APUTFFZG Chapter 40.2

Xi Ze was struggling to pick out a path through the chaos while keeping his voice low to comfort Ye Er.

He had faced such confusion countless times and could even be called quite adept at it.* But the male zerg on his back had certainly never experienced anything like this, and it would be bad if he got scared and developed trauma.

*A task so familiar one can do it with one hand tied behind one's back

The lines had been damaged, and the fluorescent lights flickered erratically. With smoke and dust rising all around, finding a safe place was getting harder.

"Are we going out?"

Seeing that the building was becoming more and more precarious, as if it would collapse soon, Ye Er couldn't help worrying and whispered in the female zerg's ear.

"Wait."

Xi Ze split some of his attention to answer while his gaze kept sweeping over the devastated area, as if confirming something. Finally, he retreated to the edge of a floor-to-ceiling window in the restaurant.

At that moment, the intense bombardment outside finally stopped, as if gathering itself for a second round. The female zerg's expression hardened. His legs suddenly drove off the floor, and he burst through the glass and leapt down from the third floor—

"!!!"

The biting cold wind wrapped around the lingering smoke and whistled past his ears. Before he knew what was happening, his eyes had closed on instinct. Ye Er buried his face in Xi Ze's shoulder and swallowed the sound rising in his throat.

"Okay, open your eyes. We're on the ground now. Take a deep breath... yes, breathe normally...!"

The sharp ringing in his ears faded and was replaced by the female zerg's deep voice. Ye Er managed to open his eyes and found himself lying in Xi Ze's arms, looking at a dim, narrow space.

He found his rhythm in the deep breaths and, after regaining some strength, straightened up and coughed lightly a few times. "Where is this? It seems like the bombardment outside has stopped...?"

After leaving the building, the view suddenly opened up, but it was no longer recognizable, with ruins and broken walls everywhere. The place that had just been bustling was now so quiet that only the chilling sound of the wind could be heard.

That made him even more uneasy.

Xi Ze had just taken off his coat to cushion the male zerg. Now, in a neat shirt and military pants, he crouched on one knee to watch the situation outside from cover.

Ye Er leaned against the broken wall, his mind blank, but he couldn't help following Xi Ze's back with his gaze.

He didn't know what would happen next, but as long as he kept watching the female zerg, he didn't feel as panicked.

But before he could catch his breath, an extremely faint sound of footsteps came from behind the ruins.

Xi Ze suddenly turned around, quickly picked up the still-dazed male zerg, and set him in a deeper corner, not too far away, just a distance he could cover in one stride.

Not long after Ye Er was hidden, a complacent shout exploded close by. "I told you! He's right here!"

Xi Ze paused for a moment and quickly raised his eyes.

Peering out through a small gap in the ruins, he saw that the once-empty street had been taken over by star pirates at some point. They were scattered all over, so densely packed that he couldn't see the end of them.

Fortunately, they were mostly low-level star pirates without any high-tech weapons. They had been sent to scout and wear down their target's energy.

"The boss said that whoever can kill him and bring back his head will be promoted to assistant team leader and get a hundred zergs to manage!"

The reward was even more tempting than a hefty sum of star coins. The star pirates were all excited, eager to rush forward and claim this zerg's head.

"Brothers! Charge!!"

Xi Ze lowered his gaze, snapped off a piece of exposed rebar, and tested its feel in his hand.

The spot he had chosen was actually quite good. Although it had been blown up, it had formed a low air raid shelter. As long as he guarded the entrance, he could keep the star pirates from breaking in.

His mental power could only disrupt other zergs' consciousness and make them temporarily unable to act, which clearly wasn't suited to these relentless star pirates—

So he could only use the most direct, cost-effective method.

Xi Ze raised his eyes coolly and gripped the rebar tight.

At that moment, he felt a slight tug at the hem of his shirt.

He looked down to see a pair of jet-black eyes full of unmasked worry, bright as obsidian.

"...Be careful."

"Okay."

He gave the male zerg a reassuring smile and drove the rebar in a specific direction.

Puff!

The sharp end of the rebar went through several star pirates' necks in succession.

One strike harvested lives at once.

Before anyone could react, the chilling sound of cutting flesh rang out again and again—

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Xi Ze nimbly pulled his hand back, ignored the splatters of blood on his face and body, and casually undid the top button of his shirt.

"Come."

He flashed a quick smile, his molten-gold eyes narrowing slightly like a beast about to go hunting.

---

It was unclear how much time had passed. Corpses had piled up around the ruins, stacked several layers high.

Deep black blood had already soaked into the snow, forming winding dark rivers that spread out in every direction.

The desperate outlaws, blind with rage, lost all sanity and charged forward. One would fall and another would step over his corpse, leaving hardly a moment to catch a breath.

But after dozens and then hundreds of rounds, there was not a trace of fatigue on Xi Ze's face.

Still, there were too many star pirates, and the female zerg was ultimately not a true war machine.

