IABI -Chapter 123 Humanity’s Counterattack (24)

The tremors began. The ground shook violently, so much so that ordinary people with weaker constitutions could barely keep their footing.

The shaking lasted only a few seconds. From the cracks splitting open across the earth’s surface, dazzling golden light shot out in streaks. Then the tremors gradually stopped, and the fissures in the ground closed and returned to normal.

From start to finish, everything happened so fast that it felt as if everyone had collectively experienced an absurd dream.

From the very beginning until now, Chi Xin stood firmly on the ground, steady and unmoving, even reaching out to support the trembling Jiang Congyun beside her.

Amid the apocalyptic darkness and oppressive atmosphere, Chi Xin lowered her head to look at her.

“Congyun, your task is the most important among all of us,” Chi Xin said. “You’ve worked hard.”

Jiang Congyun revealed the same gentle smile as always. “I’ll do everything I can.”

Chi Xin then glanced at the others. Yu Xiang returned her gaze with a thumbs-up gesture—everything was understood without words.

The roar of an engine pushed to its limit rang out. A military pickup truck skidded to a stop in front of them with a sharp fishtail turn. Jing Xiubai’s face appeared at the window. “Get in!”

This pickup had only two seats. Chi Xin didn’t even bother opening the door. To save time, she leapt up directly and slid into the passenger seat through the open window.

The others boarded the truck bed at top speed.

Like all pickup trucks, this one drove without hesitation toward the most dangerous battlefield.

“Promise me, Chi Xin,” Jing Xiubai said as he drove, his jaw tense. “Before we figure out Raphael’s trump cards, don’t act rashly.”

“I will,” Chi Xin replied.

The group rushed toward the city wall. All the soldiers who had arrived there tacitly stepped aside, clearing a path so Chi Xin could move unimpeded to the top.

The other leaders had also arrived one after another. No one had time for pleasantries; all of them stared intently into the darkness ahead.

The largest searchlight on the wall was switched on. Below them stood a densely packed mass of zombies. Strangely, they did not launch an attack. Instead, they seemed to be waiting for some kind of command.

Their bodies were caked with filthy soil—it was obvious they had suddenly emerged via underground burrowing. No wonder the sentries hadn’t detected any warning signs.

“What’s the situation now?”

“I—I—look over there!”

Exclamations mixed with Chi Xin’s question. She stopped asking altogether and simply shifted her gaze toward the source of everyone’s cries.

In the middle of the dense zombie horde, not far from the city wall, a massive drill-like machine broke through the ground.

“Damn, what kind of good stuff is that?” Yu Xiang muttered.

“For now, let’s call it a drilling machine. After all, aside from digging, it’s good for nothing else,” Han Zimo replied from beside them. Rarely did he refrain from bickering and instead answered with mild sarcasm.

“So that thing was what threw the entire base into chaos just now.” Chi Xin watched as the machine burst out of the ground without caring about the zombies around it, crushing a large swath of them beneath it. She spoke coldly. “Typical Raphael.”

Disregarding the lives of his own people, caring only about his own interests—exactly the same Raphael she had known before.

“I didn’t realize you understood me so well.”

Chi Xin narrowed her eyes.

Under Raphael’s suppression, all the zombies remained fixed in their positions. Even when they were crushed to death, not a sound escaped them. Thus, after the humans also fell silent, that unfamiliar voice became exceptionally clear.

The surroundings fell into deathly silence.

Everyone watched as the cockpit of the machine slowly opened, and a blond man stood up from inside.

One hand braced against the frame of the cockpit, the snake-shaped pinky ring on his finger glinted with an icy light under the illumination.

He lifted his eyes. His gaze pierced through the zombie horde and countless humans, locking directly onto Chi Xin standing atop the city wall.

A king facing a king.

At last, the final boss—the one Chi Xin had once feared, clashed with openly and secretly time and again—now stood before her.

Chi Xin returned his gaze. In an instant, countless scenes flashed through her mind: his cold commands in the laboratory, Louis leaping resolutely into the mudslide waterfall, and Lou Chen’s face filled with terror as he struggled to reach out to her…

Everything swept past in a moment, yet Chi Xin’s expression revealed nothing.

