Apocalypse Star House Hoarding-Chapter 158

Unlike Yu Xi’s state of being unscathed and devoid of pain, Lou Rui was pierced through the chest by the sharp, cold ice blade. Although he managed to avoid a fatal blow, his bound weapon was destroyed, leaving him unable to activate his protective energy arc. He had not anticipated an ice blade suddenly appearing in front of him.
The blade entered through his chest and exited through his back, causing blood to gush from the wound.
The metallic scent of blood once again filled the air—this time, not from a deliberate act, but from a genuine, grievous injury.
Lou Rui had believed that, even without his protective arc, his enhanced physical condition would shield him from most weapons. But the handleless ice blade had unleashed a force so powerful that he was unable to resist.
What shocked him even more was the realization that Yu Xi’s body showed no sign of injury where his bullets had struck—no wounds, not even a scratch.
“How is that possible? My weapon’s attack power has been reinforced many times. Even for a mission executor, it’s impossible to remain completely unharmed… unless—”
His gaze snapped to Yu Xi, his expression filled with disbelief. “You… you’ve been on guard against me this whole time?”
Yu Xi didn’t respond. Instead, she controlled the ice layers embedded in her jacket that had protected her vital points, causing the bullets lodged in the ice to fall to the ground beneath her hem.
She had worried that the sound of the bullets striking the ice might alert him, making him less likely to lower his guard and take the bait. Thankfully, her thick jacket muffled most of the noise.
Moreover, she had already noticed that Lou Rui’s sensory abilities hadn’t been enhanced to the same degree as hers or Ya Tong’s. Likely constrained by resource limitations, he had prioritized other enhancements, reflecting differing development paths among mission executors.
Yu Xi manipulated the ice layers, detaching them from her body and forming a 360-degree protective shield around her. Apart from a few small ventilation holes, the ice shield was seamless.
One of the foundational techniques she had focused on mastering was this ice shield, in addition to shaping and controlling ice blades.
The shield’s ice was not overly thick, making it resource-efficient, yet it was nearly as durable as diamond. It could expand or contract at will, fitting snugly around her body like an invisible barrier that was almost undetectable in dim lighting.
As long as she was alive and her abilities weren’t exhausted, she could maintain this defensive shield. She had drawn inspiration for the technique from Lin Wu and Ya Tong’s energy arcs, using it to compensate for her own high-offense, low-defense profile.
Seeing this ability now, Lou Rui’s expression shifted to one of astonishment.
No wonder his weapon hadn’t worked against her. While most protective arcs emitted a faint, visible glow, her ice shield was entirely different—it was practically invisible. This misled him into believing she was defenseless, prompting him to act.
“This isn’t a weapon’s defense function, nor a standard skill. How can you… Are you with the Inner Tower? No, that’s not it—” Lou Rui had previously encountered Inner Tower operatives during a mission, but even they didn’t possess abilities like hers.
This ice manipulation wasn’t just about forming shapes; it combined both offense and defense. It wasn’t a standard skill from the System Tower world.
“You… you’re not a System Tower mission executor, are you?”
In the dim hallway, an ice blade hovered silently behind Lou Rui, aimed at his heart. Yu Xi remained composed, her voice steady as she asked, “Did the System Tower send you to kill me? Is this an open contract task, or a world-specific mission just for you?”
Her meaning was clear: she wanted to know if killing Lou Rui would ensure the failure of his mission, or if others would follow to continue hunting her.
This suspicion had driven her lack of trust in him from the start, though she had never shown it.
If it was an open contract mission, she would only incapacitate him, ensuring his task remained in limbo. This would prevent the System from dispatching someone even stronger, turning the entire world into a battlefield where everyone could be a potential threat—a far more difficult scenario to navigate.
Lou Rui locked eyes with her for a few seconds before sighing. “It’s the latter. Don’t worry, I’m not lying this time.”
This mission was unlike any he had encountered before. The System, which had always communicated in a mechanical voice, suddenly spoke in a young man’s tone, dripping with cold indifference and overwhelming authority.
The voice informed him that his target was sitting right next to him—someone he would recognize upon arriving in the mission world.
When he first opened his eyes, the face he saw was one he hadn’t seen in ages, yet it was unmistakable.
Apart from being thinner and paler, the 18-year-old Yu Xi of this world was almost identical to the Yu Xi from the zombie world.
Even as he accepted the gloves she handed him, he couldn’t shake his shock.
Why did this world have a Yu Xi too? Was this person really Yu Xi, or a mission executor disguised as her? If it was the latter, he could act without hesitation.
But as he observed her actions and behavior, he became certain: this was Yu Xi, the same Yu Xi from the zombie world.
