Chapter 118 Lieutenant Colonel Ji Weichun, Secrets in the Laboratory

Chapter 118 The Secret in Lieutenant Colonel Ji Weichun's Laboratory

It was a hatch-like door. As it swung open, the interior lights flickered on automatically, illuminating Di Shensi’s face and revealing an expression of profound shock.

He drew a quiet breath, then slowly pushed the door fully open.

Di Shensi entered first, with the others following in single file.

Upon stepping inside, Yu Xing was surprised. She had expected this underground space, carved out beneath the giant tree’s roots, to be a mere storage area or a crude shelter. Instead, she found herself in what appeared to be a laboratory.

The space was vast, brightly lit by ceiling fixtures, with white walls and a peculiar odor.

The Earth God’s Chosen examined the walls closely. "This is a material commonly used in walls to inhibit the growth of contaminated plants," she explained.

*That makes sense,* Yu Xing mused. *This material must be why the hollow in the giant tree’s roots couldn't heal, causing it to constantly complain about its 'foot pain.'*

But beyond that, everyone’s attention was drawn to the numerous transparent, water-filled cylinders scattered throughout the room.

They were ubiquitous—reminiscent of the biological incubators Yu Xing had seen in sci-fi films, or perhaps glass containers filled with formaldehyde, preserving biological specimens.

Under the bright lights, the contents of these transparent cylinders were vividly displayed before the exploration team.

Each cylinder held something different. Some contained amorphous, indescribable masses, like dissected hydatidiform moles. Others featured a human head atop a body that resembled a tangle of roots.

There was even one that looked distinctly like a mouse, yet possessed human eyes and a mouth.

Most horrifying of all was a cylinder containing a complete human body. At first glance, it appeared normal, much like an ordinary anatomical specimen.

But as Di Shensi leaned in for a closer look, the body inside suddenly opened its eyes. Those eyes were utterly black, devoid of pupils or whites, staring silently at the people outside.

"What… are these things?" The team, already feeling unwell from the intense contamination, grew even more unsettled.

"It looks like…" Zhao Lan panted, "some kind of biological experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

Everyone was horrified by the contents of the transparent cylinders.

"What kind of experiment would produce things like this?"

The objects within the transparent cylinders were utterly grotesque, filled with irregularity, dissonance, and irrationality. A mere glance was enough to make one’s skin crawl, evoking fear and even nausea.

*How could a human head grow from tree roots? Why would a plant sprout a biological head?*

Yet, one thing was clear: nearly all these bizarre creations bore human characteristics.

*Human experimentation.*

Someone was conducting human experiments here.

This raised questions: Who could perform such experiments in this dangerous, forbidden zone? Weren’t they afraid of contamination? Of the hazardous pollutants? And where did they obtain the necessary materials?

Di Shensi felt he was on the verge of uncovering an immense mystery, one beyond his wildest imagination.

He took a step back, reminding himself that he was merely a soldier. His mission was to rescue people and extract secrets. Other questions were not his immediate concern.

"The contamination here is severe. We don’t have much time," Di Shensi stated. "Find the person we’re looking for. They must be here."

The others remained silent, quietly fanning out through the eerie laboratory to search.

As Yu Xing navigated between the transparent cylinders, she thought, *Sure enough, every world has its share of madmen.* She wondered which mad scientist had created this place. *Could they be the main antagonist?*

She recalled the words of the transmigrators on the forum: *All transmigrators eventually uncover every mystery—it’s their fate.*

She dismissed the thought. After this mission, she planned to leave the military and cease all work related to the Divine Chosen. She wanted to return to school, live peacefully with her grandmother, and nurture her relationship with her boyfriend. She had no interest in solving mysteries.

Lost in thought, she wasn't actively searching, simply drifting past the cylinders until she reached the far end.

There, she found a white wall covered with photographs.

The photos themselves seemed normal—each depicting an ordinary-looking human.

*Were these the lab’s staff?*

Curious, Yu Xing examined them one by one. The people in the photos appeared entirely unremarkable—not unattractive, but just average, lacking any hint of a mad scientist’s demeanor.

Then she reached the last photo.

Her heart gave a sudden lurch.

For a moment, her mind buzzed.

A young boy’s voice echoed unbidden in her ears.

