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墨書 Inktalez
As the clock ticked towards one o'clock, Hope Mall remained bustling with activity. People hurriedly purchased their items, eager to leave as quickly as possible.
The atmosphere here had begun to sour. Although Hope Mall promised to ensure the safety of the majority in the event of provocateurs or those disrupting order, no one took it seriously. If an incident were to occur, they knew that if they died, no one would care, and no one would uphold their rights.
Moreover, they had noticed the presence of outsiders—the members of the Ice King Squad. The entire Third Exploration Team had gathered here, consisting of new recruits who had joined Ice King Squad in the past month. They were armed with formidable weapons, most notably long spears meticulously forged by the blacksmiths of Gathering Place.
These weapons were designed for dealing with Zombies and humans alike; swords and knives were too cumbersome against Zombies, while spears and polearms proved somewhat more effective against humans.
However, they still feared Crossbows, which was why they had not yet made a move. They were waiting for the appearance of Superpowered Individuals; once the captain and vice-captain of the Third Exploration Team showed up, the tide would turn.
Their captain was famously known as Iron Man, bearing an indestructible shield on his back. His immense physical strength ensured that he always led the charge into battle. The Third Exploration Team was the most resilient unit within Ice King Squad, second only to the first team led by Ice King himself.
Today, they had come in search of easy pickings. The entire mall was filled with prizes given away, not to mention the stock inside—enough to ensure a significant profit for them.
Now, over 170 members gradually surrounded the area. Though they were all recent recruits from this month, they exhibited remarkable cohesion and bravery. In this apocalyptic world, those who were soft-hearted had mostly perished; death and bloodshed were no longer synonymous with fear. Fear belonged solely to Zombies—no one disagreed in this new reality.
"Ding! Ding! Ding!" A two-meter-wide clock at the entrance of Hope Mall chimed precisely. It was a prized item purchased from a factory in the real world and now installed in the mall.
As the chimes echoed, customers who had already entered the Counter would retain their chance at a lottery draw; others would lose this opportunity and see the promotional 20% discount revoked, returning prices to normal.
A large product list was also unveiled, revealing several pages of everyday items. Basic toiletries would soon be available for sale at reasonable prices—at least compared to those at Han Sui City Gathering Place.
Outside, the crowd began to disperse. They understood that Hope Mall was about to face a test—a difficult trial. Many among them recognized members of Ice King Squad and regarded them as an unstoppable Mercenary group, second only to Division One.
The number of powerful Superpowered Individuals had already reached as many as seventeen. Their influence was growing rapidly, now experiencing explosive expansion, with personnel nearing a thousand.
In the crowd, only two or three people remained, hastily completing their transactions before frantically pushing their carts to escape. The shop owners nearby also closed their stores in unison, retreating back to their homes.
This was the shopping street; aside from the businesses operating at night, there were no residents. If anyone damaged a building, they would be fined by the First Order to rebuild a store of the same size. The penalty was not harsh, but any damaged interior goods had to be compensated.
Even the Ice King Squad was not exempt from this rule.
However, they certainly weren’t worried about compensating for losses today, as they were about to loot the entire Gathering Place, which was on the verge of becoming the second largest marketplace.
The largest, of course, was the marketplace established by the First Order, where nearly all high-value goods from the Gathering Place could be found. Ordinary items were sent to the Slave Trading Market, where those who earned less would sell them cheaply to middlemen. These middlemen would rent stalls in the Slave Trading Market to collectively sell their wares.
Now, a solid market position had formed; almost every stall had customers. All Lone Wanderers would be exploited by them, though they dared not exploit too harshly. Otherwise, those impoverished individuals would refuse to sell to them and might even retaliate physically.
“Hey! You over there, the manager of that Hope Mall! Listen up! You have ten minutes to clear out of the mall and leave all your goods behind. Tell me where your warehouse is located, and I might spare your life. Otherwise, I’ll leave no one alive!” shouted one of the Ice King Squad’s thugs.
Yet those inside continued with their tasks as if nothing had happened. Even renovations on the second, third, and fourth floors did not cease.
No one paid attention to the thug; not a single person glanced his way. Only a crossbow was silently adjusting its angle, ensuring each bolt was positioned correctly.
At this moment, there were no blind spots at the main entrance.
“Bang! Bang!” Suddenly, heavy objects collided with the walls on both sides, followed by a sound like a bell tolling; however, it lacked any penetrating resonance.
It all depended on the soundproof layer within these security materials; any noisy sounds could hardly penetrate inside.
“Captain, those damned turtle bastards have set up steel partitions inside. Without professional drill bits, there's no way to break through; we can only charge in from the front!” A member of the Ice King Squad reported loudly from one side of Hope Supermarket.
Then...
There was nothing more to say. A member from the Hope Gathering Place upstairs effortlessly ended his life with a crossbow bolt, and along with him, over a dozen members of the Ice King Squad driving a massive wooden cart were also eliminated.
