“Whoa, you’re right!” KIKI finally realized what was wrong, and her expression changed.
“No, something’s off! This isn’t Clearwater Town!” Lin Xian’s gaze sharpened. “Look, where’s the crashed transport ship?”
The biggest difference between this place and Clearwater Town was the absence of the massive wrecked transport ship. Aside from that, the streets, buildings, and entire town layout were
exactly
the same.
“What the hell? How can there be two identical towns?” KIKI stared at the scene, completely dumbfounded.
For a moment, Lin Xian thought he might’ve taken the wrong route. But how could there be another town waiting for them after emerging from the Dark Forest?
Upon closer inspection, he noticed something even stranger.
There wasn’t a single zombie in sight. The entire
Clearwater Town
was shrouded in eerie silence under the night sky.
“The sun’s already down… this is weird.” Lin Xian checked his watch—it wasn’t even 4 PM yet. Why was it already dark?
“I think we just stumbled into something
really
creepy.” KIKI shuddered involuntarily, her unease growing.
“Is there still a signal from that communicator?”
Hearing Lin Xian’s question, KIKI quickly snapped out of it and checked her mobile terminal.
“Yes! And it’s even closer now.” KIKI pointed toward the darkened town ahead. “It should be just up ahead.”
Lin Xian stared at the shadowy town, his expression darkening. “Let’s turn back.”
This situation was completely different from what he had expected. To be cautious, Lin Xian decided to retreat for now. The night had already fallen, and if they accidentally provoked some eerie entity, it would be a massive headache.
“Okay, I’m with you.” KIKI had lost all interest in exploring the strange town ahead. At Lin Xian’s command, she immediately turned her bike around.
The two of them revved their motorcycles and sped back into the dark forest.
Vrrrmmmm!
The motorcycles roared as they weaved through the rugged forest terrain. But the deeper they went, the worse things became.
Lin Xian soon realized that no matter how far they rode, the forest around them remained pitch black—and was getting even darker.
Then, in the next instant—
The two motorcycles
burst
out of the forest…
Only for them to find themselves right back where they had started.
“…What the hell!?” KIKI immediately freaked out. She turned to Lin Xian, her voice rising. “Hey, are we… are we
haunted
?!”
Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed. He looked back at the shadowy town and muttered, “Looks like we have no choice but to check it out. There
must
be something different about this place compared to the Clearwater Town we visited earlier.”
“Ugh…”
KIKI’s face was full of reluctance. But seeing no other way out, she sighed and nodded. “Fine, I’m sticking with you.”
Vrrrmmm…
Lin Xian slowly guided his motorcycle toward the town. The surroundings were utterly silent, the engine’s hum the only sound cutting through the darkness. Their headlights cast dim, flickering beams ahead, barely piercing the gloom.
The closer they got, the more convinced they became—
This town was
real.
Everything—
everything
—was identical to Clearwater Town.
Lin Xian focused on landmarks he had memorized from the real town, comparing each sign, storefront, and street. The resemblance was exact—even down to the positioning of manhole covers.
An inexplicable sense of unease crept over him.
KIKI felt it too. Just a moment ago, they had
left
Clearwater Town. Yet here they were, standing in another
Clearwater Town
. The very thought was absurd and terrifying.
“How can there be two identical towns?” KIKI’s brows furrowed in disbelief.
“It must have been deliberately replicated,” Lin Xian muttered, his expression growing graver. “Stay sharp.”
KIKI rode behind him, a chilling sensation creeping up her spine. She shivered involuntarily. “This place… it doesn’t feel like anyone actually
lives
here…”
She checked her mobile terminal again. The preset tracking program pulsed even stronger.
“The communicator you planted—it's
definitely
here.”
Beep—Humm!
Beep—Humm!
Suddenly—
A piercing
alarm
erupted from deep within the town, shattering the oppressive silence.
Both Lin Xian and KIKI immediately hit the brakes, scanning their surroundings with sharp, alert eyes.
“What the hell?!”
“That’s some kind of alarm!” KIKI said, her face tense. “But it sounds
wrong
…”
The sound echoed through the empty streets, bouncing off alleys, storefronts, and shadowy corners.
And then—
A cold, mechanical female voice rang out.
「Experimental Site No. 3 – Clearwater Town. Initiating Biochemical Simulation No. 92.」
Hissssssssss!
As soon as the voice fell, a
thick fog
erupted from countless vents hidden throughout the town.
“An
experiment site
?!” Lin Xian’s face
darkened
.
KIKI gasped. “Wait—are we already
inside
that research facility?!”
