Chapter 94: Mutual Understanding
“…Madam Lu, what should we do now?” Li Shaoheng asked, his brow furrowed.
If it were just about this classified information, which would eventually be made public, Old Madam Lu wouldn’t have come back personally.
Although the Taboo Index was currently under the Company’s control, they had to regularly release its contents.
This strange incident would definitely be revealed eventually.
But with so much happening recently, it was best to delay it as long as possible.
The only advantage of possessing the Index was this brief window of time.
“Headquarters believes… there might still be a chance,” Old Madam Lu whispered. “Whether this new Sequence Grotesquery, White Witch, can inherit the Puppet Ballad’s Authority, or if a new Authority will emerge, is unknown.”
The reason for their earlier retreat was because Company headquarters knew that Jiangcheng County had become the Puppet Ballad’s domain, under its Authority.
No ability, except for another Authority, could function within the Puppet Ballad’s domain.
Even most Authorities would be greatly suppressed within this unknown domain, unless they could rival the Puppet Ballad’s power.
So… in this situation, confronting a fully formed High-Risk Grotesquery was practically a suicide mission, no matter how many people they sent, they would just become cannon fodder and nourishment.
Until they found a solution, they could only let the Grotesquery run rampant, abandoning Jiangcheng County and the surrounding areas, minimizing losses… This was the limit of the Company’s power.
And now, with the appearance of a new Sequence Grotesquery, replacing the Puppet Ballad, perhaps… the situation wasn’t so hopeless.
“However, to avoid unnecessary casualties, we must wait and see,” Old Madam Lu whispered. “We’ll deploy small, elite teams to maintain perimeter security and look for opportunities to investigate, but also be prepared to retreat at any moment.”
This was the standard procedure for dealing with unknown Grotesquery disasters, a helpless measure, a last resort, completely leaving their fate to the unknown, hoping for a slim chance.
Li Shaoheng nodded, agreeing with Old Madam Lu’s command.
As expected of a veteran who had experienced High-Risk Grotesquery disasters, she remained calm in such situations.
However, the current situation…
Li Shaoheng looked towards the distance, at Jiangcheng County, still enveloped in a hazy gray, like an old black-and-white photograph.
Even though the battle for the Sequence had ended, its Authority and domain remained.
“So, as the new High-Risk Grotesquery, White Witch… what will you do?”
…
When the White Witch ascended to the Sequence, Luo Ling clearly sensed the Authority, Kingdom, being transferred from the Puppet Ballad to her.
Her blurred vision cleared, and Luo Ling saw countless invisible mycelia threads spreading throughout the gray, dead city.
The Kingdom, enveloping Jiangcheng County, had unknowingly permeated every plant and tree.
She looked up at the pedestrians chatting and laughing on the streets, the shopkeepers working diligently in the ruins, even the seemingly warm families…
Everyone was connected to the mycelia, under the control of the Kingdom.
But that wasn’t the most terrifying thing.
A young couple on the street was flirting and laughing.
But the voices Luo Ling heard were different.
“Save me…”
“No, just kill me…”
A father carrying shopping bags, a mother leaning against him, their son running ahead with a toy.
“Mommy, Daddy, it’s so strange…”
“Run, what’s happening…?”
“No, don’t go there…”
Within these seemingly peaceful scenes, completely different voices echoed.
As the Kingdom gradually came under Luo Ling’s control, she heard more and more voices.
Voices of confusion and fear, pain and struggle, echoing endlessly.
Luo Ling sat slumped on the ground, unnoticed by the pedestrians, because amidst these countless mycelia threads, she was the source.
The wielder of the Kingdom.
But…
Only after completely taking control of the Kingdom did Luo Ling finally understand her sister’s pain and struggle, why she had been so desperate to prevent her from becoming the next Puppet Ballad, even willing to kill her.
Because her sister knew her, knew her very well.
Knew… that Luo Ling couldn’t handle this truth.
Knew that she would never willingly accept it.
“Those who are still in Jiangcheng County… they’re all…”
Luo Ling slowly raised her head, tears of blood welling up in her eyes.
“They’re all… dead…”
Or rather, in a state worse than death.
These seemingly normal people had become slaves of the Kingdom.
Their bodies and souls were completely controlled, only their consciousness remaining, trapped within their minds, watching in horror as their bodies lived their normal lives in this hellish landscape.
This wasn’t the Puppet Ballad’s twisted sense of humor, but simply because the only thing it couldn’t control… was consciousness.
Those under the Kingdom’s control were essentially dead, their bodies manipulated by invisible mycelia threads, like puppets on a stage.