“My understanding of you is far deeper than you imagine,” Chi Xin said calmly. “What else do you want to ask?”

“How coincidental,” Raphael replied softly, his voice carrying a snake-like hiss. “My understanding of you is also far deeper than you imagine.”

“Miss Chi, why waste so many words on him?” Yu Shizhao’s voice carried a barely perceptible tension. “Since the enemy is already at the gates, let’s fight him to the death!”

“That’s right! Fight to the death!”

The soldiers roared in unison.

Seeing their fervor, Raphael showed no sign of panic. Instead, he sneered with evident interest.

“One thing I must admit—you’ve indeed gone much farther than I expected.” He never spared even a shred of attention for anyone else; his arrival seemed to be solely for Chi Xin. “You probably don’t know how long I’ve been paying attention to you. It started back at that L Base. The moment you chose to shed your disguise and face the world with your true self, I noticed you.”

“For a villain who claims to want to destroy the world, don’t make yourself sound like a voyeur,” Chi Xin said expressionlessly. “But there is one thing I’m curious about.”

“Go on,” Raphael said.

He wasn’t angered in the slightest. Nothing of the bloodthirsty cruelty from her dreams could be seen on him now. At this moment, he even appeared gentle and refined—blond hair, blue eyes, like a carefully packaged nobleman from an idol drama.

Unfortunately, Chi Xin knew all too well how cruel and filthy the soul hidden beneath that handsome exterior truly was.

“You had long since taken control of Lou Chen’s body. Whether it was creating the zombie virus to destroy the world, or developing a vaccine and elevating yourself onto a pedestal, you were capable of doing either,” Chi Xin said. “So why did you spread the ability-enhancing drugs and slaughter the remaining humans? Was it for so-called human evolution?”

This question had haunted Chi Xin for a long time. Now, facing Raphael himself, she finally voiced it in one breath.

The people around them also turned to look at Raphael, clearly eager to hear his answer.

Raphael stared at Chi Xin and suddenly laughed softly. “Is that what you think? That I spread the ability drugs for so-called human evolution?”

The tone of his voice gave Chi Xin an ominous feeling.

“But what you’ve done looks more like exterminating humanity, so I lean toward another possibility,” Chi Xin said. “You treated the entire human society as your experimental field, experimenting freely with your drugs on them to obtain a final result. That way, the only one who could truly evolve would be you. Am I right?”

“Evolution is the finest term humans have ever invented,” Raphael sighed softly. “Unfortunately, not everyone is qualified to enjoy its true advantages. Chi Xin, humans are a despicable species. When the new world arrives, they don’t deserve to exist in it. I’m paving the way—for myself, and for you. Do you understand?”

As he spoke, noticeably more gazes fell upon Chi Xin.

The ultimate villain declaring loyalty to their own supreme leader right before battle—what kind of farce was this?

Chi Xin had no intention of debating whether humans were despicable creatures with an antisocial madman. Her brow twitched, disbelief mixed with deep absurdity.

“For me?” she said. “From what standpoint are you saying that? Look at where you’re standing right now. You’re standing among zombies, representing interests completely opposed to humanity, yet you still dare say—you’re doing this for me?”

Her gaze sharpened. “What exactly are you? And who do you think you are?”

She threw his earlier mockery of humanity right back at him, word for word.

Raphael’s expression changed slightly—but not with anger or rage. Instead, shock and fanaticism suddenly surged into his deep blue eyes.

“So you… don’t know…?”

Chi Xin replied flatly, “What exactly am I supposed to know?”

Raphael closed his mouth and stared at her for several seconds. Then he suddenly threw his head back and burst into unrestrained laughter.

“Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!”

Jing Xiubai moved closer to Chi Xin without drawing attention. “The situation may be changing.”

Chi Xin nodded slightly, then said coolly, “Speak plainly.”

Raphael stopped laughing. The fingers gripping the cockpit frame tightened until they turned white. Chi Xin could even hear the faint creaking of metal, proof of how much force he was exerting.

He seemed to be suppressing something with great effort. The cruel, bloodthirsty gleam Chi Xin remembered gradually surfaced in his eyes.

