The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

Su Mu didn't even have time to react.

The giant claw slammed into his cable car with tremendous force, so fast that even his dynamic vision could only capture a blurry afterimage.

An overwhelming shadow descended, and Su Mu cursed inwardly... The other party's hand was too big; even though he was running so fast, it was still within its range.

boom......

The violent impact was deafening.

The ear-piercing shriek of steel scraping against steel exploded in his ears, and Su Mu felt the entire cable car shaking violently, as if it were about to be torn apart.

But the claw didn't touch the cable car.

Less than a meter from the cable car, an invisible force blocked it. The force emitted a faint fluorescent glow, firmly keeping the giant claw outside the cable car.

The moment the giant claw's scales came into contact with the fluorescent light, they began to corrode. Black blood seeped from the gaps in the scales, dripping onto the ground and corroding out puddles that emitted white smoke.

The colossal creature let out a deafening roar, its sharp, piercing sound so intense that Su Mu felt his eardrums about to be torn apart. The terrifying shriek echoed through the night sky, sending chills down his spine.

But it didn't stop.

It raised its other paw.

Su Mu had no time to observe the horrific state of the behemoth. His cable car continued to accelerate, hurtling towards the barrier. Fifty meters, thirty meters, ten meters...

Just then, he felt something suddenly crash down on his head.

It wasn't that giant creature... its second attack hadn't even landed yet.

It's that costumed monster.

It had somehow floated directly above the cable car, three transparent threads hanging down from the void, connecting its hands and head. It reached out and grabbed at Su Mu's cable car from the void.

The hand passed through the barrier.

It wasn't that it "passed through" the barrier, but rather that the barrier didn't hinder its grab at all. Su Mu didn't have time to think about why... the giant creature's attack was blocked by the barrier, but this costumed monster's attack wasn't.

Some of the force of that grab was neutralized by something... perhaps the cable car's own defenses, or perhaps some other rule. But the remaining force struck the cable car squarely.

"Bang!"

The cable car jolted violently, and Su Mu was thrown out, crashing into the wall. A system notification flashed before his eyes...

[Cable car durability: 96% → 43%]

Su Mu's heart clenched.

One hit reduces its durability by 53%. Another hit and his cable car will be destroyed.

He looked up and gazed out the window. The costumed monster was still hovering above the cable car, its three threads swaying gently, and the corners of its mouth curved even wider on its pale face.

It opened its mouth and let out a sinister laugh... The sound wasn't loud, but it clearly pierced through the iron walls of the cable car and entered Su Mu's ears, like countless ants crawling on them.

It raised its hand again.

Su Mu did not hesitate at all.

He pulled the M500 from his chest holster, aimed it at the monster's head, and pulled the trigger.

"biu, biu, biu, biu..."

Twenty-seven bullets were fired. The silencer reduced the sound to an extremely low level, but the bullets were fired at an extremely high rate, emptying the entire magazine in less than three seconds.

The bullet pierced through the barrier, through the air, and struck the creature's head with pinpoint accuracy.

He didn't know if the bullet could hurt it.

He didn't know if his attack would be effective against a monster of this level. But he had to do something... He couldn't just stand by and watch the monster strike a second time.

The bullet hit its target.

The creature's head snapped back, its three silken threads swaying violently. Its body swayed in the air, its raised right hand frozen in mid-air. The smile on its pale face froze for a moment.

Then, its expression changed.

It wasn't anger, it wasn't pain, but... surprise. It was as if they hadn't expected this "little thing" to dare fight back, and actually hit it.

At that very moment, Su Mu's cable car suddenly plunged into the barrier.

The city wall receded rapidly behind him. The figure of the theatrical monster grew farther and smaller until it disappeared into the glowing barrier. Its second attack missed, as the cable car entered the barrier.

Su Mu was panting heavily, still holding the M500 aloft, the muzzle pointed out the window. Outside, only the buildings and streets of Ash City were visible; the strange creature was no longer in sight.

He slowly lowered his gun and leaned against the wall.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of my throat.

He glanced down at the cable car's durability... 43%. Then he looked behind him... other cable cars were passing through the barrier one after another, without being attacked.

Those monsters showed absolutely no interest in them. Or rather, after Su Mu's cable car disappeared, the monsters reverted to their previous state, continuing their siege and ignoring the ordinary cable cars.

Only him. Only his cable car was attacked by that costumed monster.

Su Mu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again.

"Hold."

He muttered a curse under his breath.

The costumed monster had its sights set on him.

It wasn't targeting this cable car, nor this cable. It was targeting him. From the moment it was watching his cable car from outside the barrier, to the moment it attacked him through the barrier, and then the moment it caught up to deliver a second blow... it was targeting him.

Su Mu didn't know why. It could be because his cable car was the most conspicuous, or because his fog lights were too bright, or because he had fired too many shots while fighting monsters. Or perhaps... that thing was simply targeting him.

Regardless of the reason, the result is the same.

He was being targeted by a strange creature of at least level ten.

Su Mu touched the M500 in his chest holster and then looked at the pile of weapons in the corner.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a bitter smile, nor was it self-deprecation; it was a cold, murderous laugh.

"Damn it, don't let me get a chance," he whispered, his voice low but each word sounding like it was being squeezed out between clenched teeth. "I'm going to kill you."

He glanced at the other cable cars behind him that had safely passed through the barrier, and then at the city walls receding into the distance outside the window.

The strange creature is no longer visible.

But he knew it was still there.

Outside the barrier, amidst the overwhelming army of strange creatures, suspended in mid-air, three transparent threads swayed gently, their pale faces bearing a chilling smile.

Waiting for him.

Su Mu withdrew his gaze and began to inspect the damage to the cable car.

There's no way to fix it for now, but the cable car is about to be upgraded, which will restore all its durability, something he's already verified.

However, Su Mu's nerves remained tense, because it was still uncertain whether there was anything in the city, and his endurance was too low, so he had no sense of security at all.

Most importantly, the theatrical costume monster is still waiting for him outside the city.

And will those strange creatures breach the city...?

A surge of resentment welled up inside him, but Su Mu forced himself to calm down. Now was not the time to think about these things. He glanced at the cable car's durability and then at the night view of Ash City outside the window.

There was no smog in the city, but it was pitch black inside.

Su Mu opened the channel and glanced at the number of people in the upper right corner.

Four hundred and thirty-seven people.

From over 800 to over 400, in just over half an hour, nearly half of the people died.

Su Mu turned off the channel and began to count the materials needed to repair the cable car.

His movements were quick but steady. His hands didn't tremble, his eyes didn't blink, as if nothing had happened.

Only he knew that, just a moment ago, he truly believed he was going to die there.

But he's not dead yet.

If you're not dead, you must live on.

To survive, you must become stronger.

Only by becoming stronger can you twist off the head of that costumed monster.