Land of Corpses and Beasts

Qin Jin walked to the riverbank and, without hesitation, threw the jade pendant into the cold, clear water. The blood-red jade entered the water, but it didn't cause much of a ripple...

However, a few minutes later, a thin layer of grayish-white mist spread across the river, centered on the spot where the jade pendant had sunk. As the mist dissipated, a human figure appeared on the water's surface—

The paper bride's reflection appeared in the water, but it was somewhat blurry, a stark contrast to the situation at the corpse-raising site last time.

"This place... is too far away," a cold voice echoed eerily across the river. "I can't hold out much longer. Speak quickly if you have something to say."

Fortunately, Qin Jin hadn't expected her to come out and help like last time, and simply said:

"Just so you know, I've lured the Tong family here. They're heading towards Los Angeles along California Highway 1 with some men. If you can make a move, then make one. If not... I won't be back for a few days, so you'll just have to wait!"

"Tong... family...!" The voice was no longer plaintive, but filled with gnashing hatred and a rage suppressed for countless years:

"Good...good! Finally...finally it's here!"

She seemed to be struggling to suppress her emotions, her voice trembling and distorted:

"Qin! Thank you! You've shown me... the trustworthiness and commitment of the Chinese community! Don't worry, once they arrive... I guarantee... not a single one will escape!"

Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, soaked in blood and tears.

"Do as you please, but be careful not to cause trouble, or it'll be my problem again!" Qin Jin said calmly.

"I'll be back in about two days, once I've finished dealing with things here."

"Okay..." The paper bride's voice gradually calmed down, "When you come, you don't need to come to the edge of the pool... I can appear in the pool in the mine pit..."

As soon as the words were spoken, the bloody reflection in the water began to fade and disappear, and the pervasive, icy hatred receded like the tide.

The blood jade floated to the surface from the bottom of the water. Qin Jin picked it up, put it back in his pocket, and then sat with Alessa by the roadside to wait for Sheriff Harvey to arrive with his men.

The cold night wind howled through the pine forest, like the whistling of departed souls. Alessa suddenly looked up:

"Is he like us?"

Qin Jin hummed in agreement.

Alessa tilted her head, and the button eyes of the teddy bear seemed to be looking at Qin Jin as well.

"If they're the same, why must they be killed?"

Her words contained no questioning or other meaning; she was simply asking for advice or inquiry because she didn't know why Qin Jin was doing such a thing.

"Although we are all zombies, there is a significant difference between us!" Qin Jin's voice wasn't loud, and his eyes, gazing into the darkness, seemed slightly lost in thought, as if recalling the past:

"I became a zombie because I was infected with the zombie virus and had no choice in my life. Later, I was hunted down by Maoshan for hundreds of years. When I had no other choice, I fled to America. But I never drank human blood and tried my best to live like a human being..."

"I turned you into a zombie to free you from the time-traveling constraints of Silent Hill, to remove your immortality, and to allow you to move. This is our choice, and perhaps... our destiny!"

"You and I both retain a remnant of human soul and three spirits within us, possessing humanity. We are not pure zombies, not pure monsters! We are human! Just somewhat incomplete, like those born deaf and mute, born mentally challenged, or disabled—imperfect humans! But it is a monster through and through!"

"He became a zombie because of the yin energy of the corpse-raising ground. These resurrected zombies have no remaining soul, no memories or emotions, like wild beasts, even more dangerous than wild beasts! Although it is currently just a hopping zombie, still far from being like you or me, but... according to its nature, it will definitely go on a killing spree, trying to become a flying zombie!"

Qin Jin's tone suddenly turned cold, carrying an undeniable determination:

"First, if we let it run rampant, given its indiscriminate killing ferocity, it will eventually attract the attention of the FBI, CDC, or even more troublesome agencies, exposing zombies to the light of day. This would be a catastrophic disaster for beings like us who need to remain hidden within human society!"

"Secondly, and most importantly," he looked directly into Alessa's eyes:

"Once it becomes a flying zombie, it will have the ability to devour its own kind and accelerate its evolution. And in all of America, you and I will be the most powerful zombies... At that time, it will come looking for you and me to devour!"

Aresa listened quietly, her grey-blue eyes like two bottomless icy lakes.

She seemed to be trying to understand the complex logical chain in Qin Jin's words—about the boundaries of the same kind, about the definition of threat, and about the necessity of concealment.

After a few seconds, she seemed to give up on delving deeper, simply tilting her head slightly to express her stance in the most concise way:

"I don't understand, but if Qin says to kill, then we kill!"

A flicker of indescribable emotion crossed Qin Jin's eyes, but in the end he simply reached out and ruffled Alessa's hair.

"Okay, good girl."

