The drone changed course, flying toward the figure.
The image zoomed in rapidly, the silhouette becoming clearer and more distinct.
Long black hair, seemingly cradling something fluffy in his arms.
Amidst the curtain of rain, the figure glanced toward the drone.
The screen instantly went black.
The team member controlling the drone froze, then realized what had happened—the drone had likely been destroyed.
He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and turned to look at his section chief. That was a specialized drone, designed to resist contamination for short periods; it wasn't cheap.
The damage reporting procedure would take half a month, and he might even have to write a self-reflection report when he got back.
But Lin Mou was nowhere to be seen. Only the faint sound of a car engine drifted up from downstairs.
“Chief, where are you going?” Zhao Wu had been keeping an eye on Lin Mou and saw him dash down from the second floor.
By the time Zhao Wu chased after him, Lin Mou had already started the car.
“Continue your work. I have something to take care of,” Lin Mou said, slamming the accelerator to the floor. The wheels skidded for a moment on the wet road before the car surged forward. With a graceful fishtail, the vehicle brushed past the corner of the relay station and vanished into the torrential rain.
Zhao Wu stood stunned at the entrance of the station, rain lashing against his face. He watched the car disappear into the rain toward Forging City, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.
Damn it, working under a boss like this is truly the worst luck imaginable!
Usually, he acts so cold and aloof, but when things get serious, he doesn't take responsibility. He just throws fits and causes nothing but trouble.
Lin Mou gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. The wipers swung across the windshield, but they still couldn't clear the sheets of water fast enough.
He recalled where the figure had appeared—near the old town area in the eastern part of Forging City.
He pulled up the map of Forging City on his phone, zooming in repeatedly to find the fastest route to the old town.
In the final second before the drone feed cut out, he had seen that the person in the video had long hair.
Lin Mou's heart pounded wildly against his ribs. Without realizing it, he had pushed the car to its absolute speed limit.
The scenery on both sides of the road blurred into a streak as he sped backward. Greyish-white ruins emerged from the rain like ghosts before vanishing again.
The silhouette of Forging City expanded ahead of him. The city that had been dead for thirty years now resembled a massive mouth slowly opening, waiting for him to walk right into its trap.
His phone began to ring incessantly, the rapid tones sounding like a death knell.
Lin Mou glanced down at the screen, and only then did he realize how outrageous his behavior must look to others.
Speeding alone into a high-risk contamination zone without any protection—it was pure madness!
“Chief, are you alright?” Zhao Wu's voice came through after he answered the call.
Though Zhao Wu was furious and couldn't help being snarky, Lin Mou was still his direct superior. If Lin Mou died here, the rest of them would definitely be held accountable.
Even if the accountability wasn't severe, there would be endless investigative interviews. It was a waste of time and incredibly annoying.
“Don't worry about me. Do what you need to do. I'll be fine on my end,” Lin Mou said before hanging up. He tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and kept his foot floored, racing toward Forging City.
Following the route on his phone, he crossed broken highways, bypassed collapsed roadbeds, and maneuvered through the ruins.
The rain intensified. The wipers were on their fastest setting, yet they still couldn't clear his path.
Finally, the car entered the old town. The streets suddenly narrowed. Lin Mou found an abandoned house, parked the car, and cut the engine.
...
The rain had fallen all night. By morning, instead of letting up, it became even more torrential.
Early in the morning, Yue Shi arrived in Forging City.
The rain poured down like a waterfall, shrouding the ruined city in a hazy mist.
He didn't use an umbrella; the raindrops automatically slid away about a few centimeters from his body.
The snow leopard jumped from his arms, its four paws stepping onto the wet gravel. The rain likewise failed to dampen its fur.
The current Forging City could no longer maintain the basic form of a city. The once-towering buildings were now nothing more than piles of collapsed concrete skeletons.
The streets were unrecognizable, the pavement shattered into irregular slabs with moss and withered grass growing in the cracks.
In the distance, Yue Shi saw the massive crater—the one he had made when he fell thirty years ago. Its edges were jagged, and the bottom was filled with rainwater.
The city wasn't entirely devoid of life. Flowers and grass poked through the gaps in the ruins, some already waist-high. Occasionally, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and flies scurried about.
These plants and small insects were normal; they hadn't mutated.
Extreme Evil targeted sentient beings; the more intelligent a creature was, the easier it was to be affected.
Plants and lower animals also accumulated contamination in their bodies, but they didn't think and possessed no subjective malice. Thus, they continued to grow and reproduce, eking out an existence on this cursed land.
However, if anyone dared to eat the plants here, they would immediately be affected.
Scattered among the ruins, one could occasionally see humanoid creatures. They looked like zombies, their movements stiff and eerie, twitching from time to time.
These things, neither human nor ghost, were the citizens who had been caught in the disaster thirty years ago.
Their sanity had been completely devoured by malice, turning them into monsters driven solely by instinct. In a sense, they could be considered Yue Shi's scions.
They were the lowest rank of scions, unable to withstand the power of Extreme Evil. Instead, they were dominated by it, falling into madness and destroying everything indiscriminately.
They were failed products, the lowliest existences under Yue Shi's authority.
As he walked past them, the monsters began to move, crawling out from their hiding places and letting out low, sobbing moans.
They instinctively drew closer to Yue Shi, seeking more "blessings." That craving for the power of Extreme Evil was like an addict's dependence on drugs—irresistible and inescapable.
Yue Shi didn't look at them. He simply continued forward at a leisurely pace. The snow leopard followed at his heels, ignoring the monsters and occasionally brushing its tail against Yue Shi's ankle.
The rain grew even heavier.
Not far away, a figure walked straight toward Yue Shi.
It was a real human. His pant legs were soaked and clung to his legs, and his hair was clumped together by the rain.
He moved quickly. He held no weapon in his hands, but his waist was bulging, clearly concealing a gun.
Yue Shi stopped and looked at the approaching figure.
Through the curtain of rain, the face of a middle-aged man who had clearly seen better days emerged.
Yue Shi searched his memories. Thirty years ago, he had seen countless faces in Zhongzhou. Perhaps thirty years was enough to change a face beyond recognition, but he did not remember this one.
However, he could sense the intense malice hidden beneath the man's surface, just like the monsters wandering Forging City. The only difference was that this man's reason still held the upper hand.
Rate on N.U.
