Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 163 - 133. Ode to Joy

Chapter 163: 133. Ode to Joy

Blood.

The bullet passed through Qiu Ran’s shoulder; fortunately, the bullet didn’t linger, causing a through-and-through wound.

Even so, Qiu Ran’s right shoulder was still torn open, a spectacular gash that spewed vivid blood, and her arm hung down, powerless.

"Ah—"

It hurt so much that she couldn’t even make a sound. Qiu Ran was almost instantly knocked down by the sharp pain of the gunshot. This wasn’t a common 9mm service pistol round, but a full-power rifle bullet; the destructive power of the two was worlds apart. Qiu Ran collapsed on the ground, unable to lift her right arm anymore.

Run—run, run, run!

In a panic, Qiu Ran just recognized that the shooter was the Frost Plated youth who had been standing guard earlier, apparently called Hodder. She had no time to consider why the other party was attacking her. Biting back pain, Qiu Ran scrambled forward with her remaining left arm, crawling ahead.

The gunman walked up step by step, pulled back the bolt, and shoved a bullet in. Hodder’s face slowly changed, melting and collapsing like a gel, revealing female features. The carriage lights flickered, and in an instant, the blonde hair turned deep red, the pupils dilated and contracted, becoming lighter in color. Seconds later, even his clothes transformed into Qiu Ran’s attire.

It wasn’t until a few seconds after being shot that the second bullet whizzed past Qiu Ran’s spine. She hurriedly crawled out of the hard seat carriage and hid behind the door, finally catching her breath.

—The interior of the carriage she had just left was empty, not a soul in sight.

"What’s going on, how could this happen?"

Perhaps it was fear that sparked her survival instinct. Qiu Ran’s usually not-so-sharp brain suddenly became agile. Without waiting for the pursuer to reload and come after her, Qiu Ran raised her left hand and pressed it against the overturned gasoline drum.

Boom—

The roaring flames instantly spread across the carriage’s hallway, blocking the gunman’s line of sight and path of advance. Qiu Ran grabbed the only remaining drum of gasoline, well aware it was her lifeline.

’Don’t think about anything, go find Li Aozi, Lady Selya!’

Qiu Ran crouched down, the pungent smell of the burning gasoline, the stink of the blood enveloping her body, the sweat from excessive stress—all these mixed together, making her already panicked thoughts even more terrified and confused.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die—No! I can’t die; I mustn’t die no matter what!

Drip, drip...

Blood drew a narrow trail on the ground. The intense pain made Qiu Ran scream out loud:

"Help—save me!"

I was about to go home, nearly ready to reunite with my little brother and sister, and now to die here would end everything.

The noise of the train’s operation was overwhelming, and outside the door suddenly erupted the fierce sound of bombardment—Qiu Ran realized that it might be the new wave of beast tide that Selya had mentioned.

’No, at this rate, no one will hear my call for help!’

She rushed forward, anxiously. That person had managed to silently kill everyone on the train; she must inform Li Aozi and the others.

Only they had the power to eliminate such terrifying monsters—

Bang!

Another bullet veered off overhead, ricocheted off the wall, and landed at Qiu Ran’s feet. She was so frightened she nearly fell, screaming with terror, hastening to throw the gasoline drum she was holding.

There was no more time for caution—she couldn’t help but look back. The flames in the corridor were still spreading, but the rifle emerged from the fire, the gunman smoothly operating the bolt, still aiming the dark muzzle at her.

Qiu Ran kept her body low and stumbled forward. She hadn’t closed the door of the soft sleeper carriage when she had come through, and it was just a few steps to the safety of the carriage.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more.

She felt, as if in a haze, the gunman’s finger pulling the trigger.

Qiu Ran lifted her hand, about to dive toward the safe space ahead.

Click!

The door in front of Qiu Ran suddenly shut, and she collided with the hard plastic.

"No!"

Qiu Ran cried out in despair. Before she could recover from the pain of hitting the door, another gunshot rang out from behind her.

Bang!

Qiu Ran’s screams and the pounding on the door were incessant, but for Jian Neriya, separated only by a wall, after the roaring fire of the armored train’s artillery passed by her ears, it seemed insignificant.

She leaned against the closed door, locking it from the inside without saying a word, then quietly passed through the soft sleeper carriage to find Selya, who was operating the weapon system against the beast tide alone. Facing dozens of screens, Selya was frowning, controlling all the fire control systems of the armored train. The arrival of Jian Neriya made her glance up slightly:

"Comrade of the Rose Army, you shouldn’t be here. Go back to your carriage; I’m very busy."

Jian shook her head, a gentle smile on her face.

Selya’s gaze hardened, sensing something wasn’t right. One hand controlled the fire control equipment, using the exoskeleton armor for protection, while the other hand slowly reached for the gun holster at her side.

"I’ve said it; I’m busy, I don’t have time for you."

