51: Z449 Tunnel (Part 1)

Northern Region, JH Highway, Z449 Tunnel

At 12:54 PM, an oil tanker painted red all over slowly drove into the deep, dark tunnel.

The heavy wheels ground against the asphalt, making a series of dull thuds—as if foretelling that something ominous was about to happen.

Just as the tanker reached the middle of the tunnel, a dark shadow suddenly leaped down from the ceiling like a ghost. With a flicker of movement, it jumped onto the front of the tanker in the blink of an eye.

Several "thump" sounds echoed.

The driver inside sensed something was wrong and slammed on the brakes. But the shadow didn't give the driver a chance, raising a Modao and slashing it fiercely against the windshield!

The sharp blade easily pierced through the glass, heading straight for the driver's neck.

The driver's eyes widened, and before he could make a sound, he slumped over. Blood sprayed out, staining the steering wheel and the seat... The shadow expressionlessly kicked the corpse out of the window and leaped onto the top of the tanker.

He then opened the top cover, plunged the Modao into the tank, and stood there vigorously stirring it hundreds of times. The liquid inside the tank began to churn, emitting a pungent odor.

The corners of the shadow's mouth curled up slightly, seemingly satisfied with his actions. Next, he pulled out a dark green sphere from his robes and gently tossed it into the oil tank.

The sphere fell into the tank, and upon contact with the liquid inside, it triggered a chemical reaction, followed by a series of violent—"crackling" sounds!

At the same time, the oil tanker suddenly began to tremble violently as if it had gone mad. The body of the truck shook incessantly, appearing as though it would burst open the next moment under the immense internal pressure.

The shadow leaped down from the tanker, performing several consecutive flips and jumps in mid-air before instantly vanishing into the depths at the end of the tunnel... Accompanied by the crackling sounds of explosions, the tanker was instantly engulfed in raging flames, and the entire tunnel was shrouded in billowing green smoke!

The fire triggered a chain reaction, and other cars in the tunnel also suffered.

"Help me! My leg is stuck."

"Mom! Wake up, wake up!"

"Waaa waaa..."

Traffic went into chaos instantly; the crowd was terrified and panicked, running everywhere.

However, before long, the green smoke gradually dispersed.

The crowd, which had been in a chaotic mess, suddenly became eerily quiet.

One by one, their eyes turned hollow, and their bodies stood straight like wooden dolls.

Suddenly, someone inexplicably took a step forward and then fell to the ground with a "thud."

Following that, others fell one after another as if a spell had been cast on them, their bodies twitching incessantly.

But after a while, these people slowly twisted their limbs and crawled back up. Their skin had turned deathly pale, and their teeth were pointed, looking exactly like the walking dead... Tang Tang turned the Daoist beads in her hand and turned back to say to Chen Chen, "Uncle Chen, I can't determine the source of the tunnel's corpse poison for now; I have to go over and take a look first."

"Tang Tang, why don't we wait a bit longer for the Buddhist Nuns from Yunlan Nunnery!" Chen Chen grabbed Tang Tang's wrist.

"I can't wait, Uncle Chen."

"The corpse poison has been breaking out for nearly a full day. If we can't identify its source and find a way to neutralize it, I'm afraid the entire area for hundreds of miles around will suffer from pollution and harm!"

Chen Chen sighed helplessly: "Very well..." He walked ahead to lead the way with a dejected expression; behind him followed the members of the Special Affairs Bureau's Analysis Department, each with a look of gravity on their face.

In this manner, the group walked silently for about half an hour until they finally saw a pitch-black tunnel appearing not far ahead.

Viewed from a distance, the tunnel looked like a hideous and terrifying giant beast with its bloody maw wide open, waiting hungrily for them to walk into its trap.

On both sides of the tunnel, stones of various sizes were scattered about, hinting that some kind of incident had occurred here.

When they were still several hundred meters away from the tunnel's sealing formation, Chen Chen stopped and pointed toward the location of the formation eye. He turned to Tang Tang beside him and said, "It's right there."

"I'm sorry, Tang Tang, we can't go in with you." A hint of guilt was evident in his words.

"It's alright, Uncle Chen."

"My constitution is immune to all poisons, and since the Spiritual Energy Revival, my cultivation has been progressing by leaps and bounds. I'm almost at the Third Stage now! Even if I encounter a powerful enemy I can't beat, escaping won't be a problem!" Tang Tang comforted him with a grin.

The group looked at each other and said in unison, "Be careful, Tang Tang!"

"Don't worry!"

Tang Tang nimbly slipped into the formation eye alone and walked toward the tunnel.

"Huh... it really does... feel a bit eerie!"

“Tsk tsk tsk... there's also a strange smell."

Tang Tang pinched her nose, "Oh my god! My nose can't take this." She quickly pulled a Breath-Holding Talisman from her Bag of Wonders and slapped it onto her forehead... When she was twenty meters away from the tunnel, Tang Tang slowed her pace.

She sensed a gloomy, cold wind blowing out from inside, and a chilly sensation immediately rose over her body.

This strange feeling made Tang Tang feel a bit creeped out.

She swallowed hard to bolster her courage and then moved forward step by step.

With every step, that cold wind grew stronger, as if countless pairs of eyes were watching her from the darkness.

At the entrance of the tunnel, Tang Tang crouched down, fished out a stack of talismans from her Bag of Wonders, and held them in her left hand. She also conveniently pulled out her peach wood sword and gripped it tightly.

The tunnel was deep and dark, stretching 8.63 kilometers long.

Completed in the 1990s, it was rumored that the Feng Shui here was poor and the Yin energy was quite heavy; traffic accidents occurred frequently every year, no less than ten cases.

It wasn't until three years ago, when the city invited a Feng Shui master to adjust the layout, that traffic accidents gradually decreased.

"Sure enough, there's a group of Walking Corpses inside! The compass hasn't stopped spinning. I wonder if they've evolved into White Zombies; I hope not!"

"Otherwise, this Daoist's hands are going to be worn out from all the hacking."

Tang Tang frowned, holding up her flashlight. She slowly walked forward.

As she walked, she mentally counted the steps she had taken. "11089... 12780... 13480..."

After walking about another ten thousand steps, as she took a certain step, she noticed the compass stop, pointing toward the front right.

"Did I hit the jackpot?"

Just as Tang Tang stopped, a chilly aura wafted over from ahead.

Looking up, less than fifty meters ahead, a small group of Walking Corpses actually emerged.

The leader was a little girl about five or six years old, carrying a ragdoll on her back, slowly wobbling her "about to fall off" head.

Tang Tang gripped her peach wood sword tightly and charged toward the group of Walking Corpses with a "whoosh."

She brandished the peach wood sword, and with a few "swish swish swish" sounds, she easily dealt with several Walking Corpses.