Awakened Zhongli Template, Terra Retirement

Even so, he couldn't just give up.

Shi Lei steeled himself and pressed on. The empty corridor was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat. After running about a hundred meters, a crossroads appeared before him.

Left? Right?

Or keep going straight?

The Slums were eerily quiet tonight. He wasn't sure if it was always like this. He listened carefully, letting the cool night breeze brush past his cheeks.

Bang! Bang!

A faint crashing sound came from the left, reaching his ears.

Shi Lei couldn't tell if it was the Guard Department exchanging fire with Infected over there. But right now, he had no better choice. He raised his hands, ready to unleash Rock Spine at any moment, and hurried left.

After advancing twenty or thirty meters, the crashing grew clearer. Three men were furiously kicking at a door.

The motion-sensor light in the hallway had just gone out when it flicked back on, illuminating the black Originium crystal on one man's neck.

"Think you can hide in there? Get out!"

"Mom... Mom..."

"Don't come in, or I'll really fight back..."

For a moment, the sounds of kicking, cursing, a little girl's sobbing, and a woman's pleas for help all rang out together. The neighbors seemed unwilling to court trouble, keeping their doors and windows tightly shut.

Shi Lei didn't yet know why the Infected were forcing their way into this home. If he hadn't run into it, fine—but since he had, he wouldn't stand by.

Bang!

The Infected seemed physically stronger than ordinary people. Under their relentless kicks, they actually managed to break the door open.

Shi Lei's heart sank. He quickly swept his hands outward to activate his skill. In an instant, two Rock Spines lined up in front of the security door, blocking the Infected's path.

The visible Rock Element energy spread out, triggering a violent reaction when it touched the Infected.

"Aaaah, so itchy, so hot!"

"I can't take it, my ██ is gonna explode!"

They turned their heads, spotted Shi Lei not far away, and charged at him in fury. But before they could reach him, the Originium on their skin boiled like lava, swelled up, and exploded violently.

The crystals on their skin burst, damaging their organs, and they died on the spot.

Shi Lei stood alert for over ten seconds, making sure no other Infected accomplices appeared. Only then did he run to the house with the broken door and quickly check inside.

Inside, a little girl sat in a Wheelchair, hugging tightly with the woman beside her. A young Rat Girl with Pink Hair and rat-like features had sand gathering in her hand, standing guard in front of the two.

Shi Lei used a folded map to cover the lower half of his face, glanced around from the doorway, and reassured them:

"Don't worry, I've dealt with them. You should get to a safe place quickly."

Based on host performance, gained 2 Roleplay Value.

With that, he turned and left, planning to double back and pick another route. If Infected had broken into a home here but hadn't died, it meant the Guard Department's elites hadn't come this way.

"Sir, please wait!"

The pink-haired Rat Girl chased after him, intending to thank him. But a glimpse of the Infected's corpses made her change her mind:

"I don't live in District 25. I came to give Xiao An some candy. It seems dangerous here tonight—could you Escort me out?"

Shi Lei didn't hesitate. He shook his head and declined:

"Sorry, I have other things to do. I can't protect you and leave. If you're scared of danger, you can hide at a neighbor's place. The Guard Department is wiping out Infected tonight—by dawn, it'll be safe here. Also, if you really want to thank me, don't tell anyone about what I did. That would cause me a lot of trouble."

If protecting one Rat Girl led to heavy casualties among the Guard Department's elites, wouldn't saving one versus saving many become a trolley problem?

"Sir, please wait!"

The Rat Girl wasn't actually weak—she had the Originium Arts of sand control—but she'd never killed anyone before. Just now, when those Infected were breaking in, she'd almost been forced to act. Luckily, her savior had stepped in, sparing her from taking a life.

But how did he know the Guard Department was wiping out Infected tonight? Was he one of them? Lin Yuxia, seeing him alone, came up with a reasonable excuse:

"You're by yourself—did you fall behind? I'm pretty familiar with this area. I can lead you to meet up with them."

007 Rashomon

District 25, Deep Inside, 10:24 p.m.

Tonight's purge operation was commanded by Lungmen Guard Department Senior Inspector Jiu, leading Officer Chen and twelve elite guardsmen. After raiding two Infected strongholds, they Swiftly pushed deeper into District 25.

At this moment, the special action squad was crossing a basketball court. This was one of the few public spaces in District 25, surrounded on all sides by residential buildings. Under the moonlight, the rows of windows looked like so many devouring mouths.

