Chapter 24: The Siege of Lu Li

Xu Xiao looked at Lu Li, whose expression had suddenly turned serious, and felt a flutter of anxiety in her heart.

"Of course. You admitted to killing Tian Yuhao and Chen Hao in front of so many people back then; did you really think they wouldn't talk?"

"That guy they call Brother Dao only had to ask around the school a little to figure out the situation."

After saying these two sentences, Xu Xiao fell silent. Seeing that Lu Li remained quiet, she asked with concern, "What’s wrong? Is Brother Dao coming after you because of this?"

The seriousness on Lu Li's face vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he returned to his usual calm demeanor. He smiled and replied, "No, I suspect it’s precisely because Brother Dao knows about this that he’s been so polite to me. You have to remember, he used to extort me; his sudden change in attitude is what I find strange."

"But why did you bring people to move into the girls' dormitory? I thought your whole 'shtick' was being 'open to anyone who comes'?"

Xu Xiao rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, and retorted, "Get lost! You’re the one who’s 'open to anyone'."

"The reason I moved out is because Brother Dao proposed a 'men-leading-women' strategy. He demanded that we form mixed-gender teams, claiming it would increase survival rates and boost the team's morale."

Lu Li feigned realization. "Hmm, the logic is sound. Since it’s the apocalypse now, pairing men and women does indeed boost morale."

Xu Xiao looked at Lu Li with a serious gaze. "The idea is fine, but his 'methods' are completely unscrupulous. It won't be long before the women in his team are reduced to playthings."

Lu Li raised an eyebrow. He finally understood why Xu Xiao had been able to hold an entire team together in his past life.

Without continuing the topic, Lu Li handed both backpacks of origin crystals to Xu Xiao. "The matter of the origin crystals is in your hands now. Don't let me down."

Watching Lu Li turn and walk away, Xu Xiao asked with some confusion, "Aren't you coming upstairs? It’s already dark outside; where are you sleeping tonight?"

"I'll make do in the car for the night. Besides, I'm not one of your subordinates. Between us, it’s strictly a transaction."

Lu Li waved his hand without looking back, his figure disappearing around the corner. Xu Xiao’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the backpack straps. She bit her lower lip and muttered unhappily, "What do you mean 'strictly a transaction'? You still owe me your life..."

A second later, she suddenly realized what she had said, and blushing, she spat in the direction where Lu Li had disappeared. "Who has a 'transactional relationship' with you anyway!!"

***

It was soon the middle of the night. Outside the No. 1 Middle School campus, faint footsteps echoed on the empty streets. Under the flickering streetlights, fully armed figures appeared and vanished, moving swiftly to surround the student dormitory.

"Sister Hong, according to the coordinates provided by the 'corpses,' that kid Lu Li is right downstairs by the dormitory."

The speaker was a middle-aged man with a skull tattoo on his face. He was crouching at the highest point of the teaching building, observing the Hummer in the distance through binoculars. "Should I have two brothers sneak up and check it out?"

After a brief pause, Luo Hong’s cold response came through his earpiece: "No need. That kid named Lu Li is a bit strange. Use direct firepower."

The middle-aged man hesitated slightly but chose to obey. Although he felt that using direct firepower was akin to using a cannon to kill a mosquito, since Luo Hong had given the order directly, it wasn't his place to question her.

Three minutes later, fire erupted from the darkness surrounding the dormitory!

More than a dozen rockets dragged scarlet tails of flame as they struck the Hummer like lightning. After the deafening roar of the explosions, only a burning frame of the vehicle remained in the clearing.

The middle-aged man with the skull tattoo curled his lips into a sneer and spoke lightly into his earpiece: "Done, Sister Hong! No matter how badass that kid is, he’s been blown into a fool now..."

However, before he could finish his sentence, the man’s pupils suddenly contracted!

The door of the Hummer, which had been blown to pieces, had opened! A figure stepped out of the driver's seat, stood still amidst the flames and thick smoke, and surveyed the surroundings as if nothing had happened.

"No way! Sister Hong, he’s still alive! Brothers, hit him with everything you've got!!"

Gunfire erupted like a tidal wave! The already crumbling Hummer was instantly showered in sparks, and in less than a heartbeat, it was reduced to scrap metal. The figure collapsed in response, sending up a shower of sparks.

"Hmph, now it’s really done! Sister Hong, it’s just like you said, this kid has some tricks up his sleeve. It’s a good thing we didn't send men in to sneak up on him..."

The skull-tattooed man said this as he pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Even a Level 5 monster couldn't survive a round of rocket fire followed by a machine-gun barrage. Not to mention a Level 0 nobody like Lu Li! So, with the mission over, a cigarette was the most satisfying choice.

However, he never got to light that cigarette.

A cold blade had appeared at his throat, effortlessly slicing through his carotid artery. A voice sounded behind the middle-aged man, like a ghostly whisper from the depths of hell.

"Indeed, it’s done..."

...

"Hello? Hello! What’s going on?!"

Static crackled continuously in her earpiece, causing Luo Hong to frown deeply. It should have been finished by now, shouldn't it? Why was there no sound? The situation seemed wrong. Luo Hong tried switching to other channels. Without exception, there was only the sound of silent static.

"Check the signal," Luo Hong ordered her subordinate.

"Sister Hong, the communication channel signal is full strength. The lack of sound is because the other side isn't talking."

"Not talking..." Luo Hong chewed on these words, then suddenly gave a light laugh. "I suppose they’re already dead and can't talk."

The subordinate was shocked and instinctively retorted, "That can't be, Sister Hong. There were 50 people who infiltrated the school, and every one of them is a veteran..."

But the more he spoke, the more panicked he became. The signal was full; if they were alive, they would have responded. They were really dead! Lu Li had wiped out 50 people in the blink of an eye!! Was he even human? Could he be a monster in human form?!

Luo Hong nodded, her smiling face darkening. "I underestimated that kid... Never mind, it’s almost midnight. Tell the remaining people to retreat! This matter requires careful planning."

Scattered responses came through the earpiece, and the teams scattered around the school perimeter began to converge toward Luo Hong’s position.

Exhaling sharply, Luo Hong rubbed her temples and muttered to the air, "Even if it were 50 pigs, it wouldn't be that fast to kill them all... How on earth did Lu Li do it..."

"Sister Hong, perhaps it’s because of that strange talent of his. Should we send more people in?" the subordinate suggested in a low voice. "According to the intel, that kid seems to be able to summon Blade-Arm Mantises out of thin air! Maybe he used these summoned monsters to take out our brothers?"

Luo Hong sneered, retorting to the subordinate who appeared shrewd but was actually quite dim: "Even if that theory holds, how many Blade-Arm Mantises do you think it would take to kill Old Zhu?"

The man the woman referred to as Old Zhu was the middle-aged man with the skull tattoo. Before this, he had a perfect record of taking on three Blade-Arm Mantises single-handedly without sustaining an injury.

Even if we take a step back and assume they were ambushed or caught off guard, and assume a ratio of one Blade-Arm Mantis per person, Lu Li would have had to summon at least 49 of them to take out 50 people instantly! That was a terrifying number!

If Lu Li truly possessed such horrific power, the few people they had surrounding the school were no match for him. Thinking this, the subordinate felt the pressure mount, his breathing becoming labored.

Just then, a frantic warning suddenly came over Luo Hong's earpiece: "Sister Hong! I see several monsters flying toward your position..."