When Zhao Lü turned his head upon hearing Hu Xiaoling’s “warning,” he profoundly understood the difficulty Qiu Shi had faced for years staying here with these people.
It was incredibly difficult.
They were face to face.
From the attire, Zhao Lü could tell that the shadowy figure, who was so close to Qiu Shi they seemed about to kiss, was the fifth person who should have been lying on the ground.
Just from the state he was in, it was clear he had been corrupted by those unseen things in the lightning.
Zhao Lü’s hand, resting on his waist, touched his gun. There was still time; one shot to the head would be enough…
Qiu Shi slammed his forehead into the shadowy figure’s head.
The shadow’s head jerked back violently, then a dagger in Qiu Shi’s hand flashed with cold light and plunged downward into the shadow’s eye socket.
It took Zhao Lü less than two seconds to draw his gun.
The shadowy figure had already fallen; Qiu Shi’s knee was pressing on his chest, and the dagger had been stabbed into his face seven or eight times.
The shadow didn’t even have time to make a sound before he was completely silent.
“You’re…” Zhao Lü put his gun back and walked over.
Qiu Shi didn’t stop; each stab of the dagger was forceful, and you could hear the sound of bones cracking.
After about ten more stabs, Qiu Shi stopped, grabbed the shadow’s clothes, wiped the dagger and his hand, and slowly stood up.
“Working out?” Zhao Lü finally had a chance to finish his sentence.
“Mission continues.” Qiu Shi stretched his neck and arms, grabbed Zhao Lü’s scarf to wipe the blood off his face, then took a small medicine bottle from his pocket, poured out two pills, and tossed them into his mouth. “It’s safe now; clear all the corpses within 300 meters; search thoroughly.”
“Got it,” Zhao Lü responded.
Qiu Shi tossed the medicine bottle to him: “Two pills.”
“I don’t need it,” Zhao Lü said, “I didn’t come into contact with anything. Let’s save it, it’s not easy to get.”
“Want me to feed you?” Qiu Shi asked.
Zhao Lü immediately took out two pills and swallowed them.
This medicine was a special supply; not everyone in the inner city could get it. It was said to have some protective effect, but that was just hearsay.
Qiu Shi began to check the bodies; all the searched corpses would be gathered and destroyed to maintain the city’s beautiful image.
“Is this medicine hard to produce?” Zhao Lü asked, touching his stomach.
“The more threats you feel, the more protection you need,” Qiu Shi said, “The more scared people are, the more obedient they become.”
Zhao Lü looked at him, unsure if he understood.
The corpses had nothing valuable on them. Qiu Shi clicked his tongue and finally walked over to the mother and daughter.
The girl was protected under her mother. She probably didn’t feel much fear when she died. When Qiu Shi pulled the cloth from her face, he could even see a smile at the corner of her mouth.
“Borther Shi,” Zhao Lü squatted down, rummaging through the mother’s bag, “I’ve always wanted to ask you something.”
“Hmm?” Qiu Shi glanced at him.
“Are you looking for someone?” Zhao Lü asked, “You always check their faces.”
Qiu Shi looked at him without speaking.
“I have decent observational skills,” Zhao Lü said.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” Qiu Shi asked.
“What do you mean?” Zhao Lü was puzzled.
“I don’t even know if the person I’m looking for is a man or a woman, old or young,” Qiu Shi said, “I have to check every face.”
Zhao Lü thought for a moment: “What if you’re looking for a whole family?”
Qiu Shi suddenly laughed happily, even patting Zhao Lü’s shoulder: “Ah…”
Zhao Lü laughed along for a while.
“Where would there be a whole family?” Qiu Shi said.
Zhao Lü paused, his smile freezing.
“Job’s done,” Qiu Shi stood up and kicked Zhao Lü’s butt, “I’ll drive.”
“Let’s relax later,” Zhao Lü said. “Your treat.”
Qiu Shi drove slowly while Zhao Lü walked alongside the car, tossing the corpses onto it one by one.
