Chapter 71

Wu Xiaode placed one hand on his sword and the other in a fist, leading the way forward.

Xiao Baihong was by his side.

The eagle and the gunner followed behind them.

The captain was in the middle.

Falcon brought up the rear.

The group moved forward in silence.

Before long,

a long row of offices appeared ahead.

A sign stood in the corridor:

"All scientists have sacrificed themselves; this place is temporarily sealed."

This is it—

Wu Xiaode thought to himself.

He must figure out what happened here to complete the mission.

Falcon looked around and said, "No life signals detected. Oh, great, I found a mechanical room here."

"What kind of machinery?" the gunner asked with interest.

"Probably the central control for large underground operations. Want to check it out together?" Falcon said.

"Central control... I thought it might be weapons. Never mind." The gunner immediately showed no interest.

Falcon went alone to the end of the corridor.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Wu Xiaode called out.

"I'm in my mech—take care of everyone. Besides, it's probably just machines inside, no problem." Falcon smiled and shook his head.

Wu Xiaode watched his figure disappear into the darkness.

To be honest, for a moment, he thought he saw the blood on Falcon's chest stop flowing.

—Did the wound heal?

Or did the blood run out?

Click!

A sound drew Wu Xiaode's attention back.

The eagle opened an office door.

Inside were desks, bookshelves, and sofas, all in a mess.

"It seems to have been thoroughly searched; we won't find anything useful here." The gunner said.

"Assassin, no, Mr. Thief, can you find anything useful here?" The eagle turned and asked.

"Let me see." Xiao Baihong walked in.

He stood in the room, looked around, thought for a moment, then bent down, picked up a sofa cushion, and pulled out a photo from inside.

"In my judgment, this photo is the most valuable." Xiao Baihong smiled.

Everyone looked at it. The photo showed several scientists.

These scientists stood on a platform in front of a tunnel, smiling at the camera.

At the bottom of the photo were two lines of small text:

"From left to right, they are Li Bing, Sun Shuhua, Zhang Erwu, Liu Run, and Ding Tao."

"Note: This is our photo order."

The eagle asked, puzzled, "It's just a photo; why do you think it's the most valuable?"

"I don't know, it's my ability, and it's never wrong." Xiao Baihong said.

The captain took the photo and pondered, "Go check the other rooms and find anything valuable."

"Sure thing!"

Xiao Baihong kicked open the office doors one by one and walked around.

Wu Xiaode watched from a distance, finding Xiao Baihong's ability truly fascinating.

He walked into the room, stood in the center, didn't observe the layout or the mess on the floor, but instead stood there for a moment, then pulled something out from a pile of things and walked out.

"Research log." Xiao Baihong handed the notebook to the captain.

Xiao Baihong searched all the offices and found five research logs in total.

"So this is the most valuable thing?" the captain asked.

"Yes, everything else has been searched multiple times and isn't worth looking for." Xiao Baihong said.

The captain passed the logs to everyone, and they all flipped through the contents.

These logs were quite thick, with the scientists' names on the front page and various geological exploration data inside.

Wu Xiaode flipped to the last page of the log he held. The last page was filled with messy lines and scribbles, clearly the owner's random thoughts.

After reading through the entire log, it was just a record of minerals and underground exploration progress.

"It doesn't seem to mean much to us."

Wu Xiaode said.

"Indeed, it's not useful." The gunner agreed.

"Keep them; they might be useful later." The captain handed all the logs to Wu Xiaode.

Wu Xiaode put the logs in his backpack.

At this moment, Falcon returned.

"How was it? Any findings?" the gunner asked.

Falcon shook his head. "It's a control center, but further down, the tunnels are abandoned, and there's nothing inside."

"We can't stay here; the monsters might come down at any time. Let's continue along the tunnel." The captain said.

Everyone agreed.

They returned to the platform and boarded the underground train.

Falcon and the eagle went to the driver's cabin to start the train.

The others rested in the car.

After a few moments,

the train slowly moved, heading deeper underground.

"If only we could find some monsters to fight." Xiao Baihong sighed.

Wu Xiaode shook his head.

This time, they entered the other world and encountered a major change, rushing to enter the underground cave to avoid the disaster on the surface.

But then, a terrifying creature blocked the entrance to the cave.

There wasn't even a single fallen human to be seen.

How can we go back?

Maybe...

A thought flashed in his mind, but he didn't dare to say it.

"Maybe we can't go back for now."

The captain suddenly said.

Everyone fell silent.

Yes, without killing small monsters, we can't go back.

The current situation doesn't allow for any monsters to kill.

"So we're trapped here." Xiao Baihong laughed.

Suddenly,

the Book of the Undead gently trembled, landing in front of Wu Xiaode, displaying a line of icy text:

"This book has detected a sudden task. Do you want to accept it?"

Wu Xiaode was taken aback.

