54: Growing up in killing

Chapter 54: Growing in Slaughter

The two were quickly dealt with, and Xu Jingzhe obtained four pollution cores.

Three one-year cores, one two-year core.

The two-year core belonged to Brother Qiang.

The age of a pollution core was easy to distinguish, as Ye Zi had taught him.

Against the moonlight, one could see black rings inside the pollution core, like tree rings; one ring meant one year.

A change occurred every ten years, with nine black rings merging into one yellow ring.

However, it wasn't guaranteed that living for ten years would result in a yellow ring; it depended on one's strength.

If one couldn't merge them, even if he lived in the Pollution Zone for twenty years, his pollution core would still have nine black rings.

His strength would only be that of a nine-year Contaminator.

Xu Jingzhe wiped his dagger with his clothes and put it back behind his waist. He walked out of the house and looked north.

"How about we just kill our way through?"

System: "Ding, good idea. This will help you grow quickly."

"It's just... the danger is great."

Xu Jingzhe closed his eyes and spread his arms; the scene of Ye Zi desperately protecting him reappeared in his mind.

"For Ye Zi, for my 'family', what is danger?"

"Growing in slaughter!"

As dawn broke in the east, Xu Jingzhe, with his AWM on his back, continued his journey, heading north.

At noon, he encountered two Contaminators.

Confirming they were searching for the five people who stole Moon Soil Evolution Fluid Pure Liquid, he struck with his knife, cutting them down like vegetables.

He got two more one-year pollution cores.

An hour later, he encountered three more people.

All killed!

Two hours later, he encountered more.

Killed again!

In the evening, he encountered even more.

Continued killing!

Due to the continuous slaughter, Xu Jingzhe's eyes were filled with a violent glint.

Ahead, a bonfire flickered. Xu Jingzhe didn't hesitate and stepped forward.

"Boss, someone's coming," Gadfly warned.

"Hmm, alone? Be on alert. It might be a cultivator from a high-molecule Pollution Zone, possibly with someone secretly protecting him."

"You guys be smart; if things look bad, just run."

Fly set down the lamb leg, which was thicker than a bull's leg, wiped his hands, and stepped forward proactively.

"Friend, it's so late, want to eat with us?"

Xu Jingzhe's face was cold, his eyes devoid of emotion, and he said in a deep voice, "Are you... looking for the five people who stole Moon Soil Evolution Fluid Pure Liquid?"

Fly looked at Xu Jingzhe's handsome face and felt a jolt in his heart.

He asked tentatively, "Are you too, friend? What a coincidence..."

"Puff!"

A head flew high, blood gushing like a fountain, staining the dark night.

"Boss!"

"Big Brother!"

"Damn it, attack!"

"Avenge the Boss!"

The remaining four people shouted to attack, but only Gadfly actually charged.

Gadfly rushed forward, leaped, and brought both hands down on Xu Jingzhe's head with combined force.

As he brought his hands down, their color turned golden.

"Bang!"

Xu Jingzhe looked up, his body motionless. When Gadfly got close, he kicked him in the chest.

Gadfly's body was like a kite with a broken string, sliding a distance in the air before crashing heavily into the bonfire, sending sparks flying.

He struggled for a long time but couldn't get up.

The three others ran in three different directions. Xu Jingzhe was unhurried.

He set up his sniper rifle, aimed.

"Bang!" A muffled shot.

The shot rang out, and a man fell.

"Bang!" The second shot, more than half of a chest was blown away, flesh and blood flying everywhere.

The third person was smarter, using an S-shaped movement.

As long as his running path was irregular, the bullet wouldn't catch him.

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

Although Xu Jingzhe was a 'rookie', that was only relative.

The third shot, an accurate prediction, blew his head apart, leaving nothing but a mess.

After collecting the pollution cores, Xu Jingzhe hugged his AWM, leaned his head against a large rock, and fell into a deep sleep...

