The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 74: The Cannons Fire, Bombarding Liu Zheng

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: The Cannons Fire, Bombarding Liu Zheng

The smooth turret, sloped armor, and that iconic set of five pairs of road wheels.

It was a hero among tanks.

"For the great Teacher!"

Red Ghost roared deafeningly, firing at Liu Zheng.

The 85mm tank gun thundered, and a red high explosive bomb whistled as it hit the target.

The explosion sounded almost simultaneously, and Liu Zheng was blown to pieces in just an instant.

But that wasn’t the end.

The tank’s external flamethrower spewed scorching flames, turning even the remnants to nothingness.

"Don’t burn it all."

A weak voice sounded.

"Why?"

Red Ghost asked, puzzled.

"Can’t go on living as a human."

"As you wish,"

Red Ghost said after a moment of silence.

After about two-thirds of the debris had been burned, the flamethrower ceased its operation.

As the light from the fire disappeared, Liu Zheng was sitting unscathed on the electric chair.

It was as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

Only the newly grown black, rotten seaweed on his head proved the arrival of the Gospel.

"Not too bad, though a different hairstyle would be even better."

Liu Zheng said, touching his head.

The instant-noodle hairstyle was no longer fashionable.

Moreover, with his face shape, a 1990s side parting would better highlight his temperament.

"You look very optimistic."

Red Ghost put away the tank, observing him with interest.

"Having survived all this, why not be optimistic?"

Liu Zheng retorted.

The difficulty of this instance was already absurdly high, and his series of quirky moves had made the situation even more complex.

But the more it was so, the more he was determined to live on.

It was endless fun to wrestle with the heavens and earth, or with fellow humans.

To fight with these inhuman things was even more delightful—it was like when potato chips started coming in Sichuan pepper flavor, amusingly numbing.

Besides, Liu Zheng wasn’t just making the best of a bad situation.

As they say, high risk, high reward; given how difficult the instance was, the rewards were naturally substantial.

He now had two exquisite items, although neither could be taken out of the instance, but they could be traded.

Even if Niu Ma didn’t want them, French Plane Tree definitely would.

Even if he couldn’t trade for exquisite items, he could always trade for powerful exquisite ones.

What if he was fully geared after the first instance clearance? Wouldn’t it be like taking off?

Intuition told Liu Zheng that the beginner instances for other players definitely wouldn’t be this difficult, nor the rewards this high.

Of course, he didn’t consider the possibility that the difficulty of subsequent instances would also increase.

Life was already damn hard, why add to his troubles, right?

"You’re no different,"

Liu Zheng said to Red Ghost.

Those children could no longer be considered alive, but it was still teaching them, trying to let them live a normal life.

"The traces of Divine Descent, I’ve pretty much eradicated them. Unless something unexpected happens, you won’t hear the Gospel again."

"But the parts you requested to keep, they will still slowly alter your essence. Once you completely become non-human, I will have to eliminate you as well,"

Red Ghost changed the subject.

"No worries, by then I’ll make myself scarce,"

Liu Zheng said indifferently.

By that time, he reckoned he’d be back in reality anyway.

Let’s see if Red Ghost has the ability to chase after him out of the instance.

"But the upside is, you generated so much electricity this time, it will be enough to sustain the shelter for over a decade,"

There was a hint of amusement in Red Ghost’s voice.

"Shouldn’t that merit some extra reward?"

Liu Zheng climbed up the proverbial pole.

Even the lampposts knew to give workers an annual bonus.

"No,"

Red Ghost said succinctly.

"Tch."

He pursed his lips in disappointment.

"But if you run into trouble, you can come and hide in the shelter,"

Red Ghost added.

"Thanks a lot,"

Liu Zheng said half-heartedly.

He trusted French Plane Tree a bit more than Red Ghost.

And he probably wouldn’t be coming back to this section of the sewer anyway.

"Any safety door in the sewer leads to the shelter,"

Red Ghost appended.

"Well, thank you for that,"

This time, Liu Zheng’s thanks were much more sincere.

As long as he hadn’t caught the giant mouth whale, he would have to keep coming to the sewer.

With the existence of the shelter, it was like having an extra safe house.

Although the entrance to this safe house was a bit hard to find, it was still pretty good.

"Alright, you should go now."

The Red Ghost said.

"Indeed."

Liu Zheng glanced at the time, only an hour was left.

The two returned to the classroom, where the lights were all turned on.

The classroom was brightly lit, but everything seemed grayish except for the children’s clothes and head flowers.

"Goodbye, Mr. Electrician."

Galina said goodbye warmly.

The other children waved their hands too.

Liu Zheng smiled, pretending to ruffle her hair.

"If possible, please bring some cake and juice next time. It’s their birthday in a few days."

The Red Ghost whispered.

"Their birthday?"

"Yes. It’s also their passing away day."

The Red Ghost said.

"You can blast Divine Descent back, so why don’t you go up and do it yourself?"

"Which would you choose, a slow death in a dream or a sudden death upon waking?"

The Red Ghost countered.

"That would probably be a slow death."

Liu Zheng thought for a moment and said.

To live is to live for one more day; who knows, maybe a miracle will happen?

Just like if he had found out he was terminally ill and killed himself, he wouldn’t have had the chance to be chosen by Hell’s Game.

"They made the same choice. So, it’s better for everyone if I don’t go up,"

The Red Ghost said indifferently.

"The flags of the old era have fallen, while the ships of the new era have not yet arrived."

"Before they make new choices, I will stay here, waiting to decay thoroughly or be reborn anew."

As it spoke, a heavy scent of decay emanated from its body.

Liu Zheng took a whiff and felt as though he had aged considerably.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis didn’t matter anymore; he figured he wouldn’t live to experience the onset of the disease.

The delivery deadline didn’t matter either; he could make it if he went slowly.

Even the Legendary delivery man’s hat didn’t matter; even if all Legendary delivery men died and he collected the whole set, he wouldn’t be stronger than them.

He even began to think that staying in the shelter wouldn’t be so bad.

No need to work, no need to struggle with others, no need to trade wits with anyone.

Just to stay for a dozen or so days, then settle the instance.

Thinking about it felt a bit...

Forget it, there’s nothing to be excited about.

Just let it be, how else is one to live.

If you can’t live, then die; just let it be.

As Liu Zheng’s consciousness slowly dulled, his purplish-black shell began to take on a grayish white color.

"Wake up! Soldier."

With a stern shout, something cold pressed against Liu Zheng’s forehead.

He was abruptly awakened, then saw a rocket launcher.

"Is this how you wake people up around here?"

Liu Zheng, drenched in cold sweat, couldn’t help but retort.

"No, they are still children."

The Red Ghost shook its head and then took out a mini rocket launcher, a third of the size.

"That’s why I use the mini version."

"Haha, how humorous."

Liu Zheng said expressionlessly.

"I think so too."

The Red Ghost seemed somewhat proud.

"Let’s hurry and leave, or I’m going to freeze to death."

He said with a shiver.

"Then let’s go."

The Red Ghost brought him back to the safety door.

"You just open the door and go out."

It said.

"Aren’t you going to see me off?"

What if the sewer got furious again?

"You can get directly to the surface from here."

The Red Ghost said.

Feeling that it had no reason to lie to him, Liu Zheng chose to trust it.

He opened the safety door and stepped out.

The very next second, Liu Zheng appeared on the street.

The French Plane Tree in the distance stared at him in astonishment.

"Human, how did you come out?"