Chapter 109 - 103: Walking Corpse
Time slipped by in the dead of night, silent in the ruined city.
More than half an hour later, Lin Ye stood in the shadow of the Dongjiang City Third Central Hospital.
Under the night sky, the moonlight traced the hospital’s sinister and terrifying silhouette. Its countless broken windows gaped like hollow eye sockets.
It was like a steel behemoth lying dormant in the darkness, waiting to devour anyone who drew near.
Lin Ye halted and retrieved a sealed canister from his tactical pack.
He twisted open the lid, and a pungent odor—a mixture of rust, blood, and source energy radiation—assaulted his senses.
Lin Ye evenly smeared the viscous black blood inside on his exposed skin and combat uniform.
This was the blood of a LV.15 elite Fusion Monster he had just hunted and killed.
Lin Ye had discovered that by exuding this "kindred" scent, unique to the Fusion Monsters, he could largely evade creatures that relied on smell and source-energy fluctuations to track their prey.
It was a form of camouflage.
The smell was foul, but the effect was surprisingly good.
Now that he was here, Lin Ye’s objective had also changed.
He would infiltrate the hospital, find the LV.20 Giant-Winged Demon, and then begin gathering intelligence on it.
Furthermore, Lin Ye was almost certain that a secret organization was active in the heart of the ruined city.
Therefore, he had to avoid any unnecessary fights.
Lin Ye suppressed his presence completely, kept his body low, and slipped silently into the hospital’s wide-open outpatient building.
The moment he stepped inside, a thick, cloying stench of decay flooded his nostrils.
The lobby was a complete mess. The information desk was smashed in half, chairs were overturned, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and rubble.
Moonlight poured through a hole in the vaulted ceiling, illuminating the countless motes of dust suspended in the air.
Large, dark brown stains covered the lobby walls.
They were long-dried and congealed bloodstains, spreading from the floor all the way to the ceiling, as if a crimson downpour had once washed over everything here.
But what was most startling were the terrifying claw marks gouged into the walls, some several meters deep.
Each gash was over ten meters long, stretching from one wall to the other. The edges were jagged and rough, as if torn open by claws that could rend anything.
Lin Ye’s pupils contracted slightly.
He couldn’t imagine what kind of horrifying creature could leave such incredible marks.
In the lobby, a dozen or so twisted Fusion Monsters were wandering aimlessly.
These Fusion Monsters retained parts of a human silhouette, but their bodies had undergone terrifying mutations, and their movements were incredibly slow.
But Lin Ye knew that once they were startled, "slow" would be the last word to describe their movements.
Lin Ye was lucky.
The layer of camouflage he had so carefully applied successfully fooled the monsters’ senses.
Their vision wasn’t sharp in the dark, and his stealth and camouflage completely negated their superior senses of smell and hearing.
The hospital’s structure seemed to be circular.
Through the shattered glass behind the reception desk, Lin Ye could faintly make out an open space enclosed by the hospital wings—it must be a large courtyard.
Beyond the courtyard stood another, even larger building. Judging by its structure, it was most likely the inpatient ward.
Lin Ye’s gaze swept over the signs on both sides of the lobby.
The left side led to the various department clinics, while the right side led to the elevators and stairs.
Without the slightest hesitation, he chose the passage on the right.
Lin Ye’s target wasn’t above ground.
According to his previous analysis, if there really was a secret base hidden in the ruined city, the most likely location would be underground.
However, as he crept toward the entrance of the right-hand passage, he was forced to a halt.
A Fusion Monster was blocking his only path forward—just his luck.
It was larger than those wandering the lobby, with bone spurs protruding from its back. A low, guttural sound rumbled in its throat, completely blocking the path ahead.
’Looks like there’s no avoiding this one.’
Lin Ye’s eyes instantly turned icy cold, and killing intent surged like a tide.
’If a fight is unavoidable, I’ll end it as quickly as possible!’
Without warning, Lin Ye erupted into motion like a phantom. The spear in his hand traced a straight black line through the air, silently stabbing toward the back of the Fusion Monster’s head.
SQUELCH!
The sound of the spear entering flesh was exceptionally clear in the dead-silent passage.
The Fusion Monster’s body stiffened. It didn’t even have time to let out a roar before its life force was instantly drained away.
However, the faint sound still alerted two other monsters wandering nearby.
They whipped their heads around, their empty sockets "staring" in Lin Ye’s direction as they let out shrill roars!
Lin Ye didn’t even look at the first monster’s corpse. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the spear, bringing with it a spray of black blood.
Pushing off the balls of his feet, he advanced instead of retreating, charging to meet the two lunging monsters.
His spear struck like a dragon, its cold tip landing squarely between the eyes of the monster on the left.
He followed through with a horizontal sweep of the spear’s shaft, which, infused with violent Qi and Blood, slammed into the chest of the monster on the right, caving in its entire upper torso!
The entire process took no more than two or three breaths.
He had dispatched three elite Fusion Monsters with lightning speed.
Lin Ye stood in place, his chest rising and falling slightly, silently waiting for his heartbeat and breathing to return to normal.
A moment later, he disappeared into the depths of the passage.
Just as he had guessed, next to the elevator shaft, he found the stairs leading to the basement.
The result, however, was somewhat disappointing.
The stairs only led to the first basement level.
The entire first basement level was empty, just a simple passage connecting to the underground parking garage. The walls were covered in mildew, and there were no traces worth noting.