Round20 You Are Not Alone
Foreword:
Why can't I kill the God in my heart? Why does he shame me, even though I want to erase him from my heart? Why is he always like a clown I can't get rid of?
--Ingmar Bergman, the Seventh Seal
[Part 1: The Transformation of the Divine Way]
At 6:14 AM, a well-equipped squad of soldiers rushed out of the platform at Lieyang Fort. They came from the capital of District 54, from the surrounding areas of the Northern Territory Wasteland. Most of them were the vanguard of the rapid reaction force, and many familiar faces could be seen, including the commander of the Snow Mastiff Battle Group. He had originally stayed at the Albert Research Station, but upon hearing Jiang Bailu's Summoning Bell —under the BOSS's command—these soldiers, skilled in rapid marches, immediately set off and arrived at the front line in just seven or eight hours.
This system was a gift from the gunsmith to the BOSS. It was a disaster relief method established during the six-year expedition to deal with the Madness Butterfly. It eliminated the heavy and complicated management and interference of the Transportation Department and gave special treatment to the vanguard soldiers who rushed to the battlefield.
One by one, the leaders of the warbands, dressed in their Flash Butterfly Armor, were directing their soldiers to evacuate the station in an orderly fashion, assemble in the platform square, and then gradually requisition vehicles to quickly head to Westbrook city. This vanguard force consisted of more than four hundred psionicists, more than enough to deal with the remnants of the Lieyang Fort warbands.
As Meteor said, Jiang Xueming's career as a "gunsmith" is dead.
--But the gunsmith's skills and weaponry were given to every soldier in their entirety.
Whether it was the common people of Lieyang Fort Keep, or militia units like Clark Sean and Banner Ibge, or even the students of the Warband, Galahad's disciples, or the Nameless One's followers.
A very small number of the gang's older cousins and officers were also students of the gunsmith, but they learned martial arts but not the scriptures, which easily led them down a path of abusing violence and destroying themselves.
A Black Cat emerged from the military vehicle. Not content with its surroundings, it jumped out halfway through the journey, wanting to see this chaotic, dark, and gloomy world, and to witness the rise of a new sun.
A strange twist of fate brought the two women together.
--Two completely different women, with extreme views and equally strong personalities, collided.
On 9527, she stormed through this hellish place, the process nothing more than a series of silent battles and killings. There's no need to waste ink describing her killing scenes; she reasoned with those who were reasonable and fought brute force with those who were reckless. Like her husband, her combat level was [out of the ordinary]. She never had to worry about becoming a weak princess in a fairy tale waiting to be rescued; she was the leading lady in a strong female protagonist novel.
Upon arriving at the core area of Cruise Ship No. 2, George Joshua's "princess" was trapped in a petri dish containing a medicinal solution; she was an obese woman with a terrifying face and a bloated figure.
When 9527 saw this thing, his SAN value plummeted, and he almost went crazy on the spot.
--To explain in detail what exactly was in White Lady's medicine jar? She initially mistook it for some kind of Flash Butterfly or an apostle.
The medical staff who were guarding the princess had already fled upon hearing the news, and the other civilians who had come with the 9527 team to raid the No. 2 cruise ship had all gone to various brothels to search for their wives and daughters, and for relatives who had been separated from them for many years.
When 9527, several of the men from Wulong Fortress, and her husband's students arrived in front of the medicine jar, Miss Kaycee, whose spiritual pressure resistance was slightly weaker, immediately collapsed to the ground with blood flowing from her eyes and liquid gushing from her mouth and nose.
9527 told the other children to quickly evacuate this hellish demon's palace; she wanted to deal with the monster alone.
Let me tell you in detail about the terrifying aspects of this princess--
--George Joshua's first seal came from the magical spiritual power of the princess [Heaven Can Wait].
This powerful soul force can lock onto a target and transfer all the damage the target suffers onto oneself. It's like a doting mother who takes all the harm her child suffers upon herself.
George Joshua has been the target of countless assassination attempts over the years. This arrogant and self-important merchant leader and local tyrant of Lieyang Fort Cape not only has to deal with foreign enemies and political elites, but also has to guard against his own children seizing power. This is why Manager Todd, a worker who is like a dead eunuch, can wield so much power.
All the harm he suffered would be transferred to this princess.
At this moment, the woman inside the medicine jar was willingly serving George Joshua.
Her physique had been adjusted, and her entire body was brimming with vital energy. Her body was swollen and enormous, and her thick flesh gave George Joshua an immeasurable amount of extra health.
She became hideous, like a giant hippopotamus, with fat accumulating into thick, layered cushioning.
