43: Chapter 43 So this is what it feels like to be the God of War in the Furniture City

On the morning of the third day in Raccoon City, the sky was a sickly gray-white.

The three of them didn't look for an open area to lure monsters; instead, they rode straight toward the public library.

The library was a four-story concrete building with several thick pillars at the entrance, the gold-leaf letters on the lintel long since weathered and faded.

One of the two heavy glass doors at the main entrance was shattered, with shards of glass carpeting the floor like a crystalline trap.

Inside, the lobby had a ceiling nearly six meters high, and sunlight slanted in through the clerestory windows, illuminating the dust floating in the air.

"Clear the area first, then scout the terrain," Lin Rui said, holding his riot shield horizontally in front of him. "We can't have any surprises hidden in our preset battlefield."

Su Wan walked into the lobby cradling her lyre, plucking the strings lightly as a low melody flowed from her lips.

[Requiem Chant].

Golden sound waves expanded spherically from her as the center, passing through the gaps in the bookshelves, slipping into the reading room cubicles, and crawling up the stair corners.

The various zombies touched by the sound waves saw their rotting bodies collapse, go limp, and dissolve into points of light.

She walked slowly along the aisles between the bookshelves, the music never ceasing as she cleared away every hidden threat in the shadows one by one.

The first, second, third, and fourth floors were searched in turn. The closed-stack library area was narrow and dimly lit, but fortunately, there were no zombies.

"Within a hundred meters, I estimate there are over three hundred scattered zombies," Lin Rui said, standing at a fourth-floor window and looking down with binoculars.

"Clear them out," Hu Jinsi said, pulling out the last megaphone.

He rode his bike around the perimeter of the library twice, the noise drawing all the nearby zombies over.

Lin Rui and Su Wan guarded the two sides of the main entrance, using short spears for precision kills and a light crossbow to finish off any stragglers.

In less than twenty minutes, there were no standing threats within a hundred meters of the library.

"Preset battlefield ready," Hu Jinsi said, leaning his bike against the wall, resting his long staff across his knees, and plopping down on the steps to catch his breath.

Lunch was beef jerky and compressed biscuits. The three of them leaned against the back of the lobby service desk, Su Wan sucking on a throat lozenge while her fingers did warm-up plucking on the strings.

"How much further until fifteen thousand?" Su Wan asked, her voice muffled.

Lin Rui replied, "Probably two more waves. If we let Jinsi go out and lure one or two waves, the number should be enough."

"While I digest, you guys should adjust your state," Hu Jinsi said, taking a swig of water. "Su Wan, your throat is the most important strategic resource today."

1:45 PM.

The team was clearing the second batch of zombies that Hu Jinsi had brought over in the afternoon.

Suddenly, Hu Jinsi's perception attribute caught a trace of abnormal vibration.

It wasn't the dragging footsteps of zombies, but a heavy, rhythmic thudding, like the movement of heavy machinery.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

With every step that landed, a slight tremor passed up through the floorboards. Hu Jinsi's expression changed, and he turned to shout downstairs, "It's here! At the front entrance!"

The three of them rushed toward the lobby. By the time they reached the shattered main entrance, the thing had already appeared at the bottom of the steps.

It was a humanoid creature over two meters forty tall, wearing a dark brown trench coat with a hem that nearly dragged on the ground.

Its head was an eerie, tapered cone shape with no facial features, only a smooth, pale white layer of keratin, like an elongated bullet head.

Its hands were twice the size of a normal person's, with thick, calloused knuckles like two siege hammers wrapped in flesh.

Tyrant.

Hu Jinsi stared at the figure, scenes from game videos of his past life flashing through his mind.

In one video, a pro player controlled the protagonist with a wrench, using a burning car to repeatedly bait the monster into punching, missing, and staggering, then rushing up to land a hit, grinding it to death on the street.

The comments were full of praise like "God-tier player."

But now, standing directly in front of this monster, feeling the tremor of every step from less than twenty meters away, he realized how ridiculous those videos were.

That wasn't a game. There were no reloads, no health bars, and no guaranteed success frames.

In reality, the Tyrant's sheer oppressive presence alone was enough to make one's knees go weak.

"Don't just stand there!" Lin Rui's roar dragged him back to reality. "Stick to the plan! Stall for time!"

The tactics had already been decided. The core logic was extremely simple: Su Wan's Requiem Chant had a damage radius of ten meters, while the Tyrant's attack range was two meters at most.

Keep it within the area covered by the chant for sixty seconds, and the battle would be over.

The problem was how to keep it from leaving that circle for sixty seconds.

