TengYi and LiuYu fell into a grave situation after Zheng entered the despair dream. Zheng left so suddenly and Xuan began attacking them at the same instant. If it weren’t for the Dragonshard necklace, the first round of fire would have shot TengYi into a beehive. Not so lucky for LiuYu on the other hand. The needle like Gauss bullets pierced his arm and disabled it.
Xuan possessed the same two Gauss pistols but he did not have the fighting capacity of real Xuan. There was no gun-kata, no Lambda Driver, and not even the most basic genetic constraint unlock. All he had offensively were the Gauss pistols. Otherwise, TengYi and LiuYu wouldn’t have the chance to escape.
In the first round of fires, a barrier protected TengYi from the bullets. However, it was only a matter of time before the barrier ran out of energy.
TengYi’s eyes defocused all of a sudden. He flipped the dining table to obstruct Xuan’s vision. Then he picked up LiuYu and ran toward the hallway. The sound of gunfire chased after them non stop but Xuan without being in the unlocked mode could not catch up to him. He escaped with LiuYu by a hair.
“Can’t run. You can’t run… Haha. Let me kill you just like how I killed those other people. Let me kill you. Don’t run.”
A man wearing a black hat and stripe shirt appeared next to Xuan as he came into the hallway. The man’s face was burned. He wore a pair of scissor like gloves. The attire looked queer yet terrifying. He followed after Xuan and chased the two people.
(They said the Dragonshard necklace can’t block too many attacks. Its energy reserve is limited. Xuan’s weapons are also powerful. I don’t know how much energy it has left. I also need to stop LiuYu’s arm from bleeding… Zheng! Which part of Freddy is as weak as you described! He’s way more dangerous.)
You couldn’t completely blame Zheng because this Xuan was pretty much harmless against him. Xuan’s strength lay in his wit, secondly his items, and lastly was his fighting capacity. Even so, the real Xuan could have killed TengYi and LiuYu several times already. TengYi’s fault was his lack of strength.
TengYi’s innate talents were lacking but he bathed in dragon blood and was injected with the T-virus after all. He also unlocked the first stage of the genetic constraint. So, even though he might be weaker than Alice from Resident Evil, he still ran faster than Xuan and Freddy when he carried an extra person.
(Can’t stay in the house. Run to the streets!)
TengYi headed toward the streets. He did not see any pedestrians on the way. The whole section was empty under bright daylight. It felt as though no one lived in this town. The quietness could drive people crazy but this was not TengYi’s concern at the moment.
“LiuYu! Stay strong! I will stop your bleeding with the hemostasis spray after we found a place to hide.” TengYi yelled.
LiuYu’s face looked bloodless. He shook his head. “Don’t stop. If this is a dream, there is no distance constraint. Freddy can’t catch up to you because you have the thought of running. If you stop running, they will quickly find us. That’s how the monsters catch you in a dream. So don’t stop!”
TengYi was surprised. His steps slowed down slightly as he tried to respond to LiuYu. However, the sound of gunshots came again. Xuan and Freddy had catch up before they knew it.
Freddy yelled in laughter, “Run. Run from me! Your leader’s heart is shattering. The stronger your fear, anger, and despair grows, the more powerful I get. Haha. Once Zheng Zha’s heart shattered, I will be able to completely emulate Chu Xuan’s powers. Killing you will be a piece of cake… Run. Keep running!”
Somehow, the shots coming out from Xuan had become more accurate. He began to take on a crude form of gun-kata. TengYi had seen Xuan use gun-kata and lambda driver in training. So this sight shocked him. He hurried his steps.
Yet, no matter how fast he ran, Xuan and Freddy simply trailed after them. The barrier was getting thinner and on the verge of shattering. So were the lives of these two people.
Neither time nor space existed in a dream. It all depended upon whether the person could see through himself.
Heng felt his heart had broken apart as YanWei and the criminals got further and further away. He didn’t even notice the corpse laying beside him had turned into Freddy. He stood in place quietly. Valuable fragments of memories replayed through his head like a movie, when he was a baby, a boy, a teen, an adult… Yet, it felt as though something important had been missing in his life.
(What was it?… What have I forgotten? YanWei… I still remember her. I hurt her. I failed her trust… Mother… I could never forget the warmth of mother… Father… He caused this for me but he was also having a difficult life. I don’t blame him… Those criminals… their faces are forever carved within my heart. I can never forget them no matter how many times I killed them… What was it that I have forgotten?)
Heng stood there motionless. His eyes had lost the shine of life. He did not move as Freddy closed in on him.
(They said when a person dies, his life will replay in his head. Is it the time for me to die? Yes. My time should be up. I am sorry to her. I ruined her life. And I ruined my life… Do humans have a next life? I want to say to her, I am sorry… Will there be a next life? I will to meet with Zheng and everyone once more… Will there be a next life? But what is it that I have forgotten? What did I forget?)
Heng’s heart had broken down. He lost even the desire to live on. The only thing left behind was this tiny question. It was the only difference he had from a dead person. Freddy raised his gloved hand. It reached for Heng’s heart.
(What have I forgotten?… Something very important. If I can live life again…)
His memories rewinded back to his childhood, when he was still very small, when his parents were still alive, when he was still friends with YanWei. Back then, he had…
That one time they were naughty and played with his father’s bow. An arrow nearly shot into YanWei’s eye. Heng pushed her out of the away and the arrow pierced his leg. He was still very young but he comforted her with a smile while she cried, paying no attention to the blood bleeding from his leg. That was…
(Courage!) Heng shouted.
Freddy was shocked by the sudden change. He attempted to jump away but Heng seized his shoulder and pulled him inward.
Heng kicked Freddy on the heel and flipped his whole body over. His other hand had grabbed a hold of a silver bow. Heng placed the bow beneath where Freddy was falling. He yanked the bow upward. The bowstring sliced Freddy’s head off.
“Courage! If I am wrong then I am wrong! There’s no running away forever. YanWei, I will repay you with the rest of my life! If that isn’t enough, we will go to hell and I will repay you with an eternity! I will never run again! I don’t ever want to run again!”
Heng charged at the car that was driving further and further away in madness. Somehow, he caught up such long distance in just several steps. He fired a series of arrows. The men fell to the ground without uttering a sound.
Heng turned to YanWei in her ripped clothes and shouted. “I will revive you after I return! I won’t run again! Never again in my life! The suffering from my childhood isn’t an excuse. I will let go of what should be let go. In the future… if we have a future, I will repay you with my life!” He shut his eyes.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was standing on the street that he vanished from. There was no more YanWei or the other men. The dimension was in a complete silence as though everything that had happened was an illusion.
Heng’s eyes looked more resolute than he had ever shown. There was no sign of weakness. It felt as though this was the true him.
Just then, he heard a series of gunshots from the distance. Heng was surprised for a moment then began to rush over. After running through several streets, he saw Xuan and Freddy chasing after TengYi.
“Freddy… what are you trying to do?!”
Heng drew his bow to a full moon. The single arrow on the bow exerted an overwhelming amount of pressure.
“Freddy… what are you trying to do to my comrade?”