Valley of the Dead

Troublemaker?

The Troublemaker followed along the marks made by the scar, or...

The moment Yu Xing saw the name tag, he sensed something. The blood on his head still hinted at its subtle presence. With a creak of the tent under its own weight, Yu Xing's pupils contracted. He stopped his urge to retreat back into the tent and immediately lunged out.

He rolled over to absorb the impact, and then heard a sound of fabric being pierced. Looking up, he saw a skinless monster lying on top of his tent!

The monster's bloodied arm pierced through the top of his tent like a sharp blade; had he chosen to retreat, he would have been stabbed squarely.

Having missed its target, the monster seemed momentarily stunned, then nimbly slid down from the tent and stood directly on the ground, facing him.

To say they were facing each other was a bit of a stretch, considering that face was completely unreadable. It was difficult for Yu Xing to even look into it.

Yu Xing took a few steps back, raised his dagger in a defensive stance, and scanned the blood-red monster, trying to find clues about the monster and the Troublemaker.

Sure enough, he found some clues in no time.

This monster was clearly humanoid. Except for the lack of skin, its body shape was no different from a human's. Its height was about the same as Troublemaker's. Among the few tattered but tenacious pieces of cloth on its body, Yu Xing found traces of the style of their squad's down jackets.

Basically, Yu Xing could confirm that this was the Troublemaker who had mysteriously disappeared while collecting tree branches in the mountains during the day.

No one knows what the Troublemaker went through. If you only look at his appearance, Yu Xing could barely assume that it was the result of being wrapped in countless vines.

But if the Troublemaker died before the others set off, how did he come into contact with the vines?

Are there other, even more unexpected gathering places for vines?

These thoughts flashed through his mind. In reality, Yu Xing squinted as he observed the crimson monster's every move. This monster was far more powerful than a human, and its movements were light and swift, so he had to be careful at all times.

Otherwise, if he gets injured and recovers in a few hours, it would be very difficult to explain and could cause trouble.

The next instant, the crimson monster raised its hands, pushed off with its legs, and leaped into the air like a silent cat. Its hands, which were about half the size of a living person, were incredibly intimidating.

Yu Xing wanted to test the hardness of this thing, so he aimed carefully and used his dagger to meet it, while simultaneously twisting his body to avoid the monster's charge.

The metal blade sliced through the monster's flesh, feeling as if it were sinking into mud. He saw that the monster's wounds were not bleeding, as if the blood on the monster's body was just a layer of new skin, and the blood inside had been emptied out.

It seems to be the kind of monster that doesn't feel pain... but what still supports its movement are its muscles, joints, and dense network of nerves.

Once the joints are removed, this thing is basically no longer a threat.

"Wake up, everyone!" Yu Xing shouted, not intending to face the monster alone. After all, the monster had chased him all the way to the camp, so it must still be thinking about the team. Everyone should come out to greet it together; it would be disrespectful to leave it alone.

He knew perfectly well that this was probably the "dead man" Carlos had mentioned—a dead person whose body had come back to life and, ironically, helped the mountain, becoming one of the threats to the living.

Would you consider this a form of zombie resurrection?

Sure enough, everything around Heavy Yin Mountain changes in an instant; the corpse couldn't resist even before we got underground.

Yu Xing's shout startled the lights in several tents. Luke was the first to come out; he was responsible for keeping watch for the first half of the night, but he sat inside his tent because it was too cold outside.

Normally, if a swarm of insects or vines came, he would hear it from inside the tent and alert everyone. But this time, it was corpses, and they came so quietly!

Hearing his beloved painter San's shout, Luke jumped in fright, grabbed his knife, and rushed out. Just then, he saw Yu Xing scrambling to avoid a bloodied mess, and he immediately yelled, "Run this way!"

Then Luke stepped in to block it.

This squad had no other strengths, but the members were incredibly fit and brave. The others gradually woke up as well. Apart from Alice peeking out to watch, the rest of the team members, still half asleep, grabbed their weapons and charged toward the blood-red monster.

Halfway there, they regained their senses. The bright moonlight illuminated the blood-soaked figure clearly. Everyone cursed inwardly, then, while swinging their knives and daggers at the monster, they bolstered their courage. "What kind of weird thing is this?"

The blood-covered man probably has no intelligence. Even with so many people coming at it, it showed no intention of retreating. It pounced on whoever got close, and because it was so fast, the people were injured again before they could even notice.

