Chapter 20 The Tower of Gray Dome 20 The Tragedy of the Tower of Gray Dome
No one expected Nanmen Jue to suddenly fire a shot. The people of Gray Tower did not expect her to openly become a lawless madman. Xu Yang and Qi Mo both thought that even if she wanted revenge, she would prioritize shooting the bullet into the chest of Xu Yang, with whom she had a deep grudge.
After all, what did Qi Mo do? He didn't do anything to openly harm Nanmen Jue. If anything, Nanmen Jue was the one who "betrayed" the alliance first. He just killed an NPC to complete his own side quest.
But Nanmen Jue fired her gun. With such a decisive and ruthless manner, everyone knew that this was her only chance to kill.
She chose to kill Qi Mo.
Zhang Chuxi and Xu Yang were utterly shocked. Nanmen Jue had personally killed Qi Mo, which meant she would definitely become a red name!
The two looked up at the top of her head in unison, and saw that the white name that originally indicated her status as a newlywed had been changed to three large, blood-red characters: Nanmen Jue.
"You, you actually..."
Even amidst his twisted resentment, Xu Yang couldn't help but show shock, and within that shock, he couldn't suppress a trace of panic.
He panicked. As a seasoned veteran, he felt fear towards a blank slate newcomer entering the space for the first time. This fear had already arisen the moment she replaced the two of them and stood in front of his sickbed, effortlessly sending him to his death. Like a seed that had sprouted, it was now unstoppable.
He gritted his teeth to keep from roaring and screaming. He slowly looked at Nanmen Jue and saw her arm pressing down... the muzzle of the gun that killed Qi Mo was pointing at his vital spot!
Since they're already red-named, killing one or two is the same as killing them, so why not take this opportunity to take them both out in one go?
A jolt of electric shock coursed through his body. Xu Yang quickly rolled off his wheelchair, disregarding his disheveled appearance, and roared the instant he was off the ground: "Arrest them all!"
Nanmen Jue fired the shot anyway, just as decisively as when he shot Qi Mo, but the shot missed.
"The guards!" Lin Suwen shouted.
Nanmen Jue calmly said to Zhang Chuxi, "Summon the White Helmet Army in the name of the Chief of the Life Society."
With the teacher dead, Nanmen Jue was the top candidate for chief, and issuing orders in an emergency was entirely in accordance with regulations.
The crowd descended into chaos, with those pouring in and those fleeing mingling into a turbulent wave. Lin Suwen's deep, powerful voice pierced through the air.
"Prioritize the evacuation of civilians and capture the rebels led by Xu Yang!"
"Dr. Nanmen, you're not a combatant, I'll cover you as you leave first!" He Ting reached out and pulled Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue was reloading her gun. The magazine opened, and used cartridge cases clattered out. She raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you talking about me?"
That one look was intense, cold, and arrogant. He Ting suddenly realized that this was the person who had snatched his life back from the monster jungle.
While he was momentarily stunned, Nanmen Jue, instead of advancing, retreated, determined to penetrate deep into the enemy's protective circle and kill Xu Yang.
"South Gate!" Zhang Chuxi's voice trembled, but just like in the car, even amidst a hail of bullets, she didn't abandon her. "Let's find a place to hide first. Bullets have no eyes. Even if we want to kill Xu Yang, we'll wait until he shows up again!"
"Hide? Where can you hide? Can't you see? Xu Yang is determined to rebel. With so many rebels, he's going to overthrow Lin Suwen's rule."
Holding a scalpel in her left hand, Nanmen Jue nimbly dodged the guards rushing towards her, and then stabbed the scalpel into their necks with a backhand.
Arterial blood spurted out, splashing onto her face, mingling with her blood and Zhao Huai Ren's blood. She glanced at Zhang Chuxi, "There will only be two outcomes today: either Xu Yang dies, or we die with Lin Suwen. Once the president loses power, where can we hide in this huge gray tower?"
It's clear from her previous successful escape from the Gray Tower that it was all thanks to the backdoor opened for her by Zhao Huai Ren and Lin Su Wen. Otherwise, even if finding one person in the entire tower is like finding a needle in a haystack, it's not entirely impossible.
The only option now is... for you to die or I to die!
After listening, Zhang Chuxi silently raised her gun, aimed it at the charging guards, and shot them in the head.
Nanmen Jue looked at her in surprise, "So amazing?"
“I’m a member of the shooting club,” Zhang Chuxi said briefly, her voice still trembling slightly, but her actions were extremely swift, and she blew two more heads off as she spoke.
