sign of fear.
Zhou Qian couldn’t see his facial features clearly, but he could see Jiang’s head held high, never once bowing down.
The officer from the S Army approached Jiang Yuqing and whispered something, then suddenly fired his gun.
The target wasn’t Jiang Yuqing, but a compatriot to his left. After a loud gunshot, blood sprayed out, staining half of Jiang Yuqing’s face red. However, he still looked straight ahead, displaying unwavering determination.
Only his clenched fists subtly revealed his inner rage and injustice.
Raising his pistol, the officer blew into the muzzle of the gun. He then had someone untie Jiang Yuqing.
After being freed, Jiang Yuqing was held at gunpoint by two people. Soon, a table was placed in front of him, and a pen was forcibly shoved into his hand.
The officer shouted, “Write down what we want, and we’ll treat you well! But if you’re stubborn, just like how your compatriot just died… the others will suffer the same fate. Every ten minutes, one will die!”
As soon as the officer finished speaking, someone among the compatriots shouted, “Dr. Jiang! Don’t tell them! Once we develop that weapon, we can annihilate all of them! Then, our country will never be in this situation again!”
Another person chimed in, “Yes, Dr. Jiang! Our lives don’t matter! You must never reveal the secret of the weapon to the enemy!”
Two gunshots rang out, and the two individuals were immediately killed.
Jiang Yuqing’s shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably.
The officer pointed his gun at Jiang Yuqing’s face, tapping him with it and said, “You’ve just lost twenty minutes.”
Jiang Yuqing looked at him almost calmly and said, “The experimental data and formula have already been handed over to the Seventh Army’s experimental base. You can kill us all. Consider it as us giving our lives for the people of Cyress City. But don’t expect to hear a word out of me—”
Jiang Yuqing’s words were interrupted by a gunshot, hitting him in the shin.
He stumbled, almost kneeling, but even with the excruciating pain, he managed to hold onto the table and stand.
He’d sworn never to kneel before the enemy!
“You have ten minutes left. After ten minutes, another one dies,” the officer declared. “If I kill six of you, that would take an hour… We don’t have that much time to waste on you. The first six are lucky; I’ll shoot them in the head. The rest… will be tortured. An hour later, I’ll start with their eyes and ears, use electric torture, waterboarding, one by one. When all of them are dead, it’ll be your turn, Dr. Jiang.”
At this moment, near the back door and up a tree, Zhou Qian could feel that He Xiaowei, who was very close to him, was trembling with rage to the point that the treetop started to sway. Pressing down on his shoulder, Zhou Qian said, “Hold on.”
He Xiaowei whispered, “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m so angry! Qian’er, what are you waiting for?”
Even though the situation was dire, Zhou Qian still said, “Wait a little longer. Stay calm.”
Ten minutes later, there was another gunshot as the S Army’s officer executed another person.
He Xiaowei, drenched in sweat, turned to Zhou Qian, but Zhou Qian just sat quietly on the tree trunk, lips pursed tightly together, not saying a word.
Another ten minutes later.
The third compatriot was killed.
This time, he didn’t die from a gunshot. Instead, two people simultaneously stabbed him with their knives.
Out of what seemed like sheer fury, they repeatedly stabbed him, causing blood to instantly flood the floor. Even the white paper placed on the table in front of Jiang Yuqing by the enemy was completely stained red.
The red color seemed to further excite the commander of the S Army.
He chuckled softly, picked up the paper to smell it, seemingly enjoying its scent, and then instructed his subordinates to replace it with a new sheet for Jiang Yuqing to write data and formulas.
The scene was too much for He Xiaowei to bear. He turned to Zhou Qian, almost growling, “Qian’er, you—”
Suddenly, Zhou Qian interrupted in a deep voice, “They’re here!”
Who’s here? What’s here?
Following Zhou Qian’s gaze, He Xiaowei looked towards the bungalows behind them. He saw two little dragons, escorted by ghosts, moving through the darkness and lamplight from the deep alleyways.
The two little dragons hopped around adorably. One held a uniform from the Seventh Army, and the other held a peculiar brush. It was unclear what its purpose was.
The scene was eerily humorous—two frolicking little dragons followed by countless pale, footless spirits.
But He Xiaowei didn’t find it amusing. Sensing what Zhou Qian planned to do, his blood began to boil.
“What’s that brush?” He Xiaowei asked with uncertainty.
Zhou Qian replied, “It’s the [Bling Bling Brush] we got from the last instance. Blood, mud, sweat stains, dust… everything can be cleaned by it. That’s what the skill description says.”
He Xiaowei exhaled a hot breath. “So…”
“So, imagine how powerful the resentment energy would be from the countless spirits in this city, and from all the corpses?”
Zhou Qian drew a knife and made a cut on his wrist.
He spoke softly yet firmly. “I’m amplifying my power.”
Zhou Qian’s abilities were limited. Without the power of resentment, his ultimate skill would be harmless. But the damage from this ability had no limit. With the entire city’s population massacred, Zhou Qian could now channel the city’s anger and injustice to avenge all of them!
As the blood dripped from Zhou Qian’s wrist, He Xiaowei gasped in horror, “Those two little dragons—!!! Oh my god!”
Before He Xiaowei could elaborate, Zhou Qian saw it—the two little dragons had fallen. The city center had been heavily surrounded by the S army. It wasn’t easy for them to get this far under the protection of the ghosts. They probably got shot earlier but forced themselves to run here to show Zhou Qian.
