HAGLTP Chapter 21

This batch of wandering corpses looked more advanced than those that had roamed before. At the very least, their behavior was no longer a monotonous charge; they had developed agile movements, and some even coordinated with each other.

But, so what?

Xiao Lu was no longer the stiff and weak figure he had been back then, and he now had two trustworthy teammates to watch his back.

It was still night, and the power of light had not yet reached its peak. Xiao Lu gathered energy in his hand, and a blade made entirely of light appeared in his palm.

His figure moved like the wind, swiftly darting among the horde of wandering corpses, dodging the incoming claws and avoiding the gaping mouths that sought to bite him. Each strike was aimed precisely at their greatest weakness—the star-patterned crystal.

A small wandering corpse moved quickly, trying to attack him from his blind spot.

But faster than its movement was the ice-blue barrier.

Ye Qi timely expanded a barrier behind Xiao Lu. The small wandering corpse’s claws struck down with full force but met with a rebound, causing its entire body to lose balance and fall backward, where Xiao Lu turned and struck, severing the star-patterned crystal from its chest.

Xiao Lu and Ye Qi’s gazes crossed for a moment; one was filled with battle intent, while the other remained calm and composed.

As their eyes parted, the rhythm of the battle remained undisturbed.

Though they had not known each other for long, there seemed to be an unspoken synergy between them, as if they had been cooperating for years. Perhaps there really is such a thing as a magnetic field between people.

Xiao Lu and Ye Qi continued to push the front line forward, getting closer to the passage.

At that moment, the animal corpses behind them had also rushed forward, and the cacophony of footsteps made the scene even more chaotic.

It was clear they were about to be attacked from both sides.

Ye Qi divided his attention to look back, his expression still unreadable, slowly raising his hand. While supporting Xiao Lu, who was deep in the horde of wandering corpses, he also had to deal with the large group of animal corpses, which was no easy task.

Huang Sansheng stepped forward, patting his sturdy chest: “Leave it to me.”

Ye Qi looked at him, silent.

“Don’t worry.” Huang Sansheng raised his fist, “I’m a power user, not just some useless sidekick.”

He wanted to prove to everyone that he was not just a lucky tagalong with Xiao Lu, that he could fight alongside his teammates, even—stand on his own.

“Go!” Huang Sansheng threw the object in his hand with all his might.

The object, originally small, almost the size of a fingernail, began to swell in the air, growing to the length of an arm, half a person tall, then a full person tall…

It turned out to be a metal iron door, and even after returning to its original size, it continued to expand until it nearly blocked the passage.

Huang Sansheng pressed on, throwing a stone that transformed into a large rock mid-air, crashing heavily against the iron door.

“Bang—”

The iron door fell with a loud crash, smashing into the animal corpses that were rushing forward.

These animal corpses only knew how to attack and did not know how to dodge, colliding directly with the heavy iron door.

In an instant, the sounds of bones shattering and various tones of wails intertwined, creating a horrific scene.

A large batch of rushing animal corpses was thus dealt with, leaving only a few for Ye Qi to slice apart with barriers, successfully allowing him and his teammates to lie flat.

Xiao Lu killed the last two wandering corpses with a single strike, turning around just in time to see this spectacular scene, unable to help but praise, “Awesome, Huang!”

“Hehe…” Huang Sansheng, receiving the compliment, shyly scratched his head, grinning foolishly.

Ye Qi rarely patted his shoulder; although he still wore that expressionless demeanor, the encouragement and approval were evident to all.

Huang Sansheng’s smile grew even brighter, like a two-hundred-pound child.

“Let’s go.” Xiao Lu waved to his teammates, moving toward the passage ahead.

Behind him were the two who followed closely.

·

Xiao Keyang led the people from Night in a fierce battle down the corridor. They chose a different path from Xiao Lu and the others, but the attacks they encountered were no less frequent.

Unlike the tacit cooperation of Xiao Lu’s group, the people from Night, aside from Chai Yige, who had decent combat power, were all lone wolves, each fighting fiercely on their own, with no one extending a helping hand when a teammate was injured.

Chai Yige closely followed behind Xiao Keyang, observing every move and keeping up, occasionally able to land a strike, though it was perilous; at least there was someone in front to take the brunt.

“Ah—” A-Liang screamed in agony, crashing heavily to the ground.

A hyena corpse had bitten his leg, and with its enhanced bite force, it tore his leg off in an instant, blood splattering everywhere.