Having just recovered from serious injuries, his body couldn't withstand such high-intensity fighting. Through the small crack, Ye Er saw fresh blood seeping through the forearm of his shirt.

"Brothers, hurry! He can't hold on much longer!"

A sharp-eyed star pirate noticed the change and shouted excitedly, but a second later, Xi Ze, expressionless, took his head off his neck.

Thud!

The sound was crisp and decisive. It made the star pirates who had been fired up shudder and sink back into despondency, hesitating over whether to keep charging.

The military female zerg standing there looked indifferent. His golden eyes were empty, showing no pride at the many enemy corpses before him and no disdain for the lowly cannon fodder.

He simply stood there with his weapon in hand, like an unbreakable wall of defense, giving off an almost inorganic strength and coldness.

The retreat began with one star pirate who went mad with fear, screeched, dropped his weapon, and ran. Then came a second, a third... until more than half the star pirates had stopped their assault.

"...Charging in is just sending ourselves to our deaths. Why not contact the boss?"

"You're courting death! If the boss finds out we've gone soft-legged as shrimp*, we probably won't live to see tomorrow!"

*A metaphor for someone weak, cowardly, or easily frightened

"Then you charge! You go!... Who knows if we'll even live a second more! Idiot!"

The star pirates clearly lacked an army's organization and discipline. Their charge ran on sheer ferocity, and once frightened, they feared for their lives more than anyone. It didn't take long for the standoff to dissolve into infighting.

Herrick had been enjoying the spectacle until he noticed the battle had stalled. Realizing it, he kicked over his command chair.

"A bunch of cowards!!"

He enlarged the image on the projection, at first meaning only to observe the female zerg more closely. Suddenly his eyes narrowed, surprise flashed across his face, and a sinister smile slowly spread.

"I wondered why he kept standing there... so... that's it."

He walked over, snatched a pager from the control panel, and connected to the leader of the star pirates on the ground.

"Hey. Do you see that collapsed building? The one behind the female zerg."

A confirming voice came through the communicator, and Herrick chuckled maliciously. "Very good. Now go smash it to smithereens."

The star pirates seemed to have received instructions. They suddenly began climbing the ruins where the male zerg was hiding, breaking down walls and moving rubble bit by bit like ants frantically gnawing at a collapsed mountain of sugar.

Xi Ze's pupils constricted.

The entrance behind him was blocked, and countless star pirates were still charging forward to hold him back.

Meanwhile, the zergs on his flank and behind him couldn't be stopped, and they were rapidly tearing down the ruins and gradually opening a gap.

This can't go on.

Xi Ze's gaze turned fierce, and he unleashed his mental power in a wave that knocked away every star pirate nearby.

Then, ignoring the blood trickling from the corner of his lips, he wrapped the male zerg in his coat, held him close, and broke through the encirclement at speed.

The star pirates, who had been stunned, reacted quickly as well. When they saw the zerg in his arms, all doubt was gone.

"Quick, follow! No need to attack him and run yourselves into your deaths. Aim for the zerg he's holding!!"

Before him lay hazy darkness, and the sounds of the outside world were shut out beyond the coat. The only things he could hear clearly were the violent beating of Xi Ze's heart against his chest and his own quick breathing.

The smell of gunpowder filled his nostrils, and hot, fresh blood was still gushing out.

It was the first time Ye Er had been this close to a real battlefield, and his body trembled and even spasmed on instinct.

But Xi Ze held him tightly, as if trying to embed him into his embrace.

After that shout, no matter how many malicious attacks came, not one truly landed on him.

The female zerg was keeping what he had once said—

As long as I'm alive, I won't let any harm come to you.

So the uncontrollable fear and dread eased, but heat surged to his burning head. In his temples, it felt as if something were drilling through his skull.

His head throbbed as if it would split, nearly making him faint.

"...Ugh!"

But the body holding him suddenly stiffened and staggered, as if unable to stand firm. The coat in his arms slipped away, and the jolt woke the dazed male zerg.

Ye Er shook his head against the stabbing pain, but before his darkening vision could focus, a hand pressed him back into the embrace so he wouldn't expose himself.

The star pirates chasing from behind halted, then suddenly erupted in cheers, as if they had already won.

"...Boss! The boss is coming!"

"Get out of the way if you don't want to die! ...Everyone watch out! Look at how miraculous our boss's shooting skills are!"

Click.

The trigger pulled.

Bang—

The bullet left the chamber. The muffled report, softened by a silencer, carried an unmatched sense of danger as the bullet whistled through the air, leaving behind a series of slow-motion afterimages.

A faint puff of flesh being pierced echoed in his ears.

Ye Er's pupils constricted sharply, and in the depths of his dark eyes was reflected a splatter of blood, like vibrant red plum blossoms blooming fiercely in the snow.

The female zerg's body trembled violently for a moment but showed no sign of weakening or loosening. He sheltered him firmly beneath his body and spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

"...Don't be afraid. It's going to be fine.”