Chapter 106: Japanese Ritual p1
Lin Xiwan stared straight ahead, her fists clenched, blood crystal tendrils emerging from her heart.
If that young man made even the slightest move towards his trigger, she would pull her sister down and then get out of the car, ensuring he wouldn’t get a second shot.
“Where are you coming from?” Several men approached, the one in the lead asking as he pushed down the barrel of the young man’s rifle. “You can go back now.”
He could sense a C-rank Awakened, at least, inside the jeep. If the young man fired, he would be dead before he could pull the trigger again.
But he couldn’t tell which of the two girls was the Awakened. His experience told him it was likely the younger one in the passenger seat, her calm demeanor and intense gaze unsettling.
He didn’t want any trouble, not unless absolutely necessary.
“Qingzhou University Camp,” Lin Xiwan replied, rolling down the window.
“Qingzhou?” The man thought for a moment. “Are you also leaving Guangdong Province?”
He’d heard of the Qingzhou University Camp; it was a self-sufficient settlement.
It had been about four hours since the Voodoo Cult’s announcement. If the Qingzhou camp had reacted quickly, their advance team should be arriving soon.
Thinking this, he smiled. “A misunderstanding, just a misunderstanding. My apologies.”
“Allow me to introduce myself. We’re the advance team from the Panlong Plaza Camp in Fu City. We’re waiting for the rest of our group to leave the province.”
Fu City was west of Qingzhou City, and the G80 highway they were on passed right by Panlong Plaza.
Just a coincidence.
Lin Jiayao, using Blood Crystal Vision, scanned the group; only two Awakened, including this man, three including herself, the highest only D-rank.
The combined threat of these three Awakened was less than that of three rifles aimed from different directions.
Without having to protect her sister, she alone could probably eliminate this entire advance team.
Compared to the well-equipped Voodoo Cult, these people were weak.
“Can your convoy make way, please? We need to pass,” Lin Xiwan said, confirming it was just a misunderstanding.
She didn’t want to linger; encountering the Voodoo Cult was a real possibility, and the longer they stayed in Guangdong, the higher the risk.
The man hesitated, then asked cautiously, “If you’re also leaving Guangdong, why not travel together? Safety in numbers… we’re all just trying to survive.”
His reasoning was simple; more people meant greater safety.
And if they agreed, having another C-rank Awakened would be a huge advantage.
He didn’t think they would refuse; two camps were stronger than one.
Lin Xiwan looked at her sister.
Lin Jiayao, having deactivated Blood Crystal Vision, shook her head slightly, meeting her sister’s gaze.
The B-rank Awakened threat was gone; there was no need to join them. And although she could see blood crystals, she couldn’t see into their hearts.
What if they were like the Yangzhou Tower camp?
It was better not to risk it.
Seeing her sister shake her head, Lin Xiwan said to the man, “No, thank you. We’ll travel on our own.”
“Uh… alright,” the man said, clearly surprised, his expression slightly awkward. He was now certain that the girl with the intense gaze was the C-rank Awakened; otherwise, the older woman wouldn’t be deferring to her.
He quickly recovered and forced a smile. “Go ahead then.”
Having them clear the path wasn’t a bad outcome. They would deal with any immediate threats.
“Make way! Make way!” He left Lin Xiwan’s jeep and started directing the convoy.
The convoy, which had stopped for a meal and some rest, moved their tables and cleared the emergency lane.
Lin Xiwan turned the jeep and drove past them.
Back on the highway, having passed the toll station, she asked her sister curiously, “Why didn’t you want to travel with them? More people means more protection against the Voodoo Cult.”
Although she’d had her doubts, she hadn’t questioned her sister’s decision.
“I… don’t trust them,” Lin Jiayao said. “Just a feeling.”
She couldn’t tell her sister the truth: that the B-rank Awakened heading in this direction was already dead, so there was no need to wait.
That would be even more terrifying than the Voodoo Cult’s threat.
“Alright, your instincts are usually right,” Lin Xiwan nodded, trusting her sister’s judgment.
“Mommy, Mommy,” Huayibai suddenly said, poking Lin Jiayao’s shoulder.
“What is it?” Lin Jiayao asked, then realized she’d readily responded to “Mommy.”
She seemed to have gotten used to it.
“Mommy, are the Voodoo Cult… bad people?” Huayibai asked.
“Yes,” Lin Jiayao nodded.
“Then why don’t we just kill them?” Huayibai asked innocently.
Lin Xiwan, hearing this, almost lost control of the steering wheel. Even Lin Jiayao was taken aback.
When did Huayibai become so… bloodthirsty?
After a moment, Lin Jiayao realized.
Huayibai seemed to think the Voodoo Cult was the same as Survivor’s Light.
She, having logged into the Voodoo Cult’s headquarters through her second zombie, knew who was responsible for the fungal infection in Survivor’s Light.
It was the Voodoo Cult.
And in a way, Huayibai itself was a byproduct of the Voodoo Cult’s “plantation” spore dispersal project; without that project, a sentient, evolved fungus like Huayibai wouldn’t exist.
So, in Huayibai’s simple mind, the Voodoo Cult was no different from Survivor’s Light. If the fungus could destroy Survivor’s Light, it could destroy the Voodoo Cult too.
