Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 466 - 24 War Suffering

Chapter 466: Chapter 24 War Suffering

The high school girl was sent flying as if struck by a siege hammer. After crashing into the wall and rolling onto the bed, her broken thigh bled profusely, staining her clean uniform with gruesome stains.

"Who are you?" Tang Zheng frowned at the girl’s reaction to her injury. It didn’t seem like she was a monster. But if she was from another Trojan Squad, even disregarding how they found this place, their recklessness was too much.

"Right, immune to gunshots too," Tang Zheng remembered the bullets that had no effect on them earlier. He prepared to test it out again, if his weapons failed in critical moments, that would be truly fatal.

The high school girl glared at Tang Zheng through gritted teeth, using the wall for support, she stood up. Ignoring her bleeding right leg, she swung her knife at him again.

Tang Zheng used the curved knife to block her samurai sword, then slashed at her forearm. He would go all out when dealing with an enemy with a broken leg.

The high school girl was kicked away again. But Tang Zheng had no time to appreciate it, he scanned with his wristwatch, receiving no feedback at all. So, he took out his Thunderstorm Rifle to shoot a test round at her. The Thunderball dissipated immediately when it hit her flesh. Indeed, it was ineffective.

Tang Zheng initially wanted to test the Gauss Sniper Rifle, but he gave up on the idea due to the daily limits on resource consumption.

"Still alive? Your vitality seems unusually strong," Tang Zheng had just approached when the high school girl suddenly sprang up and clamped her teeth on his calf, refusing to let go.

Tang Zheng kicked her beautiful face with his other foot, and the girl immediately spat out shards of teeth and blood as she fell back. Watching her pitiful state, Tang Zheng suddenly felt like a butcher.

Looking down, the old soldier had been dismembered. Upon going up again, Tang Zheng found that the girl who had been cut in half disappeared, leaving behind a Bronze Seed. The other girl was still gasping for air.

Based on the seed’s level, Tang Zheng guessed that these two high school girls may not be the most formidable fighters. Indeed, they were only first-year students. Gao Wei had the fortune to meet a second-year girl, costing him his arm in the process.

This punitive squad called the Sailor Suit and Samurai Sword was made up entirely of high school girls in uniforms. The higher the grade, the stronger they were, with the student council president and discipline committee members being the strongest. They were immune to both gunfire and magic attacks, only susceptible to melee attacks, and they appeared unpredictably.

The Conquerors were mostly the ones who were attacked this time around. They had cleared out all the civilians in the fort, leaving no hidden dangers for the punitive squad, a move that even the Trojans took note of.

The Conquerors from the Burmese group who had escaped also died in this attack. With this, they were completely wiped out, becoming the first ones to be eliminated from the game.

Looking at the three bodies of the newbies on the ground, Tang Zheng sighed. They died just as they were rescued. This was the outcome of not being able to stay calm. He couldn’t be bothered to clean up and simply tossed them underground.

The next morning, Tang Zheng observed through a telescope. None of the soldiers dared to venture out of their forts, and the news of the deaths had not yet spread.

After having a hastily prepared lunch, Tang Zheng was about to take a nap when he received two unexpected visitors.

"Sir, do you need our services?" A woman in plain clothes and a cloak stood outside the fort, not daring to enter. After nervously glancing at the distant Beastman defense line, she plucked up courage to call out to Tang Zheng.

"What services?" Tang Zheng was puzzled. This was a woman of about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, her face filled with wrinkles. Coupled with her worn-out clothes, she looked very haggard. If she was selling her body, she was not doing a very good job marketing it.

"Sleep," The woman didn’t expect to see such a young soldier. After hesitating, she smiled, happy to serve someone who didn’t pick and choose like the old vets. And he was inexperienced, she might even be able to charge more money.

"Who? Her?" Tang Zheng pointed to the little girl the woman was pulling along. His face darkened. The girl was probably eleven or twelve, and was still a loli. To think that she was being offered up for service at such a young age was vile.

"No, me," The older woman saw the surprise on Tang Zheng’s face and knew that her appearance was too ordinary for his liking. After glancing at her daughter, she discreetly opened her cloak.

"No need, you can go," Upon hearing her refute, Tang Zheng heaved a sigh of relief and stepped back into the house. He was going to prepare some food for the little girl.

"Sir, it’s not expensive, just a piece of bread will do, really," The woman’s harsh life had completely robbed her of her dignity. She fell to her knees, desperately begging Tang Zheng for mercy. Her only hope for survival was to ensure a good future for her daughter.

"Stop kneeling, leave. This is the frontline, it’s dangerous," Tang Zheng packed all the food he had and handed it to her. "I don’t need your service."

