Marvel's Death Merchant

"What the hell is that?" Arno shouted.

"God knows, I knew this mission was weird, and sure enough..." Carlos said, "So I hereby declare that this mission is abandoned!"

"Yes!" everyone responded.

"Donna, why don't you analyze this?" Carlos said.

“Yes,” Donna replied. “This incident should be a cover-up operation. There must be some deeper reason that led to the appearance of these monsters. The survivors will naturally become the target of the mastermind. From my observation, these monsters are not very intelligent, or even non-existent. So we are needed to deal with those who are hiding or those with high combat strength.”

"Secondly, there should be some follow-up measures to kill us as well. After that, even if someone discovers us, they will only see a bunch of mindless monsters, and all clues will be cut off."

"Furthermore, the people behind this incident must be very powerful. In places like this, if contact is lost for just a few hours, government agencies would start investigating. But this island has been cut off from the outside world for three days, and there has been no response. Of course, they can't keep this up indefinitely. I estimate that in two more days at most, they won't be able to hide it anymore, and it's uncertain when rescue will arrive."

"Finally, we don't work for the government and won't participate in the investigation to avoid getting ourselves into trouble. Now, let's figure out how to escape from here. I reckon these next two days will be the most dangerous."

"Ha! A genius is a genius. If I had to analyze all this, I would be dead." Arno said with a chuckle. The group chatted and laughed carefree, when they saw an SUV speeding by.

"Wow! Did you see that? That beautiful woman driving!" Arno exclaimed exaggeratedly. "So wild!"

“Not only are there wild beauties, but also ferocious monsters, you idiot!” Dudley shouted, with the hunters following closely behind the off-road vehicle.

"This thing looks more powerful than the average one."

"Let's get off the bus, otherwise it will limit everyone's strength," Carlos said. "We can't handle a group with our current weapons, but dealing with one shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Arno, as the assault soldier, was the first to jump out of the vehicle. He fired his submachine gun at the Hunter, but the Hunter dodged it with its speed. "Wow! Pretty fast," Arno thought, then actually gave chase. The Hunter was also surprised; in its not-so-developed brain, this was the first time it had seen a human catch up to it. Seeing the small figure getting closer and closer, it swung its claws. Arno seized the opportunity, spinning around and appearing beneath the Hunter's body. He pressed the muzzle of his submachine gun against the Hunter's abdomen and fired a barrage of bullets. Arno's shooting was skillful; he moved little by little, managing to break the Hunter in half at the waist.

"Done!" Looking at the hunter who was gradually coming to a standstill, Arno turned around and smiled at everyone, saying, "But this guy's body is really tough."

"Watch out!" Donna suddenly shouted.

It turned out that the hunter's upper body had leaped up and was charging at Arno again, catching Arno off guard. Just as the guy was about to die, Green's gun barrel suddenly appeared and pierced the hunter's mouth, spitting fire and smashing the hunter's head to pieces.

"Phew," Arno said with a sigh of relief, "Almost."

"If they're not dead, they'll get in the car and leave," Carlos shouted.

"Where are we going?" Khru asked.

"Of course, I'm going to find that beautiful girl from earlier," Arno said excitedly.

“That’s right,” Carlos said.

"Huh?" Now it was Arno's turn to be stunned. Carlos usually didn't take his opinions into account.

"Don't overthink it," Donna said. "There were children in the car just now, and they were heading straight for the zombies we lured here."

On the other side, Liu Chendong and the others, led by Ashura, finally emerged from the sewers, where they were greeted by a group of mercenaries.

"Greetings, everyone!" said a mercenary leader.

Who are you?

The moment the words "You'll be sent to hell" were spoken, gunshots rang out. Francis sensed their murderous intent and immediately used his mechanical arm to restrain Liu Chendong, who then fled in a disheveled state.

"What's going on?" Liu Chendong asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” Francis said. “I’m afraid it’s not just this group; Daisy and the others might be in danger.”

"That's right!" Liu Chendong exclaimed suddenly. "Let's go!"

Want to leave? Did you ask me first? In the distance, a sniper had already locked onto Liu Chendong's head...

"The people in that car just now, they looked like mercenaries?" Daisy, who was driving, said to Jill, who was in the passenger seat.

“That’s right, let them deal with the monsters behind them,” Jill nodded and said. “Let those mercenaries who indiscriminately kill innocent people die.”

