Chen Xiaolian saw the indignation and grievance within Qimu Xi’s eyes and he said in an impassive tone, “Do you feel wronged?”
“… … …”
Chen Xiaolian said coolly, “Don’t feel wronged and don’t think that I am bullying you. You need to get this one thing straight. I am neither your father nor your mother. I have no obligation to protect you. Since you are coming along with me, you will get my protection, my food and benefits. However, you must also contribute. This is a cruel game; enjoying benefits without contributing anything? There is no such thing in this world. Don’t tell me you are just a little girl. No one cares about that. No one will give you preferential treatment because of that either!
“Truth be told, the fact that I am willing to take you along and not let you die in the wasteland was already an act of kindness on my part.”
“I…” Qimu Xi became discouraged. She understood that Chen Xiaolian was only stating the facts. However, she was unable to help herself from feeling somewhat oppressed and frustrated. She then said in a low tone, “I understand… just tell me, what do I need to do?”
Chen Xiaolian shoved the remote control for the bombs into Qimu Xi’s hand.
“Keep in mind the sequence that I will be telling you. After that, just follow the sequence and detonate the bombs.
“As for when to start, wait for me to give you the message.”
“Eh? Wait for your message? What does that mean?”
Chen Xiaolian pointed to the walkie-talkie on Qimu Xi’s body and said, “Use this. I will tell you when to trigger the bombs.”
“Use this?” Qimu Xi finally reacted. “You… you want to leave this place and go outside?”
“No, it’s more accurate to say you are the one who will be leaving this place and go outside,” said Chen Xiaolian with an irritated look.
Qimu Xi was shocked.
The little town was enveloped by the darkness of night. Additionally, there were also the remnant flames from the explosions and a terrifying monster wandering around within the darkness!
Although this room was rather small, vulnerable to the incoming winds and had a fellow who would oppress her in an overbearing manner… from the bottom of her heart, Qimu Xi felt that this was the safest place to be.
But now, this fellow actually wanted her to go outside?
“I… where am I going?”
“Up to you. You can wander along the walls or find somewhere to hide in. Find a house with solid wood boards and windows to hide in. However, there is one thing to note… you must maintain a distance of at least 100 meters away from my location.”
Chen Xiaolian listed down his requirements.
Qimu Xi was shocked.
The streets below were filled with darkness… and so terrifying.
He wanted her to go down and cover a distance of 100 meters?
Furthermore… since he won’t be protecting her, what should she do if she encountered other monsters? Even if it was not the terrifying black armoured knight…
What about the ravenous zombie wolves?
“I…”
“You are afraid that you will encounter something dangerous?” Chen Xiaolian sighed before continuing, “This will depend on your luck. Truth be told, this is the only part where you can contribute during a battle. As to whether you will encounter monsters or not, you can only gamble on your luck.”
“… … …”
“Sometimes, luck is also part of strength,” said Chen Xiaolian. He looked at her with a very cold expression. “Your strength is terrible. I can only hope that you have better luck.”
Qimu Xi hesitated for only two seconds before suddenly raising her head. There was decisiveness within her eyes. “All right! I’ll do it!”
Chen Xiaolian smiled; he handed the remote control to her and said, “Remember, you need to run at least 100 meters away!”
“All right, 100 meters! I’ve got it!” Qimu Xi forcefully wiped her eyes – she had begun shedding tears.
“One more thing, keep an eye on my location. Once an explosion happens here, you must quickly run out from your hiding place and move to another spot!”
“Where?”
Chen Xiaolian pointed at the distant clock tower. “There! Understand? Once you see an explosion at my place, regardless of where you were hiding at, you must quickly run over there! The faster the better! However, you are not allowed to go there first! You need to hide in some other place first.”
“All right,” said Qimu Xi who had finished wiping away her tears.
Chen Xiaolian quickly gave Qimu Xi a series of numbers. The series of numbers were to inform Qimu Xi the order to follow when operating the remote control.
