Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 99 Smoke

As Lu Renjia ate his lunch and listened to the conversations of the veterans, he couldn't help but feel fortunate.

"Finally, we're going back to the God's Space they've been talking about... Is it like a game lobby?"

He had previously thought he was going to die, and even though he was right next to the Buddhist scriptures, he would still have nightmares. Although he would be forcibly awakened when he dreamed of the female ghost, last night the Buddhist scriptures broke, and he was truly trapped in a nightmare.

In his dream, he was relentlessly pursued by Kayako, but because he was also in the dream, he could still cover a thousand meters in a single step or jump off a building. However, Kayako seemed impossible to shake off, and when she finally caught him, Lu Renjia felt a pain that chilled him to the very depths of his soul.

If Mu Xiang hadn't woken him up, he might really have died.
Lu Renjia didn't know.

Fortunately, these experienced individuals were all highly skilled, and the temple during the day seemed to have the effect of exorcising ghosts, so he should be safe now.

The team battle notification, which added one point, still rang in his ears. Lu Renjia didn't understand what a positive ten points meant, and what the equivalent of 20,000 reward points was. Judging from the joy on the faces of the veterans, it must be a huge sum of money.

But that has nothing to do with him.

Zheng Zha took a compressed biscuit and sat down next to Zhan Lan: "How's the situation on their end?"

"Zhao Yingkong's group has completed their mission..." Zhan Lan said wearily, rubbing her temples. "They'll be back soon."

“So he still died…” Zheng Zha sighed, but didn’t say much more. He took a bite out of half a biscuit, chewed it a few times, and suddenly looked at Zhan Lan: “Am I too weak? Because after hearing their stories, I couldn’t bring myself to kill the enemy…”

Zhan Lan looked at him with some surprise. When Zheng Zha was embarrassed, she suddenly laughed: "Why are you insecure again? You were not weak when you were dealing with the aliens."

Zheng Zha scratched his head sheepishly: "I don't have any empathy for aliens..."

“That’s it.” Zhan Lan pressed her head hard. “You could call yourself weak, because you have empathy for specific people. Perhaps it’s the same reason why you have a sense of responsibility towards our team? If you didn’t have that kind of empathy, perhaps you wouldn’t have such a strong, uh, protective will towards us, your partners?”

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile, then crushed the remaining half of the compressed biscuit.

Zhan Lan looked at him seriously: "So if you can keep a good eye on things and your identity, you might be able to go even further... You are like a shield now, protecting us as your partners and protecting Xiao Li'er."

"Go a step further? To become an even stronger shield?" Zheng Zha stroked his chin.

Zhan Lan wasn't amused by his reaction, but continued, "It's not just shields that can protect... swords can too, spears can too."

“Is that so…” Zheng Zha sighed, “Killing all the enemies is also a form of protection? I can’t imagine myself like that…”

Zhan Lan didn't say anything more. As her partner, she had already said everything she could.

“I’m not Chu Xuan… well, Mu Xiang is much more decisive than me. I don’t know if I should feel ashamed,” Zheng Zha said in a low voice. “I’m not Zero Point or the others either. I’ve never seen the so-called dark world and can’t imagine the survival rules there. Perhaps they are all more suitable to be the main combat force of a team than I am… even if we hand things over to Zhao Yingkong, who just joined the team, she can do a better job than I can.”

Just when Zhan Lan thought Zheng Zha was about to doubt himself, a flame suddenly ignited in Zheng Zha's hand, burning the half-pack of compressed biscuits, which had been crushed into powder, to ashes.

“But I still want to live… Only by living can we talk about other options.” Zheng Zha smiled faintly. “You’ve all talked about this too much. I’m not stupid. I understand the logic. I will do it… That saying is very true: to be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself. In fact, it’s not just cruel to me, it’s cruel to you too. In that state, I would only be a burden to you.”

“If you’re going to make a change, start here,” he said, lighting a cigarette.

Zhan Lan glanced at the man silently, thinking that if Mu Xiang and Chu Xuan were here, they would probably... no, Chu Xuan, that expressionless man, wouldn't say anything, but Mu Xiang would definitely be very pleased.

