Chapter Ten: Concealed Remains

Rubin stared me down, looking as if she might draw her gun and fight to the death at any moment. Michael had urged me to prioritize peace and win people over with virtue, but if things truly came to that, would he still pay me?

I waited for a long minute before Rubin said, "Fine, have it your way. Dirty Lieberg, take them to the Great Iron Sphere."

The young black man called Dirty Lieberg said bitterly, "This way!"

Velin said, "I'm going too! I will tell them everything we know along the way."

Rubin sighed, "You stubborn child. Very well, but do not involve yourself in any danger."

Velin hesitated for a moment and replied, "We are already in danger, Mother."

Dirty and Velin led us through a corridor that felt like the cabin of a ship. Velin remarked, "I have always advised Mother to abandon Weeping Village and find another settlement. We have guns and stockpiles of food; we could always find a place to live."

Dirty shook his head, "Sister, you are being blindly optimistic. I have traveled far and wide while scavenging, and I tell you, no one can survive on the surface."

I said, "Nonsense. The houses we, the Black Coffins, build on the surface can withstand radiation, repel demons, and even endure storms."

Velin became quite excited and asked, "Really? Can the Black Coffins truly do these things?"

I held my head high and replied, "Of course. I tell you, we are practically performing charity; all these benefits are provided free of charge, without costing you a single penny."

Dirty sneered, "But we must bow and obey?"

I said, "That is a small price to pay. We, the Black Coffins, have just and perfect laws, an abundance of food and water, and the average lifespan of our residents reaches sixty years. It is as clear and bright as paradise."

I said this so convincingly that even I started to believe it; I truly had a talent for business.

Dirty just grunted. Velin looked at Dirty and said, "Brother, don't be like that. I feel they are very sincere."

Dirty Lieberg said, "We are here."

A large, circular iron door blocked our path. Its surface was covered in rust, yet it remained thick and solid. I wondered what means Sokan had used to kidnap the villagers.

Velin said, "Sokan let all the women he captured go back. Their bodies were full of... full of white, fleshy parasites, and not one of them could last two days. As for the men... those who returned said the men were ensnared by black monsters. He used torture on them, but he wouldn't let them... he wouldn't let them die."

I had encountered enough disgusting monsters that I had become numb to it, so I replied, "That settles it then. Wait for our good news."

Velin said, "There are also monsters—small monsters, a kind of nauseating demon. I have seen them, but I don't know what dangers they pose. You must be careful."

We nodded in agreement. Dirty turned the wheel, the iron door swung open, and a wave of damp, musty air rushed out.

Velin suddenly dashed ahead, stepping inside, and said, "I'm coming in with you!"

We shouted in unison, "Nonsense, get out!"

Velin said, "I will only watch from a distance; I will never cause you any trouble."

Dirty Lieberg said sternly, "Are you unable to let him go?"

Velin answered with a sob, "Yes, yes! I love him. I want to see him one last time, even if it means I die."

I knocked her out with a punch and handed her to Dirty. Dirty was very grateful and said, "Thank you. My sister is prone to impulsiveness; thank you for stopping her."

After he finished speaking, he hurriedly closed the door and left. I drank the Water of Amon, turned transparent, and said, "I will go ahead and scout."

Dead Bell said, "They have likely already heard the sound of the door opening. Be on your guard; they might be aware of us."

I gave him a thumbs-up, then set off, passing through towering apparatuses, pipes two meters in radius, dark industrial elevators, and a network of wires as dense as blood vessels. In the center of this Great Iron Sphere was a smaller iron sphere, about ten meters in radius. It was not currently operational, presenting a graveyard-like blackness. All the pipes and wires converged upon it, like a pupil in a human eye.

This was likely the core of the Ucos Reactor.

I spent forty minutes searching the building from top to bottom, but I did not see any suspicious figures. This left me quite puzzled: "Could it be a trap set by Rubin? But these traps wouldn't benefit them at all. And if it were an act, the acting was far too realistic."

I returned to Dead Bell and Solace and told them the situation. Solace said in astonishment, "Could it be that they discovered us and went into hiding?"

Dead Bell said, "Impossible. They don't know who we are; there is no reason for them to hide."

I said, "The three of us must not separate. Here is the plan: you come with me, and I will lead the way. Perhaps if they spot you, they will show themselves, and I can take them out while my invisibility is still active."

Following this strategy, we climbed the ladder, ascending to the fourth level, and approached the black core. I wanted to start the reactor first, which would surely stir up the enemies hidden here—no matter how ferocious they were, that would be better than not being able to see them at all.

Suddenly, the doors of the building were kicked open. We were startled to see the group from the Era Empire. Left-Ladder scanned the factory with sharp eyes, spotted Dead Bell, and shouted, "Stop them!" They chanted spells, blue halos appeared in their palms, and they raised their muzzles to fire at us.

