Realm Walker

Dr. Zhao's face went pale, disbelief and fear fighting for supremacy behind her eyes. "Is it a terrorist attack?"

Songhai was a metropolis of over twenty million people, a powerhouse of industry, finance, transportation, and shipping that was a bedrock of the nation. In all the decades past, even ordinary crimes were rare occurrences, let alone terrorist attacks.

"Call the police, hurry up and call the police..."

Dr. Zhao fumbled for her phone with trembling hands, trying to dial the Public Security Bureau, but nobody picked up.

"Everyone who can call them already has. The Bureau only has so many operators. They won't get to your call," Jiang Yu'er informed her. She quietly shut the door and lowered her voice. "We'll stay right here. Don't run."

Dr. Zhao's expression was frantic, and her eyes were wide with terror. "We can't stay here! Hostage takers are inhuman. They'll kill people. Xiao Jiang, let's escape through the back door—"

"We're staying here!" Jiang Yu'er declared icily, cutting Dr. Zhao off with a sharp frown.

Dr. Zhao froze, staring at her familiar colleague in bewilderment. This young woman with her round cheeks and sweet, lively features, who always carried herself like a perfect good girl, had just revealed a commanding severity that inspired both awe and fear. It was a side of her Dr. Zhao had never seen before.

Jiang Yu'er's expression softened and she said quietly, "Listen. The commotion outside has died down. That means the attackers have brought most areas under their control. If the terrorists have seized the hospital, they'll have people guarding every entrance, front and back, and are perhaps even watching the security cameras. Staying put is the safest option."

Dr. Zhao nodded numbly.

***

Inside the security monitoring room, Li Xianzong stood before the control console with his arms crossed. He held a walkie talkie in his left hand while he flipped his butterfly knife through lazy, practiced arcs with his right. His sharp, cold eyes were lit by the blue-green glow of the monitors in front of him.

On the screens, two armed gunmen had already locked down the main lobby of the outpatient building. They were herding the nurses, doctors, and administrative staff from the pharmacy counter, the registration desk, and every office in the building into the first floor atrium. Anyone who refused to cooperate caught a bullet. The gunmen were ruthless and vicious, seemingly utterly indifferent to their own Morality scores.

After killing several people, the remaining doctors, nurses, and patients lost all the will to resist. They crouched obediently on the floor of the atrium with their hands over their heads.

For Spirit Realm Walkers, using their abilities to kill was far more efficient and precise than bullets. But when it came to terrorizing ordinary people, nothing worked quite like firearms. To coerce a crowd on this scale, brute force alone wouldn't cut it. One needed guns.

The voices of his companions crackled through the walkie talkie.

—First floor cleared. All personnel gathered in the lobby.

—Second floor cleared. All personnel gathered in the lobby.

Li Xianzong depressed the transmit button and brought the device to his lips. "Check the obstetrics ward. Drag any medical staff down here. Don't hurt any pregnant women."

One of his companions sneered through the radio.

—Hah! You're an Enchanting Demon. What's with the bleeding heart act?

Li Xianzong flashed a grin. "I don't feel sorry for the weak. But my father, back when he was alive, used to tell me that children are the flowers of our nation. They deserve a little mercy and care."

***

In his Fu Family Bay Villa, Fu Qingyang lay sprawled across a massage chair with his eyes closed, resting. His skin was flushed with an eerie redness, and the muscles in his arms and legs twitched with faint spasms. Two bunny girls knelt on either side of the chair, tapping and kneading with their small hands, working the soreness from his muscles.

Ling Jun was perched in a crouch on one of the nearby armchairs. He stuffed a chunk of honeydew melon into his mouth and said in genuine admiration, "You're still pushing yourself this hard? I remember you started practicing the sword when you were ten. You kept at it even after becoming a Spirit Realm Walker. It's been over a decade now. What level have you reached?"

"The level at which I can lop off your head in a single stroke," Fu Qingyang replied with his eyes still shut.

"Bullshit!" Ling Jun protested. "I'm a Beast King. I've got two lives. You'd need two strokes to kill me."

Without warning, both bunny girls went rigid, then crumpled to the floor.

Fu Qingyang's eyes snapped open, his gaze sharp as a drawn blade.

