Chapter 79: Chapter 73 The Radiance of Vitality
Tian Sheng clasped his abdomen, lying in a deserted ward, panting heavily.
The somewhat charred wound in his abdomen seeped blood slowly, and he could only treat it using a simple healing spell but recovering in a short period of time was too difficult.
In the battle with those black-robed men, he had been defeated as expected.
He had no chance of winning a two-on-one battle from the start; the enemy surpassed him in both their spell arsenal and their magic power, not to mention their numerical advantage. They only needed to use the most basic Magic Bullets for suppressing fire, and he didn't even have a chance to raise his head.
And that was before the enemies who came down from the upper floors to reinforce.
Facing a whole team of black-robed men, Tian Sheng was utterly powerless and utterly defeated.
The Magical Barrier he set up would be shattered in less than two seconds, and his own Magic Bullets couldn't break through the enemy's defense, easily warded off by their barrier. In the end, he had no choice but to jump out the window in a flash of wit, yet in the very act of taking to the air, he was pierced in the abdomen by a Flame Bullet.
The enemy didn't give him a chance to land and adjust; standing at the window, they sprayed a barrage of fire at Tian Sheng below, attempting to put him to death.
Tian Sheng avoided most of the attacks, rolled across the ground, and once again rushed into the corridor. Still, he was hit by the remaining Magic Bullets in the process and fell to the ground, life and death unknown.
His final resting place was in the blind spot of the second-floor window, but the black-robed men suspected that Tian Sheng was still breathing, so they sent two more to check the body. The rest didn't linger, and after reporting back, they followed the direction in which Bai Jingxuan had left.
Taking advantage of this gap, Tian Sheng had crawled and rolled into an empty ward, finally managing to lie down inside.
The situation had become what it was now.
To tell the truth, if the last medium in his hand hadn't been a healing spell, he probably would have been dead by now.
Although relying on his better knowledge of the terrain to find a hiding spot, the injury to his abdomen was more than enough to kill an ordinary person. Not to mention that there were two black-robed men searching outside the door, meticulously. Even if he had not left any bloodstains when he escaped here, it would not take long for those men to find this place.
He had acted as a hero on impulse, but that didn't mean he had resigned himself to death. Rather, he was still full of the desire to live.
He didn't want to die yet.
He hadn't spent all his savings in the bank, there was still material left at home, and the Abnormal Strategy Bureau's half-year preparation for recruitment hadn't started. If he died here, all this would turn into nothing.
Somehow, he had to find a way to survive.
All three spell mediums in his hand had been used up; the barrier had been used the most, already showing obvious signs of reduced efficiency; the Magic Bullet was next, but the conversion efficiency was still normal; the simple recovery he was currently using was no help in battle.
He struggled to sit up from the ground to prepare for the impending battle, a movement that tugged at his abdomen and caused his face to contort in pain. He wanted to crawl under the bed next to him for cover, but his injuries no longer allowed him to move further.
Listening to the noise getting closer and closer outside the door, Tian Sheng clenched the dice in his hand, ready for a last stand.
The wards next door were being opened one by one, and he could faintly hear the screams of the nurses and patients in the next room. But the black-robed men had little interest in the ordinary people in the wards; after searching, they left quickly, and soon arrived at the door of his empty ward.
Suddenly, the door in front of him was pushed open.
Almost at the same instant, Tian Sheng fiercely powered up the magic, activating the Magic Bullet medium in his hand. Several grey Magic Bullets emerged from the patterns on the surface of the dice, carrying immense destructive power as they shot out.
Swish!
The Magic Bullets emitted a piercing screech, instantly blasting toward their target, striking the enemy behind the door and exploding into a cloud of grey magic particles upon impact.
At the same time, several Magic Bullets shot back at him from straight ahead.
Clearly, the enemy was also always prepared to attack.
With prior preparation, Tian Sheng once again deployed the magical barrier and, due to the too low conversion efficiency of the medium, instantaneously evaporated the last bit of his magic power. Seeing the precarious structure of the barrier before him, he felt a pang of pain in both his brain and heart, almost crying out in agony.
But this was all he could do, he thought. If he were to score his own performance on the spot, he would not hesitate to give himself full marks.
After all, the level of his spell techniques was apparent. The fact that he could go this far was already quite an achievement. As for the outcome, he could only leave it to fate.
The last barrier before him blocked the enemy's counterattack, and Tian Sheng, enduring the pain, straightened up and squinted his eyes. He looked behind the door, to the two figures that were faintly visible behind the light of the exploding magic bullets.
And as the light faded, the hope that had been on his face also gradually sank away.
His surprise attack had not been effective.
The robed figures had not revealed any weaknesses from beginning to end because they were performing their search while maintaining a barrier. Every time they opened a door, they were already fully prepared. There was no chance for a successful sneak attack.
Tian Sheng's all-out final assault had merely caused a few ripples on the barrier before them.
With no magic power left to continue the fight and his mediums reduced to useless objects, Tian Sheng stopped supporting his body and resigned to his fate, lying on the ground.
Not far away, the robed figures had already stepped into the sickroom, each stride deepening his gloom. They were like grim reapers coming to harvest lives, now standing in front of Tian Sheng.
If he died here, what would become of everyone in the ward? Would Old Li, who always took care of him, be safe? Could Bai Jingxuan, that child, manage to escape successfully?
Would his parents feel sorrow upon learning of his death? Should his friends, who were waiting to team up for online gaming tonight, remember to clear his hard drive? As for a girlfriend... oh, what a pity, he didn't have one.
Such thoughts flitted through Tian Sheng's mind before his death.
But quickly, he mocked himself: Well, what does it have to do with a dead man like himself?
He let go of the dice in his hand and closed his eyes, finally losing his last will to survive, calmly facing his own demise.
—"Isn't it too early to give up?"
However, after Tian Sheng closed his eyes, such a voice suddenly came from beside his ear.
It shocked him into opening his eyes once more, only to see a pale green glow.
A delicate dancing shoe stepped next to his arm, followed by a light figure that stepped towards him from behind and walked out beside him.
He propped himself up on his side and twisted his head to look in the direction of the newcomer, glimpsing their face in a daze:
A light green stage dress as the main color, with the upper body entirely in white, but with light green decorative patterns on the bubble sleeves, the long skirt nearly touching the floor, carefully maintaining a length that did not hinder movement.
The petite girl walked out from the glow, holding a magic wand that resembled a conductor's baton in her hand, covered with long sleeve armlets. The end of her green side ponytail was mixed with a few strands of white highlights, looking cute yet somewhat sacred, with a glimmer of vitality.
"Step back, Uncle Tian. Leave these people to me," the girl said,
her eyes, a pair of yellow-green heterochromia, lifted her magic wand and pointed at the several robed figures before her, speaking in a gentle, yet resolute voice:
"Magical Girl, Bo Xue, commence breakout operation."