TIC Chapter 16

 Chapter 16: Maya’s Two Requests — Survival Against All Odds [Post-Apocalyptic]

Almost in that exact instant, Hein positioned himself directly beneath the aircraft. He fired three shots in rapid succession, all striking the exact same spot; the aircraft’s right side suddenly dipped, and Xiao Yan realized with a start that Hein had targeted—and hit—the cockpit.

As the aircraft’s altitude plummeted, it unleashed a frenzied barrage of laser-guided missiles, sending massive chunks of earth flying into the air. Fortunately, Mark was carrying Xiao Yan; otherwise, the young man would likely have been roasted alive!

Seizing a split-second window of opportunity—mere tenths of a second—Hein fired a single, precise shot that disabled the aircraft’s right engine. Just before the craft slammed into the ground, its hatch burst open, and over a dozen assassins clad in dark gray combat gear leaped out.

Xiao Yan gasped. This was his first time coming face-to-face with assassins from the "Tides" organization. Until now, his only knowledge of such figures came from the full-screen news broadcasts he had watched in the central plaza of Char. They were portrayed as cold, ruthless, and bloodthirsty—individuals who had previously infiltrated Char to assassinate numerous high-ranking military officers and key political figures.

Before the assassins had even touched down, Liv had already unleashed a swarm of her "Silver Wings."

The assassins dodged with agile precision while still in mid-air; even when they were grazed or pierced, the wounds were never to vital areas.

Hein’s squad consisted of eight members, yet they were facing an enemy force of more than ten.

The enemy seemed to recognize that Hein was their most formidable opponent; three of them immediately converged to attack him simultaneously. If Hein and his team couldn't shake off these assassins quickly, even more reinforcements would soon arrive.

"Maya! You, Mark, and Liv—take Xiao Yan and break through the perimeter!"

The moment Hein issued the order, Maya showed not the slightest hesitation to linger in the fight. He hoisted Xiao Yan onto his shoulder, used his free hand—clutching a blade—to parry an incoming attack, and sprinted toward Platform 47, with Mark and Liv following close behind.

As they ran further and further away, the last image Xiao Yan saw was Hein’s blade piercing through an assassin’s chest, followed immediately by a swift, fluid spin-kick that sent another assassin flying. “Are we just leaving like this?”

Maya gave a soft chuckle. “Fool. That is Hein Burton; the person capable of killing him hasn't even been born into this world yet.”

They finally entered a wooded area, and Xiao Yan could feel Maya’s shoulders tense up.

A flash of cold light glinted overhead as four assassins dropped down from the dense canopy of branches.

Mark spun around, blocking two of the attackers, while Liv deftly unleashed her “Silver Wings”; immediately drawing her blade, she executed a rapid, intricate flurry of attacks, swiftly driving the assassins away from Maya.

Two more assassins appeared, poised and ready, encircling Xiao Yan and his companions.

It seemed the assassins from the “Tide” organization had anticipated all along that they would head for Platform 47, and had lain in ambush here, waiting to spring their trap.

“I’m going to set you down, but you have to promise me you’ll stick right by my side.” Maya’s voice was low and grave, devoid of the half-joking tone he usually adopted.

Xiao Yan swallowed hard. He had no time to dwell on life or death; he knew only that, this time, he truly *was* a liability. Yet, he simply couldn't bring himself to act like a character in some third-rate movie—shouting, “Don't worry about me! You guys go on ahead!”—because he knew that if he did, he would undoubtedly meet a gruesome end.

One of the assassins drew a gun from his waist; when facing humans, firearms remained the most effective weapon.

He fired several shots in rapid succession. Maya’s movements were astonishingly fast: one moment he was pushing Xiao Yan’s head down, and the next he was gripping Xiao Yan’s shoulder, shoving him in a different direction. Just as Xiao Yan thought he was about to tumble to the ground, Maya hauled him back up again.