It dawned on him that Yu Xi had never been a native resident of any world; she was always a mission executor.
What puzzled him was why her appearance remained unchanged across worlds.
When she confirmed in her own words that she was indeed the same person in both worlds, he finally understood why the System Tower wanted her eliminated—she was different from ordinary mission executors.
She was a variable in a meticulously ordered world, a rebel in a monochrome, rigid system.
Such an anomaly was bound to be purged.
He had struggled for a long time, unable to bring himself to act. Killing someone he liked—or once liked—was an immense challenge.
For him, Yu Xi represented a pure version of himself from the past. She was unique.
But if he didn’t kill her, his mission would fail, and he would die. On the other hand, if he succeeded in eliminating her, he would immediately gain entry to the Inner Tower world.
In the end, he chose to act—but he failed.
Against someone far stronger and constantly on guard, he never stood a chance. If the outcome was death either way, then rather than being erased by the System Tower for failing, he would rather die by her hands…
This time, he didn’t want to lie anymore.
Yu Xi believed his words. No one would willingly choose an answer that led to their own demise. “Will the System Tower know what happened here?”
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “‘It’ won’t know the details, nor can it intervene much. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a need for mission executors like us in the first place.”
He understood what she was asking and also realized why she had been cautious of him all along but had never struck first. She was far more perceptive than he had anticipated.
When he first saw her unconscious in the desert, he had considered attacking her. But she woke instantly, entering a defensive stance with a heightened vigilance and physical resilience that exceeded his expectations.
From then on, he grew more cautious, going as far as to shield her in front of others to build a cover.
Later, during the tour company mission in N Country, he hesitated but ultimately chose to save her. One reason was that he didn’t believe a skilled executor would die so easily amidst a swarm of blood ghouls. If he wanted to complete his mission, he needed to confirm her death directly under his watch. Another reason, of course, was to gain her trust.
He thought he had an inherent advantage. As long as she knew who he was and appreciated his act of saving her, she might let her guard down, allowing him to strike at the perfect moment.
Only now did he realize: while he had been plotting against her, she had been testing him in return.
She had never trusted him.
In this match, he lost thoroughly and accepted it.
But—he refused to resign himself to his fate.
Suddenly, Lou Rui hurled a reinforced tear gas grenade. Ignoring the ice blade piercing into him again, he slammed into the stairwell door, aiming for the person in the wheelchair behind it.
He knew Yu Xi wouldn’t leave Yu Zhengqing alone in the darkness filled with danger. She must have set up ice shields around him.
But Lou Rui wasn’t trying to attack Yu Zhengqing directly; he intended to take him as leverage, using the hostage to carve an escape route.
Given how much she valued Yu Zhengqing, it was likely her mission revolved around him. If Lou Rui could take him, he could bargain for his life.
Lou Rui’s movements were quick, but Yu Xi’s reactions were faster. Seeing him reach for Yu Zhengqing, her brows furrowed as she let out a low grunt. The ice shield around Yu Zhengqing rapidly sprouted sharp spikes—
But the spikes weren’t as fast as Yu Zhengqing himself.
In the darkness, a golden energy blade materialized in Yu Zhengqing’s hand. Before Lou Rui could react, the blade plunged deeply into his heart.
“A mission executor?!” Lou Rui spat out a mouthful of blood, his body tumbling down the stairs. The next moment, he crashed through a window, falling from the ninth-floor landing.
Yu Xi darted to the window, watching as Lou Rui’s body became entangled in a rope. He wasn’t dead yet.
He landed in the bushes below, his blood and the commotion attracting nearby blood ghouls. Clutching his chest and wielding a dagger, he staggered toward the hospital gates, three blood ghouls close on his heels.
Yu Xi turned back toward the stairs, where Yu Zhengqing, who had been in the wheelchair moments before, was now gripping the railing and slowly standing up.
“I thought you’d be more cautious after the acid rain apocalypse lab incident,” he said, his voice calm.
Yu Xi froze for several seconds before responding. “Lin Wu?” She realized that only Lin Wu could know about what happened in the acid rain apocalypse lab.
“…” Lin Wu frowned slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but Yu Xi interrupted him.
“How are you in this body? Where’s my brother?”
Though she knew native consciousness could sometimes coexist with the executor’s presence, she was concerned since Yu Zhengqing was already weak from illness.
“He’s still here.” Lin Wu pointed to his forehead. “He’s just resting for now. I’ll wake him up before I leave.”
It was the first time Yu Xi had heard this explanation. However, if someone like Qu Yichen from the storm apocalypse world could return, it suggested that native consciousnesses were indeed preserved during an executor’s control.
But if Lin Wu could deliberately awaken the native consciousness before leaving, why hadn’t Ya Tong mentioned this when she departed?
