Chapter 804: Chapter 804
The red dots on the radar screen were blinking, dividing into several groups scattered across the Ikebukuro District. Tang Zheng estimated the distance based on the scale and then calculated the time, only to find that no matter how he arranged his manpower, it wasn’t enough. There was no way to complete the mission on time.
After the departure of Lin Weiguo and his three men, the team’s strength plummeted, and with the reduced numbers, many tactics could no longer be employed. As for those garbage newbies, they were simply unreliable.
Looking at Li Bo and Yao Feng lying on the ground in a pool of blood gasping for air, Tang Zheng suddenly had a realization. Allowing too many newbies to survive actually increased the difficulty of the game and heightened the survival crisis for the Conquerors. At least for the Punishment Forces, their numbers were determined by the count of survivors.
The current Trojan Horse Game was not very difficult for the Conquerors who already had some equipment and foundations. By being careful and supporting each other, they could almost guarantee a survival rate of over sixty percent. But for the newbies, it was very difficult.
"Tang Zheng, according to usual practice, Conquerors wouldn’t even bother to rescue newbies. Let them be eliminated naturally, at most, help the worthy newbies, always keeping the team’s numbers balanced. This can avoid entering the grand cleansing scenario and ensure the team’s combat strength, reducing unnecessary troubles," Pang Meiqin, who originally didn’t dare to advise Tang Zheng, quickly interjected upon seeing his regret over his past good Samaritan behaviors.
"Pang Meiqin, are you questioning Uncle?" Lu Fan turned her clear-cut big eyes and stared dissatisfiedly at the Beautiful Leg Stewardess. The Little Lolita also saw the team’s predicament, but she believed Uncle’s actions to save people were right. She didn’t want to follow a cold-blooded group leader, "The Tang Zheng with humanity is the real Tang Zheng."
"Group Leader, I know you have good intentions, but you have indeed saved too many people," Yu Manli hesitated for a moment but still spoke her mind, "You should consider the future of the team, and the essence of the team is conquers like Qin Yan and the others."
"Yu Manli, what do you mean by that? Don’t forget, if it weren’t for Tang Zheng, you would have died during your newbie period. Now that you’ve survived, you’ve started to despise other newbies?" Li Xinlan didn’t like Yu Manli’s utilitarianism, it was too heartless.
"I’ve never denied the group leader’s help to me. I am just thinking about the future of the team. These useless newbies might even drag us down with them, just like Mei Jueye is an example," the mature woman Yu Manli softened her tone a lot, not daring to argue.
Sha Ou listened to these arguments, his face uncertain as he looked at Tang Zheng, only to realize that all the members of the team had been graced by his benevolence. This guy was indeed a good person.
"Of course, Brother Tang is the best," boasted Yao Feng, straightening his spine proudly while Li Bo just looked at Tang Zheng, no longer making snide remarks. With Tang Zheng holding off the Punishment Forces, at least six or seven of them would have died, at least none of the newbies would have survived.
Dongzi and Lip ring girl wore tense expressions, deeply worried that Tang Zheng would turn cold-blooded. Even if he were to become heartless, it had to wait until they were through with the newbie period.
"Hmph, I understand now," Tang Zheng’s expression changed, his eyebrows tightly knit, clearly in turmoil. After a moment, he sighed deeply, his expression returning to indifference. He had decided. From now on, he would let the newbies fend for themselves, if they were good and showed potential, he could lend them a hand later.
"There are sixteen minutes left, Tang Zheng. I’ll go with you to kill Mei Jueye, this time bomb, first," said Pang Meiqin as she ran to Tang Zheng’s side, not asking for permission. She jumped onto his Velociraptor Mount. The Beautiful Leg Stewardess didn’t want to be apart from Tang Zheng, after all, no one knew what mission was coming next. It was safer to stick together.
Once Pang Meiqin spoke out, everyone came to their senses, arguing over whether they should move together.
"Then let’s hurry up and find cars."
Two minutes later, the squad squeezed into two cars, chasing the Punishment Forces that were far from the center.
Tang Zheng leaned on the passenger seat, resting with his eyes closed. It wasn’t a bad idea to bring along a few cannon fodder types, like Li Bo who clearly sided with Sha Ou. It would be best if he found an opportunity to let him die. There was no place for cliques in the team, only one voice was allowed.
Dantai looked at the distribution of the red dots, his eyebrows tightly furrowed. Eventually, he decided to chase down Mei Jueye. The time-limited mission couldn’t be completed anyway, which meant someone would certainly die. If Mei Jueye continued causing trouble, the losses would be even greater.
Chu Baichuan looked like a man drenched in blood, holding a Samurai Sword, standing among piles of dismembered bodies. After finishing off a high school girl, he returned to Ai Yixin’s side. The pale housewife glanced at the screen and asked him to prepare the cars.
The newbies were anxious and in despair when they suddenly saw the radar screen marking every surviving player’s name in blood red. They rejoiced, prepared their cars, and sought Tang Zheng for shelter. The Punishment Forces had already scared them out of their wits; they didn’t dare to stay alone.
"I told you not to do anything foolish, but you wouldn’t listen. At this rate, we’ll be caught up in about ten minutes," Li Han perspired heavily, his eyes glued to the radar screen, especially anxious seeing Tang Zheng speeding forward. Each red dot that blocked his path was eliminated, and his heart pounded furiously.