"Thank you, I know, but they’ve already assigned this area to me. I can only come to the frontline to make a living. If I cross the line, I will be beaten," The woman thanked Tang Zheng profusely, but also played a little trick to win his sympathy by pouring out her hardship.

"We have to compete for territory too?" Tang Zheng lamented. Indeed, life wasn’t easy. These women had lost their husbands and sons and had no homes to return to. The army didn’t want these burdens, so they had to resort to this kind of ’work’. Of course, there were some women who chose this career because they deemed other jobs too tiresome.

"Taisi, go play in the basement. I have some things to discuss with uncle." The old woman sent her daughter away. Initially, she wished her daughter could play outside, but it was too risky.

"Stop, don’t go in there." Tang Zheng rushed to stop them. There were dismembered bodies below; it would definitely scare the little girl.

"Then go play 20 meters away. If I don’t call you, don’t come over." The woman pointed to a location, shooed the child away, grabbed Tang Zheng’s arm, and said, "Death may come tonight; don’t hold back. Live in the moment."

"Sorry, no need," Tang Zheng pulled his arm out of the woman’s grip, "Let’s leave soon."

"Brother, let Taisi sleep with you. It will be Taisi’s first time." Seeing her mother’s failed attempt, Little Taisi made up her mind, ran back, and hugged Tang Zheng’s arm pleadingly.

"What are you blabbering about? Be careful, or I’ll kill you." The woman was terrified, her gaze shifting to Tang Zheng, full of alert. Soldiers were often unreasonable, frequently refusing to pay after their deeds. She might even be beaten. This place was desolate. Should he lust for her daughter, she truly would be powerless.

"Are you often bullied by the soldiers?" Tang Zheng detected anger and panic in the woman’s eyes. He gently touched the girl’s head.

This action made the woman tense up, like a wolf mother ready to defend her cub, prepared to bite Tang Zheng at any moment.

"Brother, I’ll accompany you. I’m beautiful." Little Taisi took off her cloak, revealing her long golden hair flowing down like a waterfall. Even though her face was dirty, there was no denying that she was a beauty.

"What are you doing?" The woman became furious, slapped her on the back and hurried to cover her head with the cloak, "Sir, if you don’t need our services, we will leave."

"Mum, I would eventually have to do this. I don’t want you to suffer." Taisi, stubbornly, struggled free from her mother’s grip and scampered to Tang Zheng’s side, pulling his hand.

"Brother, let me massage you. It’s comfortable." Taisi pleaded.

Tang Zheng immediately dodged. He didn’t want to be seen as a pervert. Furthermore, letting a young girl do this gave him a sense of guilt.

The woman, listening to her daughter’s words, burst into tears. She felt helpless for making her daughter suffer so much, but she was also happy about her daughter’s sensibility.

Taisi, though naive, was not dumb. She felt an opportunity to earn more could be slipping away, and she became anxious.

"Really, there’s no need. Here you go." Tang Zheng took out a piece of chocolate, handed it to Little Taisi, and then turned to enter the fort.

"Mum, he is a good person." Little Taisi, experienced in the harsh realities of life, wasn’t naive. Given the opportunity to lose her virginity to Tang Zheng, who was clearly a good man, she was sure to fetch a good price. If she could make him fall in love with her and he would take her home, perhaps she would not have to wander around with her mother, facing hunger and cold on the streets.

"Yes, he’s a good man. But, unfortunately, he’s a small soldier who may die tomorrow." The woman stuffed bread into her daughter’s hand and pulled her away. Although this food would last for a couple of days, she still had work to do to earn more food.

Looking at the retreating figures of the mother and daughter in this rotten world, Tang Zheng’s heart was filled with anger and dissatisfaction. It was a sense of helpless self-blame. After completing his mission, he could leave. But what about the mother and daughter? Even if the war ended, they would probably have to continue living this tragic life until death. Childhood trauma? Children who don’t even have enough to eat wouldn’t care about such things.

Night fell once again. Tang Zheng didn’t go out to kill because he didn’t know what to do with the indigenous soldiers. Leaving them alone wouldn’t be a problem, but it could cause chaos, which was not the result he wanted.

While Tang Zheng held back, the other Conquerors were not as soft-hearted. They continued to take down the forts. They only desired to kill, and to quickly find a way back to the Trojan Room.

On another sunny morning, the bored Tang Zheng discovered a wildflower with yellow and white stripes on a small mound and finally smiled. He took out his phone, carefully photographed it, and then looked for clear water to wash it.

When the anxious Li Muqing arrived at the fort carrying her bag, she saw a man lying on the ground with his hands under his head, smiling and looking at the blue sky full of white clouds. Beside him, a wildflower swayed in the breeze, as if sprinkling pollen all around the war-torn frontline.

She sniffed, a faint fragrance spread in the air!