“This
must
be the Foundation’s territory. But if this place is so huge, how the hell did they keep it hidden?”
As if to answer his question—
A bolt of lightning
split
the sky.
CRACK!
Thunder rumbled as dense, black storm clouds churned overhead.
A suffocating sense of impending doom filled the air.
Lin Xian stayed hyper-aware of his surroundings, his senses on high alert.
Suddenly—
He heard
something
shifting in the darkness ahead.
“…Did you hear that?”
“There’s something moving up there.” Lin Xian’s voice was steady, but his muscles tensed.
KIKI immediately turned her head, her eyes locked on the darkness beyond their headlights.
A shape
lurched
forward.
Gah—Aghhh—Krrrkk!
From the blackness, an eerie,
wet
gurgling sound echoed. Like a rotting vocal cord twisting unnaturally.
“Something’s coming.”
Lin Xian’s fingers instinctively tightened around his rifle.
Then, out of the darkness, a
figure
staggered into the edge of their headlights—
And in the next instant, their blood ran
cold
.
It was a grotesque,
fused
humanoid.
Its body was an abomination—limbs twisted and fused in unnatural angles, skin ashen and decayed. Two
headless
necks gaped with crimson, hollowed-out voids where its faces should be.
Lin Xian’s brows
furrowed deeply
. Was this a zombie? An
Eerie Entity
? Or something
else
?
“…What the
hell
is that?” KIKI’s voice was filled with pure revulsion. Her entire body tensed.
“
Behind you!
” Lin Xian suddenly shouted.
KIKI’s heart
skipped
. She
whipped
her head around—
Another
identical
abomination was
stumbling toward her
from the darkness.
These creatures… they looked like two rotting corpses
stitched together
—their ribcages split, organs spilling from their grotesquely connected torsos.
“MOVE!”
Vrrrmmm!
Lin Xian slammed the gas, spinning his motorcycle around in place. He
fired
a burst of Wind Cannon shots straight at the approaching monster’s head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The invisible projectiles
ripped
into its flesh—chunks of rotten meat splattered the ground.
But the thing…
Didn’t even
slow down
.
Instead—
It
shrieked
, its twisted limbs
spasming wildly
, and suddenly
charged
at Lin Xian at full speed.
“Unkillable?!”
Lin Xian immediately activated his Black Rifle’s Magnetic Acceleration Engine, hurling a
supercharged shot
straight at the abomination’s head.
BOOM!
One of its skulls
exploded
—but instead of dropping, the creature barely stumbled before resuming its charge.
And then—
Its
body
began to
swell
.
As if something inside was
about to burst
.
Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed.
“…KIKI!”
“On it!”
KIKI
thrust
her hand out, Psychic Power gripping the abomination in place—
But before she could
contain
it—
BOOM!
The creature’s upper body
detonated
, unleashing a
torrent
of squirming,
black beetles
And then, from every corner of the town—
The
horde
began to
awaken
.
The black beetles poured out like
flooding blood
, surging toward Lin Xian and KIKI like a living tide.
Their tiny, writhing bodies emitted a
horrifying
skittering noise, making one’s scalp tingle.
“What the
hell
is this experiment?!”
Lin Xian’s expression turned grim. He had no idea what kind of research the SIID Foundation was conducting, but these things—these abominations—weren’t zombies, nor were they Eerie Entities.
What were they?
Vrrrmmm!
Lin Xian twisted the throttle, his motorcycle
veering hard right
, crushing several beetles under its wheels. Greenish-black fluids splattered, corroding the ground with a sickening
hisssss
.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
KIKI fired several Wind Cannons, their invisible force ripping apart the encroaching beetle swarm. But the moment she looked ahead, her face paled.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Doors of the surrounding buildings slammed open in unison.
From inside the darkened shops and houses, twisted humanoid creatures began pouring out onto the streets.
The
entire town
was coming alive.
Vrrrmmmm!
Lin Xian revved his bike, scanning his surroundings.
In the distance, countless fused humanoids shambled onto the roads, their grotesque bodies illuminated by flickering streetlights. They weren’t fast, but their numbers were endless—from every alley, every storefront, more emerged.
There were too many.
Lin Xian’s eyes flicked around, searching for a way out.
But no matter where he looked, the entire town was becoming overrun.
“Sh*t… There are too many of them!” KIKI’s voice was laced with panic. “We can’t just rush through—we’ll be surrounded!”
“We don’t need to fight them all.” Lin Xian’s voice remained calm. “We just need to find a
way out
.”
He quickly adjusted course, steering his bike into a narrow alley. If they couldn’t force their way through, they would have to navigate out.
