Chapter 296: Undead

After leaving the church, Shen Zexi and his group finally met up smoothly with Qi Hengyu, who had been waiting outside.

Shen Zexi and Min Tianyou both let out heavy sighs of relief; from now on, whenever there is a serious matter, especially when meeting an important figure, they must keep Ying Duo out of the way.

"How's it going? What's the situation on the ground?" Qi Hengyu, seeing the three emerge, immediately asked anxiously, his gaze scanning back and forth between Shen Zexi and Ying Duo.

Although Qi Junyi didn't tell him the detailed situation, he at least mentioned one thing: that Shen Zexi and Ying Duo were even more impressive than him.

While Qi Hengyu was still trying to figure out how to infiltrate, the two had already gone onto the ground, made a circuit, and returned.

Shen Zexi knew what Qi Hengyu was most worried about, and immediately reported the ground situation truthfully:

"The rescue was relatively timely; the main casualties were concentrated near several Mutation outbreak points. The Church's response speed was faster than expected, and most areas have already been secured."

Min Tianyou's voice suddenly interjected.

"I specifically inquired about the situation in the Fourth District; the population there is relatively dense and farther from the explosion Core. Apart from a few people who suffered minor burns due to trash piles catching fire, there have been no death cases so far."

Qi Hengyu's tense nerves finally relaxed; he let out a long breath, and his clenched fists slowly loosened.

"As long as no one died, that's good."

He turned to Min Tianyou and solemnly nodded.

"....... Thank you."

Min Tianxi waved a hand, indicating no need for thanks.

The earlier progress of the Fourth District investigation was largely thanks to Qi Hengyu; Shen Zexi had also spoken with him several times, and when he went down he casually mentioned the situation.

"So where are we going now?"

Qi Hengyu glanced at the sky, then looked at Shen Zexi and at Ying Duo, who had again lowered his head to focus on that strange hourglass, and couldn't help asking.

He always had a feeling that as long as Ying Duo was present, such tranquility wouldn't last long.

He feared that they had just split up this morning at Xunlianchang, and Ying Duo had already been running off to cause trouble elsewhere without pause.

Shen Zexi pondered for a moment upon hearing that; honestly, he had spent the whole day below, following Chi Jinan across the world, and aside from Ying Duo inexplicably sustaining injuries, it seemed nothing else had happened.

He suddenly recalled the subtle tone the Pope had used when mentioning the Chen Family earlier.

"I want to go to the Chen Family to see the situation," Shen Zexi decided, his gaze turning to Ying Duo, "Ying Duo, will you come along?"

Although the injuries on Ying Duo had already been treated once by him, he rarely uses his own healing ability, so it's best to have a professional re‑examine them.

Ying Duo was still hunched over, fiddling with the hourglass in his hand, looking as if he couldn't put it down.

Upon hearing Shen Zexi's question, he lifted his head, placed the hourglass into his backpack, and then nodded decisively.

"Let's go."

"Alright, we'll go together."

Shen Zexi nodded, in a coaxing tone, "By the way, before we leave, let's first go to the healers and ask them to check you again, so no hidden injuries remain."

Under Min Tianyou's guidance, they quickly arrived at an internal treatment station attached to the sanctuary.

The on‑duty healer, after hearing Shen Zexi explain their purpose, especially upon hearing "Ying Duo was injured by Chi Jinan," immediately showed understanding on his face, said nothing, turned, and retrieved several bottles of medicinal elixirs from a few pre‑packaged supply crates nearby.

"Chi Jinan's 'handiwork,' using more won't hurt," the healer said evenly, as if it were routine.

Min Tianyou's gaze fell on those neatly arranged crates sealed with special tags, and he felt a bit puzzled.

"These are........?"

"Supplies for the Undead," a healer replied without looking up, "they were originally scheduled to be sent tonight, but the notice said it's not urgent for now."

"Undead?" Shen Zexi was startled, his brows immediately furrowing, "What Undead?"

The healer blinked, realizing he might have let something slip; after all, this matter was basically known within the Church.

He could only look awkwardly at Min Tianyou, who simply waved his hand, indicating it was no big deal.

"It's not really a secret; it's just due to some accidents that the official announcement might be delayed by a few days."

He chose his words carefully before slowly explaining to the few.

"You probably heard that some time ago, the Heresy Tribunal conducted a large‑scale screening and took away some people, right?"

Shen Zexi nodded; Ying Duo was among the first batch taken away. He had heard that many more were later taken by the Heresy Tribunal, but they weren't as fortunate as Ying Duo in returning.

"I remember Ying Duo was also taken then, but fortunately returned safely later."

Even now, when he recalls the anxious waiting back then, he still feels a lingering dread.

"Those confirmed as 'problematic' naturally won't return," Min Tianyou said gravely, shaking his head; to the families of those people, they can already be considered dead, with no need for self‑deception.

"Because their souls have been replaced by Undead from another world."

Qi Hengyu inhaled sharply, "What?!"

Souls replaced?

Is it a Mutation or some Special Ability Practitioner's scheme?

Min Tianyou understood their shock, but continued.

"The Church has temporarily labeled this special group as 'Undead of the Old World.' After this period of research and communication with the Undead, the Church has confirmed several facts, such as: these Undead come from a parallel dimension entirely different from our world."

"Their original world hasn't been invaded by Mutations; its technological development trajectory is completely different from ours, overall quite peaceful and prosperous," Min Tianyou explained.

Yet from those Undead's overly clear eyes, one can glimpse how people in that world lived in such a peaceful era.

That is something unattainable for people of this world; only those who have lived long within Tianmian City might have a chance to share some commonality with them.

Yet that innocence is quite common in that world.

"For some unknown reason, their souls were forcibly projected into our world; they occupy their own bodies in the parallel world. Although this process wasn't voluntary, they are no longer themselves."

"Worse still," Min Tianyou continued, "with the emergence of the Undead, Mutations have also begun to seep into and spread throughout their originally peaceful world, and there have already been many Mutation cases there."

"The Church has, through those Undead willing to cooperate, established preliminary contact with the official organization of their world. The Undead awakened with spatial Aberrant Arts can become a conduit for transferring supplies between the two worlds."

"The Church is now preparing the first batch of aid supplies, aiming to help the other side cope with the emerging contamination and to jointly study the root cause and solutions of this phenomenon."

Shen Zexi fell silent for a moment, digesting this earth‑shattering information, then looked at Min Tianyou and asked a very practical question.

"Is it alright to tell us such an important matter...?"

Min Tianxi met his gaze and said calmly.

"The Church's higher‑ups have always believed this matter concerns everyone; concealment is not a long‑term plan, and there is a plan to publicly reveal part of the truth to the entire populace in the near future."

"It was only that we didn't expect Co‑Absorption to launch multiple terror attacks in succession; a hasty announcement at this juncture could trigger large‑scale panic, so it was postponed for a few days, but the formal announcement will not wait too long."

"After all, the number of Undead is still increasing, the connection between the two worlds is deepening, and concealment no longer has any meaning."