Yu Xi withdrew the ice shield surrounding him, storing the ice layers into her spatial warehouse. “What were you going to say just now?”
“Nothing important. Let’s head back to the room. It’s not safe here.” Lin Wu descended the stairs slowly, his steps unsteady—clearly affected by the body’s illness.
“You’re not seriously affected by the body’s condition in this world, are you?”
“A little, but not like this. Taking out that executor earlier cost me some energy. I’ll recover soon.”
He brushed past her and continued down the stairs. “I’ll go ahead. Be careful.”
Yu Xi nodded, but her peripheral vision caught the wheelchair still on the stairs. Lin Wu hadn’t stored it away in his spatial inventory.
Yu Xi didn’t call out to him but instead quickly ascended the stairs, retrieved the wheelchair, and followed closely behind.
As they descended, Yu Xi focused her thoughts and asked the system:
System, will Lin Wu appearing in my mission target affect my task?
There was no response—no sign of even a […].
Yu Xi sighed internally: System, can you be reliable for once? Stop pretending you don’t exist, will you?
The tall man walking a few steps ahead suddenly stopped and turned to look back at her.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Xi immediately noticed something was off.
His gaze wasn’t focused on her but instead fixed on the staircase door behind her.
They were passing the ninth floor, and just behind her was the staircase door. These fireproof doors in hospital stairwells were sturdy and well-sealed.
Earlier, on the tenth floor, Yu Xi had been able to smell the scent of blood wafting into the stairwell only because Lou Rui had deliberately left the door slightly ajar, allowing the scent to seep through.
With the door now fully closed, even her heightened sense of smell wouldn’t detect anything unusual beyond it.
Now, Lin Wu was staring at that tightly shut door.
Yu Xi quickly turned her head while silently moving down several steps to stand beside Lin Wu.
The stairwell itself appeared normal, but through the narrow glass window at the top of the door, strands of black hair began dangling downward.
Next came thin, blood-red fingers, and finally, a grotesquely mutilated half-face.
It was the evolved blood ghoul Yu Xi had encountered outside the hospital room earlier!
Realizing it had been discovered, the creature slowly revealed its entire face, still hanging upside down. With a twisted grin, it said, “You found me… didn’t you?”
“Don’t let her escape,” Lin Wu said as a faint golden longsword materialized in his hand.
The sword was peculiar—it lacked a hilt and was only two-thirds the length of a standard blade, with edges as thin as cicada wings.
Before he even finished speaking, the light sword shot forward, piercing through the door’s glass and into the blood ghoul’s right eye.
The evolved blood ghoul let out a piercing, enraged shriek before falling from the ceiling. The door burst open the next moment, and the creature skittered toward them, moving on all fours like a spider.
Yu Xi’s ice shield and Lin Wu’s golden light barrier activated simultaneously. The blood ghoul crashed into their defenses and was repelled, only to scramble up and attempt to bypass them for a rear attack.
Both shields expanded into full 360-degree protective barriers. Yu Xi’s ice shield was further enhanced with sharp, elongated spikes.
The blood ghoul collided with the spiked barrier, adding several bloody holes to its already mangled body. Realizing it couldn’t break through and that its blood couldn’t contaminate them, it turned cold and lunged toward the staircase window.
Yu Xi, recalling how Lou Rui had escaped similarly, wouldn’t allow a repeat.
The seemingly fragile window sprouted dense spikes of ice. As the blood ghoul attempted to break through, it was impaled, suspended like a grotesque pincushion.
Still alive, it writhed and snapped its teeth furiously.
Then, intense heat surrounded it. Struggling against the flames, the creature was quickly incinerated, reduced to ash.
Once it was entirely gone, Yu Xi leaned against the wall, catching her breath as the heavy use of her abilities took its toll.
She retrieved a bottle of water and was about to drink when the other person on the stairs suddenly wavered and collapsed with a loud thud.
Yu Xi, who thought she was the weaker one:
…
Seriously? A sword and a shield, and you’re out?
When he awoke, the sun was already up, and they were back in the hospital room.
He had been placed in a wheelchair near the balcony, bathed in soft morning light streaming through the glass doors. The gentle warmth of the sunlight felt soothing.
“No reaction to sunlight—so, not that,” Yu Xi’s voice came from nearby. Strangely, it carried a chill.
Before he could respond, the figure at the window leaped toward him, wrapped entirely in an icy layer of armor. Each hand gripped a short ice blade.
“You’re not Lin Wu.”
One ice blade was pressed against his neck, the other aimed at his abdomen.
She raised a knee and rested it on his leg to prevent him from standing, her cold gaze bearing down on him.
“Who are you, really?”