153. Nomi Anderson Guesset
Kravitz shook his head:
"A few years ago, before David Lin came to power. The Rose Army came here. They were quite decent, not only avoiding the exploitation of locals but also distributing food and supplies to build good relations with the local residents for their support against—but what happened? The daughter of the Rose Army's guerrilla leader was abducted by the locals."
"And then?" the passenger asked.
"What else?"
Kravitz shrugged:
"The mutants found her body could regenerate. They immediately worshipped her as a divine gift, regularly cutting her flesh for their use. They kept her alive for half a year before the guerrillas found out."
"Ironically, it was a guerrilla delivering food to the mutants who discovered the girl's leg boiling in a pot. He was horrified, ran back to report, and the Rose Army leadership, guessing the truth, intentionally kept it from the guerrilla leader and sent an internal officer to negotiate instead."
The passenger remained silent as Kravitz continued:
"The result? The officer reported the girl was already dead. The Rose Army needed manpower from the mutants, so they concealed the truth, intentionally sending the guerrilla leader to remote areas. Years later, when David Lin took power and the Rose Army surrendered, the story finally came to light."
He took another drag on his cigarette, then chuckled suddenly:
"That's Dongyue Ridge for you—a hellhole full of man-eating monsters."
"What happened to the abducted girl?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's dead. Maybe she's still suffering."
The train gradually slowed down. Kravitz stubbed out his cigarette and went to operate the controls. Soon, the train came to a steady halt.
"Hey, kid, we're here."
Kravitz turned back and called to the passenger.
The passenger slowly stood, ready to disembark. Suddenly, he noticed a chain used for securing firefighting equipment hanging on the wall.
Raising his hand, he pointed to the chain and asked:
"May I borrow this?"
Kravitz scratched his head: "It's not worth much. Take it."
Clink—
The passenger wrapped the chain around his wrist, nodding with a hint of gratitude in his violet eyes.
Stepping off the train, the biting wind instantly coated his body with frost. The hood of his cloak was swept away by the gale, revealing Isaac Maxim's chiseled, angular face.
Li Aozi stood in the Dongyue Ridge subway station hall. Around him, faint rustling sounds hinted at mutated creatures gnawing on bones in the shadows, their eyes fixed on the stranger from afar, calculating how to turn him into their next meal. Yet, even the slightest brush of his aura made them abandon the idea instantly.
Tap, tap, tap…
Alone, Li Aozi walked. Over his formal suit, he wore a protective coat. Each step on the frozen ground seemed to mock the icy wind, making it appear weak and laughable.
He exited the subway, wandering across the Dongyue Ridge wasteland. The frozen white sand beneath his boots felt like shards of glass stabbing at his feet. Yet, Li Aozi pressed forward coldly, his Qi shielding him with a crimson barrier. In this lightless, snow-filled Outside World, the display was overly conspicuous.
Creatures hidden in the dark could no longer restrain themselves. They swarmed madly. A group of mutants opened their mouths, their tongues shooting out like bullets to strike his Qi shield without leaving a ripple.
They raised rifles gifted by the Rose Army, their bulging eyes straining to focus as they pulled the triggers. Despite their precise aim at a single point, they couldn't break through Li Aozi's barrier.
Howls echoed.
Mutant beasts strapped with explosives charged at Li Aozi.
Clink, clink—
A silver-gray chain flashed as it struck the ground, scattering frost and snow. It extinguished the bomb fuses while obscuring the view.
Coldly, Li Aozi swung the chain, lashing, whipping, smashing, and tearing them apart. Blood froze on the ground into solid ice.
"Capture… and… eat…"
The mutants mumbled incoherent words. Though resembling humans, they were far less so than artificial beings.
A butcher doesn't feel guilt for slaughtering livestock.
As Li Aozi swung the chain, mutants fell one by one.
Swinging, smashing, whipping, slashing, chopping, hammering, binding, twisting.
It almost sounded like cooking.
Calmly, he stepped over their corpses, treating each mutant equally, performing a mundane task with an ordinary mindset.
When his boot crushed the skull of a juvenile mutant, Dongyue Ridge had no more mutants left.
Removing his protective coat stained with blood and flesh, Li Aozi approached the location detected by his main body. Surprisingly calm, he felt neither excitement at seeing Nomi nor guilt for being so late.