Su Wan retreated behind the service desk deep in the lobby, holding her lyre in front of her and beginning to chant. Golden sound waves expanded from the strings.

The Tyrant stepped onto the stairs. Its stride was massive, and it crossed the steps and entered the lobby in two steps.

"Go!" Lin Rui bellowed.

He flanked from the left with his riot shield, activating [Charge]! His figure turned into a blur, closing the eight-meter distance in an instant.

But he didn't slam into the Tyrant; instead, he leaped violently to the side at three meters, slamming his riot shield into a bookshelf and knocking it over with a deafening crash!

"Bang!"

The Tyrant's bullet-like head slowly turned toward the source of the sound, and then it took a step.

This was the moment Hu Jinsi had been waiting for. He had already circled to the Tyrant's side, holding his long staff horizontally, and activated [Chi Torpedo]!

His figure was like a shadow skimming the ground, passing through the gap in the hem of the Tyrant's trench coat, the tip of his staff lightly tapping the back of its knee.

It wasn't an attack, but a provocation.

The Tyrant slowly turned that bullet head back, aiming it toward Hu Jinsi. Then, it raised its right fist.

The process of raising its fist was slow and heavy, like a hydraulic press building pressure.

Hu Jinsi concentrated his senses; before the fist had even fallen, the force of the wind was already making his cheeks ache. Without hesitation, he turned and ran!

The library lobby had now become Hu Jinsi's personal stage.

He ran toward a row of metal bookshelves about two meters high, leaped up, kicked off the side of the shelf with his toes, and vaulted over it in mid-air.

The bookshelf slid back half a meter from his kick.

The Tyrant's fist followed closely behind.

"Boom!"

The bookshelf was hit head-on, the metal frame instantly denting, and the entire row flew back three meters as if hit by a truck, crashing into the second row.

Books poured down like an avalanche, papers flying everywhere.

Hu Jinsi was long gone. The moment he vaulted over the bookshelf, he had changed direction, using a [Chi Torpedo] upon landing to roll along the ground and under a reading table.

The tip of his [Hot Boot Spike] slashed the inside of the Tyrant's knee again, sparks flickering.

The Tyrant lowered its head, its bullet-shaped skull locking onto the direction under the table. It took heavy steps, walking around the overturned bookshelf toward the reading table.

Every step caused the ground to tremble slightly.

Hu Jinsi scrambled out from the other end of the table, his form darting toward the staircase on the left like a nimble cat.

He didn't go up the stairs, but instead stepped onto the outside of the stair railing, pushing off to launch his body in an arc through the air, landing beside the newspaper rack under the stairs.

He grabbed a hardcover bound volume and threw it at the Tyrant's back.

"Thwack!"

The magazine hit the trench coat, not even having enough force to make it turn its head. But the Tyrant confirmed the prey's location again and took a step toward the newspaper rack.

Meanwhile, Su Wan's Requiem Chant was causing continuous damage to it at a frequency of once every six seconds.

[-28] [-31] [-29]...

The golden sound waves were like countless invisible needles piercing the trench coat, penetrating the bulletproof fabric and stabbing into the grayish-white muscle.

The Tyrant's movements showed a tiny, subtle lag. But Hu Jinsi's strikes gave it no room to think.

"Lin Rui! Draw aggro on the left!" Hu Jinsi leaped out from behind the newspaper rack, sweeping his long staff to knock over a row of floor lamps.

The lamp poles fell, glass shattering, forming an obstacle in the Tyrant's path.

Lin Rui rushed out from the left, his riot shield held horizontally in front of him, running along the outer edge of the Tyrant's left side, the edge of the shield scraping against the trench coat with a harsh, grating sound.

The Tyrant's bullet-shaped head turned to the left, its fist raised.

One second before the fist fell, Lin Rui [Tactical Roll]ed, rolling between the Tyrant's legs!

His leather armor made a dull sound against the floor, and he rolled to two meters behind the Tyrant, rising to his feet and stabbing his short spear into its lower back.

[-7]

The bulletproof trench coat, which even rifles couldn't penetrate, was impervious to the short spear. But Lin Rui's goal wasn't damage. The Tyrant turned again, taking a step toward Lin Rui.

Just at that moment of turning, Hu Jinsi circled back from the other side, his feet sliding continuously as he used [Flurry of Blows], continuing to deal damage to the inside of the Tyrant's knee before turning and running as soon as he finished.

The Tyrant, harassed from a third direction, became even slower in its movements.

"Over here!" Hu Jinsi ran toward the service desk in the center of the lobby—an arched wooden counter, about 1.2 meters high and four meters wide.

