Chapter 974: The Vanishing Corpses

8 Institutes, Dongchang Aerospace City

Thick Wu Yun rolled like waves; as the dense clouds parted, a slender warplane slowly decelerated from high altitude.

The moonlight glowed red; in the pitch‑black night, hazy moonlight leaked through drifting clouds, showing half a moon.

"Lin Dui, we've arrived."

Yun Tian carefully kept the fuselage steady, hovering above the ground.

Exhausted from long low‑speed flight—though it didn't consume much—he had to stay alert for possible corpse birds.

Fortunately, aside from spotting a pair of corpse birds passing far to the side, the journey was uneventful.

The fuselage trembled slightly; beneath the azure retro‑thrust flames, the hovering warplane looked like a phantom, mysterious in the darkness.

Through the hatch window, Lin An gazed around and nodded calmly.

Yun Tian chose the landing point 70 kilometers south of Aerospace City.

Here runs a north‑south highway linking the nearby urban cluster.

The area is open; weeds on the road grow unusually thick.

Half‑person‑high shrubs sway in the night wind; from afar they look like swaying figures in the dark.

Starlight vanished; heavy Wu Yun gathered above the northern part of Aerospace City.

In the pitch‑black night, the modest urban cluster stood on the plain like a cut‑out silhouette.

"Thud.."

The ground sank slightly.

Lin An embraced Mo Ling and leapt from the warplane; his psychic power spread outward like water.

Nothing abnormal.

The pitch‑black visibility of not seeing five fingers had no effect on him.

Thanks to the third‑rank Awakened One's abnormal light‑capture ability, the distant Aerospace City, resembling a town, appeared as clear as on night‑vision goggles.

The outermost area consisted of rows of factories and warehouses; occasionally a refueling station could be seen on the road near the entrance.

Inside the city were large expanses of buildings under seven stories, used for housing.

At the city's core, a rocket‑metal landmark about thirty meters high pointed straight to the sky.

Dongchang Aerospace City.

Once a bustling tourism and education spot, it now lay silent like an empty city on the vast land.

"Lin Dui, should we go straight to the satellite base or into the city?"

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Zhang Tie gazed into the distance.

The air carried a faint moisture and earthy scent of weeds, which made him a bit nostalgic.

Now, their landing point is 70 kilometers from Aerospace City, 40 kilometers from the small Military Region to the right, and 120 kilometers from the satellite launch base straight ahead.

The three coordinates are distributed like a triangle.

With his and Lin An's speed, they'll reach the target soon.

Retracting his psychic power, Lin An glanced at the distant horizon, quickly thought, and decided to enter the city first.

If survivors still exist in the satellite launch area, the most likely places are the Military Region and the urban cluster.

According to Chu An's opinion, it's best to find a group of living staff.

Although no survivor news has emerged so far, after a simple speculation he actually wondered whether there were any living people here.

But they still need to check.

The urban cluster isn't complex; with his psychic range, he can sweep it in a dozen minutes or so.

Moreover, the source of the corpse birds must be found.

The three locations—who knows where those hawks and falcons came from.

Otherwise, if Long An launches a rocket and a flock of hawks and falcons suddenly appears, that would truly be a disaster.

"Watch out."

After a light warning to Xiong Hanzi, Lin An unhesitatingly took Mo Ling toward Aerospace City.

On the warplane behind them, Yun Tian solemnly shouted at the three figures' backs:

"Lin Dui, stay safe!"

"I'll wait behind you! Send word if anything happens!"

After Lin An waved his hand indicating no need to worry, Yun Tian piloted the warplane, which roared then slowly rose.

In the night, the three ran like lightning.

Keeping speed at half, Lin An's radiating psychic power formed an invisible shield over thirty meters, constantly monitoring the surroundings.

Thirty meters is enough for him to react.

"Slow down!"

He gestured for Zhang Tie to stop.

After a few minutes, the trio reached the Aerospace City entrance along the highway.

Pausing, Zhang Tin stood on full alert beside Lin An, his large bear eyes curiously observing the scene ahead.

"Lin Dui, is anyone inside?"

He asked casually.

His psychic power isn't as strong as Lin An's; relying on sight alone, he could only see a few large buses and small cars wrecked by the roadside.

The windows were shattered; the windshield of the nearest yellow bus bore congealed dark‑brown stains.

From the half‑person‑sized gap in the damage, it seemed the driver might have been flung out when hitting the guardrail.

Meanwhile, the silver‑white car with its door open had paint peeling, revealing rust‑colored metal.

Looking at the pitch-black city entrance, Lin An's expression shifted slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Judging by the scene before him, this place, like other cities when the Apocalypse broke out, had survivors rushing to flee by vehicle.

Those few yellow buses were clearly tour buses.

It is obvious that among these collided vehicles, some passengers or drivers must have turned into zombies.

From the bloody handprints on the bus windows, it is likely that the bus had a problem first, the driver lost control under zombie attack, causing the accident.

Nothing special.

But what he saw puzzled Lin An—he didn't see a single corpse.

There weren't many vehicles, but there were at least a hundred people.

Within a hundred-meter spread of his mental power, he found no trace of zombies.

The few vehicles... had no zombies.

Even though Aerospace City had a small local population, it was clearly in peak tourist season when the Apocalypse broke out.

At the very least, the whole urban area should have over ten thousand people, right?

With just this few vehicles leaving the city, it obviously doesn't make sense.

Then...

His gaze flickered.

Lin An quickly gave his judgment.

Either, when the Apocalypse broke out, the people of Aerospace City had all gathered in one place and couldn't escape in time.

Or something killed most of the people in a short time, leaving only the outskirts survivors to flee hastily.

"Come on! Let's go in and see!"

After a moment of thought, Lin An waved his hand, signaling Zhang Tie to stay by his side.

If it's the former, it's fine—no matter how many zombies gather inside the city, they pose no threat to him.

He fears the latter scenario.

Footsteps echoed as the three, one in front and one behind, slowly stepped into the dark urban area.

Behind him, the ruddy moonlight filtered through drifting clouds, casting a long shadow behind Lin An.

At the city center, atop the rocket landmark.

Waves of invisible buzzing sound spread out like ripples.