Chapter Sixteen: Even the God of War Fears Corruption

How many fallen insects’ corpses lay in the thermal power plant was difficult to count—there could have been hundreds by now. Judging by the sheer number of bodies, it seemed a battle between two forces had taken place here.

Yet, aside from a burning factory building, there were hardly any signs of gunfire.

“Any other people accompanying Jiu?” Zhuang Xiao whispered.

“No matter how many there were, they must all be dead...” Su Qingran stared at the carnage, bodies torn and bloodied beyond recognition.

Perhaps some of these fallen insects were teammates who had transformed on the spot, unrecognizable now.

The atmosphere sank to an all-time low. The team’s filtered masks barely kept out the dust and the overwhelming stench. Negative thoughts churned ceaselessly in everyone’s minds.

“The closer we get to that cooling tower, the more the fatal wounds resemble knife cuts,” Zhao Bohan observed.

Qi An replied, “Speculation will only make us anxious and depressed. Let’s follow the clues and see.”

Yu Shuang took a deep breath, suppressing her restlessness. “We came all this way. Whether Jiu is dead or alive, whether the mission is accomplished or not, we must have a conclusion! Maintain formation and search toward the cooling tower!”

Everyone responded immediately, forming an assault formation as they advanced.

There was no obstruction along the way; they successfully entered the tower.

The outer layer of the cooling tower was now covered in climbing plants, with only withered, yellowish vines left, resembling veins bulging outward from the tower’s surface.

Inside, the space was vast. The hundred-meter square pool was completely dry. Dim daylight filtered from the top, swirling with the airflow in the tower, creating an eerie, cold silence.

There were still many corpses inside, their deaths more bizarre than before. Qi An, inexperienced, could not judge. Zhao Bohan frowned deeply. “Is this cannibalism?”

The team spread out to search. Qi An sensed something unusual and pondered deeply.

Suddenly, behind her, Zhuang Xiao’s startled voice rang out, “Damn! There’s still an insect!”

Before the shout ended, gunfire erupted—a series of shots accompanied by a strange scream, echoing from the bottom of the pool up to the tower walls.

Qi An turned to see a fast-moving, writhing black shadow fleeing rapidly, climbing the tower wall like a gecko.

All flashlights shone on it, and firepower was concentrated there. Yet Qi An’s sense of anomaly suddenly crystallized into reality.

“That’s Jiu!” Qi An shouted.

Everyone froze, gunfire ceased, and the beams of light focused even more intensely.

The “thing” was a dark, writhing form that recoiled at the light and darted away.

But in that brief moment of focused attention—especially for the sharp-eyed Zhuang Xiao and Yu Shuang—it was clear.

Though it had grown tentacles and split mandibles, its lower half had not fully transformed. Its head still bore the contours of human features.

The youth had once possessed exquisite beauty, but now, mutated beyond recognition, he barely seemed human, yellow saliva dripping from his mandibles.

“Damn! Mutation assessment... at least level four!” Yu Shuang said through gritted teeth, raising her gun again. “Kill him before he fully transforms, so he can go with some dignity. Lao Zhao, record the video.”

Zhao Bohan lowered his brows and pulled a micro-camera from his tactical vest.

The highly mutated youth lay quietly in the shadows. Qi An didn’t know if he was trembling.

Why wasn’t he running?

Somehow, Qi An felt the tangible pain and rejection—the struggle for life and death—permeating the tower, along with the vast emptiness and loneliness.

“I... maybe I can try to purify him,” Qi An said.

Zhao Bohan looked back incredulously.

Yu Shuang, after a moment of surprise, firmly refused, “No way! He’s already a level four mutation. We can’t risk you.”

But Qi An’s resolve hardened. “He doesn’t seem aggressive. Let me try calling to him. If he responds and we can communicate, then I can purify him.”

Her gaze was clear, her words rational. Yu Shuang glanced at the still but clearly progressing mutated Jiu, then exchanged a look with Zhao Bohan.

“Okay... we’ll take safety precautions,” Zhao Bohan said after a brief frown, nodding.

All guns remained trained on the youth. The squad spread into a surrounding formation that could support each other, with Yu Shuang and Zhao Bohan closely behind Qi An.

Qi An reached out to the youth. “If you trust me, please come down. I can help purify you.”

The youth shrank further into the shadows.

But this act proved he still had communicative ability.

Qi An stepped forward.

She stopped the two team leaders from advancing and entered the same shadow alone, calmly saying, “I am a purifier. If we resonate mentally, I share your fate. I dare to bear it—do you?”

She stood still, looking up, gazing into those distorted eyes with powerful intent.

The youth’s eyes seemed drawn by her gaze, trembling as if shivering all over, emitting a sound that was part scream, part sob.

He hesitated, then slowly crawled down.

Qi An retreated with the rhythm. When the youth tentatively reached out with a tentacle-like arm, she touched it at the boundary between light and shadow, then clasped it firmly.

Her decisiveness astonished her teammates, but Qi An made the decision without hesitation. She held the “hand” that still had five differentiated fingers but no bones, and resonated with the youth!

The deep, vast mental world was like the depths of the cosmos. A giant eye hung at the highest point, hidden in the deepest shadows, spying on every corner.

This was Qi An’s first time delving so deeply into another’s mental world, even visualizing it.

She saw the eye splitting, fracturing everywhere, crowding from all directions toward the tiny figure at the universe’s center, seeking to devour it!

Though crushed almost beyond sight, the figure struggled fiercely, wielding a blade in defiance!

Noise echoed around: “If mutation can’t be suppressed, then suicide is the only way. Loyal warriors must do so!”

This voice was immense, yet a faint, small voice questioned, “Why? Why should I die?”

The noise replied, “Then why do you live? Isn’t human life sorrowful? What is there to cling to?”

The small voice gave no answer. The tiny figure at the center seemed stunned and loosened its grip on the blade.

Qi An immediately unleashed her mental power, a mighty force like roaring waves, surging toward the eyes!

At the tiny figure’s location appeared a solid reef; the waves fought around him, yet the water gently enveloped him.

This process lasted a long time. Qi An persisted relentlessly. Each wave grew stronger and fiercer until all the eyes and noise were completely crushed and swallowed!

Gradually, silence returned. The water barrier settled, flowing quietly around the youth like a soft blue river, the waves tender.

Qi An sat on the reef opposite the youth.

He stared at her in a daze.

“No one’s life is sorrowful. There is always a reason to live,” Qi An said, touching her forehead to his, transmitting gentle yet firm mental energy.

The youth began trembling, his eyes fading as stars rotated within.

In this desolate, empty cosmos, at this moment, there were two people.