Chapter 271: Apparently, He Wasn’t Bulletproof

Gideon stopped when he saw the state of the chamber.

The floor was covered with dead infected, their white blood spreading across the stone. Good.

The hole in the center was still covered in layers of pale tissue, and thin strands continued to twitch around its edges.

Aaron was sprawled several meters away, his body covered in white growth and his clothes torn from the struggle.

While all the rest of the infected paused to look at him as if he were a rat that should have been exterminated long ago, their faces slowly twisted into snarls.

One by one, they abandoned Aaron’s body and turned toward Gideon.

There were only five of them left.

Gideon looked at the group, then down at Jasper hanging from his left hand. He was still conscious, although barely, and despite the blood covering his face, there was a strange calmness in his expression when he saw the infected turn toward Gideon.

"They will tear you apart," Jasper muttered.

Gideon glanced at him. "You sound hopeful."

"They are part of us. You cannot fight them all."

"Five?" Gideon looked back at the infected and chuckled. "That’s all?"

Jasper’s expression darkened. "You still don’t understand what they are."

"I understand enough."

Gideon did not bother putting Jasper down.

The first one reached him from the front, its mouth opening far wider than a human jaw should allow.

Gideon stepped to the side and swung his sword with his right hand, cutting through its neck in one smooth motion.

The body collapsed at his feet, white fluid splattering across the stone.

Before the second could reach him, Gideon shifted Jasper’s body slightly to keep him out of the way and drove the sword through the infected’s chest.

The blade emerged from its back, and Gideon pulled it free with a sharp movement before kicking the corpse aside.

Jasper immediately started struggling, his hand reaching for Gideon’s wrist in an attempt to pry himself free.

Gideon yanked him upward by the collar, tightening his grip until the fabric dug into his throat.

"Stop moving, or your throat will be next."

Jasper gasped as the pressure around his neck made it difficult to breathe. Gideon pulled his collar hard enough that Jasper’s face began to turn blue, but he did not loosen his grip.

He had no reason to care about Jasper’s discomfort, especially when the remaining three infected were already charging toward them.

Gideon stepped backward as the first infected lunged for his head. He ducked beneath its claws and swung the Unbreakable Sword upward, cutting cleanly through its torso. The body collapsed before it could even turn around.

Another infected immediately came from the opposite direction. Gideon twisted his body to avoid its grasp while keeping a firm hold on Jasper with his left hand. His sword swept across the infected’s throat, severing its head in one clean strike.

The final infected hesitated for half a second.

That was enough.

Gideon finally loosened his grip on Jasper’s collar, allowing him to drag in a desperate breath. Jasper coughed violently, one hand clutching his throat as he struggled to recover.

"Fu-fuck you!"

The last infected suddenly charged.

Gideon sighed. "At least this one has some initiative."

The infected slammed into him.

Gideon shifted his stance, allowing its momentum to carry it past him while he brought the sword down across its back.

The blade tore through the white growth and sank into the body beneath it, dropping the creature heavily onto the stone.

The chamber fell silent.

Five infected lay dead around Gideon.

He looked at the sword in his right hand before glancing at Jasper, who was still hanging from his left.

Jasper’s expression had finally lost its confidence. He stared at the corpses around them, then slowly looked back at Gideon.

"Shit, you really are a monster."

Gideon looked at him as though the statement were completely obvious.

"Really? You’re the one who was willing to let everyone die because of your imaginary Daniel."

Jasper’s jaw clenched.

"Don’t you dare put his name in your mouth! It’s all because of you! Fuck!"

He started struggling again, although this time there was nothing threatening about it. His feet kicked uselessly against the ground while he tried to pull himself free, looking more like a frustrated child than a dangerous man.

Gideon simply watched him for a moment.

Then Jasper’s expression suddenly changed.

A smile spread across his battered face.

"It’s okay. It isn’t over yet. Do you hear me? You’re going to die here. The hive mind already told me what will happen. You won’t escape, and you won’t become one of us."

Gideon stared at him for a moment before rolling his eyes.

"Sure."

He stopped paying attention to Jasper and dragged him along as he approached Aaron, who was still lying on the ground.

Gideon looked down at him.

Aaron was covered in white growth, his breathing uneven, his clothes torn apart from the struggle. The sight made Gideon sigh again.