He leaped onto the counter and slid down the other side. The Tyrant chased him to the front of the counter, raising its right fist high.

"Boom!"

The wooden counter was smashed to pieces, wood splinters flying everywhere, while monitors, desk lamps, and file racks were crushed into fragments simultaneously.

Half a second before the punch landed, Hu Jinsi had already used [Crane Stance] to activate [Spinning Crane Kick], leaping high into the air while rotating from in front of the Tyrant to behind it, continuing his fiery assault on the inside of its knee.

The chant had been going on for nearly forty seconds. The Tyrant's health dropped rapidly, and plumes of black smoke rose from its grayish-white skin.

There was obvious exhaustion in Su Wan's singing; before the Tyrant's surprise attack, she had already been singing continuously for nearly 20 minutes.

The battle at this moment looked complicated, but it was actually just Hu Jinsi and Lin Rui leading the Tyrant in circles around her.

At the closest point, the distance between her and the Tyrant was less than 5 meters; her pressure could be imagined.

"Hold on a few more seconds! It's almost finished!" Lin Rui circled to the direct rear of the Tyrant, assuming a ramming stance.

The Tyrant, enraged by the threat behind it, raised both fists simultaneously and took a large step toward him.

This was exactly what the three of them wanted, and Lin Rui leaped back sharply to increase the distance.

Hu Jinsi was perched on top of a bookshelf three meters to the rear side, squatting on the crossbar like a monkey, spinning his long staff.

The Tyrant's fists couldn't catch Lin Rui, so it tried to turn around. Just at the moment it turned, Hu Jinsi leaped down from the top, his long staff descending with force to smash into the back of the Tyrant's neck!

"Thwack!"

The damage was negligible, but the insult was extreme. The Tyrant was thoroughly enraged, giving up the pursuit of Lin Rui and taking two steps toward Hu Jinsi.

The last few waves of the Requiem Chant were like the final kiss of the Grim Reaper, completely engulfing it.

Its massive body froze in place. The muscles under the trench coat twitched, and the grayish-white skin cracked, revealing dark red tendons and black blood.

Its legs trembled, attempting to support its two-ton frame, but the massive body eventually collapsed to the ground.

"Rumble!"

It was like a collapsing tower crashing face-first onto the marble floor. The floor cracked, and dust and debris showered down from the clerestory windows.

The battle was over. From the moment the Tyrant stepped into the library until it fell, a total of fifty-four seconds had passed.

Hu Jinsi collapsed against the crooked bookshelf, panting heavily.

The back of his school uniform was soaked with sweat, and his pant legs were covered in dust.

He propped himself up with the long staff in his hand, which was trembling slightly—a muscle spasm after high-intensity dodging.

"Fifty-four seconds..." He looked down at his hands and muttered to himself, "So this is what it feels like to be the Furniture Store War God."

He suddenly laughed, his laughter filled with the absurdity and triumph of having survived a disaster.

He had always thought the term "Furniture Store War God" mentioned in the bullet comments of videos from his past life was a joke.

But at this moment, in this complex terrain filled with bookshelves, counters, tables, and chairs, using obstacles to repeatedly toy with a massive, clumsy enemy, the thrill didn't come from the victory itself, but from the sense of achievement and joy in reenacting scenes from movies of his past life in reality.

He was grateful to himself for choosing [Crane Stance].

"What are you laughing at?" Lin Rui walked over, his riot shield marked with brown scuffs from the Tyrant's trench coat.

"Nothing." Hu Jinsi wiped the dust from his face, a smile still hanging on his lips. "Just thinking that Unarmored Movement paired with library bookshelves is a match made in heaven."

Su Wan walked over, her face pale as paper, but the corners of her mouth were turned up. "It's a good thing we had the bookshelves for cover; I wouldn't dare stand within a few meters of it otherwise."

The three of them stood around the outline of the Tyrant's corpse.

The dark brown trench coat had already begun to turn into golden light particles and slowly ascend.

"Check combat log." Lin Rui opened his interface.

[Kill: Tyrant (T-103 Model)]

"T-103 Model?" Su Wan frowned. "Model?"

The three exchanged glances, simultaneously reading the same sense of unease.

"Model..." Hu Jinsi's voice lowered, nightmare images from his past life flashing through his mind.

The T-103 was just the most basic model; there were modified versions equipped with flamethrowers later on, and those were fine.

But what if this Raccoon City world fragment came from those fan-fiction versions, like the super Tyrant in metal armor wielding a Gatling gun that the great Zheng Zha experienced, or other even more twisted world versions...

He didn't dare to think further, only able to pray frantically in his heart: please don't let it be a fragment from those twisted worlds.

