Chapter 20

Chapter 20

...

The sky was a gritty, overcast gray, like it had been sanded down. The cold rain poured down, pelting Yi Ye's face.

Yi Ye opened his eyes to find himself amidst the ruins of a city. Echoes bounced eerily from the corners of collapsed buildings, the ground littered with rubble and muddy water, the shattered streets empty of life.

He spent a few minutes getting used to how the Simulated Battlefield worked. This place was a perfect replica of the real world, meaning injuries meant real blood and real pain.

Fascinated, Yi Ye flexed and clenched his hand, fiddling with it before finally moving on.

He rejoined Kaiser beneath another collapsed building. The two first found a place to shelter from the rain, then pulled up their personal panels. The panels were connected to the transparent liquid in the virtual pod, tracking their vitals to avoid any mishaps.

In addition, they were also given a map.

"Our current location is in Zone C," Kaiser pointed to the two blue arrows on the map, "Zone C's way out on the edge, far from the center."

"Do you want to go to the central area?"

"The high-level Zerg are there, so we’re going," he said without hesitation.

Yi Ye wasn't surprised. Kaiser was all about winning, but if he really killed all the high-level Zerg, how would the hero even progress?

He pondered for two seconds: "We don't have any weapons, maybe we should stock up first?"

If they could stall, they would.

Kaiser didn't object. He was driven but not reckless. The strength of the high-level Zerg was evident; they needed serious firepower to stand a chance. Without further ado, the two left the ruins in search of as many useful items as possible.

Supplies popped up in the weirdest spots, like trash bins, old boxes, and under ruins. Kaiser scoured the area for half an hour and scored two bottles of hemostatic medicine, a lighter, two guns, and a dagger.

He stashed the guns and dagger in his belt, then intended to give the remaining gun and medicine to Yi Ye. But when he turned to look for him, he saw the black-haired youth wearing a yellow tattered raincoat, holding a pile of miscellaneous items, running over like an overexcited kid.

"Ahhhh, Young Master, look what I found!"

Yi Ye laid out his haul like a street peddler: "Look at this! Two cans of pork that haven't expired yet, and these chocolates, even though they expired seven years ago, but in the Simulated Battlefield, it's definitely safe to eat. And also, I found a lot of bread with red bean paste..."

Kaiser was speechless: "Is this a picnic to you?"

"Huh?" Yi Ye blinked, "Food’s the top priority in battle!"

"We're only here for 48 hours, not a month, you won't starve!"

"..."

Yi Ye muttered discontentedly, quietly putting all the food back into the ragged bag he had picked up, stuffing it tightly. Then he took out another raincoat, "I have another one here, newer than the one I'm wearing, do you want to wear it?"

"No!" Kaiser was tempted to shove the gun in his face, exasperated, "We're in combat, wearing such bright colors, are you trying to make yourself a target?"

"Maybe they won't aim at me."

"You think you’ve got eyes in the back of your head? Take it off!"

Yi Ye was somewhat reluctant. He didn't like the feeling of his body getting wet from the rain, but judging from the current weather, it seemed the rain would last until the end of the assessment. He grudgingly took off the raincoat but didn't throw it away, instead stuffing it into his bulging cloth bag.

Kaiser resisted the urge to complain, throwing the gun and two bottles of hemostatic medicine over: "Take these and keep them safe, see if there's a car nearby."

"There's none on my side." Kaiser had already searched the east, he pointed to the fork in the road to the north, "Let's go check over there."

Kaiser nodded, heading in the same direction toward the central area.

After walking nearly three kilometers north for half an hour, a sudden scream erupted in the distance. They exchanged quick glances, instinctively reaching for their weapons, and moved stealthily toward the scream.

Behind an old truck, a dense swarm of Zerg surged forward, their steel-hard shells glistening with a black, oily sheen. Their wings vibrated rapidly, each head adorned with six protruding red compound eyes that constantly shifted direction, creating a nauseating and eerie sensation.

Yi Ye, seeing the Zerg up close for the first time, gagged silently.

"They're surrounding someone," Kaiser muttered.

Yi Ye looked up, but the truck blocked his view, hiding the unfortunate target. Just then, a bomb exploded in the swarm, sending Zerg scattering. As the Zerg scattered, a brown-haired boy dragged another youth out, running for their lives.

Yi Ye's eyes widened, "El?!"

"Your friend?"

"Yes..."

Before he could finish, Kaiser barked, "Let's go!"

Before Yi Ye could figure out why Kaiser was suddenly so kind, the man had already sprinted forward.

Kaiser's long legs, typical of an Alpha, gave him a clear advantage. In a few strides, he leaped onto the truck, dagger clenched in his teeth, and with his free hand, he drew a gun to shoot the Zerg climbing up. Grabbing the roof's edge, he kicked the glass and slid into the driver's seat in one fluid motion!

Zerg poured in through the side windows. He kicked the ones on the right, pulled out his dagger, and stabbed it into a Zerg's head. White Zerg fluid splattered, but Kaiser just frowned and started the truck without hesitation.