Ling Jun, still crouching on the armchair, fought to keep his eyelids open as his body swayed dangerously. "So... sleepy... Damn it, it's... it's the Dream Envoy..."

His head lolled sideways and he collapsed into sleep.

"Yi Chuanmei?" Fu Qingyang let out a cold snort, closed his eyes, and willed himself into slumber.

***

Inside the glass building within the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau compound, Zhang Yuanqing had just stepped out of the restroom when he spotted a civilian staffer hurrying up the steel staircase to the second floor. Her face was taut with urgency.

She looked toward Guan Ya, who sat with her usual languid ease, and called out, "The Bureau just received an emergency call. Terrorists have attacked Pingtai Hospital. Every doctor, nurse, and patient in the outpatient building is trapped inside."

"What?" Guan Ya exclaimed as she shot to her feet and strode toward the Squad Leader's office.

Even Wang Tai, who never concerned himself with anything beyond his own screen, looked up in startled alarm, his expression turning grave.

Pingtai Hospital. The words hit Zhang Yuanqing like a club to the skull, leaving his ears ringing. His aunt worked at Pingtai Hospital.

His face went ashen. He pulled out his phone with one hand while firing off questions. "What's the situation inside the hospital? Are there any casualties? How many hostage takers?"

The staffer shook her head. "I don't have that level of detail. The Bureau has already mobilized personnel to head for the hospital. We'll need to conduct a further investigation to find out any specifics."

At least that meant the attack had just occurred. Zhang Yuanqing stepped aside and dialed his aunt's number, and was met with an emotionless electronic voice.

—Sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable. Please try again later.

Unavailable? Zhang Yuanqing swore under his breath.

Just then, Guan Ya emerged from the office with Li Dongze, Jiang Jingwei, and Teng Yuan in tow.

Li Dongze moved at a rapid clip, his expression composed but his words machine gun fast. "We leave now!"

The team scrambled into action. Guan Ya yanked two holsters from her desk drawer, not even bothering to strap them to her thighs. Wang Tai was already on his feet, clutching his beloved laptop. They filed out of the glass building and piled into Li Dongze's SUV, which was parked at the entrance. The driver floored the gas as they shot toward the gates of the Bureau.

Pingtai Hospital wasn't far from the Bureau. They ran every red light and arrived in just over ten minutes. By then, the hospital entrance was choked with police cruisers, their warning lights painting the scene in pulses of red and blue.

Over a dozen armed public security officers were in a standoff with a middle-aged man in a hospital gown. The patient stood blocking the hospital doors with a walkie talkie slung around his neck, pressing a scalpel to his own throat.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Bring Yuanshi Tianzun to me!" he screamed with the wild-eyed frenzy of a man whose mind was unraveling.

As the SUV pulled up, the doors flew open. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze immediately found his cousin leading the cordon. He silently pulled on a baseball cap and face mask.

Li Dongze gripped his walking cane and strode toward Chen Yuanjun, his voice low and commanding. "What's the situation?"

Chen Yuanjun clearly recognized him. His eyes swept briefly over the van behind them before he answered in a hushed tone, "The hostage takers have every patient and medical worker inside under their control. The casualty count is still unknown. They refuse to communicate with us and have threatened to detonate explosives if anyone breaches the building."

He paused, a flicker of bewilderment crossing his stern features. "Their demand appears to be a conversation with someone called Yuanshi Tianzun. Frankly, I suspect the hostage takers are mentally unstable..."

Li Dongze gave a slight nod, studied Chen Yuanjun for a few seconds, then frowned. "Captain Chen. Composure is a fundamental quality for any officer. You're too tense, too anxious. What's going on?"

He had read the worry and unease beneath the captain's rigid exterior at a glance.

Chen Yuanjun smiled bitterly. "My aunt is a doctor at Pingtai Hospital..."

Li Dongze's expression tightened. He clasped the captain's shoulder without a word, then turned back to the van. He looked at the red haired girl and pointed toward the patient at the entrance. "Jingwei! Get his walkie talkie. Go easy on him. Don't take a life."

Jiang Jingwei nodded eagerly, excitement sparking across her young face. She hopped out of the van, crouched low, and used the police cars and officers as cover to circle around to the patient's flank. Her knees bent ever so slightly, and the next instant, she launched forward like a dog slipping its leash, tearing toward the man in a blur.

