Chapter 160-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World
Chapter 160 Passive Combat
Cao Wei had been recovering ever since the Mechanical Oceanarium incident. He'd been given extended leave and hadn't run a mission in over a month.
Lately, Cao Wei had been contemplating retirement—quit being a Demon Hunter and just become a Cleaner instead.
It was the middle of the night. By all rights, Cao Wei should have been in deep sleep—and indeed he was.
He was sound asleep when he felt his Employee Wristband vibrating.
Usually that meant an emergency. Probably a mission looking for him. Cao Wei opened his eyes and reached for the wristband on his nightstand.
Just then, he sensed movement at the bedroom door. Through the gap beneath it, he saw a pair of feet.
Someone was standing outside his door.
Since when? Why hadn't his home security system gone off?
Cao Wei's hand found the gun by his bed. Demon Hunters always kept a weapon within arm's reach. He glanced at his Employee Wristband. A single line of text:
Intruder detected. Go!
...
A certain basement.
Bodies lay scattered across the corridor. Lynx had already battered open a path by brute force. Big Orange's combat ability was limited—half her arm had been torn to a bloody mess by a monster.
Every non-intelligent mechanical unit under Big Orange's control had been completely wrecked.
This basement was located inside an abandoned irradiated housing complex. There weren't even streetlights here. The fact that they'd been found meant the enemy team had a professional tracker.
Xu Meng supported Big Orange as they climbed toward the surface. Lynx shielded them from the front, then froze in his tracks.
Dark figures lined both sides of the derelict street like a row of perched crows. They'd been waiting for some time.
And that wasn't all. Atop a broken streetlight stood a tall, slender silhouette wearing a black top hat—like a third-rate magician.
Ability Users.
And not just one. At least three on this street alone.
This was a premeditated ambush. They'd anticipated Lynx and Xu Meng's strength, laying a trap as though the three of them were prey.
Xu Meng had already activated her golden eyes. A black knife whipped from her hand. She wasn't at her best today—only half her usual capability.
Both exits of the street were blocked. Tonight would be a sleepless night.
Lynx stepped in front of Xu Meng. "Take her and go first."
Before Xu Meng could respond, a sudden killing chill radiated from Lynx. Frost crystallized on his eyelashes and eyebrows.
The entire street felt the cold—like a storm sweeping through in an instant.
He was an ice-type Ability User.
...
A targeted attack on Sanitation Center employees was unfolding across District 103. By the time Huo Wenxi intervened, it was already too late. She forwarded the list to her subordinates in the Abnormal Incident Investigation Team, sending them to warn employees who were still unaware.
Some reacted quickly enough to flee. Others were dead before the message reached them.
Huo Wenxi's own situation was dire.
The Huo Family estate was now half-demolished. Both the front and back entrances had fallen.
Before Zhu Ning awoke, Zhuang Lin had held the line alone for fifteen minutes. He'd reached his physical limit—abdomen severely wounded—and could only watch helplessly as a monster smashed through the door.
In terms of direct combat, Huo Wenxi would die without question. Zhuang Lin was too late to intervene.
The black monsters were entirely different from Xenomorphs. Taxonomically, they were closer to the Transparent People from the Oceanarium—pack hunters. In appearance, they looked like things that had crawled out of crude oil. Their dangling hands sprouted ten-centimeter razor-sharp nails, and they reeked of rot. Wherever they passed, surfaces corroded as if doused in acid.
Rotten Corpses?
Huo Wenxi told Zhu Ning to get ready to run. The words had barely left her mouth when the monster at the door lunged straight for Zhu Ning.
Its target was unmistakable—it didn't even glance at Huo Wenxi.
Zhu Ning was still dazed. Her mind couldn't keep up. She couldn't move a single finger. Her legs were still weak—aftereffects of the Consciousness Cloud. Her brain felt stuffed with cotton, every thought grinding along.
Ding—
[Passive Combat mode has been activated.]
This was her newest reward. Whenever her brain was determined unfit for combat, her body would enter Passive Combat mode. Each use consumed one hundred health points.
A passive skill—it would engage automatically as long as she had enough health.
Once in the zone, Zhu Ning felt everything around her shift. It no longer seemed like reality but a digital world, the monster nothing but a game NPC.
Everything slowed down. Bullet time—the kind they talked about in movies—this must be what it felt like.
The instant the monster lunged, Zhu Ning seized control of the metal in the bathroom and struck. She'd already disclosed to Huo Wenxi that she was the metal-type Ability User Xuan Qing had been searching for. Right now, Metal Manipulation was the most appropriate ability to reveal—and she was getting better at it.
Metal Manipulation had a twenty-meter range. Paired with her God's Eye View, the entire Huo residence unfurled before her. She instantly located every usable metal object.
Zhuang Lin suddenly felt every metal item in the house vibrating. Huo Wenxi never cooked, but she owned a premium set of kitchen knives. The neatly arranged blades were seized by an invisible force.
