Chapter 125

Chapter 125

On the fourth day at dawn, Zheng Shu and Chen Ning Mo left the battleship early, aiming to shorten their hunting time and avoid situations like before where they only found a Kuso Po Cha when night was nearly upon them.

Xie Ah Qi and Xiao Xing Xi, having agreed the day before to hunt Kuso Po Cha once again, departed not much later than Zheng Shu and Chen Ning Mo.

By late morning, Mu Yu Ji, Meng Ni, Zhuo Chang Dong, and Feng Jin Shan had also awakened. Bored in their dormitory, they headed to the meditation room, hoping to wait for Zheng Shu and Chen Ning Mo's return.

However, upon entering, they realized two individuals were already seated face-to-face.

"You both woke up quite early."

As Meng Ni poured herself a cup of tea, she was about to offer one to Pan Ruo Xi and Yuan Si Ning. Lifting her gaze, she noticed the redness in their eyes and faint dark circles underneath, as if they hadn't slept all night. Hesitating, she asked, "...Wait, did you two not sleep at all?"

Pan Ruo Xi curved her lips into a smile, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Yuan Si Ning, "I don't have the money to buy the vaccine from Zheng Shu and can't hunt on my own. So restless, I decided to get some fresh air and bumped into Miss Yuan Si Ning, who seemed just as sleepless. We sat down together for a while."

It was understandable for Pan Ruo Xi, but why was Yuan Si Ning sleepless?

Meng Ni found it odd and directed a puzzled look at Yuan Si Ning.

Yuan Si Ning was visibly irritated.

The previous night, after being noticed by Yuan Si Ning, she had returned to her dormitory. Her plan was to sneak out like Xie Yin Xue in the dead of the night to work on the vaccine. However, upon entering the meditation room, she was met with Yuan Si Ning sitting there, mirroring her own actions when she was staking out Xie Yin Xue.

What's worse, Yuan Si Ning couldn't divulge anything. She had to feign cheerfulness and nonchalantly state, "Oh, I often suffer from insomnia. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been keeping tabs on the likes of Xie Yin Xue."

Meng Ni could tell that the response was dismissive. Knowing that Yuan Si Ning wouldn't divulge the truth, she didn't press further. She turned and chatted with Mu Yu Ji and Dang Dang, looking quite contented, probably due to her confidence in passing the current challenge.

Pan Ruoxi looked at their smiling faces, a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her: envy, a tinge of jealousy, a touch of resentment. Why was she so unlucky to be paired with Yuan Sining?

If she were in a group with anyone else, just anyone but Yuan Sining, perhaps they could've succeeded, right?

Yet, if Xie Ahqi could hear Pan Ruoxi's inner monologue at that moment, she'd probably tell her: No, if you were partnered with Xiao Xingxi, you'd still fail.

Because Xiao Xingxi's shooting skills are equally, if not more, atrocious.

And it seemed that over the past few days, they had deteriorated further. On the first day, they could still retrieve a limb from the Kusha Papacha, but today, Xie Ahqi was questioning whether they could even return safely.

At first, Xie Ahqi felt they were lucky. Not long after they left the warship with their machine gun and bait, they encountered a Kusha Papacha. Unlike the experience of Zhuo Changdong, Feng Jinshan, and Cui Haocheng, they didn't have to wander around until nightfall.

After all, hunting the Kusha Papacha becomes doubly challenging as the darkness envelops.

Sadly, for the two of them, hunting one down during daylight was still quite the task.

Despite Xie Ahqi's extensive parkour skills, they weren't enough to compensate for Xiao Xingxi's sheer incompetence.

After a chase that lasted over ten minutes, they moved from abandoned apartment buildings to gardens, then climbed to the second floor of a neighboring skyscraper. Throughout the chase, Xiao Xingxi fired ten shots, only three of which hit the Kusha Papacha, and none were in a lethal spot.

"Aim better!" Xie Ahqi shouted, her heart racing, "It only has two usable limbs left!"

