A Virtual Identity App?!
Wen Xi’s breath hitched. With this app, she wouldn’t have to fear exposing her identity, and she could finally take on the 200,000-point challenge!
Was this the reward for a good deed?
“How many of them?” Wen Xi turned her head.
“Five or six.” The old man swallowed hard. “They have knives.”
Five or six?
That was perfect; even the number matched the requirements!
Wen Xi suppressed her joy and nodded to show she understood. She glanced at the little girl huddled behind her grandfather and tossed two more packs of compressed biscuits down.
“Leave as soon as you can.”
She paused, then added:
“Hide your supplies well; don’t get them stolen.”
As the old man took his granddaughter and left, clutching the plastic bag, he turned back to bow.
Wen Xi waved him off, turned, and sprinted up the stairs two steps at a time.
Her supplies were already sorted and packed. Wen Xi lifted her mattress and shoved the Survival Cabin model into the cabinet within her inventory space.
Even without the scavenger’s warning, she wouldn’t have stayed here much longer. Everyone in the group chat knew she had supplies, and many had guessed she had dealt with several enemies and collected their spoils. Those with devious minds would inevitably want to come and loot some scraps.
Moreover, she didn’t fully trust the scavenger. Kindness was one thing; vigilance was another. They were two different matters.
Wen Xi strapped on her bow and arrows. Suddenly remembering something, she bought ten boxes of steel nails from the delivery app, the cold, gleaming points facing upward. She had heard the sound of ghost-fire (motorcycle engines) earlier, so she bought an extra layer of protection.
Just as Wen Xi headed downstairs, the game radar caught a red dot.
【Hostile target detected x1】 【Distance: 50 meters (approaching)】 【Danger Level: D】
Here we go!
Wen Xi immediately hid.
A man in a leather jacket stepped over the shattered ice along the path, the light from his phone screen reflecting the scar on his chin.
“Damn, this hellhole…”
The scarred man kicked over a plastic bucket, the noise echoing through the empty building.
Wen Xi narrowed her eyes. The interface on his phone was clearly the 007 group chat.
“That bitch must be in the unfinished commercial building—ah!”
An arrow tip slammed into the man’s right shoulder. Before he could finish his scream, Wen Xi rushed out without a moment’s hesitation and kicked him hard in the back. Before the scarred man could regain his senses, a short dagger was already pressed against his throat!
“Speak,” Wen Xi said coldly. “How many of you are there?”
The scarred man spat. “You bit—ah!!”
“Last time I’ll ask.”
Wen Xi pulled the arrow out of his right shoulder, acting even more ruthlessly than him. “How many?”
“Five… five people!” The scarred man convulsed in pain. “They’re searching the next building over… saying they’ll catch you!”
Wen Xi immediately grabbed the shattered phone he had dropped. The chat logs showed they had split up half an hour ago, and they didn’t just want to catch her—they wanted to “have some fun” and kill her once they did…
How truly disgusting.
Ding!
A new message popped up.
【Big Brother】: Report, report. Did you find her? Any leads?
“You’re looking for me? Then you’re really looking for death.”
Wen Xi sneered, then suddenly applied force! The dagger drove straight through the scarred man’s chin from below. She stood up amidst his dying screams.
“I’ll let you go,” Wen Xi smiled slightly. “But this dagger is coated in a deadly poison. Whether you can make it to a hospital in time depends on yourself.”
Deadly poison?!
The man covered his mouth in terror, stumbled to his feet, and ran away.
…It would be a miracle if he lived. In this black rain, toxins were everywhere; reaching a hospital meant being swarmed by contaminated creatures.
Wen Xi chuckled, looked down, and sent her own location, typing: 【Found her. Big Brother, come quick!】
The message sent.
Wen Xi dropped the phone, headed to the second floor, and ordered a bottle of pesticide to coat the area.
A moment later, the roar of engines echoed from afar.
