C6 The Loli Killer

The street beneath their feet remained unchanged, but just around the corner, everything was transformed. Shards of glass littered the ground, and ahead lay a scene of chaos—collapsed buildings, huge chunks of concrete, smoke, and the remnants of flames still dancing and burning. Every structure was blackened, and flames leapt from the windows of high-rises, painting a terrifying picture of a disaster's aftermath.

Some victims were burned beyond recognition, their gender indiscernible. Others were reduced to charred skeletons, blackened remnants clinging to their bones. There were those who appeared to have tried to flee together, now fused by the fire into an indistinguishable mass, with white bones piercing through the charred flesh.

Xie Yu couldn't resist glancing back at the road they had just traversed, still peaceful and serene. Merely a street corner away, yet it felt like two different worlds. On one side, a fiery hell; on the other, a tranquil town.

"Help... help me..."

A weak plea for help echoed from the hellish landscape. Xie Yu, with keen senses, looked toward the source of the voice. Though no one was visible, the voice seemed to belong to a young girl.

Jing Zhe handed the equinox to Xie Yu and charged forward. There were still lives to be saved!

Without a moment's hesitation, Xie Yu, with the equinox in tow, followed suit. No sooner had they taken to the air and entered the inferno than a thunderous boom erupted. The once-quiet street they'd left behind suddenly cracked open, the ground splitting apart as cars, furniture, and buildings were devoured, leaving nothing but rubble in an instant.

Jing Zhe, sword in hand, had already dashed toward the source of the cries for help. The explosion's shockwave caused Xie Yu and the equinox's ears to ring sharply. Turning back, the equinox gasped.

"Brother Tian, this street is destroyed!"

Xie Yu saw it too, but with lives at stake, there was no time to dwell on the devastation. The street was empty; its destruction, though tragic, was secondary.

"Help... help me..."

The cry for help grew clearer as they approached. Jing Zhe soared into action, his sword drawn and his face set with determination.

"With my sister stepping in, that person won't die."

Chunfen looked up, admiration brimming in his eyes as he watched his cousin, sword in hand, standing resolutely against the light.

"You have no idea how incredible my sister is. So many monsters, countless, and she faced them all alone with her sword, slashing her way through to victory."

Chunfen's hands animatedly mimed the action as he heaped praise upon his cousin to Xie Yu, who stood beside him.

Xie Yu, clutching a kitchen knife, also looked up at the figure. Despite the surrounding inferno and smoke darkening the sky like storm clouds, this person stood out starkly.

Her long black hair whipped in the wind, her white garments snapping sharply. Jing Zhe stood atop a concrete boulder, and from the side, only half her face was visible.

"Clang!"

A flash of white light, swift as a shooting star—Jing Zhe had made her move.

"Crack..."

A subtle sound emanated from the ruins ahead. Jing Zhe flicked the dust from her sword and swiftly descended.

Xie Yu, guarding Chunfen, hurried to keep up.

The rubble cleaved by the sword continued to fall, and the once faint cries for help now intensified. Jing Zhe had gone down to rescue, and without the same level of skill, Xie Yu could only assist Chunfen from below.

The one Jing Zhe carried out was a little girl, no more than five or six, in a tattered dress adorned with apple patterns, her small face smeared with black mud and soot, and a singed lock of hair resting on her shoulder.

"Do you have any gauze in your backpack? We need to find a way to dress this wound."

The sight of the raw wound painted Jing Zhe's face with concern.

The look of distress was unmistakably genuine, which took Xie Yu by surprise.

Xie Yu watched Jing Zhe intently. From Chunfen's tales, Jing Zhe was supposed to be a seasoned gamer, cool and collected, not one to let a fictitious game world sway her real-life temperament or emotions.

Yet here she was, showing heartfelt compassion for an NPC within the game...

Xie Yu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

His academic research focused on whether simulated environments in games could influence a player's personality, and here was a perfect case study right before him.

Missing out on this village could mean the end of his shop in the future.

"I don't have any gauze—I'm not a medic in the game—but I can improvise with what's available nearby."

Xie Yu gently placed the little girl into Equinox's arms and instructed her to take good care of the child. He then set out to scour the area for any useful materials that might be at hand.

With Hibernation Awakening present, he didn't need to worry about Equinox's safety. The real concern now was for his own.

The relentless roar of explosions echoed from the inferno, the flames showing no signs of abating. Their current location was a rare haven amidst the chaos.

Around the corner, the ground had shattered, but since it wasn't scorched, everything was still intact.

They just needed to be wary of tumbling rocks and the threat of seismic activity.

Out of Hibernation Awakening and Equinox's line of sight, Xie Yu stowed his kitchen knife. The Ring Blade materialized from his backpack, its black surface drinking in the ambient light. He stepped forward cautiously.

"Help... help me..."

A faint voice reached his ears as he entered, so soft he almost dismissed it as an illusion.

"Please... save me... help..."

This time the plea was louder. Xie Yu clenched the Ring Blade tighter and edged toward the source of the sound.

There had been no one there when he passed by earlier. How could someone now be crying out for help?

The Ring Blade, now integrated with weapon points, was razor-sharp. A glint of gold on the blade, and it cleaved through the rubble, revealing a bloodied figure tumbling out from the debris.

Trapped before, the figure was now free with the obstruction gone.

"You..." Xie Yu began, but his words were cut short as his face blanched.

The person he had rescued was another little girl, identical to the one Hibernation Awakening had saved earlier!

The same dress with an apple pattern, the same singed lock of hair.

This was wrong—this wasn't an ordinary victim!

Instinctively, he retreated, positioning the Ring Blade defensively in front of him, his eyes fixed intently on the little girl he had just rescued.

The young girl coughed a few times on the ground, and as she looked up once more, she noticed Xie Yu had backed away to the edge of the street, nearly vanishing from sight.

"Hmph!"

A derisive chuckle echoed in her ear. The girl, who had just been riddled with injuries, dusted off her little skirt, her face twisting into a scornful sneer that seemed far too mature for her years.

"I dirtied my skirt just waiting around for you to show up alone."