Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1632: In a Flash

The car had been stopped for several seconds. In the early morning silence of the underground parking garage at 5:30 a.m., it seemed all the earlier sounds had been captured and frozen in the air.

The sudden roar of the engine when it sped up; the startled gasps and angry shouts as the two people ahead turned around in panic; the sharp screech of tires against the ground when the security guard dove to the side and the car followed him with a swift turn...

And finally, the heavy, muffled thud of the car slamming into a body, still echoing in Xie Feng's ears.

She was the first to open the car door.

Random checkpoints were frequently set up along the roads in Tear City, so there were no weapons in Ah Cheng's car—just some car repair tools to avoid suspicion when passing through. As Xie Feng jumped out of the car, she was already gripping a metal wrench tightly. It wasn't as long as her usual stick, but she liked its weight.

Without anyone needing to shout, the other guys in the car also jumped out. Each of them had already tied a bandana around their necks, ready to pull it up and cover their faces. Xie Feng wasn't as prepared, but with all the blood rushing to her head, worrying about her face was the last thing on her mind.

Her eyes were locked on the driver.

The security guard had been knocked to the ground, and the driver, who had tried to flee in the other direction, stumbled and fell. When he saw several masked people jump out of the car, his face turned pale. "Help! Somebody!" he shouted as he scrambled to his feet, trying to run.

Xie Feng sprinted after him.

She was only of average height for a girl, and her frame was slight, but as she charged toward the 5'9" man, she felt an odd illusion that she was hunting. Just as the man was finding his balance, she raised the wrench high and ruthlessly slammed it into the side of his face. With a metallic clang, a car key dropped from his hand.

Was this man innocent or not? Xie Feng never even thought to ask herself.

She, and so many others like her, had been violently torn from their original paths in life, left with nowhere to stand, nowhere to breathe. Deep down, she instinctively knew—only by sinking her teeth into her enemies, by tearing them apart, could she carve out even the smallest space for herself.

The driver let out a pained cry, and realizing she was a girl, his aggression flared. He swung his arm back, aiming at Xie Feng's face. She quickly dodged, but even as his hand swept past her nose, the wind from his strike stung slightly. The physical strength difference between men and women—it was undeniable.

As this thought crossed her mind, Xie Feng felt a surge of anger.

She took the opportunity to step back two paces, lifted the wrench, and threw it with all her strength. The wrench whistled through the air and struck the driver's temple with a sickening sound, as if the skin had torn open on impact. The driver let out another cry, this time fully realizing the pain, and turned to run again—but by then, Ah Cheng and another boy, Black Dog, had rushed forward and kicked him from behind, sending him sprawling to the ground.

After knocking down the security guard first, everything else went smoothly. It felt like in a blink of an eye, both the driver and the guard were subdued and tied up by the boys. Xie Feng stood where she was, her chest heaving with heavy breaths, a strange sense of confusion washing over her. The targets were down, but the rage—the desire to tear the world apart—still burned inside her, making her eyes red and her head buzz.

She had no idea where her rage was coming from.

A few of them knew there were definitely security cameras in the parking lot, so they didn't waste any time. Quickly, they dragged the two men into the gray car. In a dazed state, Xie Feng found the car key on the ground and pressed it lightly. She heard the sound of a car unlocking nearby—it was a large, heavy black SUV, its windows so dark that no light could pass through.