Chapter 100: Battle Between the Miniature and the Giant |
"I found a car to take me nearby."
"The journey is halfway done, everything is normal so far."
This was the last message Shi Rang sent to the Backup Phone before losing contact.
For the next several hours, there was only dead silence.
No explanation was needed; everyone knew something had gone wrong.
"Was he caught? Captured by the Management Authority?"
"Let's run! Someone is definitely going to show up at our door soon!"
"I knew this guy was unreliable!"
The townsfolk were in an uproar.
Just as he climbed onto the mousepad serving as a raised platform and prepared to speak, someone grabbed his pant leg, trying to climb up after him.
"Leader Jack, come here, child. You're a big guy, you should be the one standing on the stage! We can't stay here any longer—"
The Sheriff delivered a vicious kick right to the person's face, sending them tumbling down to land at the front of the crowd.
The crowd scattered in a panic, avoiding the area like oil drops repelled by dish soap.
The person who fell to the ground clutched their face and scrambled up, hurling a barrage of curses at the Sheriff.
"You... you former lapdog of the Management Authority, have you appointed yourself Sheriff again? You..."
In response, the Sheriff leaped down with a piece of Electrical Wire Casing in hand, smashing it fiercely against the man.
Bolstered into a rigid solid by his Anomalous Effect, the rubber stick became his Police Bat, beating the man until he collapsed and curled up on the ground, wailing in agony. Many screamed and fled in terror, and the toddlers held in their arms burst into tears—at that moment, the Law Enforcement Team made their move.
Half of the members rushed to the outer perimeter of the crowd to block the exit, while the other half parted the masses to rally around the Sheriff, forcing the crowd back with long spears.
"Anyone who defies the Sheriff's orders is a traitor to the entire town! This is the punishment a traitor deserves!"
"Everyone sit down! No one is allowed to leave!"
"Stop fighting!" Leader Jack, the giant-like boy, had just stepped through the crowd when the Sheriff snapped his head up. The stone-cold ruthlessness etched on the Sheriff's face made the boy freeze in his tracks, trembling as he shrank back.
Only when he grew tired from the beating did the Sheriff finally stop.
He flicked the bloodstains off his Police Bat. The moment the droplets left the baton, they dispersed into microscopic traces of moisture that vanished into the grooves of the desk's wood grain. Shi Rang was indeed right; he really did need manpower to suppress over three hundred people.
Fortunately, the hundred or so children born as Mini-Humans were all his loyal subordinates.
"Lock this traitor up."
After issuing the order, the Sheriff picked up his miniature felt hat that had fallen aside, shoved it back onto his head, and adjusted it. Wiping the spatter from his face, he climbed back onto the mousepad.
Flanked and protected by his trusted aides, he delivered a speech to the hundreds of faces etched with fear:
"If we leave this place, what are we going to rely on to survive? Could we ever find someone like Shi Rang willing to take us in again?
"We are a collective, a single community. You are all my brothers, sisters, parents, and kin. As your leader, since I brought everyone here, I naturally refuse to lose a single person to unnecessary risks. Anyone who tries to tear us apart or put us in danger is an enemy to us all!
"We can retreat, but not right now. His destination is a day's journey from here. If there is still no news from him after a day, we will find another way out.
"During this period, everyone is to enter a state of combat readiness! With the exception of pregnant women and children, everyone must join the shift rotation. Be ready to repel incoming invaders at a moment's notice!"
Shortly after, they experienced a terrifying series of knocks on the door, though nothing happened afterward. Still, no one voiced any further objections to the combat preparations.
Seventeen nerve-wracking hours passed. At the Reconnaissance Post by the window, scouts waved paper scraps to relay a message to the Command Headquarters on the desk.
"Shi Rang is back!" The Mini-Human acting as the messenger beamed with pleasant surprise. But as he squinted to read the level semaphore flags, his smile vanished instantly. "There are two other people with him. They don't look like acquaintances."
The Sheriff ordered them to prepare for battle.
A few minutes later, the sound of a key sliding into the lock echoed from the front door. All the Mini-Humans crouching atop the doorframe held their breath, gripping their tiny awls tightly.
"Nice place. I'll skip changing my shoes—where did you put the stuff?" a strange man's voice rang out.
"The bedroom." The one who answered was Shi Rang. His voice was weak, and his tone sounded highly unnatural.
Accompanied by hurried footsteps, the bedroom door was shoved open. The strong gust of wind made the Mini-Humans sway slightly, forcing them to press their bodies flat into the crevices of the doorframe to steady themselves.
"Ready—jump!"
At the Centurion's command, everyone leaped from the doorframe, transforming into a mist finer than dust as they sprinkled down toward the three people below.
