Chapter 317: Ash Urn

Chapter 317 The Ash Urn

Bai Cheng gave a definitive answer, but Zhu Ning wasn’t entirely convinced. She asked, “How can you be so sure? Have you been to the Sacred Kingdom?”

Bai Cheng glanced at Zhu Ning. Perhaps the explanation was too cumbersome, and Bai Cheng, whose tongue had just regrown, wasn’t willing to elaborate extensively. She could bypass all Federation scanning systems.

Pei Shu trusted Bai Cheng’s judgment because he understood the Federation’s operations better than Zhu Ning. After a brief hesitation, he said, “Our current detection of contamination is roughly divided into two categories. The first is mental stability assessment—those with weak psychological defenses will naturally collapse during border checks.”

“The second is contaminant exposure testing, testing whether the contamination in your body reacts to the test reagent. These two methods are the most widely used because we originally assumed that contamination would make people unstable—both mentally and physically prone to collapse, unable to maintain a stable state for long.”

“But now that’s been broken?” Zhu Ning picked up Pei Shu’s train of thought.

Pei Shu nodded. The proof stood before them—Bai Cheng and Lin Xiaofeng. Their fundamental systems were remarkably stable, seamlessly integrated with contamination both mentally and physically.

Detecting contamination in humans was like spotting robots among people.

Pei Shu said, “I believe Bai Cheng can pass existing security checks, but the Sacred Kingdom’s defenses are different from other places. They have an additional layer of human testing.”

The Sacred Kingdom’s defenses were the strictest. Beyond the defensive network, the hardest to deal with were the specialized detection officers.

Zhu Ning asked, “Like a Turing test?”

“More or less. The one responsible for this task should be Prometheus—at the very least, the data is aggregated with him.”

Thus, most instruments were ineffective against them. The final checkpoint to enter the Sacred Kingdom was a human one, allowing for potential manipulation.

Either Liu Yu was truly skilled enough to pass all the tests, or she was brought in by someone—the Lu family had cheated for her.

Data streams flickered across Zhu Ning’s vision as a diagram unfolded in her mind. These new species like Bai Cheng—let’s call them hybrids for now—seemed to present an evolutionary chain before her.

Mindless corrupted beings, contaminants capable of maintaining rationality (i.e., Psychics), a parallel branch of Unnatural Humans, and the next level: merged beings. It was virtually the pinnacle of evolution.

Zhu Ning had only been outside the walls for a few days and was already close to embracing the Revival Association’s philosophy. Perhaps the future of this world truly belonged to contamination—all barriers should be dismantled, and all species should merge.

This reasoning flowed logically, but there was one problem: the Alpha Series experiments seemed to run counter to this evolutionary chain. While the world trended toward fusion, Zhu Ning’s ultimate goal was to purify the world.

Was Zhu Ning an outdated experiment? If so, why had Zhu Yao still developed her? It was like bucking the trend of the era.

Zhu Ning wanted to glance toward the direction of the walls, but outside was nothing but graves. She didn’t even know where the walls were.

Outside the walls, her understanding of the world had been refreshed once again, as if she were re-examining her past life in District 103 from a third-person perspective—like living in a transparent jar.

All resistance seemed meaningless in the face of nature.

The single-person tent offered no rest. Zhu Ning had Bai Cheng take a moment to recover, planning to carry her down the mountain later. Unexpectedly, Bai Cheng’s recovery was much faster.

Within an hour, she was walking as steadily as if on flat ground. Her voice kept its mechanical quality but now flowed smoothly.

Then again, if every resurrection left her weak for so long, Bai Cheng would probably be dead by now.

They packed up the tent. Bai Cheng didn’t leave immediately. After Zhu Ning’s activities, the Specter's Head Cemetery was in complete disarray, with dug-up graves everywhere.

Bai Cheng glanced at the sky, her face expressionless. She raised her hand slightly, and the unearthed rotting corpses slowly sank back into the ground. As Bai Cheng moved, funerary paper money and floral wreaths swirled around her. Despite wearing simple black clothes, Zhu Ning felt Bai Cheng resembled the reaper of a new era.

They entered the fly car, planning to camp there for the night and resume their journey tomorrow.

Only after the door closed did Zhu Ning remember, “I almost forgot—about Songshan Temple.”

She checked her person. She had been carrying Chen Qihang’s notebook all this time, waiting to verify it with Bai Cheng. She asked, “What are the rules regarding Songshan Temple?”

