Chapter 3.3 – Era of Turmoil
In front of the tunnel, the chaotic sounds gradually became louder. The putrid odor of the living corpses became even stronger. Around the corner was a train lying on its side, blocking off a large portion of this entire tunnel. The subway carriage had long rusted to a ridiculous level, and the doors were wide open. The windows were shattered to bits and pieces.
Through the train window, two living corpses could be seen within the outermost carriage. They were currently turning and tossing things around in search of something to eat.
Su observed his surroundings for a bit, and then he noiselessly began to move. He picked up a few rusty iron plates and an iron thread before quietly retreating. He set up the iron thread around the central part of the tunnel and arranged the iron pieces on the ground. Then, he began to form the iron pieces into cone shapes. Afterwards, he stealthily headed towards the subway trains.
Ding!
Su lightly tapped the carriage wall. The sound wasn’t loud, but under the sharp senses of the living corpses, any unusual sounds was like thunder to their ears. The two living corpses immediately stopped their search for food and turned around together, just in time to see a figure vanish from the train window. In the eyes of living corpses who only had their raw instincts left, anything that could move was delicious prey.
After waves of snarls sounded, the living corpses rushed out to the edge of the train carriage with nimbleness that wasn’t any inferior to hounds. The living corpse that was in the front soared up and smashed apart the broken carriage window with one hit.Half of its body forcibly squeezed through the carriage’s window. As soon as it made its way out of the carriage window, the living corpse impatiently looked left and right for traces of its prey.
A light pu sounded. The cone shaped iron sheets pierced out from below, easily making their way through its throat. It was such a solid hit that even most of its bones were broken with this strike!
Su slowly stood up. He didn’t bother pointlessly trying to pull out the steel cone from the living corpse. He continued to head towards the passage.
The other living corpse that was being obstructed by the carriage had long become impatient. It howled and grabbed the leg of the living corpse in front of it, ferociously pulling it back into the carriage. The carriage window’s sharp glass sliced open seven or eight deep gashes, causing dark red blood to pour out together with its inner organs.
The living corpse straightened its neck and ferociously howled before abruptly erupting with force. Its hard feet that had long claws growing out of them stamped on the ground, and like a gust of wind, it rushed around the corner of the passage!
The living corpse that was running so fast it seemed to be flying suddenly did soar into the air! It shot back and forth in midair a few times before falling down. As soon as it landed, it immediately howled painfully again. On the ground were a few sharp iron cones that were pointed upwards that penetrated deeply through its back. Meanwhile, a large portion of its chest was torn through by the iron silk that was arranged in midair.
A sharp ka da sound rang out as Su cocked his gun for insurance. He walked past the living corpse that had already sank into an involuntary struggle, not paying it any attention. He slightly raised his head and swept his eyes above him. With a slight jump, he soared two meters into the air and landed on the abandoned train’s roof.
A cold glint suddenly flashed past Su’s green eye. He suddenly erupted with force and ran along the train with a lightning speed that was far faster than even that of a living corpse. Even though he was dashing at such a speed with his body slightly bent, he still didn’t seem to create the slightest bit of sound. From the back, he looked like a wisp of black smoke that was quickly disappearing into the distance.
Bang! Bang! Two thunderous gun sounds tore through the previously peaceful subway tunnels. Within the subway train, the heads of the two living corpses were shot through. The tremendous force of the bullets practically blew straight through their brains!
Bang bang bang bang! Four more gunsounds continuously sounded. Su had already reached the end of the subway train. He didn’t stop in the slightest and directly leapt off the train roof. Following four light sounds, Su once again stepped on the ground. The bullets in the pistol had already been completely reloaded.
His feet exerted some more force, allowing his speed to slightly increase. The ten meter long tunnel was quickly covered. Su seemed to have transformed into a breeze, brushing past the four living corpses that were quickly running through the tunnel.
Su suddenly stood still. His body sharply turned around, and he released three shots!
Three living corpses fell. The last one quickly spun around and threw itself towards Su with a roar.
Su calmly looked at the living corpse without moving at all. After running forward several meters, he plummeted face down.
Unknowingly when, a steel dagger that did not reflect any light was gripped backwards in Su’s hand. It was covered in black paint, and in that instant when he passed those living corpses, it was precisely this dagger that sliced open the ribs of this living corpse.
Su turned around and looked in the direction the four living corpses came from. Sure enough, there were two living corpses that appeared at the other end. The strange thing was that these two living corpses were cooperatively raising an adult vicious rat’s corpse. From their scarlet red pupils and their mouths that had endless saliva flowing from them, Su could see they were currently starving. However, they didn’t partake in the food in their arms. This completely contrasted with what Su knew about them. The primary goal of creatures like living corpses was to satisfy their appetites. They knew nothing about exerting self-control. If they were given enough food, it was entirely likely that they would eat until they died from bursting. It wasn’t just these two living corpses either; just now, he could tell that the four living corpses that had sprinted over previously also suffered the torment of hunger due to their shriveled bellies.
Living corpses that didn’t immediately consume the food in front of it?
