Chapter 103: The Infected Pejel

Chapter 103: Infected Peijer

Xia Zheng struggled to control the plane as it descended, finally managing to land on a street covered with red, vein-like tissue. One by one, the team disembarked. The moment Xia Zheng stepped onto the ground, a thick, sticky, and foul stench of blood assaulted his nostrils, causing nausea.

He promptly donned a gas mask, and the others followed suit.

Carol finally regained her composure. The brutal death of Chen Hui had dealt her a heavy blow. Until now, she had always operated alongside Dirot; this was her first time leading the team, and her inexperience showed.

“Thanks for earlier,” Carol said to Xia Zheng. After Chen Hui was attacked, her mind was clouded by vengeance and fear, and she hadn’t issued clear orders. Luckily, Xia Zheng kept a clear head and turned the tide for the squad.

“You’re welcome. Chen Hui’s death won’t be in vain,” Xia Zheng encouraged her. Carol nodded, her gaze finally hardening with resolve.

Using the map, Xia Zheng roughly gauged their position. They were in a residential district northwest of the satellite city, still four kilometers from their destination—the Peijer Police Station. Yet the path was obstructed by those damned red tissues, making progress excruciating. From a distance, the whole town looked infected, showing signs of poisoning.

“What exactly are these things?” Jim asked irritably, lifting his foot only to get stuck in the tissues with every step, requiring great effort to free himself.

Mario replied, “Don’t tell me these are actual human tissues. I feel like throwing up.”

“Enough talk. The situation’s unclear. We need to investigate quickly to find out what happened here. This anomaly must be linked to that winged monster that attacked us earlier. What on earth happened in this satellite city? Why haven’t we seen a single person? It’s so eerie,” Carol said as she moved toward the police station.

Xia Zheng knew this was the work of the blood clan, but had no better plan than to take it one step at a time.

“It’s fogging up,” Jim, who was at the front, warned.

Indeed, a thick fog suddenly rolled in, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.

“Everyone be careful,” Carol snapped into combat stance, and Xia Zheng and the others heightened their alertness.

The fog seemed to have appeared from nowhere, instantly disorienting them.

A low, strange roar echoed from afar, followed by heavy footsteps and hoarse voices—an unsettling cacophony of eerie sounds surrounded them.

“What is that?” Mario couldn’t hold back. The fear of the unknown was far worse than facing a known enemy. Everyone felt chills; Xia Zheng was no exception.

A shadow flashed—

Jim raised his rifle and fired.

The bullet whistled through the fog but hit nothing. The mist quickly closed back up.

“What was that? Did you see clearly?” Carol asked.

“No… I don’t think so… it looked like a bird,” Jim answered uncertainly.

But Xia Zheng had a clearer view. That was no bird.

“No, that was a tentacle… covered with eyes. The eyes had vertical pupils, like a snake’s,” Xia Zheng said. It was the first time he’d seen such a thing, though he wasn’t sure if it belonged to the blood clan.

Mario, Carol, and Jim were startled by Xia Zheng’s words. A tentacle covered in eyes—what could that be?

“Benson, are you sure?” Carol couldn’t help but ask.

Xia Zheng shook his head. “Maybe I was mistaken, but something’s definitely wrong. This satellite city has probably fallen. But what kind of enemy remains unknown.”

A roar!

This time it was a beast’s cry. Then dozens of red glowing eyes appeared in the fog, slowly approaching—twenty or thirty of them.

“Open fire!” Carol ordered, and the four opened fire simultaneously.

Unknown beasts fell in the fog, but their numbers never seemed to decrease, always hovering around twenty or thirty.

“Wait, cease fire!” Xia Zheng quickly sensed something was wrong. Activating his “Divine Eye,” he realized these were not real beasts but illusions.

He relayed this to his teammates, who skeptically stopped firing to conserve ammunition.

Sure enough, after a minute of silence, the illusions appeared to run in place, maintaining a distance of several dozen meters, but no real beasts emerged from the fog.

“Damn, they’re so realistic,” Carol growled, firing a shot deep into the mist. Xia Zheng led the way, and this time their pace was much faster. Each illusion was uncovered by Xia Zheng’s Divine Eye, and soon they reached their destination four kilometers away.

The Peijer Police Station was a ruin. The entrance was entwined with red tissues and black vines, resembling an abandoned castle. Despite their gas masks filtering the air, a putrid stench lingered—a scent familiar to these officers. It was the smell of death, and not just a few victims, but many.

“I can’t believe it. The last report sent to Eternal Night City was sixteen hours ago. Back then, it said only a minor disturbance had occurred and was expected to calm soon. But after entering the city, it feels like it’s been abandoned for centuries,” Mario said in disbelief.

Carol took point this time, placing Xia Zheng in the middle of the formation, with Jim and Mario bringing up the rear.

Carol kicked the police station door open with immense force—an impressive feat that made the others’ scalps tingle.

They switched on their weapon-mounted lights and cautiously entered.

Inside was chaos, as if ransacked—upturned metal cabinets, scattered documents, boots, and clothes—but no corpses. It was deeply unsettling.

“Could it be that the entire population of Peijer turned on the police? Spread out and search carefully. Don’t shoot recklessly if you encounter anything. Keep everyone informed and don’t stray too far,” Carol ordered. Xia Zheng was tasked with searching nearby.

Picking up some scattered papers, mostly news clippings and notes, Xia Zheng read through a few documents:

Document 1 — Patient Zero?

Victim: Lu Wenxin, 27, front desk receptionist at Peijer Grand Hotel. Preliminary investigations revealed that after the Spring Festival holiday, the hotel received a large booking—about a dozen guests, all strikingly handsome and beautiful, like idols. One appeared underage but was their leader. They paid in cash—brand-new bills, as if freshly exchanged from the bank.

The next day, Lu Wenxin became enamored with one male guest who claimed to be a local investor seeking a guide. Lu agreed without hesitation, drawn by his tall, handsome, gentle demeanor and generous commission. Within days, they became intimate.

But three days after their encounter, Lu developed severe symptoms, became violently aggressive, attacked family and neighbors, and was ultimately shot dead by police. Her family fell ill and died within 24 hours; neighbors followed within 48 hours in hospital.

Document 5 — News report: Multiple biting incidents reported in Peijer. Victims advised to report immediately and seek treatment at designated hospitals.

Document 11 — Analysis of mysterious biting illness: Victims suffer severe anemia, weakness, respiratory distress, pale blue skin, abnormally elongated canine teeth. As illness progresses, aggressive behavior emerges.

Document 13 — Infection far worse than expected; Peijer has fallen: Almost overnight, Peijer became a haven for rioters. Most are infected; some exploit the chaos. Worst of all, the truth was concealed, preventing timely reports to Eternal Night City—by then, it was too late…

Xia Zheng organized the documents, selecting representative ones to show Carol.

At that moment, Mario’s voice crackled over the radio: “Activity zone here, contact made. Request backup.”

“Received. Heading there now,” Carol and the others responded, with Xia Zheng rushing to Mario’s location.