Chaos

"Practical life hack, friends who kill often should pay attention. Incorrect corpse disposal methods can cause lumbar spine injury."

Lu Bai's figure was hidden in the shadows, his expression seemingly amused.

"You're still awake?"

Hearing the teasing voice suddenly appear from the darkness, the figure who was holding a large man upside down stiffened.

Cui Qing pulled aside the tent flap, increasing the visibility inside the tent slightly. "Oh, looks like you knew it was me all along."

Seeing that Lu Bai was awake, the large man, Gao Pangzi, who was being held upside down, wailed even louder, his flushed face appearing particularly agitated.

"Yeah." Lu Bai yawned and said nonchalantly.

Cui Qing let out a breath, the corners of his mouth curving up into a mocking arc.

"Then could you perhaps help me clear up some doubts so I can better maintain my disguise?"

"I don't know how you established your persona before."

"Oh?"

"From what I've seen, you're trying a bit too hard."

"Too much of a good thing is also bad?"

Lu Bai tilted his head, pondering, seemingly considering where to begin.

Cui Qing didn't rush him.

"I recall when Gao Pangzi was slapping rice onto your face, you remained seated steadily. Then, before the company commander arrived, you inexplicably fell to the ground and needed Commander Zhou to help you up. That strikes me as the first point of suspicion."

"Perhaps my mental state just couldn't hold up?"

"Secondly, this morning when I lifted the curtain of the tent next door, you were so startled by the sight inside that you sat down on the ground. That's even more suspicious."

"Doesn't that fit my persona of being timid and cowardly?"

"Did you forget what things are like outside? More gruesome, heavier scenes are everywhere. If you really collapse at the sight of such things, how did you escape the city and reach this military base? Could you really be that lucky?"

"Maybe I'm just a chosen one?"

"Furthermore, you also concealed the fact that I had a gun from Commander Zhou."

"Can't I report everything that happens?"

Cui Qing seemed annoyed by Gao Pangzi's constant squirming. He swiped his fingernail across Gao Pangzi's neck, and instantly, blood gushed out.

"If you insist on being so stubborn, there's nothing I can do."

Lu Bai shrugged and slowly stood up. "Whether my guess is correct or not stopped being important the moment I saw you make a move."

Blood trickled down Gao Pangzi's jawline, soaking his hair and finally dripping onto the army-green bedding beneath him.

"That's true."

Cui Qing paid no mind to Gao Pangzi's dying struggles. He merely reached out and gently rubbed the wound on Gao Pangzi's neck, as if caressing a meticulously prepared delicacy. "Aren't you curious why I would attack an ordinary person?"

"It's nothing more than an ability to improve physical fitness by killing, right? It can't be out of hobby, you're not Hannibal, are you."

Lu Bai calmly told a dark joke, but unfortunately, the other party didn't understand.

However, halfway through, he suddenly realized something and felt a bit nauseous.

Maybe this guy really was.

The six bodies in the tent next door hadn't been found yet.

"I don't know who Hannibal is, but your current gaze is very impolite."

Cui Qing's expression turned grim. The Ability Pool provided by the Deathmatch system wasn't something he could control.

[Ghoul (Silver)][Storm Inhalation, Absolutely Amazing! (Silver)]

This was his current ability set.

He was actually satisfied with the strength, after all, Deathmatch Participants were all about strength.

Due to excessive blood loss, Gao Pangzi's struggles had significantly weakened.

Plop

Cui Qing casually tossed Gao Pangzi aside like trash, patting the bloodstains from his body.

He slightly hunched his body and said sinisterly, "Let's end the idle chat for now."

"Wait, you don't think I'm going to fight you, do you?" Lu Bai asked with slight surprise. "What do you think I've been rambling on about for so long?"

Cui Qing froze, then watched as Lu Bai took a walkie-talkie from his pocket.

The indicator light on the walkie-talkie was still green, indicating it was in normal working condition.

Stomp, stomp, stomp

Outside the tent, dense footsteps approached from a distance. Roughly estimating, it sounded like two platoons of soldiers.

Instantly, Cui Qing's face turned green.

"I suggest you make a run for it. If you're confident in your combat ability, you can also try to fight your way through this military base," Lu Bai said with a relaxed smile.

"You just wait!"

Cui Qing glared fiercely at Lu Bai, then quickly rushed out of the tent.

As soon as he rushed out, a barrage of shouts erupted.

"Halt!"

"You're surrounded, cease resistance."

"Stop, or we'll open fire!"

Zhou Zongming, holding a walkie-talkie identical to Lu Bai's in one hand and directing his subordinates to corner Cui Qing with the other, felt extremely conflicted.

He truly hadn't expected the culprit to be someone like Cui Qing, a seemingly timid young man. Even less did he expect that it would be a high school student with eccentric behavior like Lu Bai who would uncover the truth.

Regardless, the situation had reached this point, and there wasn't much time for him to dwell on it.

Zhou Zongming stated coldly over the combat channel, "Target is extremely dangerous. Open fire is authorized."

The next second, the clamorous shouts from the scene vanished, replaced by intense gunfire.

Dozens of assault rifles spat fire, bullets raining down on Cui Qing.

Even though Cui Qing's physical condition could hardly be considered human anymore, he was still incredibly vulnerable against the hail of bullets.

He moved frantically, leaping and dodging, but still couldn't completely avoid being hit.

After running only a few meters, several bursts of bloody mist erupted from his body.

Fortunately, tents were erected all around. Stirred by the gunfire, residents inside the tents began to scream.

Concerned about the civilians inside the tents, the soldiers couldn't unleash their firepower indiscriminately.

Cui Qing dodged left and right, blending in with the fleeing civilians who were pouring out of the tents, seemingly seeing a glimmer of hope.

"Notify all entrances and exits of District 7 to be sealed. Xiao Li, request support from the rapid response battalion. Also, have the on-duty medical staff prepare to receive casualties."

Watching the situation become increasingly chaotic, Zhou Zongming forced himself to remain calm and quickly issued orders: "Third platoon, enter to evacuate the crowd. First and second platoons, continue to maintain the encirclement..."

Meanwhile, Lu Bai observed secretly from inside the tent.

He did want to take a potshot, but his marksmanship, not much better than a beginner's, made it impossible to guarantee accuracy.

Outside the tent, fearful cries rose one after another.

Taking advantage of the night, the chaos at the settlement escalated and spread.

"After all my efforts to delay for so long, all I've managed to create is a riddled encirclement."

Lu Bai sighed, leaning his body forward to its limit.

If the scene were to freeze at this moment, one would see his body forming an almost thirty-degree angle with the ground.

Blood Rage, activate!

Then, he stomped heavily on the ground, dust flying up beneath his feet. He shot forward like a hypersonic missile.

He crashed through the tent in front of him without any obstruction, continuing in a straight line towards Cui Qing's direction.