112: Chapter 112 A Despicable Trap

On Nakajima Shinichi's face was a morbid, almost obsessive smile.

Standing atop an abandoned bell tower, he stared coldly at an open space in the distance through high-powered binoculars.

It was the courtyard of a bombed-out princely mansion.

The surrounding walls had long since collapsed, creating a perfect killing field without any cover.

His "Hounds," like actual wild dogs, were silently lying in ambush at the high points of all the surrounding buildings.

Snipers, machine gunners, and grenade launcher teams.

An inescapable net woven from crossfire.

In the center of that open space, over a dozen unarmed civilians were trembling.

There were grey-haired elders, mothers clutching their children, and several ragged youths.

They were bait.

They were the sweet bait Nakajima Shinichi had meticulously prepared for that mysterious "mouse" who excited him so much.

"Captain, everything is ready," the adjutant's voice came through the communicator. "If he dares to show his face, we guarantee not a single whole bone will be left of him."

"No, don't be in a hurry."

Nakajima Shinichi's voice was as soft as a lover's whisper.

"He's cautious; he'll observe first."

"What we need to do is give him a reason why he must act."

As he spoke, he issued a simple yet cruel command into the communicator.

"Start the performance."

...

Chen Xi, like an undetectable shadow, lurked atop a dilapidated building eight hundred meters away from the courtyard.

His heart felt as if it were weighed down by a massive boulder, so heavy it made him struggle for breath.

After the simulated mouse was destroyed, he had exchanged for a new reconnaissance item.

A micro silent Drone disguised as a [Flapping Moth].

At this moment, this "moth" was perched on a dead locust tree beside the courtyard, transmitting that hellish scene clearly back to his retinas and simultaneously broadcasting it to the audience across the entire Dragon Country.

[Holy shit! These beasts! Using civilians as bait!]

[It's a trap! Definitely a trap! Master Xi, don't go over there!]

[So vicious! This is a fucking overt ploy! They know Master Xi will definitely try to save people!]

In the Livestream room, the lightheartedness and banter accumulated throughout the day vanished instantly.

Only endless anger and worry remained.

Inside the "Great Wall" Command Center, the atmosphere was even more heavy, reaching a freezing point.

Director Long's encrypted bullet chat flooded Chen Xi's vision with unprecedented frequency.

"Warning! Ghost! This is a death trap designed specifically for you! Repeat! Do not enter!"

"Confirmed! Heavy machine gun positions at the three o'clock and nine o'clock directions! At least two snipers in the high-rise at twelve o'clock!"

"This is a perfect crossfire coverage zone! Once you enter, there is no possibility of survival!"

Chen Xi knew this, of course.

He understood the viciousness of this trap even better than the staff officers of the "Great Wall."

What the enemy was exploiting wasn't his negligence or his arrogance.

It was his humanity.

(To go, or not to go?)

(If I go, I die.)

(If I don't go... just watch them die?)

Cold logic and boiling blood clashed violently in his mind.

Just then.

In the courtyard, the two Japanese Soldiers responsible for the "performance" received new orders.

Grinning wickedly, they walked toward a grey-haired old man and kicked him to the ground.

Then, they raised their rifle butts.

"No! Please! Don't hit my grandfather!" A boy who looked only twelve or thirteen years old cried out and lunged forward.

Thud.

The dull sound of a rifle butt striking flesh.

The old man let out a pained groan, his body curling up like a shrimp.

The boy was picked up by another Soldier like a little chick and slammed hard to the side.

The child's cries, the woman's screams, and the Japanese Soldiers' unrestrained laughter mixed together.

Like red-hot steel needles, they pierced Chen Xi's eardrums.

They also pierced the hearts of the hundreds of millions of viewers in the Livestream room.

[Beasts! I'll kill you! Aaaaah!]

[Master Xi! Master Xi, I beg you! Think of something! I'm bowing to you!]

[He can't go! If he goes, it's all over! But... but I can't take it anymore! My eyes can't take it!]

Beneath the Chameleon Cloak, Chen Xi's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

It wasn't because of fear.

It was rage.

A monstrous fury that threatened to incinerate his sanity.

Atop the distant bell tower.

Nakajima Shinichi lowered his binoculars.

He knew the timing was just about right.

That "mouse's" heart must be undergoing hellish torment.

He loved this feeling.

The wonderful sensation of watching prey struggle in despair and eventually making the wrong choice.

"He'll come."

Nakajima Shinichi said to himself confidently.

"Heroes are always foolish."

However, the figure he expected to burst from the shadows did not appear.

The "performance" in the courtyard continued.

The boy struggled, lunging for his grandfather again and again, only to be thrown aside even more violently each time.

His forehead was cut open, his face covered in blood and dirt, yet he still didn't give up.

Chen Xi's breathing grew increasingly heavy.

He closed his eyes.

He was afraid that if he kept watching, he would lose control completely.

The warnings from the Great Wall Command Center were still flashing frantically.

Reason told him this was the only correct choice.

Wait.

Give up.

Only by preserving himself could he save more people.

But...

The child's cries were like an invisible hand, tightly clutching his heart.

Suddenly.

Chen Xi opened his eyes.

Those eyes, once bloodshot with rage, were now a dead, icy void.

He glanced at the courtyard.

Then, his gaze slowly moved away from that death trap.

And landed on the adjacent Department Store building, which had long since been bombed into ruins.

The corner of his mouth curled into a cruel, temperature-less arc.

(You want me to play by your rules?)

(Fine.)

To the Livestream room, and to the hunter hidden in the dark, he spoke calmly in a voice that was almost a whisper:

"Then I'll just upend the chessboard for you."