This Humble One, Reincarnation Stream Player

Still as insane as ever, completely disregarding the lives of their own comrades. Yuki crawled back a few steps; under the heavy suppression fire, he couldn't even poke his head out. Pressing his hands against the ground, he could feel the floorboards trembling slightly.

God knows how many people were swarming toward the tenth floor. Outside the window, the sound of rotor blades whirred loudly. Three helicopters were circling the building, their searchlights sweeping into the room, leaving Yuki's vision a blinding white. Without a second thought, he rolled into the inner room.

Tat-tat-tat-tat.

The onboard weapons opened fire, leaving a string of bullet holes in the floor and walls. Splintering debris hit his face, stinging with a dull ache.

Yuki rolled all the way into the inner room, using the wall to shield himself from the strafing before he could catch his breath. No, there was no way to relax; the rhythmic, dense sound of military boots thudding against the floor was approaching down the hallway.

Like a death warrant, he didn't need to peek to know that over a hundred armed SWAT members were approaching in a tactical formation. In front, there were surely heavy ballistic shields, and the members behind already had flashbangs gripped in their hands.

Stay calm, the situation is still within expectations.

Yuki kept hypnotizing himself, his face expressionless as he tilted his head: "Hayasaka, how is it going?"

Just as the radio had evolved into a tablet, after this period of slaughter, the technology level of this dungeon had subtly surpassed reality. That tablet could now display the positions of friendly forces; the "Future Soldier" program that the United States dreamed of had been realized so easily.

In the dim, stifling underground parking lot, Hayasaka's face was taut, her lips dry as she stared at the tablet in her hands, while Rich Brother leaned over to look, equally speechless.

Dense clusters of blue dots had already surrounded the two buildings. Aside from a few searching for the missing Li Dan, roughly ninety percent had swarmed into Building A, then surged up to the tenth floor like a school of bloodthirsty sharks.

There were too many friendly markers; the red dot representing Yuki was submerged among them. He was surrounded by enemies on all sides.

"I don't know how many people are around you, but just as you expected, the concentration is highest at the east stairwell. The west side has fewer, mostly those who rappelled from the roof. Be careful, some of them have already clung to the outer wall and are preparing to rappel down."

Because Li Dan had fired the first shot, the pursuers coming from all directions were basically concentrated on the east side of the village near the sea. After receiving intelligence and flooding into Building A, they were naturally closer to the east stairwell.

"They look like humans, but they aren't humans after all." Yuki smiled. He had realized this while playing 'Need for Speed' in the city; these enemies, who were essentially living corpses, followed their instincts more closely.

Just like sharks smelling blood, they would naturally take the shortest route to hunt.

This was a core essence that tactical maneuvers, firearm handling, or even technological evolution could not mask. They were no different from the monsters in the ancient castle that only knew how to form human ladders and would swarm at the slightest disturbance.

"I understand." Yuki hung up the communication and pressed another channel: "Senior, is it done?"

"It's done, get out of there quickly!"

Her breathing was heavy; Mai Sakurajima was clearly running frantically. However, when she heard no response, her heart sank.

She had already escaped Building A. Looking back, she saw a spectacular sight:

The Crimson Moon was looming, police lights were flashing on the east side of the unfinished building, helicopters were circling back and forth, and the number of flashlight beams piercing out from the building was uncountable.

This building was like a bonfire in the night, attracting countless moths.

How, how could he escape this?

Looking at the cinematic scene before her, Mai Sakurajima had no idea what to do. She could only move her legs mechanically, dragging the cable toward Building B.

It was an exaggerated scene; if this were on Earth, it would be enough to make the front-page news.

Yuki leaned against the wall, listening to the footsteps flooding in, watching his watch without blinking.

Nine-fifty. Two minutes of Reinforcement Magecraft remained.

He lowered his hand and turned to look at the hallway outside, where dozens of bags of cement and lime were piled up.

Click.

Yuki disengaged the safety on his rifle, gripped a defensive grenade in his palm, and took a light breath.

My Ego Trait isn't of much use in this situation. I only have one trump card left.

"Then use it!!"

As several flashbangs were tossed into the room, he threw the defensive grenade out as well, then leaped backward with speed that surpassed a human's.

Bang! Bang!

Both sides detonated simultaneously. Yuki hid behind the corner, his head left buzzing, but the SWAT team in the open hallway was not so lucky; a large group was taken down on the spot.

