Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 24 Linhai
"You almost ruined the Lord's mission."

Zhuang Fan's voice was distorted by the eerie mist, making it sound low and hoarse.

Tataji's three-meter-tall body trembled violently. Sensing the displeasure in Zhuang Fan's tone, he quickly explained:

"My lord, please calm down!"

It hurriedly explained, "Recently, a group of human mercenaries has been harassing us, severely slowing down the tunnel excavation progress."

"But I assure you, we will dig to Linhai City as soon as possible and will not delay the siege date set by our lord!"

Tataji's rat-man tribe was one of the vassal forces under Tiros responsible for early-stage infiltration.

In Zhuang Fan's mind, the old man's memories were automatically pieced together.

【Linhai City】

This is a suburban city with a population of one million, and also the largest sapphire mining center in the surrounding area.

Zhuang Fan continued to probe, his voice devoid of emotion.

"You've all memorized the siege dates, haven't you?"

Tataji froze, a clear look of confusion flashing in his crimson eyes.

"The date... the Lord has not given a specific time; we will only be told when the Lord comes in person."

Tataji realized that the demon general before him seemed to know nothing about the details of the plan.

How could a demon general who truly obeys Lord Tiros not know this?

Seeing a hint of suspicion in Tataji's eyes, he knew he couldn't ask any more questions and needed to calm the big rat down first.

From the moment he made contact, he sensed that there was a dark mist swirling around Tataji's internal organs, likely a long-standing ailment that was difficult to eradicate.

But for Zhuang Fan, it was just a trivial matter to resolve on the side.

He slowly extended a hand shrouded in dark mist.

Tataji was puzzled.

Then it discovered that wisps of dark mist were being forcibly drawn away from the gaps in its thick armor plates, and the suffocating feeling in its chest quickly dissipated.

A long-lost sense of ease spread throughout my body.

Its scarlet eyes were completely replaced by shock.

"Thank you, Master!"

Tataji’s enormous head lowered willingly this time, almost touching the floor.

In an attempt to dispel the dark mist within its body, it slept with the Radiant Crystal every day, but the effect was very weak.

Tataji knew that fog-dispelling pods existed in the human world, but it was too poor to afford even a basic treatment plan, let alone how to fit its enormous rat body inside.

As one of the leaders of the ratmen, it had come into contact with many demon generals and knew very well that the demon generals' abilities were limited, and they were mostly responsible for training the army or acting as a mouthpiece for their lord.

Zhuang Fan's ability to extract the strange mist was so effortless and skillful that it could rival even the master's. How could it not be astonished?

Zhuang Fan had no idea what it was imagining. For him, it was easy to just get rid of the dark mist, but it was quite difficult to get rid of the black mist.

"Tataji, I will be watching you from the shadows."

Having said that, the Demon General turned around and disappeared into the darkness without hesitation, coming and going quietly.

Tataji watched him leave respectfully until the dark fog had completely disappeared from sight.

Its deputy, who had been holding back for a long time, leaned in and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Demon General... seems a bit unfamiliar."

"Nonsense, of course I know."

Tataji lowered his voice: "He is not under the command of Lord Tiros."

"Ah, well..." The assistant crashed.

"They were sent by other demon envoys to gather intelligence."

Tataji revealed a pair of wise eyes, "As far as I know, the relationship between the Lord and the other demon envoys is not harmonious, so I will not say more."

"Oh, I see," the deputy said, suddenly realizing.

This little secret was actually just Tataji's own wild guess, but that didn't stop him from showing off in front of his deputy.

Just then, a ratman sentinel came tumbling and crawling over.

"Your Majesty! Outside...another Demon General has arrived!"

Tataji's expression changed drastically.

He became even more certain that the mysterious figure in black robes he had just seen was sent by the other demon envoys!

Must it be reported immediately?
Tataji thought for a moment. He absolutely couldn't get involved in the feud between the demons, so he decided to pretend that nothing had happened.

……

Zhuang Fan walked out of the underground city ruins.

In the center of the stadium, the wreckage of two airships was still burning, with thick black smoke mixed with a pungent, acrid smell.

It seems that Scarface's team didn't have an easy time leaving.

Zhuang Fan randomly found a relatively intact section of broken wall and used the dark mist to completely conceal himself.

Then, he leaned against the concrete, closed his eyes, and tried to sort out his chaotic memories.

Tirose, Zhuang Li.

The two names kept colliding in his mind.

In Xu Renyi's memory, the details about Tirose are very limited.

All the old man knew was that this female demon, who had once struck fear into the hearts of the wasteland, had been silent for a long time, nearly a century ago.

She and several other demon envoys seemed to have reached some kind of tacit understanding, restraining their respective legions and maintaining a strange peace with the human world.

Zhuang Fan's memory, however, is stuck 700 years ago.

The girl who was 7 years younger than him, and had just turned 18.

The sister who would sit quietly by the window and watch him assemble the planetarium.

The sister who would clumsily wipe away his cold sweat when he was suffering from brain cancer.

In his memory, his younger sister always sat quietly by the window, holding a thick book, the sunlight shining on her, which could always warm an afternoon.