They didn't wait long, less than twenty minutes, when seventeen or eighteen armed townspeople, along with Sheriff Harvey and Constable Henry, gathered around.

The cold night wind, carrying the unique scent of humus from the mountains and forests, brushed against everyone's tense faces.

Qin Jin and Alessa led the way, guiding the group to follow the zombie Luke's intermittent and faint footprints. Although everyone thought Qin Jin was looking for footprints, only Alessa knew that he was only following the lingering scent in the soil.

The tracking process is not fast.

The zombie Luke's movements were very erratic, especially after entering the mountains. Its route was even stranger, making the entire team's progress extremely difficult. Time passed by, and dawn had broken, casting patches of gray-white spots across the forest.

With improved visibility, the entire team began to expand their formation, advancing forward in a fan shape...

suddenly!

A young hunter in charge of the search on the left flank suddenly let out a short cry of surprise, and then abruptly raised his gun to aim!

"There's something there!"

Everyone tensed instantly, their guns snapping to life. Following the direction of the young hunter's gun, they saw a dark shape emerge from behind the bushes.

This is an adult male white-tailed deer, and its appearance at this moment is enough to terrify even the most experienced hunter!

Large patches of its fur fell off, revealing rotten, blackened flesh underneath, with a thick, dark red liquid constantly seeping from the wounds.

One eye was reduced to a dark, empty hole, while the other eyeball was cloudy and grayish-white, devoid of any life.

Most horrifying of all were its crooked neck and exposed, stark white vertebrae, clearly indicating that it had suffered horrific lacerations before its death.

It staggered, yet with a reckless madness, its gray eyes fixed on the crowd, and a low, inanimate roar squeezed from its torn throat.

"Zombie deer..." Whether it was true or not, someone screamed in terror.

"Don't panic, aim!" Sheriff Harvey growled, his fingers gripping the screen tightly.

The zombie deer began to accelerate, charging towards the group in an extremely uncoordinated manner, the stench of decay and death bringing an immense sense of oppression!

"Fire!" someone shouted.

"Bang! Bang bang bang—!"

"boom!"

"Clap clap clap!"

Several hunting rifles, shotguns, and even pistols spat fire almost simultaneously!

Bullets rained down on the zombie deer, scattering its rotting flesh and sending its skeleton trembling.

It was forced to retreat repeatedly by the intense firepower, but it did not fall. Instead, it let out an even more frenzied roar.

"Shoot in the head! Aim carefully, only a headshot will be effective!" Qin Jin's voice boomed over the gunfire!

Almost simultaneously, Officer Henry's shotgun roared to life again!

This time, the slug accurately hit the zombie deer's already rotten head!

"Pfft!"

Like a rotten watermelon being smashed open with a heavy hammer, the deer's head exploded instantly, with bone fragments, rotting flesh, and grayish-white brain matter scattering everywhere.

The headless deer carcass finally stopped charging, convulsed violently a few times, and collapsed to the ground with a thud, its limbs still kicking nervously.

Qin Jin went up to check on him, then ordered, "He's completely dead now. Tie him up and keep moving forward. Find a place to burn him!"

Several brave townspeople, suppressing their nausea, used the thick wire and hemp rope they had brought to tie up the deer carcass and drag it along the road.

The procession continued forward, and the atmosphere grew even more somber.

The appearance of the zombie deer confirmed Qin Jin's warning that "monsters are creating more monsters."

As they carefully parted a patch of vines and stepped into a mountain hollow, the sight before them made everyone gasp and feel their stomachs churning!

This place is practically a small slaughterhouse, or rather, Luke the Zombie's temporary canteen!

In the open space in the middle of the valley, there were a large number of mangled animal carcasses.

There were wild boars torn in half, their entrails dangling on the ground; coyotes with only half their bodies remaining; foxes with half their heads gnawed off; and several small birds, their feathers mixed in with the congealed, blackened blood.

The degree of decay varies:

Some of the corpses were still fresh, emitting a strong stench of blood; others were highly decomposed, crawling with maggots and emitting a foul stench; and still others were nothing but bare bones.

What's even more chilling is that these mutilated body parts are not completely still!

Some relatively intact carcasses, such as the half-wild boar, were unconsciously pawing at the ground with their hooves.

A rabbit with only its upper body remaining, with bone fragments exposed at the cut, was still struggling to twist its body and try to gnaw on the soil beside it.

Several scattered heads belonging to different animals, their mouths opening and closing, emitting silent roars!

The ground of the entire valley seemed to be covered with a strange carpet made of death and writhing!

The mutilated limbs and exposed internal organs, illuminated by the moonlight and flashlight beams, presented a horrifying scene reminiscent of a painting of hell.