"Don’t be scared, Xingxing. Big brother will always protect you…"

"Is it tasty? When I make money, I’ll buy you good food every day…"

"Don’t worry. I found a well-paying job. I won’t let you drop out of school…"

Yu Xing stumbled back. On the wall, the last photo showed a brooding young man.

She doubted her eyes, closing them. Her surroundings felt damp, as if she stood in a heavy downpour.

"Please," she heard her own voice plead, "Where’s my brother…?"

"Your brother’s been gone forever!"

"Stop looking. He’s probably dead."

"These days, it’s nothing for a nobody to die…"

The voices around her swirled chaotically. Yu Xing felt her heart might burst. She snapped her eyes open—the sounds vanished. She was still in that insane laboratory.

The rain, the voices, the despair—had they been hallucinations? Or buried memories resurfacing?

Yu Xing stared at the photo on the wall. The pale, thin youth in it had tightly pressed lips. His cold eyes stared ahead with a hint of irritation, his entire aura deeply melancholic.

There was no mistake. The person in the photo was identical to the brother in her memories.

She was utterly stunned. *Why was her brother’s photo here? He wasn’t…*

*So Yu He really had been near City 25?*

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. *A poor boy who became a prostitute for money—why would his photo be in a lab suspected of conducting horrific human experiments?*

*Had he been abducted for experiments?*

"What's that?" came a soldier's voice from behind.

Yu Xing suddenly panicked. Before she could fully process it, she had already snatched the photo from the wall and slipped it into her storage ring.

"There are so many photos here!" a soldier shouted as he approached Yu Xing. "We found a lot of photos here!"

Another voice yelled from a different direction, "We found something over here!"

"There's a secret room!"

Yu Xing took a step back, not daring to look at the soldiers beside her, and hurried toward the secret room with her head bowed.

When she reached the entrance, she saw that almost everyone had gathered there. Before them was a door—a hatch that required turning a wheel to open.

Di Shensi stepped forward and began rotating the wheel.

Soon, the door opened, releasing an indescribable odor. Everyone outside instinctively recoiled, covering their noses and mouths.

Di Shensi carefully pushed the door open, revealing a dark interior.

He took out a lamp and shone it inside. The space appeared vast and largely empty.

"Stay here. I'll go in first," Di Shensi said, entering the secret room with the lamp.

As he stepped inside, more details became visible. The chamber was indeed spacious, with almost nothing inside. When the light illuminated the ground, they could see it was uneven and scarred—some areas bore marks as if struck by heavy objects, others appeared corroded, and some seemed scratched by large beasts.

Di Shensi cautiously moved along one side when suddenly he froze, as if spotting something.

Then, he hurried toward a corner—a blind spot from the doorway, invisible to Yu Xing and the others outside. Moments later, his voice echoed from within, "Found it. Everyone, come in."

They quickly entered the secret room. As the light swept across the space, Yu Xing looked up and was stunned to see a massive pattern on the ceiling.

"What is that?" Da Ya also tilted her head upward.

While the others didn’t recognize it, Yu Xing knew it all too well—it was unmistakably a magical array she had seen many times before. Miao Yuanjin recognized it too and exchanged a glance with Yu Xing. Wasn’t that the same pattern Yu Xing had shown her—the one she had also seen in her grandfather’s office?

Di Shensi crouched in a corner, and before him lay a person.

They approached and saw the body of a woman in military uniform. Judging by her insignia, she held a high rank.

She lay in the corner, cradling a device against her chest, with a dagger embedded in her heart.

Her left arm cradled the device, while her right hand rested on it. A thin thread was tied around her right index finger, its other end connected to a dismantled communication device on her wrist.

A component inside the device kept vibrating, causing her finger to twitch—rising and falling repeatedly. The finger pressed against the device in her arms, which flickered with each press, displaying the same line of text over and over:

"Signal sent."

"Signal sent."

"Signal sent."

"This…" Miao Yuanjin whispered, stunned. "Is this the person we were supposed to rescue? She’s already dead?"

Di Shensi remained silent beside the corpse.

The Earth God's Chosen knelt down and carefully examined the body. "This dagger is standard-issue military. Judging by the angle it pierced her heart… she likely committed suicide."

Shen Tanrong checked the body’s identification. "This is Ji Weichun, a lieutenant colonel from the 25th Army—a Level 3 Moon God Chosen. She went missing near 25th City two months ago."

The body showed no signs of decay, instead preserved in a waxy state.