They were at least two hundred meters away, but the bullets whistled through the air with undiminished power, exploding against the steel frame with bursts of blue flame. This spell had turned the bullets into fireballs!

Solace’s hair lengthened; she reached out, grabbed the bullets, and detonated them in mid-air. I shouted, "Well done! Keep it up!" They continued to fire, and Solace kept blocking them. The more I watched, the more surprised I became, and I couldn't help but feel ashamed: "Solace’s skills are likely already better than mine. I am her former superior—how am I supposed to handle this?"

She was a living corpse, a living corpse far beyond human common sense. The longer she lived among humans, the stronger her nether-fire would become, and her progress was rapid. Dead Bell was the same.

I had heard that those who were once poor, wretched, and harmless, once they got money, would suddenly change, acting like nouveau-riche, ordering people around, and showing an ugly, vicious side. Would they alienate me in the future? Look down on me? Because I was no longer their superior, I could no longer legitimately command them. I would be like an old, weak, and helpless widower, abandoned by these heartless children.

I could already see it. I could see in the near future, me clutching their legs, crying and begging them to stay, only for them to kick me away and tell me to get lost.

Dead Bell asked, "Why is there crying? What is wrong with you?"

I grabbed his hand and said miserably, "You and Solace must promise me: do not be ungrateful, do not become undutiful children!"

Dead Bell shouted, "What are you talking about? Why are you talking about this now?"

Bullets flew over our heads, and I still shouted, "Promise me! Otherwise, I will not be able to die in peace!"

Solace said anxiously, "Don't add to the chaos! I'm busy enough as it is!"

Left-Ladder ordered his soldiers to close in and pursue us. The situation became even more pressing. But in an instant, the place where they stood was turned upside down and completely transformed. Corpses—everywhere were corpses, blackened, piled up like mountains—surrounded them, squeezing them into the center.

Where did those corpses come from? They hadn't been there before!

They realized their predicament and were terrified. They tried to push the corpses away, but white worms, the size of tampons, crawled out of the bodies and burrowed into them. They tried to chant spells, but before they could make a sound, their mouths were stuffed with worms.

The worms were nimble and slippery, capable of squeezing into their eyes without damaging the eyeballs. These soldiers were covered in dense, swarming worms, falling to the ground and screaming incoherently.

Left-Ladder’s six pistols fired simultaneously, blowing the worms to pieces. He tried to run back, but more corpses, stacked neatly like giant blocks of rice cake, blocked his retreat.

Left-Ladder pulled out a long whip, which crackled with electric sparks. He lashed out at the worms, but they used the corpses as cover, and his whip couldn't hurt them.

Perhaps it was wrong to treat Left-Ladder this way, but they had drawn the fire for us, allowing us to attend to our own business.

Solace said, trembling, "We... we are the same!"

I discovered that we, too, had fallen into a labyrinth of corpses. Hundreds of bodies were stacked into walls. Worms poked their heads out from the eyes, nostrils, mouths, and ears of the corpses, brushing against our cheeks as if looking for a place to burrow.

Dead Bell and Solace grabbed me and leaped upward, landing on a long crossbar. There were corpses here too. Solace’s long hair turned into many sharp blades, slicing the worms apart. Her precision and skill, combined with the size and shape of the worms, made it look as though she were performing castrations, which sent a chill through my heart.

Dead Bell grew multiple arms, tearing the worms to shreds without a moment's rest. I used my Iron Lotus, and my Thought-Blades ground the approaching worms into pulp. But the corpses could appear from anywhere, and the worms within them were infinite.

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet felt soft. I looked down and saw I had stepped into a pit of black mud, where hundreds of worms were crawling up my legs. I immediately exerted all my strength, and black shadows enveloped my body, shaking the worms off.

Solace pointed upward. I looked up and saw the small demons Velin had spoken of. Their bodies were like those of infants; their skin was white and tattered, as if wrapped in strips of white bandages. Their faces held evil, golden eyes, and their four-fingered hands waved in the air as if they were building with blocks.

It was they who were manipulating these corpses, these worms!

I shouted, "Solace, Dead Bell, those things!"

Solace and Dead Bell nodded, throwing out their hair and long arms, and I sent out my Thought-Blades. The small demons suddenly vanished, and our attacks struck nothing.

But with that, the corpses vanished as well.

We leaped into a corner to hide our tracks. We could not find them, and they temporarily ceased their assault.

Dead Bell asked, "What is going on? Where exactly are they?"

I said, "They are hiding in a different dimension. These corpses are as well. These small demons can enter and exit the other dimension at will to launch their attacks."

Solace asked, "Does this mean only you can attack them?"

I wrapped my body in Shadow Blood and replied, "Naturally."