A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1440 - 976: A Gentleman Must Avenge His Wrongs

Chapter 1440: Chapter 976: A Gentleman Must Avenge His Wrongs

The "green skin" Duanmu Huai was talking about naturally wasn’t the zealous "WAGGGGG!" Orcs. Although from appearances, these guys were tall, muscular, and didn’t look much different from Orcs — but in Duanmu Huai’s opinion, they actually resembled those virus-infected mutants transformed by radiation he’d encountered in video games...

If there’s any difference, it’s that these guys had pitch-black skin — pure black, as black as coal.

"Damn, this world’s thrown radiation into the mix too, huh? Where’s the BB boy now?"

Duanmu Huai stood up and couldn’t help but complain. His memory of radioactive wasteland mutants was that their favorite move was an opening shot of a micro-nuclear bomb... And as luck would have it, these black-skinned mutants were hefting similar weapons — at least, they looked the same.

Where the hell did these bastards come from? How come he’d never seen them before?

Duanmu Huai scratched his head. They had been in this world for several days now, with Duanmu recklessly driving a train through the streets, and yet these guys hadn’t shown up. Where did they dig themselves out of today?

Still, it served as a warning for Duanmu Huai. Thank goodness he wasn’t driving his train at the moment, or if he were sleeping, and they fired off one of those micro-nuclear bombs at his train — that would be horrifying.

"Hahahahaha!"

The mutants charged forward. Seeing Duanmu Huai stand up, they let out a burst of laughter, and one of them raised its RPG again...

Are you freaking serious, blowing things up nonstop?!

"Ogis!"

There was no way Duanmu Huai would let this stupid mutant keep blowing things up. He roared in rage, and Ogis raised her right hand. In the next instant, the mutant was sliced clean in half at the waist. As its body fell backward, the rocket launcher in its hand flashed brightly. A micro-nuclear bomb shot out, curved through the air, and then...

"BOOM!!!"

Well, at least it didn’t hit the settlement.

Duanmu Huai glanced at the glowing explosion in the distance and then looked away. Luckily, there weren’t many survivors left in this city, so there was no need to worry about flowers, grass, or anything else getting blasted...

In any case, it’s best to deal with these mutants first!

Duanmu Huai was always quicker to act than to think, and before he realized it, he was already charging into the group of mutants. Wielding his War Hammer, he swung it forward, smashing a nearly-naked mutant wearing only a filthy pair of underwear to the ground. Before the mutant could react, Duanmu Huai followed up with a sweep, instantly sending another two mutants flying — yes, literally flying into the black night sky. They were so pitch-dark that they reminded him of how villains in cartoons disappear into the sky.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!"

At that moment, gunfire rang out. A barrage of bullets struck Duanmu Huai’s armor and ricocheted off. Turning his head, he saw a few more mutants in the distance, wielding guns they’d somehow found, spraying bullets in his direction...

"Die!"

Though the mutants weren’t close to Duanmu Huai and his shooting skills weren’t great, he didn’t care. He raised his right arm and hurled the Thunder Warhammer, which struck the group like a massive boulder. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, scattering electrical bolts that instantly fried the mutants into charred remains.

Well, this proves AOE attacks are always better than sniping.

The mutants attacking the settlement weren’t many — just about a dozen. But don’t underestimate them. These mutants were carrying micro-nuclear bombs and had overwhelming firepower and killing intent. By the time the chaos ended, the entire settlement was a wreck. But Duanmu Huai wasn’t concerned about that right now — saving people came first!

"Mary! Where are you guys?"

Duanmu Huai pushed open a burning door and shouted, scanning the surroundings using his Bird Divination Tool. Micro-nuclear bombs had exploded everywhere, and radiation interference made it impossible for Duanmu Huai to figure out how many survivors remained. At this rate, the high radiation levels would turn any remaining living beings into the dead ones!

"We’re here, Mr. Duanmu!"

Hearing Tall City Saye’s voice from inside, Duanmu Huai’s heart sank. He had called for Mary, but the response came from Tall City Saye?

Bad news!

Duanmu Huai dashed toward the source of Tall City Saye’s voice. He didn’t care about the burning obstacles in his path — they weren’t even a hindrance to him. He smashed through them one by one and charged inside.

What he saw made him gasp.

In the depths of the warehouse, Tall City Saye was holding onto Ellie and Hillary Alice. Mary lay not far from them, bleeding heavily!

"Damn, what the hell happened?!"

"It’s... it’s all our fault..."

Hillary Alice sobbed as she spoke.

"If she hadn’t protected us, my sister..."

"Don’t talk about that now! Let’s get out of here first!"