The officers on scene saw only a dark streak flash past them. By the time their brains caught up, the red-haired girl was already at the patient's side. One high kick sent the scalpel spinning from his grip. She twisted at the waist, her body whipping about in a spin that drove her other leg around to crash into the back of his neck with a loud crack.

The middle aged man never understood what happened before consciousness left him.

Among the Five Elements Alliance's Lawful classes, when it came to pure speed, the Fire Sage stood at the top.

Officers swarmed in and secured the unconscious patient while Jiang Jingwei snatched up the walkie talkie and sprinted back to the van.

Li Dongze took the device, pressed the transmit button, and spoke. "I'm the Squad Leader of Kangyang District's Squad Two. You can discuss whatever your demands with me."

He repeated himself three times. Then a brash, arrogant laugh crackled through the speaker.

—I want to speak with Yuanshi Tianzun.

Zhang Yuanqing was about to respond when Guan Ya's hand clamped down on his shoulder.

"Yuanshi Tianzun isn't here," Li Dongze replied without missing a beat. "What do you want with him?"

The arrogant male on the other end laughed again.

—He's not here? Seems I didn't pick the best timing. I'll give you ten minutes. After ten minutes, I want Yuanshi Tianzun standing in front of me. If he's not, I'll kill one person for every minute that's passed. And if you try to storm the hospital, I'll have someone detonate the bombs and take everyone with them.

Li Dongze glanced at Guan Ya and mouthed silently, "Contact Centurion Fu."

Then, he spoke into the radio, his voice steady and unyielding. "You're welcome to try detonating those bombs. We will never negotiate with terrorists. If you're prepared to die alongside everyone in that hospital, go ahead."

A burst of raucous laughter erupted from the walkie talkie.

—You overestimate me, Squad Leader. I don't have the courage to die alongside a bunch of nobodies. Like I said, I'll have someone else set off the bombs. Every one of them is someone I recruited. Servants of Ghost Eye Judge, people who were already at the end of their rope. The moment I told them I wanted to strike back at the authorities, at society itself, they jumped at the chance. Of course, a little persuasion from me didn't hurt.

Servants of Ghost Eye Judge... Li Dongze's heart sank. "You're an Enchanting Demon?"

—You should know my name. It's Li Xianzong.

The moment those words left the speaker, every expression in the van changed. With the imminent opening of the large-scale slaughter dungeon, they had anticipated that Evil-class Walkers might target Yuanshi Tianzun. But none of them had imagined it would be Li Xianzong.

Moreover, the bloodthirsty Enchanting Demon had come in swinging for the fences. No assassination, no ambush, but a full blown terrorist attack. It was arrogance taken to the absolute extreme.

—A minute and a half have already passed. The clock's ticking. I'll be waiting for you to give me the good news.

The walkie talkie went silent.

Li Dongze set it down and looked at Guan Ya.

Her slender brows drew together. "Fu Qingyang isn't answering his phone."

Another wave of dread swept through the group.

Li Dongze ran his thumb along the handle of his cane and voiced his thoughts aloud. "They came prepared. If Yuanshi doesn't show himself within ten minutes, Li Xianzong withdraws, and no one inside that hospital survives. You all heard him. The hostage takers are servants of Ghost Eye Judge. This whole attack was designed as a murder-suicide."

Ten minutes. There was no way stewards from other districts could arrive in time. The window was impossibly tight.

Teng Yuan spoke up. "This guy is smart. Even if Yuanshi doesn't show himself, he walks away clean and leaves us with a catastrophe on our hands."

Zhang Yuanqing's voice was hard. "He came for me. He wants to hunt me down. Squad Leader, let me go in."

Urgency gnawed at him. He had no idea how his aunt was faring in there, whether she was hurt.

Li Dongze shot him a glare. "If you go in there, you die!"

"Absolutely not!" Guan Ya vetoed his suggestion immediately, frowning. "This isn't like you. You're not this reckless."

Only Jiang Jingwei was on his side, cracking her knuckles, her small face ablaze with fighting spirit. "Let's charge in! Watch me punch his head clean off."

It was the seasoned Li Dongze who steadied the room, his veteran composure cutting through the panic.

"Don't rush," he said slowly and deliberately. "There's always a way through. We need to put together a plan."