Chapter 137: Hand of the Raid
Gene Benua finally realized that his extra leg could be used to his advantage.
He suddenly stomped hard on Bill’s stomach.
The force pushed Bill backward while propelling Gene Benua forward.
"F*ck!"
"F*ck!"
"Die, you bastard!"
"Just wait for me, Gene Benua!"
Bill’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
He glared back coldly as he crawled toward the station.
Then, through his blood-filled vision, he suddenly noticed something.
A golden hand symbol had appeared in the corner of his sight.
When he focused on it, a line of text immediately surfaced.
[SS-Level Talent]
[Hand of the Raid]
[Ability Description: Select a dungeon participant and steal their talent for 24 hours.]
[During these 24 hours, the target will become an ordinary person, while you can use their talent without restriction.]
[Note: When you select a new target to steal from, the previously stolen talent will automatically return to its original owner.]
"What?"
"What is this?"
Bill stared at the description in disbelief.
At the same time, Gene Benua had also noticed something in his own vision.
He tried to activate it.
Above Gene Benua, who was desperately running through the fog, another symbol appeared.
[S-Level Talent]
[Copy]
[Current Copied Ability: Shadow Symbiosis]
[Shadow Symbiosis]
[S-Level Talent]
[Your shadow becomes your true body.]
[As long as the shadow is not destroyed, your physical body will regenerate infinitely.]
[Copy: Select a dungeon participant. After activating this ability, you will perfectly replicate that participant’s talent.]
[When you copy a new ability, the previous copied ability will automatically disappear.]
Bill’s eyes widened.
"Copy..."
"Hand of the Raid..."
His brain suddenly started working at an extraordinary speed.
*What if I steal his ability?*
Sometimes, when people were driven into desperate situations, their minds could produce astonishing insights.
Bill’s gaze sharpened.
He looked toward the station.
Above Shen Yu, Menloa, and Malin, different words flickered in his vision.
There was no need for him to understand everything immediately.
He could see the abilities.
But when his gaze landed on Malin—
There were three separate indicators above her.
Bill froze.
"This..."
His eyes widened.
"Damn."
"Damn!"
"That bastard..."
"Die!"
"You must be dead for sure!"
"Just get the hell back to your beautiful hell!"
---
Gene Benua had finally reached the station entrance.
He could already see Shen Yu and the others standing safely inside.
His eyes lit up.
He was about to enter—
**BOOM!**
Seven grotesque heads suddenly slammed into him.
His head was crushed again.
His body collapsed heavily onto the ground.
Gurgle.
Gurgle.
Blood poured from his ruined body.
The seven heads twisted together around his neck.
But something was wrong.
The place where Gene Benua’s original head should have regenerated...
Remained empty.
Gurgle.
Blood slowly flowed toward the station.
Gene Benua’s body lay motionless.
It never moved again.
---
"Ha?"
"Dead?"
"Wasn’t he immortal?"
Menloa stared in confusion.
Shen Yu, however, wore a strange expression as he watched the corpse.
The seven heads slowly settled around Gene Benua’s neck.
Then they completely took over his body.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Finally!"
"Finally dead!"
The seven-headed monster grinned.
All seven heads turned toward the station.
Their eyes locked onto Shen Yu and the others.
A cruel smile appeared on their faces.
"Next..."
"It’s your turn."
---
Malin was terrified.
She immediately retreated several steps.
Shen Yu remained standing at the entrance.
He was confident that the monster couldn’t cross into the station.
For a long time, the seven-headed monster simply stared at him.
Then—
Its body slowly stood upright.
One of its heads raised a hand and dragged a finger across its throat.
A throat-slitting gesture.
Then it released a cruel laugh.
"Hehehehe..."
The monster turned around.
Slowly, it disappeared into the fog.
---
Puff.
Puff.
Puff.
At the same time, high above them, fourteen head-shaped balloons floated through the mist.
Now, only seven remained.
They stared down at Bill’s motionless body.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
"Dead stick."
"This is the result of offending me."
The seven heads suddenly exerted force again.
They pressed down toward Bill’s head.
But at that exact moment—
Bill seemed to realize something.
His eyes focused intensely on Menloa.
"Copy."
"Golden Hero!"
Buzz!
A golden halo suddenly enveloped Bill and Menloa.
The golden light grew brighter.
