Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 121: No Escape
Xu Wang never felt that fifteen minutes could be so long.
He was huddled with his little companions in the main group, following in the footsteps of those ahead without deviation, not because of the rules but out of sheer desire.
But no matter how cautious you are, an intersection will invariably appear in front of the group.
It was an eight-lane intersection with a wide road. At that moment, the light was red. The longitudinal traffic was stopped, and the lateral traffic was moving in an orderly manner.
Xu Wang’s throat tightened, and he felt a sense of dread.
Now, at every intersection, he felt as if dark clouds hovered above, and the road signs seemed to spell out ominous paths.
“Ding—”
[Cheat Sheet]: Countdown over, stationery unlocked.
The sound of the ding was like a lifesaver. Xu Wang immediately activated the protective gear he had been longing to use!
[Someone used [(Defense) Golden Bell Shield] on you~~]
[Someone used [(Defense) Righteous Energy Shield] on you~~]
[Someone used [(Defense) Unmovable Umbrella] on you~~]
As soon as he activated one stationery, three notifications sounded…
Xu Wang, Qian Ai, Chi Yingxue, the three fastest, or rather, the most desperate to survive, looked at each other in silence.
Wu Sheng, who almost used his stationery, retracted his hand from the [Stationery Box]. He was glad that he always played it safe, not chasing false speed. Otherwise, he would have had quadruple protection now.
Kuang Jinxin looked up at the sky-blocking [Unmovable Umbrella], then turned to look at the swirling [Righteous Energy Shield] and the shining, reflective [Golden Bell Shield], and immediately felt a sense of security.
“Three is good. Better to be safe.” Thinking of this, Xu Wang felt relieved.
With the stationery activated, the five of them and the other travelers around them maintained a safe distance, but they still followed the leader’s route, staying within the group.
The fellow travelers seemed indifferent to the sudden appearance of the defense stationery. They had become accustomed to oddities. Even if someone died right in front of them, they would continue on unfazed. What’s an extra umbrella or shield?
With the stationery in hand, Xu Wang’s anxiety eased slightly. He then remembered the man who had spoken to him before the gas explosion.
“Do you suspect he’s the demon?” Wu Sheng understood the captain’s intent as soon as Xu Wang brought it up.
“It’s not suspicion.” Xu Wang looked back at the man who had fallen to the back of the group. “It’s just that he mentioned the restaurant smelled good, and then it exploded. That’s too much of a coincidence.”
Wu Sheng also glanced at the man, who was now chatting happily with a petite, delicate girl.
Turning his gaze away, Wu Sheng said, “Let’s not think about it for now.”
Xu Wang was puzzled. This was their mission. What else should they think about?
Just as he was about to ask, the group suddenly stopped. Xu Wang looked up and understood what Wu Sheng meant.
They had reached the intersection.
This was a critical juncture. It was crucial to focus on saving their own lives. As for the demon, let someone else worry about it.
There were 20 seconds left on the red light.
The travelers at the front of the group stopped and almost completely blocked the side of the road. Xu Wang and others in the middle part were essentially the second layer of the crowd. Despite this, Xu Wang felt uneasy and, protecting his teammates, retreated two steps back, blending with those originally at the end of the group to form the last layer of people waiting for the red light. They were at least two rows of people away from the roadside, a distance of one and a half meters.
10 seconds left.
The traffic flowing sideways seemed normal.
5 seconds.
4 seconds.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second…
Xu Wang’s heart rose to his throat, almost holding his breath at the last second.
The red light went out, and the green light came on. The lateral traffic had cleared, and no new cars came. The vertical traffic began to move slowly.
The leader raised the flag and stepped onto the pedestrian crossing, calling to the group to keep up…
Xu Wang sighed in relief, following the group slowly, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
The eight-lane road was wide, but with 60 seconds of green light, they had enough time.
