Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
More than twenty people rushed into the tent, bringing their backpacks with them.
Freyr chose a military backpack and slung it over his shoulders. It felt uncomfortable, as if it were strapped tightly to him. The items inside were heavy, forcing him to reconsider his choices. He decided to take out the essentials—items like maps and compasses that could be carried easily—while leaving behind anything too cumbersome.
He thought this plan was feasible, but when he opened the backpack, he was taken aback. At the top of the bag lay an ancient revolver adorned with a skull pattern. Freyr immediately recognized it as an Alchemical revolver, capable of penetrating steel ten centimeters thick with a single bullet. Its power was undeniable.
The weapon's design was based on configurations used in mechs, a compact version that soldiers could carry. Even without piloting the cumbersome machines, they would have some means of self-defense against the Zerg.
Clearly, such weapons were not mass-produced in this era; they were only carried by specialized troops equipped with top-tier gear. Most of these weapons originated from the Heavy Industry Zone, where the modifiers and engineers were known for their extreme obsession with weaponry and unconventional thinking. Thus, ordinary people could not comprehend just how twisted these modified weapons truly were.
“Hey! I have parts for an AK-47 here!”
Suddenly, someone nearby exclaimed in surprise. It seemed Freyr was not the only one who sensed something unusual about his backpack. Turning around, he saw a crowd gathering behind him, all astonished by the weapon parts laid out on the ground, neatly bundled in plastic bags and aluminum boxes to prevent them from scattering or getting lost.
“Really? I want to check mine too!”
Soon enough, everyone busied themselves rummaging through their own backpacks.
They completely forgot about the time they had previously agreed upon.
Colonel Cousins did not make any move this time. Freyr sensed something amiss and stepped outside the tent. He looked around; there were no signs of people left on the few patches of land that had not been turned to sand. The sandy terrain showed no human footprints, and a gentle breeze could easily cover any tracks with sand. As far as the eye could see, there were only yellow grains of sand; visually, tactilely, and sensorially, everything felt uncomfortable in this extreme environment.
“Get out here! Everyone’s gone!” Freyr shouted.
Some people inside the tent rushed out. As they emerged, they seemed confused about what had happened, still casually looking around as if searching for something. A few others impatiently shouted in frustration. After a while, they finally realized something was off; it appeared one person was missing. Colonel Cousins, who had been standing outside just moments ago with a stopwatch in hand, was nowhere to be found. That sinister and violent instructor had abruptly vanished after breaking a recruit's arm, as if he had never existed at all.
Everything felt as though it had never happened; it resembled a story from a dream. They recalled a tale about a man living by a river who saw a peach floating by. The man called his wife to catch it with a net. When they cut open the peach, they found a baby inside. In doing so, they also released calamity and awakened the dark lord who ruled over the entire continent.
The story at this moment was quite similar to their current situation, as they could no longer predict what would happen next. Everything here was a first for most of them, much like the peach that had drifted ashore; if it hadn't been fished out by the old man, someone else would have taken it. In that case, the Demon King family of the Ghost Clan would not dominate the entire continent. Although Freyr had read about the genealogy of the Zerg, he knew there were definitely some species unknown to humanity, such as the rare predators in the desert. These unknown uncertainties were incredibly tempting; too many things could happen. They had already opened that peach, and its holder was also the key—Colonel Cousins had gone missing.
In the desert region they found themselves in, there were no iconic buildings or discernible directional signs; the only useful tool was a compass.
“Where the hell is everyone?” someone suddenly cursed.
Freyr curled his lip, securing his revolver to his belt and sitting on the sand while gazing into the distance.
A person sat beside him, but felt as insubstantial as a breeze until he smiled faintly, a hint of desolation in his laughter. It was then that Freyr realized someone was sitting next to him. He turned slightly and met a pair of hollow eyes. The man’s lips curled into a chilling smile as he said, “Heh heh, it seems this matter has become quite serious.”
“Uh, ghost?”
Freyr couldn't react from his tense emotions upon seeing that terrifying face and those nearly unfocused pupils—like a cluster of soulless eyes grinning with snow-white teeth in a ghastly manner, sending chills down his spine.
