It had started roughly a year ago, right around the time the settlement finished building that church: Zhao Yin Yin would hear an old man's voice in her head from time to time.
At first, she had thought it was a hallucination. Later, she realized it wasn't. Not only did he answer her questions, but he also occasionally taught her things she had never known before.
Her grandfather had passed away when she was very small. Sometimes, she felt this old man was just like her grandfather—always kind and gentle.
Later still, the old man told her that he was the Holy Son, the very deity enshrined in that church.
Yin Yin didn't doubt his words in the slightest. In fact, she had suspected for a while that he might be Lord Holy Son.
After all, other than a true deity, who else could be omnipresent, omnipotent, and speak right inside her mind like him?
From then on, she began confiding all her troubles to Lord Holy Son without holding anything back.
Deities didn't lie, much less go around blabbing mortal secrets.
There was no better confidant than him...
Just like usual.
Curled up in an empty room on the second floor of the Annex, Yin Yin shared all her troubles with him: her fight with her best friend, the grief of losing her family and home, and her helplessness and dread about having no one to rely on from now on.
Wiping her tears, Yin Yin mumbled softly,
"...I'm sorry. I just went on and on all by myself. You must find it really boring."
A long silence followed.
Then that kind voice slowly drifted into her mind.
"How could I, my child?"
Though it was hardly inspiring comfort, a fragile yet resilient smile touched Yin Yin's face, and she perked up a little.
After a moment, she seemed to reach a decision, gazing straight ahead.
"I really should apologize to Xiao Yang after all..."
Looking down at the little girl from a place unseen, Luo Qian gave a faint smile.
A child after all, isn't she?
Spending so much time agonizing over a trivial matter like that. He would never do that; once he made up his mind, he acted immediately.
"If you don't want to do that, you don't actually have to."
Yin Yin tilted her head.
"Why?"
Luo Qian wanted to tell her that none of it mattered anymore. Everyone in this settlement would soon be dead. What difference did it make whether she apologized or not?
But after a moment's consideration, he chose not to say it.
Even beasts in a pen had the right to spend their final moments in peace. He did not slaughter merely for the sake of killing.
So he opted for a gentler explanation.
"Time is a great medicine. It heals all wounds impartially. As long as you wait patiently, everything will get better."
Yin Yin wrapped her arms tightly around her knees, buried her chin between them, and murmured softly,
"As long as enough time passes, will everything really get better?"
"Yes."
The deity watching over her nodded gently. Though she couldn't see him, she was certain he was making that gesture.
Yin Yin trusted him deeply.
Yet she couldn't agree with him on this.
Because she remembered very clearly what he had personally told her when she was fretting over whether to help Xiao Yang escape from this cage.
Hesitating for a moment, she said in a small voice,
"But... didn't you tell me before that so many things leave no time for hesitation, and that questions left for time to answer always end in regret?"
...Hmm?
Did I say that?
Facing the innocent girl, Luo Qian fell into thought for a moment.
Among all the pawns he had chosen, this little girl was the youngest and the most peculiar.
Not because he held any special affection for her, but simply because, unlike other believers, she would pour out every single trivial worry of her daily life to him down to the smallest detail.
Most others treated their deity with reverence, viewing the privilege of being the only one able to commune face-to-face with God as an immense honor.
Thus, even Zhao Tiangan—the girl's father, who didn't believe in the Torch faith in his heart of hearts—would adopt a humble, devout attitude and weigh every single word whenever communicating with a higher being like himself.
And Luo Qian had naturally leveraged that awe, communicating as the Holy Son with these believers who were only fit to scratch the surface.
Occasionally, he would use their positions to issue commands.
After all, even though chips were implanted in their brains, he couldn't just take over their bodies whenever he pleased.
Seizing complete control over their physical bodies was only possible during a trance.
Yet this little girl seemed to treat him as a personal confidant.
She naively believed that a god wouldn't blab mortal secrets, so she told him practically everything.
Luo Qian had indulged her behavior.
Exchanging a few sentences hardly consumed any computing power anyway, and at a crucial moment, this pawn might even prove useful.
It was precisely for this reason that yesterday during the day, on the pretext of knowing a wonderful hiding spot, he had urged the little thing to go to the basement.
