What had that madman meant by his final words?
Once Li Wei had calmed down, he realized he'd heard those same words somewhere before. Suddenly, he remembered: hadn't the Shadow Guard who'd saved him said the exact same thing?
It had been exactly five days.
Twenty-five days... What would happen in twenty-five days?
Li Wei regretted killing the other man so quickly. Clearly, the "secret" Shao Yang had mentioned had caught his interest, but now it was too late to do anything about it.
The other man was already a corpse. Dead men couldn't talk!
Only after calming down from his earlier "frenzy" did Li Wei notice the pain in his left arm. It was a pain beyond description. If he could, he really wished he could pass out right then.
Seeing a Guardian's Yellow Paper and several Skill Books floating above Shao Yang's corpse, Li Wei finally managed a grin. Who would've thought such a powerful man would die at his hands?
But first things first: he had to stop the bleeding in his left arm. Li Wei summoned his own Yellow Paper and took out the Golden Sore Medicine he'd "stolen" from Guo Jian.
This time, it took two whole bottles to stop the bleeding from his left arm. Even so, it left him drenched in cold sweat. His face was barely any better than that of the corpse that had been soaking in water for days.
After putting away Shao Yang's dropped Skill Books and Guardian, Li Wei tried to get to his feet, but stumbled and nearly fell.
"Looks like I've lost too much blood!"
Li Wei simply sat down on the ground and picked up the two Rapiers lying nearby, examining them closely.
[Nuwa's Rapier] (Damaged), green quality, attack 20–34, comes with Pierce attack. "Holding these two Rapiers, you can feel their lightness!"
They really did feel light in his hands, almost like feathers. But both blades were clearly damaged, which left Li Wei disappointed.
"Use Stacking!"
Since he'd picked them up for free, Li Wei immediately used the Art of Stacking on the two Rapiers. A flash of light later, they merged into one. After stacking, the blade had grown much longer, becoming a two-handed sword. Its gorgeous appearance and sharp edge made it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary weapon.
Even in his hand, it didn't feel heavy. Though it was nearly two meters long, it was effortless to swing.
Li Wei checked its stats and grinned!
[True Nuwa's Rapier], blue quality, attack 31–42, comes with the "Rock Earth Spike" skill. "Nuwa forged this sword from the clay she used to create humanity, and so it received the blessing of the Earth God!"
What a treasure!
This was the first weapon Li Wei had ever seen that came with a "skill," and it was blue quality, too. A weapon like this would probably spark a buying frenzy on Shadow Street. Unfortunately, Li Wei had no intention of selling it.
By now, he'd recovered some of his strength. Once he'd managed to stand, he held the sword in one hand and swung it at a nearby car.
He wanted to test the sword's power!
With a boom, the blade cleaved through the car's metal body. At the same instant, several spikes burst out of the ground, skewering the car right through. Like a beast erupting from underground, they tore the unlucky vehicle to shreds.
The spectacle was breathtaking, and its destructive power was beyond question.
Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. With this sword, he could finally retire his old dagger, and it went some way toward making up for losing his left arm.
"What happened to your arm?" a voice suddenly came from behind him.
Li Wei turned around and smiled. It was that woman, Zheng Yutong. Judging by how anxious she looked, she must've run back as fast as she could. The sweat on her forehead in particular warmed his heart.
Now this was a real companion. They hadn't known each other long and didn't know much about each other, but that didn't stop them from trusting one another. Compared to those friends who were all talk, someone like Zheng Yutong was a true partner worth having.
"What... What happened to you?"
Zheng Yutong stared at Li Wei's missing left arm, her eyes turning red. Without a word, she hurriedly pulled some bandages from her pocket and wrapped them around him with practiced hands.
Thanks to the Golden Sore Medicine, the wound had nearly healed, but there was no getting his missing arm back. For someone who regularly faced life-and-death situations, that was a terrifying prospect. Zheng Yutong understood that better than anyone.
That was why she burst into tears!
Who could've imagined the battle would be so brutal? Now she finally understood what Li Wei's gesture had meant back then. Knowing his opponent was even stronger than he was, he'd made that choice anyway.
He hadn't hesitated to send her away first while staying behind alone. He'd chosen to face the danger, even knowing it could cost him his life. Zheng Yutong suddenly felt so useless.
"Okay, stop crying! I'm fine, aren't I?" Li Wei had never seen a girl cry before, and he panicked. At a loss, he could only change the subject.
"How are the newcomers?"
Zheng Yutong shot Li Wei a glare and wiped her tears. "They're waiting for us at the subway station. The passage led there, just like you predicted. But... I should've come back faster. Then your arm wouldn't have..."
As she spoke, her eyes grew wet again.
Li Wei truly had no idea what to do. He could easily handle a fierce zombie, but when it came to a beautiful woman crying like a rain-soaked flower, he was helpless.
