Chapter 3: An Existence Beyond Cognition
[4]
Standard Arabic numerals were engraved above the stone arched doorway.
The iron gate, decorated with openwork patterns and topped with spikes, slowly opened.
A wooden cart, iron shovel, hemp rope, and burlap sacks were placed beside the gate, used for cemetery maintenance, modifications, or leveling.
Yi Chen also placed the axe and kerosene lamp on the cart.
Taking a deep breath,
He pushed the wooden cart forward.
As the wheels of the cart pressed into the soil of the cemetery, no anticipated danger emerged.
Yi Chen looked around cautiously as he entered Cemetery No. 4.
At first glance,
There were no 'monsters' wandering about,
Nor any strange occurrences.
Compared to other cemeteries, this one seemed 'ordinary',
With suitable temperature and humidity,
Relatively hard soil with little weed growth,
And a proper ratio of open spaces, graves, and vegetation.
However,
There were two noteworthy peculiarities.
1. The vegetation here, especially the trees around the edges, gave an impression of withering and being on the verge of breaking... Leaves were falling in patches, unlike the lush foliage in other cemeteries.
2. There were over sixty graves here, more than in other cemeteries,
And the tombstones were not 'uniform', with various styles present,
Stone, wooden, and even metal,
Rectangular, arched, cross-shaped,
Chaotically arranged like a mass burial site.
Yi Chen moved through the cemetery pushing the wooden cart,
Carefully observing each area he passed, further confirming the absence of any 'anomalies', allowing his tense nerves to relax slightly.
Next,
He recalled the 'original distribution map' in his mind, comparing it with the cemetery before him, trying to find differences in quantity and order.
Given his engineering background,
He was quite adept at this kind of 'spot the difference' task, and quickly arrived at an answer, one that sent chills down Yi Chen's spine.
[An extra grave]
This additional grave was located in a deeper part of the cemetery,
A cross-shaped metal tombstone inserted into the ground,
The mound of the grave rising to the same height as those surrounding it.
Staring at this extra grave, Yi Chen pondered:
"According to the rules, the extra grave mound needs to be completely leveled.
If there's a body buried inside,
Based on Rule V, transferring it to Cemetery No. 7, which specializes in unidentified bodies, should be feasible.
However... things can't be that simple, otherwise the original owner of this body wouldn't have chosen suicide. I must proceed with caution."
After confirming there was nothing unusual in the surroundings, he officially began.
He didn't touch the metal cross,
In his view, this symbol of holiness might have the effect of suppressing evil entities.
Picking up the iron shovel from the cart, he aimed at the raised soil mound... Chunk!
Having often helped with farm work in the orphanage's backyard during his previous life, he was quite adept at using a shovel.
Clang!
Until a loud metallic impact sound rang out,
Under the light of the kerosene lamp, part of a coffin lid was revealed.
"A metal coffin?"
After shoveling away the surface soil,
A black hexagonal coffin lid was tightly sealing the coffin body, with no signs of having been opened.
Since he had already resolved to solve the problem and clean up the mess,
Yi Chen, facing the metal coffin before him, immediately found an effective leverage point.
Attempting to knock,
Crack!
The sound of the coffin lid being pried open, like a sharp thorn, instantly pierced through the silent veil of the cemetery.
The light from the kerosene lamp eagerly squeezed inside, revealing the specific situation within the coffin.
"This is..."
A naked adult male corpse,
Its skin completely green, with decayed blood vessels forming marble-like patterns, covered in livid spots... and also covered with a large amount of moss.
The eyeballs in the eye sockets no longer existed, replaced by fungal colonies,
These slightly wriggling mushroom caps resembled insect compound eyes.
"Moss, fungi?
How could these things grow inside a completely sealed metal coffin?"
While puzzled,
Yi Chen noticed an additional detail.
The palms of the corpse's hands, laid flat on both sides,
Had lost their nails,
And on the surface of the nail beds, thin, long rootlets had grown, extending to the bottom of the coffin.
Giving a sense of being 'stuck' to the coffin bottom.
