The arrival of the group relieved Fu Shiwu. At least that girl's abilities should be able to harm Shi Zheng, so Tang Xuhai wouldn't have to struggle as much.
The girl's primary target was Shi Zheng; she completely disregarded the towering trees, emitting a terrifying laugh from her throat. She shouted fiercely, "Shi Zheng, your time is up!"
Shi Zheng was having fun evading Tang Xuhai when he saw the girl's expression change suddenly.
Their fight was like a violent close combat between two forces, neither able to overpower the other. However, this girl was of a long-range type, making it particularly tricky for him.
Shi Zheng had powers against sound waves, which could briefly slow down actions, just like with the others before. But even that slight delay was enough for Tang Xuhai to rush past and try to kill him!
"Nobody move!!" Shi Zheng roared, gripping a sturdy tree trunk while his other hand retrieved something resembling an old-fashioned cell phone from his pocket. "If you don't want to die, you better stop."
Seeing him threatening everyone, Fu Shiwu's eyes turned red with hatred. He said fiercely, "Shi Zheng, who else do you want to threaten? You've already killed my friends! Do you think I'll fall for your tricks?!"
Shi Zheng sneered, "You better fall for it. Because the bomb is planted in the civilian camp!"
"What? The civilian camp? What's that place?"
Almost everyone had the same question, except for the girl with the sonic abilities.
She incredulously stared at Shi Zheng, "You're insane! What benefit do you get from blowing them up? They endured being used as bait, endured insults and torment, just to survive! Why are you so heartless, planting bombs there?!"
"Of course, there's a benefit," Shi Zheng said surprisingly. "Do you think I'd waste such precious explosives on this useless bunch?"
He chuckled, thinking this was an obvious truth, which was ironically laughable to everyone else.
So, the others unanimously agreed with the girl's perspective: he was definitely insane.
Unaffected by their odd looks, Shi Zheng, with the remote in hand, casually rubbed his cheek, speaking with a euphoric, surreal tone, "Placing bombs there is to deal with those evolved mutants. There's a large population in that prison, right?" He gave a sinister smile. "Of course, it's the civilian camp~"
Then, his expression turned indifferent, "To ensure not too many of my valuable men die, once the crucial moment arrives and my people retreat, those mutants won't be able to resist rushing to the civilian camp for a feast. With so many people there, it'll satiate their hunger. And with a simple press of a button, I can effortlessly kill them, while enjoying the splendid fireworks..."
Speaking of the explosion-induced fireworks, Shi Zheng became unnervingly excited. "Since childhood, I've always loved watching fireworks. I believe these flames show their astonishing beauty only when consuming lives."
Sickening!
Tang Xuhai's face turned ashen; he hadn't anticipated Shi Zheng's expertise with bombs.
Even the sonic girl couldn't contain herself and stepped forward.
With a steely gaze, Shi Zheng warned the girl loudly, "Don't think you can stop me! You emit sounds, you need to open your mouth. Now, I won't allow you to say a word. If you utter a sound, I'll detonate the bomb!"
"What?" The girl looked at him in disbelief.
"Oh~" Shi Zheng shook his head regretfully and pressed a button on the keypad.
"Boom!!" A deafening explosion erupted, not close to the buildings but in a corner of the large playground, where more than ten thousand survivors were currently gathered. It erupted into dazzling red fireworks, causing immense unrest among the unsettled people.
The girl covered her mouth in shock.
"This is just a warning," Shi Zheng said coldly.
"Ssss!!" A shrill sound caught everyone's attention.
Pointing the remote at them threateningly, Shi Zheng stated, "Your goal was to escape, and now you've succeeded. I won't target you anymore. I'll let you go, but be smart and don't do anything unnecessary."
Dropping the tree trunk, Shi Zheng stepped back. "You should be thankful; I still have mutants to deal with. Otherwise, who knows who would win in the end!"
The energy from the massive explosion was much larger than the one planted on Wen Zhaoming's body. The leaves here shook violently, some falling, a fragment hitting a damaged corner, collapsing from the second floor to the first in a cascade of stones.
Shi Zheng had disappeared from their sight, and Fu Shiwu clenched his fists, unwillingly watching him leave.
