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In a corner of the city, Lei Zhen was swinging his axe.
"Anyone who comes near, I'll cut them down!" He was drenched in blood, his eyes wild, hair and beard bristling. After six hours of survival, even a man of iron would be exhausted. The blade of his axe was chipped, and his right hand trembled as he gripped it. Slung over his left shoulder was his daughter, limp and twitching faintly.
But this time, he wasn't facing a mindless Spasm Fiend.
"Oh ho ho ho, ah ha ha ha, what did you say, cut us down?" From all directions, dozens of people closed in—it was the Survivor Squad, Lei Zhen's own team.
"Captain, you were all high and mighty before—now you're playing double standards?" A woman, hands stained with blood, smiled twistedly. Just an hour ago, she herself had put down her brother after he turned into a Spasm Fiend.
"Yeah, Captain, you gotta set an example! How can you betray us now? You always said sticking together is the only way to survive—remember?" An old man, eyes crazed, had just sent off his wife two hours ago.
A few more people crowded in, eyes gleaming viciously: "Captain, if you don't kill her, we'll have to deal with you according to the rules."
"You guys don't want to survive anymore?" Lei Zhen shouted as he searched for an escape route. "Without me leading, none of you will make it out of this hellhole!"
Crap, they're closing in—no way out.
"Get out? What are you talking about, Captain? Every single one of us knows—there's no way out of here!" The group licked their lips maniacally. "If you won't do it, we will—"
Crack—before they could finish, a flash of cold light, and the fire axe split the man's skull. The blade was dull, but it still smashed bone and sprayed blood and brains everywhere. The man dropped dead on the spot. Lei Zhen shielded his daughter with his left arm, eyes red, voice like thunder: "I dare any of you!"
The sudden, decisive violence stunned everyone for a moment. Just then, a blond-haired youth stepped forward. His face was gloomy, eyes full of dead shadows. Everyone shrank back—Blondie was the craziest one here. But Blondie didn't yell. He just said quietly to the crowd, "Step back."
At his words, the others backed off a couple steps.
Blondie walked up to Lei Zhen, who glared at him warily. Blondie raised his empty hands and said, "Zhen-ge, let's check on the kid first."
Lei Zhen frowned hard, gritted his teeth, but finally turned and gently laid his daughter down. The little girl's face was covered in black blotches, her breathing shallow and uneven, her mind barely there.
Lei Zhen bit his lip in pain and knelt, hugging his daughter. "Tina, Tina! Hang in there, Tina, Daddy's gonna take you... take you somewhere safe!"
Tina's eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes to look at Lei Zhen, about to say something, when suddenly the black spots on her skin spread and grew. She let out a muffled cry, body convulsing, her little legs kicking weakly. Clutching Lei Zhen's shirt with all her strength, she squeezed out her last bit of air and called out, broken and weak: "Dad... Dad..."
Lei Zhen shuddered, his pupils dilating. He wanted to cry but just held his daughter tighter. "Daddy's here! Daddy's right here!!"
The little girl's voice trembled with spasms as she forced out a word: "Hurts..."
A knife handle appeared in front of Lei Zhen. It was a blade, dripping with blood.
"So... do you want her to die by someone else's hand?"
This was the last thing Lei Zhen ever said to him. Now, Blondie returned every word, without missing a beat.
Lei Zhen shuddered violently, then hugged his daughter tightly.
The mutated little girl had grown sharp claws, scratching at him nonstop, tearing his flesh, but he didn’t care.
The mutated little girl grew sharp fangs, biting into his chest, blood splattering everywhere. He barely seemed to notice.
He just held his daughter, as tightly as he could. It was repayment, it was farewell. He bowed his head so low—if anyone could see his face, they’d see a pain so deep even tears couldn’t escape.
Crack—a low, muffled snap. Everyone felt a jolt in their hearts, their breath catching.
The little girl, who’d been screaming madly, suddenly went still.
Blondie patted Lei Zhen’s shoulder and walked away. The others surrounding them also turned and left.