It was a long wooden cart, with a gigantic tree trunk on top. The trunk was as thick as a normal man's waist, yet this tree stump did not collapse the walls of Hope Mall; it barely left a scratch, just some minor scuff marks on the surface.
“Brothers, step back! Let me charge in first, and then you follow my lead. Remember our promise: leave no one alive.” The captain of the Third Search Team was clearly furious and struggling to maintain control. If they allowed Hope Mall to continue this way, it wouldn't be long before deserters started appearing.
At this moment, he had to strike fast to counter the slow; he needed those timid fellows to surge into Hope Mall with a rush of adrenaline and engage in a tough battle inside.
The outer walls were thick, but what about inside? Scouts had already gathered intelligence; the internal defenses were no stronger than those of the Post-Apocalypse bank counter, unable to withstand his shield or the vice-captain's formidable lethality.
Moving at incredible speed, Zheng Yifan inside the mall saw a massive shield rushing toward him at a speed of about seven or eight seconds per hundred meters—those short-distance runners from the Post-Apocalypse were utterly weak in comparison.
“Captain, let me handle this!” Li Ning volunteered eagerly, positioning himself right in the center of the entrance. As the giant shield approached, Li Ning took a stance and thrust his spear forward with all his might. The thrust nearly pushed him to his limits as a powerful whirlwind roared forth, kicking up dust toward the giant shield.
“Just awakened your superpower and you think you can fight me? Seeking death!” The captain of the Third Search Team slammed his shield down onto the ground, perfectly blocking the main entrance. Behind him was ample space—over two meters—enough for others to rush in.
The second person to enter was a Black Man in his thirties, his face shining with oil as he brandished a dagger menacingly at Zheng Yifan, making a throat-cutting gesture.
"Li Ning, that black-headed guy is up to you. I'll take care of this turtle with the big shield and turn him into turtle soup!" Zheng Yifan assigned the task to Li Ning without rushing to eliminate the captain behind the shield. Instead, he watched Li Ning's battle with great interest.
Behind the shield, aside from the Black Man, no one dared to show their face. The three who peeked out in front were instantly ambushed by the Crossbow.
"Captain, just watch!" Li Ning shook his long staff and quickly closed in on his opponent.
The black man clearly welcomed this, moving closer to Li Ning while wildly swinging the dagger in his hand.
As he danced, it seemed that a wind began to swirl in the air, growing stronger and faster, as if it were about to turn into a blade.
And indeed, as he moved, the wind generated by his dagger gradually transformed into wind blades, threatening everyone around.
However, Li Ning clearly wouldn't give him that opportunity. He thrust his spear rapidly again and again, creating gusts of wind that disrupted the forming wind blades. As they faced each other at a distance of only about two meters, both unleashed their full power.
The Black Man swung his dagger fiercely, and a wind blade over a meter long gradually formed in midair.
But then, all attacks crumbled like dust before Li Ning. A terrifying Tornado appeared in front of him, completely swallowing the wind blade into its eye. This Tornado did not disperse outward; instead, it was slowly drawn into Li Ning's Qimen Staff. Then, a whirlwind as thick as a thumb broke the sound barrier and shot toward the black man's head at nearly two Mach. It seemed to spin in midair before suddenly attacking the man behind the large shield.
"Bang!" With a tremendous sound, the giant shield trembled, and a spray of blood erupted.
Unfortunately, the man behind did not die.
"What powerful Superpower! With your First Level Superpower ability to injure me, you might become as strong as Commander in the future. Too bad you won't live to see that." Suddenly, the shield emitted an astonishing brightness and began to coalesce, appearing as if it had been dyed golden.
"I will have the chance to meet him, as for Li Ning's life or death, that's none of your concern." Zheng Yifan's words were so calm, yet they rang in the ears of the captain of the Third Search Team like a death knell.
In an instant, a dazzling light flashed from within him.
"Boom!" Then came a tremendous explosion. The great shield remained unscathed, but the people behind it turned into a blood mist, slowly scattering in the air, falling to the ground over a distance of seventy to eighty meters.
At this moment, Zheng Yifan stood leisurely in the center of the hall, holding his long gun.
"What are you still standing there for? Li Ning, lead the charge and leave no one alive!" Zheng Yifan said lightly, then slowly walked toward the back.
Li Ning took the lead, walking right down the center of the main entrance where nearly a hundred members of the Ice King Squad were still caught off guard. What awaited them was Li Ning's slaughter.
Suddenly, more than twenty ropes descended from the second, third, and fourth floors of Hope Mall, and a group of warriors dressed in black jumped down like black tigers rushing down a mountain toward their targets.
Each of them had their own mission assigned long ago. As soon as Li Ning made his first move, any fish that slipped through the net would be dealt with by them.
Because Zheng Yifan's order was clear.
Leave no one alive!
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