Screams mingled with increasingly determined stabs of knives; they all wanted to destroy the thing quickly—it was too dangerous.

"Dislocate its joints! Chop its legs!" Scarface, being an experienced tomb raider, quickly found the blood man's structural flaws and ordered everyone to chop at its limbs and neck.

It doesn't matter if it doesn't hurt when you cut it; just keep cutting until it's broken.

During a lull in the attack, Luke yelled, "Is this a zombie?!"

"Obviously not, this isn't a zombie. Besides, there's no coffin around here!" Alice was safe in the back. She prayed that she wouldn't have too much work to do later while observing the surroundings to see if this was the only bloody person.

Her intention was simply to put her mind at ease, but unexpectedly, she actually saw another strange humanoid creature behind the bushes in the distance.

Taking advantage of this moment, Yu Xing ran to her side, panting heavily as if he had been frightened. Alice Li tugged at him in alarm and pointed to the bushes. "Damn, look what's that?"

Yu Xing followed her finger and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

About ten meters away, a dark figure stood there, in the exact same posture as the blood-soaked man who had stood outside his tent earlier.

So, by analogy, are these the preparatory actions of a "dead person" before launching an attack?

Yu Xing thought he could slack off, but he didn't expect to have to fight tonight. He held his dagger in his hand and found that the figure behind the bush was different from the blood-covered man. Not only were the skin and facial features still intact, but the clothes he was wearing were also relatively complete, clearly the team's windbreaker and work pants!

"Ade?" Yu Xing didn't think it was Shi Jiu, because the figure's height didn't match Shi Jiu's, and it didn't have any breasts.

"Who?" Alice thought she had misheard, so she repeated, "Ade?"

Hey, guess what? The more I look at it, the more it looks like a hey!

Fear flashed in her eyes. While the reanimated corpses in the tomb were terrifying, people were afraid of their Combat Power and some strange abilities. But watching a familiar person die and turn into a monster was a completely different feeling.

"What about that one?" Alice turned to look at the bloodied figure being attacked. "Could it be the Troublemaker?"

"Smart." Yu Xing didn't explain much. He patted Alice's shoulder. "Don't stay in the tent. If you don't come out, you won't be able to escape when the dead come."

No sooner had she finished speaking than "Ade" pounced on Yu Xing from behind the bushes. Alice, her face Alice pale, scrambled out with Yu Xing's help, yelling to the team fighting the blood-soaked figure, "There's one over here too!"

Brother Sun recognized Ade's face, cursed, and came to help Yu Xing with Scarface and Yin Zi. This time, Yu Xing saw things clearly. These people were ruthless in fighting, but their skills were too poor. They might be useful against the living, but they were useless against the dead. No wonder they had been struggling with the blood man for so long without finishing him off.

Tsk tsk tsk, they haven't learned enough lessons. It's obvious they haven't encountered many tombs where corpses have risen from the dead.

"Ade" looks much better than the Blood Man Troublemaker in terms of appearance. Its fragrance has dissipated, and its black body is caused by the spread of insect poison.

Yu Xing, as a temporary member of the team, also secretly went up to help and cut off the knee of one of the legs.

"Ade" immediately knelt down. Yin Zi was overjoyed at the sight and raised his dagger behind it, stabbing it directly into its head. Unexpectedly, it was kneeling with its lower body, while its upper body was turned at an exaggerated angle, and its large black hand clamped down on Yin Zi's arm.

Before the gasps of surprise were even stuck in everyone's throats, it pulled Yin Zi down, and with its other hand it grabbed Yin Zi's neck. The joy on Yin Zi's face had just turned into fear when a sickening "crunch" was heard in the air, and his expression froze.

With his neck broken, Yin Zi's head drooped limply, his eyes wide open, dying with unseeing disbelief.

"Yin Zi!" Brother Sun shouted with red eyes. Scarface quickly cut off "Ade's" two arms, and Brother Sun severed its head with one stroke. Only then did it fall down obediently.

"How could this happen..." Alice swallowed hard. Screams came from the blood-covered man's side. She forced herself to calm down and covered her hand.

She can panic, but her hands can't tremble.

If someone is injured, her hands are her greatest support; they absolutely cannot tremble!

Finley finally killed the Blood Man, and they collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Fortunately, only A Long had a deep bite wound on his arm from the Blood Man; the others were less seriously injured, and no one died.

"Quick, get into the tent. I'll stop the bleeding and disinfect your wounds. And you, A Long, your wound needs stitches." Alice demonstrated her professionalism, issuing orders that quickly restored order to everyone.