Da Ya said, her voice heavy, "So she’s been dead for a while. The reason the signal kept transmitting was because she tied this thread to her finger."

Zhao Lan pressed further. "She killed herself, but before dying, she ensured the signal would keep luring the military here. Why? Why did she need people to come?"

Di Shensi frowned and began searching the body.

Eventually, he retrieved a medicinal injector, two nutrient solutions, a paper notebook, and a broken terminal.

He tried activating the terminal, but it wouldn’t turn on—either out of power or completely damaged.

So he opened the notebook—it was a mission log.

Everyone, curious about Ji Weichun’s death, gathered behind Di Shensi to read.

Inside was a cartoon-printed bookmark. Flipping to that page, the entry began:

"This is the closest I’ve ever been to the core of 25th City. My excitement is unprecedented—I have a feeling I’ll finally make it inside this time."

Had she deliberately placed the bookmark here? Did she want whoever found it to start reading from this point?

No one spoke as they continued.

"Our numbers are dwindling, but no one wants to turn back now—not after coming this far. Casualties are necessary for mankind's survival."

"Today, someone asked why I don’t use a terminal for records and instead rely on pen and paper. Truth is, I’ve been maintaining digital records as well—duplicate records. If the terminal fails, I want my story to survive in another form."

"As we go deeper, I’ve realized something horrifying. The pollutants in 25th City are different from those outside—smarter, deadlier. And many of them display human characteristics. The realization chills me. I feel like I’m nearing a truth I might not be able to bear."

At this point, everyone except Yu Xing fell silent, considering. Now that they thought about it, every pollutant they’d encountered since entering 25th City… had indeed shown human characteristics.

Mushrooms merged with human forms, bats had human faces, vines sprouted pod-like fruits containing infants. Miao Yuanjin and the other two exchanged glances—the upper body of the pollutant they’d killed had been almost entirely human.

The realization made their blood run cold.

Di Shensi turned the page.

"I’m writing this from a makeshift shelter. Would you believe we encountered humans near the core of 25th City?

No—they aren't human! They're abominations!

They found us and are systematically eliminating us! Only Lin Yao and I remain; the others are dead. I might die too, so I must document this while I can.

I first saw them by a river. Pollutants flee from their presence. I overheard them say: 'The sacred tree yielded just nine seeds. Six for immediate use, three held in reserve.'

Who are they?

Why do pollutants fear them?

What is the sacred tree?

What are its seeds for?"

The journal entry deepened their shock. Ji Weichun had encountered people in the core of 25th City? People even the pollutants feared? Those people had hunted her team, leaving only her and a soldier named Lin Yao.

Everyone was burning to discover what happened next.

Di Shensi turned another page, finding the notes even more chaotic.

"I escaped into a strange laboratory at the roots of the giant tree. To save me, Lin Yao used a Divine Skill to bury the lab deep underground.

Lin Yao must be dead. I’m the only one left. I’ll die here too—the pollution here is severe. Even as the Moon God's Chosen, my psychic energy will eventually deplete, and I’ll turn into a corrupted being.

Even if I escape, I won’t survive City 25. Those monsters are still outside. They could return at any moment. What should I do? I must inform the outside world about this!

But the communication devices have no signal here, and I can’t notify military command. What should I do?"

The lab Ji Weichun mentioned in her diary must be their current location. The entrance was buried deep underground by Lin Yao, the Earth God's Chosen.

Yet, the people mentioned in the diary never uncovered the entrance or entered to kill Ji Weichun.

Di Shensi turned another page.

"I’ve waited in this lab for a long time. No one is here, and no one has come in. Maybe those monsters think I can’t escape, or maybe there’s another reason. Either way, I am safe—for now.

But I’ll still die because my psychic energy is nearly exhausted.

Before I die, I must record everything I know and ensure the military district learns of my location. Someone must come in and recover my things.

I’m lucky—I found an antiquated signal transmitter here. Its functions are limited, and the information it can send is minimal. But its signal is strong enough to transmit even in this place.

Below, I’ll write everything I know in this diary.

1. Humanoid monsters exist in City 25’s core area, with supernatural abilities.

2. These monsters are plotting something—a scheme related to the sacred tree’s seeds.

3. The sacred tree might be City 25’s giant tree? Suspect City 25’s fall and the sudden appearance of the giant tree are linked to those monsters.

