Chapter 53: For Fate, Offer Death (Two-in-One Large Chapter)

A nameless old dilapidated community, Building 11 Room 404.

Doors and windows tightly shut, thick curtains blocking out the light.

Inside the room, seven Extremist Members sat or leaned on the sofa, the TV on, broadcasting Nine Districts current affairs news.

【Recently, all departments of our district have cooperated closely, conducted friendly negotiations with District 8, and increased trade exchanges.....】

【Our district follows the new guidelines issued by the Upper City Council, and has carried out more detailed functional divisions for each department......】

【In recent years, our district's gross production value has risen steadily, exploration of the Hidden Gate has continued to deepen, playing an important role in the Human Unity Circulation Supply System.....】

【Resolutely implement the guidelines of Human Unity Circulation, unwavering; resolutely execute all policies and measures of the Upper City Council, unambiguous; resolutely follow Upper City's pace, not falling behind.】

【Order stable, life prosperous, every single person should contribute their value to the Human Unity Circulation System.】

【We firmly believe that in the not-too-distant future, humanity's footprints will tread every corner inside the Hidden Gate, and the lost World will surely return to humanity's embrace.】

Pa-da——

The TV screen was shattered by a large hand, the cracked screen went half dark, the announcer's exquisite face and subtitles shattered together into twisted shapes.

"Same clichés every day, my ears are about to vomit from listening." Hong Hu shook the fragments off his hand, tone annoyed.

The woman beside him, half her face covered in needle-and-thread scars, frowned and said: "You're nervous and afraid?"

The remaining 5 members all subconsciously sat up straight when the woman spoke.

Hong Hu shook his head in denial: "I'm not afraid."

The woman's tone was indifferent: "It's fine, fear and anxiety in the face of death are physiological instinctive reactions, no need to disguise or escape, but our corpses after death will ultimately pave the stairs leading to the Sky."

Hong Hu and several Extremist Members exchanged a glance, fanaticism surfacing in their eyes, simultaneously standing up, right fists pressed to their hearts: "For Fate, Offer Death!"

The woman turned her head, looked toward the curtains, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes, cold voice: "So the Contact Person can receive the goods more smoothly afterward, we must drag more padding along before we die."

The crowd of Extremist Members nodded silently, tacitly each drawing their weapons to begin final preparations.

Suddenly, Hong Hu couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked: "Big Sister Head, since we're all going to die anyway, can you tell me who the Contact Person actually is, and what the goods are?"

Big Sister Head's gaze blazed as she stared at Hong Hu, looking at the youthful greenness not yet fully faded from his face.

She grinned, the dead muscle on her face pulled by the corners of her mouth, the centipede-like scars coming alive, looking terrifying and ferocious.

Hong Hu scratched his head a bit fearfully: "Big Sister Head, I was wrong, I won't ask."

But Big Sister Head didn't blame him, instead saying gently: "It's precisely because we're all going to die that there's no need to know the answer."

The room fell quiet, the hourglass of death suspended above everyone's head.

"They're here!"

The member sitting by the window pulled open a corner of the curtain, peeking diagonally toward the community entrance/exit.

Large numbers of Investigation Corps standard ink-blue uniforms came into view, quickly scattering to seal off every exit, the Snack Street along the street also cleared and placed under martial law.

Four strange instruments, placed in symmetrical positions in the community, forming a square.

The next instant, pitch-black lasers fired out, shooting straight toward Upper City's butt.

Upper City's massive base, colorful lights receiving the lasers from the ground, four of the lights flickered twice, silently turning ink-colored.

Then, beams of ink-colored light fell vertically, extending into a square in midair, like an infinitely tall Black Box, descending from Upper City, about to precisely envelop the old dilapidated community inside.

Big Sister Head lowered her head to use her phone, sending an already-edited message to an unmarked numeric code of unspecified size.

——Squad 117, requesting to go offline!

No reply, because the infinitely tall Black Box had already enveloped the entire community at light speed, covering the inside into black night, covering it into a...... Dead Zone isolated from all prying and signal transmission.

Big Sister Head looked at the signal bars on her phone turning into X, expression unchanged as she pulled out the SIM card, rubbing it to powder between two fingers.

The old dilapidated community's soundproofing isn't too good.

Soon cries of alarm from upstairs and downstairs were heard, then residents opening windows shouting outward.

"What's going on?"

"Upper City lights out this early today?"

"How come there's no signal?"

"Everyone look quick, our community's been covered by a black box, what situation, anyone come out and explain, feels a bit scary."

"Can't see outside the cover, wait, someone's coming in, looks like Investigation Corps, they're all holding guns."

Two minutes later.

People with more impatient temperaments rushed out the doorway, gathering a batch in the courtyard, grouping together and plucking up courage, using phone flashlights as light sources, walking toward the community entrance/exit.

