The scene in the open space looked filled with strangeness and madness, with more people constantly joining t he circle, chanting and spinning. At this point, throwing a few grenades could kill half of them.
“Don’t they hide?” Qiu Shi asked.
“If the lightning doesn’t kill them, then they’ve been favored,” the old man replied.
“Are they insane?” Qiu Shi couldn’t understand.
“They still need to replenish their ‘energy,’” the old man said. “The lightning in the ‘jungle’ carries some fungal spores, which can help them maintain the number of fungi in their bodies. They believe this stuff can help them withstand the harsh living conditions.”
“How did they connect that?” Qiu Shi was stunned.
“Fungi can survive in any environment; they hope they can too,” the old man shook his head and sighed.
“Crazy,” Qiu Shi turned to push his wheelchair. “I’ll take you away now; let’s go to the supermarket first.”
“No,” the old man stopped him. “They’ll get suspicious. These people are crazy; after the ‘jungle’ is over, they’ll have a carnival. At that time, we can take advantage of the chaos to get me out.”
“Fine then.” Qiu Shi frowned and closed the window.
“You all go back to the supermarket,” the old man said. “If we stay too long, they’ll also get suspicious; I don’t meet with them for too long normally.”
“Afraid of being exposed?” Qiu Shi asked.
“My skills are limited,” the old man replied, “using them too much will eventually reveal flaws.”
When they returned to the supermarket, the team had already secured the doors and windows.
There was no electromagnetic protective wall in Yun City, so they could only do their best to create barriers.
What they faced was not only dense and powerful lightning but also infected individuals. Each time the lightning struck, infected people would appear, and the fungal spores in the air would quickly infect anyone who came into contact with them.
In Qiu Shi’s view, some of the infected had come over with the “jungle.” They seemed to follow the fungi, moving forward until they were stopped by Dahei Mountain, finally halting outside Yun City.
Now, with over a hundred crazed fungal devotees added into the mix, he wasn’t sure what would happen that night, but he was certain they wouldn’t be able to rest.
“San Fan is over there by himself. Can you handle it if anything happens?” Qiu Shi stood by the south window on the second floor, looking at the snow that was being continuously whipped up by the gale in the darkness ahead.
The silver snow outlined every trace of the wind, like a group of dancers in white long skirts leaping through the air.
“I’m only controlling Xiao Zuo and Xiao You right now; San Fan can manage by herself,” Xing Bi said. “I’ll only directly control her if needed.”
“So you’re saying you’re currently linked to her but not interfering with her actions or judgment, right?” Qiu Shi looked at Xing Bi.
“Yes,” Xing Bi replied. “I trust she won’t make a mistake.”
“Are there bioroids you don’t trust?” Qiu Shi asked.
“There are,” Xing Bi said. “The closer they get to humans, the more variable they become.”
“The black-blooded people have run out into the street.” Zhao Yi’s voice came through the earpiece.
“The prayers are quite lively.” Qiu Shi saw people starting to run back and forth in the streets. “Secure the doors and windows, and do not have any contact with them.”
“Got it,” Zhao Yi replied.
Aside from that, he didn’t know what else they needed to do under such circumstances.
“This is my first time withstanding the ‘jungle’ outside the protective wall of Yun City,” Qiu Shi said.
“You won’t be affected; just avoid the lightning,” Xing Bi said.
“But my team will be affected,” Qiu Shi replied.
“Qiu Shi.” Xing Bi glanced at him.
“Hmm?” Qiu Shi looked at him.
“If something serious happens, you can’t guarantee the safety of every team member,” Xing Bi said. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Qiu Shi turned to look out the window. “How could I not understand? Save myself first; I’ve always told my brothers the same thing.”
“But you can’t do that,” Xing Bi said.
“These team members…” Qiu Shi said softly, then confirmed that the call was off before continuing, “They’re not my brothers. I’ll do my best, but I’m not kind or great to the extent you’re worried about. Throughout my life, I’ve seen countless people die in front of me. If I were to save everyone, I’d probably have become an immortal by now.”
Xing Bi laughed: “I thought you would say you’re already dead.”
