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墨書 Inktalez
Ming Junwei changed into the uniform of the Squatting Pit Guard, a rifle slung over his shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to leave the handgun with Hou Xiong. Hou Xiong appeared somewhat dazed, staring at the corpse of the Squatting Pit Guard for a long time before letting out a long sigh. He took the handgun and tucked it under his clothing.
The Squatting Pit Guard had no chance to resist; Ming Junwei's attack was sudden and lethal. The concrete spike was not sharp enough to easily slice through a throat like a blade would. When Ming Junwei struck, Hou Xiong was still in a daze, completely unprepared to help. It wasn't until Ming Junwei had turned the Squatting Pit Guard's throat into a bloody mess that Hou Xiong finally reacted.
Blood pooled on the ground, slowly spreading and staining much of the floor. The fur of Cats and Dogs became matted with Blood Plasma, sticking together in clumps. Sensing the scent of blood, Mascot could no longer sleep, while Yellow Dog approached, wanting to lick the Blood Plasma but was kicked away by Hou Xiong.
Ming Junwei stared at Hou Xiong for a long time. Hou Xiong shifted his gaze away and after a moment of silence said in a low voice, "You could have just knocked him out."
"And then wait for him to wake up and expose our whereabouts?" Ming Junwei shook his head with a sigh. "I told you, if you can't do it, I will."
"He's different from those others." Hou Xiong could actually understand Ming Junwei's actions, but for some reason, he felt an unsettling emotion lingering in his heart. The snacks and beer brought by the Squatting Pit Guard were still on the table; he had only wanted to come and ask for a kitten and had shown no suspicion towards them.
"Maybe," Ming Junwei replied, not wanting to argue further. Some things couldn't be categorized as right or wrong; what mattered was the outcome.
Ming Junwei pulled the quilt off the bed and wiped away some bloodstains before dressing the dead guard in his own clothes. The guard's eyes were wide open in death, still filled with disbelief. The body was not yet cold; warmth lingered on the skin. Whether the virus-laden blood from the spike would cause reanimation was uncertain, but Ming Junwei didn't have time to wait around. The Squatting Pit Guard had been inside for a while now; even if he had greeted the guards outside, he couldn't have lingered too long. They would surely come to check soon, and if they found this scene again, all their efforts would be in vain.
"I'll go to the second floor; wait for my signal," Ming Junwei said as he helped move the guard's body onto the bed, positioning it face down and covering it with a quilt. The window was left open for Hou Xiong to escape at any moment.
"What if he doesn't reanimate?" Hou Xiong asked, suppressing his emotions and sounding worried. "We shoot our way out."
"Adapt as needed. In any case, once I fire my weapon, you need to leave through the window immediately. I'll try to draw all the guards over here while you slip out through the front door during the chaos." Ming Junwei frowned as he considered everything carefully before nodding at Hou Xiong. He reached out and turned off the light before striding out of the room.
The other guards were still gathered near the front door, their voices suggesting they were drinking and boasting about something. This side was quiet while not far away neon lights flickered; despite their duty as guards, they couldn't help but feel bored. As Hou Xiong had said, these guards were different from those professional Field Duty personnel; they were likely part of an armed force formed later to maintain order.
When Ming Junwei opened the door to leave, he deliberately made some noise. The guards at the front turned to look at him; someone called out his name jokingly about dog meat or cat meat. Ming Junwei didn't respond; he was about the same size as the Squatting Pit Guard but his voice was easily distinguishable. He waved as a greeting and walked straight toward the staircase.
The guards at the front assumed he was just heading back to the restroom and soon returned to their chatter.
Ming Junwei paused in front of the restroom door and glanced back at the front door. Taking advantage of their distraction, he slipped up the stairs and stood at the corner for a moment to gauge the angle of a nearby camera before lowering his head calmly as he walked past it. He had already confirmed that all ten rooms were still lit when they came up earlier; now he approached the nearest room and gently pushed open the door—it was ajar. Just as expected, inside were about a dozen people—both men and women—bound together with ropes just like during daylight hours. The only furniture was bare bed frames, clearly different from how they had been treated.
