Chapter 1047: Today I Am the Director
The other eight players in the same building found it hard to believe. While it was possible for players hired by large families to betray the government, those who could enter the Government Hall, regardless of their personal character, were all genuine 002 District natives going back generations. Most of them also had families. What benefit could they possibly gain from working with the Holy Sword Society?
The squad leader called out the messenger's name, and only after confirming there was no response did he say to the others, "Liu Jin's group and Fang Hai's group, go back and check. It's best to drive them up here."
These two groups had already gone upstairs, but upon receiving the order, they turned back. However, Liu Jin's group hadn't even left the stairwell when they ran into "Xu Lin" coming toward them. At this moment, "Xu Lin" was covered in injuries, his expression anxious and wary. "Don't move! Stay right where you are!"
The two members of Liu Jin's group didn't attack him immediately. Instead, they asked with concern what had happened to him.
"Zhang Chang took a bribe from the Holy Sword Society and just ambushed me!"
"Then where is he now?" Liu Jin looked behind him.
"Of course, I killed him instead!" "Xu Lin" said furiously. "Otherwise, how could I have walked out alive?"
Liu Jin exchanged a glance with his companion. The latter produced a box-shaped item with openings on both sides and instantly covered "Xu Lin" from head to toe, leaving only his head exposed. Liu Jin said, "Sorry, brother, but this isn't something we can decide. Let the Review Department handle it. For now, just come with us quietly..."
He had been talking while approaching "Xu Lin," but what he didn't expect was that as soon as his hand touched the box, a blade pierced through his back and out his chest!
"You..." He turned to look at his companion, but his companion was also staring at him, because a sword was similarly thrust through the other's chest and abdomen.
The two looked at each other, then fell to the ground in shock and disbelief.
Xu Huo, disguised as "Xu Lin," dragged the two bodies into a nearby room, straightened his clothes, and walked out.
Two more had fallen silent. Now the two groups ahead had no choice but to turn back as well.
The squad leader, Zheng Cheng, signaled to another group. The two of them went to the end of the corridor, planning to flank from the elevator on the other side.
However, they didn't find their target first. Instead, they encountered the third group, which was coming upstairs. After verifying each other's identities, Wang Youquan, a member of the descending group, said, "Why did you come up? Where are the other two?"
"Aren't they supposed to have gone up?" The two who were coming upstairs were even more surprised. "Didn't you hear their code signals?"
The two members of Wang Youquan's group looked at each other.
"That's strange. We definitely heard the code signals." The upstairs player paused and said, "It might be some kind of sound-imitation item. Where's the squad leader?"
The group exchanged glances, realizing something was wrong. They immediately started back down, but when they got there, they found that not only were Zheng Cheng and another player missing, but their communicators were also unusable. Looking out the window, the cars and people outside had disappeared. There was no sound, not even light to be seen.
"Did we accidentally enter an instance or are we seeing illusions?" Wang Youquan wondered.
A player from the other group said, "Snow City doesn't have random instances. If a new instance were generated, the government would have been informed long ago."
"We've probably been interfered with. What we're hearing and seeing are all illusions..." Before he could finish, a teammate from his own group slapped him hard across the face. Under his stunned gaze, the teammate explained, "If it's an illusion, this should snap you out of it."
The companion was speechless, but retaliating wouldn't be good for internal unity. He raised his gun and fired wildly around them, saying, "Overwhelming strength—no matter what tricks he has, they won't work!"
However, after a full round of bullets was spent, nothing substantial came of it. Instead, they heard cries of pain and calls for help from the residential buildings.
The player froze for a moment. "What's going on? I avoided those people..."
Before he could finish, an ordinary person burst out of a room, charging at him with a kitchen knife. "I'll kill you!"
One ordinary person was nothing, but what about dozens or hundreds of people with bloodshot eyes and frenzied expressions?
"It's hard to influence players, but much easier to influence ordinary people!" Wang Youquan said. "Fall back first!"
"What's there to run from?" the shooting player said. "These people are obstructing our operation. The government has a clear order: any citizen hindering a government player's operation can be executed!"
He was about to fire, but his companion grabbed him. "Are you crazy? They're unarmed ordinary people!"
The shooting player looked at the group of evolved humans wielding kitchen knives in front of him and shoved his companion away. "Don't fucking joke around!"
The distinctive sound of bullets being fired rang out continuously. Row after row of the charging people fell. Blood splattered at strange angles onto the ground, the walls, and even the players' faces!
The shooting player seemed to revel in the feeling of killing, laughing maniacally as he swept the area with gunfire, until the last person fell in the corridor.
The other three looked grim but said nothing. However, they soon had bigger concerns, because the dead people started getting up!
One by one, the corpses twisted their limbs and slowly stood up. Their bodies and faces showed obvious changes that distinguished them from humans. Slightly nauseating blood vessels crawled across their skin. Their eyes turned a dirty green. Their mouths hung open, making unintelligible sounds, and foul saliva dripped from their chins.
"Holy shit!" The smile vanished from the shooting player's face. He said from the bottom of his heart, "Could those rumors about the government's experimental projects be true?"
The other three present didn't ask for details, because the standing corpses were already charging at them!
Unlike when they were alive, these ordinary people now possessed speed comparable to xenomorphs. Soon, the shooting player, who was at the back, had one of them bite his leg!
"Get off!" The shooting player kicked it away, but a second one immediately pounced on him. Items were useless against these corpses, and guns even more so. Before long, he was grabbed by several corpses at once. Some bit his shoulders, others bit his waist and legs. Their strength was immense, enough to tear flesh right off the bone!
The shooting player screamed and begged his companions for help. But Wang Youquan and his group had already run up the stairs. Only the player from his own group was a step slower. Hearing his cries, he looked back, clearly hesitating!
"Help me!" the shooting player quickly said. "I'll give you anything you want!"
His companion hesitated for a second but still turned back. After helping him break free from the corpses' grasp, he used an item to successfully block them at the stairwell entrance.
"We've only sealed one stairwell. Those zombies will definitely come up from the other stairs. We need to get out quickly." The shooting player looked at his companion. "Brother, once we're out, you can pick any of my items. I'll remember this life-saving favor!"
The protective wall formed by the item was being pounded loudly. The companion seemed shaken. He looked ahead and said, "What kind of experiment could turn corpses into monsters comparable to xenomorphs?"