Chapter 43: A Frenzied Dance of Corpses

For a moment, the woods were engulfed in a furious gale; sand and stones flew wildly. When the chaos subsided, dry, skeletal arms suddenly reached out from beneath the carpet of dead branches and leaves covering the ground.

A few anguished screams echoed through the trees as several members of the Azure Dragon Gang were dragged underground by these withered claws. Gunshots rang out, puncturing some of the arms, which quickly withdrew beneath the earth.

"Scatter and cover your teammates!" Qin Tian commanded.

The ground trembled, and those who had been dragged underground were thrown back up. I saw clearly that these people could no longer be called 'human.' Those ejected from below appeared utterly drained of flesh and blood, reduced to mere skin sacks. Their oversized clothes hung loosely from their bodies as they staggered forward with outstretched hands. After a few steps, their garments slipped off, revealing bodies without flesh—only a brittle layer of dead skin stretched over a skeletal frame, making their clothes look absurdly baggy.

The members of the Azure Dragon Gang raised their pistols, aiming at the advancing corpses but hesitated, waiting for Qin Tian’s order. Perhaps to him, these brothers who had followed him through life and death held such a place in his heart that, even as they transformed into dry corpses, he could not bear to destroy them.

What was happening? The stars above had suddenly fallen into disarray, then these skeletal hands had emerged from below. Could it be connected to the celestial anomaly just now? Why had the stars deviated from their original paths? What were those dead hands underground? Why did those dragged below return in this ghastly state?

Clearly, these people were dead—their stiff expressions and movements made that obvious. The word "zombie" flashed in my mind, but damn it, these weren’t like zombies at all! A biohazard outbreak? Impossible. Could the Mayan prophecy be real? Was 2012 truly the end of the world? But there were still several months left until December 23rd, 2012—it didn’t make sense! If this were the apocalypse, it should belong to the 21st century. The Mayans were people of the 21st century; how could they predict the catastrophe of this unknown world? Or had the seal of some demon god been broken?

As the dry corpse’s arms reached for Qin Tian, the Azure Dragon Gang watched nervously, guns trained, eyes fixed on his expression, uncertain. Qin Tian remained calm, unshaken, as if he were the embodiment of composure before the collapse of Mount Tai.

I couldn't help but admire Qin Tian’s steadiness and loyalty to his brothers, though his indecisiveness could not continue—clearly, it was time for me to act.

I gripped the translucent ice blade and severed the pair of dead hands reaching toward Qin Tian, then kicked the armless corpse away.

"What are you standing around for? Shoot!" I shouted at the crowd.

These men were too rigid—even if Qin Tian, out of loyalty, refused to give the order, surely they wouldn’t let him die at the hands of these corpses! How could they achieve anything if they couldn't adapt? My shout snapped them out of their stupor; they pulled their triggers, bullets raining down upon the corpses. Some rounds even passed through one body and struck another behind, but the corpses seemed unfazed, continuing their slow advance.

The corpse I’d kicked away also struggled to its feet, now armless but still moving forward. Was it like the zombies in the movies—did we need to destroy their heads to stop them?

"Aim for the head," I ordered, retreating into the group.

Yujing was scanning the surroundings, unconcerned with the corpses before us. He knew these bodies were just a warm-up for the brothers—the real danger had yet to appear. The skeletal hands beneath the earth were the true threat, so Yujing remained vigilant, sword in hand, eyes fixed on the ground.

Bullets struck the corpses’ heads, and sure enough, they collapsed, ceasing their struggle. Some heads were shattered outright by concentrated fire.

Were these truly like the zombies depicted in films? What manner of creature was this? After more than a year in this other world, I’d never seen anything like them. It must be connected to the disturbance of the stars earlier.

Guns, bullets, guns... If this kept up, the ammunition would run out eventually. These men, so used to firearms, would become ordinary people without them. I resolved that upon returning, I’d build a factory to produce all manner of weapons and ammunition, as well as cold weapons. After subduing the Sword Demon Sect, those willing to stay could train in cold weaponry.

Combining firearms and cold weapons—what effect would that have? I was eager to find out.

Qin Tian watched as his former brothers fell one by one before him, his expression complex. After a moment, he seemed to come to terms with it. "Stay vigilant—everyone, spread out," he ordered with the authority of a true leader.

The group moved two meters apart, guns raised, eyes alert for any movement on the ground. Not even a mosquito could escape their scrutiny. As my tension began to ease, Shi Feng, lying beside Yujing, stirred—finally awake. I walked over to help him up.

But as soon as I touched Shi Feng, I sensed something was wrong. His eyes remained tightly shut, his body trembling, sweat beads covering his forehead, as though enduring some immense torment.

I quickly turned Shi Feng over; wisps of black vapor rose from his back, and a black skeletal hand swiftly withdrew underground. I called over two Azure Dragon Gang members to guard him, then slashed at the spot where the hand had disappeared, sending a wave of sword energy through the earth, splitting it open with a half-meter-wide fissure that stretched for dozens of meters.

I stared in disbelief at the ice blade in my hand—how could this be? The sword’s power was astonishing! Its energy far surpassed that of Yujing’s treasured violet sword.

I didn’t believe my own strength had increased—it was clearly the sword. As the ground was split, the others crowded around, peering into the fissure, but nothing unusual could be seen. Suddenly, another scream erupted behind us. We spun around to see another gaping hole in the earth—someone else had been dragged below. Clearly, lingering here was dangerous; we had to find a way out of the woods.

"Everyone, move forward in column formation. Hold your positions," I ordered, planting my sword in the ground.

The Azure Dragon Gang seemed specially trained—military discipline, perhaps. Within a minute, the formation was set, and under Qin Tian’s lead, we advanced slowly. Yujing and I took up positions at either flank, ready to assist if need arose.

We were nearly out of the woods; everyone quickened their pace. But just then, disaster struck—the ground erupted as countless withered heads appeared, followed by their bodies. An army of corpses broke through the earth in a spectacular scene. Watching movies, I’d thought nothing of it, but now, faced with thousands of corpses, I was truly anxious. Everywhere I looked, the ground was packed with them—at least two thousand.

The Azure Dragon Gang had fewer than a thousand members after crossing over, meaning each person would have to take down at least two corpses. As soon as the corpses appeared, everyone opened fire, bullets flying in a storm. The targets were so dense that every shot hit something. But confronted with such overwhelming numbers, the group lost their composure, forgetting my earlier instruction—to destroy the head was the only way. Most bullets struck their bodies, merely slowing their advance. Once the magazines were empty, the corpses resumed their shuffling approach.

Reloading took time. As they swapped magazines, many were pierced through the chest by the corpses’ sharp claws, and their jaws clamped down, biting fiercely. In moments, casualties mounted; after draining their victims’ blood, the corpses’ skin turned rosy, while those bitten shriveled rapidly.

I fought desperately against the onslaught, sword energy slicing the corpses in half wherever it passed. Yet I had to hold back for fear of harming my own people, so the sword’s power could not be too strong. The scene devolved into chaos.