Vrrrmmmm!
KIKI followed closely behind, twisting through the maze-like town streets.
Finally, they emerged onto a wider avenue.
Across from them, a large department store stood tall, its faded sign barely visible.
To the right, a school loomed in the foggy darkness.
KIKI glanced around, eyes filled with unease. “…I don’t recognize this place.”
Lin Xian’s expression darkened. He
did
recognize it.
“This…” He exhaled. “This is where the transport ship crashed in the
real
Clearwater Town.”
Back in the real world, this entire area was nothing but wreckage and ruins. But here—here, everything still stood, untouched.
“…What the hell is this place?”
Just then—
KIKI pointed toward the school.
“Lin Xian! Look—the lights! The school’s lights are still on!”
Lin Xian’s gaze snapped toward the building.
Through the mist-covered windows, dim, yellowish lights flickered from inside the classrooms.
In a town that was
supposed
to be abandoned…
The school was
still powered
.
“…Could there be people inside?”
Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed.
He made a decision.
“Let’s check it out.”
With a quick flick of the handlebars, Lin Xian sped toward the school gates.
The moment their bikes crossed into the schoolyard, KIKI suddenly gasped.
“The monsters—”
She turned back, eyes wide.
The fused humanoids had completely
stopped
.
Not a single one crossed onto the school grounds.
Instead, they gathered in droves,
pressing
against the school fence like a grotesque, silent mob.
“…What the hell?” KIKI whispered, gripping her handlebars tightly. “Why aren’t they coming in?”
Lin Xian narrowed his eyes.
There was something
different
about this school.
“…Then we might’ve just found the right place.”
Vrrrrrmm—
Lin Xian brought his bike to a stop near the entrance of the main academic building. The place was in a state of decay—books and papers were scattered across the courtyard, their pages fluttering in the night breeze.
He turned off the engine, grabbing his Black Rifle and Electric Blade before dismounting.
If this really was a test site, then there had to be an exit—or better yet, a control system.
KIKI followed suit, stepping onto the cracked pavement.
Without hesitation, the two of them rushed toward the school building’s entrance.
Meanwhile—
Inside a well-lit observation room, several researchers sat monitoring the screens.
One of them—a woman in a white lab coat—suddenly noticed something unusual.
Her expression changed.
“…Report! Unknown intruders detected in Zone F!”
A security officer frowned. “Initiate biometric scans.”
“…Confirmed. Two unregistered individuals. Uploading monitoring data now.”
The woman turned toward a higher-ranking officer—Security Chief Feng Chun.
“Chief Feng, we have two unknowns inside the test site. Should we halt the experiment?”
Feng Chun furrowed his brows and lifted his mobile terminal, scanning the extracted images of the intruders.
A cold sneer tugged at his lips.
“…Just a couple of unlucky rats.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Let them die. If they somehow survive, send them to Facility No. 2.”
“Understood.”
Beep!
Just as the security officer was about to execute the order—
BEEP—BEEP—BEEP!
The mobile terminal flashed red with a Level-One Alert.
Feng Chun’s face
twisted in shock
.
“…What?!”
The screen displayed one of the intruders’ profiles—
A young man, currently leading the charge into the school.
【Subject Identified: Lin Xian】
【Foundation High-Priority Observation Target】
【Clearance Level: One】
“…A
Level-One
target?!”
His expression
completely changed
.
“Stop the test—NOW!” He barked out the order. “Send word to Miss Hua immediately!”
At the same time—
In a dimly lit hallway, a group of scientists and security personnel rushed toward a secure facility.
Leading them was Hua Xiaoling.
She walked with urgency, her expression unreadable.
“Miss Hua,” an assistant reported, “Confirmed. Lin Xian has entered Clearwater Test Site—along with one companion.”
“…Where did they enter from?” Hua Xiaoling’s voice was calm but sharp.
“Facility No. 2’s Experimental Forest.”
Hua Xiaoling abruptly
stopped in her tracks
.
“…How?” Her brows furrowed. “How the hell did they enter
from there
?”
Her assistant shook his head, equally puzzled.
A contemplative look crossed Hua Xiaoling’s face.
“Fine,” she finally said.
“Should we bring them in?” the assistant asked cautiously.
A pause.
Then, Hua Xiaoling spoke decisively.
“Initiate sector isolation. Try to separate Lin Xian from his companion.”
She glanced toward the monitoring screens.
“This is a rare chance. We might as well test his Mechanical Ability firsthand.”
The assistant hesitated. “And what about the other one…?”
Hua Xiaoling resumed walking.
“…Leave them be.”
“Understood.”