Chapter 100: Escape & Reunion p1
Although she couldn’t hear anything, the frantic “affection” displayed by the gaunt woman before her made Lin Jiayao deeply uncomfortable.
Especially after merging with this fungal zombie’s original memories, the feeling intensified.
If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, Nangong Mian would have lived an ordinary life, the memory of her childhood friend’s descent into madness fading as she met more people.
To Nangong Mian, the woman before her was just a childhood companion, a friend she’d gradually lost contact with after entering middle school.
Many people experienced similar childhood friendships, fading as they grew older.
But to Wu Hejun – the woman’s name, according to the memories – their relationship wasn’t so simple.
To Wu Hejun, they were inseparable childhood sweethearts.
Even after being abandoned in a mental institution, ignored by everyone, including her parents, only Nangong Mian had visited her during her darkest moments.
She had tried to keep Nangong Mian with her forever, but her own weakened state, due to long-term malnutrition, had made her attempts fail.
She could sense Nangong Mian still “loved” her; otherwise, she wouldn’t have visited so many times.
But after the nurses told her Nangong Mian’s parents had forbidden her from visiting, Wu Hejun had descended into despair, her hatred for the world growing.
Consumed by her desire to escape, her antisocial tendencies intensified, and finally, after a shower of blood crystals, she had gained her freedom.
And then she had found Nangong Mian.
Lin Jiayao didn’t know the details of Wu Hejun’s experiences, but the way she looked at her, the intensity in her eyes, made her uneasy.
This woman was clearly unhinged.
While Wu Hejun hugged and nuzzled her, Lin Jiayao used the remaining blood crystals to try and restore this body to its human form.
It seemed the fungus infecting Nangong Mian hadn’t inherited the Mimic Fruiting Body ability; it was reverting to its fungal form.
But now, having logged in, Lin Jiayao had granted it that ability. With enough blood crystals, she could restore its human appearance, regaining hearing and speech.
Suddenly, Wu Hejun, still hugging her, seemed to hear something, flinching and turning towards the doorway.
A man in a brown leather jacket, sunglasses obscuring his eyes, stood there, smiling.
He was carrying a bound figure.
He spoke, a goatee visible beneath his mask, but Lin Jiayao, without Bone Spike Lurker activated, could only see his lips moving, unable to hear or understand.
After a brief exchange with Wu Hejun, the man in sunglasses cut the ropes binding the figure he held.
The man collapsed onto the damp floor.
He quickly scrambled to his feet, knelt, and, pressing his hands against the cold, damp concrete, kowtowed repeatedly towards Wu Hejun.
Pleading for his life.
But Wu Hejun seemed oblivious to him, her gaze fixed on the blood-red fungal mass in her hands.
She took out a few grams of blood crystals and carefully offered them to Lin Jiayao.
Free blood crystals; Lin Jiayao wasn’t going to refuse.
She extended her tendrils, absorbing the crystals, the energy restoring her, her form twisting and shifting towards a human shape.
A head formed in Wu Hejun’s hands.
Wu Hejun stared, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Even the goateed man at the doorway was stunned.
As the head formed, Lin Jiayao could finally hear.
“Please… please… I’ll join the Voodoo Cult! I’ll do anything! Just please, don’t kill me!”
The desperate pleas of the kneeling man assaulted her ears.
“It worked… it worked!!!” Wu Hejun’s hands trembled, holding the head. “Brother Gou, it worked! Amian is back! She evolved!”
“Brother Gou, no need to keep collecting… just burn Donghai City… burn it all… Blood crystals! She needs more blood crystals! Brother Gou, bring me the blood crystals! Quick!”
Hearing her insane ramblings, the goateed man, finally reacting, nodded quickly. “Right, right, I’ll go get them.”
He closed the door and hurried upstairs.
Now, in the basement, only a head, a lunatic, and a terrified man, his forehead pressed against the floor, not even daring to breathe, remained.
“Blood crystals… blood crystals… It’s okay, Mian, once you absorb enough blood crystals, you’ll be back…”
Wu Hejun cradled the head, a twisted smile on her face.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said, “Blood crystals… that’s right, I have more here!”
“Mian, wait for me, I’ll go get them…”
She gently placed the head on the ground and walked towards the kneeling man.
Hearing her footsteps, the man trembled, looking up at her with terror.
“I want to join the Voo—”
“Thump—”
A fist slammed into his face, cutting him off mid-sentence.
His nose broke, blood flowing from his mouth, but he didn’t dare fight back, his body still trembling.
“I’ll join—”
“Thump—”
Another blow, his vision blurring. Before he could raise his head, another fist connected.
