Chapter 127: Blackwater Town

Gecko turned the car around, its headlights illuminating the direction from which the scent of blood was drifting.

Then, with a grave expression, he got out of the car alongside Lu Xin and peered toward the area lit by the beams.

The weather was somewhat overcast. The Crimson Moon hung behind the clouds, flickering in and out of sight.

It had just rained, and the air was damp, making the fresh, bloody odor even more pungent.

All around was darkness. The car headlights fell upon the wilderness beside the road, casting a hazy glow. As the blinding light swept over the thick Wasteland Grass, one could see continuous rustling within the patches, as if many living things inside were ferociously turning their heads toward the beams.

“Maybe wild dogs or something…”

Gecko raised his hand and fired a shot toward a patch of Wasteland Grass.

Crash, rustle—

The distant grass shook violently, like beasts darting about inside.

After a moment, the movement within ceased.

An eerie silence descended.

Yet, from behind the Wasteland Grass, one could distinctly sense numerous eyes staring fixedly at them, alert and fierce.

“Be careful. You can find all sorts of things out here in The Wilderness…”

Gecko muttered, then slowly pushed aside the grass with Lu Xin, advancing into the thicket.

The closer they drew, the stronger the scent of blood became. Gecko subconsciously furrowed his brow tightly.

He stole a glance at Lu Xin and noticed Lu Xin’s face remained as calm as ever.

There was no expression of curiosity about the strange bloody smell, or Fear toward the tall Wasteland Grass that stood nearly as high as a person…

Just utterly composed.

…

“Who’s the rookie here anyway?”

Gecko muttered inwardly.

The two of them pushed through the Wasteland Grass, moving under the watchful, hostile gaze of the wild dogs hidden within the surrounding thickets, until they reached the source of the blood scent.

At a glance, reddish masses of flesh and viscera lay scattered in a heap among the grass.

They appeared completely mangled. Tear marks covered the pile, likely signs of wild beasts’ teeth—as if the remains had been gnawed on and partially consumed.

…

“It’s organ meat…”

After one look, Gecko felt his scalp prickle and spoke in a low voice.

Lu Xin nodded first, then examined the pile more carefully. “It’s probably human,” he added. “More than one.”

How did you recognize it was human so quickly?

A question formed in Gecko’s mind, but he bit it back, swallowing the words.

He simply scanned the surroundings, confirming nothing but wild dogs and cats were present. Then, he voiced his confusion:

“Why would human entrails be dumped out here? And it looks like there are no other severed limbs nearby. Means only these organs are here.”

Seeing such a scene abruptly, it was hard to connect it with their current tracking mission.

But Lu Xin believed that when Mother had said “Found it,” she had meant these organs were certainly connected to the people they were tracking.

So, slightly frowning, he said, “There’s a Puppet-Type Ability User in that Knights Order, isn’t there?”

“You mean…”

Gecko reacted immediately. Though he didn’t know how Lu Xin had made the connection, he followed the train of thought:

“The signature trick of a Puppet-Type Ability User is controlling Psycho-modified Humans. Which means they… manufacture them?”

Lu Xin nodded, replaying information he’d absorbed during the journey in his mind.

“According to the information the Research Institute sent us… including the autopsies done on those Psycho-modified Humans who attacked Satellite City No.2… they found that unnecessary internal organs were removed from all subjects. Only the most essential parts were kept—the basic brain tissue and the Heart. Seems to be a standard manufacturing method.”

Gecko shot a slightly startled look at Lu Xin. “So…?”

Lu Xin replied softly, “He lost a lot of Psycho-modified Humans at Satellite City No.2. Needs replacements.”

“… Additionally…”

He paused. “I think we can report back to the Main City now. We’ve found our two missing Special Agents.”

As he spoke, he picked up a scrap of fabric from the ground.

It was a special fabric blended with glass fibers—clearly a product from inside the Highwall City.

Many of the city’s Special Agents wore clothes made of similar material.

Gecko fell completely silent. He carefully studied the vivid red stains splattered across the ground once more.

Tracking this Knights Order through The Wilderness, the two Special Agents had vanished abruptly. Their fate, alive or dead, remained unknown until now.

A reasonable deduction? They most likely had fallen into the hands of this Knights Order.

The Knights Order’s Puppet-Type Ability User required replacements to replenish his force of Psycho-modified Humans. Live humans weren’t easy to find out here in The Wilderness. So, when these two Special Agents were captured… their ultimate fate was rather predictable.

Gecko’s mood grew heavy. After a final, somber glance at the red stains on the ground, he let out a small, low sigh.

“He muttered, ‘How did you think of all this so quickly?'”

“Lu Xin replied naturally, ‘It was written in the materials given to us from above…'”

“Gecko: ‘……'”

“He had glanced over those materials too, but in the moment, he hadn’t connected them to the scene before him at all.”

“Of course, that might have been because he was busy driving.”

“Lu Xin had been sitting in the passenger seat the whole time, studying the materials very seriously.”

“His mood slightly soured. He sighed faintly. ‘But what should we do now…'”

“Gecko hesitated uncertainly. ‘They are… our own people…'”

“Lu Xin lowered his head and looked at the mess and the internal organs on the ground. He was silent for a moment before saying, ‘Take them back.'”

