Chapter 148: Shocking Turn of Events in the Village

Those presences were extremely faint, flickering in and out of existence in a state of limbo, seemingly teetering on the edge of death.

Curious, Lin Dong traced the source in that direction. He walked alone down a quiet village path, where the surroundings were so still that not even a single mouse could be seen.

The journey was uneventful, and nothing untoward happened along the way.

A short while later, a small square came into view ahead. The ground was covered in heavy bloodstains, evidently of recent origin, though what had transpired remained a mystery.

In the middle of the square lay several people, completely motionless like corpses, yet the faint life force emanated precisely from them.

"Passed out?"

Stepping forward to inspect them, Lin Dong discovered a mix of men and women among the group. One of them was wearing a white lab coat with an identification badge pinned to the chest.

*Research Personnel from the Jinjiang City Shelter.*

"What are they doing out here?"

Lin Dong pondered inwardly. Jinjiang City was not far from Jiangbei City, located just upstream along the river; these individuals were most likely connected to the plane crash.

Furthermore, Lin Dong recalled reports online stating that the Jinjiang City shelter had long since been breached by monsters.

He had even seen photos back then—showing a massive gaping hole in the abdomen.

It was identical to the corpses found at the crash site.

"Could they have brought the monsters out with them?"

Staring intently, Lin Dong noticed that the life force of the people on the ground was growing weaker, their vitality slipping away. There was no telling why they were lying here.

Were they sunbathing?

The unknown always breeds a sense of unease, and everything happening here appeared deeply bizarre.

Yet Lin Dong cared little for such matters.

Whatever the situation, it would be resolved simply by obliterating it. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a long blade, and seeing that these people were lingering in their death throes, he decided to put them out of their misery.

Just as Lin Dong was about to strike, however, those figures seemed to sense the threat. Their tightly shut eyes snapped wide open instantly!

"Hmm?"

Lin Dong raised an eyebrow. Just as he suspected, something was wrong.

The bodies of those individuals began to twitch and crack, and then, six spider-like legs thrust out from their backs.

Those limbs were fleshy and dripping with fresh blood.

"Ugh-ah—"

Fierce roars tore from their throats. With their back legs thrashing and their heads thrown back, they lunged at Lin Dong.

Their gait was erratic, but their speed was formidable. Their faces twisted into ferocious, grotesque expressions of the utmost horror.

Any ordinary person witnessing such a bizarre and terrifying spectacle would have been scared out of their wits.

But Lin Dong felt not a shred of fear.

Having encountered a multitude of bizarre anomalies, he no longer felt perturbed by them.

Seeing the monsters charge toward him, Lin Dong swung his blade downward in a vertical slash. The sharp blade qi tore through the air, plunging directly into flesh and bone with a grating sound of friction.

The monster was cleaved in two on the spot, spraying green blood into the air.

Through the cross-section of the sliced corpse, a small monster could be seen lurking inside the belly, seemingly fused with the human host as it fed upon flesh and blood for sustenance.

At that moment, three more monsters shrieked and leaped forcefully, lunging savagely at Lin Dong.

Lin Dong swept his long blade in a diagonal arc, batting one monster away like a golf ball before executing a spinning horizontal slash that sliced another monster in half.

These monsters were fierce and remarkably swift, yet in Lin Dong's eyes, they were utterly mediocre and posed no real threat whatsoever.

Within the span of just a few breaths, he had eliminated every single monster.

Corpses were scattered haphazardly all around. The crimson blood of humans mixed with the green blood of the monsters, faintly turning into a yellowish hue.

Lin Dong mentally assessed that the strength of these creatures likely reached the C-plus tier.

While that might not seem high at first glance,

it was already equivalent to elite zombies.

If they existed in the tens of thousands, they would undoubtedly become a massive headache...

Moreover, judging by their appearance, these monsters were not yet fully grown; they were merely in their juvenile stage.

"A new flavor..."

Lin Dong intended to collect the corpses and bring them back to feed his little subordinates... monster-flavored sandwich crackers...

Just as he thought this, however, at the intersection just beyond the square,

another five human figures appeared.

At the lead was a burly man with a square face, dark skin, and an honest, genial appearance.

Behind him followed two men and two women, all covered in dirt and grime, looking like refugees fleeing a disaster.

"Were the monsters here killed?"

"How amazing!"

"Is he all by himself?"

"......"

The group whispered among themselves, approaching hesitantly with extremely cautious expressions.

Scanning them with his peripheral vision, Lin Dong found the burly man strangely familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before. Upon closer recollection—weren't these five individuals the missing personnel from the shelter?

Yet their appearance here raised serious questions.

The square-faced man stepped forward and said,

"Hello, we are the search team from the shelter."

"Oh."

Lin Dong replied with indifference.

A young woman nearby gazed at him with admiration.

"You're truly amazing for managing to kill all these monsters."

"Do you happen to know where these monsters came from?"

Lin Dong asked casually.

The woman nodded, her expression turning somewhat heavy.

"They probably came from Jinjiang City. The shelter there has already been breached by these monsters, and almost none of the tens of thousands of people inside survived."

"That's right,"

the square-faced man chimed in, "The infestation has already spread to the outskirts of Jiangbei City. We need to hurry back to the shelter and report this to everyone so we can take precautions early."

Lin Dong stared at him placidly, remaining silent.

The young woman continued,

"There are still quite a few monsters around here. Would you like to head back with us? Oh, right, while scavenging for supplies, we managed to find some corn. We can share a bit with you."

These individuals were overwhelmingly enthusiastic toward Lin Dong, acting extremely amiable and even willing to share their precious food.

It suddenly dawned on Lin Dong what was happening. The research personnel who died near the plane had left a note behind before passing away: *Trust no one...*

Clearly, after being parasitized by these monsters, the hosts would disguise themselves as humans, using deception to lure and parasitize others.

Now that he thought about it, the Jinjiang City shelter must have fallen in exactly this manner!

If they were allowed to go to the Jiangbei City shelter, the consequences would be equally catastrophic. It was estimated that tens of thousands of people inside would suffer, and if more monsters were bred, the entire city would likely know no peace.

"You guys shouldn't bother going back."

"Huh?"

Hearing Lin Dong say this, the square-faced leader knitted his brows.

"What do you mean?"

Without wasting another word, Lin Dong raised his long blade and struck. A flash of cold light cleaved through the air with blinding speed. With the swiftness of a thunderbolt that left no time to cover one's ears, the blade severed the square-faced man's neck, sending a head flying into the air.

At that very instant, the atmosphere turned grim.

The enthusiastic smiles on the faces of the other four froze abruptly, transforming into dark, cruel expressions brimming with murderous intent.

Meanwhile, the decapitated neck of the square-faced man sprayed no blood at all; instead, it remained standing rigidly upright in place, eerily refusing to fall......