A Great Harvest, The Second Batch of Reincarnators

What did that madman mean by his final words before dying?

Li Wei, having calmed down, felt as though he had heard those same words somewhere before. Suddenly, it clicked—wasn't this exactly what the Shadow Guard who had saved him once said?

Counting the time, exactly five days had passed.

Twenty-five days... what would happen in twenty-five days?

Li Wei felt a pang of regret for killing the man so quickly. Clearly, the "secret" Shao Yang spoke of had piqued his interest, but now, it was too late to say anything.

The man was already a stiff corpse, and dead men tell no tales!

Only after the adrenaline faded did Li Wei feel the agony in his left arm. It was an indescribable pain; if he could, he would have wished to pass out right then and there.

Seeing the Guardian Yellow Paper and several Skill Books floating above Shao Yang's corpse, Li Wei finally cracked a smile. Who would have thought that such a powerhouse would end up dying by his own hand?

However, the top priority was to stop the bleeding in his left arm. Li Wei summoned his Yellow Paper and produced the Golden Sore Medicine he had "snatched" from Guo Jian.

This time, it took two full bottles to finally staunch the blood flow. Even so, the effort left him drenched in a cold sweat, his complexion barely distinguishable from the corpses that had been soaking in water for days.

After collecting the Skill Books and Guardian dropped by Shao Yang, Li Wei tried to stand, but stumbled and nearly fell.

Looks like I've lost too much blood!

Li Wei simply sat on the ground and picked up the two rapiers that had dropped, examining them closely.

[True Nuwa's Rapier] (Damaged), Green quality, Attack 20-34, adds Pierce attack. "From these two rapiers, you can feel what it means to be light!"

The weight in his hand was indeed light, like a feather, but the fact that both swords were damaged left Li Wei feeling a bit disappointed.

"Art of Stacking, activate!"

Since he'd picked them up for free, Li Wei immediately used the Art of Stacking on the two rapiers. A flash of light swept over them, and the two blades fused into one. After the stacking, the sword had lengthened significantly, appearing to have transformed into a two-handed blade. Its ornate appearance and razor-sharp edge made it clear at a glance that this was no ordinary item.

Holding it in his hand, he still couldn't feel any significant weight. Even though it was nearly two meters long, he could swing it without the slightest effort.

Checking the stats, Li Wei was delighted!

[True Nuwa's Rapier], Blue quality, Attack 31-42, adds "Rock Earth Spike" skill. "Nuwa refined this sword from the soil used to create humanity; thus, it has received the blessing of the Earth God!"

What a treasure!

This was the first time Li Wei had seen a weapon with an attached "skill," and a Blue-quality one at that. An item like this would likely trigger a buying frenzy if placed on Shadow Street, though Li Wei had no intention of selling it.

By now, he had regained some strength. After struggling to his feet, he held the sword in one hand and struck at a nearby car.

He wanted to test the power of this blade!

With a loud boom, the moment the blade cleaved through the Iron Skin, several spikes erupted violently from the ground. They pierced the car through and through, like a beast emerging from the earth, tearing the unfortunate vehicle into shreds.

The display was astonishing, and the destructive power was beyond reproach.

Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. With this sword, his old dagger could finally retire with honor, and it somewhat compensated for the loss of his left arm.

"What happened to your arm?" A voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

Turning around, Li Wei smiled. It was Zheng Yutong. Seeing her anxious expression, she must have run at full speed to get back so quickly. Especially when he noticed the beads of sweat on her forehead, a warmth spread through Li Wei's heart.

This was what a companion was. Although they hadn't known each other long and didn't know much about one another, it didn't hinder their trust. Compared to those "friends" who only spoke sweet words, someone like Zheng Yutong was a partner truly worth knowing.

"This... how did you end up like this?"

Zheng Yutong's eyes turned red as she looked at Li Wei's missing left arm. Without a word, she hurriedly pulled some gauze from her pocket and skillfully bandaged him.

Thanks to the Golden Sore Medicine, the wound had mostly healed, but the missing arm could never be recovered. Zheng Yutong knew all too well how terrifying this was for someone who constantly lived on the edge of life and death.

That was why she was crying in such a panic!

Who could have imagined this battle would be so brutal? Now she finally understood the meaning of Li Wei's hand gesture back then; it was a decision he made knowing full well his opponent was stronger than himself.

He hadn't hesitated, letting her leave first while he stayed behind alone. He had chosen danger, knowing he might lose his life. Zheng Yutong suddenly felt so useless.

"Alright, stop crying! Didn't I survive?" Li Wei, seeing a girl cry for the first time, was at a loss. Helpless, he decided to change the subject.

"How are the newcomers?"

Zheng Yutong glared at Li Wei, wiped her tears, and said, "They're waiting for us at the subway station. The passage was exactly as you predicted—it leads to the station. But... I should have come back faster. Then your hand wouldn't have..."

As she spoke, her eyes welled up again.

