Doomsday Spiritual Artifact Master
chapter-15-2

Chapter 15.2 – Rainy Night in Hua City (7)

◎Saved a Lunatic◎

After agreeing on the return time, Liu Zixuan activated his ability.

As the door opened, torrential rain poured in, drenching everyone. This rain wasn’t light drizzle; it felt as if someone were holding a huge container in the sky, pouring all the water down on the city at once. The sky outside was dark and devoid of light, accompanied by fierce winds and thunderstorms. Stepping into the rain, the group immediately got soaked, and some nearly lost their footing.

Jiang Rui’s group faced the storm with raincoats tightly wrapped around them. They struggled forward, carefully treading with every step after losing the navigation from their phones. They stopped frequently to verify their direction.

At a fork in the road, Zhang Hao shouted through the rain, “Brother Jiang, which way do we go?” There was no choice – in such weather, a soft-spoken voice was impossible to hear.

At this moment, they were faced with two choices: either continue west towards the outskirts of Hua City, a newly developed area, or detour southeast through the city center, where there were likely to be many hospitals and pharmacies.

Jiang Rui pondered for a moment and quickly came to a conclusion, “Let’s head west. I remember there’s a pharmaceutical factory in the outskirts.”

“Isn’t it too dangerous to go to the outskirts?”

“Isn’t it even riskier to go downtown? It was just bombed.”

“I agree! The drugstores in the city area must have been searched. We might not find fever-reducing medicine.”

After a brief discussion, the group wiped rain off their faces and proceeded towards the outskirts of Huadu.

About forty minutes later, they indeed found the pharmaceutical factory. Jiang Rui and Zhang Qi teamed up to deal with a few wandering zombies at the entrance and some hiding in the security office. Meanwhile, others took the opportunity to run into the factory area and seek shelter from the rain under the eaves.

“Let’s find the warehouse first. If it’s not there, we’ll head to the logistics center,” Jiang Rui made a decision after studying the fire evacuation map posted on the wall.

The warehouse’s iron door was tightly shut, so they had to break the windows and climb over the wall to enter, then split up to search for medication. When it was Song Ke’s turn, she remained motionless outside the window ledge, gazing at the rain. She had no intention of coming inside. Jiang Rui glanced at her but didn’t voice any objection. None of the others dared to boss her around either; they acted as though they were collectively oblivious.

When Tian Yi crawled in, he asked in a hushed tone, “Song Ke, why did you come out?”

“To, to find food,” Song Ke answered stiffly.

Tian Yi suddenly realized, “I knew it! I heard your relationship with Zhou Anqi used to be bad. Why would you look for medicine for her? But at first, I thought, maybe you came out because you were worried about us and wanted to protect us.”

“Huh, maybe?” Song Ke widened her eyes slightly.

“Hehehe, I guess I was mistaken.” Tian Yi chuckled and, as Kongzi Qi called him from the front, he dashed over with light steps.

Song Ke shifted her gaze and leaned against the window frame, looking into the distance.

The pouring rain masked many sounds and dulled the perception of ordinary people. She closed her eyes and connected her ability with her surroundings, extending her invisible and acute senses outward. The world quieted completely; she heard Tian Yi and others talking, the faint sounds of people searching the shelves, and further out, the howling wind, the roaring rain, mingled with the crisp shattering of glass. Suddenly, the abrupt sound of something heavy falling startled her, but it quickly vanished under the sound of the rain.

Was it an illusion? Song Ke hesitated for a moment, carefully turned around, and intended to investigate further. However, she unexpectedly collided with a powerful, surging, and chilling intent to kill. It nearly brushed past her, full of danger. It was a fleeting encounter.

It’s an ability!

She abruptly opened her eyes, her gaze like a torch, staring straight ahead, a hundred meters away.

Numerous factory buildings stood there, hidden among the trees’ shade, making it impossible to pinpoint their exact locations.

Song Ke turned back, the high school students behind her remained oblivious, still busy searching for items.

Too close. The killing intent from that ability user was so strong she could sense it even here. If the other side detected her, these people would be in great danger.

Song Ke lowered her eyelashes.

“Tian, Tian Yi.”

“Hey? Did you call me, Song Ke?” It was the first time Tian Yi had been called by her, and he ran over eagerly like a puppy.

“What’s over there?” Song Ke pointed towards the misty rain.

“I don’t know, seems like it’s within our jurisdiction.”

