The City Falls, The Escape

Not far away, Bai Jie let out a sharp scream and covered her eyes with her hands, seemingly unwilling to witness the bloody scene.

Zheng Yutong, though she had lightning-fast reflexes, nocked an arrow to her longbow but did not fire. She hesitated; Li Wei was too close, and she could not lock onto the target. A rash attack would surely result in friendly fire.

All of this happened in an instant. Setting aside the internal struggles of the two women, Li Wei knew he was in trouble the moment the vampire grabbed him.

Almost subconsciously, he lunged forward to embrace the creature and lowered his head, slamming his skull into the vampire's chin. It was a move common in children's brawls, yet at this moment, it saved his life.

Not only did he dodge a lethal bite, but by pressing against the creature's chin, he rendered its mouthful of fangs useless. For a moment, the two remained locked in a stalemate, looking from afar like two "intimate" lovers.

Li Wei was fighting for his life. The strength generated by his 9 points of Strength exceeded 300 jin, already double that of a normal person, yet he still felt the strain as his arms, wrapped around the creature's "waist," were slowly being pried apart.

Furthermore, his back and shoulders were being shredded by the vampire's sharp nails, blood streaming down. Even so, he knew he could not let go; to let go meant death.

The vampire's fangs were right above Li Wei's head. The sound of teeth clashing and grinding reached his ears clearly, chilling him to the bone. It was only because it was Li Wei; had it been any other girl, she likely would have been paralyzed with fear long ago.

I can't hold on much longer!

Li Wei realized this clearly. He hadn't expected the threat of death to arrive so quickly, so closely. His face was pressed entirely against the vampire's neck, and the friction against that cold, blood-soaked skin was anything but comfortable.

Wait, the neck?

Regardless of the species, the neck is a highly vulnerable spot, and vampires are no exception.

The chance for a counterattack was right before him. Sometimes, when faced with a life-or-death choice, there is no need to think, nor is there time to do so.

A fierce glint flashed in Li Wei's eyes. He opened his mouth wide and bit down hard on the neck before him. It felt like biting through tough leather. Thick, cold blood welled up, and the pungent, fishy stench nearly made Li Wei vomit, but he held it back. Compared to being torn apart by the creature, he preferred to be the one doing the biting.

Bite after bite, Li Wei could no longer hear if the vampire was roaring or wailing. Regardless, the body held within his arms gradually went limp. The blood volume in his Eye of Perception had long since hit zero.

Pushing the vampire's corpse away, Li Wei collapsed to the ground and began to retch, not stopping until his stomach started to cramp.

If he had a choice, he would never do such a thing again; it was simply too disgusting. Fortunately, the vampire's health had been bottomed out, allowing him to finish it off in one go. Li Wei let out a long breath and shifted his gaze toward the two women not far away.

For some reason, Zheng Yutong felt a chill under his gaze. Li Wei's performance just now had completely exceeded her expectations. To think someone could actually bite a vampire to death?

It was simply a fairy tale!

Yet it had truly happened. In that instant, although her rating far exceeded Li Wei's, she could no longer muster that sense of superiority or the aura of a powerhouse. She asked herself if she could ever perform such a crazy feat, and the answer was no.

As for Bai Jie, she was completely stunned. She stared with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape, her expression filled with fear.

"Are... are you alright?" Zheng Yutong, the veteran, was the first to react. She moved lightly, arriving at Li Wei's side in an instant.

"I'm fine, I won't die!" Glancing at the Vampire Count's corpse, Li Wei's eyes lit up. A wooden chest hovered over the body, emitting a soft glow.

[Treasure Chest], obtained randomly after killing a creature in a plot world. Opening it yields points or items.

Without hesitation, Li Wei reached out and touched the chest. With a ding, two items appeared.

The first was a shield: 'Undead Shield', +5 Stamina, Defense 36, High Quality. 'Blood-red magic runes allow it to better resist attacks from spiritual entities!'

This was a piece of equipment with an item level as high as 27. Li Wei secretly counted himself lucky; he knew the drop rate for this item was only 1%.

