Chapter 25: Birth of a Lord

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

The survivors of the fortress held a grand welcome party for the five newly-joined special forces soldiers, while also celebrating the search team’s return with abundant living supplies. Everyone gathered together enjoying the delicious canned meat and vacuum-sealed meat products. The happiest were the children, who not only got to eat the chicken legs they had been craving, but each also received their own toys and candies. Laughter and joy filled the dim, damp cave of Yushan Fortress.

“Too dangerous! I don’t agree!”

After dinner, when An Sheng discussed with Old Zhang about going to City B’s urban area, Old Zhang immediately expressed his displeasure. An Sheng was the backbone of Yushan Fortress, and like Old Zhang, served as the pillar of support for these survivors. In Old Zhang’s heart, the fortress could survive without him, but it absolutely couldn’t be without An Sheng.

“Brother Zhang, please listen to my explanation. You know that since the mutation, my sixth sense has always been accurate. I must go investigate this matter about the Purifiers that Nie Chong mentioned! Don’t worry, I value my life and I’m quite timid – I won’t proactively provoke those people. But we must gather more information to ensure we don’t encounter any surprises when we meet them in the future.” An Sheng patiently persuaded Old Zhang. To An Sheng, Old Zhang was like both a father and an elder brother, and he deeply valued Old Zhang’s opinions and advice. However, ever since learning about the Purifiers, An Sheng had been feeling restless, with his subconscious telling him he must go to City B.

After hearing An Sheng’s explanation, Old Zhang also realized the seriousness of the situation and compromised: “Alright, even if you must go, you should take Pighead Three with you. How can you go alone?”

“No, Pighead Three is too conspicuous. I’m entering the city to investigate secretly, with no intention of contacting those Purifiers. How could I hide my tracks with Pighead Three? His five-meter-tall frame would be spotted from a kilometer away.”

Actually, worrying about Pighead Three revealing their location was one thing, but more importantly, he was concerned about everyone in the fortress. If the fortress were attacked by Purifiers or other mutated creatures after he left, having Pighead Three there would provide some security.

Finally, after An Sheng’s persuasion, Old Zhang reluctantly agreed to An Sheng’s plan to investigate City B. Before departure, Nie Chong gave An Sheng a complete set of individual combat equipment. Unfortunately, An Sheng had never handled a spear since childhood – at best, he could only use it to intimidate others, as it would be practically useless for him. However, among these weapons, a Nepalese Kukri caught An Sheng’s eye. Made entirely of carbon steel with an exquisitely crafted curved blade, it was clearly a masterpiece among masterpieces.

Clothes make the man, as gold leaf makes the Buddha. Dressed in urban camouflage combat uniform, An Sheng radiated an impressive and heroic aura. This look fascinated the single women in the fortress area. An Sheng’s appearance was already quite good, though his previously somewhat pudgy figure had affected his looks. But after the mutation, his well-defined, solid muscles could rival those of models. If not for his perpetually deadpan expression and indifferent attitude toward the women in the fortress area, he would probably have been taken advantage of long ago by those women who had been coveting his good looks.Early the next morning, An Sheng drove the Warrior Armored Assault Vehicle down the mountain and onto National Highway 103 heading toward City B.

As a quasi-first-tier city, City B’s scale and population density were considerable. The catastrophe had turned many people into zombies and mutated creatures, forcing survivors to huddle in corners, barely clinging to life. How many could have survived these three months? Without human maintenance, the city was decaying, its former prosperity gone. The streets were littered with garbage, abandoned vehicles, and human skeletons. Occasionally, a few zombies dragged their stiff bodies aimlessly through the ruins. All of this served as a stark reminder that the city no longer belonged to humanity—its current masters were zombies, mutated creatures, and the stray cats, dogs, and crows that fed on human remains.

An Sheng moved cautiously through the streets, using buildings and abandoned vehicles to conceal his presence. His target was the World Trade Center in the city center, the tallest building in all of City B. To minimize detection, he had parked the Armored Assault Vehicle in an empty garage on the outskirts and chosen to proceed on foot. The city was vast—exploring it on foot was nearly impossible. Observing from a high vantage point was the best approach.

Along the way, An Sheng noticed something unusual: the closer he got to the city center, the more frequently mutated creatures appeared. This defied the norm. Over the past three months, he had gained a basic understanding of the behavior of mutated creatures and zombies. Typically, mutated creatures were highly territorial, much like wild animals, marking specific areas as their hunting grounds and treating any intruders—even their own kind—as enemies. Yet, here in the city center, various mutated creatures gathered without conflict. This was the first time An Sheng had witnessed such a phenomenon, and he was certain it was anything but ordinary.

Meanwhile, at the artificial Lake Heart Island in City B’s central park, a massive flesh cocoon emitted an eerie red glow. Surrounding it, hundreds of mutated creatures bowed in reverence, as if devout worshippers. More mutated creatures, seemingly drawn by the cocoon’s call, were converging on the site.

The flesh cocoon appeared semi-transparent, resembling a blood-red gem. With each pulse of red light, something flickered faintly within. Inside, intricate tubes—or perhaps more accurately, umbilical cords—connected to a blurred humanoid figure. Upon closer inspection, it was a curvaceous human female, or at least a creature resembling one.”This should be the Lord mentioned in the Emissary’s information. I never expected human genetic talent to be so formidable! In such a short time, an Infected Body capable of breaking through to the Lord Level has already emerged. That such a filthy, despicable, and inferior race could reach such heights truly astonishes me.” A blond man in a black trench coat sighed to the silver-haired beauty beside him.

The two stood atop a distant building, observing the enormous flesh cocoon at the center of Lake Heart Island. Though their appearances differed little from humans, upon closer inspection, one would notice their eerily black eyes—devoid of whites or pupils, like two pitch-black obsidian stones embedded in their sockets. These two were among the masterminds behind the attack on the special forces battalion, the Purifiers mentioned by Nie Chong.

“Andre, we were also human before our Sublimation,” the female Purifier named Yalan retorted with some discomfort, kindly reminding him.

Hearing her words, Andre’s face twisted into an expression of extreme disgust. He coldly and angrily replied, “Yalan, I remind you, do not equate us with those filthy, inferior humans! We are the Chosen Ones possessing the Deification Factor, Apostles qualified for Sublimation who shall purify this world on behalf of the Emissary!”

“Alright, Andre, don’t get worked up. I admit we are indeed different from humans. It’s just that having lived among them for so long before Sublimation, I’m still somewhat unaccustomed to it,” the silver-haired beauty called Yalan spoke with clear apprehension toward Andre. Just as the two were growing intimate and nearly losing control, ready to find a place for passionate encounters, a violent explosion erupted from the direction of Lake Heart Island. They focused their gaze and saw the island now shrouded in a thick, blood-colored pheromone, making it impossible to discern the situation on the island. Then, a high-pitched cry resembling that of a bird echoed forth. As the sound spread, all Mutated Creatures within City B’s urban area prostrated themselves, emitting fearful whimpers. A Lord-Level Mutated Creature had thus been born!