Holding her gun, Xiao Xingxi replied with a pitiful look, "I'm trying my best..."

But the Kusha Papacha wouldn't be moved by teary eyes. It's a predator, a monster. Xie Ahqi was exasperated, "What's the use of trying? You HAVE to hit its head! How else will we clear this stage?"

"I know, I'm aiming."

As her words faded, Xiao Xingxi's shot veered off, striking the Kusha Papacha's right leg.

At this point in their hunt, the only remaining part of the creature that could be used for the vaccine was its left leg. If Xiao Xingxi missed again, all their efforts would be in vain.

Xiao Xingxi stared blankly at the Kusha Papacha, her face pale and her hands shaking as they gripped the gun.

"Damn it, Xiao Xingxi, steady your aim—"

Before Xie Ahqi could finish her sentence, her eyes widened in horror, and her voice was cut off by a sharp intake of breath.

Did the gun... misfire?

In disbelief, she looked down at her right leg, which now had a hole thanks to Xiaoxingxi's machine gun. Through the hole, she could see the scenery behind her. Her nano-protective suit mended the wound so swiftly that Xie Ahqi didn't even have time to feel the pain. However, her sprint came to an abrupt halt.

That momentary pause meant that Xie Ahqi was too late to evade Kushapoxa's attack. In desperation, she threw the human-arm bait from her bosom, diverting Kushapoxa's attention and buying herself a perilous chance at survival.

Fortunately, the allure of the human-arm bait seemed stronger to Kushapoxa at that moment.

It ceased its attack on Xie Ahqi and, turning towards the bait, devoured it in one bite.

Listening to her pounding heart, Xie Ahqi struggled to shake off her near-death terror. Xiaoxingxi, unable to comprehend her sheer horror, blurted out, "Ahqi, stop talking! Every time you speak, I lose focus!"

In reality, Xie Ahqi had no inclination to chat while fleeing from danger. She didn't even have the energy to reproach Xiaoxingxi. After consuming the bait, Kushapoxa didn't retreat but remained, its eyes, filled with greed and hunger, locking onto Xie Ahqi before launching another attack — this time targeting her head.

Xie Yinxue had a headache last night, likely from catching a cold.

She found relief by leaning against Bu Jiuzhao, drawing warmth from his body, and so, following Liubuhua's advice, decided to sleep in the next morning.

Unexpectedly, her sleep was disrupted by the sound of gunshots.

Liubuhua and Bu Jiuzhao also heard the gunfire, which grew louder, signifying someone approaching. Alongside the gunshots, they could discern the voices of Xie Ahqi and Xiaoxingxi.

Liubuhua rushed from the next room, whispering to Xie Yinxue, "Godfather, why did they come here?"

Xie Yinxue stepped out onto the balcony of the seventh floor, looking down the spiraling escalator. He saw Xie Ahqi, out of breath and being chased by Kushapoxa. He remarked, seeing her accidentally get shot, "They're not here for us."

After one glance, Liubuhua also understood the situation.

What puzzled him was why, after Xiaoxingxi had already shot Xie Ahqi once in the leg, she hit her three more times consecutively, targeting her torso, left arm, and the other leg. This left Xie Ahqi riddled with bullets, slowing her down, with Kushapoxa getting ever closer.

Watching the mist of blood, Liubuhua shivered, saying, "Jeez, Xiaoxingxi's aim is horrendous, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Bu Jiuzhao remarked coolly, "She misses Kushapoxa but seems pretty accurate when it comes to hitting her teammate."

Xie Yinxue frowned, asserting coldly, "She's intentionally shooting Xie Ahqi."

But Xie Ahqi, overwhelmed with tension, didn't realize the betrayal. She needed every ounce of focus to navigate her escape, with no attention left to determine where Xiaoxingxi was aiming.

Moreover, every time Xiaoxingxi hit her, she'd apologize with a lamenting tone, as if genuinely remorseful, further confusing Xie Ahqi. The only thought in her mind was to escape.