“I know, I know!” Kongzi Qi joined in, casually putting his arm around Tian Yi’s shoulder. “There’s a big research facility there called ‘Qingsong Biotech.’ Last time my dad drove me by, and I took a good look. Wow! The guard at the entrance glared at me!”

Song Ke listened quietly as he finished, picked up her umbrella, and headed outside.

“Where are you going?”

“Ju-just, just going to take a look.”

“You can’t. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone!”

Tian Yi grew anxious at once and lunged to grab the large umbrella, but Song Ke dragged him several meters forward with determination. “Brother Jiang! Brother Jiang!” Seeing that they couldn’t convince Song Ke, Kongzi Qi cleverly decided to report to Jiang Rui.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Rui arrived quickly.

“Song Ke wants to go out.”

Jiang Rui hesitated only for a second, then swiftly put on a rain hat. “Where are you going? I’ll go with you.”

After shaking off Tian Yi’s hold a few times, Song Ke finally managed to free herself from his grip. She lifted her gaze, coldly warning, “No, don’t, don’t bother me, and don’t follow me.”

Jiang Rui’s movements faltered, and he felt a chill from head to toe.

He had seen this kind of gaze from Song Ke before, three years ago. When he hurriedly arrived at Class 3’s classroom, she had stared at him like that, her pitch-black eyes devoid of any emotion. The next day, she dropped out of Hua City No.1 Middle School and hadn’t appeared since.

“Alright… I won’t follow you,” Jiang Rui’s heart twinged painfully. He cleared his throat and asked, “Will you come back?”

Song Ke opened the umbrella and hopped into the rain with a few strides, her figure gradually disappearing.

“Again…”

“Why does she always act alone? She has no sense of unity…” Someone had noticed the commotion here and couldn’t help but complain.

Song Ke was indeed being too stubborn. Even Tian Yi didn’t know how to explain for her, so he had to awkwardly clarify, “Well, she’s an ability user, you know? Ability users tend to have strong personalities. Besides, she’ll come back after she’s done!”

“Why is she the one doing something special? Brother Jiang and Brother Qi are ability users too, but they haven’t…”

Jiang Rui’s brows furrowed, but before he could say anything, Zhang Qi interjected with a scolding tone, “Shut up, all of you!”

The bones that had been set after his dislocation were still throbbing faintly. Zhang Qi hadn’t initially wanted to intervene, but he couldn’t help thinking about that day when Song Ke had leapt into the air to intercept the starship for them. A surge of anger overcame him. Let her go, let her be arrogant, let her be reckless. She would sooner or later die outside!

“Enough with the chattering. Let’s find the medicine quickly!”

He grumbled and scolded, but no one knew who he was actually speaking for.

…

[Qingsong Biotech]

A modest and stylish plaque stood in the center of the lawn, the heavy rain adding a touch of mystery to it through its cleansing touch.

The architecture here presented an inverted “mountain” shape overall, with testing factories and various laboratories on both sides and a five-story comprehensive building in the middle. The facility had long been automated, and no traces of zombies were found along the way. However, in the offices of the factory buildings, several decomposed bodies lay in uniforms bearing the Qingsong Biotech logo. They sprawled across the floor, their coagulated blood extending to the doorway, now cleansed by the pouring rain.

Song Ke’s heart sank; these people had been deliberately killed!

The opponent she was about to face was far from benign. Song Ke understood this and became even more cautious in her demeanor.

In the midst of the howling wind and pouring rain, a slender figure maneuvered between the buildings. After scouting the areas on both sides, Song Ke finally fixed her gaze on the central comprehensive building. To avoid premature exposure, she closed her umbrella and slowly approached in the heavy rain. Unexpectedly, the main entrance of the building was a sturdy steel door. She tried pushing it, but it didn’t budge. If she used force to break in, an alarm would undoubtedly go off, alerting others.

Song Ke had no choice but to give up and search for another entry point. Finally, on the side, she discovered a row of arched windows. However, even the lowest windows on the ground were quite high. She tiptoed and reached out her hand, but she was still quite far away.

Song Ke inverted her umbrella, using its handle to hook onto the anti-theft mesh, jamming it into a gap. With a leap, she easily pulled herself up onto the windowsill. After wiping away the mist outside the window, she could faintly see two figures inside – one tall and one short. Indeed, there were people inside.

It was a laboratory of about forty square meters. Song Ke cautiously leaned out half her head, her ear pressed against the window glass. The conversation inside gradually became clear; there was a man and a woman.