Pei Shu had almost forgotten too—had they actually triggered any rules at Songshan Temple?

Bai Cheng thought for a moment and said, "I only know one rule: do not offer incense to the Buddha statue."

Incense?

Bai Cheng didn’t know much about Songshan Temple either. Generally, tainted zones had multiple restrictive rules. She had rested there three times without incident.

When Prometheus was hunting them, Zhu Ning was quickly cut in half, and Bai Cheng died before she could warn them. But she never imagined any danger—after all, Zhu Ning and her team didn’t seem like the type to be dumb enough to offer incense in a desolate temple.

Bai Cheng asked, "What? Did you offer incense?"

Zhu Ning paused, certain that none of the four in her team had done so. Was there a fifth person in Songshan Temple who triggered the rule?

But that didn’t add up either. Right after Zhu Ning finished reading Chen Qihang’s investigation notebook, was it just a coincidence? And if someone triggered the rule, wouldn’t they have trapped themselves too? Who would kill in such a roundabout way?

Zhu Ning stared at Chen Qihang’s notebook. It practically oozed malice. Every time she cracked it open, bad luck followed.

After opening it at Songshan Temple, they immediately heard the sound of coins clattering.

After opening it on the Homecoming Express, it started raining not long after.

At the time, Zhu Ning hadn’t linked the rain to the notebook—after all, they had checked the weather forecast before leaving. The northern region was entering its rainy season.

But thinking back, something didn’t sit right. Why would the Revival Association come to retrieve the ash urn on a rainy day? At the very least, when they boarded the train, they hadn’t expected rain.

The weather beyond the Wall was all over the place, shifting between clear and stormy without warning.

So was that heavy downpour also caused by the notebook? Was Chen Qihang’s ability really that powerful, could actually mess with the weather?

If true, then every time the notebook was opened, the danger it created was significant—like cranking up the danger by two notches.

Bai Cheng had no clue what went down while she was dead. Zhu Ning gave her the rundown, though she kinda wanted to test it again—but doing so might invite new dangers.

After hearing Zhu Ning’s account, Bai Cheng got a little curious about the notebook.

Zhu Ning summarized, "Opening the notebook allows you to see the investigation notes. The notes might not help much, but they definitely escalate the danger."

With Bai Cheng’s clues, Zhu Ning pieced together the characteristics of Chen Qihang’s notebook. Opening it was basically rolling the dice.

Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Zhu Ning shifted her tone and continued, "Let's think about it this way: if there's an enemy in the contaminated area, I can increase the danger level by opening the notebook to die with him."

Pei Shu: "..."

He almost wanted to stand up and applaud for Zhu Ning. What a crazy idea.

"Alright, let's rest." Zhu Ning wrapped up the notebook and put it away, planning to report the new information to Huo Wenxi when they had a signal.

At least their trip wasn't in vain; they verified the notebook and found a teammate.

The vehicle was spacious, with four reclining seats. The window outside was pitch black, and the interior lights were off. Zhu Ning covered herself with a blanket, hearing the breathing of the other three, knowing they weren't asleep, lost in their thoughts.

After such an intense experience like digging up a grave, it was indeed hard to sleep. Zhu Ning opened the overhead panel and looked through the glass at the night sky, which was devoid of stars, only oppressive dark clouds.

After a while, Zhu Ning softly asked, "Can you feel anything lying down there?"

Though Zhu Ning didn't specify who she was talking to, Bai Cheng answered, "Yes, it feels like being buried alive."

Zhu Ning fell silent. Bai Cheng spoke so naturally, as if being buried alive was a minor matter. What had she gone through?

Pei Shu: "Who used to dig you out?"

Bai Cheng: "I always leave one of myself behind."

No wonder Bai Cheng appeared as two people the first time. In dangerous situations, one would resist while the other escaped, allowing a new Bai Cheng to be dug out.

Logically, Bai Cheng wouldn't sacrifice both bodies. Last time was an accident, which is why she had to inform Pei Shu before dying, fortunately, they really came to dig her out.

Zhu Ning felt she was very lonely, lying underground, waiting for someone to find her. Fortunately, Zhu Ning hadn't delayed on the journey and arrived quickly.

Zhu Ning: "Should we look for another one?"

Bai Cheng nodded. She was accustomed to carrying another self around, which gave her a sense of security.