However, from their vantage point, Xie Yinxue, Bu Jiuzhao, and Liubuhua could clearly see that there were times when Xiaoxingxi could have delivered a fatal blow to Kushapoxa, or at least slowed it down. But at those moments, she chose to aim at Xie Ahqi.

After yet another bullet hit Xie Ah-Qi's mechanical prosthetic right arm, he finally reacted, "Xiao Xingxi! Are you aiming for it or for me?!"

Xiao Xingxi's eyes brimmed with tears as she choked on her words, "Ah-Qi... I'm so sorry... Look out—!"

Her heartfelt apology, combined with her urgent warning to Xie Ah-Qi about the approaching Kusopach, made it hard for those directly involved in the chaos to see the reality through their confused emotions.

Though Xie Ah-Qi heeded her warning, narrowly avoiding the lethal attack from Kusopach, it seemed it would be his last evasion.

The nano-protective battle suit could only mend human flesh, not machinery. With the electronic circuits of Xie Ah-Qi's mechanical right arm damaged, the limb became useless unless replaced.

The problem was that there wasn't a spare prosthetic arm available at the moment.

Anyone familiar with parkour knows how damaging an arm injury can be. Many parkour practitioners have met with fatal accidents due to inadequate upper body strength, let alone the total loss of an arm.

With only one functional hand, Xie Ah-Qi couldn't grip the three-layered fence and pull himself up. He helplessly plummeted towards the cold, hard marble floor below.

His spine shattered upon impact, but the nano-protective suit healed him rapidly. He felt no pain, just an overwhelming sense of terror and desperation as the gaping maw of the Kusopach swallowed him.

Yet, death did not come.

Xie Ah-Qi saw a shimmering red ribbon in front of him. It was soft but incredibly strong, pulling him back from the brink of death.

At the other end of the ribbon, a young man's hand gripped it tightly, using the ribbon to choke the needle-thin neck of the Kusopach. Unable to snap its neck, he could only pull the creature away to prevent it from devouring Xie Ah-Qi's head. Xie Ah-Qi followed the slender bones of the young man's gripping fingers, looking past his cascading, unbound hair, recognizing the face as white as snow.

"...Xie Yin-Xue?"

Xiao Xingxi called out his name, stunned.

The young man, hearing his name, glanced at her, his eyes icy, and brow furrowed, "What are you waiting for? Shoot it."

"I... I'll shoot now..."

Just as Xiao Xingxi clumsily raised her gun, another bullet, with unmatched precision, pierced the Kusopach's forehead first, causing the lean, withered creature to fall with a thud.

"Useless."

A cold, frosty voice echoed from the seventh floor, reverberating through the spacious tower staircase.

Xiao Xingxi was at a loss for words, staring wide-eyed at the young man nearby, her gaze no different from when she looked at the Kusopach—when a Kusopach dies, all nearby Gama resonate and revert to their monstrous form for a minute.

Xie Yinxue, facing her anxious gaze, acted with deliberate calm, gripping the red ribbon and pulling it from around the neck of the creature with force, then securely tying his long hair behind.

"Xie... Xie Yinxue…"

Upon hearing Xie Ahqi's call, the retreating figure of Xie Yinxue paused momentarily. However, as he turned, a glint of cold light caught his eye, and simultaneously, Bu Jiuzhao cried out:

"Xie Yinxue—!"

The young man stood detached amidst the cries, with every step he took and every inch he moved seeming meticulously calculated, ensuring that when the glowing blade held aloft by Xie Ahqi came to a halt, it was just a finger's breadth from his neck.

Xiao Xingxi hesitated, "...Ahqi, are you trying to kill Xie Yinxue?"

Xie Ahqi remained silent, but her intentions were clear.

Moreover, “kill” might not be the right term. Xie Ahqi intended to behead Xie Yinxue and offer his head to Kulte in exchange for a pass.

