Chapter Ten: The Researcher's Diary

Everyone rested in the warehouse until noon. At that moment, the guide Mu Bai stood at the edge of the town, gazing at the dense, ethereal fog ahead with astonishment; his cigarette had already fallen to the ground from his open mouth.

"Is this the boundary of the inner world?"

"This isn't a true world, lacks the fundamental laws that make up a world, not even a dimension or a plane—merely a box garden constructed from selected elements, and the smallest kind at that. An inner world comprising only a single town!"

"So, the theme of this box garden is zombies—there must be a 'core' point, whether it's a puzzle element, a boss, or something else… Once it's resolved, this inner world will be broken."

"If I weren't a guide, I couldn't even know this information. Pity that as a guide, I can't gain any benefits from an inner world when leading newcomers."

"I'm actually a bit envious. The novice task encountered a box garden as the inner world—could this be due to that extraordinary luck that transcends human limits, Tang Tianjie? That guy's fate talent must be related to luck, ha… Truly a protagonist."

As a modulator of the Lawful Good alignment, Mu Bai sincerely hoped these nine newcomers would gain the greatest training and benefits from the novice task.

"If there's a world boss… no, that's too grand a term. Not even a plane boss, just a box garden boss… If the core of this inner world is a boss, it should be enough of a challenge for the nine newcomers."

"But… for novices, might this difficulty be too high?"

"Hmm, if two or three of them have combat talents… perhaps it's possible."

Mu Bai returned from the boundary of the town, from the region shrouded in dense fog, to search within the town for the possible box garden boss.

Time kept flowing in this inner world. After half a day's rest and lunch, everyone resumed their actions.

Tang Tianjie was filled with hope, wishing to encounter a mutated zombie boss. With his luck, even normal zombies dropped bloodline substances and gene unlock materials; what might a zombie boss drop? It was worth anticipating. As for danger…

Besides his pistol, he had found new equipment on the way:

M67 grenade.

This is one of the standard grenades of the US Army, shaped like an apple and also called the "apple grenade," with tremendous power and a blast radius of up to 15 meters!

He'd used one for testing; now five hung from Tang Tianjie's waist. Even if faced with a biohazard tyrant or a Left 4 Dead tank, he was confident he could take them down.

Yet… even as night fell, they hadn't encountered any boss.

Tang Tianjie began to suspect if his luck had failed… Should he use his fate talent? No, better to wait; the cost of using that talent was simply too high.

The group was exhausted after an afternoon of zombie slaughter. Although Tang Tianjie bore most of the pressure, they still faced zombies from time to time—especially once, when over twenty zombies blocked their path, nearly reducing all three teams.

They cleared a villa in the town to serve as a temporary residence.

It must be said, the past day's experience had been the most profound ordeal for everyone—except for the battle-absent, chuunibyou girl, Kotori Yori. Even Zhu Xiaoyong, the heavy-set homebody, now carried a hint of bravery.

The most obvious change was that after the battles from noon to night, Yan Luo had absorbed only three points of fear, barely totaling thirty, half the preset value of sixty. There was no helping it; the newcomers were experiencing "aesthetic fatigue" toward zombies.

During the break, he freed himself of two points of irritation. Thankfully, Tang Tianjie hadn't come over this time.

Originally, Yan Luo had tied his right hand to his foot with rope.

Witnessing this, Chu Qingfeng was left open-mouthed.

Psychological studies show that in communication, only seven percent of effective information comes from spoken content, thirty-eight percent from voice, and fifty-five percent from body language—posture and expression.

People try to disguise themselves, but their body language inevitably betrays their inner feelings. Emotional shifts and personality traits leak through actions and fleeting micro-expressions.

Micro-expressions are remnants from human evolution, beyond conscious control, and most reflective of the true inner world. In other words, micro-expressions are determined by the subconscious—no one can hide their true thoughts; often masked by other expressions, yet fleeting, some lasting only 0.04 seconds!

The eyes are windows to the soul—joy, sadness, anger, tension, all are unconsciously revealed through one's gaze.

What did it mean for Yan Luo to tie his right hand and foot together?

