Editor: Junyans
Their van collided with the side of an armored vehicle and fell into the road below.
Bai Jingan stabilized the van, but at the same time, the road above them retreated again, revealing a bare space.
Below them, the highway was almost empty, and the bustling area of the main city had turned into an immense void. The remaining platforms were filled with armored vehicles and heavily armed private soldiers.
In the brief moment of descent, Xia Tian stood up, lifted the van’s roof, and mounted the Stellar rocket launcher on top.
He took out screws from his pocket, welded a makeshift artillery platform—he was efficient, taking only half a minute.
While doing all this, he could see the roads in the distance moving and connecting, appearing as massive, dark shadows in the dust and fog. The void was getting bigger and bigger, spreading like an infectious disease.
In this short time, the surroundings were densely packed with vehicles. In the far distance, there were no more roads. The entire space around the duo was sealed and cut off.
Bai Jingan stepped on the accelerator and rushed forward regardless.
He drove wildly, while Xia Tian quickly fired three shots at the armored vehicles ahead, with almost no pause between each shot, each landing precisely calculated.
The next second, Bai Jingan’s van collided, as if rushing into a sea of fire.
The van sent by the fans was much inferior to the luxury goods of the privileged but he charged with full force, without yielding an inch. It skillfully angled and pushed aside the obstructing vehicles.
With no cover, the fierce wind howled in the sky, tearing through flames and the highway, leaving everyone standing above the abyss.
Bai Jingan forcefully broke through a hundred yards without an ounce of hesitation. He stared ahead, with a fierceness burning in his always calm eyes. Xia Tian rarely saw him like this.
Around them, the strong wind tore at the flames. The once bustling floating city easily presented itself as an abyss. The illusion of civilization receded, transforming into a nightmarish stage.
At that moment, Xia Tian suddenly realized that no matter what technology or capabilities they possessed, and no matter how much they desired to survive, they couldn’t break free from this place.
The path ahead was blocked, and Bai Jingan once again rushed off the road.
The anti-gravity engine was already down and below, there was no road to catch them, only an empty void. Just then, a road extended diagonally, steadily stopping beneath them.
The vehicle awkwardly came to a halt, Bai Jingan turned the steering wheel, and they sped forward.
Xia Tian watched as the road faintly appeared at the end of the descent. He wondered if Bai Jingan felt the same chilling sensation in his bones.
For such a long time, despite them causing massive destruction, those people still used powerful tranquilizer pellets, never resorting to lethal weapons.
This must be the result of strong and repeated orders from above.
Somehow, he suddenly remembered signing the expropriation contract at the Floating Gold TV station in the Lower City.
Back then, they’d locked him in a tattered folding chair and torn his only shirt because the Floating Gold staff in charge had said that they wanted to “inspect the goods.”
The employee had said that the “evaluation” of his worth would be documented in the assessment report, which would determine the resource allocation he would receive and the way he would die after he reached the top.
Xia Tian had stared at the shirt thrown on the ground in a daze. It had been covered in blood and had been stepped on several times. He had wondered if it would still be wearable if he managed to retrieve it.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The tablet prompt had confirmed the successful signing, and the employee had nodded at Xia Tian, saying, “Welcome aboard.”
All of Sen Lan’s ownership arguments proclaiming, “But he’s mine!” had failed. He had stood against the wall, clearly displeased, and asked the Floating Gold employee, “What will happen to him?”
“He’ll die in the Killing Show,” the person had replied.
Lifting Xia Tian’s chin, he had examined his face, allowing more of his body to be revealed in the light. He had said, “It should be a spectacular death.”
Xia Tian had felt that it was a severe insult, but he had no strength to resist and had grown accustomed to it. He had thought, it’s nothing. I’d just be put on a leash, and I’d have to do a bit of killing and showing off in the sunlight for the wealthy to watch.
However, as he delved deeper into the nightmare cage of the Upper City, he suddenly began to yearn for the prospect of a simple death.