Both of them had their backs to her. The woman had long curly hair, and the man was slender, wearing a white coat.

“Where is it? I advise you to hand it over quickly!” the man demanded sternly.

“Don’t waste time with him. Search him directly. If you can’t find it, break one of his legs!” The woman’s voice sounded impatient. She stomped forward with her toe, as if she stepped on something, and Song Ke heard a muffled groan.

She clung to the windowsill and inched upward. It was then that she noticed a man sitting in the corner.

The man had light-colored eyes, a few strands of hair falling onto his forehead, and looked exceptionally disheveled. Yet, amidst the rain and mist, he exuded a thrilling sense of beauty. His upper body was straight, but his right leg was softly bent and immobilized, with fresh crimson blood still seeping out. Despite his severe injuries, a faint smile hung on his lips. His entire presence seemed fragile and contradictory.

Perhaps Song Ke stared a bit too long, for the man suddenly, without any warning, lifted his gaze and looked directly at the window. Their eyes met through the rain-soaked glass, causing Song Ke to lose her focus for a fraction of a second.

“Someone’s there! Who’s there?” The man and woman quickly noticed her and rushed toward the window.

The pen in the woman’s hand slipped, the platinum tip gleaming coldly. Like an arrow, it shot toward Song Ke’s throat. She released one hand and deftly dodged to the right, but to her surprise, the pen had tracking capabilities. It turned and relentlessly continued its trajectory toward her.

In a moment of crisis, Song Ke’s years of martial arts training kicked in. She hung on to the windowsill, exerted force with her waist, and adjusted her body’s center of gravity through a series of precise sways, barely avoiding the lethal weapon. Nevertheless, the pen was still too fast, leaving a few red gashes on her collarbone. Song Ke clenched her free hand into a fist, smashed the glass with a few strikes, and swung into the room like on a swing.

The pen followed her through the broken hole but ultimately fell short. Faced with Song Ke’s preparedness, it had lost its threat.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably been pierced through the throat and killed instantly by the sudden and unexpected attack.

Wu Yarou, the woman inside the room, paled. She hadn’t expected the intruder to react so swiftly. She immediately raised her voice in a scolding tone, “Yang Bo, what are you staring at? Aren’t you going to take action?”

The pale-faced Yang Bo slinked behind Song Ke. These two individuals didn’t give her any chance to speak. They intended to kill her directly to silence her. Their ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness were quite apparent.

The white lab coat on Yang Bo fluttered without wind, and over a dozen test tubes floated out of his pocket. The liquid inside exhibited a murky dark yellow color.

“Cough, cough… Be careful, it’s sulfuric acid,” came a soft reminder from the corner.

In the next second, the test tubes shot toward Song Ke like arrows, their contents spilling out due to the inertia.

Song Ke’s pupils contracted, her brain sounding an alarm of imminent danger. She leaped toward the window, grabbed the iron umbrella hanging on the anti-theft net, and then executed a somersault in midair, turning herself around and opening the umbrella.

The massive umbrella rapidly unfolded, forming an impenetrable shield that securely protected Song Ke from behind. It also intercepted the attacks of the test tubes and liquid. As the two collided, the smooth surface of the umbrella seemed to be corroded by some toxic substance, emitting a pungent white smoke.

Almost simultaneously, a fluorescent blue shine lit up the surface of the shield, illuminating even the walls, before gradually subsiding. The remaining liquid on it was absorbed entirely. Wu Yarou, who had been watching on the side, had a sudden change in her expression and spoke with urgency, “Kill her quickly! She’s an awakener!”

Having yelled this, she extended her hand with a fierce expression, and that shadow-like pen appeared once again.

On this side, the three of them engaged in an intense battle. The man in the corner seemed like an outsider, sitting leisurely as if watching a show. Even though he was confined, soaked in a pool of blood, his expression remained calm, almost like he was on a vacation. His fingers rested casually on his left knee, occasionally tapping out a melody.

While the two attackers had peculiar methods of attack, their combat awareness was far inferior to Song Ke’s. Additionally, the limited space within the lab constrained the effectiveness of the pen and the test tubes. Swinging the massive umbrella she had transformed from a lead ball and iron disc, Song Ke blocked, struck, and delivered heavy blows to their joints and vital points from above. After a few rounds, the two were left disoriented, bruised all over, and lying on the ground, groaning.

Jumping down from the lab table, Song Ke looked once again at the corner.