So-Called Karma 6

With Yan Xianchuan's keen eyesight, she hadn't noticed any trace of the cameras. Not daring to appear in the open, she led Lu Mingqiu to the forest's edge, peering through the gaps between the trees at the small town below.

The two were lightly equipped, carrying no thermal weapons. But Lu Mingqiu carried a small bag on her back, stocked with emergency supplies—lighters, rope, and of course, painkillers.

Without water, she dry-swallowed a pill.

Though they had escaped the range of the sonic repulsion, the damage it had inflicted was indeed irreversible.

As the medicine took effect, the pain within her subsided. Clear-headed now, Lu Mingqiu said, "Don't worry. The organization will send people to find us. We just need to lie low for a few days."

Yan Xianchuan merely glanced at her, saying nothing.

When she didn't care about others' fates, she could spin countless sweet lies. But now that she truly began to worry, she became inarticulate, unable to force out a single word.

Time passed minute by minute. The sun hung high, baking the dry air until it was crisp, evaporating every trace of moisture.

Suddenly, a scream tore through the silence. It was piercing, rising to a pitch beyond ordinary human capability. The drone captured it and relayed it faithfully through the earpiece, but Yan Xianchuan could hear the sharp cry not only through the earpiece but also faintly, from across the town.

No ordinary human voice could carry that far.

The scream seemed to press a switch, shifting something. The previously dead-silent town suddenly buzzed with noise. People who had been staying indoors rushed out at once, like a swarm of bees smoked out, scattering in panic. Some, in their haste, jumped out of windows, and the unfortunate ones hit headfirst, twitched, and went still.

Their bodies showed an abnormal blue-red tint, their skin bulging here and there, as if something were wriggling beneath. Each had bloodshot eyes, with only twisted madness in their pupils. Spotting another person, they would swing their fists and charge straight ahead.

All the streets with people turned into chaos, with two, three, or five people piling up, fighting each other as if they were mortal enemies with blood feuds. They used hands, feet, teeth—every appendage that could serve as a weapon—and beat each other until blood flowed and bones broke, unyielding even then.

Some, dissatisfied with bare-handed brawling, began to spew fire from their mouths. These were clearly espers, but their sanity was gone; they merely sprayed flames on instinct, even setting themselves alight without knowing how to extinguish it, burning to death on the spot.

Watching the drone footage, Yan Xianchuan clicked her tongue. "They seem far crazier than me."

"Why would the Church go through so much trouble just to make these people fight?"

"No." Lu Mingqiu shook her head. "I suspect this is a testing ground for artificial esper awakening."

Lu Mingqiu's gaze grew more solemn. She said in a low voice, "Esper power awakens completely at random, but humans hate the unknown. They want everything to be traceable. The Church has always been researching ways to create espers artificially. Most of the human experimentation labs we've dismantled were dedicated to this research."

"Some labs believed mental stimulation was the key to awakening, so they devised countless torturous methods, keeping subjects trapped between endless fear and hatred. Others thought that if people gained animal abilities, they could become espers. They would modify captives, stitching together organs from different animals."

"When you asked me before, I didn't go into detail. It's because those people can no longer be called human. Snake tails, spider lower halves, octopus arms... I also saw a woman covered in transparent mucus, like a slug, slithering around in an observation room."

She closed her eyes. "She had lost all her sanity, giving up her independent thoughts either voluntarily or by force through repeated modification experiments."

"I never imagined the Church to be a peaceful, loving organization, but I underestimated their cruelty. They've lost all humanity, caging an entire town's population for experiments."

Her expression was a complex mix of shock, hatred, and disgust. Yan Xianchuan, seeing this, wiped the faint amusement off her face and matched her indignation: "Truly vicious!"

"The Church is pure garbage!"

Lu Mingqiu took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, she couldn't argue with a lunatic.

The chaos gradually spread. After the first wave of frantic brawls, the survivors gradually regained their senses. They pulled away from the scuffling groups, some heading back to their homes, others slipping toward the town's edge, creeping through the overgrown fields toward the forest.

They wanted to flee Walnut Town, unaware that the Church had long prepared measures to ensure no test subject ever left this place.

The vast area trapped by the repulsion weapons was the Church's arena.

Four or five people were heading in their direction. "We need to strip some clothes off them," Yan Xianchuan said.

What the two of them were wearing might not have been unusual anywhere else, but in this town—cut off from the world for who knows how long—their outfits stood out like ink spots on white paper.

The locals mostly wore what looked like uniforms distributed by the Church; many were dressed identically—light blue short sleeves and light blue pants, as if they'd just stumbled off a hospital bed.

Lu Mingqiu nodded.

Yan Xianchuan added, "Wait here in hiding. I'll be done soon."

She stood up from behind the rock that concealed her and reminded, "Don't use your esper power."

Lu Mingqiu was used to giving orders herself; now she was being repeatedly urged by this usually unreliable person. Her heart stirred, and she said softly, "Alright, I won't."