Most building windows were pushed open, heads poking out stretching their necks to look out, all lines of sight converging there.

Ka-cha.

The sound of bolts being pulled and chambers loaded, neat and uniform.

Not even a single exchange of words, the response was a torrential rain of bullets, in the blink of an eye dyeing the ground into pitted blood threads.

Phones fallen on the ground reflected the ground full of corpses into a thousand holes, colors dark red.

Phones with no one operating them soon all went dark screen, darkness swallowing the corpses.

The heavy rain roared suddenly and stopped suddenly, the whole community seeming to have been muted, countless throats jammed, losing their voices.

Then, mute released, volume rebounded and exploded, rising and falling screams, sharp enough to seemingly shake the buildings down.

But they didn't know that even if they screamed their throats hoarse, not a shred of sound would transmit out, disturbing the peace and tranquility outside.

Thanks to the Upper City Council's wisdom, thanks to the mighty power of technological development, forever able to most conveniently and effortlessly guard the order and calm of the majority.

Nine Districts Investigation Corps Second Squad Captain, Zhou Jian's face showed not a ripple, looking at the ground full of corpses as if looking at a ground full of rotten grass leaves.

"Anyone in this community could be a lurking Extremist Member, the harm is major."

"So by superior orders, this purge, leave no survivors, must not let a single person escape."

"Squads Two and Three guard and blockade, Squad One target Building 11 Room 404."

Zhou Jian took the speaker handed by his Deputy, cold ruthless voice echoing inside the Black Box.

Following the order's issuance, a squad of soldiers lowered their helmets, covered their night vision devices, and rushed toward Building 11 at a quick pace.

Hong Hu listened until his face twitched, and said resentfully: "Calling us Extreme Evil, just who exactly is the Extreme Evil here?"

No one from the other Squad 117 members answered him; their gazes were cold as ice, clearly having long since grown accustomed to this kind of scene.

"The reaping scythes were drawn in by us, so, to a certain extent, they all died because of us; defining us as Extreme Evil isn't wrong either."

Big Sister Head pulled out a two-meter-long greatsword from behind the sofa, stomped one foot on the ground, burst through the window, and plummeted straight down from the fourth floor, smashing a large pit into the ground.

"Then let them have a look at the terror of Extreme Evil~"

Before she hit the ground, a ferocious roar like a tigress's vicious howl drowned out even the responses coming from the speaker.

Several soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were smashed into meat paste; amid the chaotic spray of fresh blood and minced flesh, a greatsword swung, emitting a whistle that promised to devour whoever it chose.

"Fire!"

Tatatatatatata... Dense bullet rain enveloped into a metal storm; the greatsword swung until it was airtight, advancing without hesitation, moving against the wind.

"For Fate, offer death!"

Amid maniacal laughter, several more human cannonballs plummeted down from the upper floors.

Inside Building 14.

The Special Commissioner pulled open the curtains, overlooking the scene below from on high, and said blandly: "If the Patrol Bureau doesn't act again, all the merit will be snatched away by the Investigation Corps."

Wang Yilin waved his hand downward.

The constables behind him, long since fully equipped and ready, drew their weapons and firearms with a mighty clatter and charged toward the floor below.

The clatter of footsteps rushing downstairs startled the residents inside the building into hiding their heads behind their cat's eyes.

"It's not the Investigation Corps."

"It's the Patrol Bureau's."

"Save us, the Investigation Corps has gone mad, they say they're going to kill us all."

A young man pulled open the door, ignoring the woman pulling at him from behind, seemingly treating the constables who had suddenly appeared inside the building as a lifesaving straw.

The descending footsteps collectively halted; the constables looked at each other in dismay, their breathing becoming stifled and heavy.

Feng Ju had already returned to the formation after delivering the badge, and at this moment stood in the second row.

He watched the man running closer, took a deep breath, yanked aside the constable blocking the front, and as he lifted his foot to step forward, the Patrol Bureau standard-issue long saber drew out a streak of white light.

A ring of blood split open on the man's neck, his head fell to the ground, and rolled *gulugulu* down the stairs.

Feng Ju lowered his head to look at the headless corpse, his tightly clenched jaw loosened, and he exhaled a breath of hot air: "Don't blame me, you were all going to die tonight anyway; rather than letting the Investigation Corps people get the cheap credit, better to make you merit for our Patrol Bureau."

After Feng Ju finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the constables and said in a deep voice: "Brothers, there are only those few Extreme Evil members' heads, but these other people's heads number fully over a thousand; we can't just pick up the small heads and let the Investigation Corps take all the big ones."

Finished speaking, Feng Ju didn't care what the rest thought, and strode knife in hand toward the woman slumped on the ground.

