I, a Reincarnation Stream Player

Go!

When she was about a hundred meters away, she pushed down on the control lever, kicked open the side door, and jumped out, curling up to protect her head as she rolled.

Ugh—

The train hurtled past like a wild horse, plunging straight into the horde. Flesh and blood flew everywhere as it crushed one body after another.

The Boomer exploded on the spot. The hundreds-of-tons human creation sent the Tank flying, then the front of the train derailed after getting tangled up in too many severed limbs, flinging the cars behind it sideways.

Crash, crash, crash...

The impacts continued without pause. Twisted steel mixed with severed limbs to form a Garbage Mountain, sealing off most of the tunnel.

[Player Hayasaka, you have become a Living Corpse Slayer. Reward: one enhancement point]

Hayasaka Ai struggled to lift her head, rubbing her ankle. The strange voice made her pause.

As she crossed the river, she had collected who knew how many heads with the Frontal Lobe Fragment as it slashed wildly through the horde. Add to that the train that had plowed a path through the dead, and the title of Living Corpse Slayer was well deserved.

Hayasaka Ai had no time to check her personal panel, though. One subway train wasn't enough to seal the tunnel, and Living Corpses were squeezing through the gaps.

Fortunately, the subway entrance was only so wide, and not too many Living Corpses had flooded into the tunnel. Their strength hadn't been enhanced, so they couldn't do anything to the twisted steel.

"Let's do it again while we have time. Then we should be safe."

Hayasaka Ai struggled to her feet, too busy to be surprised by Yuki's thoroughness. That guy had investigated everything when they first escaped into the tunnel, and knew the trains could be started.

She had only taken two steps when a foul, bloody stench filled her nostrils. A massive black claw loomed before her eyes.

The Witch ignored Yuki and showed no interest in hunting Robert. She went straight for Hayasaka Ai.

Whoosh—bang!

Hayasaka Ai rolled to the side. Five gouges had been torn into the concrete floor. Then a greatsword slashed in, forcing the Witch back, followed by a burst of gunfire like beans spilling from a pan.

Li Dan shot every Living Corpse that crawled through the gaps in the head, while Yuki appeared in front of the girl, shielding her completely.

"I'll handle the Witch. Keep going. The second train on the left is fully charged."

"Okay."

They exchanged no more words. Hayasaka Ai ran straight for another train, seemingly forgetting the scrapes covering her body.

The battle in the tunnel grew complicated and intense. Everyone had a role to play, except Robert, who stood there with a gun, unsure what to do.

Mai Sakurajima activated her trait and vanished without a sound. Li Dan pulled the trigger, never missing a shot, using the unlimited-ammo trait of his revolver to kill one Living Corpse after another. Yuki moved swiftly, covering Hayasaka Ai as she went to start the second subway train.

With the terrain to their advantage, the battle reached a stalemate. Living Corpses kept pouring in from above, and the number of their own kind they trampled to death far exceeded the number the players killed.

Living Corpses are hard to deal with once they become intelligent. Neither Li Dan nor I can break away.

Yuki ran at full speed, his eyes darting from side to side.

The ground near the Dispatch Room trembled more and more. Another horde was on its way, but the narrow stairs slowed its advance. Inside the tunnel, no more Living Corpses were squeezing through the gaps to get themselves killed, and things had quieted down a little.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Soon, violent impacts thundered in their ears, making the pile of train cars shake nonstop. Yuki turned and saw hulking shadows through the gaps.

Tanks. At least ten of them had gathered, using their immense strength to shove aside the barrier of steel and flesh. Their bodies were like steel, enough to withstand the revolver's shots.

That forced Li Dan, who had been hoping to take the chance to retreat, to keep holding them back. He yelled, "Come help! I can't hold them off!"

Help my ass. If I go up there, you'll take the chance to run, won't you? Stay right where you are.

Yuki sneered. He had seen the power of that revolver. Li Dan was still hiding his strength.

Counting both the Living Corpses and the players, Yuki replied, "I'll deal with the Witch. Hayasaka starting the train will be more efficient than the two of us."

That left Li Dan with nothing to say. The Witch really was clever; she was focused on hunting Hayasaka Ai, keeping her from starting the train.