“We can’t defeat them,” Lin Jiayao quickly replied before her sister could speak. “They’re well-protected against the fungal infection, so they’re still very strong.”
“Oh…” Huayibai nodded, seemingly understanding.
“Buzz—”
A sudden, unusual buzzing sound from above startled Lin Jiayao. She quickly activated Blood Crystal Vision and looked back.
She saw a blood-red figure gliding through the air about two hundred meters above, its wings vibrating rapidly, creating a loud buzzing noise.
“Wooo—”
“What is it, Yao?!” Lin Xiwan, hearing the sound, didn’t brake but accelerated.
According to the road signs, there was a tunnel about five kilometers ahead. If it was an airborne zombie, they could hide inside.
“A flying insect,” Lin Jiayao said, her expression darkening as the buzzing grew louder.
She recognized the sound.
She had just crushed one of these.
But that had been in Kun City, her home turf, controlling the Building-Tree Guardian. She didn’t have the same advantage now.
If her sister encountered it, she could probably crush it with a single punch… but its strength was its flight!
Whether in the real world or in games, flight was a powerful advantage.
“Yibai, hand me that… thing… from the back,” Lin Jiayao said, extending her hand.
Even without specifying what she wanted, Huayibai seemed to understand, turning and grabbing the rifle they’d bought from the camp.
Lin Jiayao took the rifle, checked the magazine, disengaged the safety, lowered the window, and aimed at the flying insect.
She could see it rapidly approaching.
But before she could fire, the insect veered off course, flying further ahead.
Only then, as it flew past, could Lin Xiwan see what it was.
“What… is that…?” she murmured, her foot easing off the accelerator as the insect disappeared.
The ten-meter-long flying zombie shocked her. Besides the occasional glimpse of giant fish in the river, she’d never seen anything so large, not in the sky, not on land.
“Looks like an insect,” Lin Jiayao said. “And someone’s controlling it… it’s not after us.”
She could tell; if it were a wild zombie, it would have attacked them immediately.
“Another group escaping, perhaps…?” Lin Xiwan was amazed. So there were Awakened in Guangdong who could control flying zombies; she hadn’t known that.
“Possibly.” Lin Jiayao agreed.
She didn’t mention it was one of the Voodoo Cult’s “planes”; it would only worry her sister.
She was now more concerned about where that insect was going.
They were monitoring the Voodoo Cult’s radio frequency, waiting for them to announce their movements and commands, their usual arrogant display.
But they hadn’t heard anything, and yet, the Voodoo Cult was clearly mobilizing.
No radio commands this time? Encrypted channels?
Had they finally learned to be discreet?
This seemed like the only logical explanation.
They must have realized, after losing a B-rank Awakened, that they needed a new strategy.
The usually flamboyant Voodoo Cult, having suffered a significant loss, had become more cautious.
This wasn’t good news for Lin Jiayao.
She couldn’t eavesdrop on their plans, couldn’t sabotage them directly.
She’d been planning to counter every move announced on the radio; now she couldn’t.
She had to become stronger quickly, to prepare for the unexpected.
After scanning the area with Blood Crystal Vision, confirming there were no immediate threats, Lin Jiayao deactivated it and looked at her sister.
“Sister, I’m going to take a nap. Wake me up if anything happens,” she said.
“Go ahead, get some rest,” Lin Xiwan said, knowing her sister’s mental state was still fragile after that dream attack.
In her eyes, even though her sister was now an Awakened, she wasn’t a physical or mental enhancement type; her body and mind were still just as frail.
“Yibai, wake me up if anything happens,” Lin Jiayao said, turning to the little girl in the back.
“Mm-hmm, okay, Mommy,” Huayibai nodded seriously, her little fists clenched.
Huayibai’s promise reassured her.
Her sister, to protect her, would often hide dangers from her.
But Huayibai wasn’t like that. It was simple, obedient, following her commands without question.
If she told it to wake her up in case of danger, it would.
Having made her arrangements, Lin Jiayao closed her eyes, her consciousness entering the virtual space.
She first opened the [Hideout] and looked at the still-unbuilt [Zombie Loot Box].
The new Hideout features were usually quite useful, especially the [Control Center].
If this [Zombie Loot Box] was also useful, she would build it.
[Zombie Loot Box Lv.1 (Unbuilt)]
[Description: Allows you to input blood crystals and other resources. The system will randomly assign a zombie to complete an extraction. All rewards belong to the host. You can choose to retain one evolution from the assigned zombie. Only one extraction can be performed at a time.]
[Note: The assigned zombie is guaranteed to successfully extract.]
[Construction requires: Blood Crystal Stone x50]
Lin Jiayao read the description and then stared at the cost.
Fifty blood crystal stones?!
Out of her sixty?
Impossible! No way!
Just as she was about to exit, she paused.
She reread the description.
Spend blood crystals or other resources, have the system assign a random zombie to extract, all rewards hers, even an evolution…
She hesitated.
So, the [Zombie Loot Box]… was essentially a paid, automated extraction, with a guaranteed success and a free evolution?
And this meant… she didn’t even have to log in herself?
The idea was tempting.
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