“You think all my scheming was merely for evolution?” he sneered. “Ridiculous. No matter how humans evolve, they can never change their despicable genes. That includes me. What’s the point of evolving? At best, it’s just turning weak insects into slightly stronger insects.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” his tone shifted abruptly. “So you really know nothing. No wonder you’re willing to stay by these people’s side. No wonder you’re willing to confine yourself here… no wonder.”

“What the hell is this bastard even talking about?” Yu Xiang stared dumbfounded. “When I get rich, I’m definitely buying a villain who can actually explain himself.”

He was immediately smacked on the head by his brother.

“Miss Chi, something is indeed wrong,” Yu Shizhao said in a low voice. “Judging by his objective, it doesn’t seem to be what we originally thought. He probably has another agenda.”

“Whatever he’s after, his intent to wipe out humanity is already crystal clear,” Jing Xiubai said. “On that point alone, it wouldn’t be a loss if he dies here.”

He glanced at Chi Xin, then back down at Raphael. His breathing gradually quickened.

A deep sense of unease churned within him, nearly stripping him of his composure. After hesitating briefly, he turned to Chi Xin.

“Chi Xin, ignore what he’s saying. He may be stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements. Before his backup arrives, we should kill him right here!”

His words were met with unanimous agreement.

Chi Xin sensed Jing Xiubai’s restlessness and impatience, and reached out to pat his arm reassuringly.

“Let’s leave it at that,” Chi Xin said. “Raphael, our negotiation ends here.”

As she spoke, she raised her arm and extended it straight forward.

All the troops craned their necks, waiting for her final command. The moment she gave the order, everyone would charge ahead without hesitation, using their lives to defend their homeland and uphold humanity’s dignity.

Yet at that very moment, Raphael suddenly spoke.

“What if I said I could stop this war?”

“What?!”

The words were so unexpected that people almost lost control of their expressions.

“What did you just say? You can really stop the war?”

Contrary to everyone else, Jing Xiubai’s expression grew even darker.

He stared fixedly at Raphael and forced the words out through clenched teeth. “Chi Xin, remember our prior agreement.”

Before Raphael revealed his final trump card, they were not to act rashly.

Chi Xin remembered.

“What do you want?” she asked succinctly.

Raphael rubbed the signet ring on his little finger. In his narrowed eyes, there flickered a faint light of pleasure and excitement.

“I’ve changed my mind.” He repeated the words once more. “I don’t need to kill these people anymore, nor do I need those other ability users. I only want one thing—and that is you, Chi Xin.”

Unexpected, yet somehow inevitable.

Chi Xin took a deep breath, forcing her wildly pounding heart back under control.

Jing Xiubai’s breathing became extremely rapid. A surging rage radiated from him; Chi Xin could feel the chill and ghostly glow spreading along his arm.

He was already unable to restrain himself and was on the verge of launching an attack at Raphael.

“So what you’re saying is that as long as I go with you, you’ll give up attacking this place and spare everyone here, is that it?” Chi Xin’s voice remained calm. “I didn’t realize I was worth that much.”

“Your value is worth everything I’m willing to pay to obtain you.” Raphael’s smile faded, replaced by a ruthless glint. He looked at Chi Xin with absolute confidence. “So? Do you agree?”

“What kind of nonsense are you spouting?” Jing Xiubai finally spoke. “You’ve gone to such lengths to plunge the entire world into chaos, and now you claim you’ll abandon all your plans for a single person? Do you take everyone standing here for fools to toy with?”

When Chi Xin was present, he rarely spoke unless she needed help.

He trusted Chi Xin to handle matters herself, and trusted her strength to bear responsibility for her words.

But now, he dared not let her deal with this alone.

“Letting Chi Xin walk straight into your trap—that’s your plan, isn’t it?” Jing Xiubai continued. “What exactly have you prepared to restrain her? Why not show it to us right now?”

Only then did Raphael shift his gaze, turning his attention to the second person he had focused on tonight.

“Your calculations are indeed loud and clear,” Jing Xiubai said coldly, as though stating facts. “Once Chi Xin falls into your hands, not only will our combat strength be weakened, but all of humanity’s morale will collapse. No wonder you want to trick her over.”

