The dull light from the light bulb dangling on the iron wall illuminated the boiling crucible on the table and the cluttered metal shards.
Beyond the thunder outside the door and the torrential rain hitting the ground, the enclosed space harbored only murky breaths, akin to a bellows.
Red Gloves, his upper body bare, gritted his teeth as he bandaged the mangled flesh on one side of his body. As he peeled off the gauze stuck to his flesh, bright red blood oozed from behind the torn scabs.
It was as if countless blades had been jammed in; the tiny cuts opened like so many little pink mouths, spitting out crimson saliva.
"FUXK! That freak high schooler from Dongxia..."
Red Gloves cursed under his breath, picked up the spray can, and pressed it against his wounds. A green mist fizzed upon contact with his body, as if acid had landed on an alkaline solution.
Amidst suppressed howls of agony, the pale green fog seemed to come alive. It burrowed into his wounds thread by thread, and immediately, that entire side of his body squirmed like a nest of snakes.
He collapsed onto the ground, convulsing in agony, unable to hold back the pain any longer.
Something was battling within the shell of his body. Soon, clotted blood and fragments of organs flowed from the wounds, carrying a deep green tinge and streaks of ash-like dark color.
That was the poison of "Changgeng," desperately squeezed out from within...
If it had been anyone else, they probably would have died by now, right? If it were not for his Stigmata·Taxim turning his shell into a temporary zombie state, he surely couldn't have endured this kind of poison-against-poison attack.
In just a few seconds, he was drenched in sweat, which mixed with the already rotting blood oozing from the wounds.
He looked like a living corpse dragged out of a coffin by tomb raiders.
But no matter what, he was still alive.
Even this brush with death made him more confident about advancing to a Night terror and entering the Fourth Stage.
When the alarm went off, he finally had the strength to rise from the ground. He picked up the pliers and poured the silver liquid from the boiling crucible into an iron cup.
SIZZLE.
That was no palatable drink but a pool of boiling metal solution!
Even though he was now half-zombified, Red Gloves hesitated for a long time before lifting the cup, knowing that the Silver Blood Potion he had quickly concocted only worked when in liquid form.
He made up his mind and downed it in one gulp.
Amidst intense burning pain, he almost believed his esophagus and mouth had been scorched to carbon, but that was the necessary price.
The liquid, fatal to ordinary people, was actually a rankless Miniature Stigmata—a short-lived miracle carried in a liquid metal container, capable of repairing damaged Stigmata and flesh for a brief moment, much like universal glue.
The technology to keep it liquid at room temperature was an Alchemy Workshop secret, never to be disclosed. In his haste, he could only mix up this version with dire consequences as a stopgap solution.
Soon, the mangled flesh on one side of his body began to heal, the wounds shimmering with streaks of metallic light. The solidified iron merged with his flesh, re-bonding his almost shattered shell.
The intense torment drained the remnants of his energy, making him even groggier, on the verge of fainting.
His trembling palm searched his pocket for a package, unwrapped it, took out the incense inside, and lit it with his own Source of fire.
Wisps of smoke entered his nostrils.
His pale face gradually regained some color, and his depleted energy slowly recovered a little under the stimulation of the incense, but it was less than one-tenth of his normal state.
The convenience of red and blue potions in online games is ultimately unrealistic. Even if available, the production cost would be so high that a single dose could sell for millions of yuan; after all, they are life-saving items when it matters most.
Metal repairs the body, incense maintains the soul—this is the daily routine of every Border Sublimator.
Only now did he finally withdraw his hand and bring the long-vibrating phone to his ear to answer.
"It's me. I'm still in Xinhai."
"What's the situation?" asked the person on the phone.
"I've taken some damage, and I'm still bleeding. Luckily, I had the Spade 4 you gave me; otherwise, I would have really been captured."
With one hand, he struggled into his coat. "The whole of Xinhai has now been completely filled with the Astronomical Society's wires. Even the spare safe houses have been discovered... Don't worry, I'll leave at midnight. I've prepared my own exit, and I won't leave a trace."
"Be very careful and don't stay in Current Circumstances any longer. Come back as soon as possible."
The person on the phone added a final instruction, "Although the wedge in Xinhai hasn't been removed, it doesn't affect the overall situation—your mission is already complete. Soon we will be able to open a passage to Magic City... If the situation becomes critical, make your own judgment. Prioritize saving yourself."
Red Gloves indifferently hung up the phone and began to destroy everything that couldn't be taken. It wasn't long before he finished.
The time was 11:15 PM.
It was time to leave this city of the living dead...
BANG!
Suddenly, a rumbling collision was heard in the distance.
Red Gloves startled and turned to look at the surveillance screen in the corner.
Someone was coming.
He opened his palm, summoned the fish tank, and peered into it as if looking into the water.
Just outside, a red sports car had crashed headlong into a mountain of stacked containers, belching black smoke.
A car accident?
「. . .」
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
Amidst thick smoke, Huai Shi clambered awkwardly out of the car, his head spinning and feeling groggy. The icy cold downpour awakened him.
He looked around blankly, seeing the towering layers of containers in the dock area, along with the sea, cold and ironlike beneath the gloomy sky dome.
