Apocalyptic Island - Chapter 67

Chapter 67

She left the elevator. Before arriving, she had received an electronic map, which, combined with her paper guide, made navigating much more convenient. Wen Yishu hadn’t used them at first, but now she put them to work.

Her hoverboard was much faster than the panicked people scurrying about, and her glasses continuously recorded everything in her sight. The underground black market was enormous; it would be difficult for the newly dispatched mercenary guards to pin down her location in a short amount of time since there weren’t many cameras down here.

Bai Mi’s calm and steady voice came through the headset: “The elevators have been remotely locked.”

“Direct me,” Wen Yishu said, steadying herself on the hoverboard and scanning her surroundings.

The underground structure of the black market was like an inverted steel anthill, a maze of intersecting corridors and tangled pipes. Projected onto Wen Yishu’s glasses was a holographic map sent by Bai Mi, with a crimson escape route flashing through the chaos.

She dashed into a narrow alley piled high with discarded holographic projectors, beneath a giant neon billboard spanning across the buildings. With a running start, she kicked off the wall, her explosive jumping ability propelling her upward. Her fingers hooked onto the edge of the billboard, and she pulled herself up into the air. The neon tubes crackled and popped under her weight, sending a rain of electric sparks downward.

Below, the guards who had arrived upon hearing the alarm opened fire. Bullets grazed the soles of her boots and embedded themselves into the concrete wall. To be honest, her first thought wasn’t fear, but a desire to claim those guns for herself. A ridiculous thought even crossed her mind—only three of them?

Thinking of this, Wen Yishu took a bold leap. Her sleeve-lock flew out, hooking onto the steel rafters of the dome above, and she swung through the air. Holding her gun in one hand, she fired several shots at the three men on the ground. She had no professional training and her aim was poor; she had to empty the magazine before she finally hit all three.

Wen Yishu tucked the gun back into her waistband and drew her short blade. Kicking off the wall behind them, her body carved a perfect arc through the air—one strike for each man—quickly taking out the three. Detailed steps for disassembling the firearms appeared before her eyes. She slung one rifle across her back, removed the magazine, and pocketed it.

At the end of the billboard was a steam pipe. Wen Yishu leaped down, her back pressed against the scalding metal surface, sliding at high speed down the incline. Suddenly, a mechanical arm reached out from beneath the pipe; a lurking cyborg tried to grab her ankle. She pulled her legs in sharply, her short blade unsheathed. A cold flash of light later, the mechanical fingers were severed, wires snapping out from within as it completely lost power.

The moment she landed, she crashed into a warehouse filled with smuggled cargo crates. The footsteps of her pursuers were already right behind her. Wen Yishu fired a shot backward, blowing up the overhead lifting magnet; tons of metal cargo crates cascaded down like an avalanche, sealing the passage. The screams were swallowed by the thunderous roar of metal impacts.

She stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and said to Bai Mi, “Why did we take the freight route?”

“There seem to be Warp Speed assets here. Do you need me to contact Qu Yue to give them a heads-up?”

Wen Yishu understood. It made no sense for Warp Speed not to have a presence here; “dog-eat-dog” was how they built their empire. Although they had gone legitimate now, their past was likely far from clean. However, to carve out a path in a world dominated by capital and zaibatsus, one had to be a bit ruthless and dark.

Wen Yishu replied, “I feel like I don’t want them knowing my every move just yet. Let me try on my own first. If I really can’t make it, we’ll talk.”

Bai Mi respected her decision and continued scouting the route. “Then turn left now. The ventilation shaft.”

Wen Yishu pushed aside some cargo. This appeared to be the filthiest of pipes, seemingly uncleaned for ages. Thick dust had condensed into a solid mass due to moisture, feeling slimy and disgusting to the touch. She suddenly understood why Bai Mi had asked about notifying Qu Yue. The place was incredibly filthy; Wen Yishu put on her gloves and tried to wrap herself as tightly as possible.

The red emergency lights made visibility very dim. She switched on her flashlight to illuminate the path ahead. The system calculated her capabilities as superhuman; many of the paths were not things a normal person could pass through easily.

The factory storage area was massive. After the String-of-Pearls pulled her up a high ledge, Wen Yishu leaned against a railing, exhausted. She listened to the piercing alarm outside and checked the map for the next leg.

“How about we plant some vegetables when we get back?” Wen Yishu asked out of the blue.

Bai Mi didn’t find the question abrupt, simply asking, “What seeds do you need?”

