Chapter 298: Human Bomb

Chapter 298 : Human Bomb

No matter what schemes they might be plotting, they're just regular people. Taking them out should be easy.

Zhang Yi felt no fear as he calmly swapped into a set of gear—an enhanced imitation of the Special Forces Team combat suit.

Watching him, Fatty Xu asked enviously, "Boss, what about me? I don't want to die either—don't you have some protective gear for me?"

When it came to fear of death, Fatty Xu and Zhang Yi were definitely on par.

Zhang Yi tossed him a bulletproof vest he wasn’t using and handed him a helmet.

“Hurry up and put it on; let’s get down there and see what’s going on.”

“I don’t know what their plan is, but we definitely can’t let them near the Shelter.”

The two headed to the first floor, where they could see Xu Family Town villagers approaching slowly through a one-way glass window.

Fatty Xu leaned against the window, scanning them one by one, recognizing many familiar neighbors.

Suddenly, Fatty Xu’s eyes widened. “Lili!”

Among the crowd, he spotted Xu Lili’s figure. Her face was drawn and pale, her body trembling as if she might collapse at any moment. But she kept moving forward, as though something behind her was forcing her on.

Noticing Fatty Xu's expression, Zhang Yi glanced at him indifferently.

"We have to kill all of them."

Fatty Xu shivered.

“Huh? Kill… kill them? All of them?”

Fatty Xu looked like he was about to cry. Even though he had chosen to leave Xu Family Town to escape, the thought of shooting his fellow villagers was too much for him to bear. After all, most of Xu Family Town shared his surname; they were all relatives of one sort or another.

Watching the cowardly Fatty Xu, Zhang Yi sighed deeply.

"If the Shelter falls, do you think we’d survive?”

“It’s the apocalypse.”

Zhang Yi’s tone was emphatic, and he said nothing more. He didn’t want blood on his hands either, if he could avoid it. But survival sometimes demanded sacrifices.

Zhang Yi didn’t force Fatty Xu to kill his own kin. Instead, he activated the Dimensional Gate in front of the window as a defense, then opened the window and raised a pistol, calmly firing selective shots.

One by one, five or six villagers fell as if they’d been reaped.

The crowd slowed, some crying out in terror, others spotting Zhang Yi and Fatty Xu through the window.

“Xu Chunlei! It’s Xu Chunlei!”

“Xu Chunlei, we’re your own kin—how can you open fire on us?”

“Chunlei, it’s me, your aunt! Don’t shoot! Save us!”

Pleading and curses filled Fatty Xu’s ears, making him break into a cold sweat as he instinctively stepped back. Seeing Xu Lili staring at him with tearful eyes, she pleaded, “Chunlei, save me, please! I’ll marry you, just save me!”

The sweat on Xu Chunlei’s forehead kept dripping.

But Zhang Yi’s shooting continued unimpeded, systematically taking out the villagers of Xu Family Town. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right; it was as if these people had come here to die. Could Ling Feng and the West Hill Base be behind this, forcing them?

“Bang!” An elderly man’s head exploded, blood spraying everywhere, intensifying the screaming.

“Xu Chunlei, what are you doing? I know you’re in there. Are you really going to watch us all die?”

“Chunlei, it’s me, Gangzi! Don’t kill me!”

“Xu Chunlei, you traitor to the Xu family! Look at what you’ve done! Xu Family Town turned into this because of you! If it weren’t for your dealings with Zhang Yi, none of this would have happened!”

An old woman cursed Fatty Xu from outside.

Zhang Yi frowned, glancing at him.

He could sense it—these people were deliberately being sent to die. Could it be that Ling Feng planned to use their blood to open the Shelter’s doors?

A futile hope.

Zhang Yi resumed firing. This time, as a body fell, something slipped from under its clothing, and he froze, understanding instantly why these people were here.

They were strapped with explosives!

Ling Feng intended to use the villagers of Xu Family Town as human shields to blow open the Shelter.

Zhang Yi stopped shooting, his mind clearer now.

“Fatty, do you see what’s on them?” he asked.

Fatty Xu looked closely and saw the explosives strapped to the villagers, his eyes widening in disbelief. “Those scum!!”

Fatty Xu had no love for the West Hill Base, but he’d thought they’d have some moral bottom line—not to harm innocent people. Now, they’d turned his fellow villagers into human bombs!

"This is inhumane, worse than animals!"

“As I said, they’re faithless desperados. To deal with them, we have to be even more ruthless,” Zhang Yi said coolly.

Fatty Xu’s heart nearly broke. These people were doomed either way, and he had to watch, helpless.

Zhang Yi held the pistol toward him. “The situation’s obvious now. You know what has to be done.”

Fatty Xu hesitated a long moment before clenching his teeth and taking the pistol.

“If they’re going to die, it’s not my fault for sending them off.”

“Blame it on those scumbags at West Hill Base!”

Steeling himself, he raised the gun and fired at the crowd. With his guilt dispelled, Fatty Xu grew bolder with each shot.

The first death saddened him a bit, but afterward, he felt a thrill he’d never experienced before.

Bang!

His second aunt fell, a woman who often belittled him. Fatty Xu felt an unexpected satisfaction—after all, he hadn’t had much love for some of these relatives.

“Heh… haha!” Fatty Xu’s laughter grew as his body trembled with exhilaration. His firing rate increased.

In Xu Family Town, he had no friends and no respect, despite the help he’d given his village after awakening his powers during the apocalypse. But even then, he’d been met with disdain and envy. How many nights had he told himself that he was imagining it?

But he knew—it wasn’t in his head.

They had truly looked down on him.

And now, he had their lives in his hands, free of guilt.

“Ahaha!”

Fatty Xu’s face twisted with a sinister smile as he emptied his magazine. Zhang Yi handed him another clip, gesturing for him to continue.

Fatty Xu’s aim was lousy, but at a hundred meters with a dense crowd, he couldn’t miss. Zhang Yi had encouraged him, understanding the pent-up frustration within him. As a powerful Superhuman who had endured years of scorn, Fatty Xu needed this release.

With their previous tormentor fallen, the villagers ran in terror, some cursing, others pleading. But behind them, Ling Feng’s forces drove them closer to the Shelter, determined to make them die on their explosive mission.

Ling Feng’s plan to exploit Fatty Xu’s connection to his fellow villagers was failing as his forces fell to Zhang Yi and Fatty Xu’s bullets.

“Those animals killed their own!” Ling Feng cursed, shooting an escaping villager.

Watching from the side, Liang Yue shook his head. Really, Ling Feng? You force them forward and then call them animals?

Ling Feng had his own logic: killing the villagers himself was justified, but Xu’s actions were pure betrayal. Yet he hadn’t expected Fatty Xu to be so eager, his shots hinting at personal vendettas.

Zhang Yi handed him an assault rifle, saying, “Try this—it’s more satisfying.”

Fatty Xu took it, and Zhang Yi instructed, “Hold it steady; the recoil’s powerful.”

With the gun steadied on the windowsill, Fatty Xu unleashed a hail of bullets upon the villagers he’d once known.

Author's Note