Outside the city, it was especially quiet now because the “jungle” had just passed. The night sky was pitch black, and no clouds were visible, but if you turned to face the mountain, you could see light.
This mountain was called Yuanshi Mountain, named by the first generation of founders of the company, symbolizing the beginning of everything here. Its earlier name was unknown, but everyone generally called it Dahei (Great Black) Mountain.
Because it was very large and tall, an endless barrier, its rocks were dark greenish-black.
In the pitch-black night, Dahei Mountain soared into the sky, its peaks edged with colorful halos, looking more majestic than in the daytime.
Beyond Dahei Mountain were more mountains, surrounded by vast rivers and dense forests. The dense east-west peaks lined up like blades, and the long, deep valleys beneath the cliffs, with streets and houses built along them, were the destination for the mother and daughter and the refugees who appeared daily: Yun (Cloud) City.
The name Yun City sounded nice—a city in the clouds, a place of refuge—but considering it was named after the company “Yun City Mining,” it seemed somewhat uninteresting.
“It looks quite beautiful from here,” Zhao Lü said, getting into the car and looking at Dahei Mountain, “I never really noticed before.”
“Why did you notice today?” Qiu Shi turned the car around.
“Feeling sentimental, I haven’t seen kids for a while,” Zhao Lü said, “and today I saw a dead one.”
Qiu Shi said nothing.
The place where the bodies were destroyed was a hidden cave outside the city, accessible only by a gravel road built by the company. The car could barely reach the cave entrance, and after a few more rounds of “jungle,” the road would be completely ruined.
“Does Xiao Lei take care of this stuff?” Zhao Lü dragged a body and pushed it into the less than two-square-meter cave entrance. You could hear the body sliding down with the gravel, “If this road isn’t fixed, we’ll have to carry the bodies up ourselves.”
“You try it.” Qiu Shi pushed the mother’s and daughter’s bodies into the cave together.
The sound of gravel hitting and sliding continued for a long time, and it was clear that the bodies never reached the bottom until the sound disappeared, as if the cave led straight to the center of the earth.
–
“Put that thing away.” Lao Deng pointed to the little butterfly fluttering around in the tavern.
“Just gathering some footage,” Zhang Sihai waved, and the little butterfly returned to his shoulder. “Many people have never seen these taverns in the outer city; they find it very…”
Zhang Sihai lowered his voice and said, “Scary.”
“So fragile,” Lao Deng remarked coldly.
“After all…” Zhang Sihai looked at her, recalling the scene of Lao Deng swiftly slashing the shadow’s throat and quickly retreating, “not everyone is like you… Are we just leaving that person there?”
“The corpse collectors will handle it,” Xiao Xia said.
Zhang Sihai didn’t speak further, scanning the tavern.
This tavern was on the edge of the outer city, built against a mountain wall. Half of the space was a stone cave, and the other half was made of wood. It was spacious but crowded. At a glance, most patrons were outer city residents. His clean and tidy appearance made him stand out awkwardly.
However, this tavern was just two streets away from the tunnel, far from the inner city but close to the waterway district. Maybe he could hear some news about the disappearances. After almost losing his life earlier, he didn’t have the courage to venture into the waterway district tonight.
“People from the inner city still dare to come out?” A man at the next table looked at Zhang Sihai. “Aren’t you afraid you won’t make it back and die out here?”
Zhang Sihai glanced at him without speaking. The little butterfly turned sharply, filming the man’s face. Zhang Sihai quickly redirected the butterfly towards himself.
“I heard someone went missing again these past few days.” Lao Deng asked.
“Yes,” the man replied, “there’s definitely more than we know about. Haven’t you noticed all those inner city guards out here?”
“It won’t help even if they all come out. It’s not like before, when a team could solve it in two or three days,” another man said. “Those who should die will still die; those who should disappear will still disappear. This time, it’s not something these guards can solve.”
“Then who can solve it?” Zhang Sihai sensed something and immediately asked.
The man glanced at him. “You inner city people should know best.”