Now he knew that the gods of the Upper City desired not only life but to taste, devour, and drain it to the last drop.
Both he and Bai Jingan understood that after things turned out like this, if they died tragically on the spot, the powerful people in the city would be satisfied.
But those people did not want them to die now.
They didn’t mind how many people died as long as they captured the two of them alive.
Xia Tian took a breath and saw that his hands were shaking. The antispasmodic agent was not completely effective.
Around them, the city’s abyss reflected the empty sky. The few vehicles and people seemed insignificant and meaningless. Nothing could fill the vast emptiness.
But he could feel Bai Jingan still beside him, calculating routes and searching for rocket launcher magazines, obsessively and recklessly. A grieving person who had experienced the most terrifying things in the world.
The best tactical planner, a top-notch warrior, also the finest resistance fighter. A person trying so hard to make things better.
Xia Tian patted his artillery platform with gentle and affectionate movements.
He returned to the passenger seat, ripped off the hidden camera at the front of the van—he had known it was there for a long time—crushed it in his hand, and threw the debris outside the vehicle.
He yanked off the one on the back seat and discarded it in the same way. There was no need to pretend normalcy and harmony; this was just a fucking show.
Bai Jingan turned to look at him. He was gripping the steering wheel with so much force that knuckles had turned white.
Xia Tian calmly said to him, “We can’t get out.”
“No,” Bai Jingan insisted.
Xia Tian continued talking regardless.
“I’ll drive. Create some big explosions. You find a chance to get out. You don’t have this…” He pointed to the chip implanted at the back of his neck. “They’ll follow me. You find an opportunity, hijack one of their cars, and escape. With your skills—”
“No way!”
“Be reasonable, Lil’ Bai,” Xia Tian said, “we don’t need both of us getting into this mess.”
Bai Jingan stared at him. In this moment, the fierceness in his eyes wasn’t just a fleeting glance. Up close, it was clear and startling. He looked like a desperate cornered animal, on the brink of collapse at any moment.
Xia Tian could see his thoughts at that moment—he wanted to charge out at any cost, regardless of the consequences. Whether he died or got yanked back from the edge of death by this brutal force, he didn’t care, but Xia Tian had to be with him. He couldn’t bear it again, he couldn’t possibly endure it again!
“You go first. You can come back to rescue me,” Xia Tian said.
Bai Jingan looked at him as if he were dealing with a liar, solemnly stating something foolish and utterly unbelievable at such a critical juncture.
“I know the chances are slim, but there will be some.” Xia Tian continued, “The feast… it’s definitely happening somewhere. We have satellite surveillance authorization and roadblock passage rights. You can find me—”
He paused for a moment, unsure of how to continue, so he just smiled at him.
Bai Jingan stared at him intensely. The vehicles ahead were moving, attempting to form a makeshift roadblock during the brief moment they stopped. Suddenly, Bai Jingan started the engine and zoomed ahead.
“This is our only chance,” Xia Tian said.
The collision was intense. The van then scraped past the armored vehicles surrounding them, spun in the air, and landed awkwardly. The scene was chaotic, with the armored vehicles quickly blocking the roads on both sides.
Above, the floating shuttle blocked the sunlight, the light growing dimmer. Bright beams of light shone down through the shuttle gaps, flashing and disappearing.
Bai Jingan was a top-notch tactical planner. Xia Tian knew that he had long assessed the situation and seen the way out, but he didn’t say it. He couldn’t accept it.
Bai Jingan wanted to barrel down the road again. Just then, they saw a gray highway slowly rising in front of them, blocking the way forward. In the dark depths, more roads rose layer by layer, as if a gigantic mouth was closing in.
In a place out of their sight, a road broke apart. Corpses fell, and the earth trembled.
The central computer couldn’t execute such an operation. This was a manual direct authorization of the core code!
