Chapter 399: Forest of the Dead

“Is there anyone I can talk to?”

After finishing his report, Lu Xin walked forward, his voice calm:

“I don’t know who you people are, nor do I know what you’re doing here.”

“But because your actions have affected this wasteland and Qinggang’s people, I now need to completely destroy this place. Don’t fight back, or you’ll all be destroyed.”

His wording was precise. Since he wasn’t sure if these individuals were dead or alive, he used the word “destroyed”.

Inside the factory building, everyone stared at him with cold, gloomy eyes.

A primal madness and hostility began to fester within them, surging towards Lu Xin.

Lu Xin met their gazes and nodded slightly, signaling that he was about to begin his work.

…

“Vroom vroom…”

As Lu Xin entered the factory building, the sound of engines suddenly echoed through the dark wasteland outside.

Beams of headlights cut through the darkness, approaching the edge of the massive pit from three different directions.

From the west came a modified car with large wheels, a high chassis, and a reinforced front. After stopping at the crater’s edge, a driver stepped out and opened the back door.

Seated in the back was an old man with white hair and a weary face. He seemed wary of the biting wind and cold rain outside, pulling his coat tighter around himself.

Approaching from the east was a person on a motorcycle. He wore tactical gear, a beret on his head, and even in this night so dark it seemed to swallow light, a pair of large black sunglasses covered his eyes, his face framed by a thick beard.

Coming from the north was a figure draped in a black cloak, emerging from amidst a crowd of dead people.

She threw back her hood, revealing fiery red hair.

From three directions, they looked towards the factory building deep within the pit.

Behind them, waves of slow-moving dead people surged out from the darkness.

Their pace wasn’t fast, but they advanced relentlessly. It was impossible to tell their numbers; one could only see a sea of bobbing heads in the dark and, illuminated by the surrounding headlights, countless gaunt, deathly pale faces.

It was like a moving forest. The area around the pit became crowded with figures resembling dense shrubbery.

The people inside the factory building were unaware of the commotion outside.

Likewise, those outside didn’t know what was happening inside the factory.

They only heard tremendous explosions suddenly erupt from within the building.

The sound was so immense it made one wonder if a raging bull or some monster had appeared inside, rampaging wildly and causing wanton destruction.

Countless sparks flew from the wiring around the factory, and the surrounding lights flickered erratically.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening noise rang out. Sections of the sheet metal roof above the factory twisted and buckled, ripping open to reveal large holes.

The ground nearby rumbled ominously, like the tremor of an earthquake.

“Whoa…”

Startled by the disturbance inside, someone couldn’t help but ask over the channel, “What kind of monster is this?”

The old man, sitting inside the modified car, having pulled the door shut again against the cold wind outside, spoke softly into the channel, “He went into the factory alone and can cause such a massive disturbance… Especially considering the power within the factory shouldn’t affect him much. Yet, he’s still making such a spectacle. It shows he’s not stingy with his psychic power.”

A woman’s voice chimed in on the channel, “So, does this mean Qinggang really has someone approaching the third step now?”

“Ahem…”

The gray-haired old man coughed lightly. “Don’t underestimate your opponent. It’s better to rate him higher.”

“Surely not?”

Someone laughed on the channel, a man’s voice. “We’re not in Central City, after all.”

“Whether he is or isn’t, we shouldn’t be careless.”

The gray-haired old man paused, catching his breath slightly. “I don’t like things exceeding my control.”

“The sudden Divine Revelation ordering us to execute the Reception Plan was already outside our control. Arriving here to find Qinggang already observing Happy Town was another unexpected event. And now, after the mission started, an Ability User immune to the Death Field appears—this is the third unexpected thing we’ve encountered.”

“…”

“But this person is reckless, rushing headlong into the ambush circle.”

The woman’s voice laughed on the channel, “I’ll take care of him.”

The gray-haired old man fell silent for a moment, then whispered, “I’ll help you take care of him.”

“This…”

The man’s voice sounded on the channel again, “Isn’t that overkill? We still have a lot to do, after all.”

“The Bishop will handle things inside. The Priest will hold back Qinggang.”

The gray-haired old man instructed, “You go coordinate with the Tech Priest and prepare to reset the field.”

“Rose and I will ensure no other complications arise in this wasteland.”

…

…

“Whew, that feels a bit better!”

Lu Xin looked over the factory building, feeling quite satisfied.

He was certain that no one could possibly recognize this place as a factory anymore.

