---

Chapter 053 This Wave is Extreme Clearance

The smoke and dust from the explosion and the collapsing building took several minutes to slowly dissipate.

When Xia Xinyan climbed up from the ground, her eyes fell upon chaos.

The rooftop entrance had been destroyed, blocking the charge of countless infected below, not just due to that bomb but also probably thanks to many of the infected self-destructing.

Now, only she, Ling Mo, and a fat guy remained on the rooftop; the others were nowhere to be seen, most likely kneeling somewhere.

However, their condition wasn’t great either. After Wang Wen yelled that phrase, everyone else frantically ran away, but they didn’t expect Wang Wen to trigger the bomb that quickly, causing a chain explosion that knocked down everyone who hadn’t reached safety. Even Xia Xinyan, who was furthest away at the time of the explosion, now had a lengthy string of negative statuses on her status bar.

The most severe was internal bleeding—though here lay a contradiction, as the blood of a succubus had healing properties. While not much good for herself, Xia Xinyan’s side effects from being injured were far less severe than an average person’s.

But she couldn’t heal herself with her blood; at best, she could slow down the deterioration. Without timely care, she wouldn’t last long.

As for Ling Mo and the fat guy, they were still lying on the ground, motionless, looking rather dire.

Xia Xinyan breathed heavily as she walked to the edge of the rooftop, taking a look around.

The lightning rod tower had fallen to the ground, creating a little white space in the sea of black figures below. Even the interiors of the other three buildings had countless infected, still madly rushing toward this direction.

And their only escape route had been blown up.

The skybridge was still intact, but it was at least twenty or thirty meters high from here. Jumping down would be no different from suicide.

This dungeon seemed to have entered a deadlock.

Normally, game dungeons would never put players in a position where passage was impossible. Even if players acted recklessly and got themselves into such a predicament, the game would actively adjust the dungeon, creating a feasible way to clear it.

Then why was it not happening this time…

【Breaking News: City cleanup plan will start in ten minutes, please evacuate promptly】

“…”

They even sent an urgent notification.

But it shouldn’t be like this…

Could there be another way to clear it?

Fixated on the helicopter hovering atop another building, Xia Xinyan suddenly had a guess.

“Xinyan…” Ling Mo’s voice came from behind her. Turning around, she saw him struggling to climb up from the ground, but after a few tries, he still couldn’t succeed. He couldn’t help but smile wryly, “Looks like we can’t make it.”

He was injured far worse than Xia Xinyan, his right leg completely blown out. He had lost his basic ability to move.

What a pity… he still wanted to protect Xia Xinyan and make it through…

Seeing Ling Mo’s miserable state, Xia Xinyan paused for a moment and made a decision.

She walked into the ruins and picked up Wang Wen’s dropped backpack and controller. There were three bombs inside, which should be enough.

Then, she quickly went to Ling Mo’s side, crouched down, grabbed his collar, and before he realized what was happening, she covered his mouth.

— One time was learning, the second was familiar, something like that.

If she had to say it, among all the players, Xia Xinyan cared the most about clearing the dungeon—and importantly, getting Ling Mo through. If she died partway through the dungeon, she would regret it but wouldn’t dwell on it too much. But now that they were at the rescue point, no matter how broad-minded she was, she wouldn’t be willing to just give up.

So now, to clear the dungeon, she was willing to do anything.

With one gulp, she transferred her ability back to him, and Xia Xinyan tossed the backpack to him: “Get ready.”

Ling Mo was stunned: “Wha—”

However, just as he said a single word, what he saw next left him even more dumbfounded—

Xia Xinyan instantly awakened her abilities, sprouting cat ears and a tail. Almost simultaneously, the entire world suddenly went silent.

Then, he saw countless infected bursting through the glass curtain walls of the other three buildings, leaping down with reckless abandon, creating a waterfall of bodies.

The majority of the infected fell to the ground, but a small number landed on the skybridge, quickly gathering into a massive pile—a truly formidable pile within just a few seconds, stacking up to about ten meters high, forming a human wall that even reached the height of the rooftop.

Ling Mo instinctively picked up the rifle lying on the ground, aiming it at the infected crawling to the edge of the rooftop.

“Don’t shoot!” Xia Xinyan’s voice interrupted his actions, “Now’s the time, step on them and go up to the rescue!”

The wall formed by the countless infected effectively raised the skybridge to the same height as the rooftop. It looked dangerous, but it indeed created a path to the other building.

Ling Mo was dumbfounded: “Is this… you controlling it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got them under control! Hurry up!” Xia Xinyan gritted her teeth and whispered.

Why was this guy asking so many questions at a time like this?! Didn’t he understand the situation?!

Ling Mo seemed to notice that Xia Xinyan wasn’t in great shape and immediately put away his gun, walking toward her: “You go first, I’ll cover you.”

Xia Xinyan shot him a glance, just about to leave when she stumbled, almost falling. Luckily, Ling Mo was quick enough to catch her: “What’s wrong?!”

“…I’m out of strength. You take me over, hurry.” Xia Xinyan simply clung to him, snuggling into his embrace.

She really didn’t have any energy left, unable to take even a single step.

At this point, she was considering giving up; as long as Ling Mo could get up, her goal would be achieved. But this guy would definitely never abandon her, so she didn’t bother struggling.

“Let’s go quickly!” Seeing Ling Mo freeze, she urged again.

Meanwhile, the series of unexpected events had almost caused Ling Mo to stop thinking.

Especially with her sudden, inviting hug.

With his brain temporarily offline, his instincts took over, and he almost subconsciously picked up Xia Xinyan, not even considering the fall risk and other adverse outcomes, and charged onto that human bridge.

Seizing the moment as they crossed the bridge, Xia Xinyan pulled out the remaining bombs from his backpack and casually tossed them down, only holding onto the controller tightly, waiting.

Once Ling Mo got across, the helicopter quickly descended and opened its cabin doors. Ling Mo charged in, clutching Xia Xinyan, before collapsing onto the ground—he even deliberately protected Xia Xinyan beneath him, acting as a human cushion once more.

Then, Xia Xinyan handed the controller to him: “Press it… quick…”

Ling Mo reflexively grabbed the controller and pressed it even without knowing what it was.

Then he faintly heard a series of dull explosions in the distance.

But it was soon overshadowed by another sound—

“dodododododo——!!” The fat guy barreled into the cabin like a force of nature. His skin had turned nearly completely red and his face bore an expression of rage, seemingly completely infected, scaring Ling Mo in the process.

However, as Ling Mo swiftly drew his sidearm to aim at the fat guy, the game provided the final prompt—

【Mission Complete, Returning to Hall】

【Breaking News: Cleanup operation has begun】

The next moment, with a deafening explosion, the distant city suddenly lit up with a white light, transforming the entire world into white and wrapping everyone in a heavenly warmth.

When Ling Mo regained consciousness, he found himself back in the Private Space.

All his injuries had healed, and his weakness and exhaustion had completely restored, the immense sense of disconnection made it hard for him to tell where he was.

Until a message suddenly popped up—

【Zhang Dari: I cleared it!! I bloody cleared it!! Damn!! Good thing you didn’t leave me behind!! Almost had a heart failure! Haha! I cleared it!】

 

---