They were like trained familiars obeying a command—or objects suddenly imbued with their own will. They shot from the knife block in unison.
The monster had just broken through the bathroom door. Before it could pounce on Zhu Ning, seven knives buried themselves in seven locations across its body—two piercing the heart and lung. As if that weren't enough, the blades didn't stop after penetrating. They began to travel rapidly through the body.
Zhu Ning was like a master butcher dismantling an ox—or a cold-blooded surgeon. In two seconds flat, she'd directed seven knives to dissect the creature into pieces.
Blood mixed with eerie slime dripped down. Chunks of flesh splattered to the floor, their edges still corroding the surface.
Zhuang Lin had seen metal-type Ability Users before, but never one this... unnerving.
Her control was immaculate—force calibrated to perfection, precision down to the millimeter. She'd killed the Rotten Corpse before its blood and flesh could corrode the blades, and her range clearly exceeded ten meters.
Zhu Ning was acting on pure instinct. She activated God's Eye View: twelve monsters remained in the house.
Zhuang Lin covered Huo Wenxi's retreat and tossed a gun to Zhu Ning. The moment she had the weapon, she spun and fired at some improbable angle behind her.
From Zhuang Lin's perspective, Zhu Ning moved extraordinarily fast. He'd seen fast Ability Users. He'd never seen anyone as fast as Zhu Ning.
Her brain seemed to house a computer—or some kind of tactical command system.
Zhuang Lin had assumed Zhu Ning would be groggy after leaving the Consciousness Cloud. Instead, she was sharper than ever.
Exposing only a single ability, she'd somehow managed to enter slaughter mode—firing backward without turning around.
Within twenty meters, this was her domain. No matter where an enemy approached from, it was neutralized instantly.
Squelch—
The iron rod in Zhu Ning's hand drove through a monster's heart, pinning it to the wall. The wound hissed and sizzled, belching white smoke.
The Rotten Corpse hit the wall and immediately corroded a patch. Bodies littered the floor.
Zhu Ning's full potential had been unleashed. In only three minutes, she'd eliminated all twelve enemies.
The remaining Rotten Corpses lurked in corners, growling but too afraid to advance. Even animals had survival instincts—they'd encountered a stronger predator.
Zhu Ning stood with a knife in hand, still dripping wet from the bathtub. Water traced her jawline and fell, lending her an utterly merciless air.
Killing intent. Zhuang Lin sensed the killing intent radiating from Zhu Ning.
In that instant, his first reflex was to shield Huo Wenxi behind him. If Zhu Ning wanted to kill Huo Wenxi right now, he stood no chance of stopping her.
Honestly, he felt that if Zhu Ning went berserk, no one could hold her back.
Zhu Ning took a step forward. Her fathomless eyes locked onto Zhuang Lin's position. He felt as though some great raptor had fixed its gaze on him.
She took another step. Zhuang Lin's fists were already clenched. His ability was remote manipulation—he could crush an enemy's skull from a distance. But he lacked coordinated combat capabilities and could only target one at a time, which was how he'd gotten injured.
If Zhu Ning lost control, Zhuang Lin would give it everything he had—buy Huo Wenxi enough time to escape.
He could hear his own heartbeat, pounding as if it would burst from his chest.
Huo Wenxi, by contrast, showed almost no reaction. The way she looked at Zhu Ning hadn't changed—she must have foreseen this.
Suddenly, both Zhu Ning and Zhuang Lin narrowed their eyes at the same time.
Someone outside had switched on a floodlight. Blinding light poured into the battle-wrecked Huo estate, shattering the tense standoff between them.
A flying car landed at the entrance. Three squads of Demon Hunters leapt out.
"Team Leader Huo." Someone addressed Huo Wenxi.
The arriving Demon Hunter squads swiftly secured the estate. Reinforcements had arrived.
Zhu Ning blinked. Water droplets rolled off her lashes. Her mind was still foggy, but she could clearly sense that something had been wrong with her.
So this was the Passive Combat talent? Her first time using it. It meant her body could act on its own even when her consciousness was impaired.
It hadn't felt like herself at all. Her mind had been consumed by one thing: killing. And it was borderline indiscriminate.
Kill everyone. That had been the only signal in her head.
Zhu Ning didn't like this state. It felt like being led around by the System. She didn't want to become a cold-blooded killing machine.
If she kept developing this way, the real world might become indistinguishable from the digital one.
Zhu Ning suppressed the urge to kill and deactivated Passive Combat. She closed her eyes. Her mind was in utter chaos, like churning tides.
She breathed deeply with her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the dark intensity in her pupils had faded. They were the eyes of a normal person.
Zhu Ning looked directly at Huo Wenxi. "There's a Church in the Western Garbage Dump. Bao Ruiming's accomplices are there."
