Absolute Zone Zero: Please call me the Dragon of Annihilation

Chapter 43 The Final Battle Against the Deadly Butcher - A Sudden Change

In the parking lot behind the video store on Sixth Street, the dim streetlights cast dappled shadows on the damp ground. In Xiaoyu's arms, Ies excitedly kicked its short legs, its round eyes shining brightly. Its little hands clung tightly to Xiaoyu's collar, waving it repeatedly towards the rusty back door: "Yes! Yes! (This is it!)"

Xiaoyu held Ies in his arms, his brows furrowed, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the tightly closed back door. The place looked dilapidated and deserted; it didn't seem like it held any crucial clues.

Five fake sheriffs followed behind him, their uniforms looking rather out of place. Their faces were full of confusion as they followed Ies through a maze of alleys without surveillance cameras, resembling a group of petty thieves, as if afraid of being spotted by passersby. Little did they know, if it weren't for their conspicuous attire, Ling would never have come up with such a troublesome method.

Ling's original plan was simple: let Xiaoyu take Ies alone, while the rest of them stayed behind in the dead-end safe zone to guard the train full of explosives. But Xiaoyu was worried and insisted on bringing the five fake sheriffs along, ostensibly to ensure Ies's safety. Ling couldn't persuade him otherwise and had to let him have his way.

"Boss," a fake sheriff leaned close to Xiaoyu and whispered, "Could it be that Bangbu's program is malfunctioning? Why is it keeping yelling at this shabby video store?"

The others nodded in agreement, their eyes betraying their suspicion. Just as they were whispering and speculating, a soft click broke the silence—the back door of the video store not far away was slowly opened a crack from the inside.

"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

The fake sheriff standing next to Xiaoyu reacted the fastest. Almost the instant the door opened, he shouted and his hands moved without hesitation, the dark muzzle of his gun instantly aimed at the head of the person behind the door.

Suddenly, the other four fake sheriffs instinctively raised their guns in unison, all five guns pointing in the same direction without any deviation. Xiaoyu's heart tightened, and he quickly turned to shield Ies in his arms, afraid that the little guy would see this tense scene.

The person standing behind the door was Zhe. As soon as he peeked out, he was pointed directly at by five dark gun barrels. Even though he was usually quite composed, his face turned deathly pale in an instant. He froze on the spot, his hand still on the doorknob, unsure whether to go in or back out, and for a moment he didn't know how to react.

"Um! Um! (Please don't hurt Master!)"

Ies was whimpering anxiously in Xiaoyu's arms, squirming its little body. Xiaoyu didn't hold it down, and the little guy slipped out of his arms in a flash, toddled over to Zhe, opened its arms, and used its round body to block Zhe, its little head still shaking unhappily at the fake sheriffs.

Xiaoyu looked at the scene before him, his confusion deepening. He glanced back and forth between the man and the cloth-wielding man, pondered for a moment, and finally raised his hand to signal: "Put down your guns, both of you."

Although the fake sheriffs were puzzled, they obediently did as they were told and put away their guns.

Zhe finally came to his senses, stiffly tugging at the corners of his mouth, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Gentlemen...are you here to buy videotapes?"

Xiaoyu stared at his pale face, her voice calm and unwavering: "I've heard that there's a legendary pair of rope craftsmen on Sixth Street, named Phaethon."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife: "The person who can synchronize with Bangbu's senses through special means and guide the cave raiders to safety in the cave must be one of them, shopkeeper, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhe's smile became even more awkward. He quickly glanced around and, after confirming that there were no suspicious people, turned to the side and gestured for them to come in: "Come in, this is not the place to talk."

Xiaoyu didn't hesitate and stepped inside first, followed closely by the five fake sheriffs. Zhe stayed behind, cautiously peeking into the alleyway. After confirming that no one was following him, he closed the back door behind him, then quickly walked to the shop entrance, flipped the wooden sign that read "Open for Business" to reveal the words "Closed".

Inside the studio, the light was dimmer than outside, and the air was filled with a faint smell of electronic components mixed with dust.

Xiaoyu's gaze immediately fell on the HAND system on the table. He gently stroked his chin, his eyes filled with curiosity. He simply couldn't understand how such an ordinary-looking device could synchronize a person's consciousness with Bangbu's.

The other five fake sheriffs, like curious children who had never seen the world before, looked around in astonishment and confusion. The old posters on the wall, the videotapes piled in the corner, and the instruments they couldn't name all amazed them.

Just then, Zhe pushed open the door and walked in. Ling, who had just finished charging Ies, immediately went to greet him, a sly smile on her lips, and winked at Zhe: "So, brother, were you scared out of your wits by these new friends?"

Seeing Ling's devilish expression, Zhe's temple throbbed, and his smile instantly turned cold. He couldn't resist pinching Ling's cheek and giving it a sharp tug, his tone laced with a hint of gritted teeth: "You really are my...good little sister! Your brother almost got riddled with bullets by your 'new friends' just now!" "It's just that I didn't buy you that videotape you liked last time I went shopping," Zhe said helplessly. "Does it have to be this serious, having them point guns at me?"