Hearing Jing Xiubai’s “explanation,” some people showed expressions of sudden realization.

Immediately after, they glared at Raphael with even greater fury. This despicable schemer actually wanted to deceive them into handing over their strongest fighter!

Chi Xin looked at Jing Xiubai’s righteous expression. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

No matter how slow she might be, she could tell now—Jing Xiubai was desperately finding every possible reason to stop her from agreeing to Raphael’s deal.

“How interesting.” Seeing how Jing Xiubai had turned the tide with just a few sentences, Raphael curled his lips into a cold smile. “Do you really think that just because she doesn’t come over, I have no chance of winning at all?”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Jing Xiubai replied.

“Ridiculous.” Raphael raised his voice. “Listen carefully, all you humans making a futile last stand—I am giving you your final chance to survive. Hand over Chi Xin, and you’ll be saved. Give Chi Xin to me, and you can continue to scrape by on this planet. Otherwise, my even more powerful army will arrive by morning. When the casualties are overwhelming, don’t say I never showed you mercy.”

Chi Xin’s pupils contracted.

“Have you all heard clearly?” Raphael said. “The only one I want is Chi Xin. Hand her over to me, and I will immediately withdraw the corpse hordes. Refuse, and by dawn—”

“In five hours,” he continued. “Before daybreak.”

In the deathly silence, Raphael finished speaking and looked at Chi Xin. The meaning in his eyes was unmistakable: if you refuse to come over, will the countless humans behind you allow it?

The expressions of those around Chi Xin were extremely grim.

Raphael’s intent could not have been clearer—he was using all of humanity’s interests to force Chi Xin’s hand, and to force everyone else’s as well.

“Bastard! Damn it!”

Inside the city walls was a small conference room, used for temporary battlefield meetings. Chi Xin had never seen it before; it was only opened at this moment.

Inside, the highest-ranking figures currently on humanity’s side were all seated. The one cursing loudly was Yu Xiang.

He technically didn’t need to be here, but at the time he had been brimming with rage, and with Chi Xin personally allowing him through, he forced his way in, practically bouncing off the walls.

Yet now, no one stopped him. Everyone was seized by an inexplicable confusion and tension, sitting in silence.

Chi Xin stood with her back to them, facing the stark white wall. Her mind was moving on its own, yet like the wall before her, it was blank.

Her confusion was no less than anyone else’s.

Raphael had always been looking for her—she knew that. She had prepared herself for a fight to the death, to end everything once and for all. But now, he had suddenly placed her opposite all of humanity, saying that as long as she went with him—why? What secret was hidden within her?

The inexplicable transmigration, the appearance of the system, all the strange missions, the twisted plot, the system’s sudden departure—Chi Xin faintly felt that Raphael’s words might not be baseless.

The answers to all these questions were likely on her alone.

“No matter what, Chi Xin, you won’t agree to this, right?” Yu Xiang shouted. “Just like Xiubai said, who knows what that lunatic is really thinking? Can someone like him be understood with normal logic? Even if you went, who knows whether he’d honestly withdraw his troops!”

Seeing Chi Xin still standing there in silence with her back to them, he anxiously strode forward. “Say something!”

“Yu Xiang, calm down,” Yu Shizhao sighed. “No one has said we’re handing Miss Chi over.”

“Big brother, you might not have said it, but can you guarantee no one else is thinking it?” Yu Xiang pointed angrily at the others present. “What about them? What about them? These people sitting here in silence—do you really not know what thoughts are running through their heads?”

That indiscriminate outburst made everyone’s expressions turn unpleasant.

Yu Shizhao also fell silent.

After all, when handing over one person could avoid a war, when you weren’t that person yourself, how could emotions not arise?

“Yes,” Wona spoke calmly now, glancing around with faint sarcasm. “Who can truly predict the human heart?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Yu Xiang snarled. “Xiubai, say something already.”

Among everyone present, Jing Xiubai was firmly on his side, absolutely opposed to Chi Xin going. Yu Xiang believed this without a shred of doubt.