The S Army used two children to seal the ghosts.
Earlier, Zhou Qian had the two dragons discreetly clean up all the dog’s blood and talisman papers in the city to unseal all of them. Using the uniform of the Seventh Army as a signal, he summoned all the spirits to the city’s center. The little dragons, having accomplished their task, turned into dull scales as they collapsed.
Glancing at them, Zhou Qian’s eyes reddened with anger. He then looked back at the center of the playground. Gripping his knife tighter, his health began to drop rapidly.
[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 70%]
[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 40%]
……
“He Xiaowei, you have two tasks. First, in the chaos, work with Situ Qing to clean up the dog’s blood and talisman papers on the playground; second, keep my health stable at 9%!”
At this moment, spirits surged from all directions, forming an overwhelming tide about to engulf the playground. Cries of sorrow, anger, and hatred echoed as they all targeted the S Army.
In the past, they were ruthlessly slaughtered, but their attachment to their homeland kept them lingering.
Today, as powerful spirits, they would seek revenge for themselves, their loved ones, and their violated lands!
Dark clouds loomed abruptly, and the radiance of the stars and moon in the sky was completely devoured. A chilly wind swiftly swept across the entire playground. With the sudden drop in temperature in this region, it was as if the gates of hell had flung wide open, letting out an icy wave tinged with the scent of death. Every member of the S Army shivered, nearly wounded without even battling.
Meanwhile, up in the tree branches.
[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 9%]
Ignoring his pain, Zhou Qian quickly wrapped his injured left wrist with a bandage from his toolkit. He then raised the Rib of God with his right hand, standing tall atop a tree.
“Being the villain that I am, driven by circumstances, if this instance demands me to play the hero, then I shall honor that role.”
“Those who invade our land and massacre our brethren—all must die!”
As his words faded, Zhou Qian leapt down from the tree.
“Bang, bang, bang”, several bullets shot towards him.
Yet, astonishingly, several skeletons appeared rapidly in front of him, blocking all the bullets before falling apart onto the ground.
Seeing this, the officer nearest to Jiang Yuqing was taken aback. He lifted his gun and fired another bullet at Zhou Qian. Yet Zhou Qian, unfazed, continued forward, waving the bone in his right hand. The shattered bones at his feet swiftly reassembled into humanoid forms. Within moments, they surged up again, blocking another bullet for him!
From 300 meters away, that officer panicked, his gun-holding hand trembling. Suddenly, the temperature on the playground dropped further. Thousands of ice and snowflakes solidified from thin air and descended layer by layer, followed by a massive sound wave that flattened the snow and wiped away every talisman and drop of dog blood on the ground.
Beneath the playground lay the corpses of hundreds of teachers and students. At this moment, the seals were suddenly lifted, and hundreds of ghosts appeared. Driven by their own hatred and the Rib of God in Zhou Qian’s hand, they headed towards every soldier on the field.
Simultaneously, as Zhou Qian waved the bone, hundreds of skeletons also rose to their feet. At his command, they charged at the soldiers!
The well-arranged squads on the playground became chaotic. No matter how advanced their weapons, they were no match for the spirits or the fury and thirst for vengeance. Even their elite training didn’t help, as they ran around like headless chickens.
The skeletons feared no bullets; even if blown apart, they could instantly reassemble. The ghosts were impervious to weapons, attacking the myriad of soldiers as if meeting no resistance!
In no time, over a thousand soldiers on the school’s back playground were killed by the skeletons or ghosts. A few who managed to escape the chaos and run out of the school gates found themselves facing hordes of spirits coming in like a tide from the city’s outskirts, consuming them in an instant.
And to their horror, they realized that the main forces on the three streets were entirely disarmed, decimated by the pervasive yin qi, collapsing to the ground in agony.
The situation was more favorable than expected.
The S Army feared ghosts, making children seal them; if they found a way to lift the seals, the ghosts would deal with the S Army. It was a straightforward logic to clear the level.
The most challenging part was dispersing the dense talismans and dog blood in the heavily guarded city core. Without resolving this, spirits from other places couldn’t advance, even if their seals were lifted. But Zhou Qian’s unique skill could forcibly summon spirits from kilometers away under the effect of the Rib of God skill, assembling them into an unstoppable army.
Amidst the overwhelming victory, Zhou Qian stepped forward until he reached the once arrogant officer, now trembling in fear on his knees.
Pulling out a gun he had previously acquired, Zhou Qian pressed it against the officer’s forehead. Without hesitation, he blew the man’s head off.
Blood splattered, and Zhou Qian, with a look of displeasure, stepped aside to avoid the mess. Once the blood had settled, he continued walking. With countless spirits behind him and surrounded by skeletons, amidst the triumphant cheers of the spirits, he approached Jiang Yuqing.
Jiang Yuqing seemed a bit stunned. Due to a gunshot wound in his leg, he couldn’t stand firmly and still clutched the table for support.
Seeing this, Zhou Qian walked over and gently grasped Jiang Yuqing’s wrist, helping him to stand.
Zhou Qian then smiled at him and said softly, “Mr. Jiang, I’ve come to save you.”
Jiang Yuqing turned his head to meet Zhou Qian’s gaze. In that moment, it was as if an invisible dark cloud had dispersed. Zhou Qian could finally see his true appearance.
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