“Thump, thump, thump—”
“Give me the blood crystals! Where are they?!” Wu Hejun’s blows rained down, each punch with the force of an ordinary person, no enhanced Awakened strength.
But the man offered no resistance, as if knowing it was futile.
“Thump—Thump—Thump—”
“Give them to me! Give them to me! Give them to me!”
After he collapsed, Wu Hejun stomped on his face repeatedly, the sickening crunch of bone, the spurting of blood, gore, and eyeballs.
The frenzied assault continued for about a minute, until the “face” beneath her foot was no longer a face, just a pulpy mass of bone fragments, flesh, and brain matter.
Then she stopped.
Because she saw blood crystals forming in the blood and gore.
A living human had just died in front of her, but she showed no emotion, only excitement, as she picked up the brain-smeared blood crystals.
To her, there was no difference between humans and zombies, just vessels for blood crystals. Kill them, and they dropped loot; simple as that.
She ran back to Lin Jiayao, ignoring the filth and water on the floor, knelt down, and shoved the blood crystal towards Lin Jiayao’s mouth.
Holy shit—brains!
Seeing the brain matter clinging to the crystal, Lin Jiayao’s eyes widened in horror, her mouth instinctively closing.
No… I can’t refuse… I can’t show any aversion to blood crystals.
Zombies craved blood crystals; they would devour them instantly, store them within their bodies, never refuse them.
She opened her mouth as the brain-smeared crystal approached.
But before it reached her lips, tendrils extended from her mouth, their weak, trembling tips gently grasping the crystal, catching it.
The blood crystal dissolved, the liquefied essence flowing into her, but the brain matter remained, flicked away by the tendrils.
Fueled by the blood crystal, Lin Jiayao began to regenerate, a neck and shoulders forming. She felt she could speak now.
But she didn’t. Less was more; she didn’t want to arouse suspicion.
She was waiting for an opportunity.
A chance to escape, or a chance to infect this woman with spores.
This woman seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Voodoo Cult. If she could control her, she could cause chaos within their ranks.
“Mian? Mian? Can you hear me?” Wu Hejun’s hands trembled with excitement as the figure in her hands began to take shape, her eyes narrowed in what seemed like… bliss.
“Mian… I’ve waited so long for you…”
“I kept wondering… why could the others retain their human form, but not you?”
“Then I realized… it’s a matter of rank. Your rank wasn’t high enough… even consuming them all wasn’t enough…”
“But it’s okay… we can cultivate these tendrils. You know how you recovered? After that shipment from the Donghai plantation arrived, just a few, and you were fine…”
“Mian… I missed you so much…”
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, her words a rambling, incoherent mix of affection and madness.
But Lin Jiayao felt no warmth, only disgust.
Even Nangong Mian herself, hearing these words, witnessing this scene, would have been horrified.
Her feelings for Nangong Mian were twisted and obsessive, the kind of affection that would terrify a normal person.
“Mian? Can you still not hear me? It’s okay… you’ll recover soon… very soon…”
After a moment of thought, Lin Jiayao decided to put on an Oscar-worthy performance.
If speaking was dangerous, then she would speak… nonsense.
“Here… scared…” she said, her voice trembling, feigning fear. “So dark… scared… so much blood…”
The basement was brightly lit, but she continued to repeat nonsensical phrases like “so dark.”
She was mimicking Nangong Mian’s terror and helplessness in the face of the horde, her last memory.
Having experienced so many fragmented memories, she was becoming quite adept at mimicking emotions.
A true method actor.
As expected, her performance made Wu Hejun panic.
“It’s okay, Mian, don’t be afraid. I shouldn’t have kept you down here. I’m sorry, Mian, don’t be afraid, I’ll…”
Lin Jiayao felt herself being lifted.
Wu Hejun, cradling her head, rushed towards the door, reaching for the handle, but it was locked.
“Damn it! Open the door!!! Motherfucker!” She rattled the door violently, but her strength was that of an ordinary person, no enhanced Awakened power.
Fortunately, the goateed man hadn’t been slacking. Before Wu Hejun could fully lose control, he rushed back with a few blood crystal stones and unlocked the door.
“Bo—” Before he could speak, Wu Hejun pushed past him.
She rushed out of the basement, still carrying the head.
The goateed man’s eyes widened behind his goggles. He knew what the Boss kept locked in that basement. And now she was taking it outside?
Whatever the crazy Boss did, he had to clean up the mess. Without hesitation, he pocketed the blood crystals and ran after her.
Lin Jiayao, cradled in Wu Hejun’s arms, saw the extraction point drawing closer, her heart rate slowing.
Out of the basement, safe for now, all she needed to consider was how to spread her spores.