To his surprise, the man brushed his forehead and said calmly, “I’m not a ghost; I’m human. Freyr, although I can’t see, I’ve become familiar with your brainwave consciousness while in the vehicle. Now I finally get to meet you. Even though my eyes are blind, I can still sense your anxiety. You must be feeling quite frustrated right now.”
Freyr looked at the boy in confusion and waved his hand in front of him. To his astonishment, the man suddenly grabbed his outstretched hand and said, “Stop playing around. My eyes are indeed blind; I was born this way and there’s no cure.”
“Nono Stiddy?” Freyr asked in bewilderment.
“Yeah, it’s me, Freyr. You must be scared seeing me like this, but don’t worry; you’ll get used to it. Besides, we’ll be comrades in life and death from now on. Let’s look out for each other,” Nosty said.
Freyr felt quite awkward at that moment. He clapped his hands together and then said, “So what do we do now? We’re essentially trapped in this desert with just a bit of food and relying on a map and compass to get us out—it’s absolutely impossible.”
“Well, it’s not entirely impossible. Do you remember my specialty? I’m a precog. I secretly buried myself within Cousins’ memories to find a clue: this environment becomes extremely terrifying at night. Also, this isn’t inland; there’s no way an inland area could have such a vast desert. Even human mining operations couldn’t create such extensive desertification. This isn’t ordinary desertification; it’s an exacerbation phenomenon after elemental depletion. This phenomenon will expand—it’s beyond what human technology can reach.”
Freyr touched his forehead and said, "Um, you're really complicated. I don't quite understand. Let's talk about how to escape the desert instead."
Nosty curled a lock of hair on his forehead with his finger and smiled as he explained, "It's simple. Just head north for twenty kilometers and find an oasis before nightfall. Once night falls, this place becomes an absolute danger zone. Do you know why we have weapons? It's because they fear we won't be able to protect ourselves, so they gave us these weapons. But even these modified weapons are not much use against predators. So while we can still move, we should go as far as we can. The oasis is marked on the map we have, and it will guide us to find the base."
Freyr asked again in confusion, "Are you really blind? How do you know the instructions on the map?"
"I am undoubtedly blind, but I am also a Telepath. The brainwave currents of any person are ancient and unchanging, and there is a one in ten million chance that they won't repeat. As long as I remember these laws, I can find the original source. As for how I know about the map—well, I found clues from Cousins' mind. He told me this; a person can lie with their mouth, but their heart cannot deceive itself. Hehe, as long as I look at the memory fragments in his mind, I can find the answer."
At that moment, Freyr silently unfolded the map in his hands and indeed saw a marked point at the top of the map. Surrounding this point were strange skull drawings, and these markings were present along the main roads. However, there was one area that was not marked at all. Freyr thought perhaps this road could be attempted; if it weren't an urgent situation, he decided against risking entering the danger zone. The predators' abilities couldn't simply be overcome with weapons.
Freyr quietly folded the map and put it into his jacket pocket before quickly taking out a compass to adjust it. Then he whispered, "There is a path we can take, but it will take more time. Other routes might save some time but come with greater risks."
Nosty nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's right. That path is rugged on one side but lacks predator tracking on the other side; it's an area where predators cannot survive either. The living conditions are quite poor there, but it's not a place we must try to go to. If we carefully adjust our approach and combine our weapons with over twenty people, even if it costs us something, it’s not impossible to exit through other routes while still being able to protect ourselves in a short time. Delays could lead to unforeseen changes; I prefer not to dwell on the terrifying possibilities of this place at night."
After Nosty responded, Freyr turned to look at some of the others around them who had begun to step into the sand towards their target point. "Oh? There's one more thing you haven't noticed: do they really believe what we're saying?"
"This is a test for us; they have no choice but to believe us now. If we don't unite at this moment, we won't be able to cope and survive together. Perhaps they can already track our movements by the scent in the air; this vast expanse is all sand. They have an incredibly strong ability to track moisture and would stop at nothing to pursue and attack Same Kind."
Nosty brushed aside his bangs with a sigh of resignation when suddenly a roar erupted from behind them, followed by a series of sharp cries.
Comment 0 Comment Count