This was the first time Cui Xiangyu hadn't been found by his older brother immediately after entering the game. Especially since a war broke out shortly after he entered the game, throwing the whole city into chaos, and then he was being hunted down. He couldn't wait for Cui Xuanzhou to come to him like before; he could only drift along and hide.
Without a wheelchair, without crutches, without any familiar faces around, and with no one to care about his feelings or ignore his legs, intense fear and unease overwhelmed him, making him want to find a dark corner to hide himself away.
Although he had completed the game several times and his physical attributes had improved, making him no longer as frail as before, easily blown over by the wind, his physical disability meant he was still not completely able to protect himself, especially after witnessing those NPCs driven mad by despair, who would even skin and eat Player alive in order to unleash their supernatural abilities...
Although Player possess special abilities, these abilities, items, and overall capabilities are limited. Unless they become powerful enough to wipe out all those people, they will only exhaust all their energy and be devoured.
Now he and a dozen other survivors are hiding in a noodle shop in an alley. He is a disabled person who poses little threat, and no one pays much attention to him.
A burly, imposing-looking man, acting as if he were the boss, said, "Since I'm the boss, you all have to listen to us. Now hand over all your valuables, and I'll distribute them among you! If you don't want to, leave now."
These words displeased everyone present, but the big guy did look like a formidable fighter, his muscles bulging, his biceps hanging like two rocks on his arms, almost bursting his clothes. For a moment, no one dared to utter a word of dissent.
Even the elderly couple in their fifties who ran the noodle shop could only watch helplessly, bowing and scraping for help.
The first person stepped forward and took out the money from his wallet, the second person took off his gold ring... one after another, people stepped forward and handed over their valuables, even an office worker handed over his watch.
Even the initial two thousand yuan in Cui Xiangyu's backpack was taken away.
The big guy was quite satisfied and continued, "Since everyone is cooperating so well, I will definitely consider everyone's safety. I have a second request: our resources here are limited, and every bit we eat is a bit less. My team doesn't support idlers. Those who can't go out with us to find supplies, please leave now."
The words were clearly pointed at, and Cui Xiangyu immediately felt several gazes fall on him, looking at him with pity, sympathy, and schadenfreude. Clearly, the "unemployed idler" was referring to him.
Cui Xiangyu gave him a cold glance. "I'm not interested in your stuff. I'm just hiding here for a while, and I'll leave when things get better outside. Also, isn't the 2,000 yuan you just stole from me enough for me to stay here for a while?"
The burly man's expression changed, feeling his authority challenged. "Your little bit of money is only enough to last you a short while. I think you can leave now. What use is it for a cripple like you to hear what we're about to discuss?"
Cui Xiangyu has been paralyzed and depressed for many years, which has made his body look very thin. The lack of sunlight for a long time has also made his handsome face look pale and weak. His eyes are filled with nothing but weariness of life and numbness.
The words "crippled" or "disabled" no longer hurt him.
The burly man scoffed, "What kind of look is that? Aren't you afraid of death? Believe me, I'll gouge your eyes out and make you wish you were dead."
The burly man stomped on Cui Xiangyu's limp legs, kicking them twice. His legs, devoid of feeling, swayed back and forth like two tattered rags. Not satisfied, the burly man bent down and, from above, slapped Cui Xiangyu's head repeatedly. "You think I'm being rude? If you don't kneel down and apologize to me today, I'll make you regret it!"
"What are you looking at? You dare to look at me like that?! Hah!" The big guy felt something rushing towards him. He leaned back and saw a tornado-like Wind Blade flying towards his neck. If he had been any later, his neck would have been gushing out.
Cui Xiangyu clearly hadn't expected his opponent to dodge his fatal blow. The burly man clicked his tongue, pressed down on Cui Xiangyu's head again, and punched him hard. "Didn't know you were a Player too."
Cui Xiangyu was immediately beaten until he was dizzy and nauseous, spitting out a tooth mixed with blood. His ears were ringing, and even bright red blood was flowing from them. He swayed twice and collapsed to the ground, lying there like a rag, his life hanging in the balance. Several timid girls nearby screamed in fear, "Ahhh! You... you killed someone!"
The burly man turned and glanced at the two men. "What are you yelling for? Shut up if you don't want to die!"
The two girls immediately covered their mouths, staring at him with wide, fearful eyes.
Just as the big guy was searching Cui Xiangyu, the tightly closed roller shutter door was suddenly banged on, and the R Army ' gibberish could be heard outside. The big guy couldn't understand what they were saying, but he and the people inside were clearly startled.
"We're doomed, are they going to kill us?"
"What do we do? What do we do now? Where can the boss hide?"
Shh! Shut up, all of you!
"..."
Just as the big guy and his gang were trying to play dead and pretend no one was around, several large holes were hacked open in the roller shutter door with axe blows. Several pairs of eyes peered through the holes, and then something was thrown in. Moments later, a loud explosion turned the small noodle shop into ruins.
The footsteps outside quickly faded away, followed by a cacophony of gunfire and artillery fire echoing throughout the street.
Cui Xiangyu lay beneath the Earth Wall. When the explosion occurred, he instinctively conjured the Earth Wall to block the attack. He was completely engulfed by the shattered Earth Wall and was suffocating. Although he had been seeking death, when he truly faced it, he couldn't help but struggle. He didn't want to die, not at all.
He dared not move easily, carefully listening to the sounds outside. When he heard the big man cursing, he realized he was still alive. He crawled out of the ruins, grabbed his backpack full of gold and silver, and tried to run away.
"Help, help me! You took protection money and said you'd protect me..." A hand grabbed the big guy's trouser leg, but he kicked it away and ran off.
The man also couldn't catch his breath and died completely.
Only after confirming that there were no strange noises around did Cui Xiangyu finally try to get up. It took a lot of effort to finally crawl out from underground. The air was filled with an extremely heavy smell of blood and gunpowder mixed with the stench of death. At this moment, the shop door was wide open, and the dim sunlight was falling down. He crawled to the door and clearly saw that this street had been turned into hell in the blink of an eye.
Not far away, a raging fire broke out, naked corpses lay on the ground, desperate screams and grotesque laughter shattered the heavens, and civilians who tried to escape were beaten to death one by one, their bodies littering the ground, warm blood spreading like streams...
This inhumane massacre filled Cui Xiangyu with genuine anger and fear. He hadn't felt these emotions in a long time since he had given up on himself. Similarly, he also felt a sense of powerlessness similar to that of someone whose legs were crippled.
This game world is about to be destroyed in war, and no one can change that.
Inside the noodle shop, the other two survivors, who had been hiding deeper, finally crawled out. They trembled with terror when they saw the massacre unfolding in the distance. "Holy crap, those psychopaths! They killed so many people!"
Stop looking! Run if you don't want to die!
The two supported each other and ran for their lives.
Unfortunately, the two hadn't run far when they attracted the attention of armed R Army, gunshots rang out immediately, and someone gave chase.
Cui Xiangyu quickly lay down on the ground, squinted his eyes, and pretended to be dead.