Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 96: Last Step

The upcoming election ceremony was about to end, but the initial lively atmosphere had disappeared. The incident initially occurred at the celebration square outside the city. The residents of Y City heard that the ceremony was unexpectedly interrupted, but not many people took it seriously. However, when the residents of Y City themselves became the targets of attacks, no one had the mindset to focus on the election anymore—they only hoped that the government would quickly intervene and resolve the pressing issue of the city lockdown.

They could endure for three or four more days, skip a few showers, and rely on nutritional supplements. Most of the belongings of the residents outside the city were still inside their homes. As the artillery fire and explosions around the city perimeter continued, people became increasingly restless, and protest groups began to form.

Some were dissatisfied with the current quality of life, others worried about the upcoming wave of unemployment, and many even attempted to sneak out and salvage their properties in the empty outskirts of the city.

In this restless atmosphere, the two candidates no longer attended any debate programs. The screens on the square began to play soothing music, with vibrant colors that contrasted with the mess all around.

The waste disposal system had to handle four to five times more garbage than usual, and the entire cleaning chain was on the verge of collapse. Public facilities were overwhelmed, and many fire hydrants were opened for people to wash and do laundry. The city center square was packed with people, and a few elderly individuals collapsed due to the increasingly cold weather, while children fell ill due to the foul-smelling garbage. In just a few days, the once vibrant crowd quickly fell silent.

“It’s a good thing you didn’t get elected,” Yi Ning’s young assistant said. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a scene… Taking over this mess, if you don’t do well, people will hold a grudge against you.”

Yi Ning stood on the high floor of the command center, gazing at the chaotic square without uttering a word.

“If Zhu Sheng wants this position, just let him have it,” the assistant continued muttering, seeing no response from Yi Ning. “The dirty deeds they’ve done will be exposed sooner or later. Marshal Yi, I even feel that this chaos is fate.”

“Stop talking.”

“At the very least, our fellow residents in the settlements should know the truth.”

“Now is not the time to discuss this topic!” Yi Ning’s anger flared up, and it took great effort to control his tone. “Now is not the time to argue about who gained fame, understand? I brought you out of the settlement because I wanted you to slowly guide the children in the settlement to come out, not…”

He let out a heavy sigh.

“Never mind. Zhu Sheng will probably be able to save around fifty to sixty thousand people. He has also promised to leave a team outside the city to organize the remaining settlement residents. My initial idea now seems like child’s play. I…”

The residents of Y City were generally considered to be of high quality, but after a few days of hardship, even these “respectable individuals” started becoming agitated. Yi Ning had to admit that he completely underestimated the destructive power of war on ordinary people. The current unrest was far from being resolved by a few nice words.

It was evident that Zhu Sheng was trying to solve the problem, but he was unable to do so.

All the comforting words and considerate policies meant nothing when faced with basic needs. One concrete solution was worth more than ten thousand words of concern.

In order to ensure the survival of some settlement residents, he agreed to help Zhu Sheng sacrifice another group of people. Zhu Sheng, on the other hand, was willing to sacrifice entire settlements for the residents of Y City. Was there really such a big difference between them? What right did he have to blame Zhu Sheng?

If he were to take charge of the player system, could he really find a better way to handle things? Countless lives depended on the system to continue. Did he really have the courage to terminate the system and start from scratch?

Yi Ning’s face was filled with anguish.

The assistant remained silent for a moment. “You’ve been deceived by Zhu Sheng. He deliberately made you choose this way to make you doubt yourself, Marshal. If you truly doubt yourself, then you’ve already been defeated by him!”

“You don’t understand,” Yi Ning murmured, not looking at his assistant. “Ever since we took in Luo Duan, it seems like I haven’t done anything useful.”

“We’re just one step away. Luo Duan said that as long as we find Zhu Sheng’s weakness, we’ll be fine! Marshal, you were so resolute before. How did you end up like this?!”

The assistant looked at Yi Ning, and his eyes reddened for a moment. He took a deep breath to calm himself, saluted, and left the room.

Yi Ning still didn’t turn around. He just stared out of the window, silent.

“A group of human teams has left Y City,” Chai Xuyang reported from outside the city.

“We cleared out the east side of the city precisely for their departure,” Hu Yan said without any surprise.

“What?! Why?”

“Why do you think the fire is weaker there, and there are no people? Zhu, I mean, ahem, our sister-in-law instructed me to keep the east side of the city vacant, and if a team leaves, pretend not to see them.”

“Sister-in-law?” Zhu Yanchen had never shown his face in front of synthetics other than Hu Yan, so Chai Xuyang didn’t think about that “male human collaborator”. Hearing this, he was now confused. “I say, isn’t Shu Jun unmarried?”

“Don’t worry about our Captain’s affairs!” Hu Yan raised his voice. “Anyway… if Zhu Sheng wants to recruit Yi Ning, he will definitely use the rescue of the settlements as leverage. That team will bring back quite a few hostages, and we’ll just wait here.”

“Don’t we have enough hostages from Y City?”

“All those people are in the city center. We can’t reach them for now. How else can we lure Sigma out without ‘massive human casualties’?”

“How many things have you discussed behind my back?”

“What’s the rush? There are many things I know that you don’t. Look at the cracked protective wall over there,” Hu Yan said, pointing at the cracked wall. “Now that all communications are cut off, even Captain Shu is guessing our opponent’s moves.”

