Chapter 587.2: No One Knows Where They're Going

At the north gate of Pinecone Ranch, two motorcycles stopped by the roadside. Two dust-covered men dismounted.

With rifles strapped to their backs, ammo bags hanging from their bikes, showing up dressed like that at night would draw attention in any settlement.

But here, no one questioned them. The guards at the gate all looked grim, or simply numb.

They were digging pits by the fields, pushing bodies in carts to the gate, dumping them into the holes, then covering them with soil.

At first, Li Jinrong hadn’t noticed the corpses. Only when the thick stench of blood hit his nose did he see the pile of remains beside the haystacks.

Most of the bodies were mangled, many chewed beyond recognition, as though snatched straight from the mouths of beasts.

His throat bobbed, but he couldn’t force out a single word.

Xiao Yue, who stood beside him, looked just as shaken. His face was even paler, his lips twitching for a long time before he finally forced out a sentence.

"Fuck... What the hell happened here?!"

It was like hell itself.

At that moment, a suit of exoframe walked out from the open gate and stopped in front of him.

The helmet visor lifted, and Li Jinrong once again saw that familiar face. "Old White."

Old White nodded. "We meet again."

Li Jinrong glanced around, then took a deep breath. "What exactly is going on here?"

"It’s the Torch Church’s experiment. Unfortunately, we got caught in it," Old White said grimly, his eyes settling on the mountain of corpses nearby. "Originally, as long as we controlled the farm owners here, we can slowly dismantle the bomb buried beneath. But they were a step ahead of us."

Xiao Yue stared blankly and failed to speak for quite some time. Only after a while did he choke out his question. "Experiment?!"

Old White nodded. "Experiments with Spirit Interference Devices and Na Fruit. Since you came from the south, you must have at least heard rumors of what they were doing."

Shock crossed Li Jinrong’s face. He froze for a long time before forcing himself to speak again. "I’ve heard of it, but not the details. The settlements in Ocean Edge Province are even harder to approach than here... Fuck, what do they want? What kind of experiment is this supposed to be?"

He had indeed heard of Torch Church’s experiments. Their actions were hardly concealed.

But seeing thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of corpses, he still could not imagine what kind of experiment this could be.

And yet the evidence lay right before his eyes.

Not far from the corpse pile lay the bloated remains of a giant. It was reeking like rotting meat.

If he remembered correctly, that was one of Torch Church’s mutant-modified biological soldiers called Goliath.

Several farmer-looking men swung pickaxes in silence, trying to dig a pit big enough to bury it.

Thankfully, it was winter. Otherwise, the stench would have been far more unbearable.

Old White was silent for a while before sighing, "My confusion is no less than yours. Aside from those madmen themselves, no one knows what kind of heaven they’re chasing."

Nor how much more had to be paid to reach it.

After interrogating Li Jie, Old White knew full well... There was no way to communicate with them.

From his throat, Li Jinrong forced out a sentence. "... They must be stopped."

Old White nodded. "We think the same way. If they keep rotting like this, sooner or later they’ll drag everyone down. Today it’s the Brocade River Province, tomorrow it’ll be the Great Rift Valley, and who knows how much farther after that."

"We already have waves of trouble of our own to face, waves that have never stopped for a century and a half. Another Tide is coming soon, but our Administrator believes we must act now."

"So, let’s talk. About cooperation."

With that, he turned and walked back inside the gates.

Xiao Yue glanced at Li Jinrong and asked quietly, "What does he mean?"

Li Jinrong answered with uncertainty, "This is probably a signal for cooperation."

He had indeed wanted to align with the New Alliance. With their help, at least they would have a stable force behind them. He hadn’t expected the New Alliance to bring it up first.

Xiao Yue looked at him hesitantly. "Shouldn’t we report this to the organization first?"

He knew their leader suspected Torch Church had spies planted inside Iron Tower, just as they themselves planted spies in the Torch Church. Naturally, they would think of the same idea.

And with the Torch Church’s manpower and technical resources, they could do it with greater secrecy and deadliness.

