Chapter 162: Survival in Despair |
Bai Mu entered a first-person perspective. He heard heavy, ragged breathing. The camera shook slightly, as if he were running right behind someone. It was nighttime, and dark red flames burned through the darkness. The perspective panned backward. Illuminated by the firelight, several dark figures were chasing the person. As the flames flickered, the shadows stretched and contorted, making them look like menacing ghosts.
The person paused for a moment in front of the burning ruins before suddenly charging straight into the flames. He dashed deep into the wreckage and found a spot that had not yet caught fire, where he slumped to the ground.
Then, Bai Mu watched as the man raised his left hand, revealing a bleeding gunshot wound. Leaning back into the shadows of the wall, he let out a pained groan. With agonizing determination, he used his fingernails to forcibly dig the bullet out of his flesh. Finally, using his teeth and his uninjured right hand, he pulled a roll of bandages from his jacket and dressed the wound to stop the bleeding.
Just watching the scene was enough to make one wince in sympathetic pain.
Bai Mu noticed that despite the severe injury, the man's decisions remained calm, and his movements while bandaging the wound were highly practiced.
This clearly was not his first time dealing with such a situation. The shadows chasing him were undoubtedly Doppelgangers. The fact that he hid inside the burning ruins proved he knew the fire could temporarily keep the monsters at bay.
The inferno was equally dangerous, but it was still marginally better than being instantly slaughtered by the Doppelgangers.
'This person must have had a lot of dealings with Doppelgangers,' Bai Mu thought to himself. 'Judging by this, the timeline of the Script is set at least a while after the Doppelgangers first appeared.'
Bai Mu watched the man pull out a communicator with a small antenna and attempt to contact someone.
"Third Scavenger Team reporting, w-we have been attacked by Doppelgangers."
"They found us... Dispatch, please stay on high alert."
"We are not sure... if they have discovered our settlement."
"Dispatch copies!"
"What is your status? How many are still alive?"
"Come in, please respond!"
"Please respond!"
But there was no reply. Thick black smoke billowed from the blaze. The man had passed out from blood loss and oxygen deprivation. His hands fell limply to his sides, and the old communicator clattered against the concrete floor.
Bai Mu's perspective then shifted upward, giving him a bird's-eye view of the burning city ruins. Judging by the architectural style, this area resembled an urban village on the outskirts of a metropolis.
Clusters of six-story reinforced concrete buildings were crammed tightly together. Many areas bore the scars of artillery bombardment; building complexes had been blown apart, collapsing and leaning into one another.
The district was quite large and densely packed. It was exactly the kind of place commonly found in large cities: a slum with poor living conditions but cheap rent. The brick and stone rubble had grown coarse from weathering. The entire neighborhood was now ablaze, though the fire did not seem to be the result of a massive artillery strike; it looked more like it had been deliberately set.
These buildings had been bombed into ruins a long time ago, only to be set on fire today.
Bai Mu spotted a horde of figures searching the neighborhood. They moved in perfect order, their faces completely devoid of expression. Under the glow of the flames, their skin appeared excessively pale, resembling the flesh of corpses.
At the same time, tiny green dots materialized in Bai Mu's vision. About a dozen of these green markers were scattered across various parts of the community, including the man he had just seen in the fire.
He instantly understood: these green dots represented living humans.
Although there was no narration, the plot of the Script was straightforward. Seeing this, he completely grasped the situation.
The Doppelgangers had clearly tracked down the survivors, ambushed them, and were now attempting to capture or kill them.
Just as all the green dots appeared before Bai Mu's eyes, the prompt from Paradise rang out.
[Main Quest: Rescue the survivors.]
[Quest Requirement: Escort the survivors to the Evacuation Point. The Script will instantly conclude when all survivors in the area have either evacuated or died. Rewards will be calculated based on the number of rescued survivors.]
[Number of rescued survivors: 0.]