Wen Yishu walked through the warehouse. This place seemed to be a massive junk room containing everything imaginable. Even seeds, which were strictly controlled outside, were left out here in the open. Perhaps the person who put them here had completely forgotten their existence, or perhaps they were dead. Looking at the dates, they were two years old; most of the seeds likely didn’t have high viability anymore. It was probably backlogged inventory.

Wen Yishu shone her light on a large bag of seeds and let out a surprised “Huh?” Printed on the white packaging was the logo of a research institute, with large characters reading: Agricultural Yield-Increasing Original Research Breeding.

Wasn’t this exactly what she wanted? These seeds, which were priceless and unavailable on the market, were now all under Federal control. Relying on those old scholars, it would take ages to grow food again. No matter how high the technology, if supplies were short, humanity would quickly perish. These seeds wouldn’t have been cheap in the past; genetically modified products with five to ten times the yield would have cost her two months’ salary for a single bag. Here, they were left untouched because of their high price, and now they were her gain.

Wen Yishu immediately packed the remaining four bags into her pack. She was confident she could cultivate these seeds—soaking them and inducing germination would be easy with her ability. What she lacked now was a way to realize her value and the qualifications to challenge Rhine. While others were busy just staying alive, she had almost forgotten her most unique and skilled trait. Seeing these things, she knew exactly what to do next.

Now having a goal, Wen Yishu no longer wandered aimlessly; her desire to get out became urgent. Following the marked path, she ran fast. Her pockets were used for magazines, so the String-of-Pearls was draped over the pack on her back, idly grabbing a few bags of things and tossing them into the air.

“Master, when can we get out? The air here smells terrible.”

Wen Yishu got back on her hoverboard along the warehouse floor, swerving to avoid obstacles. The journey wasn’t simple. Finally, she saw another ventilation shaft. Bai Mi’s voice came through the headset: “This is it. Climb up.”

She glanced at the dust-covered steel ladder, rubbed the dust off her gloves, and after ensuring it was solid, began climbing up rapidly, step by step. This scene was similar to when she had just escaped the Rhine apartments; the handholds in the old building’s shaft were solid and didn’t loosen a bit under her movement.

Just as Wen Yishu had climbed a few steps, she heard a commotion outside the warehouse. The guards from the black market had located her and opened the warehouse doors without resistance. She heard many messy footsteps running toward her location. Wen Yishu quickened her pace, moving like a spider across the protruding handholds.

The tracks here were too easy to identify. She was only halfway up when the guards below removed the ventilation shaft cover, and a beam of light hit her. Simultaneously, Wen Yishu drew her gun and fired a shot downward without hesitation. A guard fell, and the beam of light on her vanished.

The people below immediately shouted, “She’s here! Everyone come over, she’s here!”

Unsure if they had noticed their fallen comrade, they scrambled to get into the ventilation shaft. After three or four people got in, the entrance became jammed by two people trying to enter at the same time. One of the men who had already entered stepped on his comrade’s corpse and fired a shot upward recklessly. The bullet didn’t hit Wen Yishu; instead, it ricocheted off the pipe wall and struck his companion beside him.

A scream erupted from below, followed by a furious curse: “You idiot! Are you a psycho? Did I tell you to fire? Brain-dead moron, you shot your own man!”

The sound of fists hitting flesh was particularly distinct. Wen Yishu didn’t fire again. The moment they had entered, she had turned off her flashlight; relying on the night-vision function of her glasses, she climbed upward rapidly. The brawling below soon quieted, and another beam of light shone up. This time, the pursuers climbed with total focus, following Wen Yishu closely.

The originally solid shaft walls began to shudder under the weight of several people. She felt the vibrations beneath her. They seemed to be professionally trained, climbing much faster than her. Wen Yishu had consumed significant stamina, and her movements slowed.

She pulled out her gun. Seeing her stop, the man below shone his light on her face, which was filled with clear malice. The pursuer laughed and reached out to grab her, only to be shot down by her. He was the one at the very top.

The glare from below made her eyes ache; she wanted to aim her gun, but everything she saw was a blur of white light. Unsure if the figures below were allies or targets, she soon saw a faint light above. The pursuers were relentless, and the ladder in the elevator shaft began to emit an overburdened groan.

Just as she was about to reach the top, the mounting bolts all sheared off at once. The entire ladder assembly tilted and slammed heavily against the opposite side. Wen Yishu released the String-of-Pearls, which she had kept ready; it grabbed the rim of the upper ventilation duct, allowing her to pull herself up steadily. Those on the ladder who didn’t react in time were violently thrown off; they lost their grip and fell with terrified screams.

She pried open the top ventilation cover and jumped down, returning to the top floor of the mall. Breathing fresh air again, a light rain began to fall, the cold making her shiver.

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