“That’s not a good idea,” Janfer added from behind. “What if they’re not bad people?”

Chapter 748 Trials in the Virtual World [10]

“How could any mercenaries who come here at this time be good people?” Jill said stubbornly.

"Stop arguing, they're catching up," Daisy said hurriedly, glancing at the rearview mirror.

Sure enough, the Hummer quickly caught up and drove alongside Daisy. The Hummer rolled down its window, and the driver waved, signaling Daisy to stop and not go any further. "Ignore them, speed up," Jill shouted directly to Daisy. Seeing the SUV suddenly accelerate, the mercenaries exchanged bewildered glances. What was going on? "Are they crazy?" Arno said.

“No! They must have encountered other mercenaries,” Donna said. “I just saw that policewoman, and she looked at us with extreme disgust. We’ve never met her before, so the only reason she’s disgusted with us is our identity.”

"Oh, I see. I thought it was because Daudet was too ugly," Arno said slyly.

“You’re the ugly one, or I’ll throw you out of the car,” Dude retorted, then accelerated, overtook Daisy’s car, and swerved to block her car in front of it.

"This is outrageous!" Jill kicked open the car door, grabbed her gun, and got out. "You bastards, I might not be good at dealing with monsters, but I don't care about killing a few people." She then prepared to fire.

"Hey! Officer, this is a misunderstanding." Carlos got out of the car and quickly raised his hand when he saw Jill's appearance.

"Misunderstanding? You have no idea how many people you've killed, and now you're calling it a misunderstanding!" Jill shouted.

"Women shouldn't move around too much," Arno appeared behind Jill at some point, holding a dagger to her neck. Seeing this, Daisy and Geoffrey got out of the car and pointed their guns at them. When Carlos saw two more kids run out, awkwardly pointing guns at them, he was both amused and exasperated. "Hey! We chased after you just to tell you not to drive that way, there are lots of monsters there."

"What!" the girls exclaimed. "What do we do now?"

“Let’s go back,” Arno shrugged, putting his dagger away.

“No, that won’t do,” Emily said from behind. “There were a lot of mercenaries firing randomly in that direction just now, which attracted a lot of zombies.”

Hearing the childish voice, a hint of embarrassment flashed across the mercenaries' faces. They, too, had attracted a large horde of zombies by firing their guns without understanding the situation. "We're different from those mercenaries," Carlos said earnestly to Jill. "Right now, both sides are surrounded by those...you know, zombies. Could we cooperate? You need our strength, and we need your knowledge of the terrain and your intelligence about this incident."

"Deal!" Daisy said first, then pulled Jill over and said, "He's right, we can't survive this zombie horde on our own."

Jill nodded, then turned and got into the car. She paused, then said, "As a start to our cooperation, let me give you a piece of advice: never get hurt, or you'll become one of those monsters." A hint of sadness flashed across Jill's face, then vanished instantly. Carlos thought for a moment, then, seeing Jill's expression, nodded solemnly. "Thank you. This is a communication device; stay in touch."

The horde of zombies arrived faster than expected, mixed with fleeing survivors and mercenaries. Carlos led the way, with Daisy following behind, as they sped away. Through their communication headsets, Carlos and his group learned the general situation and felt a deep fear of whoever created such a thing; the world is never short of madmen. The zombie horde was enormous, and the two vehicles were eventually surrounded. They had to fight their way out, while also watching out for hands reaching through the car windows. Jill's warnings had made everyone even more cautious, and they were somewhat hesitant. Seeing their predicament, Dudley turned around, smashed through the floor-to-ceiling window of the supermarket ahead, and drove inside. "Abandon the car," Carlos ordered. Using the car as cover, they fired at the horde of zombies to bring Daisy and the others in, then retreated to the second floor. “I’ve worked here before. There’s a mezzanine on the third and fourth floors for emergencies. We’ll go up and seal it off, then we’ll be safe,” Daisy said quickly. “Okay, Daudet, Hru, take the child, let’s go up.” Carlos then took out a gun and stuck it on the stairs. “That should stop them for a bit.”

Upon reaching the fourth floor, Daisy found the partition sealed off. She ran over and kicked it a few times, then shouted into the microphone, "Open the door!"

"Get out! Good heavens! You've broken down the gate! Why don't you just die? Get out!" A gruff voice came through the microphone. "Please, we have no choice," Janfer pleaded, "At least let the child in."

