“Haaa~”
Yin Yang stretched his limbs while letting out a long, wide yawn.
He slipped on his slippers, folded his quilt neatly, and then grabbed his toiletries to go brush his teeth.
“Morning.”
Liu Hong, who was also washing up nearby, greeted him.
It had to be said that Liu Hong’s luck was quite good.
During yesterday’s self-detonation event, he hadn't looked out the window. Otherwise, given his level of strength, he likely would have been parasitized by now.
“Morning.”
Yin Yang picked up his toothbrush and began to brush. He noted internally that the old man really was something; the heroic spirits had been feasting in the divine kingdom all night, yet they had only consumed about a third of him.
Once the two of them finished washing up and opened their dormitory door, they saw Mr. Yu walking toward them with a stern expression.
He sized them up for a moment before asking, “Did you two see anything yesterday?”
Yin Yang and Liu Hong exchanged a glance before Yin Yang asked, “Teacher, what do you mean? Could you give us a general direction?”
Seeing that neither of them showed any signs of abnormality in their speech, Mr. Yu asked another question.
“Among the three patients at Old Zhang’s place, one turned into an apple tree and one turned into a banana tree. What did the last one turn into?”
Hearing this, the two looked even more bewildered. Yin Yang spoke up with a look of concern. “Mr. Yu, are you alright?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Answer me! What kind of tree!”
Mr. Yu’s expression was extremely serious. Yin Yang and Liu Hong spoke almost simultaneously.
“Only one patient turned into an apple tree.”
Hearing this answer, Mr. Yu finally relaxed a bit.
“Sir, what happened?”
Liu Hong looked at Mr. Yu curiously, but Mr. Yu simply waved his hand and turned to walk away.
Yin Yang and Liu Hong were both left feeling somewhat baffled. It wasn't until they went to the cafeteria for breakfast that they found out what had occurred.
The Security Bureau Chief’s deputy was dead!
Or rather, except for the Demigods, everyone who had ‘witnessed’ the black-robed elder yesterday was dead!
The Security Bureau Chief was nearly driven to madness because his deputy was his brother-in-law, someone who had worked tirelessly by his side for many years.
He was supposed to have been among the evacuated personnel, but fearing the Chief would be overwhelmed, he had volunteered to stay behind. No one expected him to perish so inexplicably.
“Sigh, I heard that last night, those people returned to the military camp and started killing anyone they saw. They were shouting about purifying the world and summoning the True God!”
“Huh? Were they undercover agents for the Shadow Lotus Church?”
“Who knows.”
“Quite a few people died last night.”
Hearing this, Yin Yang immediately sped up his eating. Liu Hong, sitting across from him, looked confused.
“What’s the rush?”
“Didn’t you hear them? Many died in the military last night. Where there are dead, there are wounded. Right now is likely when they need help the most; we should go assist.”
“Oh, right, right.”
Liu Hong felt Yin Yang’s words made a lot of sense, so he also began to eat faster.
The two finished and headed straight for the hospital. Upon arrival, things were exactly as they expected. The doctors were exhausted, having performed surgeries throughout the night.
After identifying themselves, the two were immediately pulled aside to help.
Although the hospital didn't dare let them perform surgery right away, they were allowed to handle external trauma.
Through these wounded soldiers, Yin Yang learned the specific details of what happened last night.
In their words, it was as if those people had contracted a contagious mental illness.
When the condition flared up, they couldn't control their emotions. They would grin wildly and fire their guns frantically.
Moreover, it spread very quickly.
Initially, only about a dozen people started shooting. They were killed by their commanding officer before they could do much damage.
However, just as the bodies were being moved, the people handling the corpses were also infected. With wide smiles on their faces, they began firing at their own comrades.
The smiles on their faces were identical to the ones before.
Their commander immediately judged that this foul thing spread through contact. He subsequently ordered his men to shoot anyone who touched a corpse.
But people have hearts of flesh. How many could ruthlessly strike down their own comrades?
Especially when those people were kneeling on the ground, crying and screaming that they hadn't been infected.
As it turned out, their commander was right!
Everyone who touched a corpse was infected; kneeling on the ground was merely a ruse.
They suddenly rose up and charged into the crowd!
The infection began!
The commander decisively sounded the alarm, ordering everyone to stand apart and stay on guard with their weapons. If anyone charged at them, they were to fire immediately!
In this manner, at a very heavy cost, the infection was temporarily halted.
Hearing these descriptions, Yin Yang thought to himself that the black-robed elder truly had a trick up his sleeve.
His shouting yesterday, calling for everyone to ‘witness’ him, must have been a ritual.
As long as someone saw him explode at that moment, he could parasitize his consciousness into their body.
Then, through physical contact, he could transfer that consciousness.
“How terrifying.”
“You can say that again.”
The soldier had a look of lingering fear as he stared worriedly at his lower leg.
“Doctor, will I be a cripple?”
“A cripple? Of course not. You’re lucky; it didn't hit the bone. At your age, you’ll recover quickly.”
“Just make sure to eat plenty of high-quality protein—meat, eggs, milk—and foods rich in vitamins and zinc. It won't be long before you’re walking like the wind again.”
Hearing Yin Yang’s answer, the soldier finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard Yin Yang continue.
“Since the corpses can't be touched, how are the bodies of the fallen soldiers being handled?”
The soldier’s expression dimmed.
“The commander found some gold and melted it into hooks. They used those hooks to pull the bodies away for mass cremation.”
Yin Yang patted the man’s shoulder after hearing this.
“My condolences.”
...
In the afternoon, Yin Yang found the place where the bodies were being burned.
Over a thousand heroic spirits stood there.
Yin Yang sighed and pressed his palms together, appearing to recite a prayer for these heroic spirits.
“Are you praying for them?”
Mr. Yu’s voice rang out from behind him.
Yin Yang was ‘startled’ and turned around abruptly. He only relaxed when he saw it was Mr. Yu.
“Yes, sir. I am a follower of the Lord of Rebirth and Communion. I am praying for these departed souls, hoping they can find rebirth soon.”
Mr. Yu squinted his eyes slightly.
“You are a good boy, but perhaps you should focus more of your energy on the living.”
“I will, sir.”
Mr. Yu nodded and turned to leave.
Yin Yang watched Mr. Yu’s back for a moment before turning back to continue his prayer.
This time, streams of heroic spirits gathered behind him and headed into the divine kingdom, joining the army of spirits devouring the ‘black-robed elder.’
Compared to the ‘original resident heroic spirits,’ these new arrivals were undoubtedly eating with even more fervor!
Yin Yang kept his hands pressed together and his eyes closed in prayer. With his Perception skill, he had long since discovered that Mr. Yu was tailing him.
He just didn't know if the man suspected him because he had survived two ‘disasters’ or if he was worried Yin Yang had been parasitized.
But regardless of which it was, he would have to be extra careful from now on.
Yin Yang closed his eyes and silently felt the growth of spirituality within his body. He couldn't stop just yet.
...
Rate on N.U.
