Chapter 110: Lightning Strike on Voodoo p1
“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—”
Half of the bullets, passing through the shattered car window, now just a narrow slit, hit the man.
Although not as accurate as the system’s auto-aim, it was enough.
The bullets ripped through him, leaving fist-sized holes in his back.
His internal organs were shredded.
As he coughed up blood, the beetle zombie finally arrived, its carapace shielding him from the remaining bullets.
“Clang, clang, clang—”
The bullets, hitting the beetle’s spiky, red carapace, sounded like metal on metal, only denting it. Bone-type zombies, once they reached C-rank, were incredibly durable, their armor impervious to ordinary bullets.
“Drip—”
A few drops of blood landed on Lin Jiayao’s face. Lying on her sister’s and Huayibai’s laps, she heard her sister’s weak voice.
“Yao…” Lin Xiwan’s lips trembled, blood trickling down her chin. “Fuel…”
Fuel?
The approaching headlights grew brighter, and a pungent smell reached Lin Jiayao.
Suddenly, she realized, her eyes widening.
The crushed jerrycans in the back, the ruptured fuel tank!
The jeep, and the surrounding area, were covered in gasoline, a potential inferno!
And the Voodoo Cult was approaching.
Thankfully, perhaps because of the C-rank Awakened’s death, the beetle zombie, still in its protective stance, hadn’t moved.
But its body trembled; it could break free from the mental control at any moment.
“Haaa—”
Lin Xiwan kicked the crushed driver’s side door, sending the twisted metal flying.
“Click—”
Lin Jiayao barely had time to reload before her sister grabbed her and, carrying Huayibai with her left arm, Lin Jiayao with her right, burst out of the jeep and ran towards a nearby residential complex.
There weren’t any large structures along this stretch of highway, only this residential complex offered any potential cover.
“Buzz—”
As they entered the complex, the beetle zombie, freed from the mental control, spread its wings.
It had transformed from a controlled entity into a mutated zombie.
And just then, the main Voodoo Cult force arrived.
Before they could even drive into the complex, the beetle zombie charged, its sudden attack scattering the convoy, causing casualties.
But it was a large convoy, led by at least two C-rank Awakened; they weren’t easily defeated.
The ensuing battle bought Lin Xiwan some time.
She carried the two girls into a first-floor apartment.
After kicking aside a lunging Biter, she stumbled, her strength failing, and fell to her knees in front of the sofa, coughing up blood.
Having shielded her sister and Huayibai from the C-rank beetle zombie’s impact had ruptured her internal organs.
With her Awakened reflexes, she could have kicked open the door and used the jeep as a springboard, jumping to safety before the beetle landed.
But she couldn’t have done that while also protecting her sister and Huayibai.
So she had taken the full force of the impact.
“Boom—”
A loud explosion from outside, and the incessant buzzing of the insect’s wings stopped. It seemed the beetle had been dealt with.
“Gasp… gasp…” Lin Xiwan collapsed onto the sofa, her black, curly hair covering her face.
Although her expression was hidden, her ragged breathing and the blood trickling from her lips showed she was incapacitated.
“Sister?!” Lin Jiayao, having fallen when her sister collapsed, crawled to her side.
The fighting outside had stopped; the Voodoo Cult would be here soon.
She had indirectly destroyed one of their precious flying transports, a creature they’d likely spent years cultivating; they wouldn’t let her go.
Lin Jiayao sat beside her sister, gently pushing her hair back, revealing her pale face.
“Rat-tat-tat—”
“Clang—”
The sounds of Voodoo Cult vehicles and gunfire echoed through the complex; they were firing indiscriminately at the first-floor windows.
In the flashing lights, they quickly spotted a figure in a first-floor living room.
A little girl with white hair and blood-red eyes, wearing a white dress.
“She’s over there!”
All eyes turned towards the apartment.
Searchlights illuminated the windows.
Behind the small girl, they could see two women lying on the floor, covered in blood. The little girl stood by the window, her arms spread protectively, a futile gesture given her small size.
The sight amused the Voodoo Cult members.
“Woohoo! Jackpot!”
“Holy shit, three women!”
“Hey, little one, standing there like that, are you eager for Uncle to examine you?”