Catching sight of Infected emerging from the shadows, Officer Chen immediately gripped her scabbard, shifting her weight lower, ready to draw her blade at any moment. She felt no pity for these illegal entrants threatening Lungmen's safety.

But the next second, Chen's expression turned grim. Not only ahead and on both sides, but even the path they'd come from was flooded with Infected. The purge squad had no way to retreat, forced into the center of the basketball court.

"Careful, we're surrounded! Fall back!"

Jiu looked around and commanded on the spot:

"Officer Chen, fight freely. The rest of you, form squads of four and tighten formation. Confirm Infected identity, then open fire immediately!"

Most of the Infected wore tattered clothes or filthy rags. Many carried nothing at all, not even a proper weapon. They were like hollowed-out corpses, moving forward purely on instinct.

Seeing these blank-eyed strangers old enough to be their own parents, one of the Guard Department's elite swallowed hard, his conscience pricking him:

"Sir, they don't have weapons. We just need to incapacitate them, we don't actually have to shoot to kill, right?"

Jiu flared up at that, knowing this was the worst time for a softhearted teammate. He barked back immediately:

"I'll say this one last time—once you confirm they're Infected, open fire immediately! So what if they have no weapons? Should we let them off just because of that? Their bodies are weapons! Think back to the oath you swore when you joined. Spare them now, and they'll be the ones ravaging Lungmen's citizens later!"

The Guard Department elites' faces darkened, but they stopped hesitating. As the vanguard elites tasked with keeping Lungmen's peace, their commander's orders took top priority.

The rebuked elite's lips moved soundlessly, mouthing the word sorry. Then he fired merciless bullets into the unarmed old people.

These Infected sent to die were nothing more than minions at best. Officer Chen knew someone else was pulling the strings behind the war situation. She held her blade horizontal across her chest and shouted:

"Surrender now! You don't even have proper weapons—you're no match for the Guard Department!"

A window on the third floor of the west building swung open. A man in black leaned out and replied:

"Ridiculous. Who said we had to be your match? I saw the Guard Department's thunderous means for punishing criminals even before I got infected. The Infected standing before you now all know they'll die tonight. But they chose to stay anyway. Do you know why?"

Jiu stared at the source of the voice, silent.

Officer Chen Hui-jie mentally plotted how to charge the third floor and take the enemy leader's head, while calling back loudly:

"You... are you from Lungmen?"

"Heh. Officer Chen, we so-called illegal-entry Infected were all born and raised in Lungmen too. Kicked out, then came back—and suddenly we're illegal entrants. What a joke."

Jiu couldn't hide his shock. This was the first he'd heard of it. According to his superiors and the intelligence gathered, a Infected organization called 'Rhodes Island' had recently risen on the continent of Terra. The leadership

feared they'd infiltrate Lungmen's Slums, so they'd issued a kill order.

But these Infected's leader told a completely different story. Who was lying?

"Most of us are heavily infected. We suffer day and night from the Originium-related illness, beyond cure. Cough, cough... We all hope to be worth something before we die. Better yet, to burn bright and drag you high-and-mighty Big Figures down with us! Cough, cough... Make you catch the Originium-related illness too, and experience the suffering we've endured all these years..."

Jiu realized the man was terminally ill and gave the order:

"Chen, capture him. I want him alive."

"Yes, sir."

Chen Hui-jie had been waiting for that. She lowered her center of gravity and sprinted west. Using a short run-up and the Infected's heads as footholds, she scaled the wall step by step up to the third floor with a technique that would've made Newton's jaw drop!

Grabbing the windowsill, she vaulted inside easily, forcing the man to retreat.

"Huff... cough, cough... ha..."

The Infected leader leaned back against an iron door, staring at the policewoman who'd charged up. He coughed and smiled:

"Senior, you might not know me, but I know you. Graduated from Victoria Royal Guard School with straight A's in every subject—the fastest-promoted 'flower of the police force' among the Class of '91. You even broke the record for the shortest time from ordinary officer to Internal Affairs member. You used to be my idol, too."

Chen Hui-jie studied the Infected before her, puzzled. He'd deliberately mentioned the senior-junior connection. A simple file check could verify his background.

But the Infected leader seemed utterly unconcerned about exposing his identity. He kept coughing as he spoke:

"I never believed anyone could truly empathize. That's all lies. Only when you actually become Infected, cough, cough, can you truly understand what kind of social environment we're trapped in. I knew you could make it to the third-floor windowsill, so I chose to show myself at this distance. But the others..."

Chen Hui-jie's heart lurched. Their target wasn't her—it was Jiu!