4. The labs in City 25 conducted experiments fusing humans with pollutants. Those humanoid monsters might be successful results.

5. The photos on the lab walls—they’re all monsters! All of them! They’re cultists of the dark gods, trying to create more of their kind!!

6. Whatever their scheme is, they must be stopped! They must be stopped!!"

The last few sentences were written with such force that the pen nearly tore through the paper. Reading it, the group could almost feel Ji Weichun’s desperation.

The Earth God's Chosen’s eyes reddened. "Now I understand why she killed herself. Corpses are less likely to turn into pollutants."

She couldn’t become a pollutant—she had to keep transmitting signals, preserve her diary, and wait here for her comrades, still human.

"The dark gods actually have followers?" Zhao Lan clenched her fists. "They experimented on humans and pollutants—how could this happen?"

"Are the specimens outside failed subjects?"

"Meaning every specimen out there represents a person."

"More than that," Di Shensi said, closing the diary. "The humanoid pollutants in City 25 might have been deliberately released to make the city more dangerous—so no one could enter."

He reached for Ji Weichun’s body, hesitated, then took her badge.

They couldn’t carry the body out, and burning it here wasn’t an option. Her badge would have to do.

After this, Di Shensi took a deep breath. His mind was numb from pain—an ominous sign, meaning the pollution was worsening.

"We’ll leave as soon as we secure the seeds and photos." He stood and turned to the group. "Can everyone hang on?"

At this point, they had no choice but to endure.

Miao Yuanjin’s face was pale with a greenish cast. "Wait… Once I’m out and recover my psychic energy, I can cleanse everyone."

As the Moon God's Chosen, her body automatically purified, draining psychic energy even without using Divine Skills.

This was why many believed Moon God's Chosen couldn’t be polluted—if one was, it meant they had no psychic energy left.

They left the dark room, and Di Shensi ordered them to search for the seeds and photos.

The photos were soon found—the soldier who had stood behind Yu Xing led them to a wall covered in pictures.

Staring at the faces that looked no different from ordinary people, two soldiers muttered curses. These monsters had killed so many, turning City 25 into a nightmare.

Gritting their teeth, they muttered about how they’d kill the monsters if they ever caught them.

Yu Xing listened silently from the back. She had been quiet since discovering the diary.

Concealed in her storage ring was a photo—one she had taken from the wall, a picture of her brother.

They collected the photos and later found three small purple seeds in a container. With these, they made ready to flee.

They had to leave the core area before nightfall—or they would all die.

One by one, they exited the narrow door. Yu Xing instinctively went last. Outside, Di Shensi called, "Yu Xing? Why aren’t you out yet?"

She glanced back—rows of transparent cylinders filled with grotesque specimens suspended in fluid.

Turning away, she stepped out and closed the door.

Di Shensi didn’t question it, assuming she was containing the contamination.

"Move out." He waited until everyone had passed before whispering to Yu Xing, "You look awful. Are you unwell?"

Glancing at the others ahead, he added in a voice only she could hear, "Just hang in there. Once we’re out, I’ll have Miao Yuanjin purify you first."

Backtracking their route, they were tense, dreading another encounter with the pilgrims.

But they were lucky—they reached the area where they’d faced the bees without further trouble.

Di Shensi ordered a short break, distributing the last of their nutrient packs and the medicinal injectors found on Ji Weichun to Miao Yuanjin.

He needed her psychic energy restored quickly so she could cleanse the group.

Some were already showing signs of pollution—the quiet soldier had turned chatty, another had nosebleeds, and some hallucinated.

Di Shensi himself was struggling. His emotions raged, his mind in turmoil.

Memories of learning his family had died in City 25 flooded back, and he couldn't stop looking at Yu Xing.

The thought of her possibly having multiple boyfriends made him unreasonably furious.

Yu Xing, meanwhile, kept to herself, lost in thought.

"Miao Yuanjin," Di Shensi said, tearing his gaze from Yu Xing. "Are you ready?"

Her complexion had barely improved, and her hands still trembled. "B-Barely… Only enough for one cleansing now."

Biting back frustration, he pointed at Yu Xing. "Cleanse her first. She's in bad shape."

Miao Yuanjin looked at Yu Xing, then at the clearly suffering soldiers. Why would Commander Di think Yu Xing was worse off? The others seemed far worse.