"Get out! You filthy bitches! You broke down the door and let those cannibalistic bastards in! You'll kill us all! Get out!" Several women pleaded for a while, but the partition wouldn't open. Carlos pushed the women aside and said, "You have two choices now: one, open the partition and let us in; two, we'll blow it up and we'll all die. You have five seconds, five, four..." There was silence behind the microphone. As Carlos counted down, the partition opened.

"Damn it!" Daisy cursed, giving Carlos a thumbs-up, and prepared to go in first. Donna stopped her, giving Hru a wink, who understood and went in first. As soon as the curtain was pushed open, a gust of wind blew in, and a golf club smashed into Hru's head. "Haha! Damn it, you bastard, you dare threaten me?" The arrogant voice didn't last long. Hru nonchalantly took the deformed club off his head and said to the stunned attacker, "Too light."

Then everyone went inside one after another, chuckling at the man who kept apologizing to Hru and then leaving him alone. "Are you just going to let him be cannon fodder like this?" Gil seemed to dislike Carlos and found another way to provoke him. "What if it's a knife or a gun?"

“I believe him,” Carlos said calmly, unconcerned.

"Tch! Trying to look cool!" Jill scoffed and followed Carlos inside. Daisy grabbed Gianfer, pointed at Jill, then at Carlos, and winked. Gianfer smiled and shook his head, but Emily suddenly asked, "What's wrong with Daisy's eyes?"

"Watch out!" Francis shoved Liu Chendong sharply, and a whistling bullet pierced his mechanical arm. Francis glanced at the spot that had just reflected light, then pulled Liu Chendong into hiding.

"Are you alright?" the battle-obsessed man asked.

“The neural sensor is damaged, so this arm is unusable.” Ashura looked at Liu Chendong and said, “Liu Chendong, you’re always so distracted. You’re trained, how can you not even feel a sniper aiming at you? If this continues, no one can save you.”

Chapter 749 Trials in the Virtual World [11]

"I'm sorry, I..." Liu Chendong was speechless. Indeed, Liu Chendong grew up in a relatively peaceful environment. Although he received military training from a young age, the changes now were too drastic. The battlefield was littered with corpses, his newly made friend had died at his hands, and he had witnessed countless stories of injustice in the face of reality. Liu Chendong's mindset hadn't adjusted quickly enough. He felt somewhat disoriented, and in this state, he could not only die himself but also endanger others. Liu Chendong patted his face; he needed to come to his senses. "I know, I'll adjust," Liu Chendong said. "Now it's not just those tyrants anymore, but also those mercenaries, who are much harder to deal with than ordinary zombies."

After a brief discussion, the two ducked into a tool shop. "Help me disassemble this robotic arm," Francis said. "Okay," Liu Chendong agreed, and began searching for tools. Just as they removed the robotic arm, two mercenaries approached. Liu Chendong pinned Francis down, made a shushing gesture, and then pulled out his shorts and shuffled close to the shelf.

Two mercenaries split up, one on each side, to search. One of them approached Liu Chendong. Seeing the slowly approaching gun barrel, Liu Chendong grabbed it, pressed it down, and lunged forward. The blade flashed across his throat, giving him no chance to make a sound. Hot blood sprayed onto Liu Chendong's face. He forced himself to endure the nausea and slowly laid the body down, assuming a certain posture. He had to overcome this, or he and Francis would both die. It wasn't that Francis was incapable of fighting, but making a sound would attract others. Even the two of them, no matter how skilled, would be riddled with bullets, not to mention there was a sniper among them. After arranging the body, Liu Chendong deliberately made a slight noise to lure the other mercenary over. Using the shelving as cover, he circled behind him and swiftly slit his throat. Having dealt with the two mercenaries, Liu Chendong returned to Francis's side. "Francis, you're familiar with the terrain here. Which way do we go?" "Follow me! But I'm not very good at assassinations like yours."

The two cautiously left the tool shop, using parked cars as cover. After crossing two intersections, they saw two mercenaries smoking in a corner. Liu Chendong nodded to Francis, pulled a police pistol from his back waist, and attached a silencer. "Thud!" A bloody hole suddenly appeared in the mercenary's head. The other mercenary reacted quickly, raising his gun, but Francis, rushing over, crushed his head. Liu Chendong breathed a sigh of relief; he had been worried Francis wasn't fast enough. The two were fast, but the mercenaries were no slouch either. After losing contact with several locations, they immediately formed a combat team and charged in.