"I'm just... scared, and I can't get over this mental hurdle." Her voice was almost drowned out by the chaotic gunfire. "Even though everyone says the people in the apocalypse are all NPCs, they're too real, too real... I can't just kill them like they do, I don't want to... kill anyone!"
Another shot, this time hitting her in the chest, and Zhang Chuxi was already in tears.
"But I don't want to die. I'm sorry, I don't want to die."
Nanmen Jue knew he didn't need to worry about her anymore.
She wandered through the crowd with a gun and a knife, her body bruised and battered, which only excited her more. She kept weaving through the crowd, muttering to herself.
"Xu Yang, where are you? Didn't you want to kill me? I've come looking for you, where are you?..."
Before she could find Xu Yang, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder. She swung her hand back to stab the person, who reached for her wrist. She dodged, the blade slicing across the person's palm, and she escaped their attack range.
"It's me."
The guard in combat gear took off his helmet, revealing an unfamiliar face with striking features and a handsome appearance. Nanmen Jue looked into those eyes and quickly recognized the face from his memory.
"Are you one of the rebels?"
This person turned out to be the same resistance fighter who had risked his life to rescue her from the car.
The rebel nodded simply and said, "I am Qin Yehan."
Nanmen Jue looked surprised. He was Qin Yehan, the leader of the resistance? Not only was he hiding in the Gray Tower, but he was also disguised as a guard?
Qin Yehan stared at Nanmen Jue with a complex expression, as if waiting for Nanmen Jue to say something. Nanmen Jue turned away expressionlessly.
"I'm very busy right now and don't have time to meet new friends. Do as you please."
Qin Yehan's eyes widened, and he grabbed Nanmen Jue's arm. "I'm here to take you away!"
“I told you, I’m very busy right now,” Nanmen Jue said, enunciating each word clearly. She was about to twist her arm out when she suddenly smiled. “Want me to go with you? Sure, go kill Xu Yang for me.”
There are plenty of thugs available, so why not use them? Since he's the leader of the resistance, he should be a very useful gun, right?
Qin Yehan gave her a deep look. "Xu Yang has unknowingly taken control of most of the Gray Tower's forces. We can't kill him today. Let's leave first and plan our next move."
“Us?” Nanmen Jue chewed on the word. “How novel. When did I become ‘us’ with the resistance? I didn’t hand over the chip to you, and the cooperation fell through. You know that, right?”
Suddenly, the ground shook violently, and terrified screams rang out from all directions. It was unclear what kind of weapon had been used. Nanmen Jue tried to turn and leave, but Qin Yehan gripped her even tighter.
"I know a lot of things, but there's no time to say more now. Come with me, and I'll tell you everything I know!"
"Let go!"
Nanmen Jue countered with a strike to Qin Yehan's neck, and the two began to wrestle. Nanmen Jue's technique was lacking, but she always fought with a reckless style, like a burning flame that consumed both her enemy and herself.
Qin Yehan said loudly, "Trust me! This is also President Lin's intention!"
Nanmen Jue's punch aimed at his face suddenly stopped, and at that moment, the surroundings seemed to suddenly fall silent.
Something unusual must be going on. The sudden silence on the chaotic battlefield must mean that something unexpected has happened.
In the silence, Lin Suwen's slightly trembling voice was exceptionally clear.
"Xu Yang... what have you done?!"
Xu Yang smiled darkly, "Isn't this what you originally wanted to do, Your Excellency? I just helped you achieve it ahead of time."
Nanmen Jue had an extremely disgusting premonition.
The surrounding crowd retreated, as if they had encountered something terrifying. Nanmen Jue stepped forward, and after seeing what was in front of her, her pupils shrank.
Xu Yang was heavily protected. He was really afraid that Nanmen Jue would suddenly jump out from somewhere and cut his neck. He was covered with a riot shield. However, he was not the focus. What shocked and terrified everyone was the things crawling around him.
They were naked people, or rather, although they were in human form, their expressions and actions revealed that they were now just animals without any thought.
They crawled on all fours, their faces and bodies covered with sparse hair or bones. Some of their bones were deformed and proliferated, piercing through the original flesh and growing from their backs or limbs. Their eyes held only bestial cruelty.
"……dad?"
He Ting's voice trembled as he spoke. Nanmen Jue looked closely and saw that the face of the monster at the very front was not covered. Even though its expression was completely unfamiliar, its features were still recognizable—it was He Hua!
"What have you done? What have you done?" He Ting's eyes were bloodshot as she rushed out, losing all reason. "I'm going to kill you!"