The gray road, illuminated by various advertising lights, surrounded them. In an instant, they plunged into the night. Xia Tian caught a glimpse of a huge pornographic advertisement flash past, with cages and collars clearly visible against a wine-red background.
What a filthy place, he thought.
“Lil’ Bai!” Xia Tian yelled.
“I’ll find you,” Bai Jingan replied.
Xia Tian smiled at him, gentle and radiant, like a light capable of tearing through all impurities.
“Yeah,” he said, “I’ll be waiting for you.”
The entire procedure wasn’t complicated, just thrilling.
Before Bai Jingan got out of the van, Xia Tian said to him, “Lil’ Bai.”
Bai Jingan turned to look at him.
“If it really doesn’t work out,” Xia Tian said, “just forget about everything. Don’t come.”
The person stared at him as if he had uttered some heinous words.
Xia Tian thought he would never ever forget the way Bai Jingan looked at him.
The firelight illuminated his face, giving a red glow… The shattered and lost Bai Jingan was pushed to the corner by this world. He was like a broken blade ready to shatter at any moment, yet still stained with the blood of enemies, willing to do anything to protect something.
He should have been someone radiant and fearless, but at this moment, he looked at him with eyes so fragile, filled with fear. He wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
Xia Tian knew what he wanted to say: Before we meet again, please don’t die.
Will you stay alive so that we can return home together?
Xia Tian recalled feeling curious about Bai Jingan the first time he had met the man.
He had teased him, made trouble for him, entered his life… He didn’t know what he was thinking at the time. Maybe he had been scared to come to the Upper City alone, and he had just wanted to make friends.
The man had finally come out of the darkness of his past, found his attachment to life, and smiled happily at him… but he wanted to leave. It was really too much.
He should have known better, shouldn’t he? In this day and age, making friends wouldn’t lead to good results.
“I’ll find you!” Bai Jingan declared again.
“Yeah,” Xia Tian said.
Bai Jingan grabbed the van door, and Xia Tian spoke again, “Lil’ Bai.”
Bai Jingan turned to look at him, and Xia Tian leaned in, giving him a tight hug.
He felt Bai Jingan trembling and thought he needed a hug.
But who knows, maybe it was himself who was trembling.
In a short while, the surroundings grew darker, only illuminated by the fire, which made them think of the Lower City… no, even darker than the Lower City. When the lights went out, it was probably a pure nightmare world where you couldn’t even see your fingers.
Xia Tian made quite a commotion. He was always the kind of person who could create a big stir. Their van wasn’t lacking in explosives, and explosions and flames always generated enough commotion.
In the midst of the chaos, with the darkness stained by the flames and holographic advertisements, after Bai Jingan got out of the van, he silently hid behind a massive billboard for house decoration.
At some point later, he would break the neck of a hunter inside a vehicle, conceal the body, infiltrate the system, and quietly exit the battlefield.
Bai Jingan had the capability, and all Xia Tian needed to do was create enough spectacle to attract everyone’s attention. Xia Tian excelled at capturing others’ attention.
Xia Tian moved to the driver’s seat and looked at the nightmare-like twisted road ahead.
He quickly reviewed his plan and picked up the grenade on the passenger seat.
He had never believed that anyone would do something for him like this. Escape, abandonment and betrayal among comrades were commonplace, and he was no better to others. Such was the way of the world.
But he was very sure that Bai Jingan would come to him at all costs.
Even if it seemed impractical.
He rushed the van forward. There was no road ahead, and no place to retreat. Truly a world with no escape.
But there is still a way for Lil’ Bai, he thought. At least today, his friend wouldn’t be captured, played with, or destroyed.
Suddenly, he longed to go home, to sleep, to eat lots of desserts, and even to lie on the roof and soak up the sun…
Xia Tian stepped on the accelerator and the van sped out. An appallingly twisted and empty cage rushed towards him. He calmly calculated the angles and thought about the plan that could cause the greatest damage.
This was all he could do.