After all, even going mad alongside everyone else wouldn't guarantee absolute safety, especially since there was a special group of guests in the manor.
Staying in that empty basement, however, was undeniably safe.
Looking back now, it seemed he had done something unnecessary. To let a pawn survive a little longer on the board, he had saddled the entire plan with unwarranted risk.
Had she not gone down there, the Alliance might have taken much longer to locate the laboratory in the Annex basement.
No matter how useful this pawn might be, the experiment in this settlement was already concluded. Besides, whether survival was a true mercy for her was questionable.
Dying in a dream was painless, whereas falling into the hands of mutants was truly a fate worse than death.
At the thought, Luo Qian sighed softly.
Sure enough...
His mental cultivation still had a long way to go.
Of course, what bothered him even more was something else: why had he ever uttered the words, questions left for time to answer always end in regret?
Regret?
Such a thing could never apply to him.
Along this path, they had already paid more than enough of a price, offering up their everything for their ideal until the very end.
There was no longer any possibility of turning back for him.
"I just think running away is bad... Lord Holy Son?" Seeing that the voice in her head had gone silent for so long, Yin Yin asked nervously and cautiously.
She had already lost everything.
If even Lord Holy Son ignored her, she might truly fall into utter despair.
"Yes, I'm here... I was just trying to remember when I said those words. Forgive me for making you wait," Luo Qian said with a gentle smile.
A relieved smile appeared on Yin Yin's face.
"It's okay... You must answer so many prayers every day. It doesn't matter if you take a little longer to reply to me, as long as you're still here."
Seeing the little girl worrying about him, Luo Qian couldn't help but smile faintly.
If she knew that it was he who had controlled her father, walking him right up to the Alliance so the soldiers would gun him down, he wondered if she would still be able to smile.
"A god's work isn't nearly as busy as you imagine."
Yin Yin tilted her head.
"But don't a lot of people pray to you?"
He replied in a gentle tone,
"My child, most people don't actually ask for God's will. Before praying to me, they already have their own answers in their hearts... What they need is probably just someone to give them a push from behind. Children like you, who leave everything to me to decide, are actually in the minority."
Hearing this, Yin Yin's face grew slightly warm, and she mumbled in shame,
"I'm sorry... for giving you trouble."
"It's fine. I don't consider you a trouble. On the contrary, I am glad to see you grow. In the past, you always asked for my opinion, but today you decided on your own to make up with your friend. You have a mind of your own now, and that is a good thing."
Yin Yin asked, puzzled,
"Doesn't God want people to obey Him?"
"If every single thing were left to God to decide, I might really work myself to death."
Saying this in a half-joking tone, Luo Qian snapped back to reality and clicked his tongue softly.
When all was said and done, he had ended up contradicting himself.
Yet it was hardly surprising. He knew very well that Forerunners were not true deities, and the Holy Son even less so; they merely needed the mantle of godhood to accomplish things impossible for ordinary humans.
He was naturally pleased that the settlements here submitted to his will, but standing in the position of an elder, he still hoped to impart something more precious to this child.
An obedient child was certainly a good child, but one without their own mind would forever remain a child. He preferred that she think for herself, even if that flew directly in the face of the doctrine he preached.
Perhaps the contradiction lay not in his words and deeds, but in the fact that deep down, he didn't actually want this little girl to die.
Never mind a living human being.
Even potted flowers and grass—as long as one had spent time watering them, anyone would hope they flourished rather than withered away.
Leaving aside his like-minded apostles, this was probably the most he had communicated with a mortal since entering the Sanctuary.
After pondering for a moment, Luo Qian came up with a compromise.
Namely: letting this special little lamb out of the sheep pen.
In any case, losing one or two sheep was no big issue to him, and it was unlikely the Alliance could figure out anything substantial from a single isolated sample.
"If you trust me, I can show you a way."
Yin Yin nodded earnestly.
"Mm! Please tell me!"
Luo Qian spoke slowly:
"Give up everything here, seek shelter with the people from the Alliance, and leave this troubled place completely. Given that you're just a child, I believe they will consider it."