Remembering the "secret" the Shadow Guard and Shao Yang had mentioned before they died, Li Wei told her about it too. He wanted to know whether Zheng Yutong, as a veteran, had heard anything about it.
She hadn't.
Li Wei rubbed his chin and quickly turned it over in his mind. This had to be an extremely closely guarded secret, one that concerned the safety of the real world. What would happen in twenty-five days?
The Shadow Guard had told him to be prepared, while Shao Yang had said that when the time came, everyone would die. He couldn't trust the dying madman's words completely, but he couldn't dismiss them entirely either. Something major was sure to happen in twenty-five days, and it would happen in the real world.
Unfortunately, there were too few clues. Li Wei could rack his brains all he wanted and still couldn't figure out what would happen.
He'd better focus on the task at hand. The passage was open, and all they had to do was reach the subway station and board the train that went straight out of the city. Then they could complete the mission perfectly.
Just as Li Wei arrived at the subway station, his Guardian's Yellow Paper suddenly appeared.
"Attention: The second batch of 'Reincarnators' will enter this scenario world in five minutes. The second batch of Reincarnators belongs to the zombie faction. Avoid being hunted by them as much as possible. Killing a Reincarnator from the opposing faction will earn you 2,000 points..."
Li Wei and Zheng Yutong exchanged a look. They could both see the shock in each other's eyes.
What was this supposed to be?
An arena? Clearly, this mission had thrown everyone into a killing ground. The points awarded for kills would only provoke a massive bloodbath.
How many members were in the second batch of "Reincarnators"? How strong were they? The mission didn't say, but presumably they'd be evenly matched with the first batch.
Li Wei and the others didn't waste any more time. They boarded the light-rail train bound for the outskirts. Only after it roared through Raccoon City and reached a suburban station did their Yellow Papers report that they'd completed the mission.
"Escape Raccoon City within 24 hours: complete! Reward: 1,500 points..."
At the same time, another message appeared on everyone's Yellow Paper: "The second batch of Reincarnators has entered this scenario world. Kill Mode activated. After killing at least five Reincarnators from the opposing faction, you will be automatically transported back to Shadow Street. Failure to complete the task within 72 hours will result in elimination!"
Several hundred people appeared out of thin air inside a large shopping mall in Raccoon City. A Yellow Paper floated in front of each of them. After reading the mission, most of them looked startled. Only a small number smiled.
Among them, one person in a pitch-black cloak stood out in particular.
"The zombie faction, huh?... I can enslave up to five zombies to serve me, I'm immune to the T-Virus, zombies won't attack me, and the 'Guardian' automatically marks the locations of the first batch of Reincarnators. Hahaha, this is fantastic!"
The cloaked figure burst into laughter and pulled a little stick from his robes. Someone beside him stared in disbelief.
"Is... is that a wizard? He's actually a wizard!"
It was no wonder the man was so shocked. Everyone knew that on Shadow Street, you could buy a high-level martial arts manual as long as you had enough points. But legendary skills were extremely hard to obtain, and wizard skills were among them. Only after learning wizard skills and becoming a wizard could you get your hands on that little stick.
A Magic Wand!
A wizard's weapon, used to cast all kinds of miraculous spells.
The wizard glanced around. Beneath his hood, his face wore a look of disdain.
He murmured a spell, spread his hand, and a broom suddenly appeared in midair, flying into his grasp as if drawn by a magnet.
Then the wizard sat on the broom and rose into the air. With a whoosh, he flew out through the mall's open-air window.
"That has to be a veteran with a high ranking. He can even fly! God, I'm so jealous. If I could do that, I'd be able to pick up tons of girls!" A burly man with a leering face stared longingly after the departing wizard and spoke to his companion.
"Quit talking nonsense. That's not someone we can afford to mess with. Didn't you see the mission? We have to kill at least two members of the first batch of Reincarnators to complete it. What's your number, brother? Why don't we team up?"
People began leaving the mall in groups. Some immediately took advantage of the mission and enslaved zombies outside.
Among them was a fat man who followed the crowd with a terrified look on his face. His timid, fawning manner immediately annoyed the people around him.
"Hey, fatty, what's your number?"
The fat man shuddered. Seeing that the man addressing him was a giant two heads taller than he was, he stammered, "Big brother, m-my number is 84501. Could I follow you..."
Before he could finish, the giant kicked him to the ground.
"Damn, you're useless, and your number's so low, too. You think you can follow me? You'd better ask around. Iron Skin doesn't keep useless trash by his side. Get lost, you pig!"
Amid the angry shouts and the surrounding laughter, the fat man fled back into the mall.
If Li Wei had been there, he would've recognized the fat man. Of course, he'd soon run into this old "acquaintance" again.
"It's Saturday already—time flies! Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to vote and leave a tip!"
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