Dark Moon Era

“The two vials of bacteria control potion are no longer effective at suppressing the Devil Fungus, but its residue still works. If I can get another vial of bacteria control potion within three hours, I’ll be fine.

“Three hours. Can I last three hours on the battlefield like this? Exposing myself on the roof and not attracting any powerful mutated zombies in three hours? The success rate is only 0.6%.

“Hot, it’s very hot. Right, there’s only a 43% chance of garage No. 19 not being hit by the bombardment in the next three hours.

“Factoring in my survival rate there is only...It’s so hot. Where am I? Am I dead? Am I being cremated?

“Now, I realize the key to transforming is my spirit. Extreme anger and sorrow trigger a powerful wave from my spirit. Especially when the anger and sorrow take over, my spirit will be even purer. If I want to maintain a clear mind and not rely on strong emotions, I have to highly concentrate my spirit and reach a certain critical point...

“A clear mind will surely bring thoughts. Thinking will make it hard to concentrate on my spirit, but if my spirit is strong enough, things will be a lot simpler.

“But what exactly is spirit? How should I feel it? What is the measuring standard? How do I make it stronger? Sh*t, I’m too hot. I’m being burned, am I not?

“I finally know the truth about the transformation. It’s actually an amplifier of my own body. It amplifies what my body can do and increases my stats.

“Data, hmm, the data isn’t that much different from my initial expectation. After the transformation, my punching force can reach 4,395 kgs, approximately 4 times my usual strength. My speed reaches 2.6 times my usual and my reflexes...Hmm, I think it’s almost...No, I really can’t. Is my blood boiling? It’s so painful.”

“The transformation is really powerful. If my body grows stronger then... will the transformation further amplify my capabilities? Will I be even stronger? How do I become stronger?”

“Ah, how should I escape from the battlefield? I’m only less than a hundred meters away from the safe slope.

“Water, water, I want water...Where is my water bottle? Is there still any water left?”

The broken, discontinued thoughts were all the questions that Tang Ling had to figure out before he passed out, but his body was in pain and the burning sensation kept interrupting his thoughts.

However, the messy thoughts caused by the Devil Fungus were gone. It was a common symptom before the Devil Fungus completely took over. What was left in him was his instinctive desire for water combined with the burning pain. The sensation continued to torture Tang Ling.

He was trying to keep his thoughts clear, but he was unable to open his eyes and truly wake up.

It was at that moment that he suddenly felt a cooling sensation in his mouth. Judging from the flow and the movement, was it not the water that he desired?

Tang Ling could not describe how delighted he was. Even though he was in a muddled state suffering from the burning sensation, he looked a little better and at ease.

He did not wake up completely though, and he could not tell whether the water was an illusion or real. If it was real, where did the water come from?

Regardless of which it was, it was difficult for him to fight his instinct at the moment. Even if it was the poison from the Devil himself, Tang Ling would not reject it either. After all, to him, dying from being poisoned was better than dying from thirst.

Tang Ling took big gulps of the cooling water. The cooling sensation flowed into his throat relentlessly and spread out in his body, nourishing every part and cooling that irritating burning sensation.

As he felt a lot better, his breath started to calm down, but a question then popped up in his mind all of a sudden. “Why did I swallow the crystal?”

As the question appeared, all the memories before he passed out flooded his brain like a tidal wave.

He sent his friends away, fought to the brink of death in the garage, transformed, slaughtered the zombies, escaped, and passed out...

At the very last scene of his memory, he saw himself pushing the crystal into his mouth.

Then...a huge sense of danger and doubt enveloped him whole.

His eyes flew wide open all of a sudden.

******

Andrew was standing in the main war passage.

He looked a little flushed under the lights of the Hope Barrier. Even though he was calm, there was an uncontrollable uneasiness in his eyes.

“I’m going to have a look,” Andrew said to Hank. He was soft to the point that the other warriors who had returned to the cave could not hear what he said.

Even if they did, no one would care. Everyone else was more concerned about why the Hope Barrier suddenly ceased fire under such strange circumstances.

The cannons and howitzers were stopped almost instantly while the Level 2 Sector Protection Machine slowly dimmed down and returned to normal too.

