Chapter 30: Teleportation Begins — From Now On, You’re All I Have. Part 1

“Why?” Ji Li clutched Eno, hiding it in the sleeve of his loose jacket, his voice thick with tears, as if utterly heartbroken by Yu Shen’s betrayal.

Yu Shen sneered, gun raised, and walked right up to him.

“Save the act. This young master isn’t buying it. Why else? Because you’re rich, that’s why! Did Gao Lan and Chen Jianxin think that by keeping their mouths shut, I couldn’t imagine what awaits us in a new apocalypse? Without some toll money set aside, I’d probably die without even knowing how I died!”

Ji Li’s eyes darkened, and he looked at Yang Haoran and Qin Xiaoxiao. “Is that what you two think too?”

Qin Xiaoxiao avoided his gaze. Yang Haoran hunched his neck and said weakly, “Little Ji, Yu Shen has a point… You don’t want to watch us die, do you? We only want supplies. We won’t hurt you…”

“Enough! Cut the damn chatter!” Yu Shen cut Yang Haoran off, impatient. “Hand over the bracelets! And everything in your backpack—empty it all, or I’ll make you!”

Ji Li stared at the muzzle inches from his face, murmuring, “Actually, if you’d just asked, I wouldn’t have refused to help…”

“Bah! Help, my ass!” Yu Shen spat. “You burned all your skill uses today making explosives, didn’t you? How would you help us? Or are you offering your Points? Fine then—don’t just talk. Help us right now. Open a trade!”

Ji Li shifted his gaze to Yu Shen’s face and gave a scornful laugh. “I’m soft-hearted, but I’m not stupid… Execute Medical Service!“

The instant the command left his mouth, Ji Li opened his hand. Eno dropped onto the carpet with a plop, a flash of blue light swept past, and the boy turned into a hologram in a heartbeat.

Yu Shen pulled the trigger on reflex—and when the bullet passed straight through the projection, he exploded in curses. “Fuck! Let’s see you not come back, then!”

He raised the muzzle, aiming at the forehead of Ji Li’s projection.

Meanwhile, down at his feet, Eno trotted in on little short legs, straight into the hologram. Twelve centimeters of height, hidden completely by the shadows of sneakers and trouser cuffs—there it stood, motionless.

No one noticed Eno. Every eye was fixed on Ji Li’s projection. As time crawled, Qin Xiaoxiao checked her watch with nervous compulsion, murmuring as if to herself, “Fifteen minutes left…”

“Damn it!” Yu Shen spat, growling through gritted teeth. “The second he reappears, I shoot!”

Suddenly, the projection doubled. Two overlapping translucent images of Ji Li swam before Yu Shen’s eyes, and he froze, gun wavering between them.

“What the—why are there two of him?!”

Just as he moved to pick one silhouette at random and fire, Ji Li materialized beside the hologram. The moment he appeared, he ducked low, a flash of cold steel in his hand, driving straight for Yu Shen.

Yu Shen’s heart seized; he squeezed the trigger on instinct. The bullet tore through the shattering projection—and a violent pain exploded in his abdomen.

Yu Shen looked down in disbelief. Ji Li’s Folding Knife had already vanished into his stomach, blood running down the blade, dripping one drop at a time into the carpet.

“You…” His hand shook; the gun clattered to the floor. He staggered back, clutching his belly.

“AAAAAAAH! HE KILLED SOMEONE—!”

“Shut up!”

Ji Li shot Qin Xiaoxiao a glare and bent to grab the gun—but his fingers trembled so badly he couldn’t pick it up on the first try.

He drew a deep breath, steadied his hand, and picked up both the gun and Eno, then leveled the weapon at Yu Shen.

“You have a medical card. That wound is nothing. I won’t rob you—but don’t you covet what’s mine.” He paused, glancing meaningfully at the shocked faces of Qin Xiaoxiao and Yang Haoran. “But other people—I can’t promise anything.”

With that, Ji Li swept the gun back and forth across the three of them, backing slowly toward the master bedroom, until he was inside, the door locked behind him, and barricaded shut with the furniture he’d collected earlier.

Only when it was done did he deploy his safe house, drop into the driver’s seat, shut the door—and collapse against the steering wheel.

Not until the trembling in his body subsided did he sit up and pick up Eno.

Seeing the blood spattered on the little robot’s head, his heart lurched. He fumbled out wet wipes and scrubbed the robot and his own hands over and over, again and again.

Tossing the used wipes aside, Ji Li cradled Eno and touched his forehead to its big head. “Thank you, Eno… you saved my life…”

Eno: [˘˘]

“From now on… you’re all I have…”

Eno: [••]?

Eno: [••]㐃

Eno: [ó﹏ò]㐃

Eno: Du-du-du-du-du~ Du-du-du-du-du~

A wet laugh escaped Ji Li as he wiped his eyes. “Aside from du-du-du, you don’t know any other songs?”

Eno: [óò]↑

“What’s that mean? I have to upgrade you before you’ll sing anything else?”

