Chapter Nineteen: The Professional Executioner

"In times of crisis, sacrifices must be made. If I hadn't broken Wu's leg, all three of us would be dead! Trading Wu's death for our survival—how is that not worth it?" Tong Jia's furious expression almost made me laugh.

Watching him spar with Huo Bing had become my temporary amusement. I was curious to see how they'd attack each other next.

"You... you! Every life is unique! No one should have to die for some reason! You're too selfish...!" Huo Bing's eyes were red, her finger pointed at Tong Jia, her body trembling.

I couldn't agree with Tong Jia's actions and beliefs, nor could I say I opposed or supported them—it depended on the situation. After all, I had once been a victim myself.

I had been used, discarded, and nearly erased.

There was one thing Huo Bing said that I deeply agreed with: every life is unique, and no one should be sacrificed—unless that person chooses it willingly.

"A woman pretending to be a saint! Who wasn't selfish in the Ruined Era? You want to live true to yourself, without compromise? Don't be naive! We're all going to die here anyway. This place is surrounded by corpse monsters, so I might as well tell you! Did you think Wu was the only one I sacrificed? Hahaha..." Tong Jia laughed with a manic edge, and as I watched this madman, a plan formed in my mind.

But before I made my move, I needed to confirm something.

Huo Bing clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly heartbroken. Her voice trembled, "You're insane..."

"Yes! I'm utterly insane! Hearing you praise me like that makes me so happy~ Too bad I never got to have you! But wait... wasn't there a level-three corpse monster downstairs? Cao Fusheng! How did you get up here!?" After a long bout of laughter, Tong Jia suddenly remembered, his eyes widening at me.

"Who said we're doomed to die today?" I walked toward Huo Bing, ignoring Tong Jia, though his furtive move for his gun hadn't escaped my notice.

I scrutinized Huo Bing and asked, "The system in the car downstairs—can you activate it?"

She looked at me, bewildered, clad only in her underwear and a bit shy. "Yes."

"Impossible! Only scavenger leaders can unlock that car. What are you, you filthy wretch!" Tong Jia, both shocked and furious, finally drew his gun and cocked it in one swift motion. Clearly, he had some skill to be a scavenger leader.

Bang!

With the answer I needed, I didn't hesitate. Without even looking at the lunatic, I raised my hand and fired—right between his eyes.

The bullet pierced his forehead, exploding the back of his skull. Tong Jia's head became a messy, shattered pulp.

Feigning nonchalance, I blew on the barrel and murmured, "I've always said, in the Ruined Era, there are few who can outshoot me. Too bad you're not one of them."

Huo Bing stared at me in shock, clutching her chest, involuntarily stepping back.

Did she think I would do something to her?

Thanks to my enhanced vision, her figure was laid bare to me—spectacular where it mattered, no doubt. But I wasn't Tong Jia, the true madman. I had my moments of insanity, but I wasn't schizophrenic.

"Miss Huo, shouldn't you put your clothes on? Aren't you cold like this? Besides... did you forget I have night vision? If you stay undressed, I'll start wondering if you're trying to seduce me." I laughed and turned toward the rolling door.

Watching someone get dressed held no interest for me. If I'm in a good mood, watching someone undress is another matter.

Fourth Master marched beside me, his two 24K titanium alloy dog eyes fixed on the rolling door being battered and squeezed from outside.

The second floor wasn't spacious, and even if corpse monsters clustered at the door, their numbers couldn't be overwhelming. As long as no level-three monsters got mixed in, it was manageable.

Level-three monsters weren't common. I had just chopped one up downstairs, so chances were slim we'd see another so soon.

Two minutes later, the rustling behind us faded. Huo Bing, now fully dressed, approached me, her gaze fixed nervously on the shaking rolling door.

"Brother Cao... thank you."

"It was nothing. That punk pointed his gun at me one too many times. I'd wanted to deal with him for a while."

"But... Brother Cao, did you take out the level-three corpse monster downstairs? We didn't hear any gunshots." Huo Bing wasn't wearing a helmet, her lustrous black hair cascading over her chest. Her lips—once cherry red—now looked pale, her cheeks flushed, likely from the earlier emotional turmoil.

Her delicate features were striking, and certainly not the mass-produced influencer faces of the Old Era.

For me, she was simply pleasing to the eye. I had my dog now, so women were less important.

No wonder Tong Jia wanted to act like a beast toward her—probably thinking he was about to die, so he let loose.

I holstered my pistol, slipping Tong Jia's as well into my belt, then grinned, "I stomped it to death."

Huo Bing clearly didn't believe me, pursing her lips. But old Cao was telling the truth.

"If you killed it with a knife, just say so... But stomped it to death? Never heard of anyone stomping a level-three corpse monster."

Hearing her mutter made me chuckle, but I didn't bother explaining. Instead, I took down my Tang blade and, as usual, strapped it to my arm.

This way, it was more secure, reducing the chance of losing my grip and making it easier to wield.

No doubt many corpse monsters were massing at the door. At this point, a pistol would be useless, especially with limited ammo.

I'd have to cut my way out. The gun was best saved for critical moments. Using it on swarms of low-level corpse monsters was wasteful.

Click.

The rolling door, pressed by the monsters, cracked open. Soon the whole thing would collapse.

There was already a hole I'd made earlier, and its integrity was far worse than when it was intact.

"Brother Cao... what do we do?" Huo Bing pressed close to my side, forming a two-pronged defense.

Compared to when I first met her, she'd improved—at least after all this, she hadn't lost her composure or succumbed to fear.

Luckily, the price of growth wasn't paid by me—and frankly, I'm not so kind-hearted.

I won't pay the price for someone else's growth, nor will I let those close to me do so.

I raised my Tang blade and smiled, "Chilled salad—if we can't kill our way out, we'll be chopped like vegetables by this horde!"

Bang!

The rolling door finally gave way, crashing to the floor. I squinted at the corpse monster lunging at me, its maw gaping, and slashed—cleanly severing its ignorant head.

From today onward, my reputation as an executioner must be spread far and wide!