Chapter 322: Human Cemetery

Chapter 322: The Human Cemetery

At the same time, a thousand miles away, the mountain city.

“The communicator’s broken.”

Lin Yu fidgeted with the device before him, trying to press its button to reboot it.

The indicator lights on the communicator indeed flickered back and forth as he pressed the button, yet the built‑in earphones emitted only a low, droning white noise.

Undoubtedly, this thing had failed.

——

Perhaps it hadn’t failed, merely suppressed by some unseen force.

Yet, of course, the outcome was the same.

They could no longer use the captured communicator to reach the outside world, nor could they affect those monsters.

Their predicament returned to square one—perhaps even worse.

For, in the chaos they had just wrought with the communicator, several creatures of unknown rank breached the mountain city’s outer defenses and slipped inside.

Though they did not launch a direct assault, their massive bodies still wrought considerable damage.

The path they had intended to take back down was now blocked; the spot they occupied was the sole “island” building amid a sea of ruins.

No forward, no retreat.

The only thing they could do seemed to be to hold their ground, awaiting the final end.

Lin Yu let out a long sigh.

After a moment of silence, he spoke:

“It's all right; our mission is complete.”

“According to the reports from the Huaxia troops, the beast tide was at least disrupted.”

“The crisis in Jinling City should be resolved; with the Huaxia army present, eliminating the last monsters ought not to be difficult.”

“Indeed.

At this point, the scout finally seemed to relax.

He wasn’t no longer afraid of death; he had simply placed life and death beyond his concern.

Lying on the floor of the ruined building, he even found the mood to joke.

“Come to think of it, it would be nice if we belonged to the Mechanical Cult.”

“By their reckoning, having accomplished such a great deed should qualify us for entry into the ‘Supreme Heavenly Kingdom,’ right?”

“In theory, we're already in the heavens.”

Lin Yu said solemnly, while the scout let out a dry chuckle:

“Heaven? Sir, do you truly think this place resembles heaven?”

“Obviously not.”

Lin Yu shook his head, then added:

“But who can say for certain?”

“Now, our exploration of this city is probably less than one percent.”

“All we’ve seen are the surface layers; who the hell knows what truly lies within these walls.”

“Whatever it is, it can’t possibly be heaven, can it?”

The scout sat up from the ground, pulled out the last of his rations, and took a bite.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

Lin Yu shook his head again.

“We’ve never been to New Jinling— or, as the Huaxia forces call it, Base 011.”

“But I’ve heard the real Base 011 is underground.”

“Those who have been there say its environment is not far off from the heaven they imagined.”

“So.”

The scout nodded thoughtfully.

“I really want to go back and take a look.”

“Me too.”

Lin Yu drained the last clean sip of water from his bottle, inhaled, and said:

“But now thinking about that is pointless.”

“Your wounds are severe, and mine are not light either.”

“We’ve both lost much of our mobility.”

“If we don’t find enough food and water soon—without waiting for monsters or madmen to find us—we’ll die here on our own.”

“We must first locate sustenance and water, then plan our next move.”

“I know that.”

The scout looked at Lin Yu helplessly.

“But what recourse do we have? This place isn’t a city for human habitation at all.”

“Cold, empty—rather than a city built for people, it feels more like a mechanical construct beyond our comprehension, a ‘human cemetery.’”

“The words ‘human cemetery’ sent a shiver down Lin Yu’s spine. Indeed, the description fit all too well.”

“Even he, while walking through this city, felt a strange sensation.”

“As if he were not alone.”

“As if countless wandering lonely spirits lingered about him.”

“Yet quickly, Lin Yu shook his head again:

“No, even if this is a cemetery, a cemetery has its caretakers.”

“There is a living person here— the one we killed.”

“Since he survived, that proves there must be other people in this city.”

“If they survived, we can survive too.”

“We must reach the areas where they move.”

“Their area of activity? Where is it??”

“A flicker of doubt rose in the scout’s eyes; Lin Yu blinked and answered:

“I only just thought of that.”

“If the main body of Base 011 lies underground, could the main body of the mountain city also be underground?”

“We’re supposed to go underground? That’s far too reckless, isn’t it?”

The scout hesitated, shaking his head, while Lin Yu extended his hand, pointing at the wound on his chest.

“Look at the scar on your chest—can anything be more daring than staying here to await death?”

“Indeed.”

As the words fell, the scout’s mind instantly cleared.

True enough, lingering in place seemed undeniably safe.

Yet the problem was that if they remained, the sole destiny awaiting the two of them was death.

“What, do you still hope the Huaxia army will storm in within days and whisk us away?”

Not to mention whether they possess such capability; even if they did, they could not move so swiftly.

“We can rely on no one but ourselves!”

“Then how shall we get there?”

The scout asked.

“We must have a direction; we cannot flail about like headless flies, can we?”

“Of course not.”

At that moment, Lin Yu already harbored a plan in his mind.

After a brief pause, he spoke:

“This city is dead, yet it stirs back to life.”

“And clearly, the first districts to awaken are the city’s most vital sectors.”

“The most crucial zones must be those linked to the true ‘core.’”

“We must find a way to those places—toward the lands where lights blaze!”

“What a joke!?”

The scout’s face drained of color in terror.

“We’ll die!”

“A single mountain‑town dweller nearly killed us both; in a lit district, there would be even more of them!”

“That’s exactly the ‘more’ we need!”

Lin Yu declared resolutely:

“The more foes, the greater the opportunity!”

“We need not dread them excessively; though our success hinges on luck, you can see that these men are not especially formidable.”

“At the very least, given equal arms, the Huaxia troops would far outmatch them, wouldn’t they?”

“Besides, we’ve come this far; are we still afraid to take a risk?”

“Even if we cannot locate the core’s entrance now, we can try to fell another mountain dweller.”

“Their communicators are functional; we could fashion a new one, reach out to the Huaxia army, and perhaps they have another solution.”

“You’re right.”

The scout finally nodded.

“Then we’ll follow your lead, sir.”

“Shall we set out now?”

Lin Yu sheathed the long blade at his feet and then said:

“We depart at once.”

“If this city truly is a graveyard,”

“then at least we can dig and see what we find!”

(End of Chapter)