Ch 117: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Crack, snap.

A sound of something breaking echoed.

This place was once a famous tourist destination, with a high altitude and few people around. Because of this, even though the outside world had long since become chaotic and bloodstained due to the apocalypse, this place remained peaceful and serene.

A team of four survivors, after a long and arduous journey, finally reached this location.

“Ah, we should be able to relax a bit here,” said the leader, a young man with slightly long hair, wearing a black jacket. He sighed in relief as he sat down. He took a small pack of biscuits from his bag and pulled out a fist-sized black device, dipping it into the lake in front of him.

Before the apocalypse, this lake was once hailed as the jewel of the planet, the mirror of the sky. Even now, it still looked beautiful.

“Beep.”

The device emitted a beep, flashing a green light.

“Boss, this water isn’t polluted!” The man shouted excitedly, immediately bending down to scoop up some water with his hands, gulping it down without hesitation.

The other three were overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly joined in to drink the water.

Just then, the device they had placed aside to test the water suddenly started beeping rapidly, flashing a yellow light.

The yellow light, initially faint like a firefly, grew in intensity at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming blindingly bright.

“What’s going on…?” someone muttered. “Is this device broken?”

This device was something invented after the apocalypse, capable of quickly analyzing the composition of any liquid, especially detecting whether water had been contaminated by the virus.

The green light indicated that the water was safe to drink. As for the yellow light…

This generally neutral color on the device represented energy. The stronger the light, the more intense the energy detected.

In just a short moment, the yellow light had intensified to nearly a blinding white.

The one referred to as “boss” was a short-haired woman with a stern expression and a curved blade strapped to her waist.

She commanded in a low voice, “Something’s wrong. Move back, get away from the lake.”

Her authority was clearly absolute within the group. Without hesitation, the four of them grabbed their bags and began to retreat.

They had only taken a couple of steps when the calm lake suddenly started rippling on its own.

“Find cover!” The four quickly hid behind whatever shelter they could find, their eyes fixed on the unnatural disturbance in the lake.

The movement of the water grew more intense, eventually forming a whirlpool at the center.

The four held their breath, gripping their weapons tightly as they watched the bizarre scene unfold.

Then, they all widened their eyes in shock—

A person emerged from the water!

Not in the way someone would surface while swimming, but rather, in an entirely illogical manner, slowly rising from the center of the whirlpool.

It was like something out of a movie.

Even more unbelievable, the person had waist-length hair, was dressed in long robes completely out of sync with current styles, and, most strikingly, had a face that was…

If one were to say that any specific feature of his face was particularly striking, that wouldn’t be quite accurate. However, he had a look that, upon a single glance and then another, was undeniably captivating—so much so that it was impossible to ignore or refute his attractiveness. His appearance, his entrance—it all seemed far too otherworldly to belong to a mere mortal.

A god? A water deity? A mountain spirit? Such absurd thoughts crossed the minds of the four.

But as for the person in question, Jiang Lin, his mind was in a haze.

He had finally emerged from that stone egg.

His soul had been alone for far too long, and the memories in his mind were scattered fragments, drifting chaotically, unable to come together all at once.

There were people here.

His gaze swept across the area, piercing through the cover, and fixed on the four individuals.

The four of them, unaware that they had already been discovered, remained hidden, holding their breath.

Jiang Lin frowned slightly, trying to speak. He opened his mouth but no sound came out—he had been silent for so long that he had forgotten how to speak.

A flash of irritation crossed his brow, and with a mere thought, the boulders and trees that the four were hiding behind crumbled into dust and were blown away by the wind.

The four of them were left speechless.

Their eyes met Jiang Lin’s, and they realized that any hope of staying hidden was gone. They also had a clear understanding of the mysterious figure’s overwhelming power.

A powerhouse.

Impossible to defeat.

The short-haired woman reacted quickly, taking a step forward and politely greeting him, “Hello, we were just passing through and stopped for a rest. If we’ve disturbed you, we apologize sincerely.”

Jiang Lin opened his mouth again, but speaking still seemed difficult for him. However, he understood what the woman was saying.

The four watched as the strange being, whether human or something else, walked across the water as if it were solid ground. He found a clean stone, sat down, and remained silent.

The group exchanged cautious glances, and the short-haired woman spoke up again, “Well… we won’t disturb you any further. We’ll just be on our way.”

The four hurriedly turned to leave, and the mysterious figure made no move to stop them.

But before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, after pressing on for quite some time, they blinked—and there he was again, sitting right next to them.

The four of them were left speechless once more.

After this happened three times, they finally gave in.

The strange person didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking them, so they decided to just let him follow if that’s what he wanted. The short-haired woman even offered him a piece of bread at one point. However, the mysterious man refused. Not only did he refuse, but he also extended his right hand and, with his index finger, pointed at the ground in front of them.

The short-haired woman watched as a small green sprout suddenly emerged from the bare ground, slowly growing taller and larger. Within a minute, it had grown into a tree taller than herself, blossomed, and bore fruit—large, ripe red apples hanging from its branches.

The short-haired woman was stunned: What kind of god-like power is this? Is this even real?

Jiang Lin pointed at the apples and looked at her.

“Are you giving these to us?” the short-haired woman couldn’t help but swallow. This was a rare treat.

She saw the mysterious man nod.

Although he couldn’t speak, it seemed he could understand them.

The short-haired woman didn’t hesitate any longer; she picked several apples and distributed them to her teammates.

She wasn’t afraid of any traps: with the power this mysterious figure had displayed, taking their lives would be as easy as lifting a finger. There was no need for any tricks.

After a few days of rest in the area, the group was ready to move on—they still needed to find a human settlement.

The short-haired woman, named Anjia, made a point of saying goodbye to Jiang Lin. Of course, it didn’t take long for her to realize that the mysterious man was still following them, which she found strangely reassuring. Ever since they had met him, they hadn’t encountered a single zombie along the way.

Jiang Lin followed the group of four, listening to their conversations. Over the past few days, he had more or less pieced together the current state of the world. He felt like there was something very important he needed to do, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was.

One day, as he was traveling with the group, Jiang Lin suddenly noticed something a few miles ahead. It was another group of humans. Normally, this wouldn’t have caught his attention, but there was someone in that group whose presence filled him with an instinctive sense of disgust and unease.