Shackles of Humanity

Luo Kai then went to Xiaozhuo and Erya’s home. He saw no signs of survivors. The scene was just as horrifying—mutilated corpses and savage Fierce Beasts were everywhere.

Sighing to himself, he stopped when he reached the city center. His gaze fell upon a nearby high-rise that was still standing, and there was a person on the roof.

The vertical pupil between the figure’s eyebrows occasionally glinted with a silver light, exceptionally conspicuous in the dark night. It was none other than Su Chengbo. He had also escaped the Fierce Beasts’ pursuit. ’But why did he come back to Longyang City?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Luo Kai leaped onto the high-rise.

Su Chengbo knew he had arrived. With a somber expression, he gazed down at the city ruins, which had become a Hell in the Mortal World. After a long while, he spoke. ”They say that before the cataclysm, humans industrialized animal farming. The animals were reduced to mere machines, bound in cramped Space, spending their short lives in stress, sickness, pain, and struggle. Is everything now a punishment for humanity? Some say the appearance of the Fierce Beasts is the result of natural selection. What do you think?”

Luo Kai hadn’t expected Su Chengbo to ask such a question. He thought for a long time before replying, ”Nature always maintains a balance. If something disrupts that balance, I suppose some things become inevitable.”

Su Chengbo showed no sign of despair. A silver light flickered between his brows, and he seemed almost excited as he nodded. ”Exactly! The Celestial Dao takes from what has a surplus and supplements what has a deficit. The key is in that one word: balance!”

Luo Kai walked up to him. Together, they looked down at the ruins below. ”Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat the ten thousand things as straw dogs. Whether it’s humans or Fierce Beasts, it makes no difference to Heaven and Earth.”

Su Chengbo took an exquisite little flask from his coat, took a large swig, and passed it to Luo Kai. ”The world is vast and boundless. You should go out and see it.”

Luo Kai smelled the intoxicating aroma of the wine, which stirred his cravings. He took the flask and also drank a large mouthful. The moment the liquor went down his throat, he knew he was in trouble. It was like molten lava, so hot that he couldn’t help but tremble violently. In an instant, his whole body turned as red as a cooked lobster, steam hissing from his skin as he poured with sweat.

But this was immediately followed by a wave of ultimate bliss rising from every cell in his body. It was like ascending to the clouds—an absolutely wonderful feeling. He couldn’t help but ask in amazement, ”What kind of wine is this?”

Su Chengbo chuckled. ”This is Orange Light Wine, a secret recipe of my Tri-Eyed Race. I was actually going to invite you to try some today, but you didn’t show up.”

Luo Kai said no more, silently gazing into the endless night. For some reason, he now felt a strange affinity for the Darkness, just like the feeling the water currents had once given him. Moreover, the Darkness amplified his Perception; as soon as night fell, the range of his senses expanded by at least a third compared to the daytime.

”Well, my friend, we’ll meet again if fate allows.” Su Chengbo seemed to know why he hadn’t come, and with a soft sigh, he leaped away and vanished into the endless night.

Luo Kai also leaped into the night. He had to settle Xiaozhuo and Erya in a safe place before he could leave the country with peace of mind.

He soon arrived at their hiding place in the outskirts. As he approached, a thick smell of blood hit his nose. Xiaozhuo and Erya were fine, but on the ground lay the corpse of a mutant rat the size of a house cat.

”Uncle, I... I killed a big rat!” Although Erya’s face was pale, her voice was filled with excitement.

”Very good. The little girl is finally growing up.” Luo Kai praised her, then briefly explained the situation in the city.

Tears welled up in the two girls’ eyes. They knew their families were most likely gone for good.

Luo Kai comforted them. ”Don’t worry. I suspect many people survived. They’ve probably fled to Jinlan Prefecture. We’ll set off first thing tomorrow morning.”

Early the next morning, Luo Kai first went into the city to procure a gas-powered vehicle and some food. He called to the two girls, who hadn’t slept all night, to get in the car, and they set off toward Jinlan Prefecture.

The highway was also full of packs of mutated creatures roaming about. Hearing the noise, they immediately swarmed forward. There were hyenas like the ones from last night, but even more of them were strange, tusked deer.

Luo Kai got out of the car, his face grim. There were too many mutated creatures around; he had to finish this quickly. His chest heaved. With a flick of the Severing Blade in his hand, he charged into the pack. Flashes of the blade sent severed limbs flying. No mutated creature could withstand his attack. In less than a few minutes, dozens of them had been slaughtered.

The two girls watched him return, their eyes filled with adoration. In their hearts, Luo Kai was simply omnipotent.

And so it went. Every so often, Luo Kai had to get out of the car to clear away the swarming mutants. This continued until the afternoon, when the faint sound of artillery fire could be heard up ahead. The mutated creatures began to thin out. Wheeled armored vehicles zipped across the wasteland, with large numbers of soldiers using them for cover as they wiped out the pursuing mutants.

The road gradually became congested. Countless refugees formed a winding line that stretched for several kilometers.

Luo Kai looked up at the sky. Many Winged People in strange gear were flying about. Unlike the ones from before who only served as scouts and communicators, these Winged People were all holding silver firearms. It looked like some kind of mechanical skeleton extended from their backs to control their wings.

The vehicle could go no further. Luo Kai got out with the two girls, squeezed into the crowd, and began moving slowly with the tide of refugees.

BOOM!

A fighter jet cruising through the sky was attacked by a flock of black-winged mutant birds. It spiraled toward the ground, crashing heavily into the crowd of refugees and erupting in a massive fireball. Heart-wrenching screams immediately followed.

The armored vehicles on the ground and the Winged People in the sky noticed the flock of mutant birds and opened fire simultaneously. Machine guns spat tongues of flame, and countless mangled bird corpses fell from the sky like a rain of blood.

They were attacked several more times along the way, mostly from the sky. On one occasion, the ground suddenly bulged up like a small hill, and a dense swarm of mutant rats poured out, launching a frenzied and bloodthirsty assault on the crowd.

Fortunately, the individual creatures in these swarms were not strong and were easily crushed by the military’s firepower.

Luo Kai watched this, frowning. These suicidal attacks were completely irrational. ’Even ants cling to life. Animals have reason, too. They feel Fear; they cherish their lives.’

’Unless... unless some Power is controlling them, forcing them to attack humans.’

By evening, Jinlan Prefecture was faintly visible in the distance, but the column of people had come to a halt.

Luo Kai saw a middle-aged man with slightly graying eyebrows standing by the checkpoint ahead. It was none other than Old Fu from Black Stone Heavy Industry. Luo Kai breathed a sigh of relief. ’Now someone can look after the two girls beside me.’