"Welcome back," Yang Mei greeted from the foot of the pod. "You were out for 2 months this time."
Shen Yuan wasn't surprised by the news. It was more or less within his calculation.
He sat up from the pod but stayed inside. Unlike the previous session, he didn't feel any burden from the vulture's power though he absorbed a larger portion. Instead, it was like a refreshing energy drink with a shot of doping, keeping him in a comfortable high that made him crave more.
"What happened there?" Yang Mei asked.
"It's getting stronger like we anticipated. Maybe the next one will take even longer."
Yang Mei processed the newly collected data on her tablet and fixed her glasses. "You managed to kill another 30% of it. Only an 8% increase from the previous session but it took you twice the effort?"
"I rather take my time than risk my life, alright? If you're dissatisfied, then go ahead and find another agent. This general of yours is also a piece of work to deal with."
"I'm not questioning your capability. I'm only curious as to why. If it's something we can work out, we can provide you with more support for the next session."
"In the end, everything is up to the general himself. There's no use equipping me with anything," Shen Yuan refused and laid back down in the pod. "Since you're in such a hurry, I'll jump straight to the next session. Link me back in."
Now that only 41 percent of the vulture was left, it truly wouldn't be able to go against Zhou Yi in his neural space. He had to get back in and find it as soon as possible. It was a good decision to upgrade his neural chip straight to triple-A, so it still had a lot of capacity left to sustain the upcoming energy. He didn't need to waste time upgrading it again.
Since Yang Mei didn't say there was anything abnormal about Zhou Yi's condition, his theory was right. It was fine for him to 'kill' the vulture himself as long as it didn't reject him.
Now that he knew what to do, he only needed to find the vulture, eat his heart, and the job would be done. It would be best not to encounter Zhou Yi at all.
This could be the last.
"Are you truly throwing a tantrum right now?" Yang Mei sighed. "The one asking questions is Lieutenant General Gao. The Prime Minister has been pressing the Marshal about this matter and, consequentially, pressuring Lieutenant General Gao. The public is starting to ask where General Zhou is as well."
"Not my problem. Handling PR is not in my job description." Shen Yuan pulled the lid close. "Just do it."
"I'll run a quick physical scan and we'll send you back in."
***
When Shen Yuan opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was how empty and quiet it was. There were no people nor the slightest chatters around him. Not the faintest presence of a single person.
He was inside a small office building with windows looking out the main road from the third floor. He wore a pair of plain, light-blue collared shirt and black formal pants. From the ID card hanging from his neck, the link's integration made him an employee of this place though he doubted it would serve any purpose.
The road was equally devoid of any life. Cars and bikes were abandoned haphazardly as if their owners concluded their legs were much more reliable mid-drive and discarded them in the spur of the moment. The only reminiscence of its past was the traffic lights upholding their meaningless duty.
What was going on? All the previous worlds were peaceful and more or less the embodiments of an ideal world. A safe space. This was clearly not.
Was Zhou Yi's psyche deteriorating?
No, it shouldn't be. If it was, Yang Mei would've noticed it. Considering what happened to Everlight and the state the sanctuary was in, it made more sense to think this was the manifestation of Zhou Yi's state of mind.
Either way, it didn't matter as long as he didn't encounter Zhou Yi. His priority was to find the vulture and eat its heart. Even if it forgot everything, convincing it shouldn't take long.
He activated his radar and felt the pulse coming from the east. Before leaving, he searched the room for anything he could use as a weapon and found a crowbar in the storage. He didn't need any food or anything like that, so he immediately set off.
The world outside was as quiet as it looked. A couple of stray cats and dogs walked around scavenging for food while birds, especially crows, perched on electrical lines, waiting for their chance to steal their rivals' food away.
He had always wanted a pet but with how busy he was, he wouldn't be able to take care of them. Animals also had special health regulations for shops to be allowed to sell them and must be checked for any issues once a month or so. Because of the contaminations, many strays had evolved into many types of disease carriers.
Reaching an intersection, a shadow fleeted from the corner of his eyes, and he turned to scan the road on his left. Not finding anything, he picked up his pace towards the pulse. He should hurry while the sky was still bright. Less visibility wouldn't do him any good.
As the pulse grew closer and closer, he found himself outside a shopping plaza. The billboard still played the latest ads, and the lights inside were still operating, making him guess whatever happened in this place didn't happen too long ago.
The vulture was inside.
Shen Yuan went to the entrance and the automatic door reacted to his presence. Once he stepped inside, the air dropped into a chilling cold as if he had just entered a freezer. Something was here.
Could it be vultures? No, they weren't quiet predators. Since they didn't have ears, they didn't know their footsteps gave their presence away.
He raised his weapon in full alert and carefully treaded inside. This type of thing was truly not his specialty. All his muscles went to his tongue. Not to mention he didn't have his gun.
"Aahhh!! No! Please! Somebody, help!!"
Shen Yuan looked up towards the voice to find a woman crawling on the second floor, her legs seemingly broken. His sight then locked into the scorched skeletal creature staggering behind her. Its pitch-black bones crackled with small sparks of flame, like burnt remains piled in a hearth after a cold winter night.
It stretched its reach to the crying woman's head, blind and deaf to her plea and fear. Her skin sizzled from its touch, and her body burst into flames. Shrieks of pain pitched with agony rang across the building as her body burned until the fire subsided a minute later.
The new skeletal corpse teetered from the ground until it found balance on its two feet and staggered along with its killer-turned-companion. More came out from the stores, attracted by their companion's previous screams, but now that their prey was one of them, they roamed aimlessly around.
Shen Yuan took note of it and continued his pursuit. Except for its touch, nothing else seemed alarming.
The pulse brought him to the food court on the third floor, pointing towards the outdoor terrace. A dozen of undead loitered about but it wasn't much of a problem.
He went to the nearest kiosk, grabbed a tray, and threw it in the opposite direction from him. It hit a metal trash bin, ensuing a loud clang. The undead reacted and scuttled towards the noise.
Taking the chance, he paced towards the terrace with light and silent steps. The leather formal shoes normally weren't the most ideal for this kind of stunt, but with the type of missions assigned to him, he was more used to this kind of attire as opposed to specialized gear.
He could already see 1 additional undead outside through the glass door. If it was only one, he could use it to find out how he could kill it. It also had its back against him, so he could try a sneak attack first.
Step by step, he crept behind the unsuspecting undead and readied his crowbar. A step before it was within reach, it suddenly turned around. Its hollow, abysmal eye sockets looked straight at him.
With one foot forward anchoring his stance, he swung the crowbar with his entire hips and smashed the undead right at its temple, shattering it without much resistance. The rest of its body crumbled into ashes and disintegrated into thin air not 2 seconds after touching the ground, leaving no residue behind.
Well, that was easy.
Surely, these weren't the only monsters roaming around?
He would find out sooner or later anyway and didn't dwell too much about it. The pulse moved a bit closer to him during his attempt but there was nobody else on the terrace other than him and the now gone undead. He wouldn't have missed something as big as a human being.
"Meow."
Shen Yuan paused and slowly turned around. Sitting on one of the tables was a sleek black cat, its big round eyes watching him with undivided attention. Curiosity and interest swam in its gleaming pair of rubies.
He blinked. It blinked.
"…"
Seriously?