Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Conflict
Long Ming slung his gun over his back with a satisfied look, then his eyes fell on the map.
He wiped the dust off the surface, and a simple map of the Mobile Fortress appeared.
He scanned the map with his wristband. The wristband popped up a prompt: “Prompt: You have lit up the Lecodo Desert Map.”
He opened the map on the wristband and saw that the desert area he was in was now unlocked, the terrain of the whole region shown clearly.
He studied the lit map with care. Although this was only a game, it felt so real that his curiosity about the world’s history kept growing. He wanted to know what had happened here, how the monsters were created, and whether they had truly wiped out the natives; but up to now he had found nothing useful.
He had a hunch that if he could get inside the Mobile Fortress, he would find clues.
Bang! A sharp gunshot cracked in the distance.
Long Ming’s eyes turned cold and he rushed out of the iron shack, thinking: [Could Gu Yi and the others be in trouble? The shots aren’t far.]
In a narrow alley, Gu Yi and Chen Wei ran for their lives. Five players chased them hard, led by Zheng Bin and Cao Heng.
Chen Wei shouted, panic in his voice: “Hurry, they are catching up!”
Gu Yi snapped back, out of breath: “Crap, I know!”
Zheng Bin raised his Ducap K1 single-shot rifle, aimed at the running Gu Yi, and pulled the trigger.
Bang! “Ah!”
Chen Wei screamed and fell to the ground. Bright red blood spread across the dirt.
Zheng Bin cursed when Gu Yi didn’t fall and the round hit Chen Wei’s butt instead: “Shoot, why is this gun so off!”
Gu Yi snarled with anger when he saw Chen Wei hit, then turned and fired his Ducap K1 single-shot rifle.
Bang! The bullet flashed past Zheng Bin and his men and sparked off the wall. They jumped and halted for a second.
Gu Yi reached to pull Chen Wei up. Chen Wei clutched his backside and, gritting his teeth, shouted: “Go, or we both die here!”
Gu Yi hesitated and said, upset: “But—”
Chen Wei cut him off, forcing the words out: “No buts, run! Otherwise they take everything!”
Gu Yi spat and said through clenched teeth: “Jerk!” He set Chen Wei down, then bolted forward.
Cao Heng leveled his gun at the fleeing Gu Yi and fired: “Where do you think you are going!”
Bang! Gu Yi ducked; the bullet hit the alley wall and threw sparks.
A chill ran through him. He sprinted to the junction ahead and turned into another lane.
Zheng Bin snapped, losing patience: “After him, now!”
Chen Wei, still on the ground and shot, grabbed Zheng Bin’s thigh and shouted with his teeth clenched: “You are not getting past!”
Zheng Bin swore and lifted his rifle, barking: “Die!”
Bang! Chen Wei’s head burst, his body broke into points of white light, and his backpack dropped with a thud. Zheng Bin and the others did not even look at it; they rushed on.
They swung into the next alley, but Gu Yi had already burst out into the open.
Gu Yi staggered into a small round plaza. It was empty, ringed by houses, and in the Central Zone stood a blurry bronze statue. He stumbled toward the way he had come.
Zheng Bin’s group poured out after him. Cao Heng scowled and said: “He is almost out.”
Zheng Bin sneered and raised his gun at Gu Yi, saying: “Dream on if you think you can run,” then he fired.
Bang! “Ah!”
Gu Yi crashed down, clutching his bleeding left leg. He crawled toward the statue and hid against the one-meter-high round metal base beneath it.
Seeing Gu Yi wounded, Zheng Bin’s group hurried in with excited faces.
Gu Yi took a deep breath, popped his head out, and fired.
Bang! The round struck the wall right beside Zheng Bin in a shower of sparks.
They froze, then fell back into a side passage. With almost no cover in the plaza, a straight rush would get someone killed. They were many and could surely take Gu Yi, but none of them wanted to die first.
Zheng Bin shouted at the wounded Gu Yi: “Kid, you can’t run. Hand over the stuff and we will let you live.”
Gu Yi yelled back with stubborn rage: “Keep dreaming! You punks, I’ll take you down sooner or later!”
He ejected the spent casing and tried to load again, but the chamber was empty; a cold chill hit his heart.
Zheng Bin’s tone turned ugly as he threatened: “Don’t turn down the easy way. If we grab you, you will suffer.”
Gu Yi gritted his teeth through the pain and said: “If you’ve got guts, come over here. I won’t shoot anyone else. I’m aiming at you!”
He was out of bullets and could only stall.
Zheng Bin flushed with anger and muttered: “Crap.” Cao Heng glanced over and said, confused: “Why waste time talking? Let’s rush him together and end it.”
Zheng Bin hissed back: “People will die. Also, did you forget the safe? If he stuffs the loot into the safe, we came for nothing.” Greed flashed in his eyes; even from a distance, he was sure the guy had scored something good.
Cao Heng nodded and said: “You’re right. He is tough. He won’t cooperate.”
Zheng Bin’s face hardened as he said: “Then kill him and take what we can.”
“Got it,” said Cao Heng. The group lifted their guns, hugged the edges of the buildings to cut sight lines, and crept toward Gu Yi.
Gu Yi risked a peek, saw them tightening the circle, and his face showed despair.
Bang! A sudden shot cracked the air.
Gu Yi flinched, certain he was hit, then realized he felt nothing and peeked again.
Cao Heng’s eyes were wide as he toppled to the ground and broke into white light.
Zheng Bin and the others jerked their heads toward the sound. On a second-floor cantilevered platform to their right, Long Ming worked the action on his single-shot rifle, snapping the empty casing free and reloading fast.
“Dang it!” yelled Zheng Bin as he and the others raised their guns and fired at Long Ming.
Bang, bang! Long Ming staggered back into the blind spot. Bullets rang off the wall and the metal platform in showers of sparks. When he leaned out again, rounds sliced past with a hard clink, forcing him to duck.
Zheng Bin made a quick choice and shouted orders: “Sha Lu, you stay and watch. Sun Wu, Wu Kang, with me!”
Seeing them charge after him, Long Ming turned and ran along the second-floor platform. He reached a fork and chose the way opposite from where Gu Yi lay, so he would not lead the enemies to him.
From below, Zheng Bin shouted after him: “Coward, stop running!”
Keeping low, Long Ming used blind spots and the tight-packed buildings as cover while he sprinted along the outer platform.