“‘Huh?'”

“Gecko was instantly dumbfounded, looking at Lu Xin with a strange expression. ‘Wouldn’t burying them here… be better?'”

“As he finished his own sentence, he suddenly realized the problem.”

“He looked around at the deep wild grass and the pairs of sinister eyes hidden within it. He let out a helpless sigh.”

“With so many beasts lurking around, even if they were buried, they’d just be dug up.”

“And if they burned them, they’d need gasoline — an extremely extravagant act in the wilderness.”

“So, he could only stare blankly at Lu Xin, his face full of helplessness.”

“Then Lu Xin turned to look at him.”

“The two of them looked at each other.”

“Gecko couldn’t stand it any longer and asked, trembling slightly, ‘What is it?'”

“Lu Xin stated, ‘In our Special Operations Team, I believe I’m the Captain, and you are the Deputy Captain?'”

“Gecko nodded blankly. ‘Yes, what about it?'”

“Lu Xin pointed at the internal organs on the ground. ‘Then, Deputy Captain, please collect our Special Agents.'”

“Only then did Gecko understand. He stared stupidly at Lu Xin.”

“Lu Xin gave him a firm nod.”

“He had to admit, the feeling of being the Captain was actually quite good.”

“When dealing with that oversized Psychic Entity under the Southern Wall, he had known his promotion would definitely be faster than Gecko’s.”

“Though, he hadn’t expected it to be this fast…”

“”

“Under the orders of Captain Lu Xin, Deputy Captain Gecko finally carried out his duty.”

“Reluctantly, he returned to the car, took out two specially made body bags, grabbed three masks, suppressed his discomfort, and began scooping the two ‘colleagues’ piece by piece into the bags. Since Lu Xin, Captain of their Special Operations Team, was watching right beside him, he didn’t dare slack off. He even gathered the scattered pieces of flesh nearby. He stood amidst the mournful and resentful howls of the wild dogs.”

“‘Ugh…'”

“After finally loading the two bags into the trunk, he couldn’t hold it back any longer and vomited.”

“Lu Xin kindly poured him a cup of water. While waiting for him to finish throwing up, Lu Xin lifted his head to look into the distance.”

“Inside the car, Mother was also quietly looking in that direction.”

“‘It should be there, right?’ Lu Xin muttered to himself.”

“Hearing his words, Mother inside the car smiled faintly.”

“”

“‘I mean, how exactly did you find these two colleagues…’ Gecko finished vomiting and washed his hands several times before climbing back into the car. He collapsed into the driver’s seat, taking a good while to recover. Looking at Lu Xin, who was now back in the passenger seat pensively gazing westward, he asked weakly.”

“‘Not only did I find the colleagues, but those people shouldn’t be far now either,’ Lu Xin stated while looking southwest. Though he used speculative phrasing, his tone was utterly certain.”

“‘Is there some kind of Gathering Point in that direction?'”

“He spoke slowly, ‘They’re probably there right now…'”

“”

“‘”There”…’ Gecko followed Lu Xin’s gaze and hurriedly pulled out the map. After briefly checking it, his expression turned confused.”

“‘Right now, I really…'”

“‘Brother, are you Spider-Type or a fortune-telling type?'”

“”

“Following Lu Xin’s direction, Gecko indeed found a Gathering Point.”

“On the map, it was an area painted red. Clear routes leading into the place were marked around it, and a small icon of a Submachine Gun was displayed above it, making it very conspicuous.”

“Its name was Blackwater Town.”

“‘We’re in the middle of the wilderness in the dead of night, and you just pinpointed it with one sentence? That’s way too…'”

“Gecko murmured in disbelief, ‘…divine?'”

“Lu Xin gave him a slightly odd look. ‘Didn’t you notice the sky over there is slightly red?'”

“‘That should be the effect of artificial light, right?’ Lu Xin explained. ‘Where there is light, isn’t that a Gathering Point?'”

“”

“‘Uh…’ Gecko, faced with Lu Xin’s gaze that seemed to be looking at an idiot, flushed crimson.”

“He hurriedly changed the subject nonchalantly, adopting a serious tone. ‘But if those people really are hiding there, it could be troublesome.'”

“‘Look, this place is one of the larger wanderer Gathering Points near Qinggang. It’s also one of the biggest black markets in the area.'”

“He recalled slowly, ‘During the initial period after the Cataclysm, this was a Small Town with a considerable oil reserve. That’s why so many people flocked here and named it Blackwater Town. Nowadays, the oil there should have been sold off long ago. But because of its reputation, it became a place for people to exchange goods.'”

“‘If those people are hiding there, we’ll need to prepare to deal with the leader of the Knights Order there.'”

“‘We have to be careful. The armed forces of that dump might be nearly as powerful as our City Patrol Army.'”

“”

“Lu Xin glanced at the map, perplexed. ‘This place is only a day’s journey from Qinggang. Are they that daring?'”

“How could a Gathering Point within a day’s travel of Qinggang be so bold?

Hearing this, Gecko instinctively chuckled. ‘See, there’s stuff you don’t know either…'”