That was also because Xiao Li had followed Chi Xin’s arrangements to guard the four sides of the city walls; otherwise, they might have been able to pull in even more support.

Leaning against the opposite wall, Jing Xiubai had been deep in thought with his head lowered. Hearing this, he raised his face, swept his calm, indifferent gaze across everyone present, and spoke softly:

“To trust the promises of someone of despicable character, and to voluntarily hand over—using your own hands—the hero who has saved your lives multiple times… even if you were lucky enough to gain peace because of it, would you truly live the rest of your lives with peace of mind?”

Jing Xiubai’s words struck straight at the heart.

Even Yu Shizhao, who had harbored no such thoughts, looked ashamed.

“I wouldn’t have peace of mind,” Wona stood up and said firmly. “Chi Xin saved our lives, and the lives of many others. Forget about her owing us nothing—even if she did owe us something, she repaid it long ago. Why should she bear responsibility for everyone?”

“That’s right!” Yu Xiang immediately followed up. “They have numbers, but so do we. Facing a madman who wants to destroy humanity at every turn—even if he withdraws this time, who can guarantee there won’t be a next? When that happens and Chi Xin is gone, let’s see what you’ll do then.”

Under the combined pressure of the three, even those who had wavered slightly gradually firmed their resolve.

“Exactly,” Fan Fu said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. “Miss Chi is our commander-in-chief. Before the battle even starts, we hand over our commander—how ridiculous would that sound?”

“I also firmly oppose it!” Qiu Zhu said. “Even if I think Miss Chi can take that guy surnamed La down, us going to take him out ourselves and him demanding that we hand Miss Chi over are two completely different things!”

“His surname isn’t La,” Yu Xiang said.

“Ah, you get the idea,” Qiu Zhu scratched his head.

They reached a consensus, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed. They even began discussing battle plans—except for Jing Xiubai, who remained silent.

He didn’t join the discussion. He simply stared fixedly at Chi Xin’s back. “Chi Xin, this is everyone’s opinion. Did you hear it?”

The discussion slowly died down.

Only then did they realize that Chi Xin, the very center of the debate, had not voiced a single opinion from beginning to end.

“Miss Chi, don’t worry. No matter how smooth-tongued Raphael is, we won’t believe him,” Fan Fu said.

Chi Xin turned around. No emotion could be read on her face.

“There’s still some time before dawn,” she said. “I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back soon.”

Before anyone could react, she passed by them and headed out.

Despite Raphael announcing a temporary ceasefire, the human side was not foolish enough to abandon their guard. The soldiers stood in strict formation. When Chi Xin arrived, they still looked at her with the same respect and admiration as when she first came to the walls, making way for her.

In their eyes, she did not see a trace of anything unusual.

With complicated emotions, Chi Xin climbed the city wall and reached out to touch the heavy stone carvings.

The night wind lifted the strands of hair by her ear, carrying with it the sound of approaching footsteps.

“You really did follow me,” Chi Xin said, not surprised at all.

Jing Xiubai said nothing, simply standing quietly beside her, gazing toward the zombie army.

Human forces stood ready; the white ants and wolf packs guarded the southern and northern sides respectively, all awaiting Chi Xin’s command to launch their attack.

“Do you see it, Chi Xin?” After a few minutes, Jing Xiubai finally spoke softly. “We’re not hopeless.”

Chi Xin was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “You were especially aggressive tonight. Back on the wall, you interrupted me twice.”

“I wasn’t interrupting you,” Jing Xiubai said. “I was trying to speak before anyone else—because I understand you, and I understand human nature.” He gazed deeply at her. “Faced with the temptation of ending the war, it’s hard to avoid someone thinking about sacrificing one person for everyone’s happiness—especially when that person is you.” He cut off Chi Xin as she tried to speak. “If I hadn’t spoken up, would you have outright refused him? Or would you have fought for that bargaining time, instead of immediately picking up your gun and going to duel Raphael alone?”

Chi Xin tugged awkwardly at the corner of her mouth. “You… really do understand me.”

“I understand you too well, Chi Xin,” Jing Xiubai said. “That’s why I won’t let you do this.”