Then—
The two figures disappeared.
A moment later, the golden halo faded.
Menloa appeared inside the station.
He was carrying Bill.
---
"Who?"
"Oh God!"
"That idiot finally survived!"
Menloa looked down at Bill.
"You big fool."
"Since you saved me, I won’t attack you from now on."
Bill looked around.
"Also... the one who just made that sound was you, right?"
He glanced toward Shen Yu.
"Kid from Lua, I won’t attack you either."
Standing safely inside the station once again, Bill remained pale, but he still held his head high.
Menloa’s support allowed him to stand steadily as he scanned the few remaining survivors.
Even though he had lost his memories, his natural personality hadn’t changed.
He still carried an arrogant, hot-headed attitude toward others.
But when his gaze landed on the three people standing near Malin, he hesitated.
For a long time, he didn’t dare say anything.
Shen Yu looked at him.
"Let’s go."
"There isn’t much time left."
Shen Yu studied Bill with a strange expression.
Perhaps he had already guessed something about the abilities the others possessed.
There was a slight displeasure in his eyes.
Saving people had been completely random.
Who could be rescued depended on fate.
Yet, for some reason, Shen Yu felt an instinctive dislike toward Bill.
Perhaps it was related to their previous encounters.
Even though his memories were gone, that deep-rooted rejection remained.
---
Dang.
Dang.
Dang.
The countdown continued.
Shen Yu led Bill and Menloa through the mist.
They quickly obtained the transfer card.
The four survivors then boarded the Twilight Express once again.
"Woo—!"
A high-pitched whistle echoed through the station.
The train slowly began moving.
[Train in operation.]
[Next Stop: Future Station.]
[Estimated Travel Time: 1 hour.]
A mechanical announcement echoed through the carriage.
"In the public bag in front of your seat, there are small snacks prepared for passengers."
"If you feel hungry, you may open the bag and eat."
"Warm reminder: Please do not waste food."
"Please avoid overeating."
The warm reminder ended.
Outside the train window, the scenery rapidly retreated.
Inside the carriage, the tense atmosphere gradually settled into silence.
For the first time in a long while—
Everything seemed peaceful.
---
Meanwhile, in the footage broadcast by the United Nations, the barrage suddenly became distorted.
A solemn announcement appeared.
[Participant from Bangzi Country, Gene Benua, is dead.]
[The capital city of Bangzi Country is about to fall into the Memory Train.]
As soon as the announcement sounded—
The Bangzi Country barrage went completely insane.
404 Boy Band: YES! YES!
404 Boy Band: Gene Benua is finally dead!
404 Boy Band: Beautiful Daddy! We don’t have to serve in the American district anymore, right?
Cultural Heritage Must Be Applied: Great!
Cultural Heritage Must Be Applied: Lord Bill isn’t dead!
Cultural Heritage Must Be Applied: Even if our show falls, switching the economic lifeline of an entire country is still acceptable!
"What the hell?!"
"My family is in Showa!"
"Damn it!"
"How long do you useless people have to kneel?"
"Oh my God!"
"I need to leave Showa immediately!"
"Huh?"
"What did I just say?"
---
Strict Farmer: Not bad. Not bad.
"The people have such awareness. That’s quite good."
"Lord Bill is fine."
"You can just be happy."
"Showa is a nice place."
"Hurry up and build another one."
Free America: "Interesting."
"Shen Yu actually came to save people."
"Is he planning to cooperate with our Lord Bill?"
---
Simida Showa: Showa has been abandoned!
"We will establish a new capital soon!"
"At that time, Beautiful Country can still send troops to garrison it!"
Simida Showa: Crazy!
"This is completely crazy!"
At that moment, a bright-red notification suddenly appeared across the live stream.
[Showa City: 1 million people have disappeared.]
[The Memory Train is growing longer due to the influx of population.]
[The train is currently hovering over Seoul.]
[Civilians are beginning to flee.]
[Estimated final number of disappearances: 2 million.]
The bright-red information continued scrolling across the screen.
Yet the Bangzi Country viewers were still celebrating the fact that Beautiful Country had not become angry.
They were celebrating their survival.
Celebrating their submission.
Celebrating the fact that their strongest participant had died.
No one seemed to notice the true horror behind the announcement.
The Memory Train was getting longer.
And with every new person swallowed by it...
The nightmare was expanding.