The moment this black-and-red shield appeared, it immediately drew the gazes of Zheng Yutong and Bai Jie. Although both were tempted, they tacitly chose to remain silent. Zheng Yutong felt embarrassed; after all, Li Wei had risked his life to kill the vampire, so the loot naturally belonged to him.

As for Bai Jie, she didn't dare harbor any thoughts. Neither Zheng Yutong nor Li Wei were combatants she could rival.

However, Li Wei's next move completely caught both of them off guard.

"Bai Jie, take this shield. The added Stamina will boost your vitality. In this mission, you are the most important protagonist!"

Even as she held the Undead Shield in her hands, Bai Jie remained in disbelief. Although she was a newcomer, she knew the rules of Shadow Street well enough. The people there were selfish and greedy, never passing up an opportunity to gain an advantage. This shield was clearly no ordinary item; if sold on the market, it would fetch a high price. Why would he give such a treasure to her so easily?

What is he plotting?

Recalling how Li Wei had risked his life to stay behind and save her, Bai Jie became even more certain that he must have an ulterior motive.

Seeing her expression, Li Wei could only shake his head helplessly. It was true that his actions were easily suspicious, but there was clearly no time for explanations now.

He took the second item from the treasure chest—a white scroll—and tucked it into his clothes without a close look.

Time was pressing, and they had to evacuate immediately. Not far away, the city walls had already been breached in several places by catapults. A massive number of undead creatures were pouring in, clashing with the soldiers guarding the line.

Clearly, the overwhelming number of undead had the upper hand.

In charge of the defense of Dawn City was the Level 5 Knight, 'Dugall'. He watched the skeletons and zombies breaking through the city with a grave expression. Behind him stood hundreds of archers in leather armor. Even facing such a vast enemy, they remained expressionless, showing not a hint of fear—a testament to their rigorous training.

Dugall was a paragon of loyalty in the Griffin Empire. His motto was: "A dead enemy is the only safe enemy." But now, facing such a multitude of undead, he was powerless.

"My Lord, we can no longer hold back the undead assault. For your safety, please evacuate at once!" A Crusader swordsman ran back from the front line, his silver armor covered in bloodstains.

Dugall glanced at the swordsman and held his head high.

"I am a knight of the Empire. The King bestowed upon me the honor of battle, but he did not grant me the right to flee!" A single sentence left the Crusader swordsman feeling deeply ashamed.

Seeing this, Dugall offered a comforting smile and patted the man's armor.

"Get up, child!"

He could not retreat; it was the most basic dignity of a knight. Dugall let out a long breath and drew his knightly sword.

"Warriors, raise your sharp blades, take up your sturdy longbows, and slaughter these evil undead! Do not cower, and do not retreat, for behind you are your beloved family, friends, and this beautiful homeland!"

His brief words stirred the soldiers behind him, and their morale reached its peak in an instant.

Yet, no matter how heroic the soldiers were, they could not create miracles when facing an enemy several times their number—especially not when facing the undead, who knew no fear and possessed no emotions.

Skeleton soldiers wielding rusted iron swords, zombies with rotting flesh but astonishing defensive capabilities, and ghosts emitting ear-piercing shrieks surged into the city like a tidal wave. Dozens of Vampire Counts circled overhead in bat form; these high-level undead relentlessly assaulted straggling humans, turning the entire town into a slaughterhouse in an instant.

Behind the town, Li Wei and his two companions followed a mass of refugees, fleeing the now-fallen Dawn City.

The journey was far from easy. The scattered undead creatures were the grim reapers this band of refugees feared most. Li Wei could no longer remember how many skeleton soldiers he had struck down; at this moment, even moving his fingers felt like a luxury. Covered in wounds, he gripped a longsword snatched from a fallen skeleton, carving a path forward.

Zheng Yutong fared no better. Her once-pristine armor was stained with blood, and her shoulder-length hair was disheveled. Even with her C3-level combat strength, she had no choice but to flee when faced with such a vast number of undead.

Bai Jie, conversely, remained unscathed, protected by the other two.

"Damn it, here they come again!"