The surrounding animal corpses, stimulated by the scent of blood, became even more frenzied, rushing toward the fallen A-Liang one after another.

But because of this, a gap appeared in the encirclement.

“Help…” A-Liang’s bloodied hand reached out from the heavy encirclement, grasping weakly in the air, like a drowning person seeking a piece of driftwood.

The closest to him was Kang He.

Kang He glanced at A-Liang’s direction, meeting his desperate yet hopeful gaze.

“Kang… He…” A-Liang called out to him.

But Kang He did not pause, turning to rush toward the gap.

“Ah—” A-Liang let out an angry roar, the rage of being abandoned overcoming his near-death fear. He used his last ounce of strength to suddenly rise and lunged at the fleeing Kang He.

The obsession of a person on the brink of death is terrifying; his outburst even brought along a few animal corpses that were biting at his back.

Kang He was grabbed by the leg, unable to pull free.

Seeing the ferocious corpses shift their attention toward him, he kicked A-Liang angrily and shouted, “What are you doing?!”

“Die! Die with me!” A-Liang’s grip tightened, his eyes bloodshot, filled with malice and delight, like a demon crawling out from the depths of hell.

Why should he be the only one to die, creating an opportunity for others to escape? Impossible; he wasn’t that kind-hearted. They might as well all die together!

“Let go!” Kang He punched A-Liang’s hand fiercely, but A-Liang was determined to drag him down with him, even using his powers to prevent him from escaping.

“Damn it—” Kang He roared, wishing desperately for someone to help him break free from this madman.

But when he turned his head, where was Xiao Keyang?

·

Xiao Keyang and Chai Yige had long since run far away, sprinting wildly.

Chai Yige was panting heavily, with several wounds on his body, hurting badly. His abilities were quite ordinary, lacking the exceptional stamina of Xiao Keyang, but he dared not suggest resting, gritting his teeth to keep running.

Finally, the two found an upward passage. The decor here was different from before, looking much more refined. Through the glass, they could see some unknown reagents stored in certain rooms.

The animal corpses did not follow them anymore.

Xiao Keyang slowed his pace, and Chai Yige finally had a chance to catch his breath.

As the tension in his nerves relaxed, his mind finally had space to think about the earlier scene. The rules of Night dictated that the strong were respected; no one would show you any kindness. The strong ascended to high positions, while the weak had to find ways to survive.

Some people could not stand to see others do well, using all sorts of tricks to pull them down. Some failed and died more miserably, while others succeeded and became rulers.

During this time, Chai Yige had gradually gotten used to the ways of Night.

But when he truly saw his teammates fighting for their lives right in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his heart. The style of Night was indeed too devoid of humanity.

Thinking of this, Chai Yige couldn’t help but steal a glance at Xiao Keyang.

Xiao Keyang had become captain so quickly, partly due to his own formidable strength, and partly because Night only valued strength as a criterion for evaluation. If it were the White Dove or Divine Punishment Society, even the strongest would have to undergo numerous assessments to rise to power.

As the protagonist, Xiao Keyang shouldn’t be influenced by Night, right?

No, no, no, he was the protagonist; how could the protagonist easily turn bad? Clinging to the protagonist’s thigh was the safest option, Chai Yige reassured himself.

But just now, Xiao Keyang’s cold gaze sweeping over A-Liang and Kang He reappeared in his mind, like an unshakeable shadow.

Suddenly, Chai Yige thought of Huang Sansheng, that guy was truly useless, just a moving warehouse.

But the image of Xiao Lu getting angry because of his words, and the two decisively taking Huang Sansheng along without hesitation, left a mark in his heart—small, yet very noticeable.

“What are you looking at?” Xiao Keyang’s voice interrupted Chai Yige’s thoughts.

Chai Yige snapped back to reality, realizing he had been staring blankly at Xiao Keyang.

“Nothing, nothing.” Chai Yige’s heart raced; he had just been thinking about Xiao Lu’s trio, which he definitely couldn’t mention. Xiao Keyang looked unhappy now, and hearing Xiao Lu’s name would probably set him off.

Moreover, the emotion that had just risen in his heart seemed to be… envy.

Xiao Keyang glanced at him but said nothing, retracting his gaze.

The two continued in silence, one in front and one behind.

After a while, Chai Yige suddenly spoke, “Keyang, we’ve supported each other from Yao City to today. You… will protect me, right?”