The travelers at the front walked a bit fast, but the group of five wasn’t in a hurry. They walked steadily forward. The five travelers at the back, including the chatty cook and the girl, were even more leisurely.
So, when the leader and half of the travelers had already reached the opposite sidewalk, walking a few meters away, Xu Wang’s group still had two lanes of traffic to cross.
At that moment, a sports car’s engine roared from the right. It sounded like it was speeding through a red light!
Xu Wang finally understood why there hadn’t been a single car in the lateral direction for so long. The road was clear for this deadly sports car!
Driven by instinct, he unconsciously wanted to run forward to cross the remaining lanes as quickly as possible.
But in the moment he lifted his leg, he hesitated.
His alert nerves made him turn his head to the right. The fiery red sports car, approaching rapidly, was targeting the last lane!
At the same time, Wu Sheng also stopped Qian Ai from running forward, and Chi Yingxue restrained Kuang Jinxin—Advisor Wu’s rational instinct and Chi Yingxue’s wild instinct sensed danger.
However, the few people at the back of the group, upon hearing the engine, quickened their pace and suddenly overtook the five friends!
“Don’t…” Xu Wang wanted to shout for them not to run, but it was too late.
As they reached the last lane, the fiery red sports car also arrived!
Xu Wang’s breath caught!
Unexpectedly, the cook at the back, in a split-second decision, opened his arms and pulled himself and the four others onto the sidewalk!
The fiery red sports car passed behind those five people and in front of Xu Wang’s group, creating a gust of wind!
The five who narrowly escaped death barely stabilized themselves, turned around, and watched the dust raised by the car, both shocked and relieved.
Xu Wang also took a deep breath, as if he had just brushed past death himself.
“Make way, hurry!” Suddenly, an anxious shout came from the sidewalk.
Xu Wang was startled and saw an electric delivery scooter speeding along the sidewalk. Before he could get a clear look, the scooter crashed into the five people who had just stepped onto the sidewalk!
Two of them fell to the side, while the cook, the petite girl, and another person were knocked back into the last lane of traffic.
They fell in a jumble, unable to get up. Just as Xu Wang was about to help, he felt a breeze from the right.
Instinctively turning his head, he only caught a glimpse of blue.
Then, with a “bang”, the three people in the lane were hit and sent flying.
At the same time, Xu Wang felt a huge impact on his [Golden Bell Shield], almost knocking him off balance.
The blue sports car’s windshield shattered, but it sped past Xu Wang’s group without slowing down.
Unlike the red car, it was silent from beginning to end, like a ghost.
The three people hit were scattered across different lanes, all bleeding onto the road. The cook, who had spoken to Xu Wang earlier, lay lifeless, his head half-crushed.
Xu Wang turned away, unable to bear the sight, feeling nauseous.
The green light turned red again.
The five friends finally stepped onto the sidewalk.
These last few meters felt like a walk through hell.
The death toll rose to five.
The [Golden Bell Shield] was broken, and the [Unmovable Umbrella] was gone. Only Qian Ai’s [Righteous Energy Shield] remained.
Following the group for a while, Xu Wang finally calmed down.
“Protection isn’t infallible…” He told his teammates with a grave expression.
Qian Ai patted his chest, like a guardian. “Don’t worry, at least my [Righteous Energy Shield] is still here.”
Wu Sheng glanced at him. “That’s because the attributes don’t match.”
Qian Ai: “Huh?”
Kuang Jinxin: “Righteous qi against evil qi, Qian Ge, your armor is clearly meant for defense against supernatural attacks.”
Xu Wang: “So, it can’t prevent collisions, nor will it be destroyed by impact forces.”
Qian Ai: “…Then why didn’t you remind me when I used it before?”
Kuang Jinxin: “I thought you were using it to guard against demons and ghosts.”
Xu Wang: “As a complement to physical defense for me and Xiao Xue.”
Wu Sheng: “I was almost about to praise you for your thoroughness.”
