He Li frowned, the heart in his chest clenched and then pounded uncontrollably. He looked at the father and son, who were being brutally strangled by Jin Fang's chains, and gritted his teeth, "Jin Fang, my consciousness is trapped in a repeating dream, I can't control my body. Shoot for me."
Jin Fang suddenly stood up and appeared beside He Li. He raised his right hand, and iron chains extended from his fingertips. He Li, like a puppet, had his gun-holding arm lifted by Jin Fang's chains, aiming at Zhang Fucheng.
For some reason, Jin Fang then turned the gun towards Zhang Boyu's head.
He Li frowned, looking at Jin Fang, and cursed, "What are you playing at!"
Jin Fang hesitated. He turned to look at He Li and asked, "Do you really want to kill them? I mean, they are your friends."
He Li paused, experiencing a moment of wavering and confusion. Then, his eyes suddenly became firm, filled with resentment, and he said coldly:
"Jin Fang! Is your brain full of shit?"
"Are people who approach you with the intent to kill you your friends?"
"Can't you see my friends are fighting desperately in that building ahead!"
Jin Fang was stunned. He stared blankly at He Li, not because of He Li's scolding, but because of the tears brimming in He Li's eyes. Finally, tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and onto the ground.
"Brother Li, your marksmanship is too poor, switch to the big gun. My dad borrowed money from you to find me a stepmother, and then I repaid you, Brother Li, you're really something."
"He Li, I brought you some fruit and yogurt. If you have a bowl, you can make a fruit salad yourself, hehe..."
"I've made dumplings, come home and eat dumplings... I've saved some money, planning to buy a house for my son to use in middle school, hehe... Just eat a bite."
"Eating noodles... do you have garlic?"
"Brother Zhang, I'll lend you the money... let your son repay it... hahaha..."
He Li's eyelids twitched, his heart pounded, his internal organs felt as if they were being torn apart by a sharp sword. His eyes were fixed on Zhang Fucheng.
"Brother Zhang, I can't lend you this money anymore. It's not easy for an orphan to pay."
Zhang Fucheng gave He Li a bitter smile, "Sorry, I am loyal to my..."
"Shoot!"
Jin Fang turned to look at He Li.
He Li glared at Jin Fang, gritting his teeth and growling:
"Jin Fang, I told you to shoot!"
Bang!
...
Bang!
Two consecutive shots, imbued with Jin Fang's ability, instantly blew off the heads of Zhang Fucheng and Zhang Boyu.
The chain's ability to kill directly also caused their bodies to disintegrate at any moment, turning into fragments.
As Zhang Fucheng had said, they had already been turned into mummified corpses by the gods they followed, with only empty shells of bodies and souls, devoid of flesh and blood.
They shouldn't be called fragments, perhaps "shards" would be more fitting.
He Li gritted his teeth, his gaze cold. He asked, "Xiao Yue, how much longer until I can break free from the repeating dream they've created for me?"
Xiao Yue pondered for a moment and said, "There are two options. First, if we use our mental power to counter the dream together, it will take about... 49 seconds. However, the moment the dream breaks, your first-order gene lock will be impacted by our mental surge, and you might sustain some damage.
Second, if we don't use mental power to counter, and slowly crush the dream with our mental power, it will take 1 minute and 19 seconds, which is much safer."
"Stop talking, I choose the second option."
He Li closed his eyes. "Begin."
He Li chose the relatively safer second option. The time difference was only 30 seconds...
Xiao Yue and Jin Fang exchanged a glance, then vanished from their original positions...
...
Inside the Canghai Bay Apartment Building,
Hundreds of people were frantically running up and down the staircases, layer after layer. They were running downwards, but Canghai Bay Building had 58 floors, standing at 177 meters. People from different floors rushed into the stairwells because the elevators were out of order due to damaged circuits.
What was once a proud symbol of luxury and status, a lavish residence, now seemed like a讽刺 "Möbius strip," an inescapable, cyclical trap.
But they could only run downwards with all their might. The roars of monsters behind them and the clashing of metal echoing in the stairwells were like death knells, effectively igniting the powerful survival instinct within them.
On the staircases on higher floors, the walls and ceilings bore traces of flame impacts. Bai Fei was locked in close combat with a metallic monster. The long saber Bai Fei favored repeatedly slashed at the monster's chest, neck, head, abdomen, and ribs, sparking with each blow.
Tao Xue's flames, like fiery serpents, scorched the monster, but her flames were insufficient to inflict any damage.
The metallic monster resembled an alien, with a terrifying and disgusting form, sharp fangs and claws, and a stinger-like tail. Each impact against the wall produced a dull roar, and the steel handrails of the stairs were easily sliced by its claws.
Bai Fei was constantly injured, his muscles torn, his ribs broken, his body covered in blood. His internal organs might be bleeding, with blood clots mixed with what seemed like internal organ fragments continuously flowing from his mouth.
The monster dodged Bai Fei's heavy saber strike and leaped onto the wall, charging towards Tao Xue, who was unleashing flames below.
Without a moment's hesitation, Bai Fei pushed off the steps with his feet, lunging backward. He slid along the stairs, close to the monster, and landed in front of Tao Xue with extreme speed. His snow-white saber blocked in front of Tao Xue's chest, while his other hand grabbed her arm, pulling her backward down the stairs.