The warriors on the frontline started to retreat in an organized fashion under the command of the military officers. Scattered gunshots would burst out from time to time and the glares from swords would shine under the night sky, but it was actually a small group of warriors fending off the enemies, covering the majority of the troops for a safe retreat.

Had the Zombie King and its elite zombies at the garage been defeated? No!

Despite being surrounded by 29 Purple Moon Warriors, the fight with the Zombie King continued.

Was it that powerful? Of course.

However, the reason why the battle was extended was that based on the reports that came back from the battlefield, the original eight elite zombies around the Zombie King had increased to 32 elite zombies all of a sudden.

With that many elite zombies supporting the Zombie King, it had the time and resources to extend the battle. On the other hand, the Purple Moon Warriors were somewhat lacking in stamina and firepower.

The crisis at the garage was left unsolved. The Zombie King continued its rampage and even more zombies gathered at the garage. Many of them started to spread out and wander around the garage.

Had the beasts and mutated insects retreated? Nope. They were still gathering frenziedly outside the garage and some of them had started to engage with the zombies.

When the human troops decided to retreat, the beasts and mutated insects swarmed towards the Universal Source Rock which was the root of the entire battlefield. Neither Safety Sector No. 17 nor the dangerous monsters it attracted would give it up. Not even the mysterious force, unknown to the common soldiers except a few higher-ups of the Hope Barrier would.

However, none of the forces had the capability to completely occupy the rock.

Therefore, the ironic scene unfolded and lasted for many, many years. All the forces were fighting for the Universal Source Rock, but at the same time, a strange balance was maintained between all the parties.

The battle was stopped by the higher-ups, but what about the other Purple Moon Warriors? They were not deployed at all!

Any warrior with a thought of his own knew that the decision was not something positive. Why would the Hope Barrier order a retreat without cleaning up the battlefield?

Had the humans finally decided to give up a part of their benefit, allowing the beasts, insects, and zombies to get their share of the Universal Source Rock?

The Universal Source Rock was not indestructible. Purple Moon Warriors, vicious beasts, a certain level of mutated insects, and Level 3 mutated zombies onwards were capable of chipping a small piece off from the rock.

Due to the stalemate situation between all the forces, there were several times when the rock was chipped off.

All the incidents were clearly recorded in the history of the Hope Barrier, but none were considered serious. According to the records, only less than a ton was chipped off and taken away. Compared to its original volume, which was a few hundred tons, that was nothing.

However, victory would be handed over tonight. How much of the rock would the beasts, zombies and mutated insects take away after the balance was shattered?

Grievance rose in everyone’s hearts. They had spent many years protecting the rock, fighting for it and enjoying the benefits it provided.

How could they simply give up the persistence which formed out of habit over so many years?

Therefore, no one except for one man cared about what Andrew said. At least, Hank cared.

In Hank’s heart, Andrew had always been an elegant and calm person. He could maintain his temperament even if the sky fell, and smile even when he was stabbed.

Andrew barely showed his true emotions except for truly saddening past incidents when they were young. However, after they grew mature, Hank could no longer sense Andrew’s emotions, or more precisely, the emotions that he buried deep in his heart.

It was obvious that Andrew could no longer hold his emotions back anymore at the moment.

“I’ll go with you,” said Hank.

Andrew did not reject him. He and Hank walked against the flow and headed to the edge of the Patrol Ground. As the elites of the First Reserved Camp, they had the freedom to enter the Patrol Ground whenever they pleased.

The main war passage was no longer than 200 meters. Even if they were walking against the flow, at Andrew and Hank’s speed, they could reach the edge of the Patrol Ground in less than two minutes.

It was the coldest of nights at a temperature of -10° Celcius. Combined with the whistling night wind, the edge of the Patrol Ground, which was 150 meters above ground, was even chillier.

Still, the coldness in the air was considered warm when compared to the frigidness in Andrew’s heart.

“What happened?” He was a suspicious person from the start. Although he liked the sense of safety from control and calculation, since things had gone out of control, he could no longer be at ease.

Moreover, it was serious. The first thought that came into his mind was, ‘Have I been exposed?’