Bang bang bang! Su lowered the pistol that was still emitting smoke and walked towards the two living corpses that would never stand up again. This time, one of his shots did not hit its intended target; he had originally aimed for the forehead, but it struck the chest, so he had to add a shot. The distance was over ten meters, so the modified pistol’s accuracy was a huge issue. This time, his great luck did not display its effect, so that shot alone wasn’t enough.
The living corpses that were made of flesh were no match for the firepower or metal. In such close quarters, no matter which part was hit, a twenty centimeter thick hole would be opened up.
With kacha sounds, Su’s pistol reloaded with bullets. Only then did he make his way through the living corpses to carefully inspect them. Living corpses were creatures with shocking levels of vitality. Even if half of its body was blown to pieces, it was still entirely possible for it to leap up and chomp down.
The two living corpses that were carrying the vicious rat were much thinner than the four he fought before. Moreover, Su, who had fought his share of living corpses, felt that these two living corpses were already well on in age. They still possessed their mobility, but their power was already starting to decline. Moreover, what made Su’s eye narrow was that there were clearly more clothes on the four living corpses from before than on these two. They were also more sturdy. However, between the group of four living corpses and them, there wasn’t much difference.
Everything was now quite clear. The four living corpses that were roaming about before were in charge of hunting and battle, while the latter two that were older in age were in charge of odd jobs like transport. This was a clear division of labor; those that were more robust and better at fighting would be able to gather more food, so the clothes they wore were better as well. The older living corpses were assigned odd jobs, and they weren’t given enough food. The most important part was that these living corpses already weren’t acting on their instinct. They were starting to learn moderation!
This proved that these living corpses had already become a race, moreover, there was a clear division of labor, and there were evidently social classes as well. They were completely different from the living corpses he killed before in the subway train. Su had encountered a small hunting party.
“I dislike smart things.” Su straightened his body and began to carefully think things through.
These living corpses made him involuntarily recall the wolves in the mountains. At the moment before their death, eyes that were full of shock, confusion, anger, and hatred were carved into the bottom of his heart. It was clear that these living corpses had already developed a division of labor that was far different from the elementary organization the rotting wolves had. There was definitely a leader within these living corpses that possessed intelligence. For Su, this definitely wasn’t some good thing. In the underground subway tunnels, living corpses were already monsters that were difficult to deal with. Living corpses that had developed a system of organization were definitely several times stronger.
Regardless of whether it was the era of turmoil or the olden days, there were no free lunches. Killing a nest of organized living corpses was already a price that far surpassed the reward of a primary genetic medicine. A small hunting party already had six living corpses, so the nest of living corpses could very well exceed thirty. Killing this many living corpses should already be enough to obtain an evolution point.
It was possible that Base N11 already knew about how there were organized living corpses living in these tunnels, and that was the reason why they were willing to pay such a price to invite him to clean it up. Su recalled Turner and Tony’s sincere smile, and a shadow that was not particularly great or small crept through his heart. However, he quickly tossed this thought to the side. After travelling through so many inhabited area, Su had already learned that he shouldn’t have any types of expectations for anything.
Su gazed into the dark and deep tunnel. His green eye penetrated the endless darkness to search for traces of the living corpses. Currently, he was first and foremost a hunter that needed to complete his mission. The rest could be discussed later.
At the end of the tunnel, there was practically complete darkness. Even Su’s Glimmer Sight could only see five or six meters out. Moving under this kind of environment was practically suicide, so he naturally wouldn’t do such a thing.
Su released a light breath of air, and a faint lump of mist seeped out from the bandages. He softly pulled down on the bandages covering his face, revealing a straight nose that almost seemed like it was sculpted. The skin that was revealed was moist and sparkling like ivory. Within the dark passage, the putrid smell of the living corpses pervaded the air. The stench was especially thick in this part of the passage, indicating that this was an area the living corpses frequented. If it was an ordinary person, they simply wouldn’t be able to move about under this thick smell. This was also one of the ways that living corpses marked their territories.
He began to distinguish the odor at the end of his nose. Hundreds of numbers began to flow through Su’s consciousness like a stream, and finally, he locked in on the scent that belonged to the six living corpses lying on the ground.
Su tightened his cloak, and like a ghost, he soundlessly moved into the depths of the passage. The smell of the six living corpses was like guide that gradually lead Su towards their nest. From the strength of the scent, it seemed like these living corpses had already been out for two days for this hunting trip.
The passage was rugged and uneven. Inside, there were a few places where empty cans were purposely placed. These simple traps shouldn’t have mattered at all to Su, yet his movements began to slow down.
Su suddenly leapt out two steps. Then, with a leap, he landed and stuck close to a corner where the ceiling and the wall met. Then, like a lizard, he began to soundlessly crawl inwards.
After winding around a corner, Su descended as light as a feather. He noiselessly landed on the back of a living corpse that was crouching by a corner. The living corpse held an iron pipe in its hands, and its two eyes were emitting a faint red light. They were staring into the deep passageway.
Su extended his hand and lightly tapped its shoulder.
