After Raising Monsters, I Was Loved by Everyone in the Wasteland – CH47

Chapter 47

Swish—

Wen Xin pulled the curtain open, expecting to see his cherished little pink fox, but instead, he found a lifelike fox statue sitting on an altar.

The joy on his face froze instantly.

A faint breeze swept through the room, and he instinctively turned toward the source, noticing a window slightly ajar. The cool evening wind slipped inside, making the candle flames dance and casting moving shadows on the curtain.

…That must have been why he thought there was a live fox inside.

Wen Xin sighed in disappointment and glanced back at the fox statue with lingering attachment.

The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.

Wait…

An unbelievable thought crossed Wen Xin’s mind.

He took a few quick steps to the altar, picked up the statue, and examined it closely by candlelight.

Sharp ears, a small nose, white fur on each of its four paws, and a big, fluffy tail almost as long as its body.

The more Wen Xin looked at it, the faster his heart raced.

This statue looked just like Xiao Qi at home, almost identical.

Except for the eyes.

Xiao Qi had large, round, bright black eyes, while the statue’s eyes had a sly, half-closed expression, with a hint of mischief and indifference.

Whoever made this statue must have intended it that way.

The statue’s chin was slightly raised, its pupils gazing down, giving it an air of disdainful superiority.

Ignoring the eyes, Wen Xin couldn’t help but stroke the statue’s sharp ears, feeling an urge to take it with him.

A slim shadow crept out silently from behind the curtain.

The figure tiptoed forward, clutching a fruit knife, inching closer to Wen Xin, who seemed absorbed in the statue.

When the person was only half a meter away, he raised the knife, aiming at Wen Xin’s back with a flash of malice in his eyes.

“Die—”

Before he could finish speaking, he found himself staring down the barrel of a cold, black gun.

Somehow, Wen Xin had turned his head, his gaze reflecting the warm orange glow of the candlelight, fixing on the attacker with a calm and steely stare.

“Shall we see which is faster—your knife or my gun?”

Feeling the icy metal of the gun on his forehead, the attacker trembled, then fell backward, landing on the floor with a thud.

“Please, believe me! I really don’t know anything; they forced me into this!”

The man sat on the ground, wrapped in a black robe with the hood pulled down, revealing a pudgy face covered in pockmarks and a balding head. Sobbing, he pleaded for his life.

“Before the world fell apart, I was just a regular guy with a small job. I hoarded some food and stayed home. When the zombie outbreak happened, everyone fled, and I ended up here somehow. Then a bunch of strange people in black robes caught me and forced me to join their Wei Xin Cult! If I didn’t, they would’ve killed me. Heaven knows I had no choice!”

Amidst all his rambling, there was no useful information.

Lin Nan, still nursing a headache, cut him off impatiently.

“All the other Wei Xin Cult members avoid this place, yet here you are. Do you think we’re stupid?”

The strange decor of the room and signs of only one person living there suggested that this man wasn’t as innocent as he claimed.

The man had an answer. “They’re not afraid of me; they’re afraid of this shrine!”

Wen Xin looked at him. “Why would they fear this shrine?”

The man’s expression changed at Wen Xin’s question.

His eyes became glassy, and he raised his clasped hands reverently, like a devout follower. “This is sacred ground, where divine will descends. It is blessed, holy, and cannot be defiled!”

Finishing his words, he glared at Wen Xin with hatred.

Especially at Wen Xin.

“Everything seen by the avatar formed through divine power is reflected in the god’s eye. You’ve touched the avatar without permission, and the god has seen your sin. One day, divine punishment will destroy you, leaving nothing but ashes!”

Wen Xin and Lin Nan exchanged a silent look.

This man might be trying to pretend he was an unwilling victim, but with such fervent fanaticism, who would believe he wasn’t a key member of the cult?

Wen Xin frowned. He had hoped to get some information from this man about the cult and other bases, but with his mind so twisted, there was no point in trying.

Time was running out, and Wen Xin knew they couldn’t delay further. “Since you live in this ‘sacred’ place, your rank in Wei Xin Cult must be high. You probably know a lot of their secrets.”

The man opened his mouth as if to deny it, but the gun pressed against the back of his head made him stay silent.