In a split-second blur of motion, Maya appeared to hurl his “Silver Wings.” Striking from an impossibly tricky angle, the blade severed the barrel of the assassin’s gun; as it ricocheted away, it grazed the man’s jaw.

“Agh!” The man clutched his jaw in pain, but the bleeding ceased almost instantly—the wound was already healing.

It was painfully obvious: the assassins from the “Tide” organization were utilizing the X-Virus as well.

“We’ll handle things here! You take Xiao Yan and get to your destination—fast! As long as you secure a transport craft, everything else can be sorted out!”

Liv remained remarkably cool-headed throughout, and Mark nodded in firm agreement. Maya gave a cold snort, tucked Xiao Yan under his arm, fired a grappling line, and zipped away with the speed of lightning.

"I originally wanted to take you on a tour, weaving through the city's skyscrapers, but Hein cut us short! See? In the end, it’s me taking you there after all!" Maya smiled, though there wasn't a shred of amusement in his eyes.

Several black, wing-like projectiles sliced ​​through the air, hurtling toward Maya’s back.

"Watch out!" Xiao Yan cried out in alarm.

Maya twisted his wrist along the line; the cable snapped, but he immediately kicked off a tree trunk as another line shot out into the distance.

Close on their heels, a killer was giving chase.

"Bye-bye..." As he whisked Xiao Yan through the woods, a deep, enigmatic smile played upon Maya’s lips.

Suddenly, the killer—who had been sprinting relentlessly in pursuit—seemed to slam into an invisible barrier. His body was sliced ​​clean through, crumbling into severed chunks. In the bright sunlight, Xiao Yan thought he glimpsed faint, blood-tinged threads shimmering in the air.

It was Maya’s signature weapon!

"Don't you think I look incredibly cool?" Maya gave him a playful wink.

"You’re absolutely badass." Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, mimicking Liv’s signature expression—yet inwardly, his admiration for Maya was skyrocketing like an exponential curve.

Along the way, Maya encountered a few zombies; they were merely standard Level 0s, which he dispatched with effortless ease. Platform 47 was now just ahead.

Maya came to a halt, his brow furrowed in concern.

At least one-fifth of the platform had been blown apart—clear evidence that it had come under attack very recently.

"I... I don't think there are any aircraft left inside Platform 47... or rather... any *usable* aircraft..."

"Hah..." Maya closed his eyes, finally letting a look of frustration show on his face. "But my mission is to enter this platform and retrieve an aircraft."

"...I see that some zombies have already breached the platform..." Xiao Yan remarked, wearing a rather sheepish expression.

"The terminal system inside might not be completely down yet. We could use the system to contact Base 2 and have them dispatch an aircraft."

"Alright then." Xiao Yan nodded. “I have to take you with me. The Colonel’s orders are for me to bring you along. Even if you end up as a corpse, I still have to take you.” Maya lowered her head slightly.

Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned; he suddenly began to grasp the nature of a soldier's unwavering resolve.

“Alright, I’ll go with you. If I stay here, I’ll just end up getting taken out by the Swarm’s assassins or eaten by zombies anyway.”

“I’ll protect you, Xiao Yan.” Maya gave a light chuckle, draping her arm over Xiao Yan’s shoulder. “If we both make it back to Shire alive this time, would you be willing to sleep with me?”

“...Maybe you’d better *not* protect me.”

“Stay right by my side.”

Maya scooped Xiao Yan up in her arms and sprinted toward the platform at top speed.

Several zombies leaped into the air, attempting to tackle them to the ground; Maya swept her blade horizontally and executed a sharp spin, slicing the zombies in half at the waist. She reached the base of the platform wall and set Xiao Yan back down.

The platform’s main entrance remained sealed, leaving Maya no choice but to lead Xiao Yan inside through the section that had been blown open.

After dispatching over a dozen zombies, they finally made it inside the platform facility.

The hangar bay doors slid open, and sure enough, there was no sign of any aircraft. The troops stationed here had likely piloted the craft and evacuated immediately after the attack began.

“Let’s head to the Control Center.”