An indescribable sense of strangeness grew in Yi Chen's heart, even stimulating the production of fear emotions. Abandoning the idea of 'transferring the corpse',
He grabbed the kerosene lamp, attempting to throw it inside,
To give this strange corpse an 'on-site cremation'.
The thought formed, and his right hand made a downward throwing motion...
However,
Just as the kerosene lamp was about to leave his hand,
The image guided by the lighthouse flashed in his mind,
The intuition born in his brain told Yi Chen that the kerosene lamp, as the only light source in the cemetery, absolutely must not be destroyed.
Yi Chen, with his engineering background, highly valued and understood the significance of so-called intuition.
[Intuition]
It is the result of the brain, under certain triggers, rapidly collecting environmental factors, integrating all memory data, including subconscious information, and comprehensively analyzing it.
Since self-consciousness cannot keep up with this process, it gives a feeling of suddenly popping up.
Some people don't take it seriously,
However, it is often a correct and effective analytical result.
This intuition kept the kerosene lamp in his hand, not thrown out.
"The only light source... I can't yet determine what the real 'danger' is.
If the entire cemetery is problematic, once I lose the light source, I might be instantly swallowed by the darkness here.
Let's stick to the original plan of transferring the corpse."
Yi Chen patted his cheeks to increase focus.
Picking up the iron shovel again,
He extended it along the coffin wall,
Attempting to pry up the corpse, changing it to a [sitting position]... This would make it easier to move the entire corpse out.
However,
An even stranger thing occurred,
The prying process was unusually difficult, barely managing to lift the corpse less than two fingers' width.
Through the small gap created,
Yi Chen saw a bizarre scene that would haunt him for life...
The back of the corpse was covered in dense, varying thickness rootlets.
These rootlets had already penetrated the bottom of the coffin, extending deep below.
Pulsating,
Sucking,
Extracting,
Nutrients from underground.
This chilling scene immediately made Yi Chen think of the withered, decaying trees in Cemetery No. 4,
"This thing is absorbing the 'vitality' of the cemetery!"
At that very moment,
A familiar warning sound came from the outskirts of the cemetery,
§Be careful§
This voice was identical to the 'thank you' heard earlier in Cemetery No. 6, highly recognizable.
Due to his high level of mental concentration,
The sudden warning sound prompted Yi Chen to instinctively roll backwards, creating a distance of over a meter.
At the spot where he had just been standing, rotten vines had appeared on the ground... If he hadn't rolled away in time, he would likely have been entangled by the feet and dragged into the coffin.
Following that,
Creak creak~
Supported by numerous rootlets,
The corpse in the coffin stood up,
The rootlets embedded in the ground were all pulled out, ranging from 30cm to 100cm in length, swaying behind its back.
The fungal caps in the corpse's eye sockets gathered together, forming shapes resembling eyes,
Staring directly into Yi Chen's eyes.
In that moment of eye contact,
Yi Chen immediately understood why the owner of this body - [William Behrens] - had chosen suicide rather than fighting to the death.
The pain of dying from poison was indeed much more comfortable compared to being killed by a monster, or even having all the nutrients sucked out of one's body and being eaten alive.
≮Impossible to defeat≯
If it were just a zombie from a sci-fi movie, Yi Chen believed he could still face it head-on.
But the living corpse before him,
Had far exceeded his cognition,
Facing such an unknown entity, if he recklessly approached... he could be instantly killed in the next second.
Run!
Without any hesitation,
He hung the kerosene lamp on his belt buckle and took off running.
His mind also formulated the best circuitous route.
"I must take time to circle around and observe, to clarify some of its characteristics... Can't rush! Stay calm, maintain normal breathing rate!"
Just as he was about to slip out of Cemetery No. 4,
Clang!
Without any warning,
The iron gate, about three meters tall, slammed shut,
Yi Chen, in his sprinting state, kicked the iron gate hard... Dong!
The tightly closed gate didn't budge at all, completely sealing him inside.
Staring at the iron chains that had somehow wrapped around the outside of the gate,
Yi Chen couldn't help but burst out with a profanity.
The work has been signed, sacrifices are needed sacrifices are needed sacrifices are needed~
Thanks to the reader [I Love Novels the Most (CS)] for offering the alliance master sacrifice
(End of Chapter)