The Puppet Ballad, using the memories and emotions it had absorbed, perfectly mimicked their every action, their every word. This was the true meaning of “slave.”
This was… true control.
Ji Ying had called the ordinary people influenced by the Puppet Ballad “Lambs.” Luo Ling had thought they were the least affected, but in reality, the Lambs were the ones truly controlled by the Puppet Ballad’s true form.
The Meat Puppets were merely clumsy imitations created by the “eggs.”
More importantly, this hadn’t started when Jiangcheng County was enveloped in gray, but gradually, subtly, over time, permeating the entire city.
That was why there had been so many incidents of ordinary people in Jiangcheng County going insane after witnessing Grotesquery phenomena.
Perhaps the dormant Puppet Ballad’s control hadn’t been perfect, or perhaps some people had a special talent, their bodies not being controlled, yet they had seen things they shouldn’t have.
These people were both lucky and unlucky.
Although most people in Jiangcheng County were already under its control, the dormant Puppet Ballad had been using their memories and emotions to maintain their bodies’ functions.
Maintaining… a vibrant, yet dead city.
“All of this… was this all… Sister’s doing?”
Luo Ling slowly closed her eyes.
“…No.”
“Even Sister… was just a Lamb… her own Lamb.”
The Puppet Ballad had used its own ability, creating the persona of “Su Wan” from memories and emotions, intending to deceive someone, perhaps Luo Ling, or perhaps some other being.
But even it hadn’t expected this disguise to develop a will of its own.
From the moment Su Wan was born, it was no longer an it, but a she.
A she with “humanity.”
A… sister.
That was why…
The most bitter part for her sister was realizing this truth.
Countless cries of sorrow and despair echoed in Luo Ling’s mind through the Kingdom.
She could clearly sense their terror and hopelessness, trapped within their own bodies.
But…
“I can’t save them.”
Even if Luo Ling released the Kingdom now, undid the control over everyone, it was irreversible.
“I can’t do anything…”
Hearing the cries in her mind, Luo Ling sat slumped on the ground, staring at the bloodstains and scraps of cloth.
“Sister, you didn’t know what to do either, did you?”
“How cruel… leaving everything to your little sister, leaving on your own…”
Luo Ling lowered her head, her forehead touching something on the ground.
She picked it up with trembling hands. It was…
A hundred-yuan bill.
A hundred-yuan bill covered in dust and bloodstains.
“This is the first money Xiao Ling earned. Even if you earn more in the future, the first time is always special.”
Her sister’s gentle voice echoed in her memory.
But… there wouldn’t be a next time.
“Kill them.”
“Kill them all.”
The most difficult choice, yet the only option.
It was better to release them from their torment, trapped within the Kingdom, mindless “slaves,” than to let them continue suffering.
The entire Jiangcheng County, about four hundred thousand ordinary people.
Less than a thousand had escaped the control, most of whom had been evacuated by the Company and the exchange group.
The rest…
Were just lost lambs.
Luo Ling stood up unsteadily, walking through the ruined city.
She walked through the collapsed streets, along the familiar river, past every memory.
Finally, she reached the summit of Huolu Mountain.
She looked up at the setting sun, its beauty undiminished even through the hazy gray.
“So beautiful…”
The scenery remained.
But the person… was gone.
At the same time, as if someone had pressed a pause button, everyone in Jiangcheng County froze, their movements gradually stiffening, until they were completely still.
After a brief, eerie pause, blood erupted from their bodies.
Their skin tore, their flesh rotting at an alarming rate.
After releasing her control, to quickly end their suffering, Luo Ling had chosen the most painless method, releasing the four hundred thousand people of Jiangcheng County from their torment.
Boom!
A loud explosion, followed by a series of muffled booms, like a morbid symphony, a chorus of death.
Luo Ling watched, her eyes recording the final moments of Jiangcheng County.
The countless cries in her mind gradually faded, until silence descended, and brilliant crimson flowers bloomed throughout the streets and alleys of Jiangcheng County.
Countless lives extinguished in an instant.
But Luo Ling was numb.
“Sister, I’m… also a monster now,” she whispered.
She had personally killed four hundred thousand people.
At this moment, Luo Ling just wanted to lie down and rest, praying that this was all just a dream.
That when she woke up, she would be back in her warm home.
With her sister waiting for her.
But… impossible.
She slowly closed her eyes.
An endless silence enveloped her, a sense of despair.
It was so quiet…
She wanted to stay here… forever…
“Big Sister Bai!”
A heart-wrenching cry echoed.