Maya kept a tight grip on Xiao Yan’s arm, never letting go for even a moment.

They advanced along the corridor; just as they rounded a corner, the scene before them gave Xiao Yan such a shock that he nearly stumbled and fell.

The path ahead was strewn with mangled human remains—a gruesome, bloody mess. About ten meters away, a Level 1 zombie was crouched on the floor, tearing into a corpse; it was savagely ripping out the body’s internal organs and devouring them.

When it turned its head, its bloodshot eyes were utterly chilling. The instant it spotted Maya and Xiao Yan, its face twisted into an expression of frenzied excitement; it sprang to its feet and charged straight at them. “Don’t move!”

Maya suddenly ducked low and slid forward with explosive speed, gliding right beneath the Level 1 zombie. His blade spun in a whirlwind motion, completely severing the zombie’s legs. As Maya rose to his feet—at the very instant the creature began to topple—his sharp blade pierced through its neck; with a forceful twist of his wrist, he lopped off its head.

“Phew...” Just as Xiao Yan let out a breath of relief, a sharp blade slashed upward from behind Maya. “Maya!”

A razor-sharp tip tore through the flesh of Maya’s neck, sending blood spurting into the air.

Xiao Yan’s breath caught in his throat. The very next moment, Maya executed a swift roll, positioning himself directly in front of Xiao Yan. He clutched the side of his neck, where the flow of blood was already beginning to subside.

“That was close! Too close! If my head had been severed, that would have been a fatal injury—one that even I couldn't recover from!”

The fact that the guy could still speak meant the attacker had merely sliced ​​through the flesh of his neck, without damaging the cervical vertebrae.

Yet, neither of them breathed a sigh of relief, for two assassins—blades in hand—were advancing upon them, step by deliberate step.

Maya took a half-step back, using one hand to press Xiao Yan firmly behind him.

“I’ll hold them off; you head to the control room. Do you know how to operate a terminal?”

Xiao Yan couldn’t see Maya’s expression, but he could tell from the tone of his voice that these two assassins were going to be anything but easy to handle.

“Lieutenant Colonel... are you looking down on the Reserve Technical Corps?”

Maya gave a soft chuckle. “These two are trouble.”

“How much trouble?”

Although there were two of them, the enemy didn’t charge immediately; instead, they approached slowly and cautiously. It seemed that, in their eyes, Maya was not an opponent to be taken lightly either.

“These two bastards once killed my instructor.”

“...”

Leaving aside the fact that Maya was already a Lieutenant Colonel—and Xiao Yan had certainly witnessed his combat prowess firsthand—anyone capable of serving as his instructor must have been a top-tier expert within the Special Operations Forces. Yet, even *he* had fallen at the hands of these two assassins. Which meant...

“But I’m confident I can ensure you make it to the control room safely. You just have to agree to two conditions.” As the enemy closed in, Maya—still shielding Xiao Yan—began to retreat. “What are your orders?”

“First: you must convey our situation to Base 2.”

“Understood, Commodore.”

“Second: no matter what happens, lock down the control room door. Unless your rescuers arrive, you are absolutely not to open it.”

This command filled Xiao Yan with a profound sense of foreboding.

“Do you understand, or do you not?” Maya’s grip tightened on the twin blades in her hands; her nerves were taut, poised like an arrow on a drawn bowstring.

“Understood, Commodore!”

“Good!”

No sooner had the words left her lips than Maya suddenly unleashed her “Silver Wings,” striking out at her opponents. The two assassins dodged with such speed that they seemed mere phantoms; in the blink of an eye, they reappeared directly in front of Maya.

Maya thrust her twin blades outward to force them apart, roaring: “Go!”

Drawing upon a surge of courage from who-knew-where, Xiao Yan ducked his head and bolted beneath Maya’s arm. He felt the blade of one assassin whiz past just above his head—and at the very instant it was about to graze the back of his skull, it was deflected upward by the edge of Maya’s weapon, shearing away a few strands of Xiao Yan’s hair in the process.