"Humph, they don’t stand a chance. Ten minutes is enough to set up," Mei Jueye pulled out a map and quickly scanned the nearby terrain. Finally, he chose the aquarium for defense. He had once killed a Demonic Shadow in a nearby hospital the day before yesterday, so he was somewhat familiar with the area. That was his advantage.
"Come on, then. Let me send you all to paradise together," Mei Jueye’s mouth twisted into a ferocious smile as he stomped on the gas pedal. A high school girl who had just jumped onto the car roof was thrown off due to inertia.
Li Han was filled with immense regret. He would have been better off being alone than acting with this madman. Subconsciously, Li Han also feared reprisal from Tang Zheng; in this world, there were no legal constraints.
When there were seven minutes left, Pang Meiqin drove the car, catching up within a hundred meters, while Dantai and Ruan Feifei’s cars also raced forward.
"Quick, catch up! We can’t let them slaughter each other." An MPV burst out from the crossroad, with the old principal sitting in the back row, leaning forward, gripping the seat, his wrinkles deepening with urgency.
"Slow down a bit, follow behind Tang Zheng." Li Hongda, clutching a submachine gun, crouched in the passenger seat, intently watching the surroundings.
"You old fool, we’re already doing you a favor by bringing you along; don’t be picky." Internet cafe owner Liu Gang, blind in one eye and with bloodstained bandages wrapped around his shoulder and thigh, clearly had rough days recently.
"Then you can leave, let me drive." The old principal’s eye sockets were iron blue and swollen, with various traces of being beaten on his cheekbones—Demonic Shadow had included most of Liu Gang’s handiwork, his temper growing increasingly violent as the game became harder.
Liu Gang didn’t reply and turned halfway before throwing a punch, hitting the old principal’s head and sending him tumbling back into his seat.
"Old bastard, so much trouble. And that woman Tao Hong, if I run into her again, I swear I’ll rape her before I kill her." Tao Hong was the one who had blinded Liu Gang’s eye.
These past few days, the newbies’ lives hadn’t been stagnant either; after being taught by Tang Zheng for a night and acquiring weapons, Tao Hong tried various traps and ambushes, managing to live rather freely. She knew her classmates’ temperaments all too well and had never relied on them. On the way, she bumped into the old principal and then Liu Gang and Li Hongda, who had parted ways with Xu Liangmao. She would’ve been raped by those two bastards if not for her nimble escape.
"Revenge is easy, haven’t you seen the names on the radar? Just go find them." Li Hongda cursed under his breath, feeling very annoyed.
Tao Hong, looking at the radar, burst out of her hiding spot, ready to seek Tang Zheng. But no sooner had she started the car and driven less than ten miles did she hear deafening horse hooves from behind. A glance in the rearview mirror turned Tao Hong’s face pale with fright.
Thousands of cavalrymen in red armor were charging, a red mass like the fiery clouds at sunset, threatening to burn everything away.
Amidst a snapping of bowstrings, thousands of arrows shot forth, covering the sky and lodging into the car with a clatter.
Tao Hong, panicked, sped up, aiming to escape the onslaught. But the vanguard cavalry only took a few seconds to catch up, drawing their Bronze Cannons and firing at the car, shattering the glass windows.
Curled up in the seat, Tao Hong’s posture twisted as the car began to rock left and right. When the gunshots ceased, she let out a sigh of relief. But when she looked up, she found the car had already sunk into a sea of cavalry.
Kai Cavalry wearing ferocious masks used their yari to smash the glass and thrust into the carriage.
"No!" Tao Hong’s screams of terror were abruptly cut off as she was turned into a porcupine, dead in her seat. The car, veering wildly, flipped over three cavalrymen before coming to a halt by the roadside.
"Another one’s dead." Lu Fan glanced at the radar, reporting with a calm expression.
"Charge through." Tang Zheng could no longer be concerned with these things. When the high school girls saw the survivors catching up, they immediately divided a portion to pounce on them.
Bang, bang. A Discipline Committee Member jumped onto the car roof, driving a samurai sword through the metal and into the carriage. The blade slit along Yu Manli’s cheek, leaving a wound.
Firearms weren’t harming them, but they had a knockback effect. Tang Zheng shattered the windshield and, using the East Sea Road’s First Bow, fired at them, forcibly clearing a passage.
Seeing this, Mei Jueye decisively abandoned the car and sprinted towards the Aquarium Hall thirty meters away. Li Han could only follow; otherwise, the Punishment Squad could kill him. Read complete version only at novel~fire~net
Tang Zheng didn’t wait for the car to stop; he opened the door and leaped out, rolling to dissipate the momentum, and continued the pursuit while launching the Hundred-shot Skill to blast open the Punishment Squad and attack Mei Jueye.
"Get lost." Two high school girls pounced; Tang Zheng swung his arm, striking their faces, sending them flying.
Mei Jueye sprinted for his life, and although he narrowly made it into the Aquarium Hall, he was grazed by several streaking arrows, bleeding.
"Damn it." Once inside the building, playing hide and seek, Mei Jueye could easily wait out the mission time. Tang Zheng pushed himself to the limit, rapidly closing the gap between them. At a ten-meter distance, he fired his Moon Blade. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, your support is my greatest motivation.)