Ma Dong reminded, "Since that's the case, let's hurry and leave."
Fu Shiwu hesitated, looking at Tang Xuhai.
Horn Ting still looked pale, drained due to overusing his powers. He staggered over, saying, "Our goal was to save people, right? Goal achieved, let's go."
Just like that?
"No!" The girl shouted fiercely. "Shi Zheng said and did it; he used over ten thousand people as bait, he'll definitely strike! I can't let him kill more people!"
Yes, they couldn't let him kill more people! Tang Xuhai's gaze sharpened.
"We stay!" Tang Xuhai declared.
"Stay?" Almost everyone else questioned in unison.
"Yes! As long as the mutants can't get in, Shi Zheng won't detonate the bombs inside!" Tang Xuhai asserted. "Moreover, Shi Zheng hates us deeply. Once he repels the mutants and focuses on chasing us, we won't get far!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Shan and the others, filled with reluctance, fell silent.
"So, we must take this opportunity to kill him and avenge Zhaoming!" Fu Shiwu said with resentment.
"Yeah!" Tang Xuhai nodded heavily, echoing him.
The girl excitedly encouraged them, "Yes! Let's do this!"
Fu Shiwu's mind raced. "I can try to locate the bombs early, do my best to prevent Shi Zheng from harming more people when he activates them."
The girl's eyes brightened. "If that's the case, we can move those people to a bomb-free area. Then he won't have hostages to threaten us!"
Miao Jia glanced at her. It was surprising how quickly she had allied with them. He still didn't know her name but was already involved in life-and-death situations. Odd, indeed. But now wasn't the time to ask; he thought optimistically, waiting for everything to settle.
"Great! Let's do it!" Fu Shiwu nodded, then swiftly headed in the direction still emitting smoke.
Tang Xuhai hurried to follow.
This ability Fu Shiwu had developed on the fly while desperately searching for Tang Xuhai allowed him not just to scan the surface but penetrate and search beneath the buildings.
With Fu Shiwu's thorough search, they quickly identified more than a dozen locations where bombs were planted.
Shi Zheng was truly deranged; there wasn't a spot in the entire prison without bombs.
Based on Fu Shiwu's description, Tang Xuhai said gravely
, "These bombs have immense power. They could wipe out even ten thousand mutants."
"Xuhai?" Fu Shiwu looked at him in surprise. Why would he agree with that lunatic Shi Zheng?
"Shi Zheng's tactic of drawing the enemy in is also effective," Tang Xuhai stated coldly, arms crossed.
"You can't be serious?!" The girl looked at him in astonishment, exclaiming, "Are you also willing to sacrifice the survivors as bait? I never thought you'd be as mad as him."
"I have no intention of sacrificing them," Tang Xuhai raised a hand, restraining the agitated girl.
"What's your plan then?" Conversely, Fu Shiwu trusted Tang Xuhai's judgment; he was calm now. Pushing his glasses up, the lenses reflected a chilling light, sending shivers through those around him.
Such an aura of a killer.
"Hmm…" Tang Xuhai looked at the composed Fu Shiwu and smiled after a moment. "We just need to remove the bombs under their feet and place them along the path the mutants will take."
Fu Shiwu's eyes sparkled. "And while Shi Zheng finishes activating the bombs, we'll strike and kill him!"
"When two sides fight, a third benefits!" Miao Jia applauded. "Taking advantage of Shi Zheng's schemes is quite satisfying!"
After devising a detailed plan, they immediately set it in motion. Tang Xuhai, along with Miao Jia, Liu Peiqi, and Olande, worked on extracting the remote-controlled bombs. Fu Shiwu and the others aimed to stop people from breaking through the fences and rushing towards other locations.
These individuals were highly agitated; the recent bomb blast had injured many. Some had lost their hearing, while others had suffered burns from the blast's impact.
If not for the sturdy fence Shi Zheng had constructed, they would have fled long ago.
Fu Shiwu's group stood at the gate, facing the emotionally charged crowd, pushing and shoving, wanting to leave.
After a while, Tang Xuhai and the four emerged holding several bombs.
It was then these people realized their place had so many bombs.
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