Chapter 110: The Great Terror

"Move ahead and take a look." Ye Bai signaled for the other two to keep their movements quiet, so as not to alert the 'people' who had suddenly appeared inside.

Ye Bai and his companions had entered through the guard station entrance. No one had passed them during that time; in other words, the people inside had appeared out of thin air.

As the three approached, they saw about a hundred people. Their gazes were vacant, their complexions a sickly grey-blue. Although they were pacing back and forth along the station's streets, their movements were noticeably stiff—it was less like walking and more like they were executing some sort of command.

"They aren't living people."

Yao Ling’s voice came from behind. The smart device indicated that they were the only three living beings in the vicinity; no other life forms were detected.

"What do you think?" Ye Bai wanted to hear Cao Xiaoseng’s opinion.

Cao Xiaoseng watched the 'people' wandering aimlessly. They showed no aggression toward one another, simply pacing back and forth, occasionally pausing at stalls to pick up items, staring at them for a moment, and then continuing their mechanical movements. Hesitant to draw a hasty conclusion, Cao Xiaoseng said, "I can't say for sure, but looking at their behavior, don't you feel like they are still alive, or that they themselves believe they are still alive?"

"Ah!"

Yao Ling suddenly cried out in surprise. "Are you saying their consciousnesses are dead, but their bodies are still performing the actions they did while alive? I read about this kind of thing in my family’s archives. It happened in the civilization before the Dark Era. A student at a school died, and for a week, no one noticed. He would get up, study, and go to sleep with his roommates every single morning for that entire week. No one suspected a thing until his roommate smelled a foul stench in the dorm room at night, only then discovering he had been dead for over a week."

"You mean they have no consciousness, and are just walking the streets due to muscle memory?"

Ye Bai also found it hard to believe. Could a person still function after death? Relying purely on muscle memory?

Yao Ling watched the dead walking like zombies. "That could be part of it, but don't forget there is a mutant beast here capable of controlling all these corpses. No one can say for sure what the situation is now. Should we go over and take a look?"

Yao Ling had a natural talent for medicine. Most of what she had learned in her family was theoretical, and it wasn't until she entered Purple Star Academy that she began to practice. Facing such a rare 'case study,' her fear was gradually overcome by professional curiosity.

"We can go, but be prepared for a fight. We don't know if approaching will break the peace and turn these things aggressive."

The entire guard station had only this one passage. If Ye Bai and his team didn't cross the street, they couldn't proceed. Yet, weaving through the dead felt eerie—more oppressive than the pressure he felt in the radiation zone.

Yao Ling gestured with her pulse gun to Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng to show she was ready, while the two men were already prepared for combat.

As the three approached the walking dead, a stench hit them, strong enough to make them faint.

Each time a corpse passed Ye Bai, the sound of rubbing joints and bones echoed with every step. The sounds were quiet individually, but with so many corpses, the air was filled with a dull, grating noise that set one’s teeth on edge.

The three weaved through the gaps between the corpses. The dead seemed not to see them, continuing their aimless tasks.

"They don't seem to have any perception," Yao Ling whispered, protected between Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng, observing every move the corpses made.

Ye Bai tensed up, fearing the sound of her voice might trigger a riot, but seeing no reaction from the surrounding corpses, he relaxed.

"Could it be that they are truly brain-dead, and their bodies are simply repeating daily habits, pacing the streets of the guard station every night?"

Yao Ling watched the corpses passing by. Their pupils were completely dilated. Having been dead for less than a week, the hot weather had caused large patches of lividity to bloom on their exposed skin.

Suddenly, Yao Ling felt the urge to capture one to study it, to see if it was the work of a mutant beast or a post-mortem muscular reflex.

"Could you catch one for me? I need to take a look; we might find a clue."

She whispered this between the two men. After all, they had already learned their lesson in the radiation zone: killing one variant had triggered a frenzy among all the nearby creatures. If that happened again, it would be the second time they’d fallen for the same trap.

"Are you sure?" Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng had considered the same thing, but held back out of caution. If they were surrounded here, there would be no way out.

Ye Bai noticed a corpse appearing and disappearing in the window of a shop nearby.

"Let’s check that building. We’ll see if we can catch one for you," Ye Bai said, pointing to the house where only one corpse was visible.

