Chapter Sixty-Three: The Giant Wolf

Hoisting Huo Bing onto my back, I raced down the illuminated corridor toward the laboratory sector.

There, I was certain I would find the substance responsible for the mutation of these corpses. Fight poison with poison—if it could cause corpses to mutate, it could surely induce mutations in humans, or even those who were half-human, half-corpse. Even brain matter could be reconstituted and restored. That meant this substance could integrate with the virus.

Yet another thought preoccupied my mind. Never before had I seen a corpse that could grin at a surveillance camera. Not once. Its intelligence was far beyond that of a third-stage corpse—staggeringly high.

And it wasn’t just grinning; it was mimicking speech as well. It had clearly mouthed, “Can you still hear me?”

The terror that seized me when I recognized those words from its mouth movements was something I could hardly describe.

That was only the first shock. The second was the sheer number of corpses. They were everywhere. An endless, overwhelming tide. When I first entered, I hadn’t had time to look closely, but now, with the lights restored throughout the factory, the surveillance feeds revealed the truth: the path I had just taken was packed with corpses.

Without exception, they all wore employee uniforms—at least a thousand or two of them! It was unimaginable that I had leapt right over their heads to break into the central control room.

Fortunately, that area was on the very edge of the factory—the processing sector, separated from the control room by a not-so-wide corridor. But that was hardly enough to explain why the corpses hadn’t pursued me.

I suspected that entire horde was under the control of the one who grinned at me and mimicked speech. Yes, it was commanding them. That massive shock earlier must have been its doing too.

Damn that monster! I had to find a way to kill it.

Its appearance was unmistakable, different from the others. While everyone else wore standard employee uniforms, only it wore a white lab coat—just like a doctor.

No, to be precise, just like a researcher.

With the whole factory now lit and no corpses in my way, I reached the laboratory almost effortlessly. The doors were closed, but luck was not on their side. I raised my titanium-alloy blade and smashed through whatever barred my path.

“If only I’d paid more attention in chemistry class—what the hell are all these formulas? I can’t make sense of any of it.” Desperately I searched through the room; every bottle was marked with cryptic codes—letters and numbers. It was maddening.

By now, Huo Bing had lost consciousness. Her mind was unstable, and I dreaded the possibility that, when she awoke, she might lunge at me in a frenzy.

I approached a deactivated reactor labeled “High Danger.” As I drew near, an acrid stench assaulted my nose, making my vision blur. I staggered back a few steps before I could breathe again.

Even the lingering fumes in the reactor were enough to make me nauseous and dizzy—clearly, this was a lethal poison. Of all the containers in the laboratory, only this reactor bore the “High Danger” warning. The rest were unmarked.

This reactor had to be the most dangerous thing here.

I looked up at its pipework, considering whether it was connected to the recent mutations in the corpses. I had to investigate further; if I guessed wrong, I might end up poisoning Huo Bing to death right here, turning her into a corpse before the four-hour window was up.

I hid Huo Bing in a relatively safe spot, out of immediate sight, but I couldn’t shake the fear that a corpse would wander in and discover her.

Following the pipes, I hurried out and, after several minutes, tracked them to the processing sector. At the very top of the factory, the pipes branched into several large vents pointing downward, as if something had been sprayed from them.

This had to be it—the substance in the reactor was doubtless the source of the mutations. But what exactly was it? Could it really be just an ordinary chemical? That would be too much of a coincidence. Nearly all the factory’s corpses were gathered in this building.

I thought again of the corpse in the white lab coat. Perhaps everything was connected to it. Why hadn’t I seen it earlier?

Returning to the laboratory to examine the reactor, I discovered that Huo Bing was gone.

Clenching the hilt of my blade, I forced myself to remain calm.

It must have been that cunning villain!

The thought of Huo Bing in the hands of a corpse sent a chill down my spine.

At last, tracking the drag marks in the dust, I followed them deeper into the facility.

A figure in a white lab coat appeared before me, dragging Huo Bing by the leg across the floor. Fourth Master was there, too—he stood in the path of the white-coated corpse, barking furiously but not daring to lunge with jaws open.

No matter how human the lab coat made it appear, the rotting flesh and reeking stench could not be concealed.

I scraped my blade against the floor, the screech of metal echoing.

At last, the white-coated corpse turned to face me. I saw decaying flesh falling from its lips, and brown blood oozing out. Had it eaten one of its own kind?

“Do you want to save this girl?” it asked.

I could only make out the words from its mouth movements. Thankfully, this was a skill I’d trained for—so long as the shapes were clear, I could understand.

“You’re the first corpse I’ve ever seen who can speak,” I said, pointing my blade at it. If it made one wrong move, I’d have no qualms about striking. If only I could land a blow.

The fact that it could talk put it leagues above ordinary corpses—its strength was not to be underestimated.

The white-coated corpse feigned contemplation. Its mannerisms were growing more human by the moment.

“In truth, I’m not the only one. You’ll see more of the dead like me in the future. I know what you intend—to use that gas to save her. But a living person can’t survive it. It would be a miserable death.”

It spoke slowly, deliberately, so I could read its lips.

“Hand her over,” I demanded, fixing my gaze upon it.

“Ah, very well. I wish you success. As for me, it’s merely one less fresh meal. I can sense you and that dog are dangerous. I’d rather not cross you.”

With that, the white-coated corpse released Huo Bing and turned away. It left so decisively—there was no fight, none of the confrontation I had expected. It walked away as normally as any living person, even without the enhancement of moonlight.

My spirits grew heavier. This was no good omen for the survivors.

Even if it had gained intelligence, even if it retained fragments of its former life, it could not shake its craving for living flesh.