Desperate Kill

Lin Xian's heart pounded wildly as he stared with wide, savage eyes at Liu Wei crumpled on the ground.

The blood and pain seemed to ignite a streak of madness deep inside him.

I can't die. I don't want to die!

The instinct to survive sent his blood surging, and the agony across his body went numb in an instant. With his strike landing and Liu Wei down, he didn't pause for even half a breath. He spun around, raised his hand, and aimed a Wind Cannon straight at Liu Wei's face.

Pfft!

A bloody hole appeared on Liu Wei's face.

"Ahh!"

Liu Wei let out a guttural roar. His four tentacles swept up cobblestones from the riverbed and hurled them wildly toward Lin Xian with such force that the stones whistled through the air.

Lin Xian didn't dare take it lightly and quickly dodged to the side.

"I'll smash you to death!"

Cornered into a Desperate Situation, Liu Wei was terrified out of his wits. He frantically grabbed more stones and flung them at Lin Xian.

He'd figured it out—this guy was the agile type. Aside from shooting some kind of projectile from his hand, he didn't seem to have any other threats.

Otherwise, he wouldn't still be alive.

As it turned out, Liu Wei's simple mind had guessed right. Right now, aside from one Wind Cannon, Lin Xian only had a useless Ice Shield. Beyond that, he'd have to close in and fight Liu Wei hand-to-hand.

And Liu Wei was already on guard. Lin Xian wouldn't get a second chance to get close. Two hands against six—if the other guy still dared to come near, Liu Wei couldn't see how he'd lose.

But he also feared Lin Xian's ranged attack. So after they pulled apart, both stood breathing in a standoff, neither making the first move.

Beep, beep, beep.

Just then, the watch on Lin Xian's wrist suddenly went off.

Both of them shifted their gaze—because Liu Wei realized it too.

It was almost dark!

"Brother, it's getting dark. How about we call it quits and head back first?" Liu Wei's face was covered in blood, his eyes a murky green, making him look like a demon crawling out of a sea of blood.

Lin Xian gave a cold laugh.

"Do you think that's possible?"

What kind of idiot would believe that crap in an apocalypse?

Liu Wei's eye twitched. This young guy wasn't any pushover either—he wasn't falling for the bluff at all.

"Fine. Then let's see how many more times you can pull that trigger."

Liu Wei's gaze was sharp as he scanned Lin Xian up and down.

As an Esper himself, he knew using abilities drained the body heavily. This guy's long-range attack had to cost him more energy than his own moves. Otherwise, he'd have been spraying shots like an automatic rifle instead of looking for openings.

Sure, he was fat and thick-headed, but Liu Wei didn't think he was stupid. After a lifetime of running small businesses, he considered himself pretty sharp.

"Fine."

Lin Xian's expression didn't change, unfazed by the taunt. He simply raised his right index finger and aimed it at Liu Wei's face.

Liu Wei saw it and instinctively lifted his tentacles to block. But covering his face meant he couldn't see Lin Xian's next move—that was the real headache.

So he shifted his plan. He used two tentacles to guard his face while the other two grabbed more cobblestones and hurled them at Lin Xian.

Seeing this, Lin Xian's eyes turned cold. He stood still, tilting his head slightly to dodge one stone, then slowly lowered his finger, aiming at Liu Wei's crotch.

Pfft!

Wind Gun pierced through!

Liu Wei's whole body jolted as a searing pain exploded through him. Since Lin Xian had been gunning for his head the whole time, Liu Wei never expected him to go for his other head...

"Ahhh!!!"

His crotch burst open. Liu Wei screamed, mouth wide, and in that split second of distraction, Lin Xian had already ghosted right in front of him. The stench of death closed in, and Liu Wei's survival instinct exploded—his four tentacles shot out!

"Die, you bastard!"

Boom!

But his full-force strike slammed into a wall of ice. The ice shattered instantly, shards flying everywhere. Yet in that fleeting moment, he didn't see Lin Xian's shadow. By the time he realized it, there was a finger in front of him.