Four modified motorcycles crushed the icy road surface, their front bumpers welded with spikes, and machetes tied to the back seats. The riders were wearing cringy skull-masks. The lead motorcycle carried an extra passenger, who was holding a phone and checking their location.
“She’s in this building!”
The shout was shredded by the wind.
Wen Xi stood by the unfinished windowsill on the second floor, leaning two steel-dart guns against the wall. She drew her bow, the creak of the taut bowstring mingling with the wind. The arrowhead dipped slightly, aiming at the fuel tank cap of the last motorcycle.
“Whoosh!”
The arrow pierced the right shoulder of the passenger on the back seat. The man screamed, his uncontrolled elbow slamming into the neck of the rider in front.
The motorcycle swerved like a drunkard toward the curb. As the front wheel slipped and slammed into the wall, the passenger was thrown off. His head smashed against the ground, sliding across the ice and leaving a long trail of blood.
“Fuck! It’s an ambush! We’re surrounded!” The yellow-haired man trailing behind braked hard to turn, his tires sliding on the ice; he almost flew off.
…Surrounded, my ass!
I’m just one person.
Wen Xi quickly pulled another arrow to aim at the third person, but he suddenly looked up.
The moment their eyes met, he revved the throttle, causing the arrow to strike off-target, grazing his ear.
“Upstairs! The woman is upstairs!”
The remaining three motorcycles accelerated, splitting up to flank the building and head up to her floor.
Wen Xi stowed her bow and arrows and grabbed the steel-dart guns, backing up two steps. She heard the tires crushing the nest of nails she had scattered at the top of the stairs.
“Pfft!”
The muffled pop of a flat tire was accompanied by the sound of a body hitting the ground. One of the yellow-haired men’s motorcycles blew a tire on the stairs and tumbled down; his head shattered on impact, landing motionless against the steel rebar piled below.
Wen Xi stepped back calmly, calculating silently.
Two left.
“Bitch!” The yellow-haired man’s cursing came from the east staircase, followed by the sound of tires scraping the floor. “I’m going to skin you and turn your—”
Wen Xi flashed around the corner of the stairs, pulling the trigger of the dart gun toward his abdomen.
“Bang!”
The motorcycle was moving too fast to turn; steel darts sank into his stomach without mercy. He lost control, the motorcycle followed suit, and the yellow-haired man flew off, hitting the ground and knocking himself unconscious.
Before Wen Xi could let out a breath, the last tattooed man suddenly lunged from behind!
Wen Xi’s pupils constricted—she hadn’t expected him to ditch the motorcycle and head up on foot. She instantly swiveled to throw an elbow, but he ducked it.
Without hesitation, she kneed him straight in the crotch. Taking advantage of the moment he was reeling in pain, her right hand reached for the military dagger hidden at her back.
“Squish!”
The dagger plunged into the tattooed man’s thigh.
He howled and scrambled back. Wen Xi seized the opportunity to roll and snatch up the steel-dart gun.
“Don’t!” The tattooed man crawled back, dragging his broken leg. “I was wrong, spare me… it’s illegal to kill me, you don’t want to be a wanted—”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wen Xi didn’t waste a single word, firing three times in a row, blowing away half of his head. Brain matter splattered against the lime wall like spilled tofu.
Wen Xi shook her numb wrist. The smell of gunpowder from the dart gun mixed with the stench of blood in her nostrils.
Rustling sounds came from downstairs—it was the first thug who had been knocked unconscious, currently crawling toward the entrance.
Wen Xi fired a shot right at his feet!
“Bang!”
The thug screamed in terror, his legs turning to jelly as he collapsed to the ground. “Don’t, don’t, don’t shoot! I’ll give you my gold and my brothers’ gold!”
Wen Xi was indifferent. “You’re dead; it’s mine anyway.”
“No! I can tell you a secret!”
Seeing that Wen Xi was about to pull the trigger again, the thug shouted in panic: “A secret about your safety, and a secret concerning your life!”