“Mm.” Xiao Keyang’s reply was simple, but his expression revealed no emotion.

·

The passage continued downward, and the architectural style was different from before. No longer was it a vast expanse of white; instead, it was dominated by metal, exuding a cold yet somewhat technological feel.

Huang Sansheng looked around: “This place looks like where the bad guys live in movies.”

“If you’re scared, stay close to Ye Qi. He plays the protagonist often; maybe he can share some of his protagonist aura with you,” Xiao Lu joked.

Ye Qi: “…”

Huang Sansheng patted his round belly, sighing, “Where’s there a protagonist who’s over two hundred pounds? I can only play a sidekick at most.”

The three continued forward.

Suddenly, Xiao Lu signaled for the other two to be quiet and gestured for them to find a place to hide.

Moments later, two guards approached. They appeared normal, their skin and features lacking the deathly gray and decay of wandering corpses.

But there was one oddity: the star patterns on both of them were continuously glowing.

Power users’ star patterns only glow when they are using their abilities, yet they were merely patrolling, showing no signs of using their powers.

Xiao Lu mouthed: Mutants.

Those who had completely devoured human consciousness, occupying the shells.

Once they successfully occupied a body, they would leave human territory, only launching attacks on human society once their group’s power had grown.

Seeing two mutants here was like spotting cockroaches at home; if there were one or two, it meant there was a whole nest hidden away, perhaps even generations deep.

With mutants and star-patterned crystals, Xiao Lu felt he had come to the right place.

Carefully avoiding the guards, the three gradually delved deeper.

As they walked, Xiao Lu frowned, looking at Huang Sansheng in confusion: “Huang, did you fart?”

Huang Sansheng shook his head vigorously like a giant rattle drum, desperately indicating his innocence.

Xiao Lu then looked at Ye Qi, who met his gaze with calmness. This guy was originally an acting champion, and after experiencing trauma, nothing showed on his face.

Suddenly, a strong stench assaulted them.

At this point, Xiao Lu no longer doubted his teammates; human farts couldn’t smell this bad. This pungent odor had to come from rotting flesh, and it was even more intense than that of the wandering corpses.

Thinking of this, he had a bad premonition.

The source of the stench was a shabby large room that looked like a garbage dump, with various trash piled haphazardly together. After all, mutants were not real humans and had no habit of sorting garbage.

But besides the trash, there were also bodies lying in disarray. Some had already rotted to a greenish hue, while others were still relatively fresh.

Xiao Lu’s gaze fell on the outermost few corpses.

Gray cloaks of the Divine Punishment Society, people from Night, and… Jiang Gao, a member of the White Dove who had set out with them.

“He—” Huang Sansheng gasped in shock, almost choking on the foul air.

After observing that the area was temporarily unoccupied, Xiao Lu approached the three corpses. All three bore battle scars, but they did not appear to be fatal. How had they died?

Flipping over Jiang Gao’s body, Xiao Lu found the answer.

A star-patterned crystal was implanted in Jiang Gao’s back, the crystal already turned gray, indicating that the experiment conducted on him had failed.

The other two were similar; they had died due to failed experiments.

Previously, they had stripped the star patterns from power users and implanted them in ordinary people. Now, they were implanting star-patterned crystals into power users. What exactly did the mastermind behind this plan want? What was their connection to the boss, Duan Kai?

Ye Qi suddenly slapped Xiao Lu’s arm, and when Xiao Lu looked over, he found Ye Qi pointing at Jiang Gao’s dangling hand, which was gripping a familiar white envelope.

The fragile white paper was unwrinkled, as if it had been deliberately placed there.

Xiao Lu opened the envelope, and this time, instead of a pretentious greeting letter, there was a map inside, with a red X marking a certain location in the upper right corner, like a treasure map indicating where the treasure was hidden.

Huang Sansheng carefully examined the map: “This is… the map of this floor!”

Xiao Lu’s gaze darkened as he stared at the map in his hand, speaking softly: “There were others before, so I couldn’t say, but I have seen this envelope before…”

He briefly recounted to his teammates the incident of receiving the letter in the ventilation duct.

Huang Sansheng: “This guy is so arrogant…”

Daring to show off in front of his brother Lu, what a tough guy, well… maybe not even a human.

Xiao Lu brushed the map: “Yeah, he invited us to blow his head off. Should we go?”

“Let’s go!” Huang Sansheng waved his round fists.

Ye Qi looked at Xiao Lu, his gaze still calm.