Several Voodoo Cult warriors, seeing the scene, holstered their rifles and rushed towards the apartment.
Too eager? You’re too late!
“Yibai… run… take Yao…” Lin Xiwan, seeing this, her face pale, a look of despair in her eyes.
“Thump—”
A red glow emanated from her heart; she tried to use her ability.
But before the blood-red veins could even reach her limbs, she coughed up blood.
She was too badly injured to use her ability.
“Yao…” Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the rifle in her sister’s lap.
But before she could say anything, her sister’s face was suddenly close to hers.
“Mm…”
Lin Jiayao’s mouth covered hers, silencing her.
Lin Xiwan’s senses were dulled; she only felt her sister’s tongue in her mouth, unaware of what she was doing.
Lin Jiayao wasn’t just kissing her.
Blood-red tendrils extended from her throat, one of them wrapped around a Blood Crystal Combat Stimulant, pushing it down Lin Xiwan’s throat.
And from her warehouse, having just spent a blood crystal stone on a vial of Blood Crystal Serum…
“Shhh—”
The stimulant, guided by the tendrils, pierced Lin Xiwan’s esophagus, reached her heart, and injected its contents.
Simultaneously, a large amount of Blood Crystal Serum flowed through the tendrils, pouring down Lin Xiwan’s throat.
It all happened in a second. The tendrils quickly retracted.
Fueled by the stimulant and the serum, Lin Xiwan’s body began to rapidly recover.
And Lin Jiayao’s saliva, mixed with the serum, also aided in the healing process.
By the time the tendrils retreated, Lin Xiwan had almost fully recovered her senses, even aware of her sister’s tongue in her mouth, though still unsure what she’d done.
She only knew that her strength was rapidly returning.
This… was her sister’s ability?
Such potent healing?!
Ignoring everything else, she focused on recovering.
Taking a deep breath, a sweet taste filling her mouth, she quickly stood up.
The Voodoo Cult members were almost at the window.
But just as they were about to climb in, a voice blared from a loudspeaker behind them.
“What the fuck are you doing?! Shoot them! Open fire!!!”
It was the C-rank Awakened who had fought the beetle zombie, having bandaged his wounds, returning to assess the situation.
And what he saw made his blood boil.
They had the Awakened surrounded, and instead of shooting them, his men were… trying to… rape them?
What the hell were they thinking?!
His roar snapped them out of their stupor, and they raised their weapons, firing at the window.
“Rat-tat-tat-tat—”
“Bang, bang, bang—”
The most eager ones, those closest to the window, were shot from behind by their own comrades.
And inside the living room, hearing the gunshots, Lin Xiwan had already scooped up her sister.
“Xiao Yibai!” As she lunged towards Huayibai, a bullet pierced the window, hitting her left shoulder.
It had narrowly missed Lin Jiayao’s head.
Lin Xiwan, ignoring Huayibai, rolled to the side, out of the line of fire, and looked back at the little girl, who was standing by the window, her arms spread wide.
No, I have to save her.
This child, whom they’d only met this morning, was shielding them from the gunfire.
Even if it meant getting shot again, she would save her.
“Thump—”
Placing her sister down against the wall, Lin Xiwan felt a powerful heartbeat, a surge of strength filling her body.
She’d never felt so strong. And the bullet wound in her shoulder… it didn’t even hurt.
As she looked towards the window, her eyes widened at the sight before her.
Bullets, tracers among them, streamed through the window, but Huayibai stood there, seemingly unharmed, even the bullets that pierced its heart having no effect.
The bullets didn’t even draw blood, just pushing Huayibai back, embedding themselves slightly before falling to the ground.
Suddenly, Lin Xiwan remembered Huayibai’s ability to make its body soft, like rubber…
Even more powerful than Luffy’s!
As Huayibai was pushed back by the gunfire, now within reach, Lin Xiwan lunged forward and pulled her to safety.
Huayibai’s body, surprisingly, wasn’t even bleeding.
It just looked at Lin Jiayao, its face crumpled, and said, “Mommy… Yibai can’t use her ability…”
“Clink—”
Even amidst the gunfire, Lin Xiwan heard the distinctive sound and saw a grenade rolling towards them.
Before she could react, a small hand snatched the grenade and tossed it back.
