Chapter 138: The Transaction

Dead silence.

The stalker tossed Chen Hong’s mutilated corpse into the high-voltage electrical room beneath the mechanism. Yichen, who had previously struggled and made faint sounds, went completely still.

The stalker did not know how much pain Yichen was feeling, but it was certain that his spirit had been utterly shattered.

Human beings were just that fragile. Attachments, bonds... these were emotions it had once experienced when it was Zhang Lei, but those days were gone forever.

Now, as a monster driven solely by revenge, it would make good use of the human weaknesses it understood!

There were still two living people in the arena. It would deal with them as quickly as possible and then finish off Yichen.

If this dragged on and Yichen somehow recovered his mobility, that would be rather troublesome.

"No..." Yilin huddled in the corner, clutching her head, her gaze vacant and lifeless.

What had she just seen?

Her older brother Yichen had fallen into the trap with his fate unknown, Lu Yu’s chest had been blasted open with a massive hole as he lay dying, and her mother Chen Hong had just...

This had to be a dream!

Yilin wanted to escape reality, squeezing her eyes shut with all her might.

Perhaps when she opened them again, the nightmare would be over?

Yet, contrary to her wishes, what met her eyes once more was the brutal reality.

Were they all gone...? Why was only she left behind?

Fear and hatred surged into her heart simultaneously. Gritting her teeth, the young child stood up, clenched her tiny fists, and charged toward the stalker.

Cheng Xianglong, standing at the tunnel entrance, broke out in a cold sweat.

Yilin’s actions were tantamount to suicide! Yet he knew that even though the two of them were still alive, they were bound to die either way.

The possibility of escaping this place, eluding the stalker's pursuit, and reaching a safe zone was practically zero!

When they first arrived, they had crossed that fractured suspended bridge. Fortunately, Xueman had condensed an ice path in mid-air to connect the two ends, allowing them to cross safely.

However, once Xueman left, the ice path had collapsed on its own. The broken bridge remained broken; even if they could outrun the stalker, there was no retreat on the other side.

Was this just fate? Cheng Xianglong unceremoniously reflected on everything that had happened since the black rain fell from the sky, feeling that he was already a winner in life.

Not a single one of his companions from the internet cafe had survived. At the very least, he had held on until now, witnessed so much, and even touched the gun of his dreams. He had no regrets.

The stalker grabbed Yilin and hoisted her into the air.

In its view, this human girl delivering herself right to its doorstep saved it the trouble of turning around to hunt her down.

Yilin kicked and thrashed in the void. Though she exerted every ounce of strength, she was inevitably too frail.

What could a child possibly do?

The stalker raised its sharp claws, but suddenly froze. It wanted to move, yet it couldn't!

Yilin crashed heavily to the ground. For a brief second, she felt numb all over, her mind blank, having no idea what had just transpired.

"You... foolish girl... stop seeking death." Lu Yu, collapsed not far away, lifted his head with immense effort.

He had dragged himself into the stalker's effective attack range, leaving a stark trail of blood smeared across the ground.

"Brother Yu!" Yilin burst into tears.

Cheng Xianglong was shaken to his core. He could not describe the scene before him: despite being so severely injured, Lu Yu was still clinging to his last breath and activating his ability—it was simply a miracle!

Clutching his wound, Lu Yu struggled to his feet.

He was painfully aware that the electric current he had just discharged was far too weak; it could only briefly paralyze the stalker's movements.

Though Yichen was not dead yet, he seemed incapable of acting for the moment. Lu Yu had to do something for him.

Amidst this desperate adversity, driven by astonishing willpower, he seemed to unearth a sliver of power.

This body was already finished... Lu Yu thought, if it could be of use one last time, his life wouldn't have been wasted in vain!

Dragging his heavy steps, he picked up Yichen's exceptionally heavy Shengxie sword.

The tip of the sword carved a shallow groove into the ground, emitting a harsh, scraping sound.

Seeing Lu Yu's actions, Cheng Xianglong was deeply moved.

If he had only admired Yichen before, then Lu Yu was the second person to earn his utmost respect.

He rushed forward, scooped up the seated Yilin into his arms, and carried her away from the battlefield. Since everyone else fought to the very last moment without yielding, he could not simply give up either!

Lu Yu held his breath. The cold wind poured ceaselessly into his chest while blood continued to gush, threatening to drain away his last shred of vitality.

Trembling, he raised the Shengxie and took aim at the stalker's partially unhealed head wound.

Wasn't that its weak point? He would obliterate this monster!

Swish—this sword descended, imbued with Lu Yu's lingering obsession, striking squarely into the stalker's skull!

Bang! The foul, sticky brain matter burst apart like boiling tofu!

The stalker collapsed heavily to the ground.

Lu Yu sank to his knees, collapsing powerlessly over the Shengxie as blood trickled drop by drop along the blade to the floor.

Success.

He was exhausted, bone-weary. His mission was accomplished; he could finally let go.

"...Yichen, you bastard owe me too much. You'll never be able to repay me in this lifetime," Lu Yu thought with a faint, sorrowful curl of his lips.

The sword was wedged firmly into the stalker's skull, and he no longer had the strength to pull it out. Let it be...

Cheng Xianglong’s eyes brimmed with hot tears.

He held down Yilin, who was struggling to rush forward, and continuously comforted her.

Even though both the stalker and Lu Yu had been motionless for over a dozen seconds and both sides appeared to have perished, he needed to observe a little longer just to be safe before jumping to conclusions.

He was merely an ordinary person, and his gun was out of bullets; he could not act rashly, lest he doom himself along with Yichen's younger sister.

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room on the edge of the old factory, Mu Zongxing and his assistant Li watched the entire thrilling battle unfold via the surveillance cameras.

He sighed, his mood heavy.

The stalker had abducted his daughter, forcing him to help it deal with Yichen at a critical moment. He had complied.

There were still plenty of explosives buried beneath that mechanism, but due to the shift in plans, he had been unable to detonate them.

From the very beginning, he had prepared himself for the worst-case scenario.

If the stalker lived and Yichen was eliminated, the entire city would plunge into crisis. However, he only cared about ensuring Muqing's safety; nothing else could compare to that. Even if he had to become a devil and plunge into hell for all eternity, he would do it.

Yet the outcome now was entirely unexpected. Lu Yu had become the biggest variable in this game, and judging by the looks of it, he had taken the stalker down with him!

Even though both of his primary thorns in the side—Yichen and the stalker—seemed to have been eradicated, he felt no sense of relief.

Muqing's whereabouts remained unknown, and the inner city had turned into a paradise for zombies. Now that the stalker was dead, who could tell him what to do?

Mu Zongxing's phone suddenly rang. The call was from Ouyang Hong.

Ouyang Hong was watching the surveillance from a building across from the old factory, periodically contacting Mu Zongxing to issue instructions.

Mu Zongxing answered the call with extreme displeasure. Ouyang Hong had previously been nothing more than a researching physician, yet he was now using this opportunity to act arrogant and boss him around. Once this matter concluded, he would definitely make Ouyang Hong pay!

"What else is there?"

"Prepare a helicopter for me and let me leave this place. As long as you listen to me, I will tell you where Muqing is."