A Man Who Wants to Die (Part 1)

BOOM!!

The immense power released by that highly concentrated natural gas engulfed several surrounding buildings in a raging inferno. Even the high-rises were toppled by the rampaging energy, collapsing into ruins amidst a deafening roar!

It was as if a magnitude seven earthquake had struck!

Watching the dazzling, brilliant firelight rising in the distance, feeling the violent tremors of the earth beneath his feet, and sensing the heatwave from the explosion wash over his skin, Yin Kuang—his face illuminated by the flames—broke into a smile.

What should have been a smile of relief after surviving a disaster gradually twisted into a cold sneer... Perhaps Yin Kuang, his eyes already reflecting the fire, did not even realize his own expression had changed.

Just as Isaacs had said, Yin Kuang, gritting his teeth against three gunshot wounds, had finally charged into the three-story building and, under Isaacs' guidance, triggered the self-destruct sequence inside.

As for Nicholas and his team of four, they had initially sensed something was wrong, but after receiving false information from the Umbrella Corporation supervisor—information that had been secretly tampered with by Isaacs—the four of them had stormed the three-story building, only to be locked inside the facility's traps and wiped out in one fell swoop!

By that time, Yin Kuang had already used the secret passage pointed out by Isaacs to leave the gas company, appearing two hundred meters away. He stared at the distance without blinking, silently counting down the seconds in his heart.

Yin Kuang's count was incredibly precise.

When he reached "2," he stopped counting silently and instead gritted his teeth, furrowed his brows, and let out a low, guttural "1!"

The next moment, a blinding fire illuminated half the sky over Raccoon City.

As the rumbling gradually faded and the scorching flames began to recede, Yin Kuang finally let out a long breath, his taut nerves instantly slackening.

Regrettably, Yin Kuang did not receive a notification from the Headmaster, meaning the Headmaster had not calculated any rewards for killing those "Elite Mercenaries." Yin Kuang did not believe they had survived the blast. Thus, he reasoned that since he hadn't killed them with his own hands but had instead relied on the "plot character" Isaacs, there was a strong suspicion of "gaming the system."

According to Xiong Ba, the Headmaster was extremely fair—or rather, stingy and petty! If it was yours, he would give it to you; if it wasn't, don't even think about it!

"Hiss!!"

As his guard dropped, a wave of excruciating pain surged from his shoulder, thigh, and lower back, crashing over his entire body like a tidal wave. His face turned deathly pale in an instant. The spasms in his nerves caused him to lose control of his limbs, and he stumbled, collapsing to the ground, drenched in cold sweat from the agony!

"Damn it, I should have kept those quick-acting heart pills... Next time, I must exchange for some healing items." Because these were gunshot wounds and the bullets were still lodged in his body, the injuries wouldn't heal until the lead was removed; therefore, the hemostatic bandages were useless.

Yin Kuang looked at his remaining 5 points of health, filled with bitter regret.

However, just as he was grimacing in pain, a cold gun barrel pressed against his forehead. At the same time, a thick, bloody stench mixed with the smell of charred flesh flooded his nostrils, triggering an urge to cough!

In fact, even his instinct to cough was stifled by that cold barrel.

Almost instantly, every hair on Yin Kuang's body stood on end.

He wanted to turn his head to see who was holding the gun to his head. Yet, to his horror, he found his neck had stiffened, as if cast in concrete. No matter how hard his brain commanded his neck to "turn," it simply refused to "implement" the brain's "important directive."

"...True sorrow is not death! It is longing for death, yet God forces you to live! Living like a miserable stray dog..."

A man walked slowly in front of Yin Kuang, casting a shadow over him. That cold muzzle, however, never left Yin Kuang's head.

Yin Kuang could clearly feel the cold metal move from his temple to the center of his brow, the friction scraping painfully against his skin.

So, this was the touch of death—the cold, hard steel of a gun barrel!

With the muzzle pressed against his forehead, the painful and cold pressure forced Yin Kuang to slowly lift his head.

Coming into view was a middle-aged man with a short, steel-bristle beard, strong as a tiger or leopard. His eyes were cold, devoid of any emotion—or rather, his emotions had been completely extinguished along with the deaths of his close comrades.

At this moment, he was a true avenger!

This man, who had walked off the battlefield, had lost everything: his family, his friends.

And now, having tasted the full bitterness of "loss," he still could not receive God's mercy—he had lost his comrades again! Those comrades who had crawled through fire and blood with him, those who were his final support for staying alive!

He longed for death!

To him, it was a release. Living was a heavy iron shackle, pressing down on his broad shoulders so that his spine could never straighten again!

Nicholas, this man of steel, pressed his gun against Yin Kuang's head. Two crystal-clear tears, reflecting the lingering flames in the distance, slid from his eye sockets.

The tears were hot...

They dripped onto Yin Kuang's hand.

For a moment, a thousand emotions churned in Yin Kuang's heart. Did I do something wrong... was it wrong?... But does that matter? I just... just... wanted to live. Death... living... living!! I don't want to die, I want to live! So... I have to kill you all!!

"If you don't die, I die!"

Gradually, Yin Kuang's gaze focused, meeting Nicholas's eyes directly, refusing to back down. "You chose your path, and I walk mine. To live is my only conviction! To live is my only goal!"

Nicholas watched Yin Kuang silently. Four eyes, four gazes, stared at each other for nearly half a minute.

Clack!

To Yin Kuang's surprise, Nicholas threw his gun to the ground, stepped back a few paces, pulled a military knife from his boot, and tossed it at Yin Kuang's feet. "I only want to die. And you want to live. Kill me, and you can live! If I kill you, I will continue to carry my sins..."

As he spoke, Nicholas drew another military knife, gripping it with an underhand hold. The chilling blade pointed at Yin Kuang, so sharp it made him squint. "Fight! Live... or die..."

At this moment, Yin Kuang had no spare time to ponder why Nicholas hadn't been blown up, or how he had silently circled behind him; he could not even spare the focus to wonder why Nicholas didn't just shoot him dead instead of choosing a melee fight—because the only thing he had to do now was pick up the knife at his feet and engage Nicholas in a blade duel.

Kill him, and live!

Although the pain from the three gunshot wounds was still constantly assaulting Yin Kuang's nerves and flesh, so what?

That intense pain, the pain of torn flesh, was constantly confirming one fact to Yin Kuang—he was still alive! Only those who are alive can receive the "pain" signals transmitted by the nerves so clearly, telling him exactly that he was still alive.

At the same time, this pervasive pain spurred Yin Kuang on—to continue feeling this agony that made his nerves twitch, he had to live, no matter what!

"Heh heh, enjoy this pain. I just hope you don't get addicted to it..."

Xiong Ba seemed to have said something like that once...

Back then, Yin Kuang couldn't understand the meaning behind those words; he had just assumed Xiong Ba was trying to scare him. But now, he suddenly grasped the implications... fear, helplessness, grief, anger, resentment, madness, numbness, unwillingness... and even... a lingering aftertaste!

"Enjoy this pain... don't get addicted to it..."

Yin Kuang's bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Nicholas. His breathing grew rapid, sounding like a bellows. Whether from the excruciating pain or the adrenaline, his body began to tremble uncontrollably—like a maddened beast!

The next moment, Yin Kuang lunged, gripping the military knife on the ground with a death grip, then pushed off the ground, charging toward Nicholas like a hunting leopard on the attack...