Chapter 120: Flight Between Life and Death (Part Ten)

Wujue watched the Gemini brothers and their followers fall apart so quickly, and was bitterly disappointed. (Fastest full-text novel updates.) It seemed that without genuine friendship to hold them together, it was impossible to build a truly solid team.

He glanced back at his companions. Miaopu was keeping watch from a high vantage point, using faint meows to relay information and tell Xun’er where the living dead were moving.

After listening to Miaopu’s report, Xun’er whispered to Wujue, “Perfect. The living dead have all been drawn toward the Gemini brothers. We can take this opportunity to leave. But there are still too many near the entrance. We need a way to lure more of them away.”

Wujue was naturally prepared to go himself. With the power of his Golden Bell Shield and armor, he was confident that he could withstand the attacks of the living dead.

But Tell in the air had already sensed their plan. He drifted toward the entrance and began drawing the living dead after him.

With a graceful motion, he sent several rays of mirror-light shooting out. They struck the living dead directly, and with the power of the Divine Mirror, he lifted them into the air and hurled them far away.

The other living dead immediately sensed Tell’s presence and began converging on him. Yet beneath the force of his mirror-light, they were utterly helpless. One after another, they were blasted aside, rapidly clearing a passage.

Seeing this, Wujue hurriedly called for Miaopu and Xun’er to leave. The three of them rushed toward the exit, dealing with several living dead along the way whenever they appeared.

Just as they were about to reach their destination, someone shouted from behind, “Wait for me! I’m caught on something. I’ll be there in a moment!”

To their surprise, Alice had suddenly stopped. A long shadow behind her seemed to be pulling her back, preventing her from moving.

It was that Shadow again. Apparently, the creature had deliberately seized Alice in order to delay them. Wujue frowned deeply. Perhaps Shadow was trying to lure them into rescuing her, buying himself a chance to escape.

Before he could say anything, Xun’er stamped her foot. “I’ll do it. Damn you—get out of the way!”

She thrust out a hand, sending a streak of violet energy flying toward the shadow. But before it could strike the darkness on the ground, Shadow slipped away in advance.

Xun’er’s attack missed, and Alice suddenly broke free. Staggering, she began running forward.

Hope had filled her face, but in the next instant she froze in place. Shadow’s spirit had returned yet again. This time, the shameless creature had crawled up around Alice’s legs, entwining itself tightly with her as it snarled with a vicious grin, “I’m clinging to her body. Let’s see how you deal with me now.”

Xun’er stamped her feet in fury. Just as she was at a loss for what to do, Miaopu sighed from the side. “I’ll go. Leave this insignificant clown to me.”

He turned and ran toward Alice to help her. At the same time, Tell faced an ever-growing horde of enemies and warned them, “Everyone, get out quickly! The living dead are gathering here. I don’t know how much longer I can hold them back!”

As he spoke, he lifted an entire row of tables and hurled them forward, crushing a line of living dead beneath them. At a time like this, there was no room to worry about anything else.

Seeing this, Wujue wasted no time. He suddenly seized Xun’er and threw her forward. “Go on ahead. We’ll cover the rear.”

Then he turned to face the living dead charging in from the other side. His formidable Golden Bell Shield erupted with force, blasting dozens of them away in a single shockwave.

Once he had cleared everything in front of him, he turned back—only to find Alice standing before him. She collapsed with a thud and nearly fell to the ground.

Wujue reached out and caught her. “Where’s Miaopu? Where did Shadow go?”

Alice opened and closed her mouth, her breathing faint. “Miaopu saved me, but Shadow hurt him. Look—he’s lying over there.”

Wujue glanced in that direction. Miaopu lay sprawled on the ground, barely alive, while the living dead began closing in around him, curiously examining the strange cat.

Impossible. Miaopu was no ordinary creature. How could Shadow have defeated him so easily? Everything had happened far too quickly. How had the situation changed in the blink of an eye?

Wujue suddenly realized that this was likely a trap. A tremendous chill burst from both his hands, and in an instant, Alice was frozen into an ice sculpture.