If it developed to that extent, the squad would have to say goodbye to this dungeon.

"Don't scare yourself yet. What if it's just a simple name?" Lin Rui pulled him back to reality. "Check the drops."

After the light particles dissipated, a dark brown long trench coat and a dark red liquid in a metal test tube were left on the ground.

[Tyrant's Binding Trench Coat]

[Type: Medium Armor / Bulletproof Trench Coat]

[Level Requirement: 8] [Attribute Requirement: Strength 15] [Defense Bonus: +6]

[Effect 1: Bulletproof. Resistant to non-magical piercing and slashing damage.]

[Effect 2: Limiter Release. Once per day, actively deactivate the built-in hydraulic limiter for 1 minute; during this period, Strength is treated as 2 points higher than the normal value (up to a maximum of 20).]

[Negative: After wearing, Agility is suppressed to a maximum of 14 points. Cannot unequip this item during the cooldown period after Effect 2 is activated.]

[Equipment Description: This heavy black trench coat is woven from special bulletproof fibers and alloy threads, with a damaged Umbrella Corporation emblem chip embedded in the collar.

The inside of the trench coat is sewn with lead layers and hydraulic dampers, originally used to suppress the wearer's strength.

Despite having gone through a fierce battle, it still maintains its intact structure, exuding a cold sense of oppression.]

Hu Jinsi picked up the trench coat and held it against his body. "Not fashionable at all." It was pitch black, with shoulder pads that puffed the silhouette into an inverted triangle, and empty sleeves that made his arms look like sticks stuck into a scarecrow.

Lin Rui put it on to try it out. "The bulletproof stat is good, but the negative effect is too damaging.

Being suppressed to 14 Agility means a significant drop in evasion and reaction.

Plus, it conflicts with my current gear; I already have a bulletproof vest."

"I can't wear medium armor." Su Wan shook her head.

"I don't wear armor; even my skill name is Unarmored Movement, how ironic is that?" Hu Jinsi spread his hands.

The three looked at each other.

The trench coat, with its luxurious stats, had become a useless item that no one in the squad could use.

"Another item to sell for money." Hu Jinsi sighed, then cheered up. "But the stats are good.

Just the bulletproof Effect 1 is a hard currency for survival in a dungeon filled with flying bullets.

Even with the negative effect, Effect 1 is popular enough.

If we list it on the exchange when we get out, we'll have enough to recoup the cost of the RPG and then some."

Lin Rui put away the trench coat and his gaze fell on the second drop.

[T-103 Concentrated Virus]

[Type: Enhancement Serum]

[Effect 1: After drinking, Constitution +2 for 1 hour (up to a maximum of 20).]

[Negative: No side effects if Constitution is over 18; weak for 1 hour after drinking if 16-18; risk of mutation if below 16, not recommended to drink.]

"Let's sell it to Li Hao when we get out," Hu Jinsi said. "We aren't lacking healing, so let the Alchemist play with this kind of risky and problematic stuff.

We'll stick to the safe route."

"Keep it safe." Lin Rui tucked the test tube into a shockproof compartment in his backpack.

In the afternoon, the three continued to grind monsters.

By evening, the kill count on the interface jumped to 18,000.

"Another one triggered." Lin Rui's tone was flat.

A familiar figure walked out of the shadows at the street corner—the same 2.4-meter height, the same dark brown trench coat, the same bullet-shaped head.

The second Tyrant.

"Su Wan, do you have any chanting Charges left?"

"One last time. My voice will be completely gone for the day after I finish singing."

"That's enough." Hu Jinsi activated [Parkour] and dashed out, knocking his long staff against the Tyrant's trench coat before turning and running. "Follow me! Fight while we move!"

The three fought as they retreated.

This time they were even more skilled; Lin Rui would use his riot shield to perform a Shield Bash from time to time, disrupting the Tyrant's center of gravity and preventing it from running.

Hu Jinsi used abandoned vehicles and roadblocks to circle behind and harass it, while Su Wan moved and chanted not far away.

The melody of the Requiem Chant was hoarser than in the afternoon but still effective.

Fifty-eight seconds later, the second Tyrant crashed to the ground.

Unfortunately, there were no valuable drops this time, only some [Tyrant's Flesh Samples], another item to be dealt with by Li Hao.

"Close call." Hu Jinsi slumped on the steps. "Good thing Su Wan had one last Charge.

Otherwise, just relying on the two of us to chip away at its health would have taken ten minutes or so."

"We're leaving tomorrow morning." Su Wan's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper grinding on old wood. "Don't let another one come; I can't sing anymore."

