The Mutant fell to the ground as it should, but more Mutants rushed over from the distance. Xu Huo shoved the piano wire into the female player's hands. "Don't let go. The third floor isn't safe. Take the two kids and get out of here."
The female player looked exhausted, but her eyes were bright. "I'm a lost cause. You take the two kids and go. I'll buy you some time!"
"No need." Xu Huo lifted two fingers and sent her up to the third floor. Once the two children were strapped to her body, he manipulated the piano wire to hoist them high into the air, then turned around to face the Mutants.
The rain curtain also counted as an obstacle, so the Crimson Sword could only be used for close combat. That was why he used the water jet gun instead, which could shoot from a distance. Combined with his characteristics, killing Mutants took no effort.
After the first wave of Mutant attacks ended, the female player reminded him that he could seize the opportunity to escape. At that moment, although more Mutants were approaching from afar, there was a certain time gap, enough for him to flee. But the man who could weave through the Mutants at a dizzying speed acted as if he hadn't heard her. Not only did he have no intention of leaving, but he actively charged toward the source of the Mutants!
Under the black rain, his figure was nearly impossible to track, but wherever he passed, Mutants fell. Soon, the rain carried the scent of blood, and the muddy water on the ground was stained with another color.
Corpses lay strewn across the ground. Only after confirming there were no more Mutants nearby did Xu Huo stop. He chose a higher floor and placed the female player and the two children inside.
The female player landed weakly. She sat down on the floor by the sofa, enduring her pain as she forced out, "I'm about to turn into a Mutant..."
The two children huddled together in fear. Xu Huo walked over and examined her wound. He found two notches on her lower legs with jagged edges, bite marks. The toxin had entered from there and spread throughout her body.
He brushed the hair stuck to her face aside. Cyan-black patterns had appeared on her chin and behind her ears. Her eyes were bloodshot and bulging, her expression deranged.
The female player grabbed his hand. "Just give me a quick end. I don't want to eat people..."
Xu Huo pulled away from her, took out an antidote syringe from his luggage compartment, adjusted the dosage, and injected it into her arm.
"It's useless. I've already drunk an antidote..." The female player's eyes rolled as she stared straight out the window.
"This is the sixth floor. Given a player's physical fitness, unless you land headfirst, jumping won't kill you for a while. Your bones will break, you won't be able to stand or walk, and soon Mutants drawn by the smell of blood will devour you. If you're lucky, you might even get to watch them pull your insides out." Xu Huo said without looking up.
The female player jerked her head around and stared at him intently.
But Xu Huo didn't look at her. He pushed her hair behind her back and pulled open her collar to check. "The toxin is dissolving."
The female player was stunned for a moment, then took out a mirror item. She saw that the cyan-black patterns on her neck were actually fading!
"Your antidote can neutralize Mutant toxin? You're Xu Huo!" She wasn't slow on the uptake and immediately recognized his identity.
"You got lucky running into me." Xu Huo glanced at her. "Consider yourself a test sample. If my antidote works, the Special Defense Department should be able to develop one. People poisoned by the rain won't all have to die."
The female player was overjoyed at first, but then her expression dimmed. Before coming here, her companions, in order to buy time or prevent themselves from mutating, had all chosen to self-destruct.
"Why didn't you hide in a game?" Xu Huo asked. "In a situation like this, a few players can't change anything. Entering a dungeon would at least preserve some strength for the Special Defense Department."
"If we wanted to hide, we wouldn't have shown up here today." The female player quickly composed herself, her eyes filled with determination.
After a pause, she added, "Thank you. I didn't think I could be saved."
Xu Huo said, "Let's just call it good deeds having good rewards."
"Big sister!" The two children threw themselves into the female player's arms. She held the kids close, her eyes reddening. "It's my luck that I survived. The others all sacrificed themselves..."
After this heavy rain, it was hard to say how many Special Defense Department players who had fought side by side would still be alive.
She hugged the children tightly and looked at Xu Huo with pleading eyes. "Do you have any more antidote?"
"A few antidotes won't make a difference." Xu Huo met her gaze for two seconds, stating the brutal truth. "The rain will eventually contaminate the entire city's tap water."
With tens of millions of people, even calling it a drop in the bucket was the most optimistic assessment.
"Beep! Beep!" The signal receiver on the female player's waist let out a sound. She immediately perked up. "Someone's calling for help!"
The signal receiver was connected to her phone. After getting the location of the distress signal, she entrusted the two children to Xu Huo.
Xu Huo didn't stop her, but said, "Even if you go now, you might not be able to help much."
The female player smiled. Her pale face was lit by the light of conviction. Then, she plunged herself into the rain without hesitation.
The two children cried, wanting to follow her. Xu Huo grabbed them and called Zheng Liang and the others. After confirming their location, he planned to send the kids over.
But as he carried them out and walked just two streets away, he saw the female player's corpse.
She lay on the ground, her lifeless face splattered with mud, blood still flowing from the gash on her neck.
With a flick of his hand, Shelter 101 appeared beside him. Xu Huo put the two children inside and closed the door. Then, he took out a piece of clothing and covered the female player's face.
At that moment, two players were hiding in a shop less than a hundred meters from him. They had already launched an attack. The flying blade was aimed at Xu Huo's neck, but it was deflected by Shelter 101. It also blocked Xu Huo from view, so from their angle, they could only see clothes covering the female player's head.
"Be careful. Don't act unless you're sure. Look at him, not a scratch on him. That alone tells you he's no pushover. The sneak attack failed. He's probably spotted us. Let's get out of here!" the shorter player said urgently.
The taller player beside him, however, was leisurely going through the female player's belongings. After a moment, he said, "I thought we had a fat sheep here, but she's just a broke loser. No wonder the Special Defense Department building got blown up. Their players only have this much gear. What can they even accomplish!"
The shorter player kept his eyes fixed on the suddenly appearing metal house, urging his companion to leave. But the taller player clearly didn't want to go, eyeing Shelter 101 greedily. "That must be a good item..."
Before he could finish his sentence, however, Xu Huo appeared behind them, his expression icy. "It's a good item, all right. The question is whether you've got the guts to take it."
A single sword strike sealed their throats. The taller player dropped to his knees, clutching his spurting neck. Beside him, the shorter player tried to dodge and flee. But as soon as he took a few steps, a ray rising from the ground sliced him in two. Xu Huo, who had been behind him just a moment ago, was now standing at the shop entrance, directly in his path.
Flicking the bloodstains off his shoes, he returned to the rain, moved the female player's body to a clean room, and then left.
Along the way, he killed a few more players who were taking advantage of the chaos. Xu Huo handed the children over to Zheng Liang, then dialed Nie Xuan's number. "Is there a reservoir near the Special Defense Department headquarters?"
