| Author: The Sole Survivor | Original Source: SFACG |
| Translator: CatatoPatch | English Source: Re:Library |
Just barely a second after taking a step out the door, a pallid hand reached out and grabbed the outer armor of my exosuit.
This hand that once belonged to a living person scratched furiously at the armor, but no matter how much it tried, the only marks it left behind were the bloodstains from its broken nails.
Then like an elephant crushing an insect, it was over. With barely any effort at all, I stamped down on its head, squashing it like a watermelon. A very gooey watermelon…
The first dry run of the exosuit had been a resounding success. More importantly, I was happy to say that killing with an exosuit still gave me a point!
Seems like I need to have some private fun with this exosuit in the future…
Because these exosuits were meant for entertainment only, their weapon systems were either harmless or sealed up. Even so, a sealed melee weapon was still enough to smash open a zombie’s head. That was why I picked up a hammer on the way out -great for cracking open watermelons.
Bitong’s seemingly reckless driving had rendered most of the zombies outside hapless targets. On the way out, I made sure to give these poor watermelons a quick stomp, especially when they tried to claw at me.
A short while later, coupled with a lot of hammer swinging, the entrance of Game City had been cleared of the zombies blocking the gate. In fact, I was already standing just centimeters away from the outside right this very second. One more step. That was all it took for me to leave the boundaries of Game City.
If the anti-theft system was still active, this single step would trigger its systems and immediately shut down the controls. When that happened, the pilot inside would be prevented from leaving as well, barring those who could hack it, or just smash it apart.
In other words, I would be stuck outside if the anti-theft was still active…
Naturally, I had no doubt that Icy Inferno would be able to slice apart the exosuits… but that wasn’t the point, was it? It was like being nervous before an exam. You might have prepared extensively, but there would always be that heart-pound trepidation leading up to the exam hall…
I breathed in deeply, then took that fateful step ever so slowly but firmly. Then the second… then the third…
Still moving… nothing out of the ordinary…
With that, the anti-theft was proven defeated; these toy exosuits could now be used outside of Game City. As long as we had them protecting us, breaking out of the city was possible!
“Woohoo! It’s done! We can finally leave this forsaken ghost city!” A moment later back in the game room, a veritably excited Jiaojiao was beside herself with excitement as she jumped in celebration. In fact, she jumped so high that she even bumped into Lixiang by accident, causing both machines, one pink and one gold, to topple to the ground.
“So you’re really planning to break out of Southern Plains then?” Amidst our celebrations, Lan Zhi suddenly came in like a splash of cold water with his solemnity. “If you guys merely wanted to hide out in Game City, there would be no need to break the anti-theft.”
“That’s right, we plan to escape from this city by ourselves.” I answered, now fully back in the game room. Honestly, waiting this whole crisis out in safety was a viable option. But there was always a risk when you left your fate to another, even if it was the police or the army. To begin with, this sense of helplessness did not sit well with me, especially now that we actually had the means to accomplish our goals.
“In that case, can you help us break our anti-thefts as well?” Yang Fei was the one who made this request. “We can escape together -safety in numbers, and all that.”
“Sis.” I looked in Bitong’s direction. Even though I did not say much, given our time together, she definitely understood my meaning.
Now that we had these exosuits, the zombies couldn’t harm us, and that meant we didn’t need extra help either. However, leaving another to die wasn’t a very commendable action. If I had to choose between being selfish and helping others, I would be more inclined towards the latter.
“Alright.” Bitong nodded her head. “I was planning to ask you all anyway.”
“In that case, thank you.”
“Thank you.” Lan Zhi and Yang Fei immediately expressed their gratitude. Lan Yue’er was also smiling as she said, “Thank you, Sister… Brother Mo Ke…”
Seeing her stutter for a second when saying ‘brother, I knew this question of gender was probably going to stick for a while…
Still, now that we had new members, it was time to discuss our plan of escape.
To be honest, there wasn’t much to do except lay out the precautions we had to take, and the potential dangers ahead. Even though this was the second time the Lan family was hearing this, when Bitong told them about the outside world, Lan Yue’er couldn’t help but get a little dejected.
“So there really aren’t any survivors out there? There were some people knocking on the door before, but before we could even open it…”
“Don’t be sad.” Looking at that guilty look on her face, I couldn’t help but sigh as I comforted her. “Everyone has their own fate… and it’s not that there are no survivors anymore, they have just hidden themselves. The streets are empty for the most part…”
Shameless Self-promotion
Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.