On the other side, Yi Ye grabbed El and the other boy, who were blindly running. Before he could speak, he noticed part of the swarm had turned towards them. Seeing Kaiser in the driver's seat, he shouted, "El, get everyone into the truck!!"

They all ran desperately toward the truck.

Yi Ye stood his ground, fending off the Zerg with just a gun, outnumbered and overwhelmed. Remembering the earlier explosion, he shouted at El, "Do you have any bombs left?!"

El hesitated, fumbling for a bomb in his bag, but the boy beside him grabbed his arm. Yi Ye shot the boy a glare, kicked a Zerg aside, and snapped, "If you want to get us killed, I'm outta here!"

"..." The boy looked displeased but reluctantly let go.

El shoved the bomb into Yi Ye's hands, "Pull the pin!"

"I know!" By then, Kaiser had already pulled up behind them. Yi Ye yelled, "Get in the truck!"

The truck's back door hung open. El and the boy clambered inside, but Yi Ye was still outside. The Zerg were too close; if he didn't block them, they would have followed El and the boy into the truck.

Kaiser, watching through the rearview mirror, leaned out and shouted, "Yi Ye! Get in!"

"Go ahead, I'll catch up," Yi Ye, with no time to turn around, shot a Zerg in the head and shouted back to Kaiser.

Without a second thought, Kaiser floored the accelerator. But his eyes stayed glued to the rearview mirror as the youth was swallowed by the Zerg swarm, a writhing mass of black armor closing in like a living nightmare.

Kaiser's grip on the steering wheel tightened. Then, a blinding flash lit up the rearview mirror. The explosion scattered the Zerg, and the black-haired youth burst free, his sharp features stark against the chaos. As the youth sprinted toward the truck, Kaiser let off the gas, slowing just enough to hear the 'thud' of him jumping in before speeding up again.

Inside the truck's cargo area.

Yi Ye grimaced at the stench of Zerg fluid on his clothes. The explosion had drenched him in Zerg guts, the stench so foul it was like he'd crawled out of a sewer.

He regretted not wearing the raincoat earlier. As he tugged at his T-shirt, revealing his lean abs, El lunged to stop him, panicking.

"What are you doing?!"

Yi Ye looked puzzled, "My clothes stink, can't you smell it?"

"No, you, how can you undress in front of my brother!"

"Your brother?"

Yi Ye glanced at the handsome boy behind El, and indeed, their features looked somewhat similar. Wait, isn't this Bai Chuan's roommate?! Yi Ye scratched his head, finally recalling he had seen this face before, and smiled apologetically at him: "Sorry, I'm a Beta, I can't distinguish if someone is an Omega. You're Bai Chuan's roommate, right? I didn't recognize you earlier."

Who knew the boy would get so angry he rolled his eyes: "How could you not recognize me! Betas don't look as good as me; are you blind? Just like your brother, you're disgusting!"

"..."

Yi Ye silently glanced at El.

The latter mouthed guiltily: "My brother has a bad temper, really, really sorry."

...Tsk.

Bai Chuan's personality isn't great either, but why does this Omega make me want to punch him? I haven't even addressed the bomb issue yet.

Forget it, Yi Ye didn't want to argue about this.

"How did you guys encounter so many Zerg? I remember the nearby Zerg gathering point should be two kilometers away."

El's eyes darted away: "Uh, I, I accidentally touched a Zerg Queen's creation, so I attracted them."

The Simulated Battlefield is scattered with "Zerg Queen's creations" designed to mimic the Zerg Queen's pheromones, equivalent to a landmine that can detonate at any moment, attracting a large number of Zerg into a frenzied siege once activated.

Yi Ye raised an eyebrow; in his experience, El wasn't the type to just pick up anything and play with it, especially not in a place like this.

El scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. Yi Ye immediately understood; it was probably his brother who caused the trouble.

"By the way, where are we headed?" El changed the subject.

"Not sure," Yi Ye wiped the mucus off his body, answering casually, "Probably the central area; the Young Master wants to kill a couple of high-level Zerg."

El was shocked: "The central area?! That's too dangerous; are you really going there?"

Yi Ye shrugged helplessly: "Where he wants to go is not up to me. If you don't want to go, we'll drop you off at a safe place later."

El, of course, agreed, quickly looking at his brother. Who knew what the boy was thinking? He suddenly got up and walked to Yi Ye, arrogantly lifting his chin to look at him: "I'm going to the central area too."

"...You?" Yi Ye examined that delicate, fair face. He didn't like to judge by appearances, but from the boy's actions just now, he didn't seem to have the makings of a "Zerg killer."

"I can't protect you in the central area. Are you sure?"

"Who needs your protection!" the boy snorted disdainfully, "Isn't there an Alpha too?"

"………………"

Oh~ he's here for Kaiser.

Yi Ye was interested now. He loved to stir up trouble, and maybe this Omega could help him keep Kaiser occupied.

"Alright, you can come along," he said, then threw a teasing look at El, "Right, El? Young Master Kaiser will protect us little weaklings."

El: (Shocked) Ahhhhhhh brother, do you know what you're doing!!!