Yin Yin stared at the empty space in bewilderment, her big eyes flickering with disbelief and astonishment.
"But... aren't the people from the Alliance villains? They killed my father, and I heard... they want to tear down your church."
Watching the little girl try so hard to prove those people were villains, Luo Qian suddenly burst into laughter, nearly laughing to the point of tears.
Unfortunately, he no longer possessed such things.
Only when her astonished eyes turned to sheer confusion did he slowly speak again.
"Listen. At your age, you might not be able to understand, but once you grow up, you will... The things you just mentioned don't matter at all."
Yin Yin stared wide-eyed at the empty air.
"How could they not..."
Without explaining further, Luo Qian continued in a solemn tone,
"This settlement is caught between two behemoths. In fact, so is every settlement on this land. Regardless of the choices they make, their ultimate end will not be pretty. And if you want to survive, your only option is to stay as far away from here as possible."
Yin Yin bit her lip and managed to squeeze out:
"Then why must I turn to the Alliance... Can't you take me with you?"
Luo Qian's expression froze slightly. After a long silence, he gave an ambiguous reply:
"Our place... still needs a little time."
Herding her into another sheep pen would defeat the purpose. Even if other Forerunners looked out for her on his behalf, the scheduled experiments would still be carried out step by step.
Yin Yin's eyes were filled with confusion and incomprehension.
"Time?"
Luo Qian nodded, speaking patiently.
"Yes... It's an immense undertaking.
"A new humanity, a new society—building all of this takes a very, very long time. We will construct this utopia to be as flawless as possible, and for that, we must offer our lives, our courage, and our resolve. I know that in the future, it will become heaven—the entire world will. But not right now... Could you give me a little time?"
He didn't know why he was asking for this child's consent, let alone adopting such a gentle, pleading tone.
There was no need for him to do so; everything was already decided, and even if she shook her head, it wouldn't change the fate of this settlement.
Yet he had done it anyway.
Perhaps...
He was only trying to convince himself.
Only half-understanding, Yin Yin looked into the empty room, nodded gently, and forced a smile onto her face.
"Of course... I don't really understand, but you would never harm Yin Yin, right?"
The room fell silent for a while.
Only after a moment did the voice return.
"Mm, I promise I won't harm you... Thank you."
He didn't look at those innocent eyes; muttering those parting words, he slipped away quietly and in haste.
That smile caused a sharp pang in his chest.
Though he had cast that thing away long ago.
Perhaps this was his sole regret since entering the Sanctuary.
Truly, his mental cultivation still fell short.
Although she didn't hear a formal goodbye, Yin Yin could sense that he had left.
With a small heave, she hopped down from the chair. Just as she was about to head outside to find Xiao Yang and clear up last night's misunderstanding, she heard a creak from the floorboards outside the door.
The Annex was an old building, after all; aged wooden floors always did that.
Startled, she hurried to the doorway and yanked the door open, only to see that familiar face standing not far away.
Xiao Yang stared blankly at her, clutching a handful of chocolate candies in her hands—chocolates given to them last night by the older brothers and sisters from the Alliance.
She had saved Yin Yin's share back then, but hadn't found a chance to give it to her. It wasn't until just now, when their blood was being drawn, that Sister Chen Yutong stuffed another handful into her hands and told her to share them with her best friend that she finally plucked up the courage to come over.
Only, as soon as she reached the door, she had overheard the voices inside the room...
"...Yin Yin?"
"Xiao Yang?"
Yin Yin stared blankly at her, her expression flickering between panic and guardedness like someone caught doing something shameful. Flustered, she stammered, "Wh-why are you here?"
"The older brothers and sisters from outside gave me some chocolates. I wanted to share some with you..."
Xiao Yang looked at her nervously, swallowed hard, and continued,
"Who were you talking to...?"
Yin Yin's face turned slightly pale.
The Holy Son had told her that she must never let the people from the north know she could communicate with him; otherwise, with their hatred for the Torch, they would never let her off.
"I..."
Seeing the tension and fear written all over Yin Yin's face, Xiao Yang vaguely guessed something, but she said nothing. She simply stepped forward and hugged her gently.