From behind a broken wall not far away came a strange clatter-clatter sound. Soon, dozens of skeleton soldiers clad in tattered, rusted armor emerged. A fierce aura emanated from their hollow eye sockets, and upon spotting the "living" in Li Wei's group, they shrieked and lunged forward.

Level 1 Undead Creature: Skeleton Soldier
Attack: 7, Defense: 6, Damage: 9-13, Speed: 9
Hidden Attributes: Immune to Fear, Low Morale
Drop Rate: 50% chance to drop [Rusted Longsword] upon death
Overall Rating: E1

Tightening his grip on his sword, Li Wei unleashed a horizontal sweep. The blade hacked into the neck bone of the first skeleton; with a crack like a snapping stone pillar, the skull tumbled to the ground.

This act exhausted Li Wei's final ounce of strength. The next moment, a skeleton's strike knocked the longsword from his hand.

Weaponless, Li Wei dared not engage these formidable foes in close quarters. He quickly retreated a few steps, falling back into the formation.

However, the skeleton was soon shattered into a pile of bone fragments by a well-aimed arrow.

"There are too many of these things. Are you sure this path leads out of here?" Zheng Yutong asked, retreating as she stared at the massive swarm of skeletons.

Along the way, she and Li Wei had killed over a hundred skeletons. While they had gained a fair amount of points, they had also depleted a vast amount of stamina.

"If we want to break through, this is the only way!" Li Wei scanned his surroundings and spoke with a firm tone.

Throughout the journey, he had been using his Eye of Perception to judge their escape route. The first task on the Yellow Paper seemed simple, but escaping alive from a fallen town was by no means an easy feat.

It stood to reason; this was a C-level scenario mission, after all. How could it be passed so easily?

Li Wei had been puzzled the moment he entered the scenario and saw the C-level rating.

What did a C-level mission scenario entail? One only had to think to know it would be incredibly difficult.

It was one thing for a C3-level fighter like Zheng Yutong or the C1-level brute to handle it—the difficulty matched their strength—but it was a different story for the other three, himself included.

His own rating was only E3, while Bai Jie and the now-deceased man in glasses were only E1. Facing such difficulty, the danger was self-evident. Not to mention the Vampire Count with its B1 rating, even these skeleton soldiers were extremely troublesome.

This was the first inconsistency!

Secondly, Li Wei found it strange that all five of them had appeared in that house at the start.

He remembered the C1-rated brute saying this was a multiplayer scenario. The implication was that the more people there were, the higher the difficulty. If that were true, then the five people in that room were not randomly placed.

They were "teammates" who had been selected.

This seemed easy to understand, but it was the second inconsistency!

The mission did not force the five to cooperate. Instead, it used the "fall of the town" crisis to scatter them. Li Wei believed that if he hadn't insisted on staying behind to save Bai Jie, the five of them would have split up long ago.

Could this be some kind of "test"?

Especially after learning of Bai Jie's skill, Li Wei had a strange thought: the five of them had been specifically chosen to enter this plot world.

If they hadn't saved Bai Jie, they wouldn't have had her "Slow" spell. In that situation, even Zheng Yutong would have had no choice but to flee upon encountering the Vampire Count.

Thus, when Li Wei shared these deductions with Bai Jie and Zheng Yutong, the two had a sudden realization. This was why Bai Jie, despite having the weakest overall ability, was the one who most needed protection; her special skill was the greatest trump card in this plot mission.

However, Li Wei did not reveal how he knew about Bai Jie's special skill. Some secrets were not meant to be shared. Although the three of them had formed a small team, it was limited to this scenario; no one knew how things would develop in the future.

Zheng Yutong was truly a C3-level powerhouse. Every arrow she loosed claimed a skeleton soldier. Under the current circumstances, if the team lacked her, they likely wouldn't last a minute. Even so, the sheer number of skeletons surrounding them kept the three trapped in the center.

If the five of us had cooperated from the beginning, the situation might be different, Li Wei thought helplessly.

Just then, a large group of "zombies" burst out from the rear. Li Wei, who had been feeling somewhat desperate, discovered that this group of zombies had begun attacking the skeletons on the perimeter, and within moments, they tore a gap in the skeleton encirclement.