Chapter 316: The Dead City is Reviving

Chapter 316: The Dead City Revives

Meanwhile, twenty kilometres south of the Mountain City.

Lin Yu, with his three companions, treaded cautiously through the mountains, inch by inch drawing nearer to the city’s direction.

The blood‑line’s vigor granted them bodies of exceptional strength, enabling them to cross more than a hundred kilometres in a single night and plunge into the “heartland” surrounding the Mountain City.

Yet, from the moment they entered the twenty‑kilometre perimeter and passed the iconic tunnel, every step grew slower.

From that point onward, they could truly be said to have entered the domain of the Mountain City.

No one knew what would unfold, for in the past few years even the most far‑reaching expedition had only managed to press two kilometres beyond that tunnel.

If one looks further back, there were once holy‑blooded scouts who had drawn within ten kilometres.

But that massive force met a fate that was essentially a total annihilation.

Now, as time drifts onward, this enigmatic city is itself undergoing change.

Past experience no longer holds weight, and the routes once charted are no longer safe.

All they can do is lean as much as possible on instinct and experience, seeking a path that is comparatively reliable.

Lin Yu set his pace to a crawl, his movements as gentle as possible.

As if fearing to rouse the insects, fish, birds, and beasts hidden in the woods, the party advanced in utter silence.

The scout forged ahead, climbing the towering trees to scout the road ahead, and each time he returned to the ground he brought Lin Yu the same answer.

“It’s very quiet.”

Lin Yu gave a slight nod, then whispered his command:

“Press onward.”

“How far are we from the edge of the Mountain City?”

“Fifteen kilometres remain.”

The scout answered in the same low tone:

“We’re much closer now, far nearer than the team from two years ago.”

“Strangely, we’ve encountered no anomalies.”

“That defies all logic.”

“Logic?”

Lin Yu shook his head.

“This city knows no such thing as logic.”

“We are alive now, yet we could die in the next heartbeat.”

“The previous team suffered the same fate.”

“Just minutes ago they were in radio contact with me, and minutes later they vanished completely into this forest.”

“As if they had never existed at all.”

“Therefore, do not be careless.”

“Continue forward.”

“Understood.”

The scout gave a brief reply and turned to press on.

At that moment, a shield‑bearer from the party rushed up, drawing close to Lin Yu and asked:

“Sir, must we truly keep moving forward?”

“This place is already perilous. If we go on, no one can say what may happen.”

“Precisely because we cannot know what may happen, we must press onward.”

Lin Yu’s tone was resolute.

After a brief pause, he spoke:

“This may be a precious opportunity.”

“From thirty kilometres to fifteen, we have met no mishap.”

“I suspect it is not luck, but the effect of the Huaxia army’s strike.”

“The strike took effect?”

The shield‑bearer furrowed his brow.

“A strike launched from a thousand kilometres away?”

“If such a strike can indeed work, it is beyond what any human could achieve—more akin to some sort of sorcery.”

With those words, Lin Yu burst into laughter.

“If you put it that way, the Huaxia army truly wields magic.”

“Enough, return to your post.”

“We must still move forward.”

Having said so, Lin Yu fell in step with the scout, pressing onward.

The shield‑bearer knew he could not sway him, and thus followed in silence.

The four‑person squad continued through a hush, the noon sun spilling through the trees, casting dappled specks upon the narrow, winding, overgrown path beneath their feet.

As those specks drifted, they found themselves, without noticing, advancing to within ten kilometres of the city’s edge.

At that moment, Lin Yu could see the silhouette of the Mountain City with his naked eye.

The city remained shrouded in a mist that seemed almost eternal.

Yet it seemed, somehow, to have changed.

Crouched within the cover of the grass, Lin Yu asked:

“Is the communication normal?”

“Normal.”

The scout beside him replied, “Strangely, we can still use radio communication.”

“That has never happened before.”

“According to past experience, once you enter the thirty‑kilometre radius, the radio begins to falter.”

“At fifteen kilometres, it should be completely dead.”

