122: Chapter 122 Human? Non-human?

"Hide your presence... stay close to me."

Lu Cheng's voice was very low, barely more than a whisper.

Behind the stone wall, the three of them tensed up simultaneously.

Lu Cheng raised his hand and pressed it downward gently.

"Don't show your heads too high."

"I'll take a look first, you follow my direction."

The fog was getting thicker, the edges of the dirt houses at the village entrance were already somewhat blurred, and the moonlight was swallowed layer by layer by the grey-white mist.

The ground was damp and cold, with tiny water droplets condensing even on the grass blades.

The rustling sound drew closer again.

Lu Cheng narrowed his eyes, probing outward bit by bit along the densest aura of "malice."

Soon, he saw it.

On the dirt road at the village entrance, a hunched silhouette walked out first.

Its movements were very strange.

Its arms hung down, shoulders hunched forward, footsteps jerky, and a low hissing sound squeezed from its throat. Behind it, there was a second, a third, a fourth...

Le Jinghe felt his scalp tingle, and his lips trembled slightly.

"What the hell... what is that?"

Ning Wei's eyes turned cold instantly, her hand already touching her short sword.

Su Wan also saw it clearly.

Those figures had grown large patches of grey-black coarse hair, their nails had elongated, the corners of their mouths were split open, their teeth were turned outward, their eyes were turbid and yellow, and their entire faces were contorted toward those of beasts.

She had searched half of Baijin Mountain this morning and hadn't seen any strange beasts... How could strange beasts be in the village in the middle of the night?

And there was more than one...

Le Jinghe had already quietly opened a crack in his mechanical box, the gun barrel just barely exposed, and Ning Wei was also preparing to slip out using the cover of the fog.

Just then, Lu Cheng raised a hand to stop them, his voice pressed extremely low.

"Don't make a move."

Le Jinghe was stunned.

"Huh?"

Ning Wei also stopped, frowning at him.

Lu Cheng stared at the monsters walking slowly across the dirt road, his gaze growing heavier.

"These strange beasts... there's something wrong with them."

"Watch first."

The few of them didn't move again.

Those monsters walked past the village entrance with stiff movements, their nostrils twitching, as if smelling something, but they didn't take any other action, just wandering back and forth along the edge of the village and the foot of the mountain.

Occasionally, one would lift its head and let out a low, hoarse roar toward the night sky.

The sound made one's teeth ache.

They never displayed the kind of intense, maddening desire to attack typical of ordinary strange beasts.

Le Jinghe stared for a long time, his back covered in cold sweat, and whispered: "How come this thing... is like it's on patrol?"

Lu Cheng didn't speak.

Time passed bit by bit.

There were more and more monsters moving in the fog.

Some were swaying at the village entrance, some were crouching by the well, and some even climbed onto low walls and roofs, constantly emitting suppressed low growls from their throats.

The four of them huddled behind the ruined wall, hiding for an entire night.

When the sky slowly began to turn white, the fog finally began to disperse.

The first ray of morning light fell on the village entrance, shining on those monsters.

Then, an extremely eerie scene occurred.

The grey-black coarse hair on those monsters began to shrink back bit by bit, their twisted joints made soft clicking sounds, their outward-turned teeth retracted, their claws shortened, and their hunched spines slowly straightened up.

In just over ten minutes.

The strange beasts that were wandering in the village last night had all turned back into humans.

One was the old grandpa under the tree yesterday afternoon, one was the auntie picking vegetables, there was also the middle-aged man carrying firewood, the old lady weaving bamboo baskets...

Le Jinghe's glasses almost fell off.

"I... Holy crap..."

After the villagers recovered, their expressions were somewhat numb, and their movements were filled with exhaustion, as if they hadn't slept well all night.

They returned to their respective houses, started fires, carried water, fed chickens, almost exactly the same as they looked during the day.

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes for a whole night, no one would connect them to those monsters from last night.

Ning Wei whispered: "Retreat first?"

Lu Cheng looked at the village, then looked at the mountain.

"Leave first, send the news back."

Matters involving large-scale human mutation like this were no longer something the four students could handle alone.

The four of them slowly retreated from behind the ruined wall, using the morning mist to withdraw.

But they hadn't gone far when Lu Cheng suddenly stopped.

"Stop."

As soon as his voice fell, several figures instantly sprang out from the grass around them.

In front, on the left, on the right, behind.

They were instantly surrounded.