Li Aozi walked across Dongyue Ridge's shattered ridges and ascended to the summit—where an ancient mutated tree grew. Its canopy bore no leaves but instead muscles and bones. Glowing meat orbs hung from its branches, emitting a ghostly blue light in the dark. Rows of human spines circled its gelatinous, pallid bark.
This was the deity worshipped by the mutants—the Mutated Flesh Tree.
It wasn't an evil creature, merely one of countless beings struggling to survive on this hostile planet. Its grotesque appearance and bloody demeanor were just adaptations for survival.
Endless night, snow-covered ground.
Beneath the Flesh Tree knelt a grotesque and deformed monster. It was about three meters tall, emaciated, with silver-white hair like sea anemone tendrils draped across the ground, swaying in the wind. Its decayed body crawled with glowing maggots.
Its skeletal head bore antler-like deformities. While its lower body retained a humanoid form, it was gaunt, with intestines spilling out like a skirt covering its private areas—the only discernible female trait.
Sensing the rare presence of another, the rotting creature slowly lifted its head. When its hollow, tilted single eye reflected Li Aozi's figure, it hesitated briefly.
Then, dropping to all fours, it grabbed a giant industrial wrench from the bone-littered ground, using it as a cane to laboriously stand.
"Wuru...…"
The monster straightened, its skeletal arms raising the wrench like a knight brandishing a lance, aiming it at Li Aozi.
Li Aozi took a deep breath.
[Eye of Truth]
[You glimpse the truth, obtaining the following information:]
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[Name]: 'The Awaiting Rotting Girl' Nomi Anderson Guesset
[Race]: Calamity-Infected Entity
[Gender]: Female (in life)
[Age]: 19
[Template]: None
[Faction]: Lord of Entropy—Entropy's Apostle—Calamity Corruption
[Total Level]: lv.60 [Calamity-Infected Entity]
[Health]: (Incalculable, target is deceased)
[Omega Energy]: (Corrupted entities merge health and energy)
[Attributes]:
Strength—25
Dexterity—24
Constitution—None
Charisma—0
Willpower—0
[Status]:
Entropic Will—The supreme Lord of Entropy forbids your death. Until your calamity corruption is cleansed, true liberation is unattainable.
[Specialties]:
[Violent Districts]—Damage dealt with crude weapons increases by 10%.
[Happy Wildcat]—When emotions are 'above happiness,' melee evasion increases and reduces the chance of being hit by random projectiles (shrapnel, stray bullets, curses).
[Trained Soldier]—Proficient with military weapons and skilled in vehicle operation. Even unfamiliar vehicles can be quickly mastered.
[Entropy Omega Powers]:
[Proliferation Aberration]—The Lord of Entropy grants your cells immense strength, dividing at rates dozens of times faster than normal.
Bad news: The faster you recover, the shorter your lifespan.
Good news: You're already dead.
Even when healthy, proliferation continues. Whether it's growing teeth, bone spurs, tumors, or calcified crystals, it's all good.
This power's benefit or harm makes no difference to you. Even if cursed, you must praise the supreme Lord of Entropy.
Do not attempt to control cellular proliferation. Be grateful it left you intact. Forever revere the supreme Lord of Entropy.
[Skills]:
[Martial Expertise], [Expert Wilderness Survival], [Obstacle Removal], [Bullying the Weak], [Extreme Evasion]
[Tier]: Alpha Tier
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"…Nomi."
Li Aozi looked at the monster before him.
No wonder his main body couldn't locate her.
So, Nomi's corpse was here.
Half of her soul still resided in this shattered shell.
Indeed, he should have guessed sooner. Death in the Outside World often leads to becoming a Calamity-Infected Entity or an Entropic Apostle.
"Wuru..."
The monster growled, or perhaps it was the sound of wind passing through her rotting lungs.
She was dead yet not dead.
Entropy's corruption trapped her life in a perpetual anti-entropic state, never fully alive nor truly dead. She endlessly died and revived, reduced to a state even lesser than undeath.
Such is the fate of most Outside World inhabitants.
"Don't be afraid, Nomi."
The chain dangled to the ground as Li Aozi felt like he had returned to his first day in Star Abyss.
Only now, the once familiar companions had dwindled to just himself.
"I've come to take you home."
But before that—
Leaping high, Li Aozi surged with Qi, demonic red flames swirling from his eyes.
—He must kill her once more.