He still remembers the moment before he was crybaby; she cried uncontrollably and was eventually taken away from the operating room by her mother.

All that is past is like smoke.

Zhuang Fan couldn't believe his sister would become a monster who slaughtered living beings, or rather, he couldn't accept it.

Was that body called "Tiros" really his sister, or had it also been possessed?
Just like what Xu Renyi tried to do to him.

He opened his eyes, his expression grave.

Right now, we must find my sister first in order to find out the truth.

But he also knew that Tiros was now the enemy of mankind and the lord of all demons, and that she was surrounded by demon generals, making her a dangerous place.

Going there rashly would be like a moth drawn to a flame; you might get crushed halfway there.

The only clue we have right now is Linhai City.

Since Tiros is going to attack that place, she must have her own purpose, and she will definitely appear in Linhai City.

Zhuang Fan gradually sorted out his thoughts.

He first needed to enter the city, find out everything, and then meet with Tirose when the time was right.

However, his current "ordinary face" identity has been exposed, and he needs a new identity to blend into the city, so he has to go back to Strange Rock Hill to retrieve the box.

After a short rest, Zhuang Fan enveloped himself in a light mist, identified the direction from his memory, and embarked on his journey home.

Along the way, he mostly walked among ruins and did not find a single intact road.

Corpses, scorched earth, weeds, twisted steel bars and road signs constitute the only color scheme of this land.

Occasionally, one can see some eerie green fungi growing from the eye sockets of corpses, adding a touch of life to the countryside.

He discovered that even when he was merely enveloped in a light mist, the zombies and mutated creatures would still be hostile towards him and might even attack him on their own initiative.

But as long as the light mist is condensed into dark mist, those monsters will avoid it from afar, as if they have encountered a natural enemy.

Controlling the dark fog can be mentally exhausting, but it's also quite convenient.

Many wild animals contain highly poisonous substances, so when he gets hungry, he will pick the fruit from some mutated plants.

For example, the flesh of the iron worm fruit is bland and tasteless, while only the seed emits an enticing sweet aroma.

However, he knew that the flesh was harmless, but the pit was the trap.

Because the kernel contains the eggs of the wireworm, any creature that swallows it will become a parasite.

He picked five or six fruits, barely enough to fill his stomach for the day.

Just then, a huge black shadow descended from the sky, bringing with it a gust of evil wind as it crashed in front of him.

"Roar!"

A six-armed giant ape that stands nearly four meters tall.

Its body is covered in black fur, and it has thick canine teeth showing in its mouth.

What attracted Zhuang Fan was its arms, which had six.

Five of them were holding weapons, such as large steel bars, road signs, animal spines, and even a rusty automatic rifle.

A gun without bullets is no better than a toy.

The giant ape pointed the gun at him, pulled the trigger with its thick fingers, and made a "click, click" sound as if mocking his unarmed state.

Then, it pointed the gun at its wide-open mouth and gestured: "Give me all the food." Zhuang Fan examined it closely, then threw the remaining iron worm fruit in his hand over.

The giant ape caught it, stuffed it into its mouth, skin and core included, and began to chew it vigorously, red juice dripping down the corners of its mouth.

Zhuang Fan's gaze fell on the giant ape's abnormally swollen belly, and he instantly understood.

The queen beetle is about to hatch and burst open.

After finishing its meal, it found it amusing. Seeing that Zhuang Fan had already walked away, it quickly climbed the tree trunk and jumped back over.

It would occasionally throw stones at him or push him with its palm, treating him as a toy to amuse itself.

Zhuang Fan's patience was quickly worn off.

Not yet satisfied, it poked Zhuang Fan with the steel bar, signaling him to pick some more fruit.

Zhuang Fan stood still, his eyes slightly cold.

The giant ape grew impatient and forcefully pulled out a road sign from the side, swinging it directly at him.

Zhuang Fan quickly dodged, simultaneously exhausting the dark mist he had painstakingly accumulated within his body, and channeling it into the giant ape's head and abdomen.

The giant ape froze abruptly, its massive body solidifying in place, still in its lunging posture.

After cursing his bad luck under his breath, Zhuang Fan quickly ran away.

Not long after, the giant ape's mournful roar came from behind.

He looked back.

It was rolling around on the ground, its belly skin twitching violently.

"Pfft-"

His belly burst open.

A black, thread-like object, about the thickness of a thumb, gushed out, looking like a long black whip from a distance, and it kept getting longer and longer, as if it had no end.

It wriggled its sticky body, wrapping around its former host and tightening its grip.

The cracking sound of bones breaking was particularly clear in the empty ruins.

The scene was bizarre and bloody.

Zhuang Fan withdrew his gaze and continued on his way.

……

The roar of engines echoed in the sky again; this was the ninth time Zhuang Fan had encountered it.

This time, it wasn't just a few scattered sounds.

Six heavy airships bearing the logo of the nuclear group slowly flew by at low altitude.

The searchlights they cast created a huge net of light on the ground, sweeping across the ruins inch by inch, leaving no hiding place untouched.

Under the light network, one can also see fast-moving black dots: swarms of drones hovering at low altitudes, and robotic dogs traversing among the broken walls and ruins.