As he rushed forward, Nanmen Jue grabbed him around the waist, pinning him firmly to the spot.
"Let me go!"
Nanmen Jue hugged him tightly, his face pale as he watched all this.
This is... what it looks like after taking three injections of antiretroviral therapy?
“President Lin, didn’t you initially conceal the side effects of reuptake drugs just to build such a fearless army? I’ve accomplished that for you!” Xu Yang smiled wickedly. “As expected of Your Excellency the President, you have such foresight. This army is incredibly powerful, and with just a little neural anchor, it will become extremely obedient… How useful it is.”
"You beast..." Lin Suwen was almost out of breath, "Where did you get your atrophy hormones from?"
"Oh, that old bastard Zhao Huai Ren really wouldn't reveal where the chip was, but it's alright. To ensure everyone in the Gray Tower had it, we still have plenty of revertant energy left. No need to worry, everyone in the Gray Tower will become my loyal army... including you, Your Excellency the President!" Xu Yang laughed loudly, his ferocious eyes suddenly piercing through the crowd and staring straight at Nanmen Jue. "Nanmen Jue, what makes you think you can compete with me now? I'm the only one who will survive! If you kneel down and beg for mercy now, maybe I'll be in a better mood and let you die a little longer."
Nanmen Jue's gaze fell on Lin Suwen in front of her. Just as she had said before, if Xu Yang succeeded in seizing power, she would undoubtedly be the one who suffered the most, followed by Lin Suwen.
Lin Suwen suddenly turned around and looked straight at Nanmen Jue. Her roar was hoarse and loud, as if she had used up all her strength.
"South Gate, run—!"
Nanmen Jue grabbed He Ting with one hand and Zhang Chuxi with the other, then turned and ran!
"Catch them!"
The melee began, and the group was quickly swallowed up by the crowd. Zhang Chuxi ran while vomiting, and the scene was truly shocking. Nanmen Jue glanced at He Ting, a seventeen-year-old boy whose eyes were bloodshot and who was trembling all over, but who kept his head down and ran after her.
"Where do we go? Tell me quickly!" she asked Qin Yehan.
Qin Yehan suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I can't leave the president here alone."
"Go to the 95th floor. The ventilation duct on the west side has been cleared. Just keep going and you'll get out. There are people waiting for you outside. Hurry up, especially you, Nanmen. You're the one we must protect at all costs. You must get out safely!"
This time, Nanmen Jue grabbed Qin Yehan's wrist, "Let's go together!"
"but!"
"President Lin will not die, I guarantee it!"
Qin Yehan suddenly turned his head, "What makes you think you can guarantee that?"
Because Xu Yang's side quest is to deliver the chip to Lin Suwen, he will definitely not give up those 5,000 points! So before his rebirth, he will make sure Lin Suwen lives!
Nanmen Jue pursed his lips, a cold look appearing between his brows and eyes. "You want to go back to die? That has nothing to do with me. But I don't trust the resistance. If even you, my link, are gone, then I won't go with your people."
Qin Yehan fell silent.
"No time left, three, two..."
"You are more important," Qin Yehan said.
Nanmen Jue was taken aback.
"Whether it's me, President Lin, or Chief Zhao, this is a consensus among all of us. You are the most important. If I had to choose between you and President Lin, I could only choose to protect you." Qin Yehan gripped her wrist tightly. "Come with me!"
There was no time to ask any more questions. The humanoid monster was getting closer and closer to them. Nanmen Jue glanced at Zhang Chuxi and He Ting and said, "They're going to follow me."
Qin Yehan nodded without hesitation, and the group rushed into the winding corridors inside the gray tower.
Although Nanmen Jue and He Ting are still injured, they are very fast and they certainly cannot take the elevator at this time, otherwise they would be trapped in a jar. Since they are turtles, they can only take the stairs.
Qin Yehan ran ahead, and when he kicked open the door to the stairwell, he almost bumped into a monster created by antiretroviral agents.
With a bang, Nanmen Jue fired his gun right after, and the monster's face exploded into pieces, convulsing as it fell to the ground.
The group had just descended half a flight of stairs when suddenly all the lights went out. The stairwell, already an enclosed space, instantly became pitch black. Qin Yehan slowed his movements, and Nanmen Jue took out a thumb flashlight from his pocket.
The flashlight looked only the size of a finger, but the light it emitted was incredibly strong, illuminating the entire floor. Everyone looked at her in astonishment, wondering why she would carry such a thing with her.