“Remember, you must not mess up the order! You absolutely must not mess it up! I will then use the walkie-talkie to tell you when to detonate the last one!”
Qimu Xi proceeded down the stairs.
Soon, Chen Xiaolian was able to see the girl exiting the building from the first floor into the street.
Chen Xiaolian went downstairs as well to close the door and re-activate the traps there. Then, he returned to the third floor. He sat down next to the railing and waited quietly.
“Hopefully, your luck will be slightly better… I can only help you this much,” said Chen Xiaolian with a bitter smile.
…
Qimu Xi bolted across the dark street. Several times now, she heard faint wolf howls originating from the alleys on both sides of the street. Normally, she would have been terrified to the point of falling down.
This time however, she was somehow able to muster up the courage to keep going forward. She did not fall down and instead, exerted every last ounce of her strength to run as fast and as far as she could.
One hundred meters!
One hundred meters!
One hundred meters!
She covered a distance of nearly 200 meters in one breath’s time. Then, she suddenly felt exhausted. So, she ran into the house that was beside her and proceeded up to the second floor of the house.
She frantically searched for a room, which she then charged into. Next, she turned around to close the door. Additionally, she also used a chair to block off the door.
Panting for breath, she ran to the window. She opened the window and peered at the distant three-storey warehouse that Chen Xiaolian was hiding in. After several gasps, she took out the remote control and recalled the order that Chen Xiaolian had given her. Then, she pressed one of the buttons.
Boom!
Somewhere 45 degrees away to her far left, another house burst into flames.
…
“Mm, another one.”
Culkin was crouched down atop the roof of a house as he observed the distant explosion.
He quickly drew a circle on the surface of the roof.
Next, he carefully assessed the locations of the other houses that were detonated earlier. The flames burning the houses made it easy for him to observe them.
He swiftly drew several ‘X’s on the circle – each of the ‘X’s represented the position of the detonated houses.
“Assuming each of these detonation points are in the opposite direction of where the other team is hiding at… then… as long as I can pinpoint a few more detonated houses, I will be able to determine where they are hiding at!”
Culkin sneered and said, “The monster may be brainless, but you fellows forgot something! Someone that you’ve just harmed is still here!”
Boom!
Another explosion rang out.
“Mm? The frequency of explosions increased?” Culkin sneered once more and drew another ‘X’ on the circle. He stared at the simple diagram and his face revealed a cold and triumphant smile. He leaned his upper body forward as he moved along the wall and dropped down the roof. After that, he rushed into the darkness.
A few minutes later, Culkin was moving across a street.
He climbed up an electrical pole, his hands and legs moving as fast as a civet cat.
Another explosion erupted.
“Yet another point.” Culkin sneered to himself.
His mind could still recall the locations of the detonated houses from earlier.
His scope became narrower once more.
After about ten minutes.
Culkin walked into a street.
He walked past a house, unaware of the fact that the second floor of the house was playing host to a trembling girl. The girl was right behind the windows and was holding onto a detonation device in her trembling hands.
As for Culkin, his eyes were solely fixed onto one thing!
At the end of the street, located 200 meters away…
Was a three-storey warehouse!
He had used the locations of the explosions and reversed the directions to make a projection on where the enemy team was hiding. By his calculations, the enemy team should be hiding somewhere near there.
Now that he was here, one glance was all it took for Culkin to determine that the enemy team must be hiding inside the three-storey warehouse!
Because… the location was too good!
An open view of the surrounding.
If it were up to Culkin, then he would certainly have chosen to hide in this spot.
“Little prey! Here I come!” Culkin grinned savagely as his body moved forward quickly along the walls.
…
“It should be about time, right?”
Chen Xiaolian was seated in the middle part of the third floor of the warehouse. In his hand was a rifle. He slowly inserted bullets into the magazine.
There was also a military blade beside him. The Sword in the Stone was slung across his back.
“Hurry up and come, I am getting impatient from all this waiting!”
…