Armored troops were airdropped into various ruins to conduct a thorough sweep of suspicious locations.

Several times, Zhuang Fan was almost exposed.

The robotic dog sniffed around nearby, almost discovering him buried in the ground.

Later, he could only immerse himself in the cold pool of water and cover his body with silt to avoid the searchlights and thermal imaging scans.

The nuclear manhunt was more elaborate and insane than anyone had imagined, and he had no idea how Max and David were doing.

Finally, it took Zhuang Fan three whole days, under the cover of darkness and eerie fog, to return to Strange Stone Hill.

This place has now become a complete ruin.

The entire mountain looked as if it had been smashed by a giant, covered with huge craters and explosion marks.

The original entrance to the shelter was completely destroyed, and there were charred rubble and metal everywhere, making it almost impossible to find a place to stand intact.

The nuclear group searched high and low but couldn't find him, so they simply used heavy firepower to completely erase the area from the map.

"These bastards are really cruel to their grandfather."

Zhuang Fan is qualified to say this.

He searched through the ruins for a long time, and finally found the buried weapons depot ruins by relying on his memory.

The alloy wall had long since collapsed, but the safe embedded in it miraculously remained intact.

He opened the box and put on a new face.

A thinner, more ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a tired and numb look in his eyes.

He even adjusted his height and posture, and then practiced a new gait and a new expression.

Finally, he disassembled the character "庄" and gave himself a new name, Guangtu.

Two days later, Linhai City appeared on the horizon.

The 20-meter-high city wall is made of precast cement slabs, and its surface is covered with pits and gullies.

In some places where cement has crumbled, rusty steel reinforcement frames and charred marks left by bullet holes are exposed.

Every ten meters along the city wall stood an automatic turret, emitting a low hum.

Squads of soldiers wearing exoskeleton armor patrolled back and forth nearby.

Heavy and oppressive.

Zhuang Fan picked up the container box and hid it in a secluded crevice outside the city.

Then he joined a group of ragged refugees and headed toward the steel fortress.

The checkpoints at the city gates operate with two systems running in parallel.

One set belongs to the Linhai City Guard.

They wore uniform gray uniforms and were responsible for the identity verification and registration of migrants.

The process is cumbersome and standardized, requiring iris scanning, biometric identification, blood verification, online verification, lie detection, and so on, to prevent unidentified migrants from entering the city.

The other set belongs to the Nuclear Group.

They were fully covered in power armor and stationed at key positions at the checkpoint, scanning every face and thermal imaging feature in the team with tactical goggles.

Their database is independent, and they have only one goal: to kill the fugitive named "Zhang Dafan".

Zhuang Fan stood in the queue, his expression calm.

Based on the old man's hazy memory and experience, he knew that the nuclear group's search focus would definitely be on suspicious individuals wandering in the wild.

As Linhai City is a key screening area for nuclear weapons, it would be an excellent hiding place for him as long as he passed through the security checkpoints.

It was finally his turn in line.

"Name."

"Wide land."

"Where did it come from?"

"They came from the north and encountered a horde of zombies on the way."

His expression was numb and world-weary, carrying a hint of bewilderment and despondency from the loss of his family, which he portrayed very well.

The guards responsible for the check scanned his iris and face with an expressionless face, and then performed biometric identification.

Unsurprisingly, the nano-skin fooled the first two tests.

As for movement characteristics and gait detection, the screening process for migrants actually begins while they are queuing.

In the final blood draw, Zhuang Fan mobilized the last trace of the eerie mist within his body and injected it into the vein at his fingertip.

Blood cells rapidly mutate at the microscopic level, and their DNA sequences are completely disrupted.

Finally, the scanner showed:
Humans, at a medium to high level of infection, have not triggered any sensitive criteria, and there are no matching criteria in the gene pool.

An unregistered person with no records.

"pass."

As the cold, electronic voice rang out, Zhuang Fan noticed that the guards in charge of the inspection were androids.

He felt a slight sense of relief as he walked past the verification station and out of the scanning range of the nuclear soldiers.

However, just when he thought he could enter the city smoothly, a cold-looking administrator stopped him.

"A homeless person with no assets."

His voice was monotonous and devoid of any emotion.

Then, a cold mechanical hand picked up the metal collar and locked it around his neck with a "click".

"According to the Linhai City Migrant Management Act, you need to pay to wear a 'friendly collar' to enter the border defense zone's criminal camp and undergo forced labor."

Wait, doesn't Xu Renyi know the specific procedures?

Zhuang Fan frowned and quickly went through his memory.

Well, this old man really shouldn't know that he's never been a vagrant in his entire life.
Zhuang Fan had no time to regret it before he was forced through an iron gate.

With a loud "bang," the iron gate slowly closed behind them.

He successfully entered Linhai City, and also entered another, much larger prison.

Ahead, a large crowd of people, all "assetless vagrants" like Zhuang Fan, were gathered, each wearing a "friendly collar," though none of them looked friendly.

The security officer stood on the high platform, looking at this group of new recruits, and a playful smile appeared on his face.

Welcome to Linhai.

(End of this chapter)