Chapter 328: Strange Deer

Chapter 328: The Strange Deer

Twenty minutes later.

The aftershocks of the nuclear blast had ceased, yet at the fringe of the mountain city the shattered structures continued to crumble.

Power was cut, and the whole city fell once more into darkness.

Lin Yu and his scout returned to the surface, and at that moment, besides the wind howling through the ruins and the clatter of collapsing buildings, what truly chilled them were the wailing cries of the ghost‑like monsters that prowled the city’s edge.

"These monsters have gone berserk,"

Lin Yu said in a low voice:

"The nuclear shockwave severed the beacons' control over them—what did the Chinese army call that again?"

"Electromagnetic pulse?"

"Yes, an electromagnetic pulse."

The scout answered in a hushed tone.

"How useful. Now I fully understand why the Chinese army looks down on us,"

"Not to mention their ability to wield a nuclear weapon; their strikes are almost unbelievable,"

"They have never set foot in the mountain city, yet in such a short span they learned how to subdue it,"

"If they were to bomb us every day, or even every few hours, perhaps we wouldn't even need to fight—this city would be utterly destroyed in time,"

"Not necessarily,"

Lin Yu shook his head:

"A nuclear bomb can only strike the structures above ground."

"Look, we survived by sheltering beneath a building; imagine the core zones deep underground."

"They will eventually devise other methods,"

"But it matters not; they will find a way,"

At that moment Lin Yu pointed toward the distant park and said:

"For now we need not concern ourselves with that,"

"The lights over there are out; we must go quickly, fetch food, and return,"

"Understood,"

The scout nodded at once, and the two slipped out of the tower, racing along the deserted streets toward the park.

Only when they set foot on the road did Lin Yu finally grasp what the unmanned machines were doing.

They were indeed "repairing" the city.

But their repairs were limited to the electrical equipment that had been damaged.

"This city runs entirely on electricity,"

"Without power, the city is dead,"

As he ran forward, Lin Yu spoke:

"But where does the electricity come from? Is it buried underground as well?"

"I don't know,"

The scout's gaze remained fixed ahead.

"I care not where the power lies; whether the city lives or dies matters little,"

"But—"

"There's something ahead!"

"It's full of living things!"

"We won't die now!"

The scout's voice trembled with unmasked excitement; Lin Yu followed his pointing finger and immediately noticed, amidst the dense foliage of the park, a swarm of dark silhouettes.

They were indeed living creatures.

Lin Yu quickened his stride, his long blade already drawn.

No elaborate tactics were needed; at their speed, no animal could evade the edge of his steel.

When the last of his strength burned away and his steps grew light, he plunged into the woods.

——

It was clearly not a natural forest.

It was a "man‑made garden" fenced in with wire and railings!

That mattered not.

The fences could not stop him.

Lin Yu sprang upward, and as he descended a startled deer collided with his blade.

A flash of cold steel, blood sprayed.

He scanned the surroundings warily and found that the garden was populated almost entirely by docile, small animals.

"Do you smell any monsters?"

Lin Yu asked the scout who had just arrived.

"None,"

"No scent of monsters,"

"But—"

"That foul odor is overwhelming,"

"Foul odor?"

Lin Yu furrowed his brow.

"The same strange smell you mentioned before?" "Yes,"

The scout reached down, touched the still‑twitching carcass of the deer, brought his fingertip to his nose and said:

"The smell of blood is intense, but it doesn't seem poisonous,"

"What now, eat it?"

"Eat—I'm on the brink of collapse, and you hesitate?"

Lin Yu seized the severed deer head nearby and inhaled greedily.

Blood flooded his throat; after the sharp, salty sting, the natural sweetness of the flesh danced on his tongue.

A wave of immense satisfaction washed over him in an instant.

He was ravenously hungry.

With savage bites, piece after piece of venison was swallowed into his gut.

He even felt his throat being lacerated by the coarse, raw meat, yet he could no longer mind such details.

Dizziness began to assail him; he leaned against a fallen tree, panting heavily, his chest exhaling a sigh of contentment.

“Poison or not, it matters not.”

Lin Yu mumbled,

“It’s not poisonous.”

The scout beside him, his mouth also stuffed with venison, managed to swallow before continuing:

“But this smell is truly odd.”

“It makes me feel nauseous.”

“Nauseous?”

Lin Yu blinked in surprise.

At that moment, he too sensed the strange odor the scout described.

Yet, in truth, the scent did not sicken him.

“I don’t share your feeling; I find it quite tasty.”

“Very succulent.”

“Succulence is another matter.”

The scout kept shoving food into his mouth.

“It’s very succulent, but that doesn’t stop it from being disgusting.”

“Enough, no need to fuss over it.”

“At least we’re sure it’s not poisonous!”

“We can survive.”

“Indeed.”

Lin Yu exhaled a cloud of foul breath.

The intense negativity born of days of scarcity vanished in an instant, as if the storm clouds overhead were evaporated by sunlight, and he felt an unprecedented bliss.

A feeling he had never known, not even when he “graduated” from the Holy Blood Hall.

The two of them ate for a full ten minutes, and only after their stomachs were completely filled did they finally set aside the shredded remnants of the deer.

Lin Yu brushed his mouth, blood staining his face, giving him a grim appearance.

“Slice this deer open.”

He said:

“Remove the entrails, separate the meat.”

“We cannot use fire; the target is too large.”

“Eat the edible organs now, lest they spoil.”

“Understood.”

The scout, while carving the deer, asked:

“Why not hunt more game?”

“We must.”

Lin Yu retorted:

“But are we to discard this one? After all, we must remove its innards.”

“Makes sense.”

The scout reached to pry open the deer's belly, but in that instant his motion halted.

“What is it?”

Lin Yu noted the shift in his expression.

Under the dim starlight, a barely perceptible tremor of fear flickered across the scout’s face.

He drew a deep breath and said:

“There’s something off about this deer.”

“Damn it”

“This deer has two hearts and three lungs!”

(End of Chapter)