Seriously, when did I start calling Chu Xuan "expressionless man"?
Could it be because of the grueling training...? Zhan Lan's mind raced, and another sharp pain shot through her temples.

After an unknown amount of time, Zheng Zha suddenly shouted, "What's going on?"

The man had been smoking his umpteenth cigarette, looking completely relaxed. Suddenly, however, he became alert and jumped up instantly.

Zhan Lan looked up and was surprised to find that Zheng Zha had unlocked his genetic lock. His eyes were blank!
"Ugh..." Lu Renjia clutched his head, kneeling on the ground in agony and wailing. A mouthful of black blood spurted from his mouth, splashing onto the ground.

Zheng Zha scanned the entire room and immediately noticed the problem lay with Lu Renjia. It was from Lu Renjia that he sensed a dangerous aura.

Could it be that the curse has started attacking directly from within the body?
"What's wrong with him?" Zhan Lan asked, sensing Lu Renjia's chaotic mental fluctuations while contacting Mu Xiang and Chu Xuan.

Lu Renjia's voice stopped abruptly, as if cut off, and he collapsed to the ground. Zhang Jie, who was closest to Lu Renjia, rushed over to help him up and reached out to check his pupils.

Before Zhang Jie could even make a move, Lu Renjia opened his eyes on his own.

His eyes were completely black, and his face turned ashen. The next moment, Lu Renjia's hand gripped Zhang Jie's neck tightly.

Zhang Jie was taken aback when he was pinched, then suddenly rolled his eyes.

Qi Tengyi and Long Taobing both exclaimed in surprise, but they had no weapons and could not help, nor did they dare to approach for the time being.

Of the three seasoned veterans present, only Zheng Zha, Zhan Lan, and Zhang Jie were present. Faced with this sudden turn of events, no one could determine whether to try to remove Lu Renjia's condition or to kill him outright.

Zhan Lan gritted her teeth and unleashed a psionic whip at Lu Renjia. Since she couldn't unleash a wide-range purifying psionic energy, this was the only way she could release her attack.

A surge of insane resentment exploded in Zhan Lan's mind, while Lu Renjia still held Zhang Jie's neck tightly.

"Why can't I lean against the Buddhist scriptures...?"

"Why should newcomers and these incompetent veterans be left in the hotel..."

"Why should we have to listen to you in everything..."

"Why..."

"Why!"

Zhan Lan clutched her head and collapsed to the ground: "Zheng Zha! I can't break his curse! Mu Xiang and Chu Xuan haven't responded to me either!"

Black smoke kept emanating from Lu Renjia's body, making him look terrifying and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop significantly.

Zhao Yingkong's group hasn't returned yet... It seems that everyone present is at a loss.

Zhan Lan hadn't been able to contact Mu Xiang and Chu Xuan yet, and to her surprise, Chu Xuan's mental fluctuations had vanished! Immediately afterward, Mu Xiang's mental state also entered a period of intense fluctuation. Before Zhan Lan could ask what was happening, a powerful mental fluctuation suddenly appeared in her detection.

The next moment, she fainted.

Just when everyone was filled with despair, a blood-red light pierced the air and struck Lu Renjia directly in the head.

Lu Renjia was stunned for a moment, then a surge of crimson flames erupted from his seven orifices, instantly turning his head into a charred corpse.

Just as the black mist was about to escape, it was caught by the flames that were shooting downwards.

Zhang Jie fell to the ground, staring at Lu Renjia with a look of utter shock, so much so that he forgot to cough. Lu Renjia was engulfed by the blood-red flames, then vanished into nothingness along with the black mist.

Everyone turned around in astonishment, only to see Zheng Zha standing silently in place, still flicking his finger. The cigarette, imbued with red flame, was flicked out at an unbelievable speed, and it was this cigarette that shot into Lu Renjia's head.

If I were Mu Xiang... no, ultimately it would be my own choice!

These were Zheng Zha's thoughts at that moment.

And that was his choice!

It felt as if some shackle in his heart had been broken. Zheng Zha didn't know.

He silently exhaled a puff of smoke.

Chapter Two will be released tonight.

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(End of this chapter)