“I’m this great; I must become an immortal. Just dying wouldn’t cut it,” Qiu Shi said.
A few minutes later, the wind whipped up snow and sand, pounding against the windows, along with various dry grasses and mud wrapped in the wind. The glass made a clattering sound in the wind, creating a suffocating feeling as if a thousand troops were trampling overhead.
Qiu Shi opened the map and left a message for Li Feng, informing him of the precise time the “jungle” would reach Xima Town. Then he went downstairs with Xing Bi.
On the first floor, aside from Xiao Zuo and Xiao You, everyone else looked grave. These individuals were also encountering the “jungle” outside of Yun City for the first time; in fact, they were less prepared than Qiu Shi, as they were in a safer area within the inner city.
“Captain,” Cao Shu came over. “Do you have a cigarette?”
Qiu Shi took a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him. “It’s fine; it’ll be over soon.”
“It’s mainly this noise,” Cao Shu said. “Hearing the clatter is unsettling.”
“If it really comes to a fight, with gunfire and cannons, wouldn’t you go crazy?” Qiu Shi said.
“Not the same,” Lu Yu said, “this kind of sound comes from nature, making one feel powerless to resist.”
“Wrote a poem too.” Qiu Shi turned around the supermarket and checked again.
The map was silent, with only a few bright spots visible in the supermarket and the old man and Sang Fan’s highlights in the nearby tower.
Outside, the crazed black-blooded people were still running in the wind. Qiu Shi thought of what the old man said about his parents—under their leadership, those immune humans must have acted like these people now, driven to various mad actions by a word or hint from them.
When the first blue lightning appeared in the sky, Qiu Shi heard the cheers around him amid the howling wind.
“It’s here,” Zhao Yi said.
“Have you replenished the inhibitors?” Qiu Shi asked.
“Replenished,” Zhao Yi replied.
As soon as he finished speaking, the second lightning struck.
Looking out from the southern window, he could see dark blue light flashing in the distant sky, with bolts of lightning reaching down towards the ground. Occasionally, when they struck the ground, they would explode into a small burst of yellow light.
If one didn’t consider the death brought by a “jungle” to the passing creatures, this scene was quite beautiful, with blue chain lightning and silver snow mist dancing around them.
Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi, who was standing nearby. The black lines extended from his neck to his jaw and behind his ears.
“Can you feel anything?” Qiu Shi asked, knowing that Xing Bi was sensing whether there were any symbionts or infected outside—these were the most deadly things in the chaos caused by nature.
“Feeling nothing,” Xing Bi said, “nothing at all.”
From his tone, it seemed that not feeling anything didn’t ease his tension.
“Isn’t it good that there’s nothing?” Qiu Shi said.
“There shouldn’t be nothing,” Xing Bi said, “that’s strange.”
“Stay alert,” Qiu Shi said over the team channel, “there might be a situation.”
Everyone inside the room immediately moved. Zhao Yi, being the captain, quickly assigned personnel to guard the front and back doors and windows, setting up cannons.
Qiu Shi focused on the map. Aside from the black-blooded people and the previous level of the first nest’s symbiont source, he could still see other living beings on the map.
The lightning slowly began to push into the area above Xima Town. The positions of the turret and the supermarket were in the center of the town, while the southern part was already covered by lightning. Many of the crazed people were running from the south into the town, kneeling in front of the turret in a small square, preparing to welcome the lightning’s selection.
When a blue bolt struck a dead tree behind the supermarket, Qiu Shi noticed several bright spots appearing at the southernmost part of the map.
“Something’s there,” he focused on those bright spots, “infecteds.”
Infected were actually not frightening, especially with good weapons—after all, they were merely human bodies, weak in strength and poor in defense.
But as the bright spots continued to appear from the southern part of the map, Qiu Shi’s heart sank.
“A lot,” Xing Bi said.
“Yeah,” Qiu Shi roughly estimated that within this short time, there were already twenty to thirty bright spots and they showed no sign of stopping, continuously entering the map range.
“I’ll go take a look,” Xing Bi said.
“Wait,” Qiu Shi grabbed his arm, “wait.”
