Chapter 127: Remains in the Grass

Gecko turned the car around, aiming the headlights toward the source of the bloody smell.

Then, with a grim expression, he and Lu Xin got out of the car and peered in the direction illuminated by the headlights.

The weather was gloomy, the Red Moon playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds.

It had just rained and the damp air made the fresh scent of blood even thicker.

Darkness enveloped everything. The car’s headlights cut through the haze, revealing the wasteland beside the road. As the blinding beams swept across, the tall grass rustled violently, suggesting several creatures within turned their heads fiercely.

“Probably wild dogs or something…”

Gecko raised his hand and fired a shot into the tall grass.

Rustle! The distant grass shook violently, as if wild beasts were scattering inside.

After a moment the commotion inside ceased, replaced by an eerie silence.

But they could feel numerous eyes watching them warily and fiercely from behind the grass.

“Be careful, anything can happen in the wasteland…”

Gecko muttered, then together with Lu Xin, they slowly pushed aside the tall grass and walked deeper in.

The closer they got, the stronger the stench of blood became. Gecko wrinkled his brow instinctively.

He glanced sideways at Lu Xin, noticing his expression remained as calm as ever.

There was no curiosity about the strange bloody smell on his face, nor any fear of the nearly head-high grass…

Just completely unfazed.

…

…

“Who’s the rookie here, really…”

Gecko grumbled inwardly.

Pushing aside the grass, they reached the source of the bloody smell, all while feeling the intense stares of wild dogs hidden deep within the surrounding vegetation.

At first glance they saw messy piles of reddish flesh and organs scattered amidst the grass.

It looked like a jumbled mess bearing teeth marks – apparently half-eaten by wild beasts.

…

…

“It’s organs…”

Gecko’s scalp tightened slightly after a look and he spoke in a low voice.

Lu Xin nodded, then examined them closely. “They look human. More than one.”

“How could you tell they were human at a glance?”

The question arose in Gecko’s mind, but he held back from asking.

He just scanned the surroundings confirming there were no other creatures besides wild dogs and cats and asked puzzledly, “Why would human organs be dumped here? There aren’t any other limbs around which means it’s just the organs.”

Suddenly encountering such a scene, it was hard to connect it to their tracking mission.

But Lu Xin believed Mom’s “Found it” meant these organs were definitely related to the people they were tracking.

So he frowned slightly and said, “Isn’t there a Puppet-type ability user in that Knight Order?”

“You mean…”

Gecko immediately understood upon hearing this. He didn’t know how Lu Xin connected the two, but followed the thought, “Puppet-type ability users are known for controlling mentally modified people. So, they were making… modified people?”

Lu Xin nodded, recalling the materials he’d read along the way. “The files from the Research Institute included autopsies of the mentally modified people who attacked the Second Satellite City. They found that all unnecessary organs had been removed leaving only the essential brain and heart. It seems to be a standard procedure.”

Gecko looked at Lu Xin with some surprise. “So…”

Lu Xin said softly, “He lost many mentally modified people in the Second Satellite City and needs replacements.”

“Also…”

He paused. “I think we can report back to the Main City. Our two missing agents have been found.”

As he spoke he picked up a piece of fabric from the ground.

It was a special fabric blended with glass fibers, clearly a product from within a high-wall city.

Many agents in the city wear clothes made of similar fabric.

Gecko fell silent instantly, looking seriously at the patches of bright red on the ground.

Those two agents disappeared suddenly while tracking this Knight Order. Their fate has been unknown until now.

It was reasonable to assume they had likely fallen into the hands of this Knight Order.

The Puppet-type ability user in that Knight Order needed to replenish his numbers of mentally modified people. Living humans aren’t easy to find in the wasteland so the fate of these two agents, having fallen into their hands was predictable.

Gecko’s mood sank. He glanced at the bright red remains on the ground and sighed softly.

He muttered, “How did you figure all this out so quickly?”

Lu Xin replied naturally, “It was all written in the materials they gave us…”

Gecko: “…”

He had skimmed through those materials too but he hadn’t connected them to the scene before him at all.

Of course that might be because he’d been busy driving.

Lu Xin however had been sitting in the passenger seat studying those materials very carefully the whole time.