Didn't he already accept a task?

Why another one?

And the undead officer said he didn't dare go down the tunnel because something deep inside could erase his existence.

Wu Xiaode was thinking when another line of text appeared on the Book of the Undead:

"Please choose immediately whether to accept the task, or it will disappear."

Wu Xiaode hesitated, then silently said, "Accept!"

The Book of the Undead immediately displayed another line of icy text:

"This book has accepted the task."

In the next moment, a familiar figure appeared in front of Wu Xiaode.

Falcon.

—It was Falcon!

Wu Xiaode almost called out.

He was in undead form!

But he had already boarded the train, hadn't he?

Did he die?

Then, who was the Falcon in the driver's cabin?

Falcon, half-transparent, hurriedly said, "Xiao Wu, I didn't expect you to have such an ability. I need to warn you—"

Before he could finish, his face changed, and he looked behind him.

"What is that?" Falcon murmured.

A black dot appeared on his chest.

A semi-transparent, long tentacle shot from a distant place, instantly piercing the black dot.

Swish!

Falcon's entire body was pulled as if by a powerful force, instantly dragged through the train car and rock layers, disappearing from Wu Xiaode's sight.

"No, save me, I don't want—"

Falcon's voice, filled with fear, echoed in Wu Xiaode's mind, but his soul was already gone.

Wu Xiaode stood there, a chill running down his spine, completely unsure of what had just happened.

The Book of the Undead quickly displayed two lines of icy text:

"The undead who issued the task has disappeared."

"The current task is canceled."

Gone...

Falcon's soul was gone.

...What the hell just happened?

More importantly, if Falcon is dead, who is driving the train?

Wu Xiaode yawned and stretched, masking his changed expression.

Stay calm.

Stay calm!

He rubbed his eyes, stood up, and walked to the train corridor, shouting to the driver's cabin:

"Falcon, is there any food on this train?"

"Greedy guy, this is a geological exploration train, not a tourist train. Do you think we have food prepared for you?" Falcon scolded with a laugh.

The eagle, standing next to Falcon, interjected, "If you're hungry, go find Xiao Baihong or the captain. They like to bring snacks."

Wu Xiaode nodded and turned to walk back to the car.

If he couldn't communicate with the undead, he wouldn't have known Falcon was dead.

What kind of power could silently kill someone and replace them?

Wu Xiaode placed his hand on his sword, hesitated, adjusted the position of the sword, and then put his hand back.

He couldn't act.

Without evidence, any action would be unclear.

He couldn't withstand an attack from everyone.

—But how could he gain everyone's trust?

Who would support him?

He looked around the car.

Xiao Baihong was squatting in the corner, eating a strawberry cream cake.

The gunner was setting up various firearms and equipment, checking them one by one.

The captain was sitting by the window, supporting his chin, and focusing on the underground route map.

No one had noticed Falcon was dead.

Thinking carefully—

The platform they were on was abandoned because all the scientists had died.

Falcon was also killed and replaced there.

If the scientists left any clues before they died—

Wu Xiaode sat against the wall, opened his backpack, and took out the logs and the photo.

The photo still showed the five scientists.

Wu Xiaode traced the two lines of small text on the photo, reading softly:

"From left to right, they are Li Bing, Sun Shuhua, Zhang Erwu, Liu Run, and Ding Tao."

"Note: This is our photo order."

Note... the order.

Wu Xiaode put down the photo, took out the logs, found the names on the front pages, and arranged them in the order of "Li Bing, Sun Shuhua, Zhang Erwu, Liu Run, and Ding Tao."

Then what?

If there was a hint in this sentence, what should he do next?

Wu Xiaode picked up the logs and flipped through them.

Nothing.

Just as he was about to give up, a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Yes...

It was like this...

He quickly flipped to the last page of the logs.

As before, there were a few messy lines and scribbles, completely incomprehensible.

Order.

Wu Xiaode memorized the scribbles on the last page of the five logs and mentally traced them in the order of the scientists' photo.

First was Li Bing, whose scribbles appeared in his mind.

Then Sun Shuhua.

The scribbles seemed to connect, interesting!

Next were Zhang Erwu, Liu Run, and Ding Tao...

Horizontal, vertical, stroke by stroke, all the scribbles perfectly connected in Wu Xiaode's mind, forming words.

These words formed a sentence:

"It is among us."

Wu Xiaode paused.

He suppressed the chill rising in his heart and flipped through the notebook again.

After all, on the last page of each notebook, there were some messy lines.

Wu Xiaode reached out and subtly traced the lines on his leg.

—No one was paying attention to him.

After a moment,

he finished.

An image appeared in Wu Xiaode's mind.

It was a strange creature.

It had a long tail, a back covered in hard scales, vertical pupils, a human body, and limbs.

This wasn't the fallen human he had seen before.

What is this?