“No need to explain. I don’t want to hear it. Earlier, several teams came in. Tell me where they are right now and lead us to them,” Wen Xin ordered calmly. “Don’t even think of trying anything. Guns have a way of going off unexpectedly.”

The man’s face twisted with resentment.

Before leaving the room, Wen Xin cast a quick glance at the fox statue on the altar.

A creature that could control minds and influence people to join a cult…

Could the “god” this man spoke of be Xiao Qi?

Suppressing the waves of doubt and worry in his heart, Wen Xin pushed the man forward.

Surprisingly, the man was obedient this time. He led them through corridors without making a sound or alerting any guards, and he even helped them avoid sentries.

After passing each section, the man would look back cautiously to check Wen Xin’s expression.

It seemed his fear of Wen Xin kept him in line.

This uneasy smoothness started to worry Wen Xin and Lin Nan.

Lin Nan leaned close to Wen Xin and whispered, “Captain, this guy seems a bit too compliant. Is he leading us into a trap?”

Wen Xin had considered this, too.

But they had no other options.

The cultists they encountered earlier came in groups. Even without firing a shot, alarming one had led to an ambush.

In this situation, the man in front of them was their best chance to navigate this maze.

“He’s not just any cult member,” Wen Xin whispered. “Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to help us bypass so many guards.”

For better or worse, they had to play along.

The three of them moved forward. When they entered the winding underground garage, Wen Xin spotted signs of the main task force.

But the task force members lay motionless on the ground, bloodied, with no sign of breathing.

Wen Xin shoved the man to Lin Nan. “Watch him.”

He walked briskly to one of the bodies and checked for breath.

There was none.

The body was already cold from the winter air.

Wen Xin clenched his fist, checked each body, and found not a single survivor.

Even though he’d feared this outcome, his heart felt numb with dread.

“Captain…” Lin Nan took a step forward, looking worried.

Wen Xin clenched his jaw, attempting to steady himself. “I’m fine.”

Then, with a cold stare, he turned to the man. “What happened here?”

Wen Xin had observed that most of the soldiers had been killed by a single gunshot.

If the cult members were this skilled, why hadn’t they shown such skill when attacking him and Lin Nan earlier?

The man held up his hands, terrified. “I don’t know! I heard noises down here, but I didn’t dare come close!”

“You asked me to lead you here, so I did. Please, let me go! I swear I don’t know anything else!”

Wen Xin scrutinized the man, then said, “Keep going.”

If the main force was wiped out, their only choice now was to continue the mission and find Zhang Quanyong.

Since the radio operator had accurately mentioned Zhang Quanyong’s location, the main force must have either met him or identified his holding area.

They pressed on cautiously, the path becoming more complex.

Steel barricades and hastily opened passageways turned the underground garage into a labyrinth.

If they hadn’t had this man as a guide, they’d be wandering in circles for hours.

Corpses littered the path, filling the air with a thick stench of blood.

Unlike the grotesque zombies outside, these people had been alive only hours before.

Lin Nan averted his eyes, but Wen Xin couldn’t ignore the fallen bodies.

No matter how many times he saw death, it still hurt.

The longer he looked, the more he realized something strange.

Why were only soldiers’ bodies here, with no sign of Wei Xin Cult members?

A delayed sense of danger clicked in his mind.

His head throbbed painfully, and in that moment of sharp clarity, he felt the fog lift from his thoughts.

Cold sweat covered his back.

Why… Why had it taken him this long to notice?

“Wait!”

Lin Nan held the man still.

But unlike before, the man didn’t turn around with a look of innocence. Instead, he spoke urgently.

“Captain, we can’t wait. We’ve already wasted too much time. Look, there’s a room up ahead! I think I see Zhang Quanyong!”

There was indeed a room ahead, but its door was tightly shut.

Wen Xin’s fingers trembled slightly.

Ignoring his fear, he grabbed Lin Nan’s arm. “Lin Nan, snap out of it!”

“We’ve never seen Zhang Quanyong. How could you recognize him?”

But Lin Nan kept moving forward, oblivious.

In the struggle, Wen Xin felt the lump on the back of Lin Nan’s head.

He remembered Lin Nan hitting his head earlier—perhaps that made him more susceptible to mind control.

When… Wen Xin thought desperately.