The injuries George Joshua sustained during his duel with Glory all became the scars on her body. These scars were layered upon layered, including burns, lacerations, bullet holes, knife wounds, and dents left from falls from great heights. Although they had been healed by White Lady's artifacts—they repeatedly destroyed and healed her essence, turning into clumps of proliferating tumors.
She had no hair; her hair follicles had been completely removed so that medical staff could better observe the Brain Injury, all for the sake of protecting George Joshua.
Her fingernails were deeply embedded in her chubby toes, and this was true for both her hands and feet. They repeatedly grew and fell off due to the hyperplasia healing effect of White Lady's products, and a thick layer of keratin had accumulated at the bottom of the medicine jar.
Without hesitation, 9527 took up his gun and fired, and the ASH bullet shattered the can.
Clear medicinal liquid flowed from the jar, and the plump princess rolled onto the carpet in her bedchamber, waking up with a start.
"Joshua! Joshua!"
A fat nodule on her forehead obscured one eye, as if "His Majesty the Lion King" had fled the place, and she could no longer sense her mate's presence, becoming panicked.
She was panting heavily. Her weight of over 400 pounds caused her to break bones on the spot, and the flesh of her waist and abdomen was instantly torn open by gravity, with white liquid flowing out of her body.
Her cardiopulmonary system couldn't withstand the pressure beyond the medicine potion. In order to maintain her "health bar", she became a mountain of flesh and a demon king. Even if George Joshua was seriously injured, as long as he didn't directly attack the ritual center of her hypothalamus, she could recover immediately from the blow.
Joshua
At first, there was a hint of sympathy in 9527's eyes. "Sister, it seems your husband isn't planning to take you with him."
"No! Impossible! Impossible!" The princess writhed in terror, trying to rise, her body a mass of festering flesh. "He can't live without me! He needs me! He needs me!"
9527: "What nonsense are you talking about? There's no woman in this world who can't live without a man, and no man who can't live without a woman—life will find its own way."
"Uh..." The princess looked at 9527 in surprise, then cursed viciously, "You bitch! What did you say!? I belong to George Joshua! Only George Joshua can have a woman as excellent as me—you must be jealous of me, right?! Hahahaha! You must be jealous of me! You're lying to me!?"
"If you know what's good for you and don't want to die, shove me back into the jar! You shameless bastard!"
"I want to go back! I want to continue taking care of my little Joshua."
"I want to go back! This can't go on."
She wriggled her obese body, wanting to return to the warm medicine jar, just like the heroine in a typical dragon quest story. She didn't need to do anything; she could simply entrust her fate to the sensible, understanding, efficient, and ruthless male protagonist.
George Joshua is her male lead; she only needs to do one thing—
--To become Universal Elixir that constantly blesses the hero, to turn oneself into an object.
"I can live without dignity, without a soul, without thoughts."
"I can have nothing, but I can't lose Joshua! I can't lose him!"
"Love! This is love! This is sublime love!"
This made her feel at ease and happy; just one glance at George Joshua's handsome face was enough to keep her in this little bottle forever.
On 9527, 9527, the trigger was pulled, shattering the [First Seal].
"How can there be such a stupid person in the world?"
It had nothing to do with gender. Xiao Qi was just angry, so angry that her hands trembled. She missed her first shot, and the princess screamed in pain. Half of her head split open, but she didn't die on the spot.
"Bang!--"
The 12.7mm heavy warhead blasted into the back of this "hippopotamus," shattering its bones and creating a huge crater.
"Bang!--"
The third shot finally ended this hateful yet pitiful "tool".
Xiao Qi immediately ran outside; she wanted to find Glory and then hold her lover's hand tightly.
[Part ②: Fate's Playful Tricks]
The sudden chaos enveloped every street of Lieyang Fort. Due to the movement of people and vehicles, the air quality reached the critical point of the public defogging and dust removal system, and rain began to fall again.
The Black Cat crossed the boundary line of the Westbrook neighborhood and perched on the windowsill of the grocery store, licking its paws.
It remained silent, quietly watching everything that happened inside the room.
"If what you're saying is true..." Banner had to be on his guard now, and he couldn't trust a wanted criminal. "This woman is George Joshua?"
Ms. Joshua quickly explained, "No, no, no, no!"
Radish Bro quickly affirmed, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"
"This is a real pain! Shut up, both of you! You're both under arrest!" Banner decided to follow the instructions of the Six Arts Sutra—when a target's true identity cannot be confirmed, hand them over to the local Spirit Calamity detection agency for professionals to verify the suspect's identity.
