Chapter 23: Purifier (Part 1)

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

“Hello, I’m An Sheng.”

After more than half an hour of combat, or rather slaughter, An Sheng had finally cleared out the hundreds of zombies nearby. He could now safely communicate with the soldiers before him.

The young officer hesitated, looking at the demon-formed monster extending his right hand with complex emotions, remaining silent for a long while. Seeing no response, An Sheng awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand. He didn’t blame the other party for being impolite – anyone seeing his current appearance for the first time would need time to adjust.

“Hello, I’m Nie Chong, Captain of the Special Operations Squadron, Northern Theater Command Third Combined Operations Brigade.”

Hearing the introduction, An Sheng thought the other had finally stopped fixating on his mutant identity and was willing to communicate. He quickly said to the officer: “Captain Nie Chong, you don’t need to be nervous about my appearance. Although I’m a mutant, I’m different from those mutated monsters. I don’t eat people, I…”

“Are you a Purifier?” Nie Chong interrupted An Sheng’s rambling, voicing the question in his heart. Since witnessing An Sheng’s transformation, Nie Chong had suspected he might be a Purifier, yet he seemed different from the few Purifiers they had encountered before.

An Sheng looked at the officer with complete confusion – this was the first time he had heard the term “Purifier.”

“Um… if I may ask, what is a Purifier?”

Hearing An Sheng’s question, Nie Chong also showed surprise. He countered: “How could you not know about Purifiers? You possess superpowers, yet you don’t know?”

This only deepened An Sheng’s confusion. Did having superpowers necessarily mean one should know what Purifiers were? What kind of logic was that? The confusion wasn’t limited to An Sheng alone – all the soldiers in the entire squad shared the same bewilderment.

“Can anyone explain to me what an Evolver is?” An Sheng wasn’t foolish – this term contained crucial information that might even be closely connected to the current catastrophe.

“We’ve encountered several Purifiers before – that’s what they call themselves. They claim to be chosen ones selected by the Emissary, granted powerful abilities by it, allowing them to awaken their talent abilities.”All Purifiers receive information from the Emissary upon awakening, granting them the mission to purify all evil in this world.” And we… are the evil that Purifiers must eliminate.” Nie Chong revealed all the information about Purifiers in one breath.

“Wait, what do you mean by ‘we’?”

“Literally, all humanity! Our special operations brigade’s mission was to search for supplies in City B and rescue survivors in the urban areas. But we encountered several Purifiers in the city center. Like the most devout believers, after preaching about the so-called Emissary’s greatness, they suddenly attacked us – what they call ‘eliminating evil.’ Damn it! Out of over two hundred people in half our brigade… only… only five of us remain.” Nie Chong grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, finally punching the wall beside him.Listening to Nie Chong’s words, the small-statured soldier beside him had tears welling up in his eyes. He choked out, “The squad leader and Big Liu died to save me. It’s all my fault—they could have escaped… sob… it’s all because I’m useless!”

Nie Chong patted the young soldier’s shoulder firmly while comforting him softly. Only then did An Sheng carefully observe this slender soldier. Though harsh training had tanned and roughened his skin, the lingering youthfulness on his face told An Sheng this was merely a teenager under twenty.

“Captain Nie Chong, are those Purifiers really that terrifying? Your team had over two hundred fully armed soldiers—even the most powerful Mutated Monster I’ve ever seen couldn’t be this formidable!”

The information obtained from Nie Chong left An Sheng utterly shocked. He didn’t know exactly how much combat power two hundred weapon-bearing soldiers represented, but at the very least, he knew he could never handle them alone, and neither could Pighead Three.

The power of bullets and explosives was undeniably immense. Moreover, military equipment wasn’t limited to light arms—they possessed heavy weaponry too. Though An Sheng had never witnessed the destructive force of artillery and rockets firsthand, he’d frequently seen them on television before. No flesh-and-blood body could withstand such devastating bombardment!

In truth, the near-total annihilation of the two-hundred-strong Special Forces Team by a few so-called Purifiers was largely due to the troops’ complacency. When Purifiers weren’t using their abilities, they appeared completely human.

The Special Forces Team had initially treated them as ordinary survivors. No one expected these individuals to suddenly launch attacks. Combined with their lack of understanding about these Superpower-wielding Purifiers, they were caught completely off guard. Had both sides engaged in a properly prepared battle, those few Purifiers might not have gained any advantage.

The information gathered hastily remained limited, and their current understanding of Purifiers extended no further. This explained why when the Special Forces soldiers witnessed An Sheng’s transformation, they immediately mistook him for a Purifier. Had An Sheng shown any hostility toward them instead of helping resolve their crisis, they would have gunned him down like the other Purifiers.

“Captain Nie Chong, can you still contact your superiors?” This was An Sheng’s most pressing concern. Dozens of survivors remained at Yushan Fortress waiting for them. If they could reach national rescue organizations, it would be ideal.

“Brother An Sheng, to be frank with you—after the Red Tide outbreak, all electronic equipment has been affected. Long-range communication has basically collapsed. The maximum range of our radio equipment is only five kilometers.”

Nie Chong sounded deeply frustrated. For soldiers of their era, reliance on information transmission was absolute. Information-based warfare wasn’t just a concept—it was thoroughly integrated into modern military operations.

Losing this capability was like having their eyes gouged out. Estimating that their combat effectiveness dropped by half was being conservative. Missile launch systems, guidance systems, aircraft, radar, drones—all depended on electronic signals to function.After hearing Nie Chong’s words, An Sheng felt quite helpless. However, he was relatively fine; although somewhat disheartened, having struggled in the apocalypse for over three months, he had gradually adapted to his current life. At worst, he could just return to Yushan Fortress and continue living as a cave dweller on the mountain.

Yet, the so-called Purifiers mentioned by Nie Chong and the others worried An Sheng. He wasn’t sure if his abilities were enough to deal with them. If the Purifiers’ goal was to exterminate all humans, then they could essentially be categorized alongside zombies and mutated creatures.

Deep down, An Sheng still considered himself human, and he couldn’t possibly abandon the family members in the fortress.

“Captain Nie Chong, since you can’t find your main forces for now, why not come back with me? We have a refuge on a nearby mountain that’s relatively safe for the time being.”

An Sheng extended an invitation to the five special forces soldiers. Although few in number, each was an elite fighter and possessed firearms and ammunition, which would be a significant help to the survivors in the fortress.