After all, today’s hunt had made one thing clear to Xie Ahqi: they could never catch that creature.

Xiao Xingxi was a poor shot, and there was zero coordination between them. After all the hardships of the day, not only did they lose a bait, but the only piece of meat they managed to retrieve from the hunted creature was barely usable. They were back to square one.

Most crucially, Xie Ahqi had realized: Xiao Xingxi wanted her dead.

While hunting a creature was hard, losing a teammate was easier and brought lasting benefits—hadn't the death of Ye Zhou benefitted the likes of Cui Haocheng, Feng Jinshan, and Zhuo Changdong?

So, even if they went hunting again, the chances of Xie Ahqi getting killed by Xiao Xingxi's shot were higher than them catching a creature.

But, the moment that creature was killed, Xie Ahqi saw the young man who saved her transform into a thin, black-furred creature with sharp claws—a starving ghost.

She pondered: if passing by relying on a vaccine was so hard, why not choose an easier way out?

And with that thought, she acted.

She told herself: she only wanted to survive. Those were the rules of the game; she did as she was supposed to. She wasn't in the wrong.

But now, looking at the young man who had reverted to human form, staring into his calm eyes that silently observed her, she inexplicably hesitated.

Trembling, she released the glowing blade and slowly slumped to the ground, hoarsely muttering, "I'm sorry..."

The sincerity in Xie Ahqi's apology was palpable. The remorse, shame, and guilt were genuine, much like the authenticity in Xiao Xingxi's voice when she said, "Sorry," even as her bullets hit her; the same genuine impulse she felt when considering beheading Xie Yinxue; as sincere as Xiao Xingxi's wish for her to be devoured by the creature.

"Xie Yin Xue, please grant us another dose of the vaccine..."

"Or at least share the secret you told Yuan Si Ning – the one about clearing the level without needing the antibody vaccine..."

"Save me, save me once more..."

Xie Ah Qiu didn't even know how she managed to utter such shameless words. But she didn't want to die, she wanted to live. Sometimes, for the sake of survival, one might act against their nature and conscience. Maybe that's the case for her.

Xiao Xing Xi was also in tears, desolately kneeling on the ground, pleading with the young man.

"What I gave Yuan Si Ning wasn't a secret. Everything I know, I've already shared with you all. I don't have more of the antibody vaccine. If I give it to you, I'll die."

Xie Yin Xue looked at them, his voice soft and gentle, "What should I do then?"

"What should you do? You're asking them?" Bu Jiu Zhao, who had rushed down from the seventh floor, grabbed Xie Yin Xue's wrist and pulled him close. "Would they care about your fate?"

Both Xie Ah Qiu and Xiao Xing Xi were at a loss for words, whether it was to answer Xie Yin Xue's question or respond to Bu Jiu Zhao's interrogation.

They returned to the warship, dispirited, with only the usable limb of meat from the Suo Po Cha. Seeing their forlorn state and their meager loot, others assumed their hunt had gone awry and didn't think much of it.

As for those present, besides Dang Dang and Cui Hao Cheng who could clear the level with certainty, and Yuan Si Ning who feigned composure, the rest looked even more distressed than the two women.

"You're back?" Zheng Shu glanced at the limb of meat they brought back and took a deep breath. "Just one limb?"

Xie Ah Qiu nodded blankly: "Yes."

Xiao Xing Xi drooped her shoulders and mumbled, "I'm a terrible shot."

Seeing this, Feng Jin Shan clutched his head, murmuring, "This is a disaster... a complete disaster!"

Xiao Xing Xi thought he was talking about her and Xie Ah Qiu, but when she looked up, she noticed that in the long glass container Zheng Shu brought back, apart from the human arm used as bait, there were only two limbs of meat.

In the past, whenever Zheng Shu and Chen Ning Mo left the warship for a hunt, they would always return with a container full of five fresh limbs cut from the Suo Po Cha.

Given the current situation, had their hunt also gone awry today?