Some were wounded, some were killed, but those behind didn't care at all. They stepped over the corpses and pushed forward. The cement was blown apart, and the air was filled with thick dust, making everything impossible to see for a moment.

"Advance!"

"Target is in the room on the left."

"Suppressive fire!"

Yuki ran forward without looking back, passing through a hole in the wall that hadn't been sealed yet into the adjacent room, hearing bullets ricocheting behind him.

"Cease fire, pursue him."

The enemy fired for a while, then suddenly realized Yuki hadn't returned to the hallway. They hurried to pursue, their high-intensity flashlights sweeping across every door.

With the thick dust, the advance from the east wasn't fast, but the west side was also closing in.

Yuki didn't have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He passed through another room and suddenly stopped, leaning against the wall. He could hear dense footsteps in front and behind, and people were rappelling down the outer wall.

One minute and fifteen seconds.

His breathing and heartbeat became steady. He bit down on his knife, drew an axe from his back, counted to three, and suddenly turned toward the hallway.

The hallway was filled with thick dust. A SWAT member wearing black tactical gear, with only his eyes visible, emerged from the dust. As he looked up and saw the suspect right in front of him, he was about to raise his gun, but the bright axe had already swung down fiercely.

Crack.

The axe blade cleaved into the facial bone, triggering a shrill scream. Then, black branches sprouted from the wound, growing right out of the top of the skull.

Item: Frontal Lobe Fragment.

Just as in the ancient castle, these Petals swelled wildly upon contact with blood, slicing the men behind into pieces like razor-sharp blades and forcing the tactical squad advancing down the corridor to a halt.

One minute.

Yuki did not even look back to check the results; he pulled out his axe, turned, and sprinted away. Two seconds later, a dense volley of gunfire erupted, bullets shredding the Petals, while some men ignored their teammates and hurled grenades.

Boom! Boom!

The corridor shuddered, the floorboards threatening to shatter at any moment. Yuki plunged forward, stumbling as bullets struck his tactical vest, propelling him forward.

Cannot stop. Must not stop.

He continued to hypnotize himself, spotting faint silhouettes in the swirling dust ahead. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised the rifle in his left hand.

Rat-tat-tat-tat.

No need to aim; the muzzle tucked against his ribs spat out a long tongue of flame. Some men were downed, others scrambled for cover, and some prepared to throw grenades.

Thirty rounds were spent in seconds. Yuki did not stop; he dropped the empty rifle and opened his mouth.

Forty-five seconds.

A long blade fell into his palm, and his speed increased. Seeing something rolling down the corridor, he kicked it away.

BOOM—

The grenade returned to its origin, detonating right in the middle of the crowd. Shrapnel triggered a chorus of screams, and before the bright fireball could fade, the sharp edge of the blade was already upon them.

Those who block me die!

A decapitation with one strike, a raised knee to send the second man flying, then a leap off the wall to pivot, gripping the sword with both hands before the muzzles could track him.

Slash.

Blood and fragments of firearms sprayed through the air. Yuki, his head splitting with agony, had entered a berserk state, cleaving man and rifle in two.

Thought solidified within the throbbing pain. He didn't bother to finish off those downed by the blast, thinking only of slaughtering any creature that blocked his path and using their corpses as shields.

The long blade pierced two men like a skewer of meat. As he withdrew the sword, he twisted his waist, swinging the two corpses behind him to block the incoming projectiles.

Thirty seconds.

There were no enemies left in front, but the firing from behind reached a crescendo. Over a hundred bullets tore down the corridor, causing the two corpses to twitch incessantly.

Yuki could not care, nor did he have the strength to; he saw the empty stairwell ahead and, without a word, leaped into it.

Clang, clang, clang.

Dazzling sparks erupted against the walls of the stairwell. The two corpses were shredded by the concentrated fire, but gravity pulled Yuki down, allowing him to slip out of the line of fire first.

As he fell, Yuki drove his long blade into the wall, carving a straight line. The mutated item began to bend under the unbearable strain, but it successfully slowed his descent.

Thud.

He crashed onto the first floor. Even with a mattress to cushion the impact, he was left dazed and battered. Yuki crawled up through sheer willpower; the sound of his fall had alerted the enemies who had just stormed the building, and they were now rushing toward the stairwell.

Fifteen seconds.