“Clearing these infected poses no danger to me,” Xing Bi looked at him, “it’s when they all rush over that it becomes a big problem.”
“Immediately return if you detect any symbionts or bioroids,” Qiu Shi said.
“Understood,” Xing Bi turned and walked towards the door, “partner.”
Qiu Shi smiled.
In the brief moment when the door opened and closed, they could hear the suddenly intensified roar of the wind, along with the screams of the Black Blood believers wrapped in the wind. The chaotic world strongly impacted everyone inside the room in that instant.
“Is he going alone?” Lu Yu asked, “Doesn’t he need to take two people?”
“Let him experience the power of the biological entities,” Zhao Yi said.
Qiu Shi said nothing; his attention was fully on the constantly appearing bright spots, arranged in a line moving from south to north, following the movement of the “jungle.”
Their target shouldn’t be Xima Town; they were merely passing through.
However, the people in the town could not avoid them. Once they entered the town, there would inevitably be a slaughter. Xing Bi could clear away some of them, at least alleviating their pressure.
But no one could judge how many infected were in this storm.
Whether they were simple infected or ones controlled by symbionts behind the scenes was still impossible to know.
He focused on the map and contacted Li Feng.
“What’s up?” Li Feng’s voice almost instantly came through the headset.
“Many infected. I can’t assess their numbers right now, but the map shows nearly a hundred of them,” Qiu Shi whispered as he moved to the corner of the supermarket. “They keep increasing; they’re moving north with the ‘lightning’ and will ultimately reach outside Yun City.”
“Zhu Yuan and Shi Di haven’t reported anything like this,” Li Feng said. “Can you handle it?”
“Zhu Yuan and Shi Di aren’t on a direct line to Yun City,” Qiu Shi said. “They should be taking the shortest route… So that means someone is controlling them.”
“I’ll have Team Three head over immediately,” Li Feng said. “Keep the captain channel open.”
“Don’t, it’s too dangerous,” Qiu Shi said. “The lightning is everywhere; they could get struck two hundred times on the way here.”
“Drive, the vehicle has protection,” Li Feng said. “They haven’t entered the building in Zhu Yuan; they’re already in the vehicle.”
“Mm,” Qiu Shi agreed, as Zhu Yuan was filled with wooden houses and stone duplexes; it was indeed safer to hide in the vehicle than inside a house. “Is the captain of Team Three Lin Cheng’s partner?”
“Yes,” Li Feng said, “his name is Liu Wu.”
“Good,” Qiu Shi responded.
“Qiu Shi, if anything happens,” Li Feng said quietly, “protect Xing Bi and yourself, abandon the team members.”
“…I understand,” Qiu Shi said.
Xing Bi’s bright spot moved quickly and encountered the infected. He rushed into a group where the infected were most concentrated, and then saw those bright spots disappear in an instant.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi said.
“Here,” Xing Bi replied.
“They are being controlled by someone,” Qiu Shi said. “There are no infected people in Zhu Yuan and Shi Di; they are heading straight for Yun City.”
“Received,” Xing Bi said.
“Don’t cut off the call,” Qiu Shi said. “I want to hear your voice at all times.”
“One,” Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi was taken aback and didn’t respond right away. Xing Bi’s small light on the map was moving quickly, with a bunch of infected following behind.
“Three,” Xing Bi said.
Xing Bi’s small light turned back, and several of the infected behind him disappeared at the same time.
“Five,” Xing Bi continued.
“Your ancestors,” Qiu Shi laughed.
Xing Bi was clearing them out quickly. The infected were moving in a line, and he attracted as many of them as possible, but the line of infected was very long, and they had already started appearing on the streets near the center of the town.
Before Qiu Shi could speak, the turret where Sang Fan was located moved. He directly climbed down from the third-floor window and began to clear the infected approaching the area.
At the same time, lightning covered the center of the town.
Qiu Shi ran to another window and saw Sang Fan quickly clearing out the first wave of infected amidst the flashes of lightning.
“Clear out anything within range,” he instructed his team. “Aside from Sang Fan, just let any indistinguishable targets be hit.”
It seemed the old man had also received news, as the frenzied black-blooded believers drew their knives and began to charge at the infected.
