Almost at the same moment the second explosion roared, the vagrants in the hallways and the lobby—those who had just arrived and those who had moved in earlier—felt the building shudder. The relaxation and hope that had just begun to surface on their faces were instantly replaced by a primal fear that seeped into their very bones.
It was the most primitive terror one felt when facing an irresistible natural disaster.
It was the nightmare memory of witnessing how artillery could plow through ruins and turn flesh and blood into dust.
“Artillery! It’s an artillery strike!”
“The Inner City... it’s the Inner City’s Purge Artillery!”
“It’s over... they’re clearing the area again! Run!”
“Don’t stay here! This building will be blown to pieces!”
Panic spread like a plague at a terrifying speed.
Screams, cries, and hysterical roars instantly drowned out the echoes of the explosions.
The crowd descended into total chaos.
Many vagrants didn’t even have time to think. Driven purely by the instinct to survive, they began to rush madly toward the building’s exit.
They crowded and shoved each other, their eyes fixed only on the fire door that led outside.
A young vagrant, who had just finished registering with C2 and hadn’t even been assigned a room yet, already had one foot out the fire door. When he heard the continuous explosions and the screams of his companions behind him, the color drained from his face.
He glanced back at Su Wan and the others, then spun around. Instead of retreating back into the building, he charged straight out.
He sprinted desperately toward the northwest, away from the direction of the artillery fire—toward the Non-Safe Zone.
“Run! As long as we get out of the Safe Zone, we can survive!” someone shouted upon seeing this, also attempting to rush out.
Vagrants who had struggled on the edge of life and death for years knew that in such a situation, they had a high probability of surviving if they could just escape the Safe Zone.
Because this artillery barrage was meant to clear out various unstable factors within the Safe Zone.
That included vagrants like them.
Seeing the panic about to escalate into a full-blown rout, Su Wan’s eyes suddenly became incredibly sharp.
These people were her tenants. Every single one of them was tied to her quests; losing even one was a loss.
She couldn't let these people die in vain, nor could she let chaos dismantle the order she had just established.
In a flash of thought, the heavy fire door slammed shut without anyone touching it.
It cut off the vagrant who had already run out and firmly trapped the dozens of panicked vagrants crowding the doorway inside.
Bang!
The sound of the door closing was exceptionally piercing amidst the intervals of the explosions.
The vagrants huddled at the door slammed into the closed metal, reacting with a mix of shock and fury.
“Open the door! Open it now!”
“Let us out! Are you trying to kill us?!”
“This building isn’t sturdy! It’ll collapse as soon as the shells hit! Staying here is just waiting for death!”
“Dammit! This woman closed the door! Does she want us to be buried with her?!”
Panic quickly transformed into anger and accusations directed at Su Wan. Filthy language and vicious curses were hurled her way in an instant.
A few of the most agitated vagrants even had bloodshot eyes, attempting to ram the fire door with their bodies or pry it open with the crude tools in their hands.
Others turned to glare at Su Wan with hateful gazes, stepping closer as if they intended to use violence to force her to open the door.
The situation was about to spiral out of control.
Su Wan’s expression was ice-cold as her gaze locked onto the burly vagrant leading the charge.
This man was cursing the loudest. As he rushed forward, he even raised an iron pipe in his hand, seemingly intending to attack her.
For this kind of troublemaker who had completely lost their mind to panic, who attempted to challenge the rules with violence and incited others to create even greater chaos, kindness and reason were futile.
She needed to snuff out the sparks of chaos immediately, in the most shocking and indisputable way possible.
Absolute Control!
The target was locked. The burly vagrant’s forward momentum suddenly froze. His hand, holding the iron pipe high, stopped mid-air, and the snarl on his face solidified...
The next second—
Thud!
There was no earth-shattering noise, only a muffled sound like a balloon filled with liquid being punctured.
But it was precisely that muffled sound that made everyone’s skin crawl.
Right before everyone’s eyes, the burly vagrant’s entire body burst apart without any warning.
In an instant, the man turned into a thick mist of blood and fine tissue fragments, splashing onto the vagrants crowded around him.
The pungent smell of blood filled the air immediately.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
All the clamor, cursing, crying, and banging... stopped abruptly.
The vagrants at the door were covered in warm, viscous blood and bits of flesh. They froze in place, their eyes wide to the limit and their mouths hanging open, yet they couldn't make a single sound.
The extreme terror shifted from the artillery fire to the incomprehensible and eerie horror right in front of them.
A person had just... exploded into blood mist out of thin air?!
Was it... was it this woman’s doing?!
What kind of monster was she?!
The entire hallway was deathly silent, save for the distant roar of artillery and the sickeningly heavy scent of blood.
Su Wan stood at the other end of the blood-misted hallway, her gaze cold as she scanned every terrified vagrant.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone’s heart like a heavy hammer:
“Everyone, stay where you are. Do not move. Anyone else who tries to run, makes a scene, or attacks the door—dies.”
This time, no one dared to disobey.
The threat of death was right in front of them, presented in a way that transcended their understanding.
Compared to the unknown artillery fire in the distance, the Landlord who could make someone explode into thin air was clearly far more terrifying.
Having gained preliminary control over the situation, Su Wan stopped looking at the shivering new tenants and turned her gaze toward Ah-Lan, who was relatively composed.
Ah-Lan’s face was also deathly pale. She gripped her blade tightly, as if that was the only way to maintain a shred of security.
“Ah-Lan,” Su Wan’s voice softened slightly.
“Tell me, what is this artillery strike about? What is the Purge Artillery? Why is the Inner City bombarding this place?”
Ah-Lan took several deep breaths, forcing down the terror in her heart and the shock at Su Wan’s methods.
She glanced at the pillars of smoke rising outside the window, her voice carrying an uncontrollable tremor.
“Landlord, this is a periodic cleanup,” Ah-Lan said, her voice dry.
“The big corporations in the Inner City and the City Defense Force... every once in a while, when the number of Aberrants at the edge of the Ruin Zone becomes too high, or when a large-scale vagrant settlement is discovered that might threaten the Outer City or resource points...”
“They deploy artillery to conduct indiscriminate saturation bombing of the designated area...”
She swallowed hard, pain and memories flashing in her eyes.
“They call it clearing threats and purifying the environment. In reality, it’s just the easiest and most cruel way to deal with the Aberrants and vagrants they view as trash and potential trouble...”
Rate on N.U.