Qian Ai despaired. “You guys are overdramatizing this…”
“Stop chattering.” The leader had come over at some point and chided them. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
The five companions were stunned.
The leader sighed with irritation, saying, “It’s too dangerous on the road. In just a short while, so many things have happened.”
The five companions were just about to comment on the danger-awareness of the leader!
But the leader smiled like a spring breeze. “Next, we’ll take the subway.”
The five companions: “……”
Qian Ai: “Wait, leader, maybe reconsider? The surface is dangerous, but underground is even more unsafe!”
Leader: “The subway is the safest mode of transportation.”
Xu Wang: “Safety is useless. We could die just crossing the street at a traffic light!”
Leader: “You don’t need to cross streets in the subway.”
Wu Sheng: “Think about it again.”
Leader: “I’ve already considered it thoroughly.”
Chi Yingxue: “Can we leave the group?”
Leader: “No.”
Kuang Jinxin: “We’ll run on the surface.”
Leader: “The subway fare is included in the group fee. It’s a mandatory expense.”
Xu Wang, Wu Sheng, Kuang Jinxin, Chi Yingxue, Qian Ai: “……”
During the conversation, the group arrived at the subway station entrance. Excluding Xu Wang and his group, there were still twenty-seven people left.
In such a situation, any further nonsense could lead to distraction and death, so the companions didn’t dare to argue with the leader any longer. They focused entirely, stepping down the stairs and entering the subway station.
The sun had reached its highest point. It was noon.
Despite it being midday, the subway station was crowded, like during the morning rush hour, teeming with people, bustling, and packed tightly.
The sunlight from above didn’t reach inside the station. Instead, the cool air from the central air conditioning was quite strong, chilling people’s backs.
The tour group squeezed into a boarding area in the middle of the platform, with the increasing number of waiting passengers behind them, unconsciously or consciously pushing the people in front.
“Stop pushing. The train hasn’t arrived yet—” Qian Ai yelled, frustrated, but to little effect.
However, they were in the middle of the waiting crowd, with layers of people ahead and safety doors on the platform, so even those at the very front, at most, would just be pressed against the safety doors, not in danger of falling onto the tracks.
But such crowding made it really suffocating.
A gust of cold air came from the empty subway track’s end—the subway was arriving.
The pushing force of the waiting crowd suddenly increased. Those at the front couldn’t bear it any longer, continuously shouting, “Don’t push, don’t push”…
In this noisy and chaotic scene, the subway roared in.
Finally, when the train stopped and the safety doors and train doors opened almost simultaneously, the waiting passengers swarmed and squeezed in, while those wanting to get off struggled to make their way out.
Fortunately, not many were getting off, and soon it became a lively scene of everyone squeezing in.
The five companions were pushed apart. Although they were at the same door, their positions were scattered. Chi Yingxue and Kuang Jinxin somehow got to the front, Wu Sheng and Xu Wang were in the middle, and Qian Ai ended up at the back.
As the four got on the train, Qian Ai was still squeezing from outside. Seeing the carriage already full, boarding became increasingly difficult. Almost all of the tour group had boarded, making Qian Ai anxious.
If he couldn’t get on, he would definitely be left behind!
Determined, he took a deep breath, and with a “huff—” he pushed forward with force!
With Qian Ai’s push, the row in front was pushed into the subway, and the already packed carriage somehow squeezed in five or six more people.
It was now completely full. Qian Ai, pressed against the back, was stuck outside the subway door, just a body’s width away from getting in!
The door closing warning sound beeped.
Qian Ai panicked, instinctively stepping back.
He thought, even if he had to leave the group, it was better than getting caught between the safety door and the subway door. If the train started, he would be crushed!
But as he stepped back, his body didn’t move an inch!
Qian Ai turned back sharply. Those who couldn’t get on the train were still desperately trying. They didn’t care about the doors closing and continued to press against him!
The doors of the subway and the safety doors both began to close slowly…
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