“Qiu Shi,” Xing Bi began to return, “there are more than expected; this should be an attack on Yun City, and we just happened to be in the way.”
The infected on the map had become impossible to distinguish; they were all around, and more lights were continually entering the area from the south.
Beyond the map’s range, who knows how many more there were?
“Use artillery,” Qiu Shi said as he ran towards the door. He was preparing to go to the underground garage to get the car and pick up the old man and the team for a retreat.
“Li Feng.” He also connected with Li Feng.
“What’s going on?” Li Feng asked.
Zhao Yi fired a shot at a group of infected outside, and a window shattered with a loud crash.
It didn’t matter anymore; once the infected came, they would charge inside, and the glass would break eventually.
Xiao Zuo and Xiao You also charged out of the supermarket, diving into the crowd of infected.
“Too many,” Qiu Shi shouted as he opened the supermarket door, aiming at the shadows coming toward him and unloading a round of bullets. “I’m taking people out; sending Team Three over is useless.”
“Reinforcements have already set out to Xi Ma Town,” Li Feng said. “If you retreat along the same path, you might run into them.”
“Got it,” Qiu Shi said.
“If it’s being controlled by someone,” Li Feng said, “it might not be easy to retreat. Team Three will support you and head towards Zhu Yuan first.”
Qiu Shi thought for two seconds: “Okay.”
“Captain!” Long Hao shouted. “Where to?”
“I’m going to get the car,” Qiu Shi said. “When the car arrives, you all get in.”
“It’s dangerous outside!” Zhao Yi yelled back. “Don’t go alone.”
Qiu Shi leaned against the door to take a look outside. It was less than twenty meters to the entrance of the underground garage, and above was the second-floor corridor, which could barely block the lightning.
“It should be fine,” Qiu Shi said. “You all clear the area at the door and prepare to get in the car.”
Without waiting for them to reply, he dashed out of the supermarket.
As soon as he came out, several infected, having just killed two black-blooded believers, spotted him and rushed over.
Qiu Shi didn’t give them a chance to get close; he opened fire in a sweeping motion.
The wind outside was very strong; if it weren’t for the buildings blocking it, Qiu Shi felt he could barely keep his footing.
The map showed there were only four infected around him now, none too close. He sprinted towards the entrance of the underground garage.
Just a couple of steps in, two figures not shown on the map burst out of a nearby store, likely driven mad by the overwhelming infected. The one in front swung a knife at Qiu Shi.
Qiu Shi quickly bent down to dodge the slash, nearly losing his balance.
“Damn your ancestors,” he cursed as he drew the knife from his leg before the second slash came, swiftly slicing the person’s throat.
The man clutched his neck and turned halfway around, spraying black blood all over the face of the person behind him.
The latter screamed and ran back into the store.
These lunatics were about to go truly insane; they were devoutly praying to the Fungal God in the lightning, only for the Fungal God to send them hundreds of infected who killed on sight.
What a feeling it must be to experience this dual death, both psychologically and physically.
“Xing Bi,” Qiu Shi entered the underground garage passage. The map showed many infected here, but they appeared to be on the first and second floors. “I’m about to enter the garage.”
“By yourself?” Xing Bi asked.
His small light on the map began moving toward the garage simultaneously, but he still had some distance to cover. It was clear he was surrounded by the infected.
“Yes, you don’t need to come over,” Qiu Shi whispered, slowly making his way toward the garage. “It’s safe down here; you go get the old man out. I’ll drive the car to the supermarket and pick everyone up, then head to the turret.”
“Get in the car quickly,” Xing Bi said. “The main body has entered the town.”
Qiu Shi suddenly paused: “What? Where?”
“I don’t know,” Xing Bi said. “I can sense him; he can definitely sense me too. Don’t go alone; get in the car and head back to the supermarket. I’ll be there soon.”
Qiu Shi didn’t hesitate and rushed into the garage. Their car was parked right at the entrance.
As soon as he sat inside, he saw a bright spot on the map moving quickly from west to east along the street toward him. This light was clearly different from the infected; it was a symbiont.
Following this bright spot was a group of infected, moving just as swiftly.
