Chapter 88: Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood

The giant cavern was extremely deep and pitch black; the deeper she went, the colder and darker it became. Yang Yi tilted her head upward, glancing at the sky, where only a tiny speck of light remained, like a firefly.

Darkness enveloped everything, so thick one could not see a finger in front of one's face. The air was heavy with moisture; the only sound was water dripping from the cave walls, cascading downward, its destination unknown.

A chilling cold permeated the surroundings. She hovered in mid-air, suspended between sky and earth. Apart from the sound of water, absolute silence reigned, as if a withered hand might reach out at any moment, or a grinning face might suddenly loom before her.

Since childhood, she had feared the dark, lightning, and thunder. Whenever she was alone in darkness, or whenever night brought thunder and rain, bizarre and grotesque images would assault her mind. Terrifying scenes flickered incessantly in her brain like an obsession, completely beyond the control of reason.

At such times, a trance-like sensation would wash over her, as if she had returned to that night hiding within a concrete pipe. She was still a frail little girl then, suddenly glancing fearfully to the left, then whipping her head around to check the right.

Yet life holds too many fears, some even more terrifying than ghosts. No one helps you without reason. Apart from conquering fear and pressing forward with gritted teeth, there was simply no other way.

Moreover, over so many years, she had grown accustomed to this fear. When one becomes accustomed to it, one can even derive pleasure from it—a pleasure of self-torture.

She continued descending, as if she might fall all the way to hell.

In the darkness, she did not rely on her eyes to see; instead, she used her mental power to observe her surroundings. The way mental power perceived things differed from ordinary sight; if one were to draw an analogy, it was somewhat like a bat using ultrasonic waves to map its environment.

It was more reliable, more comprehensive, and more detailed than sight, yet it offered far less psychological security.

Humans are, after all, mammals, accustomed to using "sight" to give themselves a sense of certainty.

Yang Yi halted her descent. Below, dark matter energy and spatial fluctuations mingled, like countless rivers converging at this point, stirring up intense and chaotic energy waves.

Indeed, it was another alien dimension again. Yang Yi thought calmly.

Her body dropped, plunging into the turbulent chaos of mixed energies.

%%

How high would a pile of ninety thousand corpses reach?

It would tower over Mount Heng in the Southern Ranges by more than two hundred meters, stand slightly higher than Mount Song in the Central Ranges, and match the height of Mount Tai.

How far would ninety thousand corpses stretch if laid out on the ground?

On a highway, traveling at an average speed of 100 km/h, it would take roughly an hour and a half to drive the entire length of this road of corpses. A top runner would need to run continuously, day and night without stopping, to sprint from one end of the corpse pile to the other.

The only concept Yang Yi had for ninety thousand people was the Olympic Games held at the Bird's Nest stadium in the capital of Xia. That year, she had watched the opening ceremony live on television; the stands were packed shoulder to shoulder, teeming with a sea of people. The Bird's Nest's capacity was also just over ninety thousand.

Now, ninety thousand corpses lay piled before her.

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, when this scene finally unfolded before her eyes, a bone-chilling coldness still froze her very soul.

She felt as though she stood amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, as though she stood in a world composed entirely of dead bodies.

Corpses were everywhere: to the left, to the right, below, in the distance, nearby; wherever her gaze fell, there were only corpses.

They still maintained the postures they had held when they fell. Countless spectators remained seated in the stands, faces turned toward the center of the field, their eyes wide and vacant, their expressions showing satisfaction, longing, as if they had witnessed the most beautiful sight of their lives.

Not far away sat a white-haired king, with performers in costume scattered around him.

Yet their flesh was no longer plump and lustrous; it was withered and shriveled, presenting a lifeless bluish-gray hue, like mummies preserved for years in a dry place.

Yang Yi stood in the center of the field, looking around. She felt as though ninety thousand people were gazing at her simultaneously, shouting silently.

She tilted her head to look at the sky. The night sky held two red moons. Blood-like moonlight poured down, as if even the moonlight carried a scent of blood.

This was not Earth.

Where was the altar? She even thought coldly, where was that circular altar, carved all over with patterns?

And that ancient stone chair that only she could see.

Involuntarily, she shivered, and this shiver rose from within her body like a flame, causing her entire frame to tremble uncontrollably.

"Vide! Did you do this?" she heard herself shout. Though her whole body was shaking, her voice was strangely calm.

"Of course. Who else on Earth would be so devoted and diligent in presenting such a grand gift to the Lord?" Vide's figure flickered a few times before appearing before her.

He wore a neat three-piece suit in dark brown plaid, with a silk tie that matched his brownish-gray hair perfectly. He radiated an elegant and trustworthy aura, his eyes even carrying a hint of compassion, loving like a priest.

Fine lines crinkled at the corners of his drooping eyes, and his brown-black eyes were exceedingly gentle. At that moment, he looked at Yang Yi affectionately, as if reuniting with an old friend.

This appearance was hardly that of a mass murderer responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives.

Indeed, from another perspective, he was not a murderer at all; he was even a savior filled with compassion! Yang Yi thought with a cold sneer.

"Oh, it's a projection again, isn't it?" Yang Yi slowly revealed a smile on her face, yet her eyes were as black as ink and as cold as ice. "What, since last time, you dare not appear in your true form to see me?"

Vide showed no anger at all; his gaze remained gentle. "Of course. You are the Lord's most favored lucky one, a chosen of the gods, merely temporarily blinded. Even so, one day you will awaken... I dare not face you directly..." he said, as if sighing.

Yang Yi offered no response to his words. She turned her head to look around and asked sarcastically, "Where is the altar of your great Lord?"

Upon hearing this, Vide's smile twitched. He shook his head and said, "You are too impatient. One day, you will regret your own restlessness."

He seemed to believe that Yang Yi would one day become a member of his faction, a devout follower of the alien evil god just like him, so he regarded Yang Yi's current provocation with a degree of sympathy.

This strange attitude left Yang Yi utterly surprised. The suppressed anger in her heart temporarily receded, and she forcibly dragged her reason back.

When reason is needed, anger accomplishes nothing and only makes things worse.

Yang Yi studied him closely for a few moments. But for a patient with schizophrenia, what could be gained from a top psychiatrist like Gao Chao other than treatment, guidance, and control? She did not like being controlled.

She got straight to the point. "Your attitude seems different. When we parted last time, you called me a sinner of humanity. How come today you are so..."

She was still searching for words to describe it when she saw Vide smile slightly. "I will tell you everything. So, why not tell me first: what happened that day in Mist City?"

His gentle smile was restrained, for only such restraint could conceal the excitement and fanaticism hidden beneath:

"Why did you transform into that form? Why, even after being completely invaded by the Reproductive Race, were you still able to survive..."