Having witnessed the Upper City Special Commissioner's ruthlessness, and witnessed the Investigation Corps' viciousness, Feng Ju's values underwent sublimation, becoming even more firm and thorough.

Lower City people, if they want to rise above others, must understand trade-offs, understand maximizing resource utilization.

Previously abandoning his son, devoting all the family's resources solely to his daughter, was this very line of thinking.

Now, discarding pointless pity for his own kind, using their worthless heads to exchange for his own merit and his superior's appreciation.

All are implementing the logic of maximizing benefit.

Tsk!

The blade sliced open the woman's neck, spurting fresh blood splashed all over Feng Ju's face.

His eyes bloodshot, as if demonically possessed he muttered to himself: "I am not wrong; in the Lower City to live out a semblance of a life, one can only discard everything unnecessary, seize every resource and hope, and gamble on that single thread of return and future."

"This is the Lower City's law of survival; I am not wrong, I am merely abiding by and executing this rule."

The constables looked at Feng Ju covered in filthy blood; some subconsciously took a step back with disgust in their eyes, but others seemed to awaken from a dream, tightened their grip on their knives and followed behind Feng Ju's butt.

The Patrol Bureau's team split into two groups; one group accelerated toward the building bottom, desperately charging into the bloody battlefield.

The other group, door to door, broke in, preparing to launch a carpet-style sweep of every single building.

The Special Commissioner listened to the rising and falling screams in the stairwell, yet seemed to hear beautiful music, an unusual flush appearing on his face.

"Looks like there are still smart people under Wang Ju who can grasp my meaning, that's good." The Special Commissioner laughed pleasantly.

Wang Yilin nodded, his smile forced.

The Special Commissioner didn't mind; he smiled beamingly and patted the latter's shoulder, saying earnestly: "No need to feel guilty; all the sins of those dying tonight will be charged to 【Destiny】's account."

"It was 【Destiny】 moving into this community that brought death and slaughter; these Blank Citizens, if they understand even a little logic, should realize it was 【Destiny】 that brought them misfortune."

"Even if they go down to Hell after death, this debt can only be collected from 【Destiny】; it has nothing to do with us~"

Wang Yilin's mouth corner twitched; he knew in his heart the Special Commissioner was spouting sophistry, but with the Special Commissioner's noble status deigning to placate him a little, if he acted squeamish again it would be a bit ungrateful.

Thinking it through like this, the guilt in his heart vanished like smoke, and he likewise smiled in agreement:

"The Special Commissioner is right; grievances have their source, debts have their debtor; these Blank Citizens' deaths must all be charged to 【Destiny】's account."

"And we even helped them get revenge; if they have any gratitude, after death they should all burn incense and pray for us at King Yama's place~"

Outside the Black Box Enclosure's old dilapidated community, many people looked up toward those light beams shooting from the Upper City's butt toward the ground, curiosity flickering in their eyes.

Seems to be the City West position.

Many people judged the direction; there were also some especially bored, or overly curious fellows, who wanted to go to that "Black Pillar" position to take a look, preferably to go inside and see what was happening.

But the closest distance they could reach was the very outer end of Snack Street; the heavily armed Investigation Corps blocked those rash fellows.

At the same time, every person's phone received an emergency SMS notification sent from the Nine Districts Government.

——An organization of 【Destiny】 has infiltrated into City West, currently being blockaded and arrested by the Investigation Corps and Patrol Bureau; everyone please, if not necessary, do not go to City West xxxx Street and its vicinity, to avoid encountering unnecessary danger.

——The organization members are Extremist Members, extremely dangerous and utterly heartless; the Investigation Corps and Patrol Bureau will arrest with full force, not letting a single one escape; everyone please rest assured and wait.

Outside Snack Street, within the crowd of onlookers.

A man wearing a hat lowered his head and coldly laughed as he deleted the two junk text messages.

Then, another text message received earlier was displayed.

——Squad 117, applying to log off!

His finger lingered on the page for a moment, then he clicked the delete key; deleted along with it was a reply text message marked 【Send Failed】: Approved, Wish Safe Journey.

"Wish Safe Journey" carried two layers of meaning: one was wishing Squad 117 to remain whole and intact, with no one left behind.

The other was blessing them to take more enemies with them before they died, so that the place below wouldn't be too cold and dull.

Alas, not one of these beautiful wishes had ever been successfully sent.

The man gave a bitter laugh; he didn't even know their names or appearances, and the only thing he could imagine about them was the three digits 【117】.

The man slipped his phone back into his trouser pocket, took one last look in the direction of the Black Pillar, and silently replied in his heart: "For Fate, offer up death!"

He turned around and strode away.

All preparations were complete; it was time to go find the Contact Person to pick up the goods...

Chapter End