CHAPTER 1624: CHAPTER 1618: COME AND KILL ME

Taking advantage of the moment, Brother Shi patted Yong’s hand, trying to signal him to lower his head like himself and avoid being too stubborn.

This time, Brother Shi wasn’t sure if Yong understood his intention. He turned to look and found that Yong’s gaze had shifted away from the sergeant. But worse yet, that idiot was now staring at the commanding officer instead!

This wasn’t just a glance—Yong’s eyes carried no trace of curiosity. Instead, he looked as though he had encountered a formidable enemy, his gaze locked firmly on the commanding officer, his expression transformed. It was no longer the blank stare they had seen before but was now brimming with chilling murderous intent that made others deeply uneasy.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Brother Shi patted Yong’s hand again, frightened by the look in his eyes. In that fleeting moment, he thought Yong wasn’t Yong but a high-level zombie slowly advancing within a tide of the undead.

That second pat finally caught Yong’s attention, and the murderous intent in his eyes gradually dissipated. He turned to look at Brother Shi, his face showing confusion.

"What’s wrong?"

Yong asked Brother Shi, but before Brother Shi had a chance to respond, the sergeant barked furiously, "What are you two doing? Stand straight before me!"

Hearing the sergeant’s voice, Brother Shi didn’t dare utter a word. He immediately lowered his head, and Yong—seeming to finally grasp Brother Shi’s previous signal—followed suit and lowered his head.

"Do you know the fate of deserters?"

"Y-yes..."

"Since the founding of Dangerous Sanctuary City, there’s never been any exception for deserters. Shooting deserters dead is considered lenient! Now that you’ve returned, you’re saving us the trouble of sending people to hunt you down. What’s more, you killed two veteran soldiers when you fled. You want a chance? Who’s going to give a chance to the two men you murdered?"

The sergeant’s words reached Brother Shi and Ghost Head, making them both tremble. Brother Shi immediately raised his head, attempting to speak, but he was interrupted by the sergeant after barely uttering a single word.

The sergeant waved his hand, and several soldiers who had been watching the scene stepped forward.

"Restrain all three of them!"

As soon as the sergeant finished speaking, four or five soldiers rushed forward without hesitation, grabbed the three men’s arms, and pinned them to the ground. The soldiers’ eyes burned with fury, filled with disdain for their act of desertion. Yet some were puzzled; having successfully escaped, why would they choose to return?

To others, their actions were an outright enigma.

"I’m sorry! We just want a chance to make amends for our mistakes! Please don’t let us die in vain! I beg you—I can’t let my brother’s sacrifice on the Second District Battlefield be for nothing. He’s a hero! He could have been a deserter like me, found a better place to live, but he didn’t. He chose to die on the Second District Battlefield! I want to be like him! Please give me a chance! I swear I won’t run again! Just give me enough ammunition, and I’ll fight until my final breath..."

"Let go of me! Get the hell off, damn it! F*ck you... Third District... isn’t the undead tide about to reach the Third District? I can go there! If deserters deserve death, then let me die in the Third District! Let me die like Luo Dianfeng in the Second District! Don’t you high-ranking officials love squeezing every last ounce of value from your pawns?"

"...Let a pawn realize their remaining value and face their fate. Wouldn’t that be better? Tell me! F*ck you!"

Dragged further by the soldiers, the three of them were pulled outside step by step. Ghost Head sighed deeply, saying nothing. Asking for a chance—it seemed trivial, yet chances were scarce both before and after the Apocalypse.

He felt as if he’d already given up entirely. Dying, however it happened, was still death. At first, Ghost Head struggled furiously like Brother Shi, but later, realizing the futility of it all, he stopped fighting back and allowed the soldiers to drag him. He tilted his head up toward the stormy, overcast sky and recalled the fragments of memory he had vowed to keep just moments ago. He hadn’t expected it to end so soon...

Memories of the past resurfaced again, bringing forth regret upon regret. Regret swelled into sorrow as he mourned the scenes he would never see again. What saddened him even more was that he wouldn’t even be able to see a blue sky when he died.

Ghost Head sighed deeply once more, forcibly twisting his face to look at Brother Shi. The man was still furiously resisting, spitting out curses with every ounce of strength he had. In the end, he burst out at the sergeant with a barrage of profanities, saliva flying as he raged. Ghost Head could only murmur to himself: What a spoiled brat.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Ghost Head had seen Brother Shi act so brashly—a sudden burst of arrogance and viciousness. Despite the situation, swearing seemed cathartic, yet it came at a cost. His powerful brother, a Level 6 New Human, was already dead; there was no one left to protect him.

Brother Shi unleashed a torrent of obscenities so vile they were almost unbearable to hear, aimed primarily at the sergeant. No matter how tolerant someone might be, they wouldn’t stomach that kind of abuse—especially not someone who didn’t strike Ghost Head as particularly patient. As expected, the sergeant roared in anger and stormed forward, shouting at the soldiers restraining Brother Shi: "Let him go!"

The moment those three words came out, the soldiers hesitated not a second before releasing Brother Shi.

"What the hell did you say to me?"

The sergeant charged toward Brother Shi, and as soon as he got close, he sent a vicious kick flying!

Thud!

With a muffled impact, Brother Shi’s entire body was knocked backward, blood spewing from his mouth. But before he could even get up, the sergeant was already on him again, grabbing his hair and yanking him up. With Brother Shi’s face inches from his own, the sergeant cursed furiously, "F*ck you!"

The classic four-word profanity, paired with what felt like half a pound of spit flying out of the sergeant’s mouth, mixed with the blood already soaking Brother Shi’s face.

Still struggling, Brother Shi whimpered but defiantly managed to retort through clenched teeth: "F*ck you..."

"F*ck!"

"F*ck!"

"F*ck!"

"..."

Finally, with a guttural growl, the sergeant slammed Brother Shi into the ground. He cast a sharp look at the nearby soldiers and shouted, "Stop listening to this nonsense—hang those three immediately!"

The soldiers dared not argue and rushed forward, dragging the nearly beaten-to-death Brother Shi up. Ghost Head stole a glance at the sergeant. He seemed to have noticed something peculiar—something strange about the sergeant’s reluctance to kill Brother Shi outright. After all, Brother Shi was merely a Level 2 New Human and no match for a Level 4 Powerhouse. Killing him would have been as easy as squashing a bug.

The reason behind the sergeant’s restraint remained unknown.

Hoisted up again by the soldiers, Brother Shi coughed and wheezed, but it seemed he still hadn’t given up. Soon, to everyone’s surprise, he began laughing—crookedly, grimly—and continued taunting the sergeant: "Come on! Kill me, you bastard! Hahaha! Not scared, are you? Do you have the guts to kill me? Let’s see if someone comes to make trouble for you!"