He had sighed quite a lot today.

"Well, guess I’m a little bit late. Sorry."

Gideon then slashed through the white strands that were still trying to crawl into Aaron’s body, cutting them away before they could burrow any deeper.

Once the immediate threat was dealt with, he opened the system and bought an antiparasitic shot, the same treatment Patrick had said could force the parasite out of the body.

He injected it into Aaron without hesitation.

Nothing particularly interesting happened. For now.

The medicine still needed time to enter the bloodstream and circulate throughout his body before it could reach the parasite.

Gideon could only wait and see whether this medicine will also affect this bad of parasite infestation.

Aaron slowly lifted his head. His face was pale, his breathing ragged, and one eye was red from whatever the parasite had done to it.

He stared at Gideon with an expression somewhere between relief and irritation.

"You really are late," he muttered. "I was beginning to wonder whether you had actually gotten yourself killed somewhere else. But it’s impossible, I’m still, so are you somewhere in this mess."

"You are supposed to be the strongest one, damn it, Gideon. Get rid of all of them and solve this shit!"

Gideon looked at him for a moment before glancing toward the hole. "I was delayed."

"Delayed?!"

"Jasper had an interesting route planned for me. He wanted to lead me deeper into the mine and leave me somewhere the hive mind could finish the job. I thought it would be rude to refuse his invitation."

Aaron let out a weak laugh that immediately turned into a cough. Gideon could tell from his expression that even that small movement hurt.

"That bastard," Aaron muttered. "He did all this because of the hive mind?"

"Mostly because of the person he thinks the hive mind brought back to him."

Gideon looked down at Jasper, who was still glared at him despite everything.

"He was remarkably cooperative once I started asking the right questions."

Jasper lifted his head and glared at Gideon, his breathing still rough from being held by the collar.

"You don’t understand anything. Climber Rift is already over! The hive mind is giving me my brother back, while this world has done nothing but take everything from me!"

Aaron’s expression immediately contorted with rage. Despite the pain and exhaustion still weighing down his body, he forced himself upright and staggered toward Jasper. The moment he reached him, his fist slammed into Jasper’s face.

"The hive mind killed all of my men!" Aaron shouted, his voice cracking with anger.

"And you’re standing here trying to kill Gideon and letting your own teammate die because of an imaginary brother?! You son of a bitch!"

He struck Jasper again and again.

Jasper’s head snapped to the side with every blow, blood quickly spilling from his nose and mouth.

Aaron grabbed him by the clothes and continued punching, all the anger and grief he had been holding back finally spilling out.

Eric was dead. His men were dead. He had nearly been taken by the parasite himself, and now he was looking at the man who had helped cause all of it.

Gideon watched without interfering.

Honestly, Jasper deserved every bit of it.

Aaron landed another punch, harder than the previous ones, and Jasper’s body slumped against the ground.

Gideon finally reached out and caught Aaron’s wrist before the next blow could land.

"That’s enough."

Aaron froze. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he stared down at Jasper, his fist still clenched and his entire body trembling with anger.

Then he slowly lowered his arm.

"More importantly, the hive mind has been spreading beneath the canyon, and the C4 was supposed to open the sealed sections so it could force its way out."

"Once it reached the surface, it could spread beyond the mine and infect everything around the canyon. You knew that and still decided to help it."

Jasper’s expression twisted with anger. "You think destroying the C4 changed anything? It will find another way. You have no idea what it is capable of, and you keep acting like you can solve everything just because you have that sword that appears out of nowhere!"

Gideon glanced at the Unbreakable Sword in his hand. It was new, he bought it again from the system, it’s cheap anyway.

"The sword has been surprisingly useful. But that’s not the only power I have. Anyway—"

BANG!!!

The gunshot echoed through the mine, making Gideon immediately turn toward the source.

His eyes widened when he felt something tear through the left side of his chest. He slowly lowered his gaze and pressed a hand against the wound, his fingers coming away wet with blood as he staggered backward.

"I-I’m sorry, Gi-Gideon! I can’t control my body!"

Aaron’s terrified voice reached him, but Gideon barely had time to process it before his knees gave way.

He dropped to the ground, one hand still pressed against his chest as a sharp pain spread through his body.

Apparently, he wasn’t immune to bullets.

What an irony.