Seeing Ming Junwei enter dressed in uniform made those sitting on the floor tense up; they all straightened up and began nudging their sleeping companions awake.
Ming Junwei did not rush to speak. He glanced at the twelve people in front of him—eight men and four women, all in their twenties or thirties. They looked disheveled but had no visible injuries. Their eyes were filled with confusion as they stared at the silent Ming Junwei, unsure of what to think.
After a moment of contemplation, Ming Junwei asked in a deep voice, "Do you know why you were brought here?"
The group exchanged glances, shaking their heads in unison.
Ming Junwei felt a twinge of disappointment; he had hoped to extract some useful information. Well, it seemed they were all equally clueless. After a pause, he continued, "Do you want to die?"
The crowd looked even more bewildered and shook their heads again.
"If you don’t want to die, follow me." Ming Junwei wasted no time. He pulled out a dagger from beside his leg and approached the group, slicing through their ropes. He fixed his gaze on the dazed individuals and said, "There are only nine guards at the entrance. This floor has over a hundred people like you. If you don’t want to die, then charge out."
Finally, someone in the crowd began to understand. While most of the men remained confused, a woman in her thirties stood up first and hesitantly asked, "Are you testing us?"
"You only have one chance; you can tie yourself up again if you want." Ming Junwei shot her a cold glare without explaining further. Estimating that time was running short, he added, "I will go free the others. I will fire my gun in a few minutes. When you hear the gunshot, it’s up to you whether to stay or leave."
Initially worried that the surveillance might raise suspicions, he soon realized he had overthought it. He successfully stirred up five rooms of people without drawing any inquiries from anyone other than the guards at the main entrance.
Another guard who had gone to the restroom spotted Ming Junwei on the second floor and called out from below, puzzled, "What are you doing up there? Hurry down! The orders are clear—don’t interact with anyone on the second floor."
Just as Ming Junwei pushed open the sixth room's door, he heard the shout and halted. Responding was not an option now; shooting too early would be premature. After considering his options, he exchanged an unreadable glance with the startled people inside the room and then turned back to wave at the guard downstairs.
Ming Junwei stood sideways, deliberately hunching his chest and lowering his head so that the guard could not see his face clearly against the light. Seeing him wave, the guard asked in confusion, "What’s going on?"
Without speaking, Ming Junwei continued to gesture for him to come up, waving more urgently as if something important was at stake.
The guard sensed something was off and called out to those by the main entrance before rushing toward the staircase.
Ming Junwei hurried into the room without time to rally spirits. He quickly cut through more ropes and urged them urgently, "If you don’t want to die, rush out! The others are already prepared; there are four more rooms next door—go free them!" Just as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Ming Junwei cursed under his breath as he shoved a dagger into the hands of a young man, then rushed out of the room with his gun cocked, colliding head-on with the guard downstairs.
The guard, still processing what was happening, didn’t even glance at Ming Junwei as he hurriedly pushed open the door, shouting, "What’s going on? What happened?"
Seizing the opportunity, Ming Junwei pushed him inside. Before the guard could react, he swung the butt of his gun against the back of his head. Just as the guard was about to speak, the young man who had received the dagger stepped forward and plunged it directly into the guard's chest. Ming Junwei paused for a moment, then threw an appreciative glance at the young man, relieved the guard was taken care of. He quickly relieved the guard of his weapon and tossed it to another member of their group. With a wave of his hand, the Rebel Army charged out with loud shouts.
"What a racket!" Ming Junwei nearly spat blood in frustration. Did they think that making such a commotion wouldn’t attract attention?
The young man leading the charge flushed red and quickly urged his companions to be quiet. Following Ming Junwei's orders, they dashed toward several other rooms. Meanwhile, guards from outside began rushing in. Upon seeing the crowd pouring out of the door, they didn’t have time to shout before another person dressed in identical attire emerged from within.
