Chapter 205: Don’t Say It

For decades, Spring City had never been as festive as tonight.

Explosions rang out like firecrackers with no end in sight. Flames rose and fell like fireworks, their echoes overlapping in waves, while dazzling bursts of light spread in every direction.

All of it came from the ghost cars Ji Jue had sent out. The first wave, eleven vehicles in total, had already departed. The second batch of vehicles were already in position and on standby, silently waiting for their turn.

There was no need to worry about raw materials. Spring City’s ruins and streets were full of them. Abandoned vehicles were everywhere, and some didn’t even need repairs. At worst, they could strip parts from one car to patch up another. With enough scavenging and improvising, they could always cobble together a few complete vehicles.

Using record modification from Aether Series One, Xu Guan turned the plastic mannequins they had carried out of the shopping mall into corpses and stuffed them into the vehicles as decorative touches for the explosives. Then the cars set off eagerly, as if they could hardly wait any longer.

After all that waiting and suffering, they finally set off on their final ride, ready to go out in a blaze of glory.

Repairing and reinforcing the frames alone had used up all the spirit matter scavenged from the previous battlefield. After that, the support from Deus Ex Machina had nearly drained Mr. Watch’s entire spirit matter reserve.

One by one, the vehicles were fitted with armor plates, or at least made to look as though they had been armored. With that, they were complete. Loaded to the brim with homemade explosives, they left to deliver a few surprises to the members of the Heretic Cult.

Unfortunately, fuel was scarce, and whatever had been left in the gas stations had long since evaporated. The homemade explosives they had scraped together from whatever materials they could find on-site were still somewhat lacking in power. Otherwise, the fireworks would have been even brighter, louder, and livelier.

In just over two hours, everyone saw how much trouble two craftsmen, who were basically useless on the front line, could stir up once they threw caution to the wind.

Exquisite Work handled the preliminary processing of the materials, while Pacifier was responsible for mixing and production. The rapport and teamwork the two young men had built in the Recycling and Processing Department had turned their workflow into a full-blown illegal production line.

Ji Xue, who had accelerated the flow of time around to make up for the shortage of materials, was so exhausted she was on the verge of keeling over. Now, all those carefully prepared surprises were being delivered straight to the Heretic Cult.

After this series of deliberate feints and misdirections, they would probably focus even more seriously on guarding the roads leading out of the city from the Security Bureau, leaving them with no attention to spare for anything else.

The vehicle driven by Tong Shan came to a silent stop on one of Spring City’s dark streets. From a distance, he looked toward the ruins of an utterly ordinary shopping mall.

Xu Guan lowered his head and compared the location with the map that had surfaced in his record book, as well as the response from the signal. “This is the place.”

Everyone drew their weapons silently. At the very back, Ji Jue reached into Horsey’s cargo bed and pulled out a case that was more than half his height and selected the heavy parts inside.

Soon, a massive firearm resembling a sniper rifle took shape in his hands. Its crude, unpainted body trembled faintly, and as the bullets clicked into place, it seemed to vibrate with hunger.

Ji Jue stroked its sharp edges, murmuring as if soothing it, “Not yet, but soon.”

The night was deep and dark.

Xu Guan was drenched in sweat, pouring every last bit of his spirit matter into the task. On the sheet of white paper in his hand, the map shifted and expanded. Within the reflected image, a complex, interwoven structure appeared on the paper, along with red dots that were either moving or standing still.

The haze slowly cleared, and the image came into focus.

Tong Shan’s gaze settled on the center of the map. There, a signal marked the presence of a Rebirth Realm Chosen One. “Found them. There are eleven Chosen Ones in total: one in the Rebirth Realm, four in Metamorphosis Realm, and the rest are all in the Resonance Realm. There are also quite a few aberrant monsters, and beasts of doom may appear.”

He spread the map across the table. “Once the attack begins, I’ll cover the entire mall and cut off their communications with the outside world. I’ll handle the one in the Rebirth Realm. Can the rest of you handle the others?”

Everyone nodded in perfect unison.

As his attending physician, Ji Jue had keenly sensed that Tong Shan was at his limit. “Tong Shan, are you sure you’re all right?”