The first wave of Airborne Troops miscalculated the walking speed of their targets and completely missed the stranger trailing at the back, drifting aimlessly to the floor. However, the vast majority of the Mini-Humans landed exactly where they were supposed to.
"Where is the stuff?" Ring Worm paced back and forth across the room in his leather shoes, searching intently. His eyes caught sight of the miniature town on the bottom shelf of the cabinet, and he immediately halted in his tracks.
The hand Heart Fist had pressed against Shi Rang's back suddenly relaxed its grip.
For some unknown reason, their gazes were firmly locked onto the miniature town, as if this object was far more important than any data.
Ring Worm gulped. "You also build models?"
"That's not a model!" The Young Boy behind Shi Rang widened his eyes. "There are—" A sudden wave of dizziness forced him to hunch over, and his hand slipped off Shi Rang's arm.
In the next split second, Shi Rang took the initiative and reached out toward him... aiming straight for his throat.
The short span of Chains linking his wrists clamped tightly around Heart Fist's neck. Shi Rang pivoted, stepping behind him, and yanked the metal links backward with all his might.
Heart Fist was merely a teenager with a scrawny build. In contrast, Ring Worm—who could hurl stones at the speed of a Sonic Boom—posed a far greater physical threat. That was, of course, assuming their Anomalous Abilities were not factored into the equation.
The power that had caused Shi Rang to lose consciousness most likely belonged to Heart Fist. If that power could be deployed over an area, the Mini-Humans aiding him would be thrust into lethal danger. That was something Shi Rang absolutely could not allow to happen.
Shi Rang had already harbored murderous intent while in the car. Tampering was his ultimate trump card, but the risks were astronomically high; using it might completely sever his remaining days as a human. He had just uncovered new clues regarding Ying Shang, and he couldn't just give up now.
He had to gamble. Gamble that he could lure them into a trap, gamble that the Mini-Humans would sense something was wrong, and gamble that the Sheriff would tacitly help him subdue these two men without needing a single word of communication!
But he never expected killing someone to be this incredibly difficult.
Rapid Regeneration had drained all of his stamina. His exhausted arms lacked strength, and he nearly let Heart Fist break free time and time again. Steeling his resolve, Shi Rang threw his entire body backward. Heart Fist's body was forced to follow, arching backward into a tight backbend, his waist bending upward as his hands desperately clawed at the Chains.
The two of them crashed against the edge of the bed, scrambled back up, and tumbled erratically around the cramped bedroom, spinning and shifting as if performing a twisted, intensely synchronized duet.
Ring Worm's figure flashed past Shi Rang's vision again and again. The man was also struggling in sheer agony; the Mini-Humans had already burrowed into his eyes and nose, drilling into his lungs and brain. Ring Worm's footsteps were chaotic and clumsy, yet he still managed to inch closer to the grappling duo, finally lunging forward.
Sweeping his hand upward, Ring Worm gently brushed against the side of Shi Rang's waist.
The scene before Shi Rang's eyes instantly froze.
Watching the battle unfold from the desk, the Sheriff witnessed an Inconceivable sight. Shi Rang was suddenly lifted as if by an Invisible Hand, his entire body thrown into the air like a Ragged Sack. He smashed violently against the ceiling, shaking loose a fine layer of dust, and instantly passed out. As he was launched upward, the Chains around his wrists scraped a layer of skin right off Heart Fist's jaw. The Young Boy let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the floor.
'Too slow, they're way too slow...'
'How are these two not dead yet? Why are the Mini-Humans retreating from their ear canals?'
Shouldering his flag, the Sheriff charged to the edge of the desk, ready to take over command. But in the very next moment, an unseen fluctuation swept through the room.
Everyone except Heart Fist froze in their tracks.
Clutching his bleeding face, Heart Fist staggered to his feet, coughing as he spat out slurred, unintelligible curses.
Unexpectedly, a ten-centimeter-tall Mini-Human poked its head out from his collar, its expression fraught with anxiety. "Don't hurt them! This must be a misunderstanding!"
It was a stranger, a Mini-Human not belonging to the three hundred or so residents of their little town—one of the Sheriff's long-lost compatriots.
The reason the invaders hadn't died was that this unfamiliar Mini-Human had talked the combat teams into stopping.
Heart Fist didn't bother concerning himself with that. With blood streaming down his face, he maintained his ability while quickly patting his pocket. He pulled out his Mobile Phone and glanced at it.
Then, forcefully suppressing his rage and pain, he slapped Ring Worm awake. Pointing at Shi Rang, and then at the spectator Mini-Humans on the desk, he handed the Mobile Phone over for Ring Worm to see.
"The Alliance is making a move. Grab the target and return to the Stronghold immediately."