Shi Lei stood with both hands in his pockets, just like the onlookers. With ready-made muscle around, why would he need to do it himself?
"I know!"
Exusiai charged back in with her gun, landing consecutive headshots that knocked the Doll Soldiers unconscious. She abandoned her usual fighting style of shooting while moving and tried standing still to aim. It made her more likely to become a live target, but it also made it easier to hit her targets and save ammunition.
Seeing that things were going badly, many adults joined the fight. A dense barrage of arrows and crossbow bolts came flying in, but they failed to cause any damage. Their repeatedly drawn bowstrings were practically smoking.
Exusiai felt as if she had activated some invincibility cheat in a game. She could attack others without worrying about getting hurt at all. It felt incredible.
The final two Doll Soldiers did not last long. Exusiai calmly walked over and knocked them out with two shots to the head.
"No!!!"
Seeing the child collapse, a middle-aged woman rushed out despite the danger. She held the unconscious child and burst into tears, begging for forgiveness:
"Please, let us go."
"Nope~"
Exusiai flashed a sunny smile and loaded a new magazine. With a click, she chambered a round.
"You're on the Annihilation List, which means you've probably harmed ordinary citizens before. No matter how hard life gets, you can't hurt other people for your own benefit. Your lives matter, but theirs don't? If you're truly innocent, the Lungmen Guard Department will release you after reviewing the case. My job is only to knock you out."
Holding the child, the woman glared at her viciously.
"You look like a sweet young girl. I thought you had a heart, but you're just a dog of the Lungmen Guard Department! Ptooey!"
Exusiai had a great attitude and was completely unaffected. She raised her hand and fired a shot, knocking the woman unconscious.
Croissant and Texas had entered through the back door and now fought their way into the courtyard. The two sides formed a Pincer Attack, knocking out every gang member present.
The Lungmen Guard Department logistics personnel waiting nearby received the notice and quickly led a team to the scene. They tossed the people into vans like cargo and transferred them to prison.
Even with prohibited weapons, members of these illegal organizations were still no match for the Messengers. Protected by the Jade Shield, battlefield casualties had been reduced to zero.
By the time they reached the third stronghold, there was only one gate leading inside. Croissant did not even bother taking her Ballistic Shield. She swung her sledgehammer and charged straight in with Texas and Exusiai.
It was utterly overwhelming. The battle was completely one-sided.
"This is Police ID SSIS584. I repeat, this is Police ID SSIS584. Our stronghold on District 19, Tainan Road is under heavy fire from illegally armed militants. Requesting assistance, requesting assistance!"
Hearing the call for help over the Walkie-Talkie, Shi Lei—one hand behind his back like an old man with a sore waist—called out:
"Our friends in the Lungmen Guard Department can't hold on anymore. Let's go help them... do they pay extra?"
"Hahahaha, of course they do."
Exusiai emptied a magazine in a burst, completely ignoring the enemy's attacks as she turned to explain:
"Though the Lungmen Guard Department guys can be annoying when we're running deliveries, they do pay pretty generously."
Shi Lei refreshed the shields, pulled out a map, found their current location, then searched for the coordinates of Tainan Road.
"Come on, girls. We're changing locations."
The three Messengers, who had been tearing through the enemy like tigers among sheep, stopped wasting time and quickly ended the fight. Once the logistics team arrived, they drove to the Tainan Road stronghold just one street away.
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat..."
Before they even went in, they saw police cars arranged in a semicircle at the entrance riddled with bullet holes. The Lungmen Guard Department members crouched low behind them, looking rather battered.
"Whoa, that's some serious firepower."
The moment Exusiai arrived, the white halo over her head and glowing wings behind her immediately drew countless looks.
She pressed her left index and middle fingers together against her temple, then flicked them outward in greeting.
"Didn't you guys have shields? How did you still get pinned down this badly?"
"It's no good. Their firepower is too fierce, and they've got flamethrowers. We've charged eight times and still can't get into the courtyard. Several colleagues are trapped inside."
