Chapter 17
Lin Zhi’s house was a three-story building. The Variant outbreak started on the first floor.
By the time Tan Xiao and Shi Xu realized it, it was too late. The espers below the third floor were dead, leaving only Shi Xu, Tan Xiao, and three others on the third floor, facing a swarm of insect Variants. Even if their numbers doubled, the situation would still be dire.
Tan Xiao hid in a bathroom, having turned on all the faucets. Water covered every available surface.
Tan Xiao’s ability was electricity. This was one of his tactics.
The insects, sensing his presence, swarmed the bathroom door. The moment it collapsed, they flooded the room, their incessant chirping deafening, like being trapped in a room full of cicadas.
Electricity crackled, the smell of burning flesh filling the air.
Tan Xiao didn’t know how many he killed, but he knew it wasn’t over.
He had glimpsed the swarm earlier. Too many to count.
He hadn’t noticed anything amiss when they entered. How did so many appear so quickly?
Tan Xiao remained vigilant. After repelling three waves, the attacks suddenly stopped.
Confused, he cautiously stepped out of the bathroom. The hallway was littered with insect corpses, cleanly sliced by a sharp blade, Shi Xu’s handiwork.
The sudden Variant outbreak had separated the five of them, forcing them into different rooms. The house’s signal was jammed, communication devices useless. Tan Xiao couldn’t contact the others.
The hallway was eerily silent, devoid of living insects. Shi Xu seemed to have eliminated them all.
But where was Shi Xu?
Tan Xiao carefully pushed open the nearest door. It fell inwards, crushing a few insects hiding behind it.
It was a bedroom, also infested, but now filled with insect corpses, all cleanly sliced by Shi Xu.
Seeing only insect corpses, Tan Xiao relaxed slightly. He didn’t dare shout, afraid of attracting hidden enemies, continuing to search for his team.
He opened two more rooms, finding the same scene: rooms cleared by Shi Xu.
He had to admire Shi Xu’s efficiency. Clearing three rooms and a hallway in such a short time was beyond Tan Xiao’s capabilities.
The next door was smeared with Variant fluids. Clearly, this room had also been infested. The door was slightly ajar. Despite the daylight streaming in through the window, the room was dark.
Tan Xiao cautiously approached. Before he touched the door, it opened slightly from the inside.
Half of Wang Xuan’s face appeared in the gap. Seeing Tan Xiao, his eyes lit up. “Captain Tan, you’re here! Help me!”
Wang Xuan was usually boisterous. Tan Xiao wasn’t suspicious, but he didn’t approach, asking, “What’s the situation inside?”
The question seemed to distress Wang Xuan, his excitement turning to panic. “Qin Yi and I just cleared the room, but he was injured protecting me. He can’t move. My arm is also injured. Captain, please help him.”
Tan Xiao immediately reached for the doorknob. Just as he touched it, Wang Xuan’s expression twisted. A dark hand reached out, grabbing Tan Xiao.
Looking closer, Tan Xiao realized the hand wasn’t dark, but covered in insects.
Sensing Tan Xiao’s hesitation, Wang Xuan shouted, “Captain, you’re not going to help us?! Qin Yi and I are waiting for you! How can you abandon us?!”
With surprising strength, Wang Xuan grabbed both of Tan Xiao’s wrists. Then, insects swarmed his legs, immobilizing him. He needed his limbs to use his ability, or at least a conductive object, but he was helpless.
The door opened. The room was still dark, the light from the hallway barely illuminating the scene, revealing Wang Xuan’s gruesome state.
The side of his face that had been hidden behind the door was mangled, only half remaining intact, his eye barely clinging to its socket, threatening to fall out.
A body lay behind him, even more mutilated, swarmed by insects still feasting on it. Given enough time, they would reduce it to a skeleton.
Tan Xiao recognized the dyed hair. It was Qin Yi.
He didn’t know what happened after they were separated, but the scene spoke for itself.
“Captain Tan, help me, they’re biting me, it hurts…” Wang Xuan’s eyelids were stretched thin, tears streaming down his distorted face.
Tan Xiao was trapped, unable to shake off the insects clinging to him, their mouthparts digging into his flesh.
“Captain Tan, why aren’t you saving us? Aren’t you our captain?”
Tan Xiao froze.
He was the weakest of the three vice-captains, his only merit being his integrity.
Many said he wasn’t qualified for the position.
He agreed. He couldn’t even save his own subordinates. He was about to become insect food. What right did he have to be their captain?
A flash of silver blinded him. He instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them, the grotesque Wang Xuan was gone.
He looked down. Wang Xuan lay dead on the floor, a circle carved around him with a blade. The insects, sensing the lingering killing intent, didn’t dare approach, chirping their frustration.
Tan Xiao slowly looked up, seeing Shi Xu.
Shi Xu flicked black blood off his sword, his profile sharp and defined, his light-colored eyes cold and indifferent.
Just as ruthless and decisive as the rumors claimed, killing as easily as breathing.