Caught off guard by Xiao Yang's sudden embrace, Yin Yin froze, unable to process it.
"...Huh?"
"It's okay. I won't tell anyone..." Looking at the lost and helpless Yin Yin, Xiao Yang lifted her head, gave her an encouraging smile, and whispered softly, "This is our secret... okay?"
The young mistress had always looked after her.
She didn't know whether this was right, but now it was her turn to repay her.
"...Xiao Yang." Yin Yin stared blankly at this little sister who was two years younger than her, tears suddenly brimming in her eyes.
There was remorse, there was grievance... and so many unspoken emotions wedged in her chest.
It wasn't just because of the hurtful words she had spoken last night, but because she suddenly realized that the person most worthy of her trust, the one who cared about her the most, had been by her side all along.
Yet to her deep shame, she had never truly held this clumsy friend in high regard. In her subconscious, she hadn't even treated her as an equal friend, merely using Xiao Yang's unique status to play tricks on the servants.
Otherwise, why would she have preferred to confide in an unidentified deity rather than speak a single heartfelt word to her?
Otherwise, why would she have dragged Xiao Yang along without explanation to do things that risked harsh reprimands, even while knowing escape was impossible?
She had always led Xiao Yang around like a pet, never once asking what Xiao Yang thought—whether she actually wanted to leave this place, or whether she really needed to hide in "a place where no one could find them" for a while.
Even after something so terrible happened last night, she hadn't asked after Xiao Yang with genuine care; she had only fretted over her changed status, anxious that having lost everything, she had now lost her only friend as well.
Seeing her young mistress burst into tears, Xiao Yang had no idea what was running through Yin Yin's mind, only patting her back gently to comfort her.
"It's all right now... Xiao Yang will stay with you."
No one knew how much time had passed.
A grayish-green fog began to drift outside the window.
It was a color Yin Yin had never seen before, and the impenetrable murk carried an ominous aura.
Also noticing the shift outside, Xiao Yang stopped patting Yin Yin's back and murmured under her breath,
"Fog is setting in..."
Just then, a faint creak came from the direction of the stairs.
Harboring her secret, Yin Yin immediately looked over, but saw nothing; it was just an empty corridor.
Was it an illusion?
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the corner of her eye caught a wet footprint slowly pressing itself into the landing at the top of the stairs.
As if a boot that had just slogged through grass had stepped right there.
The moment she saw that footprint, her heart leapt into her throat.
...A ghost?!
...
The fog had risen abruptly, unnaturally rolling in during the afternoon, and blanketed the entirety of Pinecone Wood Farm in an instant.
Panic washed across the faces of the people gathered at the manor gates. They thought the Alliance had activated the psychic interference device and that last night's horror was about to repeat itself.
Overseers, serfs, and manor servants alike scattered in a frenzy, fleeing desperately for their homes and hastily pulling out locks to lock themselves inside.
Those without locks could only find hemp ropes to tie their family members separately to pillars or kitchen hearths.
This actually saved the players a great deal of trouble.
With no idea where the "monsters" might spawn, having so many people clustered together was genuinely dangerous.
Still, no one let down their guard.
This sudden grayish-green heavy fog was blatantly a trick pulled by the Church of the Torch. The players gathered at the gate put on their helmets and gas masks one after another, fanning out into defensive positions to guard against unexpected developments.
"What's the deal with this fog...?"
"Poison gas?"
"Doesn't seem like it... Breathing feels normal."
"It just smells pretty foul."
"And it's green as f*ck!"
Whispers crackled across the comms channel.
Luo Yu glanced up at the sky. A moment ago, the clouds were still visible; now, only a muddy, turd-green halo could be seen.
The air was as thick as jelly, carrying a damp, musty stench like clothes left unwashed for ages.
Just then, a call came through the comms channel from the Heart of Steel.
"...This is the Heart of Steel airborne command. From above, we see you're surrounded by thick fog. Report your status immediately!"
Cradling his rifle as he walked to the manor gates, Lao Bai in his power armor replied with a grim expression:
"Everything is normal on our end for now. Can you eyeball the perimeter of this fog zone? Is it just our area, or is the entire region covered?"
"The fog covers roughly a thousand square kilometers. You're right at the dead center."