She'd seen it in Bao Ruiming's memories. That was where he'd handed over the assassination list. If they moved now, they might still intercept.
The very first thing Zhu Ning did after escaping mortal danger was to deliver intelligence to Huo Wenxi. She'd risked her life for it.
Zhuang Lin exhaled in relief. For the first time, he was profoundly grateful that Zhu Ning wasn't their enemy.
Huo Wenxi arched an eyebrow, apparently unbothered by Zhu Ning's earlier state. "You really are my best employee."
Zhu Ning had been right. She was the only one who could bring Huo Wenxi intelligence, and the only one who could break the stalemate.
Huo Wenxi's best employee.
...
District 103, Western Garbage Dump.
Inside the dilapidated Church, the woman in the red trench coat had remained after Bao Ruiming's consciousness departed.
She'd issued specific targets. Her people sprang into action within minutes—faster than the Sanitation Center could respond.
She sat inside the Church, observing the operation from afar. Wearing an earpiece, reports trickled in one after another. It was like playing a game, listening to incoming victories.
Quite successful. Roughly six dead.
Only the team sent to Huo Wenxi's had stalled—no progress. Bao Ruiming had said this target was the most suspicious and should be eliminated as quickly as possible.
The Idol inside the Church gazed down upon all.
The woman sat beside Bao Ruiming's Cybernetic Implant shell, waiting for his safe return. Then her earpiece lit up. Someone contacted her with a single sentence: "Bao Ruiming is dead."
She frowned. "What?"
The other party wasn't entirely sure either. "Someone invaded the Consciousness Cloud and killed him."
This was highly irregular. A normal person couldn't possibly bypass Creation Technology's Firewall. Someone had struck at the root, directly killing Bao Ruiming's brain.
The woman recalled Bao Ruiming saying he would contaminate any intruder. But the intruder hadn't been contaminated, nor killed by the Consciousness Cloud's automated protocols.
How had they done it?
Could they use data-related abilities? A code-person?
The woman said nothing for a long time. In the silent Church, beside her sat a Cybernetic Implant shell—a white-haired old woman, head resting against the chair back, mouth agape, as though her soul had departed and was waiting to return.
When Bao Ruiming had left, it had seemed hurried—as if he was just stepping out to handle some trouble and would be right back. But in the end, his soul never returned.
For those who walked this path, death was nearly inevitable.
A pity. Bao Ruiming wouldn't see the Divine Descent in nine days.
The woman pulled the Chip slot from the back of his neck. It contained Bao Ruiming's data. The Cybernetic Implant lost all power and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
She walked out of the Church. Garbage mountains surrounded her. A droning hum came from the distance. Their annihilation plan had failed tonight. Whether Bao Ruiming had leaked information before dying was unknown.
But a failed assassination could reveal who the real enemy was. Reports confirmed Zhu Ning was safe under Huo Wenxi's protection.
Bao Ruiming had been deeply concerned about her before death. Zhu Ning herself carried the most suspicion—she'd been beyond the wall, and she'd secured Huo Wenxi's protection.
Zhu Ning. The woman murmured the name. Instinct told her this would be their greatest enemy.
After tonight, they would never be able to hide again—fully exposed to the Sanitation Center's sight.
A companion's voice came through the earpiece. "What do we do next?"
The woman gave her order without hesitation. "Pull back."
She wasn't worried about anyone falling into Huo Wenxi's hands. Everyone they'd deployed was a mindless puppet. Even a memory-reading Ability User couldn't extract useful intelligence.
But this was something Huo Wenxi could no longer prevent. The day of the Mechanical Oceanarium had been the best chance to stop it. That chance was gone, and no god on their side could reverse it now.
This was an invisible confrontation. Two armies facing each other across the board. They had already made their opening move.
Bao Ruiming was dead. If the enemy had truly entered the Consciousness Cloud and killed him, they might already possess some intelligence.
It wouldn't be long before the Sanitation Center traced things here.
It was winter in District 103. The wind carried a rusty stench of garbage. She clutched Bao Ruiming's Chip in her palm.
She turned to look at the Church. Bao Ruiming had wanted to remake this place into another Floating Sand Island. He possessed an aesthetic beyond ordinary comprehension. The Church was a landmark—more than that, it was Bao Ruiming's spiritual lighthouse.
Now Bao Ruiming was dead. The lighthouse had outlived its purpose.
God did not dwell in churches. God was everywhere.
The woman snapped her fingers. Under her control, the ancient Church began to crumble—starting with a single brick. Then the metal refuse from the surrounding garbage mountains cascaded down.
A massive crash.
The Church ruins were completely buried under garbage. By tomorrow, fresh refuse would be dumped on top. Anyone passing by would see nothing but trash.
The woman didn't look back. She pulled her coat tight and walked toward the edge of the Garbage Dump.
Praise the great One.
Author's Note:
Bullet time is from The Matrix~
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