“What?” Zhang Sihai was confused.
“The hidden guards,” the first man said.
Everyone nearby turned their heads at the mention of this name.
Zhang Sihai frowned, “That’s a myth. Yun City doesn’t allow biotic entities to enter or exist…”
The entire tavern fell silent for two seconds before bursting into laughter.
Zhang Sihai felt awkward under their laughter and looked at Lao Deng.
“You believe that? Naive kid,” Lao Deng laughed.
Zhang Sihai didn’t respond.
Just as everyone finished mocking the naive inner city kid and began a heated discussion about the existence of the latent guards, the tavern door opened, and a few tall figures entered, bringing a chill with them.
“Damn, bad luck,” a man with a spiky ponytail cursed when he saw them.
“Corpse collectors,” Lao Deng leaned towards Zhang Sihai and whispered.
The corpse collectors didn’t speak or look around, heading straight to the bar.
As the one in the middle passed by the spiky ponytail man, he grabbed the back of his head and slammed it onto the table.
The motion was so casual it didn’t seem forceful, but the spiky ponytail man couldn’t resist at all. With a loud crash, he lay motionless on the table.
“Don’t get too cocky.” The burly man with a goatee next to the spiky ponytail stood up, slamming the table. “This isn’t a place for you corpse-dealing bastards!”
“Outer city gang, huh?” Hu Xiaoling smiled. “Everyone fears the outer city gang, right?”
“Good that you know,” the goatee man said, crossing his arms and glaring at them. “Settle this.”
Hu Xiaoling glanced at Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi had just taken out a cigarette, and the tavern owner was leaning over to light it.
Hearing this, Qiu Shi glanced at the goatee man, then casually tossed the cigarette into his mouth, turning his head to light it from the offered flame.
“Not here, not here, not here…” The tavern owner quickly reacted, pleading repeatedly, “I just fixed the pillars and the doorposts. If you wreck them again, you might as well take me away with the corpses.”
Qiu Shi clicked his tongue, turned, and walked to the door. As he passed the goatee man, he pointed a finger at his nose and said, “You, come out.”
The blatantly insulting gesture stunned the goatee man for a moment. Then, furious, he threw down his chair and followed him out.
There were only two sounds from outside.
A half-formed cry stuck in the goatee man’s throat, and a thud of something hitting the mountain wall.
Everyone in the tavern stared at the door. Two seconds later, Qiu Shi returned, a cigarette in his mouth.
“Go help him,” he said, walking to the bar, “If he’s not awake in ten minutes, he’s a corpse, and we’ll take him.”
The goatee man’s companions hesitated but then rushed out.
The tavern fell quiet for a moment before the noise slowly resumed, an unexpected interlude for the evening.
“Whose is this?” Zhao Lü frowned and asked.
Qiu Shi turned his head and saw a butterfly-shaped pet beside the bar. When the pet moved away, he grabbed it and shut it down, placing it on the bar.
“Sorry.” A hand reached out to take the pet.
Qiu Shi pushed the pet aside with his finger. He knew whose it was; he had seen the naive inner city fool with the big head sitting in the corner when he came in, thinking himself smart and brave.
“Please give it back,” Li Datou said.
Qiu Shi took the pet, skillfully removed its memory storage in two moves, and then handed the pet back to Li Datou.
“Sorry,” Li Datou was stunned, “I…”
“Get lost,” Qiu Shi said.
“Give it back to me.” Li Datou, true to his self-perceived bravery, persisted.
Just as Qiu Shi was about to slap him back into the corner, a girl stepped in, shoving Li Datou aside and standing in front of Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi had seen this girl twice before. She was one of the “radicals” that the company found troublesome.
“Give it back to him,” the girl said softly. “The parts that filmed you can be deleted.”
Radicals were indeed much smarter than naive guys like Li Datou. Qiu Shi stood up, holding the storage device, and headed to the second floor of the tavern. “I want to check it first.”
“No way…” Li Datou panicked and tried to stop him, but the girl quickly pulled him back.