“Is it really okay to continue like this?”

“I don’t know.” Hu Yan flicked his finger, and some small rocks bounced on the ground. “But to be honest, after fighting until now, I just want it to end as soon as possible.”

“Um, I understand. Wait, wait, I have communication again… What? An Erosion Swamp is approaching?!”

At the center of their conversation—Shu Jun, enduring intense artillery fire, collided with the city wall once again. The erosion monster he controlled was immensely huge, with two broken claws already gripping the top of the wall, showing a tendency to cross the protective barrier.

Another round of purification shells rained down, reducing half of the monster’s head to dust. Soon after, the erosion substance gathered into black smoke at the wound, twisting like living black vine tendrils, and the skeletal head resembling that of a wolf swiftly regenerated.

The monster let out a deafening roar, shaking the entire protective wall.

“How do we deal with that thing?!” The captain of the Second Squadron stationed on this side nearly collapsed. “Sir, our artillery fire is limited. We can’t afford to waste any more. And we just received a message that a large Erosion Swamp is approaching from the west! We can’t fight this battle; without synthetics, we have no way to fight…”

Zhu Yanchen remained silent. He drew his gun and directly aimed it at the head of the Second Squadron captain. The latter immediately straightened up, and his reddened eyes were filled with fear.

“Are you calm now?”

“C-Calm… I’m calm.”

“The synthetics are also concentrated in the western part of the city. Fall back from the front line and let the synthetics advance a few steps, then lure the Erosion Swamp to cut off their retreat—the Erosion Swamp doesn’t discriminate between enemies. If used properly, it can become an asset.”

Zhu Yanchen swiftly retracted his gun. “Once you’ve confirmed the situation, withdraw to the vicinity of the city center. Remember to ensure the safety zone to the east of the city and provide support for the incoming population.”

“What about that monster—”

“It still has its sanity and has been protecting its comrades. It won’t just ignore the approaching Erosion Swamp.”

“…Sir, did you already know the Erosion Swamp would come? The command center hasn’t figured out the pattern—”

“Now is not the time for a science lecture. Go lead the team.”

“Yes!”

If they hadn’t detected any abnormal communication, the captain of the Second Squadron would have suspected that Marshal Zhu and the monster had some sort of telepathic connection—just as he finished making arrangements, the monster vanished from the city wall. The colossal black shadow swiftly moved towards the west of the city.

The First and Third Squadrons stationed in the western part of the city were terrified when facing such a large and strange creature for the first time. A barrage of purification rounds was fired without hesitation, turning the monster into a sieve.

The captain of the Second Squadron, who arrived at the scene, held his breath.

Perhaps due to the sudden increase in firepower, it was the first time he had seen the monster sustain such heavy injuries. This time, its recovery speed seemed considerably slower, exposing the “organs” within its chest cavity.

Within the pitch-black and contorted tendrils, a figure stood out. The captain of the Second Squadron immediately picked up his binoculars and carefully observed—

The upper half of the person’s body was partially suspended outside the monster’s chest, while the lower half was buried in writhing erosion substance, revealing only clean knees and a portion of the thighs. His bare upper body was covered in fine threads of erosion, resembling a full-body tattoo, giving off an unsettling and peculiar beauty.

As if sensing the observation from the human side, the person lifted his head.

Ashen white hair and eyes of the same color. The contracted vertical pupils were like those of a wild beast, causing one’s hair to stand on end. That face was remarkably handsome and seemed familiar—

The captain of the Second Squadron took a sharp breath.

“Isn’t that Shu Jun?” he exclaimed to his comrade beside him. “The captain of the Blackbirds from the Synthetic Human Championship! Didn’t he die? We saw him fall with our own eyes!”

As if unwilling to be observed, countless tendrils of erosion substance shot down. They nearly pierced the outermost layer of soldiers, hissing under the effect of purifiers.

“That must be their leader!” the captain of the Second Squadron continued to shout. “No doubt about it!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the pitch-black tendrils coiled once again, enveloping the figure within the monster’s chest cavity. And behind the monster, the horizon gradually turned into pure darkness—another large Erosion Swamp attacked the gap in the protective wall.

A massive sacrifice was imminent.

The human captains gritted their teeth and swiftly reorganized their formations following Zhu Yanchen’s orders. The synthetic humans seemed to be startled by the approaching Erosion Swamp as well, and their assault immediately intensified, tearing open the breach in the protective wall by several meters.

The monster was the first to squeeze in. It charged towards the neatly arranged human formation, scattering their defense. Countless synthetics rushed in immediately, evidently trying to evade the Erosion Swamp behind them.

“Indeed, we can’t hold it. Follow Marshal Zhu’s orders and retreat to the city center—let the synthetics handle the Erosion Swamp since they won’t repair the protective wall!”

The human army immediately withdrew, and within a few hours, the western part of Y City was occupied by synthetic humans. However, the human army firmly held the city center and the eastern side, establishing a solid and impressive defense line. The synthetics army gained a larger territory but found themselves sandwiched between the human army and the Erosion Swamp.

Chaos was imminent, and each person wore a more or less solemn expression. Throughout Y City, only one person wore a smile.

“They took the bait. Shu Jun, well done.”

Zhu Yanchen gazed at the image of the large Erosion Swamp and curled his lips.

“…Now it’s my turn to make a move.”