No room for hesitation—even a glance back would be suicide. He unleashed his maximum speed, sprinted down the corridor, dashed toward the west side, and leaped out of the window before the pursuers could fire.

The pale red moonlight became more prominent. No longer shielded by floors, he was exposed to the helicopter circling above, but before the searchlight could lock onto him, Yuki had covered another few dozen meters, sprinting toward a pitch-black staircase.

Countless muzzles in the building behind him were aimed at his back. Snipers pulled their bolts to chamber rounds, and the helicopter's searchlight turned him into the brightest star in the night.

Five seconds, ten meters.

Yuki looked toward the entrance to the underground parking lot and pressed the walkie-talkie on his chest.

"Mai, detonate!!!"

Chapter 32: The Second Night Begins! (Revised)

Mai Sakurajima hid behind a load-bearing wall in Building B.

Her ability had faded, but because ninety percent of the enemies had been lured into Building A by Yuki, no one would find her here for the time being.

She had only been resting for a few minutes when the dense gunfire and the sound of the helicopter forced her to peek out. One look was all it took for her to freeze in place.

A scene more spectacular than any movie she had ever starred in was unfolding a hundred meters away. The building was crawling with SWAT members, the bright searchlights turning the night into day, and a dark figure darting out made her heart tighten.

Since the game began, that man had already left her with too many iconic moments—the blood-stained silhouette in the castle corridor, the high-speed race across the bridge—but at this very moment, he had become the focus of the spotlight.

One man sprinting ahead, over a hundred muzzles protruding from the building behind him, the helicopter circling overhead, its searchlight chasing him relentlessly.

Faster, please, be faster.

Mai Sakurajima held her breath, her fingers white as she gripped the detonator, as if she were the one on center stage, targeted by countless guns.

The searchlight caught up to Yuki, and scorching bullets left a trail of sparks behind him. Just then, she finally heard the voice from the walkie-talkie.

"Detonate!!!"

Without a second thought, her palm twisted instinctively and pressed down hard. In the moment the current surged, Mai Sakurajima felt as though an entire year had passed.

He trusts me so much. Did I wire it correctly? If I messed up a single connection, we're both dead.

The lives of everyone rested on her shoulders, the pressure so immense it was suffocating. Only now did she understand how exhausted Yuki had been since joining the game; she knew he had already made similar choices several times over.

Yet this guy was still cracking jokes like a pig-headed fool; what kind of mental fortitude was this?

Mai Sakurajima's understanding of Yuki suddenly deepened, and then a scorching fireball bloomed in her pupils, followed by a dull explosion that left her ears ringing.

BOOM—RUMBLE—

On the third floor of Building A, a series of detonation points emerged, the shockwave sending all manner of debris flying and forcing the girl to cover her head with both hands, pressing her face tightly against the ground.

Under the Crimson Moon, the building collapsed; no matter how many gun barrels had Yuki's back in their sights, the world spun in an instant as the falling floor slabs crushed everyone into pulp.

Directional demolition—the largely intact upper structure toppled toward the east side of the village. With a thunderous roar, it flattened dozens of police cars, while the shockwave sent debris flying, causing the helicopters circling overhead to spiral out of control.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Fireballs bloomed one after another, screams rose and fell, and dust filled the air so thick one couldn't see their own hand, burying all the blood and severed limbs.

"Did I do this?"

Mai Sakurajima found it hard to believe. Since joining the game, she hadn't taken out a single enemy; her physical strength was no different from an ordinary person's, and her Ego Trait had no lethality.

Yet at this very moment, with just a press of her small hand, she had submerged hundreds of pursuers all at once.

[Player Mai is on a killing spree. Reward: one Enhancement Point.]

Me? A killing spree?

Mai's eye twitched. She felt that what the strange voice described didn't quite fit her style, but looking at the ruins of the building and the burning flames before her, she couldn't find any fault in it.

With this explosion, even she didn't know how many enemies she had killed; it could be said that more than half of the pursuers had been wiped out. But seeing the remains of limbs amidst the broken walls, Mai couldn't bring herself to smile.

Whether these were living corpses or living people, she had inevitably taken a giant step toward the abyss of chaos, and the peaceful daily life in her memories felt increasingly distant.

I was forced into this, but to survive, I had no choice but to do it.

She climbed up from behind the wall, feeling the scorching night wind heavy with the scent of blood, when suddenly her body shuddered and she turned her head with some stiffness.

Beep-beep-beep-beep.