Duanmu Huai scanned the area and saw several other settlement survivors. Without further hesitation, he rushed to Mary’s side, applied Medical Gel via his personal terminal, and carried her in his arms. This settlement was no longer safe to stay in; with the escalating fires and the amount of radiation from the mutants’ micro-nuclear bombs, lingering here would only mean death!

Stabilizing Mary’s injuries with Medical Gel, Duanmu Huai led the group away from the blazing settlement. Fortunately, his earlier undead-clearing spree ensured there were no zombies left to capitalize on the situation.

They found a barely tolerable safe area. Duanmu Huai laid Mary down and began to examine her wounds, while Hillary Alice and Tall City Saye tearfully explained what had happened.

The story wasn’t particularly complicated. The mutants had launched a surprise attack on the settlement, catching everyone off guard. Combined with prior losses from the Blood Moon event, the settlement’s already weak defense network crumbled completely. The mutants then fired a micro-nuclear bomb into the largest concentration of people.

That was when Mary rushed forward to tank it herself...

"Unbelievable..."

Hearing this, Duanmu Huai couldn’t help but gasp. Looking at Mary, his expression shifted several times. Girl, seriously? Taking on a nuclear bomb with your bare body? While she did have Duanmu Huai’s Shield Generator from the Mass Effect World and her own defensive magic, still... A blast like that could knock him flat!

According to Tall City Saye, Mary had managed to endure the micro-nuclear explosion, but she didn’t come out unscathed. She sustained severe injuries, and after fighting to protect everyone during the retreat, she ultimately collapsed from blood loss.

What can you say...

"You sure are something..."

Duanmu Huai reached out and gently patted the head of the Sleeping Girl in front of him. For some reason, Mary reminded him of the time Shirley was influenced by The Ancient Dominator. Mary hadn’t witnessed it, but Duanmu Huai had seen Shirley’s memories.

Back then, Shirley chose to join that mysterious cult and become a Cultist for one reason — Mary.

The spark was ignited one winter night when Mary saw a kitten fall into the river. Without hesitation, she jumped in to rescue it.

It had terrified Shirley. That river was heavily polluted, and it was winter — what if Mary got sick from the water? What if she drowned? Just thinking about it left Shirley trembling. But Mary hadn’t considered any of this; she’d been completely focused on saving the kitten.

That was why Shirley had decided — she didn’t want to lose Mary. To achieve this, she aimed to stop the world entirely through a pact with The Ancient Dominator, believing it would let her and Mary be together forever.

Leaving aside Shirley’s motives, Duanmu Huai now felt like he understood her emotions a bit better.

If that micro-nuclear bomb hadn’t been aimed at the crowd, Mary certainly could’ve easily dodged it with her abilities. But she chose to take the hit directly to protect everyone...

That’s just how kind-hearted she was, always stepping up when there was trouble.

But honestly, this kind of bravery really isn’t good for the heart!

Mary isn’t a Soul Card; if she dies, I can’t just retrieve her from the graveyard, you know!

Thinking this, Duanmu Huai sighed. Fortunately, his current collection was sufficient to handle injuries of this level. But he still needed to figure out how to bolster Mary’s defenses. Her personality... it probably wasn’t going to change.

"Ugh..."

Mary slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Duanmu Huai, she froze momentarily before snapping back to reality.

"Ah, Mr. Duanmu, you’re back... We were attacked..."

"I know; the issue’s been handled for now."

Duanmu Huai reached out and patted Mary’s head.

"Seriously, be more careful, huh? If you die, I won’t be able to face Shirley or Angelica."

"I-I should be fine, right?"

"Luckily, yes. If I hadn’t arrived in time, you’d be dead — even if you weren’t technically dead yet."

With that, Duanmu Huai glanced at Mary, unable to resist scaring her a little.

"Also, you’ve absorbed quite a bit of high-energy radiation. Good thing Star Union’s decontamination tech is reliable, or your fair skin would’ve turned into dry, blackened bark..."

"Eek...!"

As expected, Mary, being a young woman, was terrified of the idea. She shrank back at once.

"N-no way, right?"

"You lucked out this time. Next time might not be the same... Seriously, you need to think things through more, even if I get where you’re coming from. Anyway... I’ll whip up better gear for you when we get back."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai pulled out a robe.

"First, change into this."

"Huh? Ah...!"

Mary blankly looked down. Only then did she realize her dress was torn to shreds, exposing her pale skin. She blushed, hurriedly took the robe, and turned away to change...

While Mary was changing, Duanmu Huai stepped outside. He sought out the settlement’s Commander, who was fortunate enough to survive — though injured, he was treating his wounds. Seeing Duanmu Huai approach, the Commander quickly stood to express his thanks... Of course, Duanmu Huai had no patience for meaningless platitudes.

His purpose was clear: to figure out the identity and origin of these mutants and destroy them completely!

If they dared mess with his girl, there was no way he couldn’t settle this score!