"If there's any danger, call me. I'll get back quickly." Before leaving, Yan Xianchuan repeated her instructions once more, then leapt down from the boulder, landing on the soft, decaying leaves. Without a moment's pause, she charged toward the panicked townspeople.

She knew full well that her elusive marriage partner possessed explosive, destructive power akin to that of a modified human, yet in daily life, she never accidentally damaged anything, not even under the influence of drugs when her mind was addled.

To be honest, Lu Mingqiu had been prepared for a few broken bones back then, because someone devoid of sanity would first lose control of their body.

Yan Xianchuan's frame was almost slender, as Lu Mingqiu had felt when she'd gripped her arm or climbed her back. Judging by her build alone, one could never imagine such tremendous energy lurking within.

She moved through the forest with incredible speed, leaving afterimages in her wake. In the blink of an eye, she reached the edge of the woods, using a thick tree trunk to conceal herself.

This kind of speed was something Lu Mingqiu had never seen before.

Leaning against the tree, Yan Xianchuan didn't need to peek out to track her targets. She relied solely on her ears, locating their positions from the sound of their footsteps.

Three had entered the woods. They seemed to know each other, keeping a short distance apart but silent except for their deliberately muffled breathing.

Yan Xianchuan patiently hid behind the tree until they were within two meters. Then she lunged out like a leopard, controlling her strength, striking the nearest one precisely on the back of the neck with a knife-hand blow. Following through with a twist of her foot, she knocked out the middle one as well.

The one farthest away was like a startled rabbit or a terrified mouse. His face still bore the marks of sweat and blood, now streaked anew with cold sweat beading his brow.

The assault had been as swift as lightning. By the time he registered what had happened, his two companions were already collapsed, their fate unknown. He turned and bolted, not even letting out a scream.

He ran fast enough, but in his panic, he tripped over a tree root. His limbs splayed out like a flipped goose, flailing helplessly. Scrambling to his feet, he kept running without a backward glance, as if chased by wolves.

Yan Xianchuan only needed two sets of clothing and hadn't intended to harm him anyway.

She watched his retreating figure for a moment, then lost interest and crouched down to start stripping the two figures at her feet.

One was male, one female, both with the local look—their skin an unhealthy pallor from lack of sun exposure. Their conditions weren't good—clothes covered in bloodstains, faces bruised and swollen. The man's wrist was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

They were still alive. Yan Xianchuan had held back, knowing Lu Mingqiu wouldn't want her to kill these innocent, pitiable people.

The clothes were baggy, probably one-size-fits-all. She grabbed the two sets of clothing and made her way back to Lu Mingqiu with the same urgency as when she'd left.

The other was still waiting behind the rock. She cast a quick glance and saw no problems.

Yan Xianchuan handed the woman's outfit to Lu Mingqiu. It was a bit cleaner, with fewer bloodstains and no tears.

"Change right here," Lu Mingqiu said, taking the clothes. Without any embarrassment or awkwardness, she slipped off her top and pants and put on the blood-specked blue suit.

She had her back turned, and Yan Xianchuan turned away too, but not before an involuntary pause, taking in the pale expanse of her back and... her gaze trailing downward to a small brown mole near the tailbone.

Startled, Yan Xianchuan almost panickedly snapped her head around, bending down to fiddle with the buttons at her collar, yet the image from moments ago seemed burned onto her retinas, refusing to fade.

Lost in thought, she slipped into the grimy clothes, forgetting her earlier aversion, until Lu Mingqiu's voice broke her reverie.

"I'm done here."

Yan Xianchuan bit the inside of her cheek in secret, then faced her with a composed expression. "Let's head out then."

"I knocked out the owners of these two sets of clothes. They'll wake up in a little while." She recounted what had just happened, as if making conversation or seeking praise.

"Good." Lu Mingqiu's voice was gentle.

Under that gaze, a sudden urge to show off swelled in Yan Xianchuan's chest. She clenched her fists, itching to break something to demonstrate her strength.

"I'll protect you," she said earnestly.

"Mm, I trust you," Lu Mingqiu answered, in her usual soft tones.

On the way back to town, nothing went wrong. Some people fled the fighting, while others joined in.

Those who chose to flee toward the forest didn't provoke others; they were terrified and ran at the first sight of anyone.

The two mimicked their behavior, making their way stealthily into the town.

Choosing the outermost residential building, Yan Xianchuan stepped into the open stairwell. There was no one around; the building was unnervingly quiet.

The elevator was out of service, so they took the stairs, their feet crunching on a thick layer of dust that was marked by many overlapping footprints.

On the second floor, Lu Mingqiu signaled her to turn down the corridor.

This floor had three units—two with tightly shut doors, and one open. The two entered the open apartment, and to their surprise, the furnishings were relatively complete: sofas, a TV—all there. The carpeted floor was free from dust and grime, indicating someone had been living there until recently.

Yan Xianchuan closed the door and checked each room. "No one here," she said.

Now she noticed the details: gashes in the yellowed wallpaper, dark brown stains on the carpet, and various debris scattered across the floor, all hinting that some turn of events had taken place here.

"There's a diary here," Lu Mingqiu's voice came from the bedroom.