Mr. No-Fun didn’t answer him directly. Instead, with his usual irritating tone and expression, he brushed the question aside and reminded him flatly, “Address me by my title during work. That isn’t something you need to worry about.”

Ji Jue rolled his eyes but said nothing.

“Good. Then we proceed according to the plan. Xu Guan, stay in the vehicle and don’t move. Just provide us with information and keep yourself safe. Barring any unexpected interference, we have three minutes. If we haven’t taken them all down within three minutes, we withdraw immediately. Understood?”

“Understood!” everyone answered in perfect unison.

“Good.” Tong Shan smiled in satisfaction, took off the Mouth of the Ancient Ones, and handed it back to Ji Jue. “Everyone, get into position and prepare yourselves.”

After he consumed large amounts of food and sugar, the wound on his back had mostly closed. He looked as if he had returned to peak condition, but only Ji Jue knew just how much this guy was forcing himself to look fine.

Even so, he didn’t speak up to refute or raise any objections. This was the only feasible option they had right now. There was no other way out anymore. They could only move forward.

Tong Shan hadn’t said, not even once, that if he abandoned all of them and escaped on his own, his chances of survival would be much higher, or that for the sake of the bigger picture, they should sacrifice themselves to cover his retreat.

He would rather die than abandon his companions. So what was Ji Jue supposed to say?

Tong Shan had already gone this far for them. At a time like this, aside from giving it everything he had, what else was Ji Jue supposed to do? Run away at the last second? All he could do was go all out and make sure he didn’t drag anyone down.

This time, every single one of them was putting their life on the line.

“All right. Radio check first. Once we’ve synchronized our watches, each group will split up and take its positions.” Tong Shan waved a hand. “Don’t linger in the vehicle. It’s time to move.”

The doors opened, and everyone scattered in their respective directions. Along the way, Lou Feng tried several times to say something, but no words ever came out.

It wasn’t until he followed Ji Jue to the broken edge of the building and lay down beside him, looking through the night wind toward the mall not far away, that he finally tried to speak.

“Don’t overthink it. You’re not a burden,” Ji Jue said. “Whether Madam Lou lives or dies isn’t something people like us can decide. This isn’t your fault. All we can do is our best.”

“No...” Lou Feng sighed.

“I know. She’s family, after all. It’s only natural that you’re worried about her. But right now, your priority should be staying alive,” Ji Jue said. “None of us knows whether we’ll live to see tomorrow, and Spring City is in shambles. You should have a little more faith in your aunt. If we can all survive this, Madam Lou will definitely be fine, too... Hm? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Lou Feng was speechless for a long while. Finally, he said, “I was trying to tell you that you’re stepping on my foot.”

“Huh? Oh... Ahem. Sorry.” Ji Jue looked down in surprise and awkwardly moved his foot away. “I didn’t notice.”

“It’s fine. Thanks.”

Ji Jue froze. He turned back and stared at Lou Feng for a long moment, suspecting that his ears had deceived him. “Did you just... thank me?”

“Like hell I did!” Lou Feng kicked him in the backside. “Would it kill you to focus on the job? Stop running your mouth already!”

“I was just worried you’d be nervous!” Ji Jue forced a smile, trying to hide the twitch in his expression.

The truth was, he was nervous too. He was nervous as hell. When Mr. No-Fun wasn’t in full serious mode, he could still act like a decent human being, but once he went into serious mode, he stopped acting human altogether. His plans were downright insane. And the worst part was Ji Jue had been the one to suggest the plan in the first place!

In all fairness, he got along quite well with everyone in the team. They bonded well, and the future had seemed promising. If anyone died here because of him, Ji Jue would probably feel awful about it for years.

He didn’t have many friends, and yet Mr. No-Fun had introduced him to so many. Every one of them liked him and welcomed him without any false courtesy or pretense. From the moment he joined the team and shook their hands, they had made it clear to him that they were true friends.

From now on, we’re friends.

I’ve got your back, bro.

I’ll send some business your way.

Not bad, bro.

This was how they got him. Getting emotionally attached was fucking expensive... and even harder on the heart.

