“Leng Qiongling fell into Frenzy?”
“Mm.”
“How could it be this fast…”
“What do we do now? If we go find her…”
“No need. You stay in the city on standby, just in case. We’ve completely burned bridges now, so we can’t be sure when they’ll attack.”
I stood up from my seat and looked out the window at the endless desert.
Leng Qiongling was hiding somewhere out there, perhaps struggling, perhaps completely consumed by Killing Desire.
But no matter what, I had to bring her back.
My team members—not one can be missing.
I drove alone to the desert outside the city.
Along the way out, I didn’t hear a single sound.
The entire city was terrifyingly silent.
But there was no time to think.
A Madman in a state of Frenzy was extremely dangerous, and Leng Qiongling had no experience with this at all, which would only cause serious consequences.
I took out the map that Commander Walid had given me.
It marked all the notable terrain features in this desert: sand dunes, caves, desert geysers.
If what Le Paxi said was true, then Leng Qiongling showed rationality at the end, which meant she must have been conscious at that moment.
If she knew she was in this state, where would she go?
I took out a red pen, drew a circle on the map, and drove there.
I arrived at a cave almost completely hidden beneath the yellow sand.
The entrance should have been covered by sand, but now there were obvious signs of human damage—an opening just big enough for one person had been punched through in a very brutal manner.
And near the entrance, several pools of blood were splashed around haphazardly, still giving off a metallic smell.
I carefully made sure not to slip, and walked step by step into the cave.
Inside was dark and lightless.
The only light, from the entrance, disappeared without a trace after I took a few steps down.
Walking inside, the chill around me seemed to pull me into another world—a world of the dead.
At the end of this world of the dead, a fragile figure sat crouched there abruptly.
She was tearing at her own body with her hands; her originally clean and tidy clothes had been shredded into pieces, covered in countless bloodstains.
“Leng Qiongling?”
The crouching figure didn’t respond, but continued to emit low growls like a hungry beast.
I tried to get closer, but after I took one more step, Leng Qiongling suddenly jerked as if electrocuted and slammed her head into the stone wall.
Through her messy hair, her eyes stared at me in terror.
“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It’s me.”
I didn’t try to approach Leng Qiongling again.
Instead, I knelt on one knee and tried to calm her down.
She seemed to finally recognize me.
Her mouth trembled, and with great difficulty she forced out a few words: “C-Captain…?”
“It’s me.”
It seemed she could still suppress the Frenzy for now.
I looked at her hands.
Her originally clean hands were now stained with blood, red and black.
Probably because she had killed a few people, she could temporarily control the Frenzy.
But there wasn’t much time.
Probably in a little while, she would be consumed by the Frenzy again.
“Captain…”
I was about to speed up my pace when I heard Leng Qiongling suddenly ask me in a weak voice: “Captain… are you going to kill me now?”
“!”
I was shocked by Leng Qiongling’s words, froze in place, and couldn’t speak.
I swallowed hard and barely managed to say: “Why… would you say that?”
Leng Qiongling seemed not to understand.
After a moment of silence, she said: “You said that if I turned against you all, you would kill me. Now, this is that situation, isn’t it?”
“No, that’s not it. Falling into Frenzy is not your fault, and the actions after falling into Frenzy are not what you wanted.”
“But, if this continues, I don’t even know what will happen… I’m so scared…”
I tried to calm my heartbeat and took a step forward.
Leng Qiongling, just like before, jumped back with an agitated expression, pulling at her clothes with all her might.
“Don’t come closer… Captain… Right now… I’m afraid I can’t control myself…”
“That’s exactly why I came.”
I ignored Leng Qiongling’s warning, strode up to her, knelt on one knee, and met her eyes at the same level.
“!”
Leng Qiongling’s body slipped out of her control.
Her slender hand grabbed my throat.
With just a little more force, my head would be separated from my body.
But then Leng Qiongling regained control of her body.
Her hands kept trembling, but she still couldn’t let go for a long time.
“Captain…! Don’t… don’t… I’m about to…”
“Go ahead.”
“Huh?”
Leng Qiongling lifted her face, which was buried in tears.
Tears, sand, and blood were mixed together, forming lumps on her face.
I grabbed her hand and pressed it against my neck.
“What I mean is, kill me.”
“W-why…”
“It’s a simple logic.
You need to kill to suppress the Frenzy, and there’s a living person right in front of you.
Kill him.
Kill me in the most brutal, most bloody way you can imagine.
Don’t you not want to stay like this forever?
Then kill me.”
“But I can’t…!”
“Then you plan to kill more people.”
“!”
“If you don’t kill me now, you’ll kill more people.”
“Why… do this…”
I pressed my hand against Leng Qiongling’s forehead, pinning her to the wall, and said to her in a tone I had never used before: “Kill me, or I’ll kill you. There are only two choices now.”
“I… I…”
“Hurry up!”
I saw Leng Qiongling’s eyes gradually turn into that pitch-black chaos, and I knew time was running out.
That made me anxious.
Leng Qiongling looked at my face.
Her eyes kept trembling, then slowly moved down and saw the pistol holstered at my waist.
Her trembling left hand climbed to my waist, touched my belt, and stroked the pistol at my waist.
She slowly drew it out, placed it in my hand, then lifted it until the muzzle pointed at her own head.
“Is this your choice?”
Leng Qiongling didn’t answer, but I could tell her choice from her terrified eyes and gradually stiffening hand.
“Very well.”
Click.
“!”
Before I could react, I was thrown flat on the ground.
In my field of vision was a crying Leng Qiongling, a pistol flying high into the air, and a delayed gunshot.
“I… I… was so scared…”
“It’s okay. Everyone should have the right to live.”
“At that time, I was really scared… I saw everyone… being killed one by one by Mad Beasts… and then I… At that time… and now too… I’m really scared… I don’t want to die…”
“Then kill me, in exchange for your life.”
I gently stroked Leng Qiongling’s arm, guiding her.
Her hand grabbed my throat.
I frowned in discomfort, unable to breathe, as a feeling of suffocation surged up.
This was a familiar death.
Seeing Leng Qiongling still hesitating, I closed my eyes, and the corners of my mouth involuntarily turned up.
“It’s fine. This is what I wanted.”
At the last moment before my consciousness faded, I saw Leng Qiongling’s eyes completely swallowed by darkness.
I closed my eyes in peace.