Chapter 102: The Death of Wu Qiuyi
A kick imbued with the power of a "Raging Wild Bull" struck the mutant's blood-covered face, shattering its facial bones and deforming its features until it was completely unrecognizable as human.
But even so, it still clung to Wu Qiuyi's internal organs, refusing to let go. As it retreated and pulled, a bright red mass dragged across the ground, causing Wu Qiuyi to vomit blood in large mouthfuls.
Xu Huo raised his sword and severed its arm, then kicked it flying away!
The disfigured, one-armed mutant rolled two meters before suddenly flipping back up, charging at him with reckless disregard for death!
Xu Huo, concerned about Wu Qiuyi and unable to simply flee, grabbed a handful of clothes and threw them at the mutant. Sidestepping to dodge, he pulled out a lighter and set it on fire as the mutant lunged past!
Ke Liang and Shen Yi had already reached the door. The two used elastic ropes to bind the flame-wrapped, disoriented mutant, dragging it into the nearby ruins and wedging it under a collapsed house.
Gu Yu seized the opportunity to pick up a large rock and smash it repeatedly over the mutant's head. A series of cracking sounds made it impossible to tell whether it was the rock or the mutant's skull breaking. In any case, she only stopped when its struggling subsided.
By then, the mutant's head was a bloody mess. Half of its body was buried under the rubble, and the exposed parts had most of their fabric burned away. Only a few fibers clinging to its skin still smoldered, roasting the flesh until it curled and blackened.
The mutant did not move.
"Is it dead?" Gu Yu panted heavily, still uneasy, and was about to strike again when the bloody, mangled mutant suddenly reared up and lunged at her!
Startled, Gu Yu fell to the ground and instinctively kicked out, her toes landing right inside its mouth!
She couldn't help but cry out. All mutants carried poison—if bitten, she would likely suffer from full-body decay and weakness before dying!
Kicking the mutant's head away with her other foot, Gu Yu took the chance to shake off her shoe, hopping to the side on one foot to carefully inspect herself. "Please no wounds, please no wounds... It didn't bite!"
Confirming she was unharmed, she turned back to look at the ground.
The mutant now lay face-down, still clutching the shoe in its mouth, no longer moving. It seemed that biting the shoe had been its last burst of strength.
Ke Liang retrieved a cleaver from the rubble and chopped off its head.
"It's dead for real this time."
Staring at the deformed head that had rolled far away, the group remained shaken. The mutant's vitality was so strong that they couldn't let their guard down until it was completely decapitated!
"The noise earlier came from this mutant, right? How did it escape?" Shen Yi asked as he put away the elastic ropes.
"If one got out, could the others have escaped too?" Ke Liang wondered.
"Probably not." Gu Yu's eyelids twitched. "If the other two had gotten out, they should have shown up by now!"
The group exchanged glances. Then Shen Xin remembered Wu Qiuyi. "Quick, check on Wu Qiuyi! She's injured!"
Gu Yu and Ke Liang rushed into the shop, followed by Shen Yi supporting Shen Xin. But the moment they stepped inside, they froze in place.
Leaning in Xu Huo's arms, Wu Qiuyi was vomiting blood uncontrollably, nearly soaked in it. Blood poured from her mouth, and even though he pressed on her abdominal wound, it still flowed steadily. Her clothes, the floor—everywhere was covered in blood. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but thick, dark red... It was hard to imagine a person could lose so much blood!
"How could this..." Ke Liang's lips trembled. He had been upstairs earlier and hadn't seen the moment Wu Qiuyi was attacked. He had only assumed she was lightly injured, never expecting such a gruesome scene!
Not just him—everyone's eyes shook violently at the sight. Wu Qiuyi was still vomiting blood. The Evolver's tenacious vitality didn't let her die immediately after such severe injury; instead, she writhed in agony, struggling for her last moments.
"I... I have a Self-Healing Agent..." Gu Yu shakily pulled out the remaining half-bottle, only to notice several empty bottles already lying at Xu Huo's feet.
"It's useless." Xu Huo set Wu Qiuyi down. With blood-drenched hands, he picked up the small bag from the corner and, under her longing gaze, took out the photo inside, placed it on her chest, then lifted her hand and laid it over the picture.
Wu Qiuyi clutched the photo, seeming to smile. Then, with a final gush of bloody foam from her mouth, her eyes went blank, staring at the ceiling as her breath gradually faded.
The others, standing or crouching, all had red-rimmed eyes. Shen Xin broke down sobbing. "Why did this happen? We already killed the strongest mutant..."
Shen Yi comforted his sister. "It was an accident. No one could have predicted it."
Xu Huo closed Wu Qiuyi's eyelids and stood up. "I'll check the cage entrances and look for Lin Pei and Wang Chaoqing."
Gu Yu snapped back to reality. "I'll go with you. It's not safe alone."
"Split up." Ke Liang said. "You two check the cages. I'll find the others. Shen Xin is injured and can't move easily. Shen Yi, take her to the gas station... and bring Wu Qiuyi too. We can't leave her here alone."
"Everyone be careful." Xu Huo said with a meaningful tone. "The mutant might not have escaped on its own."
Gu Yu and the others tensed up, immediately recalling the person who had ambushed him earlier. Wang Chaoqing and Lin Pei had disappeared, and coincidentally, another mutant had gotten out.
Ke Liang's face darkened ominously. "If it was deliberate, I'll avenge Wu Qiuyi."
Xu Huo made no comment. He glanced at the body on the ground, then turned and walked away.
Gu Yu followed closely behind.
The two said nothing along the way. They first went to the nearest cage, and sure enough, the metal plate had been smashed open. The cage entrance gaped wide, with tools scattered all over the floor.
"It looks like it was broken by force." Gu Yu inspected the metal plate uncertainly, but the edges of the crack were uneven, with no signs of cutting. This black metal was extremely hard—without using a prop, it would be difficult for a player to break it.
Xu Huo couldn't be sure either, so they moved on to check the next cage.
Fortunately, the other two cages were intact, their seals tightly closed.
"Could it be because of the distance?" Gu Yu speculated. "These two cages are farther from the gas station, so maybe the mutants weren't as agitated."
"Not necessarily." Xu Huo pointed to some dust marks on the edges. "These show that the mutants also rammed the metal plates, but they didn't succeed."
"Since we heard the noise, it doesn't make sense that only the closest one got out. Look at the melted metal—are there any signs of breakage?"
Gu Yu leaned in for a closer look. "There really aren't! I knew my prop couldn't be that weak!"
"So you think either Lin Pei or Wang Chaoqing let the mutant out?" She turned to ask. "But why would they do that? In that situation, if a mutant got out, everyone would be in danger."
"Once a mutant escapes from the cage, it usually goes back quickly. As long as you avoid the time it's active, the danger is almost zero." Xu Huo said. "Just now, although it was a close call, for those who didn't show up, there was no danger at all."
Gu Yu was silent for two seconds. "Wang Chaoqing doesn't seem like the type. Do you think it's Lin Pei?"
Xu Huo let out a cold laugh. "We'll know when we go back. He should be at the gas station by now."