Excluding the baby girl in Lizaâs arms, Qin Lunâs group totaled six adults. As the one who first proposed the suggestion, Qin Lun gave up his voting right and left the decision to the remaining five people.
Among the five, Jonathan and Hill were the first to oppose the suggestion. LĂŒ Kuang wavered and cast an abstention vote. Xiao Dao hesitated for a while but finally chose to oppose as well. This outcome was actually expectedâasking ordinary people to abandon their ethics and morals so quickly wasnât easy. Moreover, Jonathan and the others hadnât yet been pushed to the brink.
The only surprising thing for Qin Lun was that Liza actually voted in favor. However, her choice was understood by everyone. Among all of them, Liza was the least willing to take risks. As a mother, doing anything for her newborn daughter wasnât surprising.
âDr. Qin, you donât blame me for opposing the plan, do you?â Xiao Dao asked softly, sounding uneasy.
Qin Lun glanced faintly at Xiao Dao. The street thugâs fierce face showed a trace of shame. Ever since Xiao Dao took the wheel, he seemed to carry a strange sense of guilt toward Qin Lun, which piqued Qin Lunâs curiosity.
âDonât overthink it. I wasnât willing to involve innocent people in our mission either. I just wanted to give everyone more options. Didnât you see I gave up my vote too?â Qin Lun smiled and said casually. âLetâs go. We need to find that police car as soon as possible.â
Hearing this, Xiao Dao relaxed and strode forward. The two were no longer in the police station building but had circled around from the back of the lobby to the police stationâs underground Parking Lot. Earlier, Xiao Dao had found a set of car keys on the corpse of a police officer. Now he and Qin Lun were heading to the Parking Lot to find the car, while the others returned to the lobby to check the movements of the Phantom Demons at the police station entrance.
Not many cars were left in the police station Parking Lot. They quickly found the police car belonging to the deceased officer. They were luckyâthe police car was an off-road vehicle with a relatively spacious back seat. After removing the rear seat panels, they could just barely fit six people and a baby.
Xiao Dao drove the police car out of the Parking Lot and met up with the other four who were waiting at the police station entrance.
Paris was a huge city, divided in two by the Seine River. The Arc de Triomphe was located in the west of the city, at the western end of the Champs-ĂlysĂ©es. Notre-Dame de Paris stood in the city center, on the Ăle de la CitĂ©.
According to the map, their current location was between the Arc de Triomphe and Notre-Dame de Paris. They were very close to the Arc de Triompheâless than 1.2 kilometers away. They were about 6 kilometers from Notre-Dame de Paris, forming an irregular triangle with the two landmarks.
âFather Hill, should we go to the Arc de Triomphe or Notre-Dame de Paris?â
Perhaps because he had led the opposition to Qin Lunâs suggestion, Jonathan felt somewhat embarrassed facing Qin Lun for the moment, so he directed his question to the other recognized Veteran.
âLĂŒ Kuang, what do you think?â Hill smiled slightly but didnât offer his own opinion.
For his own reasons, Hill agreed with the others. However, that didnât mean the Shepherd wanted to turn over a new leaf, become a good guy, or save the world. The overall strategy he and Qin Lun had set wouldnât change; these newcomers were still just their pawns.
âWeâre closer to the Arc de Triomphe, and thatâs where Akechi Samanosuke encountered the first major scenario. Logically, going there is the most suitable choice! But⊠thatâs only from a game perspective. The specifics need everyoneâs input!â LĂŒ Kuang offered an ugly smile.
If the ferocity of the Blade Ashigaru made him feel the difference between the game and reality, then the shocking phenomenon of Phantom Demons being infectious truly crushed LĂŒ Kuangâs confidence.
The immense pressure to survive forced him to wake from his beautiful fantasies. LĂŒ Kuang finally realized he was facing a life-or-death crisis. The thought of being crushed like a bug by Phantom Demons made the young man tremble uncontrollably.
Thoughts of earning mission rewards and exchanging for Superpower were all thrown out the window now. The fact that this usually somewhat cowardly but still kind-hearted young man cast an abstention vote on Qin Lunâs inhuman suggestion showed just how much pressure he was under.
âThen weâll go to the Arc de Triomphe!â Hill declared decisively. âItâs been less than two hours since the disaster began. The Phantom Demons probably havenât taken control of the city yet. Most of them are fighting Parisâs armed forces. We must find Akechi Samanosuke within this time. Otherwise, we wonât survive these seven days.â
Everyone fell silent, tacitly accepting Hillâs arrangement. Although they were just ordinary people, they werenât lacking in judgment. From the moment the Blade Ashigaru appeared, they had already realized they made the wrong choice from the very beginning.
They should have compromised with Matthew and the other twoâtrading half the mission rewards for their lives! After refusing, they could pretty much be considered dead already; whether they survived depended entirely on luck.