All the machines had been destroyed, and various precision instruments were now just scrap metal.

He had to admit, the more precise the instrument, the greater the sense of satisfaction when destroying it.

“Had enough fun?”

Amidst a shower of sparks from dangling wires, Mom watched Lu Xin, Father, and Sister dismantle the factory with such glee. A hint of exasperated affection touched her voice as she gently shook her head. “Looks like that friend I made recently has run into some trouble. Having her power drained like this must feel something like death by a thousand cuts to her, wouldn’t you say?”

Lu Xin took a deep breath. “Then, as neighbors, shouldn’t we pay her a visit?”

“Indeed…”

Mom glanced happily at Lu Xin. She particularly enjoyed this way he had of speaking with her.

“However…”

Her beautiful eyes flickered slightly. “Before we visit our old friend, what about these friends who’ve come knocking at our door outside?”

Lu Xin also looked up, glancing at the ruined walls of the factory. “Are they all here?”

Mom nodded gently. “There might be others, but at least these ones dared to show up.”

Lu Xin nodded, looking up. Many tangled electrical wires hung down from the factory ceiling.

He turned to glance at his sister. Their understanding was instant. Sister giggled and reached out her little hand.

Grasping his sister’s hand, Lu Xin’s movements became agile and swift. He grabbed a dangling wire and nimbly scrambled up towards the roof, passing through one of the holes torn in the factory ceiling and landing on top.

Cold raindrops splattered onto his face and body. The stark white lights from below pierced the rain curtain, intersecting around him.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the lights, looking directly at the surroundings.

He saw that the edge of the massive pit was now completely surrounded by ranks of dead people.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, numb and stiff, lining the crater’s rim in dead silence. From a distance, it looked as though, in the extremely short time he’d been inside the factory, a dense forest had silently sprung up around the pit.

Mad and chillingly cold.

“Are there any living people over there?”

Lu Xin’s gaze swept across the forest of the dead, settling on one spot before he called out loudly:

“Are you going to surrender?”

“I have to ask, according to the rules…”

“…”

Deep within the forest of the dead, someone seemed to let out a low chuckle.

Then, faintly, amidst the desolate wind and rain of the wasteland, the soft sound of music began to play, like a cheap music box turning. Interspersed within it was a shrill, weeping female voice, slowly echoing among the forest of the dead.

“White souls, rotting flesh; Melancholy hearts, despairing men.”

“Hell looks up for God’s guidance; Climb from the coffin, eternity descends…”

“…”

The music wasn’t loud, but amidst the deathly silence of the crowd, it carried far.

The singing had a modulated, excited tone, with rapid and clear articulation, as if driven by some morbid fanaticism.

Lu Xin couldn’t quite describe it, though he vaguely recalled seeing funeral processions back in Qinggang. The women hired to wail for the dead seemed to use a similar tone, drawing out their cries, half-weeping, half-chanting, almost comically.

As the singing began, the surrounding forest of the dead suddenly fell silent.

Like a gale abruptly stopping.

Lu Xin’s eyesight was excellent. He could see, closest to him, a dead person who looked quite small—a little girl. On her pale little face, a single tear mixed with blood slowly trickled down her cheek.

Then, her lips trembling, she began to sing along.

The monotonous weeping sound gradually multiplied, overlapping.

More and more people, whether voluntarily or under some influence, began to sing the same song.

Perhaps due to damaged vocal cords or other reasons, their singing voices were hoarse and unpleasant.

Completely off-key.

But Lu Xin could still hear the peculiar gloominess and eeriness within the song.

…

*Crackle.*

As the singing resonated, Lu Xin saw distorted ripples appear in the surrounding air. Pale mental entities crawled out from dark, withered bodies, just like the ones he’d seen on the observation post personnel earlier. These pale mental entities emerged halfway from their physical shells, while the other half extended, linking together with other mental entities.

A feeling of brewing, endless malice and hatred emanated from them.

Lu Xin stood at the center of this vortex.

He felt an immense pressure surging towards him from all directions, his heart feeling as if a hole had been torn in it.

The sorrow of those mental entities was already affecting him.

…

“Truly terrifying…”

Lu Xin lowered his head, speaking slowly.

Nearby, Mom had a smile on her face as she whispered, “Do you really feel scared?”

“Yes.”

Lu Xin replied softly, “I often feel scared.”

As he spoke, he slowly raised his head again. “But not because of some mental monsters.”

“Rather… I never imagined some people could be this evil…”