These people were all wearing dark grey combat uniforms, their faces covered with half-black cloth, their auras cold and gloomy, their eyes full of killing intent.

Le Jinghe's face turned pale instantly.

"Damn it... an ambush?"

Ning Wei had already drawn her short sword, her figure lowered.

Lu Cheng swept his gaze around, his eyes sinking.

Meridian Opening Realm.

And more than one.

The man standing in the very center in front had an even heavier aura, the fluctuation of his Source Power pressing the surrounding air until it felt tight; he was in the Hua Hai Realm.

"A few brats, want to leave after watching? Why not stay and have a cup of tea?"

The Hua Hai Realm man grinned, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.

Le Jinghe's legs went soft, his voice trembling.

"Lu... Brother Lu... what do we do?"

Lu Cheng loosened his neck, his fists clenching with a cracking sound.

"Just fight!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other side moved!

A Meridian Opening Realm attacker pounced first, a short blade in his hand carrying black Source Power, aiming straight for Lu Cheng's throat!

Lu Cheng stepped forward, his Crushing Fist blasting out directly!

Bang!

The man's entire arm exploded into a blood mist on the spot, his body flew sideways, knocking down half a dirt wall.

At the same time, Su Wan also drew her sword.

An ice-blue sword light flashed, and before the two Meridian Opening Realm attackers pouncing from the side could get close, frost condensed under their feet, their movements suddenly stalled, and the next second, the sword edge swept past, blood splattered!

Le Jinghe and Ning Wei felt their scalps tingle, and they quickly found their own positions.

"I'll provide cover! I'll provide cover!"

Le Jinghe frantically set up his firearms, the mechanical box clicked open, and the muzzle sprayed out streams of compressed energy bullets, actually forcing two Meridian Opening Realm cultivators to retreat repeatedly.

Ning Wei didn't have much room to maneuver; she was a close-quarters martial artist after all, and she was only at the peak of the Body Refining Realm. Although she could trade a few moves with a Meridian Opening Realm... that was the limit, and going up now would just be a hindrance...

The Hua Hai Realm man struck with his palm, the palm wind carrying a fishy stench, and the ground was cracked by the force.

Lu Cheng went straight to meet him, his entire body instantly undergoing Flame Demon Transformation.

At the same time, his Hardening Pulse covered his entire body instantly, his skin, Tendon & Bone Stage tightened, and his fist, carrying violent blood energy, slammed down head-on!

Boom!

Two forces collided, the air wave lifted, and the surrounding grass and trees were all bent.

Lu Cheng sank half an inch into the ground, and the Hua Hai Realm man was also shaken back two steps, a look of shock appearing in his eyes for the first time.

"Body Refining Realm?!"

Lu Cheng grinned.

"Surprise, right."

The next second, his figure flickered, Wandering Step pulled out an afterimage, he instantly cut into the opponent's close range, and his second punch blasted straight at the heart!

The man blocked in a rush, but still had his sternum dented, spitting blood from his mouth.

On the other side, Su Wan's cold energy erupted, Nine Cold Pulse Locks shot out one after another, and the remaining Meridian Opening Realm cultivators moved slower and slower, their Source Power circulation frozen until it became sluggish.

With one sword, one person, she killed cleanly and efficiently.

In just a short moment, the black-clothed men who had surrounded them were already lying all over the ground.

Le Jinghe and Ning Wei huddled in the back, their faces turning whiter than the other.

Especially when they saw Lu Cheng pinning down that Hua Hai Realm fighter, Le Jinghe felt completely numb.

"Holy crap... killing across three stages like this..."

Ning Wei's Adam's apple moved, and she whispered: "Shut up, just watch."

The last Hua Hai Realm man tried to run.

Lu Cheng chased after him in one step, his fist wrapped in blood energy and slammed down fiercely.

Bang!

His head exploded directly, and the surroundings went quiet all at once.

Only the rustling of the wind through the grass remained, along with a faint smell of blood.

Le Jinghe and Ning Wei stood in the back, shivering.

Half was from fear, half was from being terrified by the combat power of Lu Cheng and Su Wan.

Lu Cheng shook the blood off his hands and looked at the corpses of the black-clothed men.

"People from Black Seed."

Su Wan also sheathed her sword, her eyes cold.

"As expected."

Lu Cheng searched the Hua Hai Realm man and soon flipped out a magnetic card and a folded map.

On the map, an abandoned mine behind Baijin Mountain was circled.

"Found their nest."

He looked up.

"Let's go, let's take a look."

