Chapter 23: Socialists
Soon, they'd successfully crossed the swamp. Behind them was the swamp filled with pieces of people and crocodiles alike, and blood. Growls and roars shook the forest. The blood had attracted hungry monsters.
Yunxia once again moved to the back to observe. She noticed that some people didn't have weapons like her, while some did.
The people with weapons were confident and charged to their deaths, while the people without weapons ran back.
Yunxia stood in the middle, unmoving, eyes closed. Her heartbeat was normal, like people weren't getting k*lled from all sides.
People who noticed her began to copy her. They saw how she had successfully crossed the swamp and believed she knew what she was doing, only to be eaten alike.
Soon, the weeds were gone, leaving only saplings.
Yunxia and the rest who had used their brains survived, the beasts retreating.
The man in the crow mask smiled.
"Only those capable of being calm in the face of danger can be called gems."
After making sure the coast was clear, they began moving again—this time sprinting, not because of the whip, but because time was not on their side. The sun was close to setting; at best, they had an hour.
As for the people that remained, they were so few you could count them like eggs.
Soon, they reached the foot of the mountain before sunset, only to meet the shock of their lives.
The crow-masked man stood before them, a staff in hand.
"I'm glad to inform you that you've all failed, and sad to say that you still have time to fix it."
The people grumbled. They had struggled to get here only to be told their efforts were for naught.
"The goods lost have to be recovered, so you'll have to return and retrieve the goods left behind by your fallen colleagues."
And with that, he left like a speck of dust.
With the lessons learned, the people now moved with purpose.
Not too slow, not too fast, eyes scanning for danger. Some stuck as groups, others as lone wolves.
She glanced at the man in the air, peacefully drinking tea, and wondered how he could be so calm like that.
But a glare sent her focus back. Reaching the swamp, they finally looked at the damage—bodies everywhere, fallen comrades, beasts, and goods laid in the aftermath. Some couldn't handle it and puked on the spot.
Then someone came out. First one, then two…
The bodies began to rejoin, some fully, some partly missing, some with chunks of flesh gone.
The resurrected people began to move. Bones cracked, mindless groans escaped their lips.
Why…
Why did you leave me behind…
You could have saved us…
You could have helped…
You killed us…
Used us…
Made us scapegoats…
Cruel…
Wicked…
Demons…
Sinners…
Repent…
Come join us…
Repent…
Repent…
Make it up to us…
We are friends, aren't we…
Ride or die…
So let's die together…
The people in front, who had been ready to face monsters, were frozen.
Screams rang out.
People ran back. Others pushed. Yunxia was in the middle of it.
Someone—or something—grabbed her leg. Looking down, it was another human… if you could call them that.
You knew the way out, didn't you…
So why didn't you lead us…
You are selfish…
You killed us all…
So please die for your sin…
She stared at the human half-buried in the ground, her face going through a wave of emotions.
Anxiety.
Fear.
Guilt.
Resignation.
She was just about to give up when she realized her weapon was back with her.
Taking a quiver, she stabbed the creature over and over in a flush of adrenaline.
As if on cue, the man spoke up, "If you aren't at the mountain foot before I'm done with my second cup of tea… you'll die."
Panic spread, and the creatures that were barely standing began to attack, aiming for those who had any form of relationship with them.
Those who killed others to pass were dragged away by the victims.
Soon darkness fell and fog came with it. The remaining people were less than 23, dragging loads.
Many of them fainted only to be flogged awake by the crow man.
The cup of tea was long gone, but for some reason he hadn't killed them.
The thought came uninvited:
"He wants us to die a slow and painful death."
They shuddered from the thought.
Then someone spoke.
He'd been a scientist in his past life, creating diseases and cures for his own gain.
"Why don't we work together to move this load? We could all line up and pass the goods forward. That way, we don't use too much energy."
The plan was solid, but the people's minds were already broken.
Fear of death.
That was the weapon being used against them.
It clouded their mind like the fog. Made them cautious, so cautious that they couldn't see opportunity even when it stared right in front of them.
The scientist took a shaky breath.
"We're wasting time."
No one answered.
He swallowed before speaking louder.
"Listen! The goods don't need all of us carrying them. We only need all of us moving them."