"Boss, I, I miss Little Six. Do you think we'll see him before we die?" Cold Qing finally couldn't suppress her internal injuries, spitting out a large mouthful of blood. She looked up at the moon in the sky and said, "O-old, old lady hasn't even taken Little Six's virginity yet."

Wang Ning's right hand was spread on the ground.

Tiny ice crystals sparkled under the moonlight; from a distance, the area for ten miles around was covered in glittering diamonds.

This was Wang Ning's safety measure: he condensed water molecules in the air into a thin layer on the ground, so he would detect anyone approaching immediately.

However, continuously using his ability worsened his injuries.

"I had a dream last night," Wang Ning said with a smile. "Do, do you know what it was?"

Before anyone could answer, Wang Ning continued, "I, I dreamed that Little Six descended from the sky, riding on colorful auspicious clouds, just, just like a War God."

"Wherever he went, no, no one survived."

"Pfft..." Wang Ning vomited large mouthfuls of blood; his body was cracking open, covered in various wounds, some scabbed over, others still bleeding.

"Wuwuwu... I miss Little Six so much too. I, I want to fight monsters with Little Six."

Little Loli and Big Beard leaned back-to-back, their chests stained crimson.

"L-Little Four still has bullets, right?"

"If not, just let him come back. He doesn't need to cover us in secret anymore."

Wang Ning's eyes drooped, his eyelids growing heavier.

So sleepy, he really wanted to get a good night's sleep, to sleep until morning.

Stretch, catch a few little sparrows, and roast them.

Fragrant and delicious, he would even chew the bone fragments and swallow them.

Suddenly, his right hand trembled, and hisdecadent atmosphere (aura of decadence) vanished. He lowered his voice and said, "Someone's coming! Prepare to ambush! If they want us dead, they must be prepared to be killed in return!"

...Xu Jingzhe suddenly woke up, his clothes drenched in cold sweat.

He panted heavily, wiping the sweat from his face with a casual gesture.

He had a dream again.

But this time, it wasn't a dream of being chased, but of Wang Ning and the others.

They... were dead.

The five of them were hung on five silver flagpoles in front of Musileke's city gate, crows cawed mournfully, vultures circled, fighting over their flesh and blood.

And he stood watching from a distance, without tears, without sorrow, as if it had nothing to do with him.

He just... stood there silently.

Watching their flesh and blood disappear, leaving only white bones swaying slightly in the wind.

"Boss, are you guys okay?" Xu Jingzhe murmured to himself.

The moon hung in the west, a bright crescent.

He got up again, his AWM on his back, like a hurried traveler, having weathered many storms, hoping to return still a youth.

In the early morning, Xu Jingzhe encountered his first formidable enemy.

A three-year Contaminator, powerful and with a mutated body.

His feet were covered in swan-like feathers, making his body light. With a gentle leap, he could reach three meters high.

His running speed was even faster, constantly suppressing Xu Jingzhe with his speed. The two fought from the Hundred Herbs Garden all the way to the Sanwei Study, leaving devastation in their wake.

Unfortunately, his strength was not great enough; his punches rained down on Xu Jingzhe but couldn't bring him down.

"Thud!" Xu Jingzhe feigned an opening, taking a punch to the chest.

His dagger sliced diagonally, from the ear to the mouth, nearly tearing off his lower jaw. This was only because he dodged quickly, otherwise, half his face would have been gone.

"Ah!" He screamed mournfully, clutching his left face and retreating to the side, his eyes fixed on Xu Jingzhe, filled with extreme hatred.

He couldn't understand why someone who hadn't even condensed a pollution core could be so strong!

"Heh... hehe! Do... do I have a grudge with you? Must you... take my life?"

"We, we are all... Contaminators, after all."

"Yes, there's a grudge." Xu Jingzhe moved closer, not wanting him to escape, and growled, "Because... I am a Dark Night Hunter!"