How Did I Die?

"Large-scale abnormal mental radiation detected!"

"Abnormal impact ahead, Sixth Squad, intercept!"

"Restore power immediately!"

"Unknown wall structure appearing ahead, casualties reported!"

"Prepare for demolition!"

Bright Mall Subway Station; the original station had transformed into a massive subterranean cavern.

Enormous blue bricks replaced the former concrete walls, though traces of cement tiles remained visible here and there.

It was as if they had fused together.

On a brick wall ahead, several massive, mottled seal-script characters twisted and coiled, radiating a sinister aura.

It was as if these suddenly appearing objects had merged with the existing environment, while everything that had been there before either vanished or was assimilated.

Nightmare and reality had intertwined.

A large number of police forces had already been deployed within Bright Mall Subway Station, yet these suddenly manifested brick structures were fusing directly into the bodies of some investigators.

Many people were trapped within the brick walls, struggling and screaming in agony.

It was one thing if only their limbs were fused, but for those whose heads or torsos had merged into the masonry, the screaming ceased after only a few moments.

Immediately following, their bodies began to writhe incessantly, as if gestating some mysterious fungus, rapidly swelling and proliferating to expand into the surroundings!

This flesh turned into a viscous mass, merging together and extending tentacle-like sprouts to snatch at nearby investigators.

In the darkness, a strange "click-clack" sound emerged, surging forward like a tide.

It was a swarm of black seashells, their surfaces covered in bizarre patterns.

The moment they saw these shells, several Anomaly Bureau investigators who hadn't managed to secure their goggles seemed bewitched; they threw themselves recklessly into the shells, and in the blink of an eye, they were gnawed down to nothing but broken skeletons.

The well-trained squad behind them immediately erected a shield wall made of special materials, and the investigators wielding flamethrowers unleashed roaring infernos, sweeping toward the writhing shells.

On the other side, the roar of gunfire erupted as special bullets slammed into the walls of flesh, blasting away charred, blackened craters and forcing the protruding sprouts back.

Yang Gan, clad in tactical gear, held a deep-sea fishing rod in each hand. He cast them out from a distance, and dozens of fishhooks scattered simultaneously, hooking into the twisted blood vessels and nerves within the fleshy masses on the walls.

Not far from him, a man in a tailored suit walked forward, coughing violently.

With every cough, the eerie flesh within a ten-meter radius ahead withered, as if struck by a grave illness.

The man in the suit suddenly coughed up blood, and the patch of eerie flesh before him instantly turned black and rotted away.

Behind him, several investigators with flamethrowers swarmed forward, burning the rotting flesh to ash.

Anomaly Bureau Director Zhao Yifeng stared at a brick wall before him, his expression impassive.

Beside him, a curly-haired man with glasses, looking every bit the scholar, stared at the computer in his hands with a cold expression:

"Director Zhao, the abnormal radiation range map is complete. Please take a look."

The computer screen displayed a three-dimensional waveform map.

The entire Gu City Subway was rendered in 3D lines, with a large area stained in red; the deeper the color, the higher the abnormal radiation levels.

Bright Mall Subway Station, where they stood, was a deep crimson, confirming it was indeed a focal point for the abnormal radiation outbreak.

However, similar abnormal radiation ranges formed a circle across the entire 3D map of the Gu City Subway.

Their current location was one of the strongest radiation epicenters, yet the center of this circle was currently a blank space, as if there were no abnormal radiation there at all.

Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station.

The curly-haired man with glasses spoke rapidly:

"The Research Department's detected peak location for the abnormal radiation is correct. Several other subway stations have also suffered abnormal impacts, but it appears the core of this circle formed by the abnormal radiation might be the Unity Society's true objective..."

The curly-haired man did not continue.

At this moment, Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station was like the eye of a storm, where an even more catastrophic abnormal infection could occur at any moment.

Zhao Yifeng asked:

"Who is there? Has Zhang Lan arrived?"

He had been worried about Zhang Lan, which was why he hadn't assigned her to the main assault and had sent her to Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station instead.

But even by helicopter, it would take some time to arrive from Cloud Mountain Base.