Eno: [óò]✔

“And I’m about to leave this world—where am I supposed to upgrade you…” Ji Li muttered, staring at the Virtual Screen that had appeared before him.

【Teleportation is about to begin. This teleportation will last thirty minutes. Please do not use any items, to avoid transmission errors. Countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven…】

Outside the door, Qin Xiaoxiao lowered the knife she’d been holding raised for ages, retreating with undisguised reluctance. Yu Shen leaned against the wall, clutching his abdomen, glaring viciously at her and at the evasive-eyed Yang Haoran.

“You two just wait. As long as I survive—”

Darkness swallowed his vision without warning. Yu Shen’s heart lurched for an instant, then he exhaled in relief, grinding out through his teeth, “I really underestimated those two… Heh. Cowards who don’t dare kill—dreaming of surviving an Apocalypse Survival Game? Keep dreaming.”

But no matter how he scorned Qin Xiaoxiao and Yang Haoran, the fact remained: he was the one whose Space Bracelet had been stolen. His backpack still held ten slots of Food and Water—he wouldn’t starve in the Famine Apocalypse—but he’d lost his ransom.

He could only pray the Game didn’t dump him into a crowd of players.

The Game, evidently, wasn’t listening. The moment Yu Shen’s vision cleared, he found himself standing in a familiar cylindrical pillar of light, with several other people around him.

A countdown popped up: one minute until the protective barrier vanished. Yu Shen struggled upright, one hand pressed to his belly. Noting the furtive glances drifting his way, he put on a frail, harmless air while quietly surveying his surroundings.

This world was in daytime—what hour, he couldn’t tell. The sky wasn’t the familiar blue but a murky yellow, as if even the air had been stained.

A dozen-odd of them stood scattered across a street. The buildings around them were dilapidated, yellow sand piled everywhere—the city was on the edge of ruin.

The one piece of good news: empty buildings abounded. Finding somewhere to hide shouldn’t be hard.

Yu Shen was still calculating where to run when the countdown ended and the barrier dissolved. Before he could take a step, a crowd of people emerged from the surrounding buildings.

Tall, powerfully built, wrapped head to toe in heavy coverings, they advanced wielding strangely shaped metal staves.

The man at their head pulled down his scarf, baring a mouthful of shark teeth at Yu Shen’s group.

“Well, well! A flock of fat sheep! Bad luck for you, landing in our hands. We don’t ask for much—one Space Bracelet per person will do. Of course, if you have safe house modules or medical cards, you can keep those instead.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he added, “Oh, right—bracelets must be at least ten cubic meters! And don’t think about running. Stick around in the Game long enough and you’ll learn: crossing the Mandalay Guild never ends well.”

The Mandalay Guild? What did that mean?

The dozen newcomers exchanged glances. No one moved.

The shark-toothed man clicked his tongue and leveled his metal staff at the nearest person—Yu Shen. “Stop dithering! You’re first. Looking like that, you obviously don’t have a medical card. Hand over the bracelet!”

Yu Shen flinched all over. “I… I don’t have one. I was robbed. I have nothing on me…”

“You must have Points, then,” the man said, unmoved. “Buy one from the System Shop. Move it, before I make you!”

“No, no, wait… I… I…” Yu Shen broke out in a cold sweat—then, suddenly, a flash of inspiration. “I have information! I can trade you information!”

“Information?” Shark Teeth sneered. “What information do you think buys your life?”

“Good information—the best information! I know someone with a Duplication skill. He can duplicate anything—including System items!”

Shark Teeth’s eyes lit up, and Yu Shen secretly relaxed, knowing his life was saved.

“Duplication? You’re certain?”

“Certain! With that skill, he owns an enormous space, stuffed with treasures!” Feeling the dull throbs radiating from his belly, Yu Shen’s face twisted. “His name is Ji Li. Male—”

“Stop.” Shark Teeth cut him off, glancing around at the others. “Where is he now?”

“Uh…” Yu Shen’s confidence wavered. “Not in this apocalypse world…”

Shark Teeth’s eyes narrowed. “Then where?”

“Now… he should be in the Extreme Cold Apocalypse…”

“Do you remember what he looks like?”

Yu Shen nodded frantically. “Yes! Of course! I went through the last apocalypse world with him. I remember perfectly!”

“Good.” Shark Teeth snapped his fingers and gestured to the man beside him. “Take him for memory extraction. Send it, along with the earlier information, to the Extreme Cold Apocalypse.”

“Yes, sir.”

The man stepped forward and reached to grab him—when two gunshots cracked out. A blossom of blood opened on his forehead, then on Yu Shen’s. Both went limp where they stood, dead before they hit the ground.

At the same instant, a flood of supplies materialized around them, surging over Shark Teeth like a wave and spilling across several others nearby.

“Holy—!” Flat on the ground, Shark Teeth shrieked orders at his underlings, frantic. “Ambush! Search over—”

The sentence never finished. Another streak of cold light pierced his skull, and Shark Teeth face-planted into the dirt, erupting into yet another pile of supplies.