Zhu Ning asked, "Did you agree to my job because you want to find your memories?"

"Yes," Bai Cheng actually had relatively clear memories only from the past ten years, the earlier ones felt like a previous life, "I feel that the answers are in the north."

Bai Cheng wasn't interested in the Divine Kingdom; her sole interest was her place of origin.

North, everyone's destination was the north.

Bai Cheng turned her head to the left, facing Pei Shu, "Why are you following Zhu Ning?"

This was the first time Bai Cheng asked a question, her tone mechanical and strange. Pei Shu: "I was captured."

Zhu Ning: "If I wanted to, I could capture you."

Pei Shu, a seasoned veteran, could easily shake off Zhu Ning outside the wall, even trap himself.

Pei Shu fell silent for a moment, "I'm going to get treated, you wouldn't understand."

Zhu Ning didn't bother to ask; she truly didn't understand the world of mental illness. Suddenly, Pei Shu said lightly, "By the way, if I go crazy, remember to control me."

Zhu Ning paused in pulling the blanket, looking at Pei Shu in the rearview mirror. He seemed quite insecure, curled up, facing the door to sleep, speaking with a calm expression, his damaged eye still containing lava.

Zhu Ning didn't ask how Pei Shu would go crazy but agreed. As the team leader, she would definitely be able to control a teammate who went crazy.

The pre-sleep chat ended, no one asked any more questions. Zhu Ning had already closed her eyes, ready to sleep. In the darkness, Pei Shu suddenly spoke, "Do you really intend to kill Prometheus?"

Pei Shu didn't hear Zhu Ning's response, assuming she was asleep, he muttered to himself, what if he's the good one?

Prometheus knew far more than all of them, yet he chose to maintain the system. Could it be that, seeing through everything with his super computational ability, he discovered that such a federation was the best solution in this chaotic and mad world?

If even this were to be broken, humanity would plunge into madness without restraint.

Was he using his abilities to protect humanity, given their fragility, they would only be slaughtered face-to-face with pollutants?

Zhu Ning didn't respond, holding the pendant in her hand, Xu Meng's spores were colliding with the transparent barrier. When Zhu Ning touched it with her fingertips, they would swim over.

She closed her eyes, the pendant pressed against her heart, as if feeling Xu Meng's heartbeat.

She would kill Prometheus.

Even if he endured humiliation for the sake of all humanity, she would kill Prometheus. This was personal.

...

In a flying car.

Li Xiugang had just gotten off the Return Train, immediately finding the hidden flying car and not lingering at all.

It was fine if Zhu Ning died in the car; if she survived, he wouldn't lose out. Li Xiugang had completed his mission.

The person responsible for retrieving the urn back then wasn't him, but another team. However, something went wrong; despite having obtained it and reported success to headquarters, the team disappeared, seemingly vanishing into thin air. The Revival Association almost suspected they had defected.

After extensive investigations, it was known that they last boarded the Return Train with the urn.

No one knew why they suddenly got on the train—were they attacked by pollutants or fleeing from enemies?

Reorganizing personnel to investigate clues and retrieving the urn from the Return Train wasted time, costing many lives. Fortunately, this time they succeeded.

Li Xiugang wiped the urn with his sleeve, cleaning off blood and dirt, finally placing it on the passenger seat. While driving, he kept glancing at the urn, afraid of any mishap.

Gradually, his gaze changed, from worry to near greed.

His hands on the steering wheel trembled involuntarily, unable to say whether it was excitement or fear. Since the urn was in the car, he felt uncomfortable all over, wanting to jump out immediately, but another voice told him otherwise.

Open it, open it now.

Li Xiu had just realized he was under the influence of mental pollution. The Return Home was most likely a suitable safe, and after leaving the safe, the urn became increasingly bizarre.

But he was loyal to the Revival Association and had to deliver it to the right place. He licked his dry lips; below was nothing but abandoned land. He was almost there, very close.

He could already see the light from the lighthouse in the distance, his attention slightly diverted as he pressed down on the accelerator.

Suddenly, he heard a faint click. There was no one else in the car besides him, and the only thing that could move was the urn.

His psychic ability was pressure, not defense, so naturally, he was afraid of unknown attacks.

At that moment, his heart was pounding at an extreme rate, his foot pressing the accelerator to the floor, going as fast as he could.

But he couldn't outpace it. With another click, a slimy tentacle-like thing pushed open a small opening in the urn.

It emerged.