Joshua still wanted to explain, still wanted to resist, but once she was sent to the Spirit Calamity Verification Machine, nothing would be left to hide.
Right now, at this very moment.
Another slave to fate walked into the store--
--Sister Krichieva from Lilan Avenue sneaked in furtively.
She ignored the Black Cat beside the door, and cautiously stepped over the threshold, heading towards the cover of the basement trapdoor. There lay the mangy dog she had been longing for, the evidence of her murder, and the fat supervisor's arm.
Banner called out as soon as she entered the store.
"Sir! Give me a hand! There are two suspects here!"
Krichieva was startled; she hadn't expected there to be militiamen in the shop. Just as she was about to pull her hand back, she felt a strange, inexplicable guilt when her eyes met Banner's.
She is a villain who holds a militia position but commits heinous crimes and exploits the children of the deceased.
The righteous and vengeful flame in Banner's eyes made her involuntarily retreat.
"Ah! Oh oh oh oh! I'm here!" Krichieva was a sergeant on Lilan Avenue, and according to rank, Banner, the traffic cop, should indeed call her "sir."
She walked confidently with her hands behind her back, exuding a leader's air, and saw Radish and Lady Joshua kneeling on the ground.
She recognized the radish, but not Joshua.
--And then things changed, and a turning point occurred.
"Give me the gun, militiaman." Krichieva followed procedure. "They escaped from Lilan Avenue, they're under my jurisdiction."
"Huh?!" Banner asked incredulously, "What about my contribution?"
Krichieva immediately roared angrily, "Do you think I harbor any ill intentions? Do you think I would completely deny your contributions? I'll mention you in the mission report! Banner Ibge! You must live up to the uniform you wear! Never point a gun at your comrades—that's what the gunsmith said!"
Banner was speechless and handed his sidearm to Krichieva.
Under Krichieva's direction, Banner handcuffed the two suspects. It was during this transfer of prisoners that Krichieva conceived the idea of killing them.
She ushered Ms. Joshua into the car, then grabbed Radish's arm.
"Kid, I recognize you."
Radish still didn't resist. He couldn't sense the power of the soul anymore, so he could only admit defeat and said politely, "Sir, our business isn't finished yet. How about we add a supplementary agreement? Give me another hand?"
Krichieva didn't know what had happened in Westbrook's River Bend district, but she would never spare Radish's life because he had witnessed her commit murder— Radish Bro was going to be sent to the militia center for trial, and in order to get a reduced sentence, he would reveal all of this.
This happened while Banner was back in the grocery store examining Heisenberg's body.
Krichieva first fired a shot into her left Thumb.
--The gunshot startled Radish, who stared wide-eyed.
"You motherfucker"
Before she could finish her sentence, Krichieva shot Radish in the head, smashing his skull open and splattering blood all over Ms. Joshua's face.
"Good riddance!" Joshua shouted excitedly.
Krichieva asked curiously, "Girl, what did this scumbag do to you? Do you have a grudge against him?"
Joshua, of course, couldn't tell the truth. She made up a reason. "Oh! Oh! I was kidnapped by the owner of this grocery store! This guy and that bald bastard are in cahoots, they were going to rape me! And then... it was a double-cross, anyway, it's all very complicated! I don't know what happened!"
"Then Officer Banner came! He saved our lives!"
Joshua described it vividly.
"And this guy, he's so ungrateful! He actually tried to kill Officer Banner."
"This heartless, wicked bastard deserves to die by your hand."
"Shh," Krichieva cupped Joshua's face in her hands, looking at the little girl with loving eyes. "I didn't kill him."
"Oh?! Oh." Joshua suddenly came to his senses. "Oh! Oh oh oh oh! He was trying to take the gun! You shot him dead!"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That's right!" Krichieva said with a smile, "Women should help women, little girl. Although I don't know who you are, you are so clever and know how to please people."
As she said this, Krichieva unlocked Joshua's handcuffs, and despite the blood still flowing from her left Thumb, Joshua Joshua the door.
"Little girl, come here. If you're willing to do this small favor, I'll set you free right away."
Joshua became interested, and she wished she could run away on the spot.
"--How can I help?"
Even before Radish Bro's body was cold, Krichieva wanted to continue her killing spree. She had taken too many lives; she couldn't let Banner leave alive.
Using this little girl's hand to pull the trigger, killing Banner in the grocery store, that way the ballistics record and evidence would be complete, ultimately killing this silly girl, leaving everyone with no witnesses, and even getting back the fat manager's rotten hand—it's practically a perfect plan.
