Chapter 81: Freddy's Here!
"Wh-why is it just the four of us?"
Zhan Lan was like an ant on a hot pan. She raised her hand to look at her System Watch; the countdown had just over four minutes left. Even if she drove, she wouldn't make it home in time.
Zhan Lan had seen Ren Arakawa beat Da Qiang like a sandbag in the Main God's Plaza.
Zheng He, on the other hand, had witnessed Ren Arakawa kill Da Qiang, a veteran member of the Farming Team.
Both of them were well aware of Ren Arakawa's strength.
It could be said that as long as Ren Arakawa showed up tonight, whether the rest of them came or not would have little impact on the outcome.
Ren Arakawa, his vengeance sated, had a relaxed expression. "This is the first lesson I'm teaching you!" He paused, a smile filling his face. "Question your companions, screen your teammates."
Zheng He's eyes burned with fervor. His gaze swept over Zhan Lan and Nuowa's faces before finally focusing back on Ren Arakawa. "Three heads are better than one. If we trust each other, we're stronger than a disorganized mob!"
As he spoke, he picked up the simple flamethrower he had made during the day. "As long as Freddy dares to show up, I'll send him back to hell!"
Ren Arakawa praised him, "With that kind of resolve, you'll have no trouble becoming a great ape!"
Just as Zheng He was about to ask what a "great ape" was, the main door of the police station behind the four of them was suddenly pushed open.
Zhang Jie poked his head in. When he saw his four teammates, he instantly froze.
He was stunned for a full five seconds before he reacted.
He looked at Ren Arakawa. "Attacking proactively? Isn't that a bit too crazy?!"
"Actually, if you think about it carefully, the risk factor is lower this way," Ren Arakawa explained with narrowed eyes. "A Freddy in pursuit mode is close to a physical form. But if we're at home, sleeping, we'll enter Freddy's dream world. In a dream, he's an absolute god, which makes him even harder to deal with."
"My god, I can't believe you thought of that!" Zhang Jie clapped his hands in approval. Behind him, Xiaoye Hui and Yan Wei looked utterly crestfallen.
Da Qiang's death was a huge blow to Xiaoye Hui and Yan Wei.
The two had always treated Da Qiang as their pillar of support, naively thinking that by clinging to him, they could avoid many dangers.
Now, Da Qiang was dead, leaving them with a madman like Ren Arakawa.
Xiaoye Hui didn't even want to use her brain anymore.
Because in her view, no sane person would ever do the things Ren Arakawa did.
In contrast to Xiaoye Hui's pessimism, Zhao Yingkong looked at Ren Arakawa with great appreciation.
An appreciative expression was extremely rare on the face of Zhao Yingkong, a member of an assassin family.
When Zhao Yingkong heard about Ren Arakawa's history—from being reduced to a limbless torso to completing his grand act of revenge—
—she had already come to fully accept Ren Arakawa as her team leader.
While Zhao Yingkong was looking at Ren Arakawa, Ren Arakawa was also observing her.
He thought for a moment, then rummaged through the backpack behind him and pulled out a dagger.
This dagger was a weapon Ren Arakawa had exchanged for the artificial human Meng Rene. It was worth 100,000 Reward points and was considered a top-tier dagger in the real world.
After Meng Rene's death, Ren Arakawa had kept her dagger in his bag. He hadn't expected to find a use for it here.
Ren Arakawa said nothing, simply tossing the dagger toward Zhao Yingkong.
Zhan Lan was startled by Ren Arakawa's action. When she saw the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl, Zhao Yingkong, actually reach out to catch the flying dagger with her bare hands, she subconsciously covered her eyes.
But the tragic scene she imagined did not occur.
With a "thwack," Zhao Yingkong deftly caught the dagger.
After twirling the dagger in her hand for a moment, Zhao Yingkong weighed it and nodded in satisfaction.
Neither Ren Arakawa nor Zhao Yingkong spoke.
In that brief moment, they had reached a kind of unspoken, tacit understanding.