Le Jinghe's face turned green.

"Still going?"

Lu Cheng glanced at him.

"Since we're already here, who knows how long it will take to report it to the higher-ups? Let's solve the problem first, and then we'll ask the academy to give us more gold coins."

The four of them followed the map and crept along, soon circling to the back of Baijin Mountain.

There was an old mining area that had collapsed halfway; the entrance was blocked by weeds and wooden boards, and while it looked dilapidated on the outside, there were clear signs of human activity inside.

As soon as Lu Cheng approached, hurried footsteps came from inside.

The next second, several Black Seed members rushed out directly.

"Kill them!"

"Don't let them take the news out!"

The mine entrance instantly descended into chaos.

Several Black Seed members held some kind of black syringe and stabbed them viciously into the villagers chained nearby.

Those villagers were originally struggling and screaming, but a few seconds later, their bodies began to mutate crazily, their bones twisted, their skin bulged, and beast-like roars squeezed from their throats as they pounced toward Lu Cheng and the others.

Le Jinghe's eyes almost popped out.

"What the hell! How do we fight this?!"

Lu Cheng gave a low shout: "Don't kill the villagers! Control them first!"

Su Wan shifted her sword stance, the blade edge that was originally aimed at the neck was forced to change into slapping and freezing, and her movements were suddenly heavily restricted.

Le Jinghe popped out another module from his mechanical box.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Special anesthetic needles were fired one after another, the movements of those mutated villagers paused, and then they fell to the ground one by one.

Lu Cheng had already charged into the crowd.

Facing real Black Seed members, he wasn't so polite.

Wherever his fists went, people shattered.

A Meridian Opening Realm cultivator had just raised his hand, and Lu Cheng punched him through, wall and all.

Another wanted to sneak attack from behind, but was directly grabbed by the throat and pressed into the ground by his backhand.

Su Wan's Ice-type Source Power spread out, the temperature at the entire mine entrance plummeted, a large layer of ice formed on the ground, and several Black Seed members who wanted to run all slipped on the ice, only to have their throats sealed by sword light in the next second.

In just a few minutes, the people on the outer layer had been cleared out.

The remaining few Black Seed members wanted to flee inside, but Lu Cheng chased them in directly, crippling them one by one and throwing them on the ground.

Deep in the mine, there was a renovated hall.

The lights were ghastly white, and the air was filled with the smell of medicine, blood, and rot. Rows of metal cages were placed against the wall, along with many used syringes, record boards, and experimental equipment.

In the very center, a person was lying on a fixed bed.

Lu Cheng walked closer and took a look, his brows instantly knitting tight.

Wei Heng.

He was still alive.

But he only had half a life left.

Half of his body had already undergone beastification, his arms were covered in black hair, his nails had turned into sharp claws, blood vessels were bulging on his face, one eye was still human, the other was already turbid and yellow, a tube was inserted into his chest, and his whole body twitched from time to time.

Le Jinghe took a look and almost vomited.

"Is... is this even human anymore..."

Su Wan's expression also sank heavily.

Lu Cheng didn't speak, first raising his hand to open his terminal.

"Contact the academy, immediately."

Once the communication was connected, he spoke very quickly, reporting the situation at Baijin Mountain in full.

"There is a large-scale human mutation experiment here, suspected to be a long-term stronghold of Black Seed, involving the pollution of the entire village's residents. We discovered the corpses of a Hua Hai Realm member and numerous Meridian Opening Realm members on site. The target, Wei Heng, is surviving in a semi-beastified state. The situation is out of control."

"We need reinforcements from the higher-ups."

"As fast as possible."

The other side of the terminal was silent for two seconds, then immediately entered the highest priority processing.

"Received, hold your position, reinforcements will be dispatched immediately."

After hanging up the communication, Lu Cheng flipped through the table nearby and quickly found a black-covered manual, as well as several experimental records.

He opened the first page, and his eyes grew cold bit by bit.

Black Seed had been settling in Baijin Mountain for more than a day or two.

Judging from the manual records, they had been lurking here for a long time, taking advantage of Baijin Mountain's remoteness and lack of information, and had controlled all the villagers in the village, turning this place into a living experimental field.

No one outside knew, and the people inside couldn't escape.

These villagers were all experimental subjects.

They were human during the day, and would turn into strange beasts at night.

Those villagers desperately urged them not to stay until night, because they knew what kind of monster they would turn into at night.

That was why they kept urging them to leave...