“Young Master Lou, you’d better hang in there. Don’t you dare die,” Ji Jue reminded him.

“Can you shut the fuck up?” Lou Feng flicked his wrist and tossed over the bullets in his hand, which had been enhanced with Exquisite Work and shaped through Spirit Morph. “I’m begging you. Can you please stop talking?”

“No. I’m nervous.”

“You son of a—”

“In position,” Ji Liu interrupted.

Ji Xue, Jiang Xuan, and finally Tong Shan responded.

Ji Jue took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and lay down in his assigned position, adjusting the scope. “In position.”

Everyone was where they were supposed to be.

One Rebirth Realm fighter, five Metamorphosis Realm fighters, and Ji Jue, a complete Resonance rookie, were launching a raid on a branch of the Heretic Cult in one desperate strike with no way out.

Ji Jue could feel sweat on his palms. Fortunately, Deus Ex Machina didn’t rely on his aim. He narrowed his eyes and leaned in toward the scope, slowing his breathing until his heartbeat reverberated in his ears like thunder.

In that moment, it was as if flowing light spread out from thin air, rippling until it covered the entire mall. Then, like the crushing pressure of the deep sea, it exploded without reservation.

Destruction was underway. The faint membrane of light covering the mall appeared for a brief moment, riddled with cracks and holes. Then, behind Tong Shan, three figures charged in at once. The piercing alarm didn’t even have time to sound before it was suppressed by telekinesis.

Amid the violent tremors and raging wind, Tong Shan descended from the sky, smashed through the glass dome, and casually crushed the small fry within his line of sight. Then he lifted one finger and pointed forward.

A telekinetic storm flared up.

The numerous specks of dust were the first to be swept up. Then came the deafening rupture as load-bearing beams split, snapped in the middle, and collapsed. Under his targeted devastation, the entire mall shook, slowly crumbling.

Amid the chaos, someone cursed. Violent arcs of lightning burst out from the spot Tong Shan was focused on, racing forth at an astonishing speed before crashing into an invisible wall and bouncing back, revealing a gaunt figure. An Entropy-type!

The moment he saw Tong Shan, his expression went pale, and his mouth twisted into a vicious snarl. Fine. So they think I’m an easy target, huh? Then let’s see who makes it out alive.

A dazzling tree of lightning appeared out of thin air in the vast hollow between the collapsing floors of the mall. Countless strange arcs of electricity crisscrossed through the air, constantly shifting between fire and lightning until they became a tide that completely swallowed Tong Shan.

Burning Star Manifestation appeared once more to suppress everything.

Ji Liu, who had been hurled out by Tong Shan, could no longer be seen clearly. He had turned into a red vortex, and in his hands, two enormous battle-axes slashed wildly in every direction. He charged straight into the crowd before they could react.

Warforged Edge!

The lingering resentment, curses, hatred, and despair of the many enemies who had died at Ji Liu’s hands from his axes and halberd caused his speed and power to surge. The ambush hit so fast that nothing was left intact. Only fist-sized chunks of flesh were sent flying in every direction.

Just as the whirling slashes came down, an ear-piercing crash rang out. A burly figure that had transformed into iron and stone blocked the blades head-on. Ignoring the two horrific wounds carved into his palm and waist, he clamped down on them with all his strength. A savage grin appeared on his face as he recovered from the shock.

But then, as the wall shattered behind him with a blaring explosion, an engine roared. A massive impact drill, specially equipped to deal with Ruins Chosen Ones, swung down with the steel claw and drove straight into his back. It spun wildly, bursting out through his chest.

Blood erupted like a geyser. Before the Ruins Chosen One could turn around, a mechanical maw had already opened wide, ripped off his entire head, and swallowed it whole.

Covered from head to toe in armor plates, the heavily armed Horsey swung its four arms. With an impact drill, a chainsaw, a giant hammer, and crushing pincers, it tore apart the obstacle in its way.

Ji Liu burst out laughing. “Thanks, bro!”

Horsey, drenched in blood, honked in response.

What that meant was, I’ve got you bro. Don’t mention it!