The guards were momentarily stunned, but Ming Junwei was fully aware of the opportunity at hand. He swiftly turned his gun toward a cluster of guards standing about ten meters away and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant, gunfire erupted in the hallway. The guards were caught off guard by Ming Junwei's sudden attack and fell into chaos. The guards still coming down from upstairs were fortunate enough to avoid immediate danger but soon realized something was wrong and began retreating down the hallway while shouting about alarms.
Ming Junwei felt a surge of tension; he had considered the alert system here before but had seen no obvious indicators and had dismissed it from his mind. Now he wondered if they could escape before reinforcements arrived if an alarm was triggered.
However, there was no time for further contemplation. The moment gunfire erupted, large groups from several liberated rooms surged out. For a brief moment of confusion, even the captives reacted without needing further instruction from Ming Junwei. They grouped together and rushed toward the staircase, scrambling to seize weapons from fallen guards as they charged straight for the main door.
Estimating that it was time to act, Ming Junwei stood on the second floor and fired several shots at the fleeing guards below. They did not respond but instead aimed their weapons at those rushing toward the door. Chaos ensued as gunfire erupted; lights flickered on in monitoring stations as they were jolted awake by the sudden violence.
The remaining captives in other rooms were freed. Ming Junwei shouted for everyone to follow him as he led dozens down the hallway. Just a few steps into their escape, he caught sight of Yellow Dog charging through the chaotic crowd, with Tabby Cat and her Kittens close behind. In an instant, they maneuvered past everyone; Tabby Cat and her Kittens slipped through gaps in the iron gate effortlessly due to their slender frames, while Yellow Dog leaped forward but collided headfirst into the iron gate with a loud thud before falling to the ground.
"Clumsy dog," Ming Junwei muttered darkly as he urged everyone not to linger in battle and pushed toward the main door. The monitoring room opened up as rotating guards rushed out; suddenly, heavy fire erupted from that direction, causing significant casualties among those who had reached the entrance first.
Ming Junwei cursed again and turned back to fire a volley at them while shouting, "Anyone with a gun go unlock that door!"
As soon as he finished speaking, sparks flew at the entrance amidst loud clanging sounds of metal against metal, accompanied by furious shouts from their ranks as Copper Gate swung wide open.
"Charge!" Ming Junwei embodied every bit of determination required in this chaotic moment as he mixed into the crowd while directing them forward. "Don’t head for the city gates; push deeper into town!" He also grabbed Yellow Dog, who had been dazed by his collision with the gate. Looking around frantically, he realized Hou Xiong was nowhere to be seen.
“Ming Junwei” glanced back, seeing the guards rushing out from the corridor. Many had fallen in the square behind him, and those who were still alive struggled to crawl forward. A few beams of searchlights swept over, their blinding white light making it impossible to see if there were any injured among the crowd.
The vanguard had already sprinted down the quiet road towards the neon-lit New World. Ming Junwei cursed loudly a few times, but as he saw the guards closing in, he had no choice but to turn and run, fleeing with the crowd from the compound.
“You and the Kittens should go,” Yellow Dog said. Though thin, he was still an old dog and not light by any means. Ming Junwei had no time to worry about the two Mascots; he could only bid them farewell amidst the chaos and push them away into the crowd.
The Rebel Army obediently followed the instigator’s orders. Despite the confusion, they didn’t stray from their path. Quick-witted individuals seized weapons in the turmoil and quickly spotted Ming Junwei, thinking that a traitor had emerged within their ranks. Following the principle of sticking close to those who led them to safety, they all gathered around Ming Junwei. He initially intended to slip away in the chaos but suddenly noticed a cacophony of footsteps behind him. Turning around, he nearly fainted; not a single person had fallen behind—wherever he ran, they followed him, treating him like Spartacus.
“Run for your lives! Why are you following me?” Ming Junwei shouted in frustration. The alarm blared throughout the compound, and reinforcements would soon arrive; such a large group would become easy targets. “You’re too conspicuous! Scatter!”
The Rebel Army pretended not to hear his pleas and continued to run headlong. No one was foolish enough to risk being caught alone in unfamiliar territory.
The first to respond to Ming Junwei was a young man who darted to his side, panting heavily. “Brother, we’ll follow your lead. Just tell us what to do!”
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