Ren Arakawa raised his hand to look at his System Watch. There were ten seconds left on the countdown.
Ten.
Six.
Two.
One!
The instant the countdown on the watch hit one, the streetlights began to flicker wildly!
At the end of the road, a perverted, clawed madman in a red and green sweater appeared!
"He's fast!" Zhang Jie's expression was one of terror as he pulled out his police-issue pistol, aimed at Freddy, and prepared to fire.
"Get in the car!"
Ren Arakawa's sudden shout nearly caused Zhang Jie to misfire, but his military experience and instincts told him: act first, ask questions later!
Hearing Ren Arakawa's command, Zhao Yingkong instantly sprinted toward the car, with Zhang Jie close behind.
With those two leading the way, the group collectively ran toward the cars that Ren Arakawa and Zheng He had driven over.
Yan Wei, who now understood Ren Arakawa's temper, no longer dared to shoot at his teammates to escape. But to run faster, he threw his pistol away.
Xiaoye Hui had been injured in yesterday's car crash, so she was the slowest. Just as the others were about to leave her behind, Zhan Lan suddenly turned back, grabbed Xiaoye Hui by the arm, and continued running forward.
Ren Arakawa was the first to reach a car. He started the engine and then shouted to Zhao Yingkong, who was just starting the other vehicle, "Go to the boiler factory!"
Zhao Yingkong slammed her foot on the gas and sped off. Ren Arakawa let Zhan Lan and Xiaoye Hui get into the back seat, then pushed open the driver's door, handed the wheel to Zhang Jie, and jumped out of the car himself.
"Follow her!"
Zhang Jie didn't dare hesitate, flooring the gas pedal and peeling out.
After sending the two cars of teammates off, Freddy was already less than five meters away from Ren Arakawa.
"Tsk, what a touching scene."
A deeply unpleasant sound came from Freddy's hoarse throat, like a demon's whisper, drawing people in.
He was trying to get revenge for the illusion technique from the previous day by using his mesmerizing voice to confuse Ren Arakawa.
Freddy's claws swayed up and down rhythmically in the air. "Brave warrior, your teammates have abandoned you~ Your heroic sacrifice doesn't seem to have been very useful~"
"I can smell their sleepiness..."
"Someone is about to fall asleep~"
As Freddy spoke, he drew closer to Ren Arakawa.
Suddenly, his claws flashed with a cold light!
With a "shink!" he slashed toward Ren Arakawa!
"Ah!"
Zhang Jie, who was concentrating on driving, was startled by the sight of Ren Arakawa in his peripheral vision!
"Didn't you jump out of the car? How are you in the passenger seat?!"
Ren Arakawa shot Zhang Jie a look. "You still don't know I'm a ninja? I got out, formed a seal, and got back in from the other side."
Zhang Jie wiped away a bead of sweat. "I was too nervous..."
As he spoke, he blinked unconsciously.
In just a fraction of a second, when he looked up again, he found himself sitting in an arcade. The car's steering wheel had become the steering wheel of a racing game!
"Brother Jie? What are you spacing out for? Put the coin in!"
Beside him, Na'er's voice instantly immersed Zhang Jie in the illusion. He dazedly took the game coin she handed him and inserted it into the slot.
Zhang Jie adjusted his seat, his eyes staring blankly at the screen, preparing to blast past Na'er's car.
Just then...
A very un-feminine voice sounded from the seat next to Zhang Jie.
"Oh my! Well then, let's start playing!"
Zhang Jie whipped his head around, his blood running cold.
This wasn't Na'er at all!
This was Freddy!
At that moment, the real world had not stopped.
Ren Arakawa had already switched seats with Zhan Lan from the back row. He stuck his head out of the sunroof, observing the dark street behind them.
Seeing Zhan Lan hesitate to start the car, Ren Arakawa urged her, "What are you staring at?! Kick Zhang Jie out of the car! It's time to go!"
(end of chapter)