Several pairs of exhausted eyes turned toward him.
"If we form one long line..." He pointed back toward the swamp. "...from here all the way to the mountain, we can pass every sack forward. Nobody has to carry forty kilograms the whole distance."
Silence.
"It'll save time."
"It'll save strength."
"It'll save lives."
For a brief moment, hope appeared.
Then someone scoffed.
"So we become your shields?"
Another laughed bitterly.
"You just want us standing at the front while monsters eat us."
"And if someone steals the goods?"
"What if you run away?"
"What if you're lying?"
Arguments erupted once more.
The scientist clenched his fists.
"I am not—"
RUMBLE.
The mountain trembled.
Leaves shook violently.
Birds exploded into the sky.
Another rumble followed.
This time the earth itself lurched beneath their feet.
"Earthquake!"
"No!"
"Run!"
The forest erupted into chaos.
Trees bent.
Branches snapped.
Animals burst from the undergrowth without caring who stood in their way.
Boars.
Deer.
Wolves.
Everything fled.
Yunxia didn't run.
She looked upward.
The shaking...
The rhythm...
Something wasn't right.
Heavy.
Even.
Deliberate.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Not an earthquake.
Footsteps.
Dust swallowed the forest.
Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
Massive shadows moved behind the fog.
Then—
Two golden lights appeared.
Higher than the trees.
Watching.
The dust slowly settled.
Towering wooden giants emerged from the haze.
Each one stood several stories tall.
Their bodies were carved from ancient timber reinforced with black metal.
On the center of each chest was a strange symbol.
It resembled the capital letter I...
Yet not quite.
It looked wrong.
As though the number one had been fused into it.
Neither a letter.
Nor a number.
Something between both.
People screamed.
Some bolted deeper into the forest.
Others froze.
Yunxia immediately dropped her sack.
"Down!"
Without thinking, she climbed onto a patch of exposed roots, knelt, and covered her head.
The scientist stared.
"...Not an earthquake..."
Realizing what she was doing, he copied her.
Several nearby survivors followed.
Moments later—
CRAAACK!
A giant tree crashed exactly where dozens had been standing only seconds earlier.
The survivors looked at Yunxia in shock.
She didn't answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on the giants.
"They're not attacking..."
"...yet."
One of the wooden giants slowly turned.
Its glowing eyes settled upon a lone survivor sprinting through the trees.
The symbol on its chest glowed.
One step.
The earth exploded beneath its foot.
The man disappeared.
Silence followed.
The giant stopped moving.
Its gaze shifted.
Searching.
Looking...
For another person standing alone.
The wooden giant raised its leg.
The lone survivor looked up, his face draining of color.
"N-no—!"
BOOM!
The foot came down.
The earth shook.
When it lifted again, nothing remained except shattered ground stained crimson.
Silence.
Then—
"RUN!"
The spell broke.
People scattered like startled gazelles, abandoning the goods they had struggled so hard to retrieve.
"Stop!" the scientist shouted.
"Don't split up!"
His voice vanished beneath the panic.
Another rumble echoed through the forest.
Then another.
Boom.
Boom.
The ground trembled once more.
From behind the fleeing crowd, two more pairs of golden eyes ignited within the dust.
More giants emerged.
Each one identical to the first.
Each bearing the same strange symbol upon its chest.
Four.
There were now four of them.
North.
South.
East.
West.
The survivors found themselves surrounded.
One man charged toward an opening between two trees.
A giant calmly turned.
Its enormous foot descended.
CRAAASH!
The trees snapped like twigs.
The man's scream was cut short beneath several tons of wood and stone.
Another woman ran in the opposite direction.
The fourth giant stepped forward.
BOOM!
The ground burst apart.
Dust rolled across the forest floor.
When it cleared...
Only her abandoned sack remained.
The scientist's pupils shook.
"They're...herding us..."
Another survivor tried climbing a tree.
A wooden hand reached upward.
CRACK!
The trunk splintered in half.
Both tree and survivor crashed to the ground together.
Nobody dared move.
Four giants.
Four directions.
Every escape route had disappeared.
Only the mountain remained behind them.
Yunxia's eyes narrowed.
"No..."
"They're leaving us one path."
Not to escape.
To solve.