As soon as the message faded, Bai Mu found he could control his body again. He was standing directly in the burning neighborhood. A heavy stench of gasoline permeated the air. Black smoke and flickering firelight cast elongated, slanted shadows of the buildings. He immediately realized how the fire had started: the scattering survivors had likely used incendiary bombs to create a makeshift barrier, aiming to hinder the Doppelgangers' movements and sensory abilities.
He had spawned in a hidden corner of the community. A "Quest Map" had been added to his interface, allowing him to see the locations of the green dots, which were quite spread out.
The map only displayed the icons for the survivors, not the Doppelgangers. However, based on the footage from the Script's introduction, he knew there was a substantial number of Doppelgangers searching the area. These creatures had come prepared; this was not a spur-of-the-moment hunt.
The Evacuation Point was located to the north on the map, just outside this field of ruins. It required a bit of a trek outward, but it seemed the survivors would be safe once they were delivered there. 'No wonder the expected Script clearance time is only one to three hours. If the Player does nothing, all the survivors will be dead within three hours,' Bai Mu mused as he surveyed his surroundings. During his time living at the Abandoned Factory, he had never visited this specific location. He was not exactly sure where he was, and with such a brief Script, it was impossible for him to explore further beyond the designated zone.
'Perhaps we are destined not to meet again,' Bai Mu thought, retrieving his Flaming Sword from his inventory. 'I should focus on the task at hand. Rescue missions are a race against the clock.'
Even a slight delay could result in another death.
He knew those green dots were not mere NPCs arranged by the Script. Every single one was a living, breathing person, the last remaining humans in this cruel world. They were his compatriots. At this moment, his actions were not merely to complete the Main Quest; he wanted to ensure that this faint spark of humanity continued to burn. He moved toward the nearest green dot. On the map, a portion of the dots was still in motion, indicating that those individuals still had the strength to run or walk. But others had already gone completely still.
He identified the location of the fire from the introductory cutscene and rapidly rushed to the scene.
A squad of Doppelgangers was prowling right near the blaze. Combat was unavoidable now.
He approached the creatures silently. He knew that bullets had little effect on these Doppelgangers, as they lacked the fatal weak points of regular humans. Using a melee weapon was actually a better choice. Even if blades could not kill them outright, they could sever their limbs and strip them of their mobility.
Despite the stealth bonus from Illegal Infiltration, the Doppelgangers still sensed his approach before he could close the distance entirely. The creatures snapped their heads around in unison to stare at him, but he had already made it within five or six meters of them.
Without hesitation, he decisively summoned Witch.
An agile, petite silhouette flashed forward alongside him. He pulled the ignition ring on the Flaming Sword, and the red-hot blade sheared off a Doppelganger's arm as easily as a hot knife slicing through butter.
Witch tackled another Doppelganger to the ground, her razor-sharp claws viciously tearing its face and chest to shreds.
Her attack was exceedingly ferocious and cruel, holding nothing back. She was usually very docile when staying by Bai Mu's side, but one could not forget that she was an absolute monster through and through—the same beast that had once ripped every single Zombie in the children's amusement park into bloody pieces.
It took practically zero effort for her to brutally slaughter the Doppelganger and mangle its limbs. However, there were six enemies in this squad, and the remaining four had already trained their muzzles on Bai Mu and Witch.
But their draw speed was simply too slow. Bai Mu whipped out his revolver first and fired four consecutive shots.
These four bullets were perfectly aimed at the Doppelgangers' wrists. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four gunshots rang out, instantly followed by the clatter of four handguns dropping to the ground.
Bai Mu and Witch then launched a fresh wave of attacks. The blade of the Flaming Sword flowed like water. At that moment, it was almost impossible to tell which side was truly the monster.
Judging by the one-sided slaughter, this Doppelganger squad was utterly defenseless.
There were no combat specialists among them, and after equipping the Lord's Pendant, Bai Mu's strength attribute had reached a terrifying 27 points. Frankly speaking, he was no longer anything resembling a normal human being.