Li Wei was truly at his wit's end. He could easily handle a ferocious zombie, but he had no idea how to deal with a beautiful woman crying like rain on pear blossoms.

Thinking of the "secret" mentioned by the Shadow Guard and Shao Yang before they died, Li Wei brought it up. He wanted to hear if Zheng Yutong, as a veteran, knew anything about it.

She hadn't heard of it.

That was Zheng Yutong's answer. Li Wei rubbed his chin, his mind racing. This matter had to be extremely secretive and related to the safety of the real world. What exactly would happen in twenty-five days?

The Shadow Guard told him to prepare, while Shao Yang claimed everyone would die. He couldn't trust everything a dying madman said, but he couldn't dismiss it entirely either. In twenty-five days, something major would definitely happen, and the location would be the real world.

Unfortunately, there were too few clues. Li Wei could rack his brain all he wanted, but he couldn't deduce what that major event would be.

Better to finish the current mission first. The passage was open; as long as they reached the subway station and boarded the train leading directly out of the city, the mission would be perfectly completed.

Just as Li Wei reached the subway station, his Guardian Yellow Paper suddenly popped up.

"Attention: The second batch of 'Reincarnators' will enter this plot world in 5 minutes. The second batch of Reincarnators belongs to the zombie faction. Please try to avoid being hunted by the second batch of Reincarnators. Killing Reincarnators from the opposing faction will grant a reward of 2000 points..."

Li Wei and Zheng Yutong exchanged glances, both seeing the shock reflected in the other's eyes.

What was this supposed to be?

A gladiator arena? Clearly, this mission had placed everyone into a slaughterhouse. The point rewards for kills, in particular, were bound to incite large-scale carnage.

How many Reincarnators were in the second wave? What was their combat strength? The mission details didn't specify, but it stood to reason they would be evenly matched with the first wave.

Li Wei and his companions didn't linger, immediately boarding the light rail train bound for the city outskirts. Only when the train roared through Raccoon City and arrived at the suburban station did the notification of their completed mission appear on their Yellow Paper.

"Escape Raccoon City within 24 hours: Complete! Reward: 1500 points..."

At the same time, a new prompt appeared on everyone's Yellow Paper: "The second wave of Reincarnators has entered this story world. Slaughter mode activated. You must kill at least 5 hostile Reincarnators to be automatically teleported back to Shadow Street. Failure to complete within 72 hours will result in erasure!"

Inside a large shopping mall in Raccoon City, hundreds of people appeared out of thin air. Each of them had a Yellow Paper floating before them. Upon reading the mission, most were struck with shock, though a small few wore smiles.

Among them, a figure draped in a pitch-black cloak was particularly conspicuous.

"The zombie faction, is it? ...I can enslave up to five zombies to serve me, I'm immune to the T-Virus, immune to zombie attacks, and the Guardian automatically marks the locations of the first-wave Reincarnators. Hahaha, this is fantastic!"

The cloaked figure let out a boisterous laugh and pulled a small stick from his robes. A man standing nearby saw this and his face filled with disbelief.

"It's... a wizard! He's actually a wizard!"

It was no wonder he was so terrified. Everyone in Shadow Street knew that if you had enough points, you could buy high-level martial arts manuals, but legendary skills were incredibly difficult to obtain. Wizarding skills were among them, and only by learning those skills and becoming a wizard could one possibly possess such a small stick.

A Magic Wand!

A wizard's weapon, capable of unleashing all sorts of miraculous magic.

The wizard scanned his surroundings, a trace of disdain appearing on the face hidden deep beneath his cloak.

He muttered a short incantation and opened his hand. A Broomstick leaped from the void, snapping into his grip like a magnet.

The wizard then sat upon the Broomstick, rose into the air, and with a whoosh, flew out through an open window of the mall.

"That must be a high-ranking veteran; he can actually fly! God, I'm so envious. If I had that ability, wouldn't I be able to pick up plenty of girls?" a lecherous-looking brute said to his companion, staring longingly at the departing wizard.

"Stop yapping. That's not someone we can afford to provoke. Didn't you see the mission? We have to kill at least two first-wave Reincarnators to finish. Hey brother, what's your number? Why don't we team up?"

The people in the mall began to pair off and head out, some immediately taking advantage of the mission's perks to enslave the zombies outside.

Among them, a fat man followed the crowd with a look of terror, his timid demeanor quickly drawing the ire of those nearby.

"Hey, fat pig, what's your number?"

The fat man shivered. Seeing that the one questioning him was a giant two heads taller than himself, he stammered, "B-big brother, my... my number is 84501. I was wondering if I could stay by your side..."

Before he could finish, the giant kicked him to the ground.

"Damn it, you're just a piece of trash with such a high number, and you want to follow me? You better go ask around—Iron Skin never keeps trash by his side. Get lost, you pig, as far as you can!"

Amidst the roar of anger and the surrounding laughter, the fat man scrambled back into the mall in terror.

If Li Wei were here, he would surely recognize the identity of this fat man. Of course, he would be seeing this old "acquaintance" soon enough.