Chapter 23
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Chapter 23: Life Assistance Products
There is only one type of person who can treat bullets as if they hold no threat:
Heretics.
Either relying on blasphemous spells or peculiar substances, they detach their senses from reality, appearing akin to living dead.
But why would heretics confront them?!
As Guster rushed to the entrance of the eastern corridor, he fully realized the intensity of the recent battle—blood splatters covered both the floor and walls. Several of his subordinates lay severely wounded, moaning incessantly, while the slain rat seemed drenched in blood.
He knelt down, tore open the deceased’s clothing, and couldn’t help but exhale deeply—the individual was not a heretic. At least based on the suppleness of the body, he seemed ordinary. However, Guster soon made a new discovery—he noticed a strange vest beneath the man’s clothes, riddled with holes yet surprisingly intact. Strangely, minimal blood seeped from the bullet punctures.
“What is this?”
Guster ordered someone to remove the vest from the fallen man.
“It seems like… some kind of armor?” one of his subordinates hesitated and suggested.
Though not thick and easily foldable, it effectively resisted bullets from steam rifles—a novelty to Guster.
“Probably a new product. No wonder they’ve been so tenacious.” Without further hesitation, he promptly ordered, “Call in our men outside as well, except for those guarding the eastern wall. I want everyone else!”
“Are you sure? If we do that, we won’t be able to watch over the escaped convicts anymore.”
“No matter, execute them on the spot,” Guster replied coldly. “There’s no shortage of prisoners; our immediate priority is to exterminate these rats once and for all… Don’t forget, our superior is watching us closely.”
“Yes sir!”
Although the men outside were not his trusted confidants, they were still reliable enough to deal with the rats. Combined, the two groups totaled around twenty individuals. He highly doubted that the remaining six rats could cause any significant trouble.
Wait, one of them was already dead, leaving only five now.
***
“Damn, how do they still have reinforcements?” Joe James grumbled.
Even without leaving their room, they could infer from the increasingly loud footsteps that the number of adversaries was steadily growing.
“Isn’t that to be expected?” Zhang Zhiyuan replied irritably, never imagining he’d one day need to cooperate with someone he was supposed to apprehend. “Not all those outside are mere gang members; at least some are disguised reserve police officers. Once they realize we’re tougher than anticipated, they’ll undoubtedly bring in additional forces.”
“How many more would there be?”
“Who knows? Our only advantage is being hidden in the shadows. Regardless, this theater is vast enough for us to gradually wear down these scum,” Zhou Zhi stated.
“No, it’s not feasible.” Asahara Naruko unusually disagreed. “Don’t forget, the reporter is still out there. We can stall, but he cannot afford to.”
“F**king hell, I almost forgot about him!” The American slapped his thigh. “He didn’t come inside with us!”
Everyone rolled their eyes collectively.
“That’s because you didn’t bring him along,” Zhou Zhi retorted, annoyed. “You can’t expect an injured person to run as fast as you.”
“I couldn’t have carried him,” Tyler finally spoke up. “We had multiple gun pointed on us at the time. Just making it safely into the corridor was sheer luck; it was impossible to move with an injured person on my back.”
“That’s right, just as Tyler said!” Joe James glared back at the group, “If you’re so eager to be a hero, go save him yourself!”
“Enough, stop arguing!” Zhang Zhiyuan forcefully pounded on the floor. “Host, is that journalist still alive?”
“As of now, yes,” Chaoyang promptly responded. “The attention outside is focused entirely on you; Dunn is currently unguarded.”
“Good, good.” Everyone involuntarily sighed with relief.
“But this situation won’t last indefinitely.” Only Asahara Naruko looked solemn. “If we delay too long and they realize completing their staged scene is becoming impossible, they’ll surely prioritize silencing him. Moreover, once hide-and-seek begins, our ability to pressure them will significantly decrease, making the journalist extremely vulnerable at that point.”
“It’s approximately 1 AM now. Setting up the corpses like a clock would likely take around two hours. If we stall for another hour, they might change plans and resort to killing directly to wrap things up,” Tyler agreed. “Therefore, we must counterattack, just as we did earlier.”
Joe James frowned. “I don’t oppose confronting them head-on, but the issue is that they have reinforcements. Facing over a dozen guns, we can’t guarantee victory. Losing would be utterly frustrating.”
“I have an idea,” Zhou Zhi hesitated for a moment before saying, “but I’m not sure if it’s feasible.”
“Quick, tell us.”
“The ceiling is filled with chandeliers, and inside them, there’s either lamp oil or highly flammable substances. If we could topple them over…”
The American’s eyes lit up. “The hall would become engulfed in flames!”
“Not just the hall… I fear the entire theater might catch fire.” Zhou Zhi paused briefly. “I’ve observed; the seats are all upholstered, and the floors are wooden. Once the blaze starts, controlling it would be nearly impossible.”
Living beings inherently dread intense heat and dense smoke. As soon as a massive fire breaks out, the enemy’s numerical advantage would vanish.
However, the price to pay would be turning the Sinclair Theatre into ruins.
“Well, well, kid, you’re pretty clever!” Joe James gave him a hearty slap on the back. “Burn it down, let everything burn—I couldn’t wish for more chaos! Let’s do this!”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but allow me to interject some reality,” Tyler interrupted. “The builders knew these chandeliers mustn’t fall, so they secured them with iron chains. We only have three crossbows. Please explain how we can overturn a several-hundred-kilogram chandelier?”
“Uh, well…”
“There’s a way,” Zhou Zhi said, gesturing to open the Exchange Interface. “It’s under the [Life Assistance] category—”
A sudden flash of realization crossed Zhang Zhiyuan’s mind!
Aluminum-thermite!
“That’s it… A small pack of aluminum-thermite costs 50 points,” Zhou Zhi explained. “If merely spread out as kindling, it would burn for just a few seconds and be gone. But if concentrated together and used at the right spot…”
The soaring temperature, reaching up to 3000 degrees Celsius, could melt any fixings!
“The issue is that someone must go to the top floor to place these items, possibly facing enemy attacks along the way …”
“I’ll do it.” Zhang Zhiyuan waved his hand, indicating that Zhou Zhi need not say more. “There must be stairs leading to the upper levels within the corridors. Just wait for my signal.”
“Here, take this.” Asahara Naruko handed him her dagger. “We’ll also launch an assault from below to draw their attention.”
“Thank you.” Zhang Zhiyuan slung the crossbow over his back, tucked the dagger at his waist, grabbed the four packs of aluminum-thermite exchanged using all their remaining points, and sprinted towards the other end of the corridor.