“Boom—”
The grenade exploded a short distance away. Thankfully, they were shielded by the wall.
Huayibai was familiar with grenades; she’d been blown up by one before.
She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
“Let’s go!” Lin Xiwan scooped up her sister, grabbed Huayibai with her left hand, and then, with a powerful kick, shattered the wall in front of them.
“Crash—”
Blood-red cracks spread across the wall, and then they burst through the debris.
“Rumble—”
A rocket slammed into the wall where they had just been, the heat on their backs. They were now at the back of the complex; one more wall, and they would be out.
The Voodoo Cult hadn’t surrounded the building; this was good.
“Boom—”
Kicking through another wall, Lin Xiwan, carrying her sister and Huayibai, unleashed her C-rank Awakened speed, running towards the city center.
Against a motorized enemy, running through the open or on the roads was suicide; the city’s narrow streets and alleys were their best chance.
After about ten seconds, the Voodoo Cult reacted, stopping their gunfire and starting their vehicles.
But then the vehicles stopped again, gunfire erupting, the sounds echoing even from this distance.
Lin Jiayao and Huayibai, one in each of Lin Xiwan’s arms, exchanged glances. They both knew what had happened.
As Huayibai had been hit by the bullets, they had ricocheted, carrying spores.
And Lin Jiayao, before leaving, had also left a little “gift” – synergistic pheromones.
The Voodoo Cult members, their masks protecting them from the spores, were still vulnerable to the pheromones.
Controlled by the pheromones, they had removed their masks and started licking the spore-covered bullets, falling under Huayibai’s control.
A perfectly coordinated attack, without a single word exchanged.
Lin Xiwan, unaware of what was happening behind them, had carried her sister and Huayibai into the city, leaping between buildings, finally reaching the roof of a small, ten-story office building.
She stopped, panting, and looked back.
The night was dark, no sign of pursuit.
“What happened…?” After confirming they weren’t being followed, she gently put down her sister and Huayibai and sat down, catching her breath.
She wouldn’t enter Wuchuan City until she was certain they were safe; if there were any powerful zombies inside, they would be even more dangerous than the Voodoo Cult.
After about a minute, still no sign of pursuit, Lin Xiwan frowned.
“What’s going on…?” Her breathing had calmed. She looked at her sister and Huayibai, sitting beside her.
That had been a close call… Thankfully, her sister and Huayibai had been there.
If Huayibai hadn’t drawn their attention, hadn’t lowered their guard, her sister wouldn’t have been able to heal her.
Thinking about that healing, she looked intently at her sister.
“What’s wrong, Sister?” Lin Jiayao asked, having been communicating with Huayibai, finally noticing her sister’s gaze.
“N-nothing…” Lin Xiwan shook her head, suppressing the question in her mind.
Her sister’s healing ability was too powerful; she worried about the side effects.
Even healing-type Awakened usually didn’t have such potent abilities at the initial stages, not instant, complete healing like her sister had just demonstrated.
It was almost… miraculous.
Her hand had almost been broken by the impact, her internal organs ruptured, causing severe internal bleeding.
After carrying them to the apartment building, she’d collapsed, her consciousness fading.
And then her sister had turned her over and… kissed her?
Just a few seconds, and her strength and awareness had returned, and she had felt… her sister’s tongue in her mouth.
Just saliva… and it had such a potent healing effect?
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now… it seemed too… improbable.
There had to be some sort of side effect, right?
She had heard stories about healing-type Awakened sacrificing their own life force to heal others…
“Yao,” she asked, her voice filled with concern, her hand gripping her sister’s shoulder. “How… how did you heal me? Are there any side effects?” She carefully examined her sister, worried.
“No side effects,” Lin Jiayao said, seeing her sister’s concern. “Just… felt a little drained for a moment, almost fainted.”
“Really?” Lin Xiwan poked and prodded her sister, relieved she seemed unharmed. She sat back against the wall.
“Hiss—”
A sudden, sharp pain. She’d been in a state of heightened awareness earlier, even the shrapnel in her back and the bullet in her shoulder hadn’t registered.
But now, the adrenaline fading, the pain in her shoulder was unbearable. She couldn’t even move her left arm.
Huayibai, seemingly exhausted, was lying against the wall.
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