On the battlefield, if your comrade can't be saved and is suffering worse than death, you give them a bullet and let them go.
Let her go.
Let her go.
This was the last resort.
"Look—look over there!"
"Oh my god, what’s happening!"
"This—this is a miracle!"
Someone shouted wildly nearby: "The monsters—they’re changing back!"
What?!!!
Lei Zhen jerked his head up, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. The strange white sky had vanished, the dome sealing the city was gone, and the black clouds filling the air were streaming toward the city center. Dark miasma was being drawn from the flowers, trees, buildings, and rivers—everything that had been warped or corrupted was returning to normal.
The lights flickered, then came on. Power was restored.
And then—sunlight.
In the western sky, blood-red sunset clouds burned. It was sunlight from Earth, sunlight they hadn’t seen for just six hours, but it felt like a lifetime.
The Spasm Fiends and mutated creatures were steaming with black vapor. As the darkness left them, the monsters who’d been tearing each other apart became ordinary humans again. Covered in blood, some still clutching bits of flesh in their mouths, they stopped in confusion, then collapsed to the ground, utterly spent.
Lei Zhen’s heart nearly stopped.
He looked down at his arms—his daughter had returned to her normal, sweet self. But she would never wake up again.
"We’re saved—!!" someone shouted from afar.
"We’re saved—!!" voices echoed near and far.
"We’re saved—!!" even the Survivor Squad members cried out.
But these hoarse shouts—how much was joy, how much was madness, how much was agony? Maybe not even the people shouting could tell.
Suddenly, Blondie let out a heart-wrenching scream, then lunged at Lei Zhen, punching and kicking him, beating him furiously. Where there was one, there were two, then ten—the howling crowd overwhelmed Lei Zhen…
In the city center, among the rubble, Jack Young and Jasper Xiao sat side by side. Jasper’s hair had turned white—he’d burned through his life force and would need time to recover. Jack could barely move. Together, they gazed at the western sunset, the city noisy yet strangely peaceful.
"I never thought it would end up like this. Your intuition was spot on—cough, cough!" Jasper took a drag of his cigarette and coughed hard.
Three minutes ago, the Black Death Emperor had struck from the sky, shattering all the miasma into dust without harming a hair on either of them. Then, with a gesture, he summoned the endless miasma, which obediently gathered from all directions and coiled around him. The darkness became swirling black dragon patterns on his imperial robe. After absorbing all the miasma, the Black Death Emperor didn’t fall asleep again. He turned toward the east and, silent and unhurried, walked away.
Everyone watched him go, their expressions complicated.
"Maybe only someone without attachment could control that kind of madness."
Professor He had pieced together some clues. According to his research, it was the Black Death Emperor himself who sealed the miasma eighteen hundred years ago. He built the tomb, carved the runes, used his own body to contain the destructive force, and buried himself at the edge of life and death. For eighteen hundred years, thanks to his sacrifice, Earth had enjoyed peace.
So, far from being a villain, he was actually a hero.
But regardless of the truth, he’d always be remembered—and hated—as a monster.
Professor He left, saying he would reveal the truth to the world, let everyone know the whole story, and take responsibility. This disaster may have been a natural one, but the burden was still immense. Yet the old professor, full of integrity, went anyway.
As everyone watched him go, their faces were just as complicated.
"Mr. Yang, while I’ve got the chance, I’d like to challenge your philosophy." Jasper pulled out two cans of beer, handing one to Jack—his secret stash from his storage space.
Pop—both cans cracked open, foam bubbling out.
"Alright, I like that. It means you’ve found your own path." Jack clinked cans with Jasper, and together they looked at the red clouds in the west. "Where the heart loves, the Dao follows. In the future, stick to your own path, and you won’t lose yourself."
In the west, the sunset glowed blood-red, the clouds thick and heavy.
Rumble—thunder flashed on the horizon.
The wind turned chilly. The rain was coming.
In the storm, where will you find shelter?
Maybe, all you can do is lift your head and walk forward through the rain.