“There was a sniper in the building across the street just now,” Francis said. “Hmm, he should be gone by now,” Liu Chendong replied. “We’re encountering mercenaries more and more frequently. It seems they’ve spotted us. Let’s hide for a bit.” Seeing Francis nod, the two casually entered a roadside shop, unaware that the sniper in the corner had already seen them. “Report! Target spotted, two people, armed. Send men to surround and eliminate them.”

The two stayed in the store for a while, and just as they were about to leave, they heard footsteps stop in the store. "Damn it, we've been spotted!" Liu Chendong shouted when he heard the pin of a grenade being pulled. He then fired first, causing the mercenaries to scatter in panic, and the two took the opportunity to run out. After a brief firefight, the number of enemies increased, but they were quickly spotted again. "We're probably being monitored by that sniper," Liu Chendong said to Francis.

"Then what to do."

"Find him," Liu Chendong said. "Lure him to fire, then find his location."

“Okay, I’ll go.” Francis said, and was about to walk out when Liu Chendong stopped him.

“Right now, he has the advantage; he might not shoot if he sees you,” Liu Chendong said.

"This won't work, that won't work," Francis said anxiously. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Let's split up!" Liu Chendong said helplessly after thinking for a moment. "He can't possibly monitor two people at the same time."

"Then what are you going to do? You don't know the way."

“So, I’ll distract them,” Liu Chendong said confidently. “You absolutely must find Emily and the others.”

"No, you..."

"Believe me, I won't die. As long as I live, I will definitely reunite with you." As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Chendong darted out, fired a few shots, and ran away into the distance.

"Report! They've separated. Who should I continue tracking?" the sniper said over the phone.

"That kid killed a lot of our brothers, I'm going to skin him alive!" came a furious voice.

"learn!"

Watching Liu Chendong disappear into the distance, Francis quickly turned and ran towards the direction of Giannifer's house. He dodged many zombies along the way, but the closer he got, the more zombies appeared. A bad premonition filled Francis's heart, and he quickened his pace again. When he returned home, the house was deserted. Francis felt relieved after reading the message Daisy had left, and was about to go and meet up with them, but remembering what Anthony had told her, he hesitated for a moment, then resolutely headed back towards his own house...

“Francis,” Anthony suddenly said to Francis as they sped through the sewers.

"what happened?"

“We won’t survive in our current state,” Anthony said. “Ordinary zombies are manageable, but Tyrants are not. As time goes on, their mutation will become more perfect, far beyond what they are now. They are already this difficult to deal with, let alone in the future.”

"Let's take it one step at a time," Francis said, a deep sense of powerlessness washing over him upon hearing the news.

"Francis, the so-called repairs they gave you are still there, aren't they?"

"What's wrong with me being in my own home?"

“If, and I mean if, everyone reaches a dead end, then use what you’ve got. There’s a small chance the human body can control a parasite, though it’s not impossible. If you succeed, you’ll become incredibly powerful to save everyone; if you fail, things won’t get any worse, right?” She then turned to look at Liu Chendong. “Think about it.”

Thinking of Anthony's words, Francis had a premonition that he would definitely need them. Looking up at the gloomy sky, he wondered, "Do we even have a tomorrow...?" "These bastards," Liu Chendong muttered, grumbling as he finished off a mercenary and examined his equipment. "I suffered so much to get this physique." He shook his head regretfully, hoping the arena's tyrant was still around, or he was doomed.

Chapter 750 Trials in the Virtual World [12]

"Fire here!"

"Damn it! Don't let me find that sniper!" Liu Chendong said angrily, and started a new round of running away.

Several near-death experiences allowed Liu Chendong to gradually adapt, and his application of his skills improved significantly. Mercenary casualties were rising sharply; they were tough nut to crack, according to the mercenary leader. He was helpless; continuing would clearly be counterproductive, but where would his pride be? He had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue. Liu Chendong finally reached his destination, took out the captured explosives, and stuck them to the closed gates of the arena. He found a corner to hide in, waiting for the pursuing mercenaries.

"Report, target concealed! But his last action was preparing to blow up the door of the building ahead, which, according to the data, is the Modified Fighting Arena," the sniper reported.