She held Joshua's arm with her left hand and grasped Joshua hand with her right, putting the pistol together so that the two of them could hold one gun.
"I want you to kill Banner Ibge. That guy is incredibly efficient; everyone in Lieyang Fort knows Clark and Four Eyes are a pair of meddlesome buddies."
"His older brother isn't around now, this is a golden opportunity. If you help me kill him, I'll let you go."
"It was just an accidental killing. You don't need to feel guilty. It's like God's will; it's the divine being controlling your arm."
"Little girl, are you listening?"
George Joshua, covered in a cold sweat, suddenly realized—
--Krichieva seemed to have no intention of sparing her life.
But this woman's finger strength was simply too strong! After Joshua transformed into a woman, he was no match for this Slavic superwoman and could only reluctantly point his gun at the trapdoor in the floor.
"Yes, sir!" Joshua was terrified. She knew Banner was going to die, but who would be next?
When will this cruel and cold-blooded cycle finally end?
How can this unbridled cycle of violence be stopped?
God! O omnipresent and omnipotent God! Why do you mock me like this?!
In the basement--
--Banner Ibge, filled with resentment, kicked and punched Heisenberg's corpse.
"It's all your fault! Why did you open a store in Westbrook?! If you were still on Lilan Avenue, I wouldn't care about this at all!"
"Do you know how happy I was when I saw drugs! It's like finding a wallet on the street, going through all the trouble to return it to the owner, only to have them roll their eyes at me—it's so pathetic!"
He held the package of aphrodisiac drugs and cursed viciously.
"Property prices in the city center are much higher than in the Northland Granary! Don't you know how to control costs?! Don't you understand the business of human flesh trading? All this credit should have been mine!"
Despite the criticism, Banner still had to keep working; after all, he was just an auxiliary police officer.
He carried the body up the stairs to the hatch, poked his head out, and heard a loud gunshot. He ducked back down, thinking he'd been shot in the head. Terrified, he tumbled down the stairs back into the basement. Then, firecrackers went off outside, followed by sporadic gunshots!
One minute ago.
The Long-Armed Ape picked up Springfield 1911 and showed the weapon to the Horse-Faced Monkey.
"Such a fine gun! It would be a waste to only make one sale!"
The Horse-Faced Monkey nodded without saying a word.
The Long-Armed Ape, hiding behind a low wall in the block, said, "The main problem is we haven't finished our mission yet! Manager Todd told the War Gang's officers that his henchmen should go around posing as nobody and commit crimes! We've already robbed the supermarket! But we haven't made a name for ourselves! We haven't spread our bad reputation! This won't do!"
The Horse-Faced Monkey nodded again, without saying a word.
The Long-Armed Ape put on a clown mask and gave a reasoned analysis.
"Westbrook isn't our territory, let's do it here! This area is full of wealthy people, we're sure to get more money! This grocery store is so close to the Northland Granary area, we can kill them, rob them, and run! How about it?"
Horse-Faced Monkey: "But didn't we already get it?"
The Long-Armed Ape smacked its underling's head hard.
"--This is only a small amount! Is it enough to live on?!"
Horse-Faced Monkey: "Won't we lose our lives?!"
Long-Armed Ape: "Fortune favors the brave!"
So the two brothers put their heads together and decided to continue. The Long-Armed Ape, gun in hand, led the way, donned a clown mask, and headed towards the main entrance of the grocery store. The Horse-Faced Monkey followed behind, ready to run at the slightest sign of trouble.
At first glance, Krichieva saw the two "nameless" people approaching, but she didn't realize the danger.
Ape God raised his gun and pointed it at the militia commander, showing incredible audacity—he thought, what are militiamen anyway? This gun was stolen from the militia's vehicle, and if he could take out the militiamen, it would be a great way to gain fame.
Then, the Wolong once again displayed his formidable marksmanship, bringing the gun to Krichieva's head and immediately causing it to go off accidentally.
-- Krichieva's head split open, turning into a pile of watermelons.
"Holy crap!" The Long-Armed Ape was startled again.
Krichieva's still-erect body tightly gripped Ms. Joshua's hand, refusing to let go. Her body trembled, repeatedly pulling the trigger, emitting a continuous stream of gunshots.
Fengchu immediately grabbed Wolong and fled the scene in terror. The two, like frightened birds, jumped into the train track barrier and escaped along the canal.
Blood splattered everywhere, landing on the Black Cat's face.
It licked the blood off its claws, tasted the ogre's flavor, and was very satisfied.
"Absolutely amazing!"