“Let him check it.” The girl gave Li Datou a stern look.
Li Datou paused and then whispered, “Does he have the equipment? How’s he going to check it?”
“I’ll check it with my damn mind,” Qiu Shi retorted. He then looked at the girl. “If he dares to come up before I come down, I’ll take both of you and that little skinny shrimp with me.”
“Don’t mess with the other content,” the girl instructed calmly, even threatening him, “or you won’t be leaving today.”
Qiu Shi didn’t respond and went upstairs.
“Why does it stink so much?” The foul odor on the second floor made him wrinkle his nose and hold his breath. “Did you lose control of your bladder?”
“My sphincter is strong,” replied an elderly voice. “Close the door.”
Qiu Shi reached back and closed the door.
“I cooked something to eat,” a wrinkled hand extended from the shadows, holding a bowl of black mush. “Want a bite?”
“I’m still five years away from my goal of living to thirty,” Qiu Shi cleared the scattered papers and junk on the floor with his foot, pulled over a small chair, and sat down.
“Don’t poison me to death.”
The old man in the corner laughed and slowly wheeled himself out. It was an old man in a wheelchair, a rare sight at such an age in the outer city. Every time Qiu Shi saw him, he felt a sense of unreality.
“What’s the fun?” the old man asked.
“Copy the contents of this for me,” Qiu Shi handed him Li Datou’s storage device.
“Do I need to delete the parts that filmed you?” The old man had an earpiece; he could hear the commotion downstairs.
“No need,” Qiu Shi said, pulling out his own pet and tossing it into the air. “Retrieve and replay missed calls.”
The pet quickly connected to the call, projecting the person on the other end. Because the room was so cluttered, the person’s face was fragmented in the projection.
“What’s up?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Any abnormalities with the bodies that arrived today?” the fragmented voice asked.
“No,” Qiu Shi replied.
“No infected ones?” the fragmented voice asked again.
“Would that count as an abnormality?” Qiu Shi countered.
“No,” the fragmented voice said, “anything else?”
Qiu Shi thought for a moment. “Actually, there is something.”
“Speak,” the fragmented voice commanded.
“All the stuff my men collected today was taken away,” Qiu Shi said. “Not a single hair is left.”
The fragmented voice didn’t respond.
“When is Captain Xiao leaving?” Qiu Shi asked. “He’s the biggest anomaly in my area. Buzzing around all day, even a cyborg doesn’t have his endurance. If he stays any longer, I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist killing him.”
“He has his job,” the fragmented voice said.
“What is his job?” Qiu Shi asked.
The fragmented voice didn’t respond.
“How much longer will he stay?” Qiu Shi asked again.
The fragmented voice still didn’t respond.
“Can I kill him?” Qiu Shi continued.
“No,” the fragmented voice said. “I need your men to patrol the outer city more frequently.”
“Is the company short on staff?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Qiu Shi, you ask too many questions,” the fragmented voice said.
“Give me some equipment,” Qiu Shi said. “My men aren’t completely unarmed, but they’re barely equipped.”
“Tomorrow afternoon,” the fragmented voice said. “What will you trade for it?”
“A map,” Qiu Shi said, waving his hand to end the call. He leaned back in his chair, silent for a moment, then muttered through gritted teeth, “They’re really damn greedy.”
“Try negotiating with them.” The old man in the wheelchair turned around. “They must be in some trouble.”
“Huh?” Qiu Shi immediately responded, sitting down next to the old man. “What did you capture?”
On the old man’s screen was the video that Li Datou had just filmed. It was dark and blurry, barely showing the outline of people moving. It was the scene of the girl killing the infected person. Her moves were quick and skillful.
“Do I have to go collect bodies?” Qiu Shi asked.
The old man paused the video, zoomed in, and brightened the image.
“There’s another person?” Qiu Shi leaned closer to the screen.
The video continued playing. The figure flashed by so quickly that it seemed like the video skipped frames.
Qiu Shi was a bit shocked.
Does this thing really exist?