"It's not safe in this tower, so it's normal to prepare to run away early," Nanmen Jue shrugged.
Qin Yehan, whose face had been very serious, gave her a slight smile, clearly admiring her fighting spirit and foresight. However, before they could continue, they heard a deep, animalistic panting.
Zhang Chuxi's breath hitched, "Down...down..."
Several monsters entered the stairwell and were looking at them menacingly from bottom to top.
After a few seconds of absolute silence, Nanmen Jue abruptly switched off his flashlight, followed immediately by Qin Yehan's voice, "Run uphill! Run out!"
Xu Yang clearly realized that if they wanted to go downstairs, they would have to take the stairs. More and more monsters were coming in from different floors. When the two sides met, Nanmen Jue bent down to avoid the monster that was biting her neck, and used her skill to flip it into the gap between the stairs. She then grabbed another monster that was biting Zhang Chuxi's arm.
"Where's the door?" Qin Yehan shouted, his voice sounding as if he had been separated by a distance.
This won't do! They'll be scattered further and further apart, and then we'll kill them one by one!
Originally, the flashlight was turned off to avoid being targeted, but now that the situation was critical, Nanmen Jue had no choice but to turn it back on, hold it in his mouth, and circle around while fighting.
But there were too many monsters, and her view was blocked, so she couldn't see where the door was.
"I see it!" It was He Ting's voice; he wasn't far from Nanmen Jue. "Come here!"
As he spoke, he banged on the stair railing. The sharp metallic sound stimulated the monsters, making them even more ferocious, and also confirmed his location for the others.
“South Gate,” Zhang Chuxi’s voice sounded very weak, “I…I think I’m not going to make it…I’ve been bitten…”
"Stop talking nonsense, this isn't a zombie!"
Nanmen Jue grabbed Zhang Chuxi's arm tightly and dragged her upwards.
Fortunately, the humans' eyesight did not improve after they turned into monsters. They couldn't see, and neither could these monsters. The stairwell was narrow, so Nanmen Jue relied on brute force to charge forward, knocking down several monsters that were spinning in place.
"Come!"
He Ting was already opening the door. Qin Yehan, who had arrived first, reached out a hand to Nanmen Jue, who grabbed it. Qin Yehan used the leverage to pull them both up in one go.
"run!"
The group rushed out of the stairwell, but the entire gray tower was plunged into darkness. They couldn't tell which floor they were on. The roars of monsters seemed to be coming from all directions, getting closer and closer. The group could only rely on their experience to run forward.
Suddenly, the crane stopped moving and paused. "This is the 126th floor."
"Are you sure?" Qin Yehan asked quickly.
“I’m sure.” He pointed to a dark building. “This is my elementary school. When I was little, my dad would always drop me off here when he brought me to school.”
Nanmen Jue looked at him silently. The situation had been chaotic before, but when He Hua's face was revealed, it had shocked her greatly, let alone He Ting, who had witnessed it with her own eyes.
“Then we need to figure out a way to get down to the thirty-first floor,” Qin Yehan said.
"How do we get down? The power's out, so the elevators are out of service, and the stairs are blocked too," He Ting said.
The roars became clearer, and through the hazy light and shadow, the monster's shadowy silhouette could be vaguely seen.
"They're getting closer." Zhang Chuxi's face was pale; her entire arm had almost been bitten off and was now hanging there, dripping with blood. "Is it because they smelled my blood...?"
“We all have blood on us, and you can’t smell it when we’re all mixed together,” Nanmen Jue said with an unquestionable tone.
"We need to find a way to escape first," Qin Yehan said. "Don't you three from Gray Tower know if there are any other exits?"
Before the three could answer, he suddenly realized, "Right, you're all from the Lower Tower District, how come you're familiar with the terrain of the Upper Tower District?"
“What’s the difference between the upper and lower tower areas?” He Ting asked. “I grew up in the upper tower area, but escaping from the gray tower is a pipe dream.”
Qin Yehan glanced at him and said coldly, "I really didn't expect that the son of the dignified captain of the guard would actually become a front-line soldier."
“Hey Qin, if you keep talking like that, I’ll get rough with you.” He Ting stared at him intently.
"My God, what time is it? How can you two be arguing?" Zhang Chuxi said in despair and disbelief.
He Ting glared fiercely at Qin Yehan, and the atmosphere fell into a tense silence.
When a monster passed by them, the group quickly crouched down, using the shadows of the building to conceal themselves.
"If all else fails, we'll go back and take the stairs." Qin Yehan's voice hardened. "If we're going to die anyway, we have to fight to the bitter end."