The curly-haired man adjusted his glasses and said:

"The helicopter will take at least twenty minutes to arrive and land nearby. The unit deployed at Silver Glow Cinema Subway Station is... the Support Center's Dissection Department."

Zhao Yifeng's eyes narrowed slightly, returning to normal in less than a second as he said calmly:

"Tell the Political Work Department to prepare double the pension. For those who survive, a collective second-class merit."

He then turned to look at a woman in her thirties with deep forehead wrinkles, wearing a shirt, and asked:

"Director Dong, can you determine what exactly this is?"

This was Dong Hua, a disciple of Director Kong from the Cultural Relics Bureau.

Dong Hua was completely shaken by the scene before her, her face deathly pale as she stared at the two images of seal script displayed on her computer.

These had been captured just moments ago, after the brick wall appeared and several investigators had risked their lives to drive back the terrifying, fleshy tentacles writhing upon it.

A line of blurred seal script was visible, and she was currently scrutinizing the characters with intense focus.

At the same time, the large seal characters on the face of the brick wall had also been photographed, presenting a clear image on the computer screen before Dong Hua.

"This is... an exotic seal script from the Southwest region. These small characters read: 'Whoever dares to disturb my mound... shall have their lineage severed...' It means that anyone who dares to rob my tomb will be left without descendants. It is a curse from the tomb owner to grave robbers. This is an ancient tomb! A subterranean palace of this scale is definitely a king's tomb—it might even surpass the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor!"

Dong Hua said, trembling with excitement:

"Only the ancient King of Dian in the Southwest would have the capability to construct such a massive underground mausoleum. Those large characters on the tomb wall read... 'Those who open it shall die... King... Li?'"

Dong Hua stood up abruptly, her eyes wide, staring at everything before her with an expression of utter disbelief as she shouted:

"This is the tomb of King Dian Li!? Impossible! Impossible! King Dian Li does not exist in history! It's impossible! This is just a fabricated figure! This is a tomb that shouldn't exist!"

The underground space was dim, the towering, cramped tomb wall ahead felt suffocating, and the horrific fleshy tentacles and tidal waves of seashells continued to surge like the ocean, the emergency lights flickering due to unstable voltage.

Dong Hua's frantic voice echoed all around, making everything appear even more grotesque and terrifying.

She waved her arms, screaming in terror, her entire being descending into hysteria.

Several investigators nearby immediately rushed over, grabbed Dong Hua, and injected her with a sedative to calm her down.

Zhao Yifeng said:

"Protect Director Dong. Hong Tao! Launch a full-scale assault!"

Hong Tao, standing nearby in a black combat suit, nodded. His muscles bulged, and he charged toward the tomb wall like a stampeding rhinoceros.

With a deafening BOOM, a massive hole was smashed into the outer wall of the subterranean palace, which had previously withstood even explosives.

The investigators behind him immediately opened a path with flamethrowers and filed inside!

"The Collector is already dead; you cannot be the Collector!" the hooded man before him said chillingly.

Li Fan's heart tightened, and he cast a glance out of the corner of his eye at the members of the Cleaning Association beside him.

Before he could retort, Auntie Zhang let out a cold sneer and snapped at the hooded man:

"Insolence! Standing before you is the head of the Twelve Knights of the Cleaning Association, the Shepherd of the Southwest Pastoral District, the strongest awakened warrior, Lord Collector! No one who could defeat Lord Collector has existed in the past, exists in the present, or will ever appear in the future!"

A powerful wave of mental radiation radiated from the center of her body.

Old Sun stepped forward and said grimly:

"Disrespect toward Lord Collector is the beginning of death..."

With a single step, twisted sprouts began to grow wherever he trod, spreading outward into the surroundings.

The hooded man looked at the tense group before him, suddenly chuckled, and said:

"Blood Pearl... Corpse Farmer... you truly are the loyal hounds of the Collector... but do you really want to start a war with the Unity Society here?"

Mother gave a light smile:

"The Unity Society... isn't that just a third-rate organization that likes to grind people into meat paste..."

As she spoke, she exhaled a cloud of wailing smoke that lunged forward like a ghost.

"Wait." Li Fan suddenly spoke, his hoarse voice sounding as if it came from the depths of the subterranean palace, as he asked the hooded man:

"How did I die?"