Chapter 154-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 154 Kill the VIP (IX)
The Meteor pierced the night sky. The entire heavens turned a dark crimson. The residents of Floating Sand Island stared upward in a daze. By now the water had risen—buildings were half-submerged.
Shocked faces pressed against window glass. There had been no warning whatsoever, so they hadn't even thought to say goodbye to their loved ones. They thought they were witnessing some celestial spectacle.
Zhu Ning had never seen an asteroid strike the earth. If this really was the end, she was going to assassinate Bao Ruiming during the apocalypse.
The original plan had been to lure Bao Ruiming out. If negotiation was possible, they'd learn what was going on. If not, they'd kill him outright.
Now the challenge was: finish the kill before the Meteor hit the ground.
Zhu Ning had executed time-sensitive missions before, but this was her first race against a Meteor.
Xu Meng struck first. She whipped two knives through the air. The long blades spun upward, glinting coldly. Stripped of her Abilities inside the Consciousness Cloud, Xu Meng still demonstrated Demon Hunter professionalism.
Clang—
The blade struck something hard. A bone had extended from Bao Ruiming's spine—a length of vertebrae like a chain, its tip ending in a crab claw.
In his own Consciousness Cloud, even the residents were Fishmen. Bao Ruiming himself had certainly been modified.
This was exactly why no one wanted to fight someone in their Consciousness Cloud. You lost your Abilities, while the other side could modify their own body through the program.
The Consciousness Cloud was Bao Ruiming's absolute home turf.
Bao Ruiming found it rather entertaining. Doomsday was upon them, and these two were still fighting back.
The long blade clashed with the crab claw, sending up sparks. Xu Meng was forced to retreat. Crack— her knife shattered on impact. She quickly switched to her backup blade.
That was when Zhu Ning made her move, swiftly covering Xu Meng's weakness. The two operated on an unspoken understanding.
Zhu Ning leapt, aiming for Bao Ruiming's heart. Liu Niannian had told her to protect her heart and head—that weakness had to apply to Bao Ruiming as well.
Bao Ruiming was pinned down by Xu Meng. The Meteor was moments from impact. This was their only chance.
Squelch—
Zhu Ning's blade was less than half a meter from Bao Ruiming when it stopped dead. She looked down. A long claw had punched through her abdomen, now dripping blood.
Blood ran down the claw in rivulets, quickly forming a dark pool. At the exact instant Zhu Ning had struck, a second claw had erupted from Bao Ruiming's back, circling around to impale her from behind. She'd been skewered clean through.
Killing a Consciousness Body inside its own Cloud was a pipe dream to begin with—doubly so when the host was a villain.
Bao Ruiming had equipped himself with two claws.
Crab claws typically came in pairs. Zhu Ning had forced his trump card into the open. Liu Niannian had said the Consciousness Cloud wasn't a Contamination Zone—Bao Ruiming could only pre-install modifications.
These two claws should be all he had.
Even impaled, Zhu Ning ignored the pain entirely. Her cold gaze was fixed on the space behind Bao Ruiming.
Bao Ruiming frowned. A chill ran down his back. Xu Meng had ghosted around behind him, knife already raised in silence.
This was the only chance.
Bao Ruiming's suit jacket burst open from the back. The crab claws lashed out. Xu Meng's blade swept in—it didn't hit anything vital, only slicing open his rear shoulder.
Failed.
The long claw was already hurtling toward her heart. Protect your heart and your head. Xu Meng was about to die.
Xu Meng threw herself backward. Then her body began to spasm. Thin lines of data flickered across her face—Lynx had sensed her predicament and was pulling the Chip.
Xu Meng knew the mission had failed. She screamed at Zhu Ning: "Run!"
The Eradication Protocol hadn't fully triggered yet. They should retreat now. The moment the words left her mouth, the claw drove through her body. Xu Meng shattered into data fragments.
Bao Ruiming thought it a pity. He'd almost finished her off.
Even so, with her real body about to be found, Xu Meng's escape was only a stay of execution. Death was a matter of time.
Bao Ruiming assumed Zhu Ning would make the same choice. From the moment they'd attacked to the moment they failed, barely three minutes had passed. The outcome was decided.
They should wake up immediately—after all, their physical bodies were under imminent threat.
Zhu Ning thought so too. After watching Xu Meng "disconnect," she expected Huo Wenxi to pull her out. But nothing happened.