These Blade Ashigaru not only feared no death but moved as swift as the wind. They could leap onto speeding cars and wielded enough strength to pierce through sturdy Mercedes hoods with their katanas. Even without understanding their intelligence, the combat prowess the Blade Ashigaru displayed was already beyond what they could handle.
And the Blade Ashigaru were only the lowest rank of Phantom Demonsâwhat if there were more powerful ones? Initially, they could have chosen an advantageous location, luring scattered Phantom Demons in over the seven days and defeating them one by one with their combined strength.
However, the Phantom Demonsâ high infectivity made that plan unworkable. Even if only half of Parisâs over ten million residents turned into Phantom Demons, they would have no place to stand. Forget hiding for seven daysâthey couldnât last even seven hours.
If they couldnât fight and couldnât hide, they had to rely on external forces. At this stage, following the Paris police offered a high chance of killing some Phantom Demons and completing Main Mission One. However, wherever the Paris police were stationed would definitely be a key target for the Phantom Demons. Not only would there be large numbers of Phantom Demons of various ranks, but the Phantom Demon warships floating in the sky might even join the battle. That would be the most foolish choice.
Since the Paris police couldnât help and time wasnât on their side, they could only rely on the main characters from the Oni Clan faction.
âDid any of you feel something?â Xiao Dao, who was driving, suddenly frowned.
The already skittish group snapped to attention, setting aside their thoughts and focusing. Immediately, they heard a dull rumbling coming from ahead, mixed with what sounded like French screams and cries.
âScreechâŠâ The police car had just rounded a corner when Xiao Dao alertly turned the steering wheel. The car performed a neat drift, sliding sideways. After everyone inside steadied themselves, they looked down the wide street.
Ahead on the street, a crowd of Paris residents in all kinds of clothing screamed in terror as they ran toward them. Chasing close behind was a massive creature.
This Phantom Demon stood over ten meters tall. Its upper body was humanoid, clad in armor and wearing an iron helmet. Its lower body, however, had four legs with hooves like a horse. Crouching in the middle of the street, it almost completely blocked the six- to seven-meter-wide road. In its hand, it held a giant long-handled hammer. The hammerhead was as big as a small car, its triangular spikes dripping with human flesh and severed limbs.
âIs that⊠Kirutosumu?!â As the only one familiar with Phantom Demon types, LĂŒ Kuangâs eyes nearly popped out. Sweating profusely, he yelled hysterically, âHow is this possible? How can a Kirutosumu be this sizeâŠâ
While everyone was in shock, the Kirutosumu about a hundred meters ahead made its next move. It swung its giant hammer, sweeping toward the Parisians in front of it. Perhaps it didnât notice the obstacles on either side of the streetâthe hammer didnât hit anyone directly but struck a red Ferrari parked by the roadside.
âBoom!â An deafening roar echoed as the red Ferrari flew through the air like a golf ball, tracing a red arc across the sky. The crowd in front was instantly cleared, limbs and body parts sent flying everywhere.
One unlucky person, grazed by the Ferrariâs undercarriage, flailed about in the middle of the street before collapsing. His upper body, from the chest up, was gone. His severed chest cavity spurted blood like a fountain.
But he wasnât the unluckiest one. The unluckiest was a French woman. Stuck close to the Ferrariâs undercarriage, she was smashed along with the sports car into a roadside billboard. Her entire body turned into a pulpy messâhalf stuck to the carâs underside, the other half smeared across the torn billboard like an abstract painting.
âUrghâŠâ Liza and LĂŒ Kuang simultaneously leaned against the car window, retching.
âTurn around quickly! Weâre no match for it!â Jonathan cried, his face pale as he slapped Xiao Daoâs seatback.
âHow can there be something like this?!â Xiao Dao stared in horror at the Ferrari, now a pile of scrap metal. His hands on the steering wheel trembled uncontrollably.
A few seconds later, the police car roared to life, swerving around like a frightened rabbit and speeding away in the opposite direction, completely ignoring the screaming Parisians running toward them from behind.
After turning two more corners, the newcomers inside the car gradually recovered from their fear.
âLĂŒ Kuang, what rank was that Kirutosumu among the Phantom Demons?â Jonathan asked, chest heaving as he gasped for breath. âIs it a boss-level Phantom Demon?â
âNo, in the game, Kirutosumu is only one rank above Blade Ashigaruânot even a minor boss!â LĂŒ Kuang gave a smile uglier than crying and muttered, âBut it shouldnât be this big. Except for having four legs, in the game itâs about the same size as a human.â
âWeâre going to die. Weâre all going to die!â Lizaâs mental defenses finally shattered. Clutching her daughter, she bowed her head and wept. âMy poor Emi, Mommy is so sorry!â
âShut up, Liza!â Jonathanâs face flushed red as he shook the young womanâs shoulders. âWeâll be fine, I promise!â
âWeâre here, look⊠up ahead!â Xiao Dao suddenly yelled in shock, pointing forward. âThe Arc de Triompheâis that thing really⊠the Arc de Triomphe?â