Players, Please Board the Train

”Son of a bitch!” Minister Fan slammed his fist on the table in fury, ”Those damned bastards do nothing all day!”

”Country Y is in turmoil, of course they do not want us to transition smoothly. Besides, a new overlapping energy zone has appeared, their high-tier items were probably procured through exchanges. Who wouldn’t be jealous now?” Team Leader Chang said coldly, ”Plundering and pillaging are in their genes for generations. If they aren’t stirring trouble, that would be strange.”

”Find those people immediately!” Minister Fan ordered, ”At any cost!”

”They have high-tier items, they may not be so easy to deal with,” Team Leader Wu said into the phone. ”Can you talk Lichun into helping?”

”I’ve already sent people to contact her,” Nie Xuan replied. ”David Pierce provided some leads. I contacted the armed police to look for them. But the rain has already started. Even if we find them, the situation can’t be changed for now. The priority is preparing for the incoming mutant tide.”

”That’s already being handled. You have one mission: find the undercover players!” Minister Fan said, then cut the call.

Outside, gunfire never stopped. Soon a uniformed officer entered. ”Minister, the temporary command post can’t hold! We must prepare to evacuate!”

Minister Fan walked to the door and saw various vehicles forming a wall outside the command post. Special Defense Department members and arriving rescue teams were holed up on the rooftops, their guns barely stopping. They’d organized into two shifts to eliminate even the swap time for magazines. Even so, it was like trying to stop an ocean with a cup against the constant surges of mutants.

The vehicles at the front had been pounded into twisted shapes; some had been breached. Special Defense personnel had to use people to plug the gaps. They needed to change guns and magazines; activating items and traits took time, but the already-rabid did not need rest. Their pain perception was dulled. Unless it was a lethal wound, even if you shot their bodies, even if both legs blew off, they could still crawl up and tear someone apart!

”Ahhh!” Rescue personnel bitten on arms and thighs lost flesh in an instant if they couldn’t finish the mutant quickly. Those unlucky enough to be bitten in the neck were almost immediately beyond saving.The temporary command post had been set up near the cordon line, so it was the first to be attacked by those mutated by rain. That cordon had actually long been breached; the command post only occupied a small patch attracting a number of mutants, but many more had already surged into the city, spreading outward on both sides of the cordon.

”The institute says these people can be saved,” Team Leader Lü said as she came up behind Minister Fan, her eyes cold. ”But how many of us have to die before that?”

The area near Special Defense Department headquarters had been almost cleared out, which was a good thing. Even if mutants got into that zone they wouldn’t cause too many casualties, and cleanup would be easier—if they were willing to use high-casualty weapons. But that effectively meant abandoning those currently poisoned and berserk.

Rescue teams had vehicles ready and urged everyone to board. Minister Fan finally gritted his teeth: ”I don’t have the authority to decide this. I must report upward. But coordinate with the military and have them ready to drive all the berserk toward headquarters!”

The temporary command staff boarded vehicles, armored cars leading the way, and slowly drove toward the cordon line.

At that moment, an earth-shaking explosion came from the direction of the Special Defense Department headquarters building. The fifty-story building visibly shifted and tilted, then finally collapsed with a thunderous roar!

The Special Defense folks seethed with hatred, but had no choice but to turn and leave.

Xu Huo also witnessed the headquarters building collapse. A massive cloud of dust blew into the black rain, making the already murky vision even worse. In the dim light nothing could be seen clearly.

”They blew up the Special Defense building!” Zheng Liang gaped. ”Are they trying to start a world war?”

”What did you think is happening now?” Xu Huo said, his back to them, his eyes scanning the few surveillance monitors rapidly.

Because of mutant interference there were only four screens left, and monitoring was limited. He still saw Special Defense rescuers carrying two children pass through the corner of one frame.

”I’m going out for a bit.” He put on a protective suit while telling them, ”The security office won’t hold much longer. There are probably packs of berserk rats in this area. Use this time to relocate to a safer place.”

”If I find a safe place ahead of time, I’ll contact you.”

”What are you going to do? We’ll go with you.” Brother Liang said at once. ”We’ve had some exposure to rain too, but we’re fine so far—probably because of the antidote. Instead of hiding here, we’d rather do something.”

”I don’t mind you wanting to go rescue people, but I can’t take you with me,” Xu Huo said bluntly. ”You are too slow.”

They knew following Xu Huo was safest right now, but also understood he resented them being dead weight, so they gave up.

Xu Huo strapped on an Oxygen Supply and left the security room.

There were wandering mutants nearby. He quickened his pace out of the residential complex, heading first in the direction the Special Defense member had gone. Not long after, he heard someone shouting for help—two young people trapped on the upper floors of an apartment building.

Xu Huo glanced at them and moved on. His Straight-Line Distance trait allowed him to search nearby streets rapidly. Soon he found the injured Special Defense member. She was standing on a truck roof with two children, lifting one toward a third-floor window.

The two kids wore raincoats that covered their faces and were wrapped in a layer of protective clothing, appearing uninfected. The player’s arm and neck, however, showed black veins, and both legs bled profusely.

The children clamped their hands over their mouths. The woman carefully handed the first child up. The rain masked their movements, but nobody reached down. When the child stretched out a hand he knocked over a flowerpot on the balcony; the shattering sound instantly drew three mutants—apparently players who had mutated—very fast!

”Reserved seat for ladies!” The female player tossed the child up, then pulled out a pink glow stick, drawing a pink circle around the truck. The mutant who first stepped on the pink line had his feet burned, howled in pain, and lunged forward, scrabbling against the carriage wall.

”Hurry!” The child on the railing jumped onto the balcony by himself. The female player lifted the second child, but the mutants that had breached the defense leaped onto the truck roof. She could either save herself or save the child.

She leapt with all her strength, throwing the child high with both hands. She landed back on the truck, and in the instant of her fall she pulled her last grenade from her waist...

”Wait.” Xu Huo appeared on the truck roof, seized her hand, and fired the water jet gun at each of the three mutants’ foreheads.