Even so, the two of them alone could not represent Iron Tower as a whole.

... At least some people were still trustworthy.

Li Jinrong thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Let’s hear what they have to say first."

With that, he locked up his motorcycle, handed his weapons over to the soldiers at the gate, and followed Old White inside the settlement...

...

At last, the long night passed.

When dawn’s sun rose, the Heart of Steel drifted in the skies on the outskirts of Brocade Lake Municipality like a towering fortress, casting its shadow over the ground.

The beasts and birds hiding in the forest fled in panic from its overwhelming presence.

Not only the timid were disturbed. Even the Mutant Humans hiding in the city stirred.

Yet knowing no fear, they did not flee.

Heads gleamed green under the ruins, fanged faces full only of bloodlust and savagery.

On those faces there was no trace of fear.

They waved their weapons, even firing rifles at the airship more than ten kilometers away, shouting in their crude language.

"Come on, you two-legged cowards!"

"Let your granddaddys here see how many heads you’ve got to spare!"

"Roaarrr!"

"Awrooo!"

When the airship gave no response, they turned back, dragging a dozen frail, ugly captives from their cages. They shoved them up to the roof of one of Champion Group’s buildings, one of the tallest buildings still standing in Brocade Lake Municipality.

Ignoring their pleas, the Mutant Humans chopped off their heads with single strokes, tied their ankles with ropes, and hung them outside the tower, letting their blood stream down the walls.

It was like a crimson waterfall.

The mutants roared in ecstasy, whether slitting throats, being drenched in blood, or cheering from the sidelines.

For them, sacrificing a few two-legged livestock was both entertainment and a ritual of prayer for harvest.

The captives still penned like animals shivered, their faces full of terror. Some no longer even reacted, sitting dazed with hollow eyes...

The airship only watched them quietly, then dropped its anchors.

The grunts didn’t care about a lone airship, but their chieftain Gaen, upon seeing it, showed a flicker of surprise. His worm-like brows soon furrowed deeply.

He finally understood what had happened the night before.

However, he couldn’t figure out why the New Alliance had chosen to strike at this time.

Apostles of the Torch Church had told him directly, when winter ended, an unprecedented Tide would erupt in Clearspring City.

The New Alliance should be preparing for that at that very moment.

By logic, they couldn’t spare any effort to interfere in matters in the Brocade River Province.

Behind him, the hunched Gomo spoke softly. "Our allies want us to take out Pinecone Ranch... The New Alliance has seized it. The Archbishop suspects they’re up to something there, which could threaten their plans."

At Gomo’s words, a cruel grin spread across Gaen’s face. "They still dare make demands of us? Shouldn’t they explain last night’s fiasco first?"

Gomo sighed. "He apologized for the mishap. No one expected the New Alliance to react so fast. Normally, those people plan first before acting, but this time they clearly sent their men ahead... Also, for the prosthetics and weapons lost in the battle, the Torch Church will compensate us double."

Hearing that, Gaen’s brows eased slightly.

In the Qi Tribe, strength was status. Whoever’s fist was strongest was the leader.

Thus, gear that made them stronger was far more precious than expendable green-skinned fodder.

The tribe had no shortage of warriors. They had been fighting since the womb, learning to hunt before they could walk, learning to eat men before they could talk.

Each one was born a soldier.

But...

"Tell him I’ll take the job. But now’s no time to march out, not until rain or fog comes," Gaen said gravely, staring at the airship. "With all those gun barrels bristling like a hedgehog, stepping outside now would mean a beating."

In the city, cover existed. Without ground troops to direct artillery, bombardment was limited in effect.

But on the plains it would be different.

From Brocade Lake Municipality to Pinecone Ranch in the east were vast forests, but also stretches of open land.

A dozen or two might slip by, but a march of hundreds or thousands would be spotted instantly. The failure of the previous night would surely repeat.

Seeing Gaen’s concern, Gomo smiled faintly and added, "That won’t be a problem."

"The Archbishop has a way to get us inside."