Clang!
The monster's tail stinger was blocked by Bai Fei. Bai Fei's immense strength stopped the monster's tail stinger before the saber.
Bai Fei activated his Materialization ability. A combat saber appeared in his free hand, but the narrow stairwell was not suitable for dual-wielding; he couldn't extend his reach at all. The tip of his saber continuously chipped away at the steel handrails and walls.
The escape route for the people had become the biggest obstacle for Bai Fei to unleash his full power, yet he had to stop this monster here.
The monster endured Bai Fei's saber strike and then ran rapidly along the wall, its claws tearing through the wall. It moved like a swift gecko, circling halfway up the stairwell, then diving down, charging at Tao Xue again, that tiny human who relentlessly bombarded it with flames.
Bai Fei's gaze sharpened. He leaped up, kicking off the wall. The immense power from his spiritual energy eruption directly dented the wall.
"Ah!!!"
Bai Fei roared. His hands, infused with heavy spiritual energy, and his body blazed with azure flames. At this moment, he had advanced, from a Level Five Spiritual Warrior to a Level Six Spiritual Warrior. Simultaneously, his rage caused his brain nerves to secrete massive amounts of dopamine, continuously breaking through thresholds, and then, his gene lock unlocked to the next stage, reaching Gene Lock Stage Three.
Advancing mid-battle, heavy spiritual energy burned wildly. The dual sabers in his hands suddenly enlarged, and he ferociously slashed down towards the metallic monster's head.
Clang!!!
The massive sound of steel colliding echoed throughout the stairwell, shattering the glass on ten floors of stairs above and below.
Simultaneously,
He severed the metallic monster's head.
Bang!
Bang!
The monster's corpse and head crashed onto the stairs.
Bai Fei panted heavily, his chest heaving. He swallowed hard and stood before the fallen Tao Xue, forcing a smile.
Ch!
A sharp tail needle pierced through Bai Fei's chest, stained with dark red blood. More blood spilled from his mouth. He swayed his head, his eyes erupting with unprecedented brilliance.
But he had no strength left. The combat saber in his left hand dissolved into azure sparks and vanished into the air.
"No! No! No!" Tao Xue let out a tragic scream, struggling to stand up. She grabbed the tail needle in Bai Fei's chest with both hands.
Heaven and hell are separated by a thin line. One side bathed in sunshine, the other shrouded in gray and desolate silence. Everyone stumbles, either falling into the embrace of heaven or plunging into the abyss of hell.
The steel monster lifted them and threw them out through the shattered windows.
Tao Xue fell.
But Bai Fei remained impaled on the tail stinger, not falling. With the monster's complete demise, the tail stinger landed on the windowsill. With a heavy thud, under the impact, Bai Fei slowly slid off the stinger and plummeted from a hundred meters high.
Below, He Li broke free from the repeating dream and rushed towards the building, but the sound of wind breaking above made him stop. Someone was falling from the sky.
"Xiao Yue."
Xiao Yue appeared and used his telekinesis to catch the falling person, who landed in He Li's arms.
Sister Xue?
Just as He Li was wondering why Tao Xue was falling from the sky.
Bang!!!
Clang...
A dark shadow, a muffled thud, a crisp sound, and blood splattering onto his face pulled him back to reality.
He released his arms, and the dazed Tao Xue fell to the ground. He slowly twisted his stiff neck, forcing himself to look down, but a voice in his mind screamed at him:
"Impossible! Don't look! Impossible! Don't look!"
Xiao Yue was also stunned, looking at the person lying before He Li with disbelief. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and looked sharply at He Li.
He Li lowered his head. He looked at the grotesquely disfigured Bai Fei before him, his body trembling uncontrollably. Tears slowly trickled down his face. He might not have even realized he was crying.
The pool of red blood on the ground, the chest with a gaping hole, the saber tightly clutched in his hand.
Thump.
He collapsed to his knees, reaching out as if to touch Bai Fei.
"Stop messing around, Brother Fei. You... you stop messing around.
Two people have already died,
I... I only have you left as a friend.
Brother Fei, you... you don't die.
I beg you.
I... really, I beg you..."
He said hoarsely, each word, each breath, weighing a thousand pounds, ten thousand pounds. In the end, he could only open his mouth and sob, unable to speak.
He lowered his head, looking at Bai Fei's corpse, and fell silent.
But,
After the silence came fury.
A heartbeat like thunderous drumming began, growing denser like raindrops, shaking the silent space. His dim eyes blazed with golden light.
An invisible aura emanated from He Li's body, and a powerful airflow buffeted everything around him.
Xiao Yue, Jin Fang, Li Qin, Yan Ping, Chen Sui, He Xi, He Jun,
All appeared, standing behind He Li, as if witnessing a sacred moment of a god's awakening.
He Li pried open Bai Fei's fingers, which were gripping the saber, one by one, and held it in his own hand.
He stood up, looking at the Canghai Bay Apartment Building before him.
Then,
He leaped high into the air, soaring 200 meters, and swung his saber towards the Canghai Bay Apartment Building, cleaving the 177-meter-tall building in two.
This was the wrath of a god. All, whether human, god, or demon, must die!
...