The horde had already come down on the right, and Robert couldn't get away.

Yuki's eyes shifted. He saw Robert firing shot after shot. The room where the three of them had rested briefly was packed with heads, and even more Living Corpses were jammed in the stairwell doorway, crushed into bloody pulp by those behind them.

The fat man was absurdly brave. He seemed not to see the Living Corpses in front of him, focusing only on shooting the ones squeezing through the crack in the door.

He was strange, but he wouldn't hold them back for long.

Yuki made his judgment at a glance. As he kept charging toward the Witch, he growled, "You need to fight for your life now. You still want to hold back!?"

There was no reply. That meant one thing:

Li Dan still had a trump card and was waiting for the right moment to use it.

"Sorry, but I'm not going to follow your script." Yuki drew a breath, pulled a round grenade from his coat, and yanked out the pin. "Robert, get out of the way!"

He threw it. Robert, almost buried beneath the Living Corpses, turned around. There was no delight in his eyes, only hatred.

"You idiot!"

Boom—

The grenade exploded. Shrapnel and the shock wave scattered in every direction, blasting a dozen Living Corpses away. But it also blew apart the Living Corpses jammed in the doorway. Like a dam bursting, the horde packed into the stairwell surged out all at once.

There. Now you're the one caught in the middle. Let's see how you hold back now.

Yuki had already factored Li Dan into the equation. The situation was simple: the barricade was on the verge of collapse, and the horde pouring out of the Dispatch Room had cut the team in two. Li Dan was closest to the outside.

Bang, bang, bang.

Robert didn't use the chance to retreat. Instead, he kept firing for his life, but he was too weak to stop the horde in front of him. Just then—

Her?

Yuki caught a figure rushing out from the side in the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw the utterly inconspicuous housewife.

Her hair was still styled dangerously, and her face was deathly pale, like a Living Corpse. Green strands were sprouting from her body and spreading outward.

It was a net, growing denser by the moment. She swept past Yuki like a gust of wind, shot him a vicious look, then leaped deep into the horde.

Boom—

The housewife exploded. There was no blood or flesh, only a vast mass of pale-green fungal threads.

They were a little like the Frontal Lobe Fragment. The fungal threads grew at a crazy rate in an instant, but they didn't cut any Living Corpses. They burrowed into flesh and sprouted more threads, layering over one another until they filled everything around them. Soon, the gap by the Dispatch Room looked as if it had been patched over with pale-green material.

There were no gaps. The Living Corpses pounded furiously at the barrier, their bulging hands visible, but they couldn't break through.

So you did have a trick up your sleeve.

Yuki turned around and met Li Dan's eyes atop the train car. The hatred in his gaze was plain to see.

He didn't know how the housewife had become a remote-controlled bomb, but he understood that if Li Dan hadn't used her now, she would have been the killing blow later.

Those green fungal threads were enough to fill the entire tunnel. There was a ninety percent chance Li Dan would have used this trick as a last resort, turning the tables at the last moment. Instead, he'd been forced to use it now.

Seeing the hatred in Li Dan's eyes didn't frighten Yuki. It even gave him a little satisfaction.

Ha! A favor returned is only proper!

That old schemer had been plotting against him the whole time, never intending to let him return. Fine, then. Let's see who's more devious and who's smarter.

In the end, I got the better of you. Your skill was too obvious.

Yuki turned away. He had no time to exchange glances with Li Dan now, but thanks to his "help," Yuki could finally focus on the Witch.

Physical Enhancement.

He braced himself with one arm and leaped onto the train car. Spotting the Witch in hot pursuit of Hayasaka Ai, he pulled out the shotgun and fired ahead.

Bang!

A cloud of buckshot flew past Hayasaka Ai's back, separating her from the Witch just as it was about to reach her. The Witch leaped straight up and twisted in midair, claws stabbing toward Yuki's chest.

Screee—

The chainsaw and claws clashed, throwing off bright sparks. In the light, Yuki saw a pair of yellow-brown eyes. He lifted his leg and drew his knife.

Clang.

His blade caught the claws slashing at his legs. Just as the Chainsaw Sword was about to reach the Witch, she suddenly let up. Her petite body rolled across the train car, and her claws sliced through the roof as easily as butter.