Selya almost warned:

"Leave this place, don’t bother me. Operating the metro is a very dangerous thing."

"You are always so busy."

Jian said calmly:

"Don’t you want to take a break?"

"That’s none of your business, I’ll say it one more time, leave!"

Selya said sternly:

"Leave here, and don’t disturb me. The metro operation is very dangerous."

"Danger."

Jian turned her head slightly:

"That’s not wrong; I am indeed very dangerous."

Lady Selya’s pupils shrank, she suddenly stood up, and in an instant, she pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger at Jian Neriya.

Bang bang bang—

Three consecutive shots fired, and Jian’s figure instantly twisted. Her upper body, like mud, melted and split in two, dodging the bullets. Selya hurriedly threw off her headset, retreating while firing.

However, Jian’s body quickly dissipated into a pile of sludge, slipped under Selya’s feet, and got behind her in an instant, then swiftly solidified into a tall figure.

Selya hastily halted her steps, twisting her waist to turn around and threw a fierce punch!

Smack!

Selya’s fist was firmly caught by a palm wrapped in mechanical exoskeleton armor. Under Selya’s horrified gaze, the being in front of her mirrored her own appearance, a reflection of herself.

Another ’Selya’.

The attire, facial features, messy hairstyle, and even the external exoskeleton armor— while exactly the same, somehow when Selya saw her, she felt out of place with the surroundings and an involuntary shiver of horror.

"Don’t be nervous." ’Selya’ chuckled: "You look better when you smile."

"What the hell kind of monster are you!?"

Just as Selya was about to lift her gun and aim at the other, ’Selya’ beat her to it by pressing the pistol against Selya’s chin.

"Be happy."

Holding an identical pistol to Selya’s, it spoke with a smile:

"In our society, there should only be peace and joy."

Selya’s pupils tightened, and right after, she heard the sound of the trigger being pulled.

Click!

Selya’s mouth opened, and suddenly, her gaze subconsciously swept towards the other’s neck, where a strikingly conspicuous, red, cross-shaped scar was visible—as if branded by a burn.

Bang!

A gunshot sounded, Selya’s pupils constricted, and blood and brain matter sprayed from the back of her head. As her body collapsed downward, the disguised Selya suddenly opened her arms. Its face instantly smoothed out all features, and the torso split open to engulf Selya’s entire body, like an abyss swallowing her.

After briefly trembling, it slowly raised its head, eyes becoming lucid. ’Selya’ skillfully pressed the headset and connected to the channel.

Zhou Liefeng’s voice immediately came through the communication:

"The artillery fire has stopped for a while, what happened?"

Selya, acting naturally, wiped sweat from her brow, exhaling revivingly, saying:

"Whew— There was a little glitch with the system just now. Frost Plated sold us a pirated operating system, and I had to reboot it."

Zhou Liefeng paused for a bit and after a moment of silence, said:

"Oh, the system sold by Frost Plated people?"

"Is it only Frost Plated that has traded with the committee recently?"

"That’s true," Zhou Liefeng agreed: "Thanks for that, Little Se, there’s still at least forty-five minutes before we reach underground."

"You’re welcome."

After ending the call, Zhou Liefeng was silent for a moment, then suddenly bowed his head and covered his face.

"Selya..."

He pounded his chest in agony, raised his head, eyes bloodshot, filled with hatred and anger:

"Someone has replaced Selya."

It wasn’t a system reboot just now. The artillery attack abruptly stopped. Only he, who has driven Youth Number for years, could tell. Even Selya wouldn’t know about it.

Who could it be— Frost Plated’s hacker? Or a spy from Frost Plated hiding among the passengers?

He didn’t know, but one thing was certain— someone had invaded the armored train, murdered, and replaced Selya.

As an experienced Metro Brotherhood member, a driver of an armored train on his own, Zhou Liefeng’s level of caution was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He realized that something was amiss right away.

But right now, he was alone and helpless.

The high-speed train couldn’t possibly stop immediately— even if he did stop the train, what awaited them was to be torn apart and devoured by the horde of Mutant Beasts from the Outer World.

What should he do?

The train had to be driven by him. The fierce wind and blinding sandstorm would greatly obstruct vision; an amateur would inevitably cause an accident.

The Metro Brotherhood, to prevent the Four Nations from seizing the train’s control, has never used unmanned driving technology. The vehicle doesn’t even have fire extinguishers or CCTV; it is so rudimentary it hardly has any electronic devices.

He couldn’t risk leaving; otherwise, it would be irresponsible to all the passengers and to the Brotherhood’s collective property.

Selya may have already suffered an unfortunate fate, and worse than death, was that he was confined to the driver’s cab in this way, helpless.

At this point, the options before him were few.

Zhou Liefeng switched to the first-class carriage intercom, opened his mouth, and pinned all his hopes here.

"Please help us, Mr. Leozi."

This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om