He carefully avoided the corpses on the street, trying to keep a distance of about a meter. By now, they were all covered in the stench of rotting flesh.

Cao Xiaoseng stood behind, cautiously observing. Just as Ye Bai reached for the shop door, Cao Xiaoseng’s expression changed. "Something's wrong. Get inside, fast!"

Before Ye Bai could even open the door, Cao Xiaoseng shoved Yao Ling and slammed into Ye Bai, knocking the door open.

As they stumbled inside, Ye Bai felt a rush of foul air, and something wet slapped against his face.

"The corpse has mutated! Get in there and finish it off!" Cao Xiaoseng shouted from outside.

Due to his momentum, Ye Bai swung his Jinghong blade straight forward. Before he could channel his elemental energy, he fell forward.

Mid-fall, Ye Bai felt the blade strike something. He used the impact to regain his balance, finally seeing the situation inside the shop.

Yao Ling rolled to the side and stood up. She ignited her Jinghong blade with fire elemental energy, but before she could strike, a loud 'boom' echoed as Cao Xiaoseng was thrown into the room from outside, slamming into the wall.

"Xiaoseng!" Ye Bai called out while lunging at the corpse with his blade.

The corpse was different from the others. Its entire head had burst open, and plant-like tentacles were sprouting from its neck, with a dark red, serrated maw in the center.

*Clang.*

The blade struck the flailing tentacles, emitting a sizzling sound and a smell of scorched flesh mixed with the rot.

One tentacle was severed, but others lashed out in response, striking the blade so hard that Ye Bai felt a sharp pain in his wrist.

*Such strength!* Ye Bai finally understood why Cao Xiaoseng had been thrown inside. If it had been anyone else, the wall might have collapsed entirely. He knew Cao Xiaoseng’s skill in deflecting force.

Ye Bai twisted his wrist, feeling the monster's strength, which was not inferior to his own, and began to take it seriously.

"Be careful, the corpse is incredibly strong," Cao Xiaoseng warned, catching his breath.

The corpses outside weren't idle either; they were slamming their tentacles against the shop walls. Surprisingly, none of them were breaking through.

Feeling the vibrations from the constant bombardment, Ye Bai stared at the creature. The fire energy on his blade flickered, darkening from orange to a deep, near-black red. He knew the creature’s power was on par with his, and he didn't know how long the walls would hold.

"Fire Lotus!" he roared. The twice-compressed fire energy erupted from the blade like a blooming red lotus. Under his control, the dark red flames fused into the corpse's body.

The creature seemed to have no other means of attack besides its brute strength. As it rushed toward Ye Bai, its body began to wither.

Compressed to the limit, the 'Fire Lotus' exploded from the inside out. Before it could reach Ye Bai, everything inside the corpse was incinerated, followed by its outer skin, until it collapsed into a pile of black ash.

"What's that?" Yao Ling’s sharp eyes caught a green, glowing object appearing within the ashes.

Before she could move, the wall Cao Xiaoseng had been thrown against rippled, and emerald vines shot out, absorbing the green object.

*BOOM.*

Cao Xiaoseng, having gathered his strength, suddenly exploded into action. The finger guards on his hands extended to his wrists, glowing with yellow light. His ten fingers, slightly curved, struck like arrows, shimmering with cold intent.

With a single strike, Cao Xiaoseng shattered the wall where the vines had emerged.

"Move!" Ye Bai and Cao Xiaoseng shouted to Yao Ling at the same time.

The wall Cao Xiaoseng destroyed was a main support for the shop. As it collapsed, the entire structure began to crack, and the corpses outside seized the chance to smash through the remaining walls and rush in.

The three took less than a second to leap out of the window. A moment later, the shop collapsed with a roar, burying the invading corpses under the rubble.

They scrambled into a taller building to hide from the frenzied dead.

"How was it?" Ye Bai asked Cao Xiaoseng. Given his reaction, he might have found something.

"Nothing. It felt just like a wall. No sense of a mutant beast, and the smart device didn't register anything."

Cao Xiaoseng held up his finger guards, which were still stained with the debris of the wall.

"How can that be?"

Ye Bai looked at the pristine white wall across the way, utterly bewildered.