Owl finally stopped the lashing out Xiao Li, pulling her into a tight, protective embrace.
"He's a liar! He's going to sell us out!" the girl cried, brandishing the scissors with a shattered expression.
"He's going to turn us in to the guards!"
Benjamin was terrified, stumbling back a few steps and nearly falling to the floor. The children peeking through the crack in the door turned pale with fright and scattered in all directions.
"Xiao Li, calm down!" Owl slapped the girl's small face with force, but even as her cheek turned red and swollen, it failed to snap her out of her hysteria.
"It's okay, it's okay."
Benjamin, thinking his words had triggered the red-haired girl, hurriedly waved his hands. "It's okay. I can leave first. I'll come back to take you home once you've calmed down."
Just then, Owl heard the piercing wail of sirens outside. Through a gap in the window, she caught a glimpse of black figures flashing past. They held various riot weapons, dispersing the crowds. Several slender, beautiful bionic robots followed behind them, dragging heavy greataxes. Their streamlined bodies were as smooth and flawless as white porcelain as they moved toward the building.
"The test subjects are hiding in this daycare! Find them!"
"Don't let them escape! Orders from above say they are vital. If they get away, everyone pays the price!"
"Understood!"
Are those the train's enforcers!?
Noticing that every child in the room was now glaring at him with eyes full of hatred, Benjamin didn't understand what was happening. He waved his hands frantically. "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I didn't know they would find this place!"
Seeing this, Xiao Li became even more convinced of the visions she had seen.
There was no time to explain. Benjamin swallowed hard, his heated brain cooling down as he quickly moved toward the children. "Quickly, follow me! I know a safe place. I'll take you out of here!"
"How are we supposed to believe you!" Owl gritted her teeth.
"There's no time to explain!" Benjamin's face was etched with urgency.
At that moment, the door was kicked open. An enforcer saw the children inside and leveled his gun at the group. His expression turned solemn as he reached for his communicator to report the situation.
Suddenly, the man beside them lunged. Benjamin grabbed a nearby stool and smashed it with all his might against the enforcer's head, knocking him unconscious.
Before plunging into darkness, the enforcer stared at the terrified Benjamin in disbelief. He recognized the man; he couldn't believe this normally honest and law-abiding man would actually attack an enforcer for the sake of some brats. In the noble carriages, this was a capital offense.
"Please... believe me..." Benjamin said weakly, his hands trembling as he held the stool.
Reserved and timid by nature, he never imagined he would one day be bold enough to strike an enforcer on the train, all for children he had just met.
But the injuries on these children, the anxiety on their faces, and the vigilance in their eyes all stung Benjamin's conscience.
It turned out that in the places he couldn't see, there were many others on this train suffering like these children.
If they fell into the hands of those enforcers, their fate was bound to be unimaginably miserable.
He couldn't just stand by and watch it happen.
Having witnessed this, Owl said nothing more. She restrained Xiao Li in her arms and led the others out of the room, following Benjamin.
The guard team inside the daycare noticed them immediately. They roared, raising their weapons and calling for backup over their radios while closing in on the group!
Stray bullets whistled past the children. Xiao Li clutched her head and screamed. A bullet grazed Owl's arm, making her bite her lip in pain, but she didn't stop to tend to it. She used all her strength to shove a bookshelf over, blocking the hallway before running deeper into the corridor.
"They're here! Don't let them get away!"
An enforcer shouted, raising his gun to fire down the passage. Another enforcer with blonde hair placed a hand on his arm and shook her head.
"Don't fire blindly. Orders say to take them alive. Watch that red-haired girl; she has the antibodies in her system. She's crucial for the antidote research."
The enforcer blinked, staring closely at the blonde girl. "You have a point, but... why don't I recognize you?"
"Of course you don't recognize me." Xu Xiaoyou placed both hands on the enforcer's head and gave it a clean, sharp twist.
"HP -100! You have dealt a strike (fatal wound) to 'Enforcer'. This damage has triggered a critical hit!"
In the darkness, those golden pupils looked down at the youth as he collapsed. "Because I am a sword-bearer."
After dealing with the enforcer beside her, Xu Xiaoyou picked up his gun, quickly checked the magazine, and nodded. She unclipped the radio from the corpse's waist and spoke in a clear voice: "Target spotted! Iris daycare, second floor, Entrance A corridor!"
"Understood!"
Hearing the responses flooding in over the radio, the corners of Xu Xiaoyou's lips curled into an imperceptible smile.
She calmly placed the radio back into the dead enforcer's hand. "Sweet dreams."
BOOM— "HP -173! You have dealt explosive damage (fatal wound) to 'Elite Enforcer'!"
"HP -239! You have dealt explosive damage (fatal wound) to 'Enforcement Squad Leader'!"
"HP -671! You have dealt explosive damage to 'Enforcement Officer Talise'!"
A deafening explosion ripped through the hallway. Incandescent red flames swallowed everything as the swarms of enforcers rushing upward were blown apart by pre-planted homemade explosives.
Enforcement Officer Talise crawled along the floor, unwilling to give up despite her lower half being mangled and bleeding profusely. A dark gun barrel pressed against her forehead. She looked up, meeting the indifferent gaze of the blonde girl.
Xu Xiaoyou flicked the safety off with her fingertip. "Sorry."
Bang! "HP -129! You have dealt a piercing wound (fatal wound) to 'Enforcement Officer Talise'. This damage has triggered a critical hit!"
As blood splattered across her cheek, Xu Xiaoyou silently wiped the stains away.
"Dark Gold Rose! Is that you, Boss?"
At the bottom of the stairs, a player who had spawned in the Traidy Commercial Alliance faction recognized Xu Xiaoyou.
"Did everyone in the livestream see that? It really is Boss Dark Gold Rose!"
"The curtains said you were eliminated, but I knew that couldn't be true..."
As he spoke joyfully, the player's expression froze, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks.
He saw the blonde girl pull the pin on a fragmentation grenade and toss it in his direction.
The metallic sphere hit the floor, bouncing with a crisp sound that echoed like a reaper striking the keys of a piano!
"Eh?"
BOOM— A terrifying explosion of fire erupted. The resulting heatwave sent the girl's long blonde hair fluttering wildly. Xu Xiaoyou didn't even look back as the golden-red flames danced behind her like savage fangs!
Just as Xu Xiaoyou intended to move to the next location, a strong sense of danger surged in her heart. She lunged backward.
In a heartbeat, the wall in front of her was smashed to pieces. The multi-meter-high wall collapsed with a roar, sending shards of stone flying amidst rising smoke! A porcelain-white arm reached out from the thick dust, sinking deep into the floor. A steam power hammer weighing hundreds of kilograms was easily lifted, and a howling gust of wind instantly cleared the smoke.
Xu Xiaoyou's eyes filled with caution as she saw the enemy before her.
[Anti-Riot Autonomous Robot]
[Affiliation: Traidy Commercial Alliance]
[Faction: Hostile]
[HP: 100%]
[Nightmare-level Dungeon BOSS!]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[St. Punier mass-produced anti-riot autonomous robot. Note: This type of NPC possesses attributes far exceeding the average player in this dungeon. Danger level is extremely high. Designated as a story BOSS. Players are not advised to engage in direct conflict at this time!]
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