The Meteor was nearing the ocean's surface. The instant it struck, the shockwave would shatter the church windows, kill every inhabitant, and drown all of Floating Sand Island in a tidal surge. Everything—including Zhu Ning—would be annihilated. The only survivor would be Bao Ruiming, the master of this Cloud.
Zhu Ning hung in midair, the claw still lodged in her abdomen. Some inhuman force held her aloft. It felt like her organs had shifted out of place.
Wounds in the Consciousness Cloud struck directly at the brain. She stared at the claw, dazed.
Blood dripped steadily. She didn't know what else she could do. In a few more seconds the Meteor would land, and she'd be brain-dead.
But Huo Wenxi hadn't pulled her out. Why?
Why did Huo Wenxi think she could still win?
Zhu Ning's System had crashed. Even if it were working, she wasn't a god—how could she possibly stop a Meteor?
......
A certain underground room.
Xu Meng surged upright in the bathtub. Lynx had already pulled her Chip. Her heart was still pounding—it had been too immersive. She'd almost believed she would die in the Cloud.
One more centimeter and Bao Ruiming's claw would have pierced her heart. Her pulse hammered. Her brain throbbed with a spasm-like pain. She couldn't stabilize her heart rate.
Uploading consciousness was like an out-of-body experience. Coming back was jarring—Xu Meng's mind was running sluggishly.
Where was Zhu Ning? Had Zhu Ning come back?
Xu Meng scrambled out of the tub and fired off a message to Huo Wenxi, asking about Zhu Ning's status.
Huo Wenxi's reply was succinct: No.
No? Zhu Ning hadn't exited? She was still in the Consciousness Cloud? The Eradication Protocol was about to fire.
How had Huo Wenxi reached this decision? Wasn't her Ability intuition? In this situation, Zhu Ning was still going to carry out the mission?
Red lights flashed inside the underground room. Big Orange frantically cleared residual data from her computer. Her mechanical sentries were locked in combat with the unknown Ability Users. Lynx chambered a round at breakneck speed and shielded Xu Meng behind her.
Sounds of movement overhead—someone had found the exact location of the underground room. They were right upstairs.
Xu Meng had barely returned to reality and already faced this. Bao Ruiming was right—they would die faster than they imagined. Ability Users were already closing in.
Xu Meng tried to shift into combat mode, but her vision kept going black. Her brain's neural pathways might have been damaged.
......
The Lu family estate.
The Mechanical Butler made a sound judgment. She immediately lifted Liu Niannian and propped her upper body against the edge of the bathtub, then swiftly removed the Chip from the back of her neck.
Liu Niannian gasped. Her consciousness had returned to reality. She tore off the blindfold, and her first instinct was to hug herself tightly.
This was the most common reaction for people coming back from the Consciousness Cloud. Their brains couldn't adjust, and it took a long time to reorient to reality.
Liu Niannian was trembling. Her fingers were white, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.
Her mind was blank. She couldn't even think.
It felt like fish were swimming inside her skull. She couldn't get them out.
Psychic Contamination, carried from the Consciousness Cloud into reality.
The Mechanical Butler slowly stroked her back and injected a dose of medication to reduce the risk of brain damage. Liu Niannian sat motionless, docile as a kitten.
"Niannian?" The Mechanical Butler called to her.
The butler checked Liu Niannian's pupils—fully dilated, unable to focus.
Her timing for pulling the Chip had been precise. If she'd pulled it while Liu Niannian was deep in contamination, it would have caused brain damage. But the butler had waited until Liu Niannian had calmed before acting.
Liu Niannian's condition was worrying. The Mechanical Butler considered calling a doctor.
Then Liu Niannian's dark lashes trembled. Her pupils snapped into focus—as if a doll had suddenly been given life.
The Mechanical Butler breathed a sigh of relief. Proof that Liu Niannian's mind was still intact. She soothed: "No one's found out yet."
No one had come looking. Lu Yao was still in a meeting.
That single sentence seemed to anchor Liu Niannian to reality. Zhu Ning and Xu Meng were still in the Consciousness Cloud.
When she'd been pulled out, the Idol had been destroyed. Now the Cloud would either deploy the Inspection Squad for a purge, or trigger the Eradication Protocol—full apocalypse.
Xu Meng and Zhu Ning were not Liu Niannian. Their Consciousness Bodies would die in the Cloud.