If he was exposed, everything that he had worked for would be ruined. Even if he managed to prove his innocence by all means necessary, which he had been doing all this time, would he be able to see the view from the top after the worries in his life were removed? Would he be able to vent his ambitions, his hatred, and his suppressed thoughts one day?

“Is it that bad?” Hank was worried. Compared to Andrew, he was a simple person. His life goal had somehow been simplified into a single point without his actual knowledge. Regardless of the situation, he would always stand by Andrew’s side.

Andrew did not reply to Hank’s question. Instead, a cigarette appeared in his mouth and he started to smoke which was considered rare.

“Hank, according to history, how many years has it been since Safety Sector No. 17 decided to fight on this ruined battlefield?” he asked.

“116 years.” Hank did not ask why and just gave an answer directly.

“How many times did accidents happen to the Universal Source Rock in that period?” Andrew spat a cloud of smoke out and his gaze deepened.

“Four times, one of which was when our current castellan took a small piece from the rock.”

“Correct. Do you think the higher-ups of Safety Sector No. 17—I’m talking about the Parliament— would give up on the Universal Source Rock? I bet they’ll bleed even if they lose a single kilogram.” Andrew turned around to Hank with a smile, but the expression on his face was definitely not one of joy.

Hank shook his head. Impossible! The Universal Source Rock was the root of everything, at least, for Safety Sector No. 17.

Losing a ton in the past was actually within the acceptable range, but if the losses reached a certain number, it would greatly affect Safety Sector No. 17.

No one was certain whether or not the range and intensity of the purple light would decrease following its shrinkage in volume. If those were affected, the farms in the Hope Barrier, the Level 2 Sector Protection Machine and many other things that relied on the Universal Source Rock and existed because of it would be greatly affected.

Hank dared not even imagine what kind of consequences it might bring because it was simply terrifying.

However, the current situation was not looking great. The greedy beasts, insects, and zombies, regardless of species, gathered and ought to take away a piece of the Universal Source Rock. There was no technique or tactic involved. As long as they could take away even a few grams, they would give it their best and fight for even more.

With that thought in mind, Hank’s fair face turned even paler.

Andrew’s questions allowed him to connect the dots.

If the higher-ups of Safety Sector No. 17 remained sane, they would surely protect the rock at all costs tonight. Any conspiracy, plots, schemes or traps were a matter for a later date.

Protecting the rock was the only and correct decision unless...something happened to Safety Sector No. 17 or they had somehow located the source and came up with a solution.

What was grave enough that would affect all the higher-ups of the sector? It must be a betrayal. The major forces within the sector must have betrayed them and both sides suffered a bad fallout.

If they really managed to locate the source and came up with a solution, things could get worse.

No wonder Andrew was so uneasy. He was one of them.

Hank’s expression looked uglier.

With the cigarette in his mouth, Andrew watched the frenzied beasts, insects, and zombies sprint towards the Universal Source Rock madly. They were fighting among themselves, but the stronger ones managed to seize the chance and got closer to the rock. They were starting to divide the rock among themselves. He said softly, “If things really get that bad, remember to cut ties with me.”

“No, I’ll never go back on my promise.” Hank felt relieved instead. If there was anything more important than life and death, choices and burdens would not matter anymore.

Andrew looked at Hank. He ought to say something, but at that moment, the stars glimmered. A trail of bright light similar to a meteor flew across the dark night with the Purple Moon hanging in the sky.

The trail of light was swift. It flew over the Cliff of Hope and headed straight towards where the Zombie King was with a hard whistle before it started to lower its altitude.

At the same time, 20 more trails of light appeared in the night sky. Albeit not being as bright as the first, they were still dazzling.

Watching the scene, Hank was stunned. Given his basic level of intellect, he was unable to react properly to the situation as he had no idea what had happened.

Andrew was different. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and smiled again, but this time, his smile was a lot more relaxed. “Hank, I can’t tell you in words how much I rely on you and how much I trust you. It runs deep inside my bones, and tonight, you’ve proven again that you’re a very reliable person, but the good thing is that I’m safe for now. You don’t have to worry about anything. Just grow stronger peacefully.”