“They’re coming, right behind me.” Qiu Shi started the car, pressed down on the accelerator, and the tires screeched against the pavement as he turned and rushed out of the garage.
The infected in the first-floor store poured out.
This scene, which he had witnessed before, repeated itself. Infected lunged at the car, while others on the second floor jumped onto the roof.
“Damn your ancestors.” Qiu Shi slammed the accelerator to the floor and charged forward, then stomped on the brakes.
The car came to a sudden stop, shaking off several infected from the roof, and as the car swerved sideways, it crushed a few more. Qiu Shi felt the vehicle shudder several times.
The symbiont behind him had already caught up.
When the bright spot on the map overlapped with his own, Qiu Shi heard someone land on the roof of the car, and with a loud “thud,” the entire vehicle shook.
Qiu Shi turned the steering wheel to straighten the car and charged at a group of infected ahead.
The person on the roof jumped to the front of the car.
A punch shattered the glass in front of Qiu Shi.
As soon as the symbiont jumped onto the front of the car, Qiu Shi had already raised his gun and fired at him as he broke the glass.
A volley of bullets pierced the air amidst the splintered glass shards and struck into the symbiont’s chest.
Unfortunately, his neck was blocked by the car roof, so the shots didn’t hit.
Qiu Shi knew he had no chance left.
The combat capability of this symbiont was not inferior to Xing Bi’s, and he wouldn’t wait for Xing Bi to arrive.
“I’m sorry,” Qiu Shi said.
The symbiont’s hand tightened around his neck, and in an instant, Qiu Shi felt his vision starting to darken.
Then he was yanked out of the car and thrown onto the ground behind it, his consciousness fading.
It wasn’t until a group of infected people pressed him down that he slowly began to come back to his senses.
These infected who had come with the symbiont were not ordinary; they were even wearing something akin to armor. As Qiu Shi struggled amidst the chaos, he kicked one, producing a metallic clang.
The symbiont approached, standing in front of Qiu Shi, and roared, “Xing Bi—Is that you?”
The infected holding Qiu Shi down simultaneously raised their hands, each holding a knife.
“Xing Bi, don’t listen to him,” Qiu Shi gritted his teeth.
Xing Bi didn’t respond.
But amidst the chaos, Qiu Shi saw him.
Xing Bi jumped onto the car roof, and a flash of lightning streaked past him, illuminating his side profile with dark blue light.
His eyes, looking at Qiu Shi, were filled with anger.
“Let him go.” Xing Bi’s voice was somewhat hoarse, but filled with murderous intent.
“It seems you don’t recognize me,” the symbiont said. “How could I possibly…”
Before he could finish, the knives raised by the infected all came down together, plunging into Qiu Shi’s body.
“Let him go?”
In that instant, there was no pain.
Qiu Shi could clearly feel the position and depth of each knife piercing him.
Damn your ancestors.
I’ll dig your ancestors out and throw them into the corpse pit to become fertilizer.
In his daze, Qiu Shi heard the sounds of furious roars.
It was Xiao Zuo, Xiao You, and Sang Fan’s voices.
Anger, pain, and murderous intent filled the air.
This was also the roar within Xing Bi’s heart.
Qiu Shi’s vision blurred. He wondered if his eyes were going fuzzy; when he felt blood gushing from his wounds, he noticed that all the infected around him had frozen.
The hundreds of infected flooding into Xima Town, after the roar, seemed to have hit a pause button.
Lightning continued to strike down, and in the dark blue light, the frozen infected appeared as ghostly figures.
Only the bewildered black-blooded believers were still moving around.
Xing Bi slowly squatted down on the car roof, as if to get a better look at the symbiont in front of him.
An invisible killing intent began to spread, amidst the cold wind, amidst the lightning strikes, amidst the swirling snowflakes.
At that moment, the frozen infected slowly turned, aligning their gazes with Xing Bi’s, and looked over.
Qiu Shi felt his hands and feet starting to grow cold.
His partner Xing Bi had vanished.
“Long time no see,” Xing Bi said.
__
Author’s Note:
Our Brother Shi, with all these injuries, never had a good time.