When did they fall into this trap?

The man’s sinister voice echoed from behind.

“I was told that City A’s elite troops would come after us. At first, I was really worried, even prepared to run.”

“But as it turns out, I didn’t even need to call for help. I could handle you all by myself.”

The man chuckled darkly.

In his hand, Wen Xin’s gun shook.

The man grinned, noticing Wen Xin’s hesitation, then stepped forward, pressing his forehead against the barrel.

“Young man, I can tell you haven’t killed anyone before, have you?”

Wen Xin’s mouth set in a firm line.

“Pretending won’t fool me. Your eyes are too clean, without a trace of bloodlust.”

The man leaned closer, his breath reeking of incense.

Wen Xin’s mind reeled. The smell… the scent from the shrine.

He whispered hoarsely, “The main force was also affected by this, weren’t they? They killed each other.”

The man’s smile grew, his eyes gleaming with twisted satisfaction.

“Good guess,” he said mockingly. “Very good.”

Wen Xin’s breathing grew ragged.

Though he tried to hold back, the truth still caused a deep pain to flash across his face.

“Your soldiers didn’t have to die,” the man sneered, stepping closer.

Those words hit Wen Xin like a thunderclap, echoing in his heart.

His gaze fell on the dead soldiers, his breath trembling.

In that instant, Wen Xin’s finger tightened on the trigger.

Seeing his resolve, the man’s expression faltered, his arrogance fading. But he noticed the gun shaking, affected by the incense.

Just as he prepared to dodge, the man’s eyes suddenly widened in horror.

“God? No, spare me—”

Bang.

A bullet shot through his forehead.

The man’s body froze and collapsed.

Watching the blood pool around the body, Wen Xin staggered, almost falling. Just before he lost his balance, he braced himself against the wall, clutching his trembling hand.

Everything—whether the radio operator had remained lucid before death, whether there was a mutant, another base involved, or Zhang Quanyong himself—faded in importance.

The incense’s effects still clouded his vision, and he felt dizzy.

He glimpsed a pink figure floating in the air, gently biting his fingertip.

Trusting the small presence, he ran forward instinctively.

As he turned back, his mind cleared. “Lin Nan… wait…”

Lin Nan, dazed, snapped out of his trance, clutching his head in pain. “Who hit me? …Captain?”

Lin Nan, still dizzy, followed, supporting Wen Xin as he stumbled.

Seeing the blood-stained floor, Lin Nan felt like he was still in a nightmare. “What happened here?”

Wen Xin steadied himself and looked at his finger.

The guiding force vanished, leaving him wondering if it had been a hallucination.

He shook off the thought, gripped Lin Nan’s hand, and commanded, “Run.”

Together, they dashed through the dark, empty corridors, the only sounds were their breathing and hurried footsteps.

When they emerged on the first floor of the mall, they saw why it was so quiet.

Wei Xin Cult followers lay scattered on the ground, unconscious.

“What… happened here?” Lin Nan gasped.

Wen Xin’s focus remained sharp. “Let’s go!”

Suppressing his shock, Lin Nan followed him toward the exit.

But as they neared the doors, he felt Wen Xin’s grip weaken.

“Captain!”

Lin Nan lunged forward to catch him, but before he could, a small, furry figure barreled into him, knocking him aside.

Lin Nan, holding his bruised head, shouted, “What… what was that?”

What he saw left him speechless.

There were foxes. Dozens of foxes, with fluffy tails swishing in a sea of fur.

They looked at Lin Nan, blinking innocently.

Before he could react, the foxes extended their tiny paws, lifting Wen Xin.

“Wait, what are you doing? Give me back the Captain! Don’t go!”

Lin Nan reached for his gun, but it was gone.

Sweating, he chased after them, barely keeping up as the foxes spirited Wen Xin away, leaving him bewildered.

“Captainnnn!”

*

After what felt like an eternity, Wen Xin drifted in and out of consciousness, vaguely hearing Lin Nan’s cries in the distance.

Thinking something terrible had happened, he held his breath, forcing his eyes open just a crack.

On his chest sat a tiny pink furball, completely softened into a fluffy puddle. With big, dewy eyes, the little creature stared straight into Wen Xin’s, catching him completely off guard.

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