“At this moment, I still can’t believe you.”

He lowered Alice without a word. A black needle slipped from her hand, and Shadow’s agonized voice came from within it.

“Bastard! I’m freezing to death! I’m freezing to death!”

Before Shadow could transform, Wujue seized him. “So the two of you were working together, were you? Then go and be buried with Miaopu!”

A terrifying force crushed the shadow in his palm. This time, Wujue unleashed every ounce of his killing intent. He was determined to avenge Miaopu.

The thing he could least tolerate in life was an enemy using despicable methods against his friends. It was even more unbearable than death itself.

Under Wujue’s divine strength, Shadow was crushed mercilessly and immediately began shrieking. At almost the same moment, the Gemini brother on the other side let out a roar of pain.

The two brothers were connected by some strange bond. Since Shadow had suffered such a grievous injury here, his brother could not have been unaffected. In a frenzy, he began firing wildly in their direction.

Tell realized that something was wrong. Abandoning the lesser enemies near the entrance, he transformed into a beam of mirror-light and shot toward Gemini.

The two sides immediately clashed. Driven into agony, Gemini unexpectedly unleashed astonishing power.

With a thunderous strike, he fired more than a dozen bullets at Tell in midair. In the next instant, the bullets exploded.

This was the ultimate weapon the organization had given them for emergencies—a last resort to be used only when they needed to save themselves.

Every bullet contained terrifying destructive power. When they detonated in the air, the entire plaza began to tremble.

The violent explosions struck everyone present. The living dead and the stage of the anime festival were all blown into the air, rolling and burning amid the flames and scorching waves.

The immense shockwave also reached Wujue and Shadow. Although Wujue was protected by powerful mechanical armor, he had not had time to fully equip himself. The blast sent him flying.

He crashed heavily into a wall. Then everything inside the building came tumbling down, burying him completely beneath the debris. For a long while, he was unable to react.

When he slowly awoke, he felt someone struggling to move the wreckage covering him. Through the dim light, Wujue saw a slender figure that looked like Xun’er.

“You… why did you come back?” he asked weakly. If he had been given the choice, he would have wished for Xun’er to have escaped.

With tears in her eyes, Xun’er smiled. “Great Monk, why are all of you so foolish? As your companion, shouldn’t I have come back to save you? Stay conscious. All of you have to live.”

Using sorcery, she laboriously cleared away most of the debris. At last, she reached Wujue beneath it and released a cloud of pink mist that slowly spread throughout his body, rapidly healing his wounds.

She then examined the others. Tell lay not far away, while Gemini had been beaten brutally to the ground by him. Miaopu lay near the western corner of the wall. Though badly injured, he had fortunately hidden in time and was not in mortal danger.

Xun’er looked at each of her companions with relief. At last, she understood that she could no longer bring herself to part with them. Just as she reached for Wujue’s hand to help him up and lead him away, he suddenly stared in terror at the space behind her.

“Run! Xun’er, get away now! Don’t worry about us. There’s no time!”

Xun’er froze. Wujue shoved her away violently. When she turned around, she saw a hazy shadow drifting toward them in the distance.

It was the first ghost they had encountered in the film city. Smiling, it floated toward them and said softly, “This time, the harvest is truly remarkable. All of you will belong to me.”

“Impossible!” Xun’er shouted furiously. “As long as I’m here, you’re not taking anyone!”

“Is that so?” The ghost smiled faintly. “You still haven’t realized what kind of disaster you’ve fallen into.”

Only then did Xun’er notice that something beneath her feet had seized her ankle.

Alice’s body rose from a crack in the ground, her head emerging first. “Come, Master. Come with us.”

Those hands were icy cold, and no matter how she struggled, she could not break free.

***

Time turned back one day.

When Alice first entered the anime festival plaza, an invisible hand drew her through the crowd and up to the highest point of the square.

Then she lost her footing, fell, and died.

The End of Chapter One Hundred Twenty of Apocalypse Divine Combat: Flight for Life, Part Two.