Unlike other fungal zombies, she could control the movement of her spores, even if only for a short distance.
If she could get them near a mask or goggles, she could make them penetrate the small gaps and infect the wearer through their mucous membranes.
“Boss! Boss! Blood crystals! I brought the blood crystals!” the goateed man shouted from behind, not daring to give orders, just hoping she would stop.
“We’re out… we’re out… still dark? Still scared? Mian? We’re out now… huff…”
Wu Hejun, having run from the basement to the villa’s living room, was panting like someone out of shape.
And now, Lin Jiayao could finally hear what the man in the basement corridor had been shouting.
B… Boss?
It was “Boss,” right?
A term for a leader, a person in charge, right?
He was calling the woman carrying her… Boss?
She was the leader of the Voodoo Cult?!
Lin Jiayao’s thoughts raced. She hadn’t expected this.
She had initially assumed this lunatic was just a low-ranking member; she hadn’t sensed any threat from her.
But now… this seemingly ordinary, crazy woman… was the Voodoo Cult leader?
The mysterious, elusive leader no one had ever seen?
No, that’s impossible…
She thought back, recalling Wu Hejun.
Besides being crazy, there was nothing about her that suggested “leader.”
She just seemed… unhinged, not at all charismatic or commanding.
Wu Hejun carried Lin Jiayao to the living room and placed her on the bar counter near the kitchen.
“Mian, Amian… how are you feeling? Please, say something… don’t scare me…”
She sat down in front of Lin Jiayao, gazing at her with a disturbingly intense affection.
“Boss…” Seeing her like this, the goateed man didn’t dare address her so casually. He stepped back and quietly closed the villa’s door.
At least prevent the Boss from taking that thing outside.
Lin Jiayao, snapping out of her shock, realized the extraction point was only a few dozen meters away.
It was likely just outside the villa, across the street.
But the curtains were drawn, and it was dark outside; she couldn’t see.
She had to get past this… Boss lady.
There was no other way to reach the extraction point.
Looking at the lovestruck Wu Hejun, Lin Jiayao gently shook her head, trying to convey that she was no longer afraid.
Still sticking to her plan: speak only when necessary.
“Mian… what’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Seeing “Mian” remain silent, Wu Hejun seemed anxious, her eyes filled with concern. “Don’t you remember me? It’s Jun… You used to call me Junjun, remember?”
Wu Hejun reminisced, but Lin Jiayao only had fragmented memories of Nangong Mian, not the full picture, so she remained silent.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Wu Hejun grabbed “Nangong Mian’s” shoulders and shook her gently.
“You don’t remember me, do you? You really don’t remember me?”
“Please, Mian, say my name, just once, please… I’ve waited so long… just to hear you say my name…”
Lin Jiayao felt the grip on her shoulders tightening, almost crushing her.
This woman is truly insane!
If I don’t say something, she’ll tear me apart.
Lin Jiayao spoke hesitantly.
“Wu… Hejun?”
She didn’t use the nickname, just her full name, to be safe.
Perhaps the nickname was a trap.
As expected, hearing her weak voice, Wu Hejun froze, tears streaming down her face.
But the next second, her sorrowful expression vanished, replaced by a blank mask.
Tears continued to flow, but her demeanor had completely changed.
As if she were a different person.
“You heard that?” she murmured, wiping away her tears, standing up.
And strangely, her Mandarin was now much clearer, without the local Sizhou accent.
This abrupt shift stunned Lin Jiayao. The goateed man by the door, however, showed no surprise.
“Snap—”
“Brother.” Without turning around, Wu Hejun snapped her fingers, seemingly addressing her subordinate.
She took off her gloves?
Lin Jiayao, ignoring the strange change in her behavior, opened her mouth and released a cloud of red spores.
But the goateed man quickly pressed a button by the door, shattering the protective glass cover, and water sprayed from the ceiling.
The spores, hitting the water mist, were washed away, unable to reach Wu Hejun.
And Wu Hejun, as if having anticipated this, calmly removed her blood-and-brain-splattered hazmat suit and helmet, took a rubber band from her pocket, and tied up her messy hair.
As she did this, she continued to murmur.
“Junjun, your wish has been granted. You can rest now, let me and Wu handle things outside.”
Then, her expression suddenly twisted, her previous calm replaced by a snarl. “I told you to call me V! V, leader of the Voodoo Cult! Not Wu, you bitch!”
And then, just as quickly, her expression softened, her voice a whimper. “Okay… Xiaolian…”
Lin Jiayao’s eye twitched as she watched the woman’s rapidly shifting expressions, her muttering.
Multiple personalities?
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