Liu Niannian clambered out of the bathtub at once. She was sopping wet; the Mechanical Butler couldn't even throw a towel over her in time.
Her fingers were pruned and stiff. She couldn't stop shaking. Fear had taken root in her body, slowing her every movement to half speed.
On her computer screen, code scrolled endlessly. Zhu Ning and Xu Meng were indeed still online.
She couldn't intervene from here. She'd need to go to the Mainframe room.
She'd only just come back from the Cloud—a world rife with contamination. The server room had surely detected the anomaly by now.
Liu Niannian stammered: "G-get me a car. I need to go to headquarters."
Even as she said it, she felt defeated. By the time she reached headquarters, Zhu Ning and Xu Meng would probably already be dead.
They were a team. The mission could fail, but teammates couldn't die.
The Mechanical Butler paused. If Liu Niannian stopped here, Lu Yao might never find out. She could keep playing the sweet, innocent heiress. Yet she was pressing on.
Why? It had nothing to do with Liu Niannian anymore. She had no reason to wade deeper into this mess.
For her friend?
The butler thought of Zhu Ning. They'd only met twice, but she had a feeling this person would lead Liu Niannian into danger.
The family patriarch and Lu Yao never interfered much with Liu Niannian's little adventures—they were just a princess's harmless escapades, within certain limits. But the moment company interests were involved, the patriarch would punish her without hesitation.
The Mechanical Butler was a machine. The only time she developed personal feelings was when it came to Liu Niannian.
She never disobeyed Liu Niannian's orders. She hesitated for one second, then draped a blanket over Liu Niannian and hurried to prepare a Flying Car.
Liu Niannian worked the computer with one hand and dialed the head of Creation Technology's security division with the other. The line connected. "Miss? What can I—"
Liu Niannian took a deep breath. She was visibly trembling, yet her voice came out clear and forceful: "Shut down all automated programs on Bao Ruiming's Consciousness Body immediately. I'll explain to my brother. I'll send you the rest of the protocols later."
The division chief assumed she was throwing a tantrum. He hadn't expected her—normally so carefree and flighty—to meddle with headquarters this time. "Miss, perhaps you should discuss this with Director Lu first."
He tried the appeasement approach, planning to call Lu Yao first. Liu Niannian was still typing code. She didn't have time for proper channels. "I'm telling you to shut it down. I have the clearance."
Liu Niannian did have the clearance. She simply never used it, so everyone had forgotten she possessed it.
The chief didn't take Liu Niannian seriously. If he did what she asked today, his career at Creation Tech was over. Besides, her request was odd—why Bao Ruiming specifically?
As someone who spent most of his time in an office and rarely visited the server room, his instinct was to refuse: "This doesn't follow protocol. Miss, you should submit an application first. If the process checks out, I'll proceed to—"
Liu Niannian: "Do you want to die?"
She didn't mince words. A single line. Do you want to die?
Silence on the other end. It was a naked threat. She was Lu Yao's sister. Her birth name was Lu Yuan. She carried the Lu family's genes.
If she wanted someone dead, she wouldn't even face consequences. The notion that princes and commoners were equal before the law was a fairy tale in this world.
If Lu Yuan wanted him dead, he would die.
During the call, the chief had already pulled up Bao Ruiming's Consciousness Body data. A patrol inspector had flagged an elevated Contamination Level earlier that day. Investigation was ongoing, but the cause remained unknown.
Contamination Level: 10%.
The chief shot to his feet. Something really was wrong with Bao Ruiming.
"I'll bear all consequences," Liu Niannian's hair was still dripping. She repeated: "Isolate him completely. Shut down all automated programs."
Author's Note:
Merry Christmas, babies!
I have no idea how long it would actually take for a meteor visible to the naked eye to reach the ground. I'm no scientist and can't calculate it. I referenced the Tunguska Event of 1908—a massive explosion in Siberia where locals saw a fireball fall from the sky. The falling fireball was estimated at 50 to 100 meters in diameter, flattened 2,000 square kilometers of coniferous forest, and knocked down 80 million trees. Because of how long ago it was, the exact duration of the meteor's descent is unverifiable, but it was roughly a few minutes—probably within five. The story's setting uses a similar timeframe~
By the way, the Tunguska Event is an unsolved mystery—there are theories about meteorites, spacecraft, nuclear explosions, and more...
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