Hearing that, Shi Lei poked his head out to look.
Sure enough, several Lungmen Guard Department members were lying beneath the flowerbeds. Blood pooled around their wounds. If this dragged on, their lives would likely be in danger. But the moment they raised their heads, they would become targets.
Exusiai had heard that the Jade Shield was not afraid of flames, but she had never experienced it herself and hesitated slightly.
Texas had personally seen Shi Lei charge into a fire. She spun the light sword in her hand twice, flourishing it elegantly.
"I'll do it."
"Texas, this isn't something to joke about. Even if the shield keeps you from getting burned, the sustained heat could still kill you."
She ignored Exusiai and tilted her head toward Shi Lei. Without needing words, he made a gesture of invitation.
Texas pursed her lips in a smile. Once she confirmed that the Jade Shield was on her, she gripped her light sword and rushed in.
The nearby Lungmen Guard Department members were stunned. Wasn't charging in with her bare body just asking to be turned into a sieve? They shouted to stop her:
"Come back! Don't do anything stupid!"
The desperadoes inside the stronghold saw a woman enter their line of sight and pulled their triggers without hesitation. Secretly stockpiling weapons was already a grave crime. They could only keep walking down the dark path.
"Die! Hahahaha..."
The next second, Texas had already run to the flowerbed through the crossfire, completely unafraid of the bullets.
With a shield, she could do whatever she wanted.
The desperadoes could no longer laugh. They called for support:
"M-monster... Burn her! Hurry!"
A thin, merciless stream of flame lunged straight at her face, instantly engulfing her whole body. The terrifying sight of a woman being consumed by fire made the onlookers shudder in fear.
Texas stepped forward slowly. Before everyone's astonished eyes, her sword rose and fell. She severed the flamethrower nozzle together with the desperado's arm.
"Aaaahhh! It hurts so much..."
The shrill scream tore through the night sky,
leaving the Lungmen Guard Department members with an incomparably shocking image.
At that moment, she seemed like a god descending to earth!
My Name Is Zhongli (Part 2)
The Lungmen Guard Department members standing outside the stronghold were dumbfounded, crying out in disbelief:
"Holy shit, that's way too freaky! How can she withstand flames and come out completely fine?"
"Hehe, you don't know, do you?"
Croissant planted her hammer on the ground like a cane in her right hand, while her left rested on Shi Lei's shoulder like they were old buddies. She introduced him to the disbelieving Lungmen Guard Department members beside her:
"This Mister Zhongli is a newly hired Messenger at Penguin Logistics. As long as he puts a shield on you, you'll be immune to all damage, including bullets and flames."
"All damage? You've got to be kidding."
On Terra, there were indeed Originium Arts that could grant their users shields. But the ability to give shields to others was exceedingly rare—rare even among rare abilities.
Seeing the shield's actual effect, Exusiai playfully stuck out her tongue and frankly admitted her mistake:
"Sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you."
Shi Lei smiled and did not take it to heart. They were coworkers. Why would he hold it against her?
As he refreshed the shields, he summoned a Rock Spine beside him and placed a Jade Shield on Exusiai.
"It's nothing. You hadn't experienced it firsthand, so of course you'd have doubts. Still, if you don't get in there soon, Texas will have cleaned them all up herself."
"Hahaha, I'm going right now."
Looking at the brown shield around Exusiai, the Lungmen Guard Department members could not help feeling envious.
Two of them whispered to each other and shoved one another around. Finally, one representative came over and struck up a smiling conversation:
"Mister Zhongli, sorry to bother you. Um, could you put shields on us too?"
Seeing the anticipation in their eyes, Shi Lei did not refuse. But as he gave them shields, he stated the condition:
"Just don't get more than fifty meters away from me."
"Understood, understood. Thank you so much."
The two Lungmen Guard Department members rushed to the flowerbed with their weapons and first helped their fallen colleagues up. Only after the medical staff carried the injured away did they think about going inside to earn some credit.
Who would have thought that Texas and Exusiai would walk out of the building together? The latter even made a V sign.
