Tao Yu and his large group's arrival also caught the attention of the people on the first floor.
There were too many people; it was difficult not to notice.
The man with glasses who had temporarily become the leader of this group of survivors on the first floor adjusted his glasses. He was a medical student who had taken a leave of absence for the sake of his sister and was extremely calm.
Seeing the bloodstains on a few people, he knew they had encountered monsters along the way, but he didn't know how they had successfully escaped.
Standing next to him was a very agile woman exuding a heroic aura.
Compared to the silent observations of the man with glasses, this woman was much more direct.
"Did you encounter monsters? Where? What's the situation now?"
"Assassin, I'm in charge here for now, and I'll lead you all to safety later. I assume nobody has any objections, right?"
His gaze swept over the heroic woman and the man with glasses, as well as the girl in the school uniform who had just come out of the surveillance room.
Tao Yu guessed there probably wouldn't be more "Chosen Ones" arriving, and if so, he could temporarily take control of the situation.
"You're in charge? Why?"
The girl in the school uniform who had just come out seemed to be in a rebellious phase as she rudely retorted.
Even though she had the sweet and innocent look of a student, when she started to talk back, she gave off the vibe of a little delinquent.
This caused Che Xianxiu, who had a good impression of her, to change his expression, and he quickly intervened to remedy the situation.
"This brother can defeat monsters; he's very strong."
"Defeat monsters?"
The first to react to this wasn't the three people on the first floor who seemed like backup protagonists, but another woman.
She came up to Tao Yu in a panic, holding her phone and pleading,
"Please save my daughter. She was just outside the gate when I could still track her location; she must be hiding somewhere nearby!"
As she spoke, she began to reach for the electric gate.
But Tao Yu didn't hesitate to fire a shot into the floor in front of her.
"Did I allow you to open the gate?"
Tao Yu glanced sideways at the trembling woman.
That gunshot was more direct and effective than the words Tao Yu had spoken before, or even the confirmation Che Xianxiu had earlier provided.
Whether it was the concerned mother wanting to save her daughter or the others from the first floor, they were instantly startled and stopped raising any further objections or rebuttals.
The girl in the school uniform who had talked back to Tao Yu also lowered her head like a quail, pretending to play with her phone.
"Big brother is a good person; he saved us before."
At that moment, the older of the two children broke the silence, causing Tao Yu to smile and crouch down to tickle her little nose.
"You're such a clever little thing."
Children represent the future and even a ghostly place like Starshine City would have measures to adopt orphans in order to reduce their cannon fodder score.
However, unfortunate as it might be, even if one escaped a world filled with monsters, one would still be living in a world plagued by the Abyss.
"If you have the guts, kill me then! You this..."
However, before she could finish her sentence, a long tongue pierced through her, the one standing closest to the door, and lifted her high off the ground.
The auntie, in disbelief, looked down at the disgusting tongue that had penetrated her abdomen, then let it consume her flesh and blood.
"See, I told you so," Tao Yu said, spreading his hands at the auntie with an expressionless face, seemingly a bit helpless.
"I warned you, but you just wouldn't recognize goodwill."
At that moment, the temporary manager with glasses from the first floor also hurriedly reached the switch and pressed it, lowering the iron gate once again.
But the descent of this kind of residential district's electric gate was so slow for safety reasons, and the long-tongued monster, having drained the auntie, was ready to make its way inside.
This made the guy with glasses grimace, and he quickly charged towards the monster with a metal box, as if trying to push it outside.
The JK girl behind him screamed, attempting to hold back her brother but reacted a moment too late.
She watched helplessly as he charged at the monster.
Splat~
Another tongue shot forth, piercing right through the metal box!
Just as the long tongue was about to chill the glasses guy to the core, he suddenly felt a tug on his collar.
He was rapidly pulled back and sent flying backwards.
The projectile tongue almost grazed his face, revealing its ferocious maw.
The blood that splashed on it also stained his glasses.
"Playing the hero without the ability will get you killed quickly."
After tossing the glasses guy on the ground and dragging him back from death's door, Tao Yu voluntarily walked towards the long-tongued monster.
The survivors on the first floor, who had never seen Tao Yu take action, were now both frightened and awestruck, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Another one going to his death?
Hurry up and close the door!
"In times like these, if you obey commands, I'll help you when I can. But if you act recklessly, you'll have to leave it to fate."
Whoosh~
The flash of the blade whizzed by, and the lunging tongue was cut into several pieces in an instant. Then Tao Yu moved to the side of the long-tongued monster with ghostlike speed, and before the creature could react, he chopped it into chunks.
All the action was completed in two seconds, leaving a huge impact on the survivors who had never witnessed Tao Yu in action.
The ones who had been scrambling around like headless flies, trying to delay until the gate closed, now all stood with their mouths agape.
What kind of strength was this? What kind of speed?
This guy wasn't human!
He was even more terrifying than the monster!
"Did you understand?"
Tao Yu turned to glance at the crowd, his tone casual...