A finger aimed straight at his eye!

"Wait!"

In that instant, overwhelming regret flooded him.

Pfft!

Liu Wei's eyes trembled violently. Before he could finish his word, his left eye became a bloody hole, and his body toppled straight backward.

He never dreamed that after getting a boss-level Esper ability like Doctor Octopus, after playing the local tyrant for just a few days, he'd die so pointlessly at the hands of some young punk.

Cough, cough!

Seeing Liu Wei fall, Lin Xian coughed up a few clots of blood. But he didn't pause for even a breath. He picked up a large cobblestone from the ground, walked over, and smashed it down onto Liu Wei's face with a thunderous blow!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With each smash, his tentacles twitched eerily.

Until... they went completely still.

He finally slumped to the ground, gasping for air.

Huff~ Huff~

As the adrenaline faded, searing pain set in. From the fight just now, he was lucky not to have broken any bones, but his internal organs were damaged, and he had plenty of external wounds.

Just then, a flash of strange light flickered across the sky. Lin Xian's eyes snapped wide.

"Shit!"

On the other side, aboard the train, Chen Sixuan leaned deep in the corridor, her expression taut as she watched the driver's cabin door being pounded to pieces.

"Open up! Open up now!!!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A pistol-wielding Little Yellow Hair climbed onto the windshield, slamming the butt of his gun against the glass with all his might.

But aside from the cracks Liu Wei had already made, the windshield didn't budge.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

Another man with a submachine gun scrambled up, kicked Little Yellow Hair aside, and with a cigarette dangling from his lips, aimed the gun at the windshield and fired a full burst!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Sparks flew, stray bullets ricocheting everywhere.

"Holy shit, this tough? Bulletproof glass or what!?"

"Watch your damn aim, Da Fei—bullets don't have eyes."

"Can't open this door either, unless we've got a cutter."

"Fuck your mother, where the hell am I supposed to find a cutter now..."

"Forget it, let's just bail. It's getting dark."

At the mention of darkness, the thugs' faces shifted.

"That guy's done for, courtesy of Brother Wei. This chick is just meat in a can. We'll bring some gear tomorrow and pry her out."

"Heh, I already piled some rocks on the tracks—train's not going anywhere!"

"Oh yeah, Brother Da Fei, that Zhao Family's car got used by Brother Liu Wei to block the road. No room left in the convoy. What do we do, squeeze them in?"

"Squeeze my ass. Tell them to scram. They didn't contribute much anyway, and they're dragging along a whole damn family."

"So we just ditch them..."

The group cursed and left. Chen Sixuan watched the clock in the carriage tick away, her heart in her throat.

Is he dead?

It's getting dark. What do I do...

Chen Sixuan's nerves were frayed as she clung to the door handle, forcing herself to stay rational.

A dozen minutes later, a frantic knock suddenly rang out. Chen Sixuan thought it was Lin Xian and was about to speak, but then she heard a woman's urgent shout from outside.

"Is anyone there? Anyone inside? Please, let my family in!"

"Hey, miss!" At the window, a refined-looking man in glasses climbed up. Spotting Chen Sixuan, he immediately yelled, "Can you open the door and let us hide? It's getting dark!"

"Please!" The woman outside sounded on the verge of tears, and a baby's wail joined in—Wah, wah—a sound that pierced the heart.

"Miss, I'm begging you. We don't need food or anything, just let us hide..."

"Our car was destroyed. We have nowhere to go."

"Wuwuwu..."

"Please, please have mercy..."

"How about this, how about this," the woman sobbed hysterically, "If you don't trust us, just take my child in, okay? He's so young, he barely eats anything..."

"I'm begging you."

The woman's cries, the man's pleas, the baby's wails—a barrage of sound bombarded Chen Sixuan's ears. She curled up in the corner, tightly covering her ears, silent tears streaming down as her heart screamed in agony.

Stop shouting. Please, stop shouting...

The clock in the driver's cabin ticked slowly on.

Gradually, the cries faded. The pounding on the door ceased.

Night fell!

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