Chapter 188 - Experimentals in the sewers
The saber-wielding shadow clone was surprisingly lethal, but this was not the moment to savor that. The shadow clone battled with the Experimentals while slowly making its retreat as well, because there would only be more and more Experimentals coming down into the sewers from here.
Yang Xiaojin piggybacked Ren Xiaosu and kept running in the sewers. There was the sound of splashing with every step she took in the dirty water. Ren Xiaosu could even hear Yang Xiaojin breathing heavily. He knew Yang Xiaojin was already at her limit, so it had to have been taking a heavy toll on her to carry another person on her back at this time.
Ren Xiaosu said, “Why don’t you put me down—”
“No!” Yang Xiaojin stubbornly said before he could finish. Just like in the Jing Mountains, the girl’s character had always been tougher than a man’s.
The shadow clone kept colliding with the sewer walls to prevent the Experimentals from locking it down with their limbs. When one of the Experimentals pounced onto its back, the shadow clone rammed the sewer wall with its back and crushed the Experimental.
In just a moment, Ren Xiaosu’s shadow clone had blocked five or six of the Experimentals that had just crawled into the sewers behind it. Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin were now getting further and further away from the Experimentals.
However, the number of Experimentals that were attracted into the sewers by the noise kept increasing. Ren Xiaosu did not know how long his shadow clone could hold them off for.
“It’d really be quite an injustice if we died in here,” Ren Xiaosu said with a sigh.
Yang Xiaojin said, “We won’t die here. I’ll definitely get you out of this place.”
Suddenly, a rough voice boasted from ahead of them, “Haha, these stupid Experimentals must not be expecting their Uncle Luo to be hiding right under their noses in here.”
Right after that, Tang Zhou said in a perfunctory tone, “That’s right, Boss is absolutely right.”
All of a sudden, Luo Lan sounded a little uncertain. “Uh, did you all hear that?!”
Yang Xiaojin hooked a left at one of the intersections and ran right into Luo Lan’s dumbfounded group.
Luo Lan, Tang Zhou, and their men were all on guard and holding their guns up cautiously. The moment they shone their flashlights on Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin, Luo Lan was amused. “You’ve gotten your comeuppance too, eh, Ren Xiaosu?”
Ren Xiaosu couldn’t care less and weakly called out, “Run!”
Luo Lan was stunned, not understanding the situation. “Run? Why?”
Then the roars of the Experimentals reverberated behind Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin. Luo Lan blanched as he turned tail. “Fuck! Why does nothing good ever come out of meeting you!”
Yang Xiaojin suddenly said, “Luo Lan, you’re familiar with the sewers! Bring us to the courtyard house we rented!”
Luo Lan said guiltily while running, “Like I know where your rented courtyard house is! It’s not like I’ve been monitoring you all!”
When Yang Xiaojin saw that Luo Lan was still acting dumb at a time like this, she sneered, “Do you want to live or die?!”
Luo Lan turned his head and saw the Experimentals getting closer and closer. “Turn left!”
As they ran for their lives in the sewers, the well-trained Qing Consortium combat troops fell to the back of the group. Occasionally, they would stop and rake the Experimentals with gunfire in an attempt to delay them so Luo Lan could escape. As their shots were not aimed, however, Ren Xiaosu’s shadow clone got hit by the random gunfire as well.
This had nothing to do with purposeful friendly fire. Ren Xiaosu understood that no one cared to carefully take aim at their targets at a time like this. But more importantly, he could feel pain when those bullets hit his shadow clone! The continuous firing from the guns left Ren Xiaosu in extreme pain. He was already sweating, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
When Luo Lan happened to turn back and saw the shadow clone, he muttered as he ran, “I didn’t expect Xu Xianchu to still be in the stronghold. Where is he in person? I’ve heard this shadow clone isn’t afraid of bullets, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”
Ren Xiaosu expressionlessly looked at the rotund figure of Luo Lan from behind and made a note to remember what happened here today.
At this moment, Luo Lan checked their position with a glance and roared, “We’re here, climb up!”
With that, the group climbed up to the surface via a rusty ladder that extended into the sewers as over a 100 of the Qing Consortium’s combat troops remained below where they formed a simple intercepting line of fire.
They knelt on one knee in the dirty sewage water and took turns firing their guns. When the first row of soldiers ran out of bullets, the second row of soldiers immediately replaced them in the firing line. Only by doing this could they hold off all the Experimentals in the sewers. Even these creatures that were not afraid of bullets, they still wouldn’t dare to rush into such an intense hail of fire.
Ren Xiaosu controlled his shadow clone to force its way back to his side. The pain he felt from the gunfire nearly caused him to pass out. By this point, his shadow clone was no longer shouldering the responsibility of holding back the Experimentals. Therefore, he made it carry himself and Yang Xiaojin on its shoulders again. Ren Xiaosu knew that Yang Xiaojin was also nearing her limits. She had purely been running on willpower while she carried Ren Xiaosu all the way here.
The group took turns to climb up to the surface while the Experimentals were kept at bay by the Qing Consortium’s suppressive fire. But as everyone started climbing up to the surface, the number of people who were holding the firing line decreased. In the end, some people would have to remain behind in the sewers, because they had to hold the Experimentals back for the others, and no one would be able to do it for them.
The Experimentals in the sewers had realized the firepower was getting weaker, so they got ready to pounce forward again!
Luo Lan shouted out into the sewers from above, “Hurry up and get up here!”
However, the remaining five soldiers belowground detached the grenades from their uniforms and said with a smile on their faces, “Boss, it’s too late now. After you escape, remember to drink more on our behalf.”
“Fucking stop uttering nonsense. Do you all want me to drink myself to death?” Luo Lan cursed down into the sewers.
As he said that, he looked like he was about to go back down into the sewers. However, he was firmly held back by Tang Zhou. “Boss, you’ll die if you go back in there!”
“What’s there to be afraid of? At most, we die together!” Luo Lan said angrily, “Get your fucking hands off me!”
However, after Ren Xiaosu’s shadow clone placed the two people it was carrying onto the ground, it jumped right back into the sewers. Then the dark shadow clone wielded the black saber in its hands and stood in front of the five Qing Consortium soldiers. In front of it, the Experimentals were surging forward.
The shadow clone looked back and signaled to the five Qing Consortium soldiers: Go.
The Qing Consortium’s soldiers looked at one another. They had not expected such a twist. They all softly gave thanks and hurried up the ladder to the surface. Meanwhile, the shadow clone was instantly overwhelmed by the Experimentals!
The Experimentals scuttled like spiders and blanketed the shadow clone’s body. Even with the physical fitness of the shadow clone, it found it difficult to put up any effective resistance.
Ren Xiaosu said ruthlessly, “Blow them up!”
Luo Lan was stunned. “But Xu Xianchu’s shadow clone is still down there.”
Even though he hesitated, Yang Xiaojin did not. She knew Ren Xiaosu must have said so for a reason. As for what reason that was, she didn’t have to consider it.