“But now we are at ten kilometres.”

“Has the city died?”

“It has died.”

The moment those two words left his mouth, Lin Yu's heart leapt wildly.

At last he understood why that strange sensation had seized him.

Indeed, though the mist had not yet lifted, the city seemed as if it were dead. It bore no difference from those ruin‑strewn metropolises, and even seemed more. death‑stagnant.

The weapons of the Huaxia army had taken effect.

Lin Yu's gaze shifted in an instant.

He realized this was a rare opportunity.

A chance that might finally let them truly enter the mountain city!

“Press on.”

“Advance to the hill six kilometres away.”

“We will set up observation there.”

“Understood.”

The squad members nodded at once.

But then the shield‑bearer asked:

“So what exactly are we looking for?”

“A pit.”

Lin Yu replied:

“A great pit.”

“A great pit?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yu pressed forward, then answered:

“The army dropped a nuclear bomb on the mountain city— the very thing they call the ‘Sun.’”

“A nuclear bomb? The Sun!?”

In that instant, the shield‑bearer understood where Lin Yu’s confidence sprang from.

If they truly possessed the power to hurl a nuclear bomb at the mountain city.

Then perhaps the city had already been razed!

In a heartbeat his steps grew resolute.

The four‑person squad pressed onward, encountering no obstacles.

Upon reaching a point six kilometres in a straight line from the city’s rim, the squad turned westward and began the ascent to the summit.

At that moment, the mysterious, ever‑forbidden city finally unveiled its full visage before them.

Vast, almost brand‑new structures beyond description.

Complex, dense tracks that wove among the edifices.

Trains hanging from the tracks like serpents of steel.

And a grey‑white mist seeping up from the city’s underbelly.

Lin Yu’s heartbeat continued to quicken.

He knew he was likely the first person in the world to truly behold the mountain city in its entirety.

——

Yet he had no time for reverie.

For as his gaze drifted slowly, he beheld the horrifying “great pit.”

Perhaps, in more fitting terms, it should not be called a “pit” at all.

It was a massive collapse zone.

As if a great weight had plummeted from above, the whole area crumbled like a child’s sandcastle into ruin.

Flames roared within the wreckage, intermingled with black smoke and occasional flickers of electric light.

Undoubtedly, it was the crater of a nuclear bomb!

The Huaxia army’s strike had truly taken effect.

Though it had not struck the very heart of the city, the damage it wrought was unmistakable.

That is why his squad had encountered no mishap from start to finish.

The city was already dead!

Lin Yu exhaled a long, steady breath.

He spoke:

“We can report to the Huaxia forces now.”

“The city has been destroyed; it likely serves no function any longer.”

“Inform them that we intend to enter the mountain city.”

“We will promptly relay any discoveries within the city, and thereafter—”

“Wait!”

Before Lin Yu could finish, a scout beside him seized his hand.

Then, with a voice tinged with dread, the scout said:

“West.”

“The western side of the mountain city!”

Lin Yu lifted his binoculars once more, looking toward the direction the scout indicated.

With that single glance, every hair on his body stood on end.

Lights.

He saw countless lights.

Lights igniting one after another!

A small area had already been bathed in illumination, and as the lights flared, the mist rising from the ground grew denser.

Soon the glow spread, expanding like a chain reaction.

Lin Yu’s lips trembled faintly.

He immediately retrieved his radio and began calling the Huaxia forces stationed far away in Hanshui City.

——

But at that very moment,

a sound erupted from behind them.

The quickest scout instinctively turned back; as its long blade swept down, a bizarre object hovering in the air suddenly plummeted.

It came!

“Enemy attack!!”

The scout shouted at the top of his lungs.

From the distant thicket, a denser stir had already arisen.

Lin Yu drew his pistol from his waist.

He took aim at the far distance, and, gripping the radio, cried out loudly:

“I am Lin Yu!”

“I am in the mountain city!”

“This city is already dead!”

“But. It is being reborn!”

(End of chapter)