Yu Xing didn't join in the fun. He showed Alice that he wasn't injured, then returned to his tent, which had a hole in the top. After thinking for a moment, he put the painting tube back on his waist.

He had a feeling that tonight's events weren't over yet.

Because... this valley is far too quiet; you can't even hear the chirping of insects or birds. Two people who died on the mountain today have come to this valley as moving corpses. Leaving aside their sense of direction, and whether their purpose here is the living or the valley itself, let's just say...

Surely it wasn't just two people from their team who died on the mountain?

What about the other teams' dead? Were they dealt with, or are they also hidden in the valley, just not present with these two corpses because they were too far away?

This was the worst-case scenario Yu Xing had envisioned. He planned to sleep with his bag and painting tube on him, even if it meant sleeping sitting up, just in case something unexpected happened and he didn't have time to grab his supplies.

Everything else is manageable, but the Tang sword and incense burner are essential, as are food, ropes, and grappling hooks; losing them would be a real hassle.

He rested for a while, then heard arguing coming from the next tent.

Alice is giving A Long a tetanus shot, and the argument is between Finley and Luke.

After listening for a while, Yu Xing realized that they had a disagreement about how to deal with Yin Zi's body. Luke wanted to bury Yin Zi so that his body wouldn't be exposed in the wilderness, while Finley advocated cutting off Yin Zi's hands and legs.

He heard Finley's raspy voice, tinged with a hint of ruthlessness. "Are you an idiot? Can't you see how strange this mountain is? The people who died in the mountains have all turned into zombies, Yin Zi might very well do the same. Let's cut off his hands and feet while we have the chance, and we'll avoid an attack!"

"Who says? It's not necessarily good or bad!" Luke retorted. "The way Troublemaker looked, he died in the vines. Ade died from poisonous insects. Maybe they turned into zombies because the plants and animals in the mountains are poisonous. Yin Zi didn't have any internal injuries, just a broken neck. How could he turn into a zombie? They're all brothers. We can't take him back if he dies here. At least leave him with a whole body!"

"Damn it, stop with your saintly act!" Finley was furious. "If he really turns into a zombie, can you take responsibility? You can't afford to!"

This is where the difference between an experienced veteran and a newbie who has only been to a tomb once becomes apparent. Finley is clearly more ruthless and decisive, while Luke still retains a touch of naiveté.

Unfortunately, in this world, naivety, without sufficient protection, can harm both oneself and others.

Yu Xing chuckled softly in his tent. He thought that this dispute would inevitably end with Finley's victory, because the people in this group were not loyal people. Self-interest was the reason they came together, and no one was willing to take the risk of caring about the feelings of a fallen comrade.

Because it's unnecessary.

Not everyone can be like Wu Xie in the book he read, with Zhang Qiling and Fatty protecting his innocence.

The more naive you are, the greater the price you'll have to pay to grow up later on; that's always the case.

Yu Xing inexplicably recalled his past self. If he had just returned from studying painting overseas, let alone a zombie, he might not have even wanted to look at a perfectly normal corpse.

Tsk, why do I keep thinking about such nonsense...? Could poisonous gases in the mountains cause mental fatigue?

He cautiously stopped the thoughts in his mind and listened as the people outside, by majority vote, decided the fate of Yin Zi's body. Apart from Luke, Alice remained silent, and everyone else agreed to cut off Yin Zi's hands and feet.

Even through the tent, Yu Xing could sense Luke's genuine bewilderment. He was probably wondering why his teammates, with whom he got along quite well, were all so cold-blooded.

"I'm going out for some fresh air," Luke said in a muffled voice.

Yu Xing pulled back the tent flap, watched Luke's retreating figure walk away, and frowned.

He said, "Luke, don't go that way. If you're upset, you can talk to me."

Luke turned his head in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Okay."

Then, he froze, motionless.

Yu Xing noticed something from his rapidly turning pale face, leaned out of the tent to look behind him, and gasped in shock.

Further into the valley, many standing figures gradually appeared.

Behind the waist-high bushes, there were many shadowy figures, no fewer than twenty at a glance.

"Holy crap, so many corpses!" Luke stormed back into the tent where Alice was treating everyone's wounds, his voice trembling with fear. "Stop discussing who went to kill Yin Zi! So many corpses, ugh, zombies! More than twenty!"

This is a relatively safe valley? Bullshit, this is clearly a Valley of the Dead!