She knocked the man out with her scabbard, hoisted him onto her shoulder, and leaped back to the windowsill. Just as she was about to drop down and assist, several of the elderly Infected in the crowd exploded one after another.

"No!"

In that instant, a Dark Brown Rock Pillar erupted out of nowhere beside Jiu. A faint brown translucent film coated her and the twelve others nearby. The film was as solid as a physical barrier, blocking the airborne Originium Particles.

Chen Hui-jie landed from the height with the Infected leader on one shoulder and Chi Xiao in her other hand. The moment her feet touched ground, a second Dark Brown Rock Pillar materialized out of thin air, generating a shield that swirled around her.

"Jiu, they're after you!"

"Fall back first. We'll sort things out once we're out."

The Guard Department elites moved fast, retreating east before the Infected could mount their next wave. Since most of these old people weren't actually illegal entrants, this purge operation had lost all meaning. It needed to stop immediately.

Lin Yuxia stared in disbelief, stunned as Shi Lei unleashed his peculiar Originium Arts. With just two rock pillars, he'd saved the infected Jiu and numerous Guard Department elites.

"Don't tell anyone about tonight."

As she stood frozen, Shi Lei raised his left index finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. Then he slowly faded back into the shadows until he vanished.

008 A Daughter Grown Has a Mind of Her Own

Based on the host's performance, gained 4 Roleplay Value.

Daily cap of 10 points reached. Current Roleplay Value: 14 points. Next rank requires: 200 points.

Shi Lei ignored the Embarrassing System's notification and slipped away under cover of night.

Earlier, following the Rat Girl's lead, he'd tracked the commotion to District 25. Hearing the dense gunfire, the two of them followed the sound and ended up at the tail end of the Infected procession.

But the moment he poked his head out, he saw the Guard Department elites surrounded. A swarm of elderly Infected were attacking recklessly, their swollen Originium crystals threatening to explode at any moment.

At that range, even shields couldn't block the Originium Particles flooding the air. Shi Lei didn't have time to think—he immediately cast his skill to shield everyone.

But when he summoned the Rock Spine, he had to sweep his hands outward like parting a curtain. That meant he couldn't keep his face hidden behind the map anymore.

And in the next instant, he spotted Officer Chen Hui-jie leaping from the third floor with a man on her shoulder. Worried something might go wrong, he quickly summoned a second Rock Spine.

The elite guards, catching their breath, fled from the other side, with a crowd of elderly infected in hot pursuit. Shi Lei was in a bad position; following them would be too much of a stretch. Feeling he had already repaid the favor of a meal, he began to think about retreating.

The Rat Girl had seen her own face, which was why she asked him to keep it secret before parting. Whether Shi Lei could guarantee secrecy was uncertain, but he couldn't very well kill her over it, could he?

"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."

Rapid footsteps suddenly echoed through the corridor, the tangled terrain of District 25 like a maze.

Fortunately, he remembered the way he'd come and soon doubled back to the home of the disabled little girl in the wheelchair. As he passed, Shi Lei glanced over and saw the security door had been kicked in by the infected, bent and no longer able to protect the homeowner's safety.

He casually summoned two rock spines, one inside and one outside, clamping the warped metal tight. Restoring it to its original state was impossible; as long as it held through the night, that was enough.

Done with that, he continued running toward the main road of District 24.

Squeezing out of the narrow alley, the greasy smell of barbecue drifted over with the breeze. Shi Lei didn't linger, following the map's directions back to Penguin Logistics' safe house.

Unfortunately, he hadn't gotten a work badge and didn't know the door code, so he had to make do sleeping outside the entrance for the night.

Lin Yuxia watched him disappear from sight before turning and leaving the scene.

The elderly infected who had appeared tonight wouldn't have lived much longer anyway. Even if the younger infected felt indignant toward society, most lacked the resolve to sacrifice themselves.

She wove through the streets and alleys, returning once more to the disabled girl Xiao An's home. Seeing the security door straightened by rock pillars, she knew it was her benefactor's doing as he passed by.

Lin Yuxia arranged other lodgings for the mother and daughter and called someone to come fix the door the next day. After finishing these trivial matters, she walked home, lost in thought.

Lungmen's Districts 22 through 29 were the slums of the Lower City. This lawless no-man's-land, beyond the reach of any statute, was not under the jurisdiction of the Lungmen Guard Department. That was precisely why, when Shi Lei mentioned carrying out a mission tonight, she had mistaken him for someone from the Guard Department.

And as it turned out, that wasn't the case.