He Ting didn't speak, but judging from his expression, he agreed with the viewpoint.
A monster was very close to them. Qin Yehan got up and quickly dealt with it, then turned to Nanmen Jue and asked, "What do you think?"
His original plan was to enter the tower, find Nanmen Jue, and then take her away without a second thought. But now he has changed his mind, believing that Nanmen Jue's opinion is crucial.
After remaining silent for a while, Nanmen Jue raised her head, looked at the group of people staring at her expectantly, and slowly said, "There may be another place to go down, but it's very dangerous."
...
When they arrived at the large circular corridor on each floor and looked down from the railing, they all understood what Nanmen Jue meant by "very dangerous".
Just like the gaps in the staircase, the large circular corridor runs from top to bottom. If you were to fall down it, you would be sent straight to the center of the earth. At that height, anyone would be completely destroyed.
The group looked at each other, and Qin Yehan said, "That works too. That way, if they fall in, they'll just be buried in the ground, and there's no need to bury them."
No one expected that this seemingly serious person could actually tell jokes. Their expressions were somewhat subtle, and Nanmen Jue chuckled.
"Be careful, take it one layer at a time," Nanmenjue said.
Zhang Chuxi glanced down, her legs feeling weak. "Nanmen, my hand is injured, I'm afraid..."
“I’ll carry you on my back,” Nanmen Jue said naturally, as if the question didn’t need to be considered at all.
Zhang Chuxi was taken aback. "You're willing to carry me on your back?"
"I told you I wouldn't give up on you. You don't think I was just saying that, do you?" Nanmen Jue raised an eyebrow. "Underestimating me?"
“No, I’m not…” Zhang Chuxi’s voice choked up, “I just…”
“I’ll carry her on my back,” Qin Yehan suddenly said. He looked at Nanmen Jue and said, “Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, right? Make sure you’re safe first. I’ll take care of her.”
"No need, I don't trust you," Nanmen Jue said bluntly.
Qin Yehan frowned. At this moment, Zhang Chuxi said, "Nanmen, I believe in him. I can't be a burden to you. Don't worry."
Qin Yehan: "..."
Wait a minute, so you can drag him down, right?
However, he understood what she meant and didn't make a fuss. He squatted down and let Zhang Chuxi climb up, saying, "When you climb down, both of my hands will be occupied, so you have to be careful to hold on to me."
"I will." Zhang Chuxi nervously curled herself up even closer.
"Then let's hurry up and go!" He Ting said, about to take a step forward.
“Wait a minute,” Nanmen Jue said, “each floor is at least three meters high. Are you planning to jump down?”
He Ting said, "I can..."
"I can't."
As Nanmen Jue spoke, he took out a small buckle from another pocket. People of this era could recognize it at a glance; it was the most useful mini rope.
It looks like a measuring tape, but instead of a measuring tape, it pulls out a thin steel cable that can easily support the weight of several people.
Everyone: "..."
You've really come prepared to escape.
Zhang Chuxi suddenly realized why Nanmen Jue could walk around the tower so freely without worrying about causing trouble or offending people; it turned out she was always ready to escape.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on Nanmen Jue's cargo pants. These pants had a lot of pockets of all sizes. She had initially thought that Nanmen Jue was wearing them to show off, but she hadn't expected that each pocket was like a treasure trove.
However, she spent almost 24 hours a day with Nanmen Jue, so she wondered when Nanmen Jue had unknowingly started collecting these treasures.
"I just picked it up when I saw it," Nanmen Jue explained casually, noticing her confusion.
In the silence of the group, Nanmenjue hooked the end of the steel cable onto the railing and gave it a tug. It was a Gray Tower product, quite sturdy.
Just then, a low growl came from behind. The group looked back and saw two monsters slowly closing in. Nanmen Jue shoved Qin Yehan, "Get down quickly!"
Just as Qin Yehan was about to say something, he saw Nanmen Jue's sharp eyes, nodded simply, and deftly pulled on the steel cable to slide down.
The monsters were already upon him. Nanmen Jue pulled out his scalpel and forcefully plunged it into the head of one of them. Just as he was about to turn around and deal with the other one, he noticed that He Ting hadn't gone down yet. He still had thick bandages wrapped around his neck, and his breathing was already like a bellows pulling a cart. He killed the other one, but the noise attracted other monsters on the same floor, and several more approached.
The two looked up and met eyes. Just as He Ting was about to say something, Nanmen Jue, too lazy to say a word, kicked him in the waist and sent him sprawling.
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