Chapter 123: Sincerity Is the Ultimate Weapon
Old Wang stood up, flicking his wrist to pull his greatsword free. Droplets of dark crimson splattered onto the scorched earth.
“You’re not the Young Miss,” he said flatly. “The person she admires most in this world is the Boss. She would never be jealous of her.”
He looked down at the blade, his voice calm and sure. “Besides, ‘Young Miss’ is just a title. In truth, she has never acted spoiled. She is smart, brave, and can endure hardships without complaining. She doesn’t act like a pampered heiress at all.”
He gave a dry chuckle. “And on top of that, mental math is her greatest skill. For a simple calculation like sixty-six plus eighty-eight, the real Young Miss wouldn’t even need a single second.”
Watching the shattered imp dissolve into a cloud of red smoke, Old Wang muttered under his breath, “And more importantly… I haven’t even had the guts to confess to her yet.”
Meanwhile, the real Jiangzhehu Inheritor, completely unaware that a phantom clone of herself had just been killed, was spinning in place across another section of the wasteland, searching for her scattered teammates.
Before long, she spotted The Three Knight Brothers sprinting toward her. But without offering a single word of greeting or asking if she was hurt, the three men immediately clustered around her, begging for a cash handout.
The young heiress snorted coldly. Without a second thought, she leveled her firearm and unleashed a sweeping burst of automatic fire.
Rat-tat-tat!
The three figures were torn apart, dissolving instantly into wisps of red mist.
“It really was a pack of ghosts,” she muttered, blowing the smoke from her barrel. “Where did they get the nerve? Trying to hustle an interest-free loan out of me? Those three wouldn’t even dare to dream of asking for that, yet you monsters actually said it out loud? Die!”
Not far from her position, Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar was clutching her submachine gun tightly against her chest, creeping through the craggy boulders.
“Young Miss… Shanshan… Sister Bone Ash… is anyone there?” she whispered softly, her voice trembling.
She was terrified. Ever since entering the highway and joining Lin Huai, she had never faced such a helpless, lonely situation. As the youngest member of the group, everyone had always looked out for her, making sure she was guarded in the center during every raid.
Now that her companions had vanished without a trace, panic took hold of her chest.
Just then, Peace and Violence stepped out from behind a stone hill.
Milk Tea’s eyes lit up. She sprinted toward him in pure joy. “Brother He Ping! You found me!”
In sharp contrast to her relief, Peace and Violence looked completely unimpressed—disappointed, even. He pushed up his spectacles with a knuckle and sighed, “Oh, it’s just you. I thought I had found the Boss.”
Milk Tea’s excited steps slowed to an awkward halt. She self-consciously smoothed her hair, lowering her head. “Oh… I’m looking for the Boss too.”
Peace and Violence unslung his automatic rifle, turning to walk ahead. “Whatever, you’ll have to do. Let’s move and look for the others.”
He glanced back at her, his expression cold and detached. “It’s just the two of us right now. You know my combat ability is nowhere near Brother Long’s, so don’t expect me to protect you. If a horde ambushes us, you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
Milk Tea bit her lower lip, nodding softly. “Mm, I understand. I can manage. Thank you, Brother He Ping.”
Seeing him treat her with such icy detachment, the initial relief in Milk Tea’s chest slowly soured into deep sorrow.
Had everyone in the squad only been nice to her because of Sister Bone Ash?
When dropped into a real life-or-death crisis with no one else watching, would people finally stop pretending to care about a weakling like her?
Had Brother He Ping secretly resented her this whole time, only hiding it until now?
Milk Tea couldn’t stop the tears from welling up. She felt foolish for not realizing how much of a burden she had been until someone spelled it out so brutally.
The more she thought about it, the more miserable she felt. Yet she couldn’t deny the painful truth: in pure combat, she really was dead weight.
Seeing him make his disdain so obvious, Milk Tea’s footsteps slowly ground to a complete halt.
Hearing her stop, Peace and Violence whipped around, irritation burning in his eyes. His voice turned harsh: “I told you to keep up! What kind of childish tantrum are you throwing now? This is a deadly survival game, not playing house!”
He took a step toward her, scowling. “The Boss isn’t here to hold your hand! Nobody wants to drag a useless burden along and waste energy protecting you. Letting you walk behind me is already generous enough. What more do you want?!”
Milk Tea looked at this unfamiliar, cruel version of Brother He Ping, her eyes red and her throat tight with tears. “I’m sorry… I know I’m weak. I know I’m holding the team back. So let’s just go our separate ways. I won’t drag you down.”
She wiped her wet cheeks, choking back a sob. “I’ll go search for Sister Bone Ash on my own. I won’t follow you anymore.”
Peace and Violence scoffed, his gaze chillingly cold. “So you can go burden someone else instead?”
He leaned in, his words like venomous needles. “Do you honestly believe anyone in this squad genuinely likes you?”
“If the Boss weren’t shielding you, not a single person would ever agree to team up with you.”
“This is a brutal apocalypse where real blood flows. Nobody has time to baby a weakling. A liability who can only cower in the back will never survive.”
He looked her up and down with cold contempt. “Only the strong are respected, and only the strong survive this game.”
He tapped his chin as if making a practical calculation. “Honestly, you don’t even need to look for the others. Wherever you go, you’ll just drag me down or get someone else killed.”
“If you truly don’t want to be a burden, and if you don’t want your teammates dying just to save your skin, why don’t you leave the squad right now? Better yet, just lie down and die in this trial.”
He smiled faintly, without a trace of warmth. “With you out of the way, the Boss can recruit a truly capable player into the Elite Squad, and our team will only grow stronger.”
Everyone had their limits. Pushed past her breaking point by such cruel mockery, a fierce spark of defiance ignited in Milk Tea’s heart.
“Sister Bone Ash told me that nobody is born strong!” she cried out, her voice trembling but fierce. “Every powerful fighter had to claw their way up through hard work and pain!”
“If others can grow strong over time, so can I!”
She dragged the sleeve of her combat suit across her eyes, weeping openly, but her small shoulders stayed squared.
“I promised Sister Bone Ash that I would become the greatest healer on the entire server! I swore that I would become the ultimate shield protecting the lives of everyone in our Elite Squad! I promised I would make Zone 444 proud!”
She stepped forward, clutching her weapon with both hands. “I took an oath that I would use my own life to defend every single member of this team!”
Her tear-filled eyes locked straight onto his indifferent gaze, blazing with unyielding conviction:
“Brother He Ping, even if you hate me… the people I swore to protect with my life will always include you!”
Milk Tea poured every ounce of her soul into that shout. Every word rang with pure, absolute sincerity.
The “Peace and Violence” standing opposite her froze completely, looking as though an invisible hammer had struck him directly in the chest. His sneer cracked, leaving him paralyzed in place, entirely unable to speak.
A long silence stretched between them before the man’s face twitched with awkward guilt.
“I… I’m sorry…” he mumbled, his voice wavering. “I didn’t mean to make you cry…”
Then, as if snapping out of a trance, he shook his head violently. “No… wait! I did mean to! That was the whole point!”
Before he could finish his confused mumble, his body began to blur. The familiar clothes and glasses of Brother He Ping melted away, replaced by the twisted, eerie form of a faceless, long-haired ghoul.