Seeing that Zhe was genuinely angry, Ling calmed down a bit. She playfully stuck out her tongue, her voice sweet and slightly coquettish: "Oh dear, brother, you're perfectly fine, not a scratch on you. Hehe..."

Meanwhile, deep within the dead end, in a hollow void.

"Bang! Rumble—!"

Deafening explosions rang out one after another, accompanied by the piercing sound of metal colliding. Several craters of varying sizes were blasted into the ground, and shattered ice and gravel flew everywhere. The air was filled with a strong aura of ethereal matter.

The Butcher of the Dead End knelt on the ground, one hand gripping the earth tightly. His massive body was hunched over, like a dying beast. His chest heaved violently, each breath accompanied by a surge of dense ethereal matter. His once-proud ethereal armor was now tattered and mangled, covered in charred cracks and streaks of crystalline ice. His ever-present ethereal spear lay askew in the ground a short distance away, its shaft still trembling slightly.

On the other side, Ming Che stood on the chaotic battlefield, his clothes torn in a few places, looking somewhat disheveled, but without a single superficial injury. In contrast, the men around him were all wounded, some with blood streaming from their arms, others limping, clearly too exhausted to continue fighting.

Ming Che held the Dragon Abyss Black Gold Spear in one hand, while the Dragon Soul's alarm blared incessantly in his earpiece: "Warning! Warning! The etheric activity within Dead End Butcher is rapidly increasing! Host is advised to immediately lead the remaining personnel to evacuate!"

After hearing the dragon soul's prompt, Ming Che's lips curled into a cold smile, and he muttered to himself, "Is this preparing to enter the second stage? Interesting."

Dragon Soul detected that Ming Che not only had no intention of retreating, but his fighting spirit was also high, even his electronic voice carried a hint of helplessness: "It is recommended that the host adopt a flanking tactic and avoid a head-on confrontation with the target. In addition, a special item has been detected—the Ether Spear of the Dead End Butcher. Item name: Ether Earth-Splitting Spear."

Item Description: A crude weapon forged from a mixture of over a dozen road sign fragments and a high concentration of etheric matter; as the Dead End Butcher's accompanying weapon, it possesses extremely high collectible value and can be exchanged for high rewards through specific channels; due to its enormous size and crude craftsmanship, it is impossible for ordinary people to carry or use it, and coupled with the Dead End Butcher's formidable strength, to date, no one has been able to successfully bring it out of the void.

Upon hearing this, Ming Che's gaze inadvertently drifted to the ethereal spear he had sent flying not far away, a barely perceptible golden light flashing in his eyes. His gaze towards the Dead Road Butcher instantly changed; it was no longer the wariness one would show towards a powerful enemy, but rather as if he were looking at a giant, mobile treasure vault.

With this in mind, Ming Che suddenly exerted force with his feet, and his figure rushed towards the Dead Road Butcher like an arrow, intending to take advantage of the gap before it fully entered the second stage to kill it completely.

Just as his figure was about to pass by the Butcher of the Dead Road, the dragon soul, which had been quiet for a moment, suddenly issued an urgent alarm: "Warning! An extremely strong etheric fluctuation has been detected, approaching the host at an extremely fast speed!"

The dragon's eyes beneath the mask of darkness suddenly narrowed, and all the muscles in his body tensed instantly. He twisted his body abruptly, and the Dragon Abyss Black Gold Spear in his hand changed its direction of attack accordingly.

The next second, "Bang! Rumble—!"

A deafening roar erupted as a massive, ethereal sword, imbued with intense etheric energy, slammed down onto the spot where Ming Che had just been about to step. The sword crashed into the ground, sending debris flying and billowing dust billowing into the air.

This sudden attack startled the people nearby, who anxiously looked towards the direction of the billowing smoke, searching for Mingche's figure.

Soon, they spotted that familiar figure not far from where the knife had landed.

Ming Che stood firmly on one foot atop the butt of the Dragon Abyss Black Gold Spear, his posture as upright as a pine tree. His gaze calmly fixed on the enemy slowly emerging before him. The mask with three pairs of eyes on his face had cracked open, revealing a sharp, eagle-like, and extremely oppressive amber dragon eye beneath.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, the enormous creature inside was revealed. It was a monster with a body size identical to the Butcher of the Road, its heavy armor already pitted and corroded by ethereal matter. Through the gaps in its helmet, a black core that was pulsating slightly could be vaguely seen.

Its arms were now integrated with its weapons. The left arm was a dark grenade launcher with a dangerous red glow at the muzzle, clearly loaded with potent ethereal matter. The right arm was the giant saber that had just smashed out a huge crater, with a faint ethereal black mist swirling around its blade, emanating a chilling aura.

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(End of this chapter)