Moreover, this man, whose face bore no expression while slaying zombies, whose pupils never even quivered, now, after binding his hand, his facial muscles trembled, his gaze sharpened, his cheeks puffed, his lips pursed—clearly in a state of anger, irritation, annoyance, or some similar negative emotion. To Chu Qingfeng, this emotion was utterly inexplicable.

"What a mystery!"

Chu Qingfeng sighed inwardly at this "calm beyond human limits," finding himself thoroughly baffled, utterly mystified.

Early next morning, everyone left the villa.

Through killing zombies, Li Changxin achieved the "Minced Meat" achievement.

She gained a title that increased her damage to zombies by thirty percent.

Continuing through the town, the group discovered a research institute—now filled with zombies in white lab coats. Inside, they found a diary with hints of hidden truths.

"April 26

The project has finally made a breakthrough. This means we may break the shackles of evolutionary theory? Human evolution is essentially gene evolution. Dr. Smith proposed using a 'virus' to recombine genes; the virus would integrate genetic material into the host cell's chromosomes and coexist long-term.

During symbiosis, the host cell's genes undergo lysogenic conversion, altering the chromosomes.

When this virus was cultivated, everyone was excited. The doctor named it: Progenitor, signifying the beginning of new humanity.

However, this also means the host itself may mutate to varying degrees—possibly becoming another species. I am somewhat concerned."

"May 17

Repeated experiments—perhaps our path is wrong? Viral infection is hindered by the human immune system; immune cells will destroy infected cells at all costs, resulting in massive necrotic tissue in the body. To repair the damage and restore immune function, a large amount of food is needed for energy. Those injected with the Progenitor virus exhibited voracious appetites… This is just like… zombies… Maybe we have opened Pandora’s box."

"June 3

Has Dr. Smith gone mad? I suspect his mental state is highly questionable. In the restroom, I overheard him muttering—if all nutrients were concentrated and delivered to a single person…"

"July 30

A new virus has been created, named: Origin? This is Dr. Smith’s independent research. What effect does it have? He flatly refuses to disclose—even to the executive committee, his refusal is stubborn. He must be insane; our funding is sure to be cut."

"August 5

Damn it, why has the Progenitor virus, which was supposed to be destroyed, spread? Someone witnessed a zombie eating incident! With the Progenitor virus's infectiousness, everyone will turn into zombies! No, perhaps one can save us: Dr. Smith. He is a true genius—he must have a way!"

"August 6

Damn, damn, damn! Has the old man really gone mad? The Progenitor virus is spreading in the town, and he’s reading the Bible, the Gospel of Mark? Has he become a missionary? What now—are we to become the sinners who destroy humanity?"

Inside the diary was also a page torn from the Bible.

Legion and Christ

They came to the seaside, to the land of the Gerasenes.

As Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man possessed by evil spirits came out from the tombs to meet him.

That man lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him—not even with chains.

For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he tore the chains apart and broke the shackles; no one was strong enough to subdue him.

Night and day, among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed before him, crying out loudly, "Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? I beg you by God, do not torment me."

For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region.

Nearby on the hillside, a large herd of pigs was feeding.

The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; let us enter them." He gave them permission. The evil spirits came out and entered the pigs; the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. There were about two thousand pigs.

On this New Testament page from the Gospel of Mark, a segment was written in scrawled penmanship:

"The world became chaotic and dark. At that time, my world lay beneath the surface of the abyss. Countless primal forces surged beneath that surface—such immense power, primal, unrestrained, scorning flesh. It is itself—it alone is everything. They frolicked in the gray, filthy mud.

They possessed me, or perhaps I possessed them—what difference is there? At first I fled in terror, tried to tear open my chest to rip them out, but after a long time I came to enjoy them. I like to call them brothers, my companions; they are happy within me.

The world of flesh abandoned me, but I possessed their world. My own heart was filled—it became their home.

—Smith"

Both the diary and the scripture, as well as the essay, were written in English, but Chu Qingfeng was fluent in Chinese, English, Japanese, German, French, and Spanish. After hearing the psychologist's translation, all but the unexpressive Yan Luo and the enthusiastic Yori exchanged puzzled glances, not understanding any of it.