"I suspect the Torch is behind this... Can you send a plane over to scout for us? Focus your search on the area between Pinecone Wood Farm and the Jinhe City urban area."
"Understood."
With fog this thick, visibility from the air would likely be dismal, and Lao Bai didn't hold out much hope for aerial reconnaissance.
What truly worried him was that mutants might seize this opportunity to slip out of the city.
What gnawed at him even more, however, was where this dense fog had come from in the first place.
At that moment, Luo Yu, standing nearby, suddenly pressed a hand to his forehead and whispered:
"...It's spores."
Jieyan froze, turning to him in surprise.
"Spores?!"
"Yeah..." Luo Yu nodded gravely and continued, "Very similar to the spores of mutant slime mold... Yu told me."
Although Yu didn't rely on spores to exchange information or reproduce, it had developed in Qingquan City's environment after all, and was familiar with typical slime mold spores.
Hearing this explanation, the players all wore startled expressions, especially Jieyan, who stared at him in disbelief.
Spores?
Why would there be spores in Jinhe City?
There wasn't a broodmother here at all!
Killing Dagger swallowed.
"Wait... quick question from a noob: didn't all your fruiting bodies die before?"
"It left one inside my body—that biological prosthesis that boosts HP recovery... And stop saying weird shit. What do you mean my fruiting bodies? They're Yu's!" Luo Yu glared at him indignantly.
Killing Dagger grinned sheepishly.
At this point, Lao Bai cut in.
"Now isn't the time for this... The situation has changed. We need to temporarily evacuate key NPCs and equipment from here."
Suddenly remembering he still had a mission worth one hundred thousand silver coins, Luo Yu chimed in hurriedly:
"Remember to take Xiao Yang with us too!"
"Of course. She's key research material; we'd leave anyone behind before we left her."
Jieyan asked next:
"What about the locals?"
"There are forty to fifty thousand people here... Evacuating everyone is impossible, and going outside the walls would actually be more dangerous."
Glancing at the rows of houses outside the manor, Lao Bai added in a heavy voice:
"In any case, we'll do the best we can."
Right at that moment, a deafening explosion erupted behind them, followed immediately by a rapid burst of gunfire.
Whipping around, Lao Bai's expression shifted slightly.
It came from the direction of the Annex!
...
Deep in the lush green jungle, emerald-green heads swayed, their knotted muscles draped in orange-yellow ammunition and menacing armaments.
Kulu stood at the head of the mutant horde, staring out at the mist-shrouded plain before them, bloodthirsty ferocity gleaming in his pupils.
The dense fog, overly foul to weak old humans, smelled delightfully refreshing to his nose.
Amidst that fragrance, he had already caught the scent of slaughter and death...
Last night, he had suffered an unfortunate defeat; not only had countless brothers under his command died or been wounded, but he had lost half his arm as well.
Normally, an incompetent wretch like him would have been chopped up and tossed into the cooking pot, but the chieftain hadn't punished his foolishness; instead, he had generously forgiven him.
More than that, the Church folk had fitted him with a mechanical arm and implanted numerous cybernetic prostheses into his broken body, elevating his destructive power to a whole new level.
To atone for the losses his blunder had inflicted upon the tribe and repay the Church for granting him another chance on the battlefield, he had volunteered for this mission, swearing to bring back fifty thousand heads for Lord Jia'en.
To console the brothers who had perished last night, as well as the martyred apostles and executioners.
Watching the fog grow thicker, a cruel grin slowly spread across Kulu's face. The Church folk truly hadn't lied to him.
Under the cover of this thick fog, the plain that had once been impassable would lay its gates wide open to them.
Even if the airship in the sky suspected they were hiding in this mist, it wouldn't have the slightest clue where to aim its guns.
Just then, a crisp pop drifted over from the distance.
The signal to attack.
Kulu took a deep breath, letting the scent fill his chest as the blood rushing through his veins boiled like magma.
He raised his mechanical arm and the axe-like gun gripped in his hand, letting out a roar in a coarse, savage voice:
"Kulu says: chop those two-legged cattle to pieces—"
"Leave none alive!"
Chapter 591