Hu Jinsi said: "Remember to bring some strong throat lozenges next week, durian-flavored ones, to stink those zombies to death."

That night, the three retreated to the closed-stack library on the fourth floor.

There were no windows, only a heavy fire door, and tables and chairs behind the door to block it.

During the post-dinner review, the three sat around a camping light, the light casting flickering shadows in the narrow space.

"I have a question." Hu Jinsi swallowed a biscuit. "The first time, the Tyrant triggered at 15,000; the second time was at 18,000.

What about the third time?"

"The interval." Hu Jinsi held up two fingers. "The interval between the first and second was 3,000.

Will the third one have the same interval, will it shorten, or will it increase?

Or perhaps the trigger count increases, but the Tyrant model changes?"

"The good news is that we retreat at ten tomorrow morning," Hu Jinsi continued, "we'll at most grind to just over 20,000."

"The bad news is," Lin Rui replied, "if the next trigger node is 20,000, we are only 2,000 away from that number.

At our current efficiency, it's possible to reach it within two hours tomorrow morning."

"And we have to prepare for the worst-case scenario." Hu Jinsi tapped his knees with his fingers. "If the third Tyrant isn't a bare-bones model like the T-103, but a version equipped with ranged weapons or even heavy firepower..."

He didn't finish, but all three understood what that meant.

"Tomorrow's battle location." Lin Rui took out the city map. "The police station, the underground parking lot, or the main entrance."

"The underground parking lot has many pillars and a narrow space, which can effectively restrict the Tyrant's movement and turning." Lin Rui analyzed. "The police station entrance has abandoned vehicles and roadblocks, which can also create terrain obstacles.

The core logic is the same as today: use the terrain to stall for time."

"The underground parking lot is safer." Hu Jinsi nodded. "There are enough pillars; I can play for a whole day."

"Then it's settled." Lin Rui put away the map. "Tomorrow morning, the police station underground parking lot.

As soon as the kill count approaches 20,000, we move immediately; we cannot trigger it on the road."

None of the three had any objections.

On the morning of the fourth day, the sky was still a depressing gray-white.

The trio's mental state had improved significantly; sufficient sleep and meditation recovery meant Hu Jinsi's calves were no longer sore, and Lin Rui's stamina had fully recovered.

Su Wan's throat was still a bit hoarse, but she did vocal exercises while sucking on a throat lozenge during breakfast, confirming she could still normally chant the Requiem Chant.

"One last morning." Hu Jinsi pushed out his bicycle.

The three cleared a few waves of sporadic zombies along the way, the kill count steadily pushing toward 20,000.

At 8 AM, they arrived at the main square of the Raccoon City police station.

"Clear the entrance first." Lin Rui held his riot shield horizontally in front of him, a short spear gripped in his right hand. "Quick battle, quick decision."

The zombies at the entrance were still numerous, and accompanied by car alarms, they were tending to gather even more.

With the help of Su Wan's singing, the three quickly cleared the zombies in the square.

They didn't even have time to check the count before diving into the work of clearing the zombies in the first-floor lobby of the police station.

Just as the three had finished their work and were preparing to lean against the police station's front desk to rest for a moment, Hu Jinsi's Perception attribute suddenly tightened as if pricked by a needle.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze passing through the shattered glass of the main entrance and cast onto the steps outside.

A figure over 2.4 meters tall stood at the bottom of the steps.

The same dark brown trench coat.

The same bullet-shaped head.

The same massive physique.

But this time, it was carrying something on its shoulder: a metal tube about a meter long, with a black aiming device at the front and a thick handle at the back.

The thing looked like a man-portable rocket launcher magnified several times, the tube body gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

Hu Jinsi's blood froze in an instant; the first moment he realized something was wrong, his body reacted faster than his brain could think.

[Parkour] activated, his right foot stomped hard on the ground, and he shot out like a kicked football.

He kicked Lin Rui into the police station's front desk, the latter flying sideways and crashing into that recessed area.

At the same time, while in the middle of the leap, Hu Jinsi tackled Su Wan, and the two rolled to the back of the front desk together.

Almost at the same second, a dull sound of air being torn apart came from outside— "Whoosh—Boom!!!"

The rocket, trailing a tail flame, passed through the shattered main entrance glass and exploded in the reception desk area!

The scorching heatwave and shockwave, like an enraged beast, tore the front desk, filing cabinets, and waiting chairs to shreds.

Splinters of wood, metal shards, and fragments of fire splattered like a rainstorm.

Hu Jinsi was hit hard in the back by a flying wooden board, the intense pain causing his vision to go black.

[-23]