Luo Ling slowly opened her eyes and saw a small, red-haired figure, her legs unsteady, leaning against the railing at the edge of the cliff, gasping for air.
Looking calmly at the newcomer, Luo Ling asked softly, “Why… haven’t you escaped yet?”
It was Elsa, the one who had given her the name “White Witch,” her wheelchair destroyed in the chaos, having climbed Huolu Mountain with Bella’s help and her own unsteady legs.
“The city… the city…”
Terror still lingered in Elsa’s eyes; the scene of exploding bodies in Jiangcheng County had clearly traumatized her.
“…I did it,” Luo Ling murmured, lowering her eyes.
She had personally killed them all.
“I’m a monster.”
A monster like her sister.
“Elsa, you should go, don’t stay here,” Luo Ling turned her face away.
“No! Big Sister Bai, you… you’re not a monster,” Elsa said, taking a step closer with difficulty. “If you’re a monster, then I’m also a monster. We… are all monsters.
“Didn’t you say… we’re… the same, kindred spirits?”
“We’re not the same anymore,” Luo Ling said calmly. “I killed everyone in Jiangcheng County, four hundred thousand lives. I… have become the most terrifying Grotesquery.”
“No!”
The red-haired girl, supporting herself on the railing, reached Luo Ling and knelt down, embracing the small figure leaning against the rock.
“It wasn’t you, Big Sister Bai, you saved them. I heard it all, they… they are all free from their pain now.”
A moment of silence.
“…Is that so…?”
Luo Ling’s lips twitched slightly, trying to force a smile for Elsa, but she couldn’t.
Elsa’s heart ached, seeing Bai’s forced smile, more painful than tears.
She didn’t know what Big Sister Bai had experienced, but no matter what, even now, Elsa believed… Big Sister Bai was still Big Sister Bai.
The one who had protected her from the terrifying Scientist in Baiyan Village.
Even if… she had become a Grotesquery.
“If you want to cry… then cry,” Elsa said, holding Luo Ling close. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here with you, Big Sister Bai.”
She didn’t ask any questions.
She simply shared her sorrow.
After a moment, the beautiful white dress with tassels was stained with tears.
…
“Retreat! Retreat immediately! By any means necessary, as fast as you can!”
Outside Jiangcheng County, Old Madam Lu’s eyes widened in horror, as if sensing something.
She didn’t even have time to explain to Li Shaoheng, immediately mobilizing her forces, afraid of being too late.
Although Li Shaoheng was confused, he followed her orders.
Fortunately, after leaving the area enveloped by the Grotesquery’s domain, his ability was usable again.
Although large-scale teleportation was taxing, seeing Old Madam Lu’s frantic state, he didn’t dare delay.
It seemed the situation in Jiangcheng County had become critical, and they had to abandon it.
Within fifteen minutes, almost all Company personnel near Jiangcheng County had retreated. Other organizations, seeing the Company retreat, also followed suit.
The Company’s pragmatism was well-known among Awakened organizations.
Participating in Grotesquery incidents with the Company didn’t guarantee success, but retreating with them was always the safest option.
Only after reaching a relatively safe distance did Old Madam Lu return, her face ashen.
And filled with disbelief… and fear.
“Senior Lu, what happened in Jiangcheng County?” Li Shaoheng asked grimly, approaching her.
“A possibility, though I’m not certain,” Old Madam Lu exhaled, still shaken. “My wind… sensed the stench of blood.”
“Could it be… that the White Witch in the city… is on a rampage?” Li Shaoheng’s eyes widened. Was this newborn High-Risk Grotesquery that brutal?
“More than that, the intensity of the blood… I’ve only encountered it once before in my life,” Old Madam Lu whispered. “But even that time… couldn’t compare to today.
“That time, Philosopher slaughtered a small city, forty thousand people dead within twenty-four hours, and now in Jiangcheng County… at least a hundred thousand are already dead.”
Less than an hour had passed since the White Witch replaced the Puppet Ballad in the Sequence.
At least a hundred thousand lives extinguished.
How… cruel.
Even just hearing it, Li Shaoheng could imagine the hellish scene in Jiangcheng County.
Those who survived, after witnessing such brutality, would likely be driven insane…
“The danger level is far greater than the Puppet Ballad. Headquarters is currently gathering all Awakened organizations within this Boundary to discuss countermeasures,” Old Madam Lu sighed, looking towards Jiangcheng County, the gray haze gradually fading, her heart heavy. “Hopefully… this incident won’t have a disastrous outcome.
“And now, we need to worry about… ourselves.”
Leave a Reply