Chapter 192: Servitude

Heavy rain.

Under the dark night, Rain Town was cold and lonely. In the distant valley, a train sped away, its lights flickering, its fate uncertain.

In the town, on the streets, in the dark alleys, and by the windows stood countless motionless Impersonators.

They had no expressions, like mannequins in a store, constantly sniffing the air of the dark night.

Inside the movie theater, the seats were filled with crookedly sitting flesh and bone, quietly rotting in the darkness.

On the town’s clock tower, Ding Qing watched the departing train, his expression stern.

“Brother Ding, they’ve escaped.”

Beside him, a young man named Luo Rui, holding a pair of binoculars, said with a look of displeasure, “I told you we should have seized that train when their core members went to the chemical plant. Now we’ve missed our chance.”

Before Ding Qing could speak, Duan Min on the other side spoke coldly, “A lightning Esper and a psionic Esper, both are tough characters. The parasitic mimic demon at the chemical plant couldn’t even keep them. You still want to raid their base?”

“Then what do we do? That damn thing is getting more and more irritable. If we don’t find it some blood food, those Impersonators will come for us.”

Duan Min’s face darkened upon hearing this. “Blood food! Blood food! For these people, we’re almost no different from those parasites!”

Luo Rui was a little dissatisfied upon hearing this. “Sister Duan, those people were greedy and sent themselves to their deaths. What does it have to do with us? Didn’t you also warn them of the danger? They insisted on going to see. What does it have to do with us~”

“Alright.”

Ding Qing impatiently interrupted their argument, his eyes sinking slightly. “Once you come here, you’re destined not to escape. Even if they run out, the night will devour them. This is the ultimate fate of us humans. Rui Zi, when it’s light, take some people and follow the tracks for a while. You should be able to recover a lot of corpses.”

After speaking, Ding Qing turned and walked downstairs.

From the clock tower all the way down to the basement, below the movie theater, was originally an underground parking lot and civil defense facility.

At this moment, it was completely sealed off. Inside, electric lights were scattered about. Many ordinary survivors were gathered in small groups. Some were already asleep, some were whispering, and some families were cooking simple food on cassette stoves. Looking around, there were actually hundreds of people in this small parking lot.

“Brother Ding, have you eaten? I’ve made some soup here,” a woman cooking said enthusiastically when she saw Ding Qing and his group approaching.

Ding Qing waved his hand. “Sister Wang, no need.”

“Is it safe outside today?” a man among the survivors asked.

“There was a big commotion at the chemical plant. Will there be any problems?”

“I heard it’s about to explode.”

People gathered around, chattering along the way.

“It’s fine for now,” Ding Qing said. “Even if it explodes, it won’t affect us here. Don’t worry.”

“Um… Captain Ding.”

At this moment, an old woman came out and blocked their way. She looked at Ding Qing with an anxious expression and said, “Didn’t I hear that a train full of people came? Are they all dead? My grandson said that if they die, we can be safe for a month, and there will be a lot of food.”

As soon as these words came out, many people looked over. Some were expectant, some had complicated expressions, and some were watching secretly, without saying a word.

“They’ll definitely die!” Luo Rui said loudly at this moment, with a fierce look on his face. “Grandma Zhou, don’t worry. Tomorrow, I’ll take the convoy’s brothers to move things back. If there are any living people, I’ll shoot them too.”

His words were echoed by some people, while others had struggling expressions. Someone spoke up, “Who are they? If they have a train, can they take a lot of people away?”

Although this was not stated explicitly, everyone understood the meaning behind it.

“What, Brother Zhang, you don’t think they’ll take you with them, do you?” Luo Rui sneered. “Think about it. If those people could withstand the night, why would they run to us? If I hadn’t guided them to escape last night, everyone on that train would have been dead.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the gazes of the others immediately dimmed, and the atmosphere became a little strange.

Many of the people here had become accustomed to living here, waiting for other unlucky survivors to come in and become blood food for the great parasite, so that they could have peace during the day, and… a relatively safe night.

At first, everyone was just silent, waiting for the survivors to come in and die. But the number of Impersonators in the town was increasing, and the blood food was becoming insufficient for the great parasite to eat. Ding Qing’s Vajra convoy had also hidden here later. But after the team accepted the safe environment here, they began to have the idea of not leaving. A small group of people led by Luo Rui began to push the wave, causing many survivors to die in Rain Town.

At first, Ding Qing just turned a blind eye. But as time went on, Luo Rui began to actively use the calling system to let some surrounding refugee teams enter the town, which also attracted some powerful Esper convoys.

For example, the man and woman today. Originally, Luo Rui had already led people to ambush them around the movie theater. But Ding Qing found that this group was not simple. So, in order to worry about the team being exposed and killed in return, he could only personally take action with Duan Min and use the parasites to actively send the two Espers to the parasite’s mouth.

He didn’t expect Lin Xian and the others to escape. This also indirectly proved that his caution was correct. With their means, if Luo Rui had acted, they would have been doomed.

But Luo Rui didn’t think so. He had already killed his way to survival and even regarded those Aberrations and the great parasite as his own means, believing that as long as he ‘served’ that monster well, even if the polar night came, this small town could be the only safe harbor… except for some Impersonators.

“Rui Zi.”

Ding Qing interrupted him coldly. “Stop talking nonsense. Go on watch. It’s your turn tonight.”

Luo Rui pouted and nodded reluctantly. “Okay~”

Ding Qing then scanned the crowd. “There was a lot of commotion today. Everyone, be quiet.”

Many people nodded in agreement. These people were basically ordinary people with no combat effectiveness. It was only after Ding Qing’s convoy came that a safe shelter was established in this small town, so everyone recognized him.

Back in the resting room, Duan Min saw that Ding Qing’s face was not good and reached out to hold him. “Honey, if Rui Zi brings that train back, why don’t we… all leave?”

“Leave? Where to?” Ding Qing said with a helpless look and a sigh.

“We’ve already become the executioners of the night. Do we still have the courage to face the night?”

…

On the track section, the Infinity was speeding through the valley. More and more strange creatures appeared from the darkness. The combat personnel on the entire train continued to pour out firepower, fighting to carve a bloody path through those strange creatures.

In the living area, Shu Qin kicked a teammate away, helping him dodge a claw that had reached in through the firing port. Then she flashed over, picked up her Remington M96, quickly inserted it into the hole, and fired!

Bang!

The huge close-range firepower instantly melted the tentacle.

“Be careful!” Shu Qin shouted.

The male team member scrambled to his feet, picked up his gun, and said with a sweaty face, “Thank you, Sister Qin.”

After speaking, he continued to join the battle.

Shu Qin’s expression was tense. She was fully focused on resisting the surging tide outside. After leaving Rain Town, the Infinity had encountered an even more terrifying offensive than the Impersonators. She was also extremely anxious at this moment.

Ever since they crossed the Great Pillar Plateau, the night here had not given them a moment’s respite. It was simply unbelievable.