"Are we there?"
"Mm, we're here."
Raven, who had a close brush with death, flew out of the car. Glancing around, she asked, "Couldn't you have found a parking lot? Even if I suggested acting recklessly, you didn't need to be so headstrong as to drive headlong into this mess, right?"
"Have you forgotten the trouble you caused!" Huai Shi glared at her. "Even if I had parked, I wouldn't have money to pay the parking fee, okay!"
"Then couldn't you abandon the car and let Liu DongLi pay when he's discharged from the hospital!"
Huai Shi was taken aback for a moment, realizing that when it came to being heartless, this broken bird still outdid him. When it came to being black-hearted, I, Huai Shi, am willing to call you the strongest.
With the heavy rain pouring down on him, he looked around, trying to distinguish the terrain, only to find himself completely confused. Everywhere looked the same—colorful containers stacked up, forming crossroads. He couldn't tell where he was at all, let alone find Red Gloves hiding among them.
We agreed to go out and hunt monsters. We've arrived at the place. But where's the monster?
Raven pondered for a moment before coming up with a bad idea, "Why don't you try calling out?"
Huai Shi paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Raising his hands to his mouth, he shaped them into a megaphone and shouted, "Hello? Anybody there? Open up, neighbor, we're delivering some warmth! Red Gloves, old buddy, what little corner are you hiding in?"
No one responded.
In the darkness, Red Gloves impassively watched the reflection on the water's surface, expressionless.
What's this? Someone trying to be funny?
Instantly, the water in the fish tank began to ripple slightly.
That distant viewpoint scanned the surroundings. After confirming that no one was hiding, it seemed to put down a telescope and then picked up something else.
Thus, a neat and intricate Cross Mark appeared in the reflection...
Slowly drifting, it targeted Huai Shi's hood.
Atop the towering crane, the figure covered with a dust sheet slowly rose from its position on the arm, letting the downpour wash over his pallid skin. His dull eyes showed no hint of life, save for a goldfish swimming languidly within them.
The heavy sniper rifle was calmly lifted into his hands.
He held his breath.
Suffocating in agony, the deep barrel of the rifle extended forward from those raised hands, its dark form reflecting the endless rain in the sky.
In that moment, across hundreds of meters of driving rain and wind, the scope had already locked onto the unsuspecting and blurred figure in the downpour.
His thumb contracted slightly.
And right at that moment, the scenery in the scope shifted abruptly, as a gigantic crimson pupil emerged. Like a reflection through a fish tank, it stared straight at Red Gloves' face.
The sudden impact made Red Gloves' hand tremble, nearly toppling the fish tank.
What the hell!
"What are you doing, lil' bro?"
The Raven perched on the rifle, peering sneakily into the scope, actually spoke up, "Standing so high when it's raining, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
"Here..."
While speaking, she lifted her claw to place the object she was holding into the listless puppet's hand.
"I've got something good for you."
Controlled by Red Gloves, the puppet instinctively looked down, only to see a thin... wire?
In that instant, a faint azure light seemed to glow from the wire.
The next second, amidst the booming thunder, he couldn't see anything anymore.
BANG!
"What the fuxk!"
Red Gloves staggered backward as if struck by lightning, instinctively covering his forehead, feeling the splintered Source Substance transformed into scorching pain by the thunder.
What troubled him even more was that the bizarre Raven couldn't help but remind him of the famous The Crowned One of Dongxia, White Emperor's Son—that teenage girl who always ran around with a pigeon...
Suddenly he felt a chill. Just how many monsters had those maniacs at Ji Xia created from the same batch?
If that was the case, evading and hiding were pointless. Only a fight to the death would offer a glimmer of hope.
His expression grew somber as he clenched his fists tightly. After hearing a sharp noise of shattering steel in the distance, he slowly pushed open the door and stepped out of the container where he had been hiding.
Facing the raging storm, he emerged at the crossroads amidst layered stacks of steel, causing the young man's shouting to come to an abrupt halt.
He actually came out?
Huai Shi was also surprised, as if by shouting that no one would save you, someone named No One had actually jumped out.
Are you really here all by yourself?
Red Gloves tilted his head, scanning his surroundings, but found no trace of anyone else. His expression turned even colder. "Has Dongxia really fallen to such a level?"
"Ah, no, you might have misunderstood."
Huai Shi waved his hands awkwardly, with a sense of resignation. "Although it's not the first time we've met, I should probably introduce myself. I don't really like formalities though, so if you really want to call me something, you can refer to me as..."
With that, he took off his hood, revealing his face and the pink mask covering it.
"—Huaihai Road Little Peppa."
"..."
Red Gloves was stunned.
What the hell kind of thing was that? Are you kidding me? What kind of Huai, what kind of Hai, what kind of Road, what kind of Little, what kind of Peppa?
It's understandable that anyone would be shocked upon seeing that mask, right?
And in the moment he was stunned, Huai Shi, who had been preparing for this moment for a long time, drew Liu DongLi's gun from behind his back. He aimed it swiftly at Red Gloves' face and pulled the trigger.
—BANG!