Chapter 14: Peyton, I Finally Found You!
He supported the shirt guy's head with one hand and turned toward that direction: "See! That podium. On the surface, it's a podium."
"Actually, it's a fully stocked first aid kit with a defibrillator, respirator, oxygen tank, bandages, anti-inflammatory medication—even Laozi's Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir! Hang in there, I'll get you over there right now!"
"Ghh~ ghh~ ghh~"
Hearing this, the shirt guy's eyes widened even more, his throat producing wet gurgling sounds as he struggled to lift his hand, pointing at the broken wooden spike protruding from his chest.
The meaning was clear.
Take me over there?
I'm like THIS and you want to take me over there?
I think you want to take my CORPSE over there!
"Don't worry, hang on, I'll—"
Halfway through his words, Deadpool's back went cold. He suddenly dodged sideways.
A Licker had somehow gotten behind him. Its crimson tongue passed in front of him, precisely nailing the shirt guy's head.
Instantly, the powerful impact blew the shirt guy's head into pieces. Deadpool lifted his hand to wipe the red and white matter off his face, shaking his hands in disgust.
How could they?
On his face?
Too much!
Jill and Peyton quickly fired to drive the Licker away.
On the other side, another long tongue shot out, coiling around the shirt guy's body to pull it upward. Deadpool flew into a rage, cursing loudly as he grabbed one of the shirt guy's hands and yanked hard, staging a tug-of-war match in this dim church.
In the side room, the three watched this somewhat bizarre yet comical scene, at a loss for words. Jill raised her gun at the Licker and quietly asked Peyton: "Is he an idiot?"
Peyton also aimed his gun at the Licker: "I think so."
Watching Deadpool's voice grow hoarse as he continued cursing loudly, Jill suddenly realized something and pulled out her phone.
Suddenly, the Lickers observing from the sidelines stopped playing fair and lunged at Deadpool mid-tug-of-war.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Peyton and Jill fired in time. Sensing danger, the Licker didn't want to get injured and abandoned its attack, leaping aside to dodge the bullets.
Though both were completely red, size told the story—the Licker's powerful muscles far exceeded what the well-proportioned Deadpool could match. Deadpool was losing ground inch by inch. As the Licker continued climbing upward, his feet began leaving the ground.
Deadpool knew well: if you can't turn things around against the wind, you must have the courage to cut off your own arm!
With this thought, he gritted his teeth, drew his long blade, and SLASH—severed the shirt guy's wrist.
BOOM!
Clutching the hand, he executed a superhero three-point landing. The pain from his knees made Deadpool grimace. Then he spun, jumped, dodged consecutive stabbing tongues and claws, rolled back into the side room, and drew his twin pistols to fire two shots at the Lickers behind him.
Two sprays of foul blood erupted from the Licker. It roared and leaped back onto the wall.
Peyton locked his arms tightly around Deadpool, dragging him to the back of the side room.
Meanwhile, the prepared Jill pressed play, cranked the volume to maximum, and slid her phone across the floor to the other end of the church.
Melodious, soothing music emanated from the phone, carrying the distinctive static of old phone speakers, filling the entire church.
This trick had a miraculous effect on the Lickers who seemed to have developed weak consciousness. They immediately slowed their movements, clinging to the ceiling and walls.
Of course, it might also be that they—with their super-high metabolism—were ravenously hungry, because now they'd torn the shirt guy into five uneven pieces and were continuously gnawing on them.
The sounds of sharp teeth tearing raw meat and scraping against bone mixed with the gentle music, creating a deeply bizarre atmosphere.
"What are you doing?"
Peyton glared fiercely at Deadpool.
Deadpool looked left, looked right, looked left looked right, turning his head faster and faster until he created afterimages: "Peyton? Where are you? I can only hear your voice."
Finally, his head jerked to a stop, looking at Terri beside him: "Terri, have you seen Peyton? He seems to have disappeared."
Terri: ...
Peyton: ...
"You shouldn't have gone out."
Jill also retreated, gently closing the door and observing outside through the glass.
"I was saving someone!"
Deadpool pulled out the severed hand he'd been clutching to his chest: "Look!"
Seeing the severed hand, Terri was startled again and reflexively started to scream. Fortunately, Peyton had the foresight to clamp his hand firmly over her mouth, preventing disaster.
Jill said irritably: "What use is bringing back just a hand?"
"Plant it in the ground, water it, fertilize it—won't it grow back by next autumn? If you're lucky, maybe you'll get extras."
Deadpool blinked.
Jill: ...
This is a person, not a radish in the ground!
"Buddy, his death was his own doing. You don't need to blame yourself."
A warm, large hand landed on Deadpool's shoulder. Peyton said quietly.
Peyton thought Deadpool's kick had indirectly killed the shirt guy and he couldn't accept it, causing some mental confusion.
After all, Deadpool had said earlier he was a superhero.
That must be his dream.
As a superhero who indirectly caused a civilian's death, he must be very sad.
Deadpool lifted his hand to press Peyton's hand, then felt his way upward along it.
Peyton: ???
Finally reaching Peyton's shoulder and touching both sides, Deadpool's eyes widened: "Oh! Peyton, here you are! I finally found you!"
Peyton: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
He was wrong.
This guy's just a lunatic!
Terri frowned, looking at Deadpool. Something seemed off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Stop fooling around. We need to figure out how to escape."
Jill's gaze swept over all the Lickers as she spoke softly.
The shirt guy's corpse had been devoured completely. Blood-streaked white bones lay on the ground, particularly eye-catching.
One corpse clearly couldn't satisfy five Lickers' appetites. They began restlessly running back and forth across the ceiling again. Obviously, the next wave of attacks was imminent—they didn't have much time left.
"I have a good plan."
Deadpool raised his hand.
"Speak."
Though not holding much hope for Deadpool's plan, Jill didn't have any better ideas at the moment.
"There's a narrow corridor up front. One man guards the pass against ten thousand. We can retreat to the corridor, I'll deal with them, you guys cheer '666' from behind. After I finish slicing them all up, you come give me two... uh, two hundred kisses, preferably find a compartment for a quickie, then the church will be safe."
Hearing this idea, both Peyton and Terri rolled their eyes.
However, being a rigorously trained agent, Jill's ears automatically filtered out the latter parts, only catching the beginning. Her eyes lit up.
The reason they had no way to deal with the Lickers wasn't it precisely because the church hall was too spacious, giving the Lickers plenty of room to maneuver?
If they moved to a narrow corridor, the Lickers' movement range would be restricted, greatly increasing their chances of hitting them with gunfire.