She still refused to fight Yuki head-on. After landing inside the car, she kicked off with both legs and lunged toward Hayasaka Ai's back. The blonde girl had just jumped down from the roof and opened the driver's cabin door.

The sound of air being sliced apart came from behind. Hayasaka Ai didn't turn to fight. She pushed open the door without even looking back, simply extending a black gun barrel from beneath her arm.

Bang!!

The shotgun blasted, blood blooming across the Witch's body and knocking her backward. Yuki rushed forward and raised his blade to strike the monster.

Sparks burst out as the metal floor split in two, but Yuki froze for a moment. The Witch had already cut through the floor and dropped down before he could strike.

She was small and incredibly fast. More importantly, she was smart!

Yuki licked his lips. In terms of fighting strength, the Witch couldn't compare to the Tyrant, but she was extremely cunning. She also had a clear target, knowing that the horde was the real threat.

"Keep going. I'll handle it."

Hayasaka Ai, standing in the driver's cabin doorway, paused. She guessed that she had been targeted, and the pain in her ankle was excruciating. The second collision would be dangerous.

But no one else could help her now, so she gritted her teeth.

"Okay."

Yuki vaulted out the window and off the train. As he ducked his head, he saw a blurry figure crawling beneath the train, occasionally scraping out a few sparks.

It even knew to take out the wheels!

Yuki suddenly found the big, bald Tyrant kind of adorable. You couldn't tell how strong something was until you fought it, and this monster was wriggling away from him like a loach.

He pulled out the shotgun and fired eight blasts beneath the train, finally forcing the Witch out from the other side.

"Start the train!"

Whoo—

A whistle sounded. The train began to accelerate, rushing past him. Yuki turned his head slightly and saw that the barricade blocking the tunnel was on the verge of collapse.

A dozen Tanks had rammed it together. Even hundreds of tons of steel couldn't withstand the impact; it had twisted, and they had already smashed one car aside, leaving a hole five or six meters wide. Then, with these steel-boned monsters leading the way, the rest shoved their way in.

Like demons from hell, their arms writhed and waved as they used brute force to widen the opening.

It wasn't moving fast enough. The train couldn't block the tunnel completely!

Yuki realized they were in trouble. The Witch had damaged the suspension, locking several wheels in the middle of the train. They scraped against the tracks, throwing off bright sparks and keeping the train from reaching top speed.

On the other side, the Tanks that had charged through the hole were already standing on the tracks, lined up to collide with the train using their bodies.

"Li Dan! Do you want to die!?"

"Quit fucking rushing me!" Li Dan was so frustrated that he felt like coughing up blood. He really did just want to run, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow orders.

The housewife had been meant to seal off their retreat, but the grenade had forced her to detonate early.

Death Knell was his last trump card, but how could he escape if he didn't use it?

Damn it, why was this brat so devious?

Cursing, Li Dan had no choice but to pull the trigger.

Bang!!!

The gunshot boomed like thunder. The weapon in Li Dan's hand wasn't a revolver at all—it was a cannon. The projectile struck a Living Corpse that even the Chainsaw Sword couldn't cut apart, sending flesh flying as the shock wave hurled it away.

Hayasaka Ai used the same trick again. As the gunshot rang out, she jumped off the train and curled up to roll with the momentum. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Tanks that had just been knocked down get hit head-on by the train.

Graaang—

Steel twisted with a teeth-grinding screech. The front of the train crumpled, and the entire train derailed, flinging hundreds of tons of cars into the air.

The hole they had just widened was now mostly buried. The twisted cars formed a small mountain, but a small leak could sink a great ship. After the Tanks that had been knocked aside got back up, they didn't charge in to fight. Instead, they tore through the steel panels from the inside.

They couldn't hold them back any longer.

Living Corpses kept squeezing through the gaps in a steady trickle. They leaped onto the train cars and ran over the tracks, even ducking low to dodge Li Dan's shots.

"Your turn, you bastard!"

After paying a terrible price, he had finally found his chance to escape.

Li Dan immediately abandoned his firing position and sprinted away, his legs moving so fast they blurred. He brushed past Yuki, who stood at the end of the tunnel. If the horde weren't about to arrive and he didn't need that bastard to draw their attention, he would've shot him in the head.