Feeling somewhat dejected he sighed slightly and hesitated, “So what do we do now…”

“They’re our own people…”

Lu Xin paused for a moment. “Let’s take them back!”

“What?”

Gecko was momentarily stunned looking at Lu Xin strangely. “Isn’t burying them on the spot… better?”

As soon as he said it he realized.

Looking at the sinister gazes from the depths of the surrounding grass he sighed helplessly.

With so many beasts lurking they’d just dig them up even if buried.

And burning them would require gasoline an extreme luxury in the wasteland.

So he could only stare blankly at Lu Xin his face etched with helplessness.

Then Lu Xin turned to look at him too.

You look at me, I look at you…

Gecko couldn’t stand it anymore, his voice trembling slightly, “What is it?”

Lu Xin said, “In our special operations team I believe I’m the captain and you’re the vice-captain?”

Gecko nodded blankly. “Yeah, so?”

Lu Xin pointed at the organs on the ground. “Vice-captain, please collect our agents.”

Gecko finally understood, staring dumbly at Lu Xin.

Lu Xin nodded at him.

Have to say being the captain actually felt pretty good.

Back when dealing with that massive Mental Monster under the South Wall he knew his promotion would definitely be faster than Gecko’s.

But he hadn’t expected it to be this fast…

…

…

Under Squad Leader Lu Xin’s command Vice-captain Gecko finally carried out the order.

Resignedly he went back to the car, took out two special body bags, put on three masks and suppressing his discomfort, scooped the remains of his two “colleagues” into the bags piece by piece. With Squad Leader Lu Xin of their special operations team watching right beside him he didn’t even dare slack off, collecting even the surrounding scraps of flesh before standing up amidst the indignant howls of the wild dogs.

“Ugh…”

After putting the two bags in the trunk he finally couldn’t hold it back and vomited.

Lu Xin kindly poured him a cup of water and waited for him to finish while looking up towards the distance.

Inside the car Mom also quietly watched in that direction.

“That should be the place, right?”

Lu Xin murmured to himself and hearing his words Mom inside the car couldn’t help but smile.

…

…

“Seriously, how on earth did you find these two colleagues…”

After finishing vomiting and washing his hands several times Gecko finally got back in the car collapsing into the driver’s seat. It took him a while to recover. Looking at Lu Xin in the passenger seat who was pensively gazing westward he asked weakly.

“Not only did we find our colleagues but those people shouldn’t be far either.”

Lu Xin said looking southwest. He phrased it as a guess but his tone was very certain.

“Is there some kind of settlement in that direction?”

He said slowly, “They might be there right now…”

“…”

“There…”

Gecko glanced in that direction quickly pulled out the map and after comparing it briefly looked somewhat lost.

“I really… right now…”

“Brother, are you Spider-type or Fortune-teller-type…”

“…”

Following Lu Xin’s gaze Gecko did indeed find a settlement on the map.

On the map it was an area colored red with several clearly marked routes leading into it and a small submachine gun symbol that stood out prominently.

Its name was Blackwater Town.

“Middle of nowhere dead of night and you pinpoint it with one sentence. Isn’t that a bit too…”

Gecko said blankly, “… uncanny?”

Lu Xin gave him a slightly odd look. “Didn’t you notice the sky is faintly red over there?”

“That’s probably just light pollution right? Doesn’t a place with lights mean a settlement?”

“…”

“Uh…”

Gecko’s face flushed as he saw Lu Xin looking at him like he was an idiot.

He quickly changed the subject feigning nonchalance and said seriously, “But if those people are really hiding here it could be troublesome.”

“Look this place is a relatively large wanderer settlement near Qinggang and also one of the biggest black markets around.”

He continued slowly recalling, “During the initial cataclysm this used to be a small town with significant oil reserves which attracted many people. That’s why it’s called Blackwater Town. The oil reserves are probably long gone by now but its reputation has made it a popular place for people to trade goods.”

“If those people are hiding here we’ll have to prepare to deal with the local Knight Order leader.”

“Gotta be careful. The armed forces in this dump might rival our own City Patrol Army.”

“…”

Lu Xin glanced at the map and asked curiously, “This place is only about a day’s journey from Qinggang. Are they really that bold?”

A settlement less than a day’s journey from Qinggang is this powerful?

Hearing this Gecko couldn’t help but chuckle. “See? You don’t get it either…”