"All done. They're all knocked out."
The two Lungmen Guard Department members gaped in shock. There had to be at least thirty or forty people inside. How long had the two women been in there? Was it really over already?
"Th-that's it?"
"Yep. If you don't believe it, go in and see for yourselves."
Today, the Lungmen Guard Department had mobilized all its combat personnel to wipe out an illegal organization that had gradually grown into a real force. Some of them had secretly stockpiled heavy weapons, which was nothing unusual.
But their forces were difficult to unify. No one obeyed anyone else. This gang had invested everything it owned into the area around the stronghold entrance.
As for the resistance inside, it was all glitter on the outside and rot within, no different from other small and medium-sized gangs. If they had truly possessed any foundation, they would have swallowed up the nearby gangs long ago instead of cowering in their stronghold for self-preservation.
"This is Police ID PGD864. I repeat, this is Police ID PGD864. Our stronghold on Fourth Avenue in District 20 has come under bombardment from infected casters. The squad has suffered heavy losses! Requesting assistance, requesting assistance!"
Hearing the distress call over the Walkie-Talkie, Shi Lei crooked a finger at Texas and Exusiai.
"Another job. Let's go."
Under the gazes of many Lungmen Guard Department members, the four rode Croissant's pickup truck to the next location.
The remaining targets were all tough nuts to crack.
The Lungmen Guard Department was fighting on multiple fronts today, launching operations across several districts at once. The gangs that surrendered quickly or were easy to deal with had already been taken down. They would not be calling for help over the Walkie-Talkie.
When the Messengers reached Fourth Avenue, the scene was horrendous. Police cars parked outside to block the entrance were engulfed in flames, their frames scorched black.
In the stronghold's front yard lay seven or eight corpses of Lungmen Guard Department members. Blood covered the ground, and there seemed to be no chance that any of them had survived. Further inside was a young Lungmen Guard Department officer with both legs blown off and empty eyes.
Tch, using the wounded as bait, huh?
Infected casters specialized in long-range spellcasting, and their Originium Arts were as powerful as firearms. The enemy had likely injured one person first, then destroyed his weapon from afar to prevent him from taking his own life. Once others approached to rescue him, they would be picked off from a fixed position.
The vicious part of this tactic was that leaving the injured alive would lure in people overflowing with justice and sympathy. Then it became like children trying to rescue their grandfather one after another. One came, one died. Two came, both died.
Watching his colleagues die one after another for his sake, the legless Lungmen Guard Department member would feel extremely guilty. But the more he begged others not to save him, the more likely they would be to try.
Watching one familiar face after another fall before him would inflict severe psychological trauma on the wounded man.
"You two have had enough fun. Now it should be my turn to have some fun, right?"
Having witnessed the absurdly powerful protection of the Jade Shield firsthand, Croissant left her Ballistic Shield in the truck. She switched from wielding her hammer one-handed to two-handed, swinging it with ferocious force.
Exusiai looked around and found that all the suitable sniping positions nearby had been destroyed by spells. No wonder there were no Lungmen Guard Department sniper Operators at the scene.
"No, let's go in together. The sooner we finish, the fewer casualties there'll be."
Texas said nothing, but she nodded.
"Um, are you from Penguin Logistics?"
Before attacking a stronghold, the Lungmen Guard Department's clerical staff would evacuate the crowd in advance. A Medical Operator with a cross printed on her clothes saw the four getting out near the edge of the battlefield and jogged over to ask.
Shi Lei showed her his Walkie-Talkie and explained:
"That's right, ma'am. We received a distress call and came to reinforce you. How's the situation?"
"Sir, honestly, it doesn't look good. We can only hold the exit and wait for other teams to arrive and encircle them."
Through the gap in the fence, he glanced at the wounded man in the front yard of the stronghold, his eyes utterly lifeless, and suggested:
"Come on. Go in with us and save him."
The young Medical Operator was startled and stared at the four in disbelief.
"Huh???"
Before you continue