Plague Doctor

Chapter 442: Conversation with the Dead

In the near past, this event happened. The locusts’ wings flapped noisily. The swarm of locusts moved through the sky, blanketing it black. Wu Siyu stood on the wasteland in cat form. She stared at the iron cage as the dead body inside it slowly raised its head. She knew there was something wrong about it but seeing that in action, she couldn’t help but grumble internally, ‘What kind of terror is that?’ The human face was half decayed to expose the white skull inside. The decayed half was crawling with maggots.

“Hello.” Wu Siyu greeted, “Was it you who summoned me here?”

“Wu Siyu, I know you very well...” The dead body began. The thing should not have a vocal cord but it spoke perfectly, “I know everything about you but something troubles me. How come of all the banal creatures, you’re the one being given such a unique soul...”

“Maybe...” Wu Siyu suggested, “It’s because I’ve drank many coca-cola?”

“No, it has nothing to do with that.” The corpse countered.

“Fine, who are you? Why did you summon me here? Was it you who summoned these locusts too?”

“No.” The corpse answered. “I belong to another party and serve another force. These locusts are summoned by the Locust God’s disciple, their base is somewhere called Angel City, it’s not far away from here. They have enslaved this land. I’ve joined the resistance by giving them an atomic bomb. They exploded it right around Angel City. I know you’re looking for him, Gu Jun. He was with the resistance army during the explosion... He’s not dead, at least not yet. He’s now in another world and he’s in great danger.”

Wu Siyu had great suspicion about this, after all, she was conversing with a corpse.

“Why didn’t the atomic bomb destroy Angel City?” She asked. In Deng Ximei’s illusion, there was a ruin of a city.

“Angel City has been destroyed...” The corpse explained, “But there is an altar underneath the city that was spared from the explosion. Some of the Locust God’s disciples survived by hiding there. They are currently in the middle of a big sacrificial ritual. If they succeed, the Locust God will descend upon us.”

Glancing at the locust swarm in the sky, Wu Siyu pondered out loud, “So the coinciding of the worlds, the mutated areas, they are all these people’s doing?”

“Not entirely. Certain things are so complicated that they are beyond our comprehension.” A slice of flesh fell down from the corpse’s face. Its body swayed. “My power is reaching its limit. The reason I’ve managed to stay this long is due to scientific arcana. Your mental possession of the cat’s body, time travel, they are all examples of scientific arcana. It is like the Ancient Seal technology that you’re familiar with. What you need to do now is to accept the power inside the cat’s body, head to Angel City’s underground altar and destroy the place. Then the danger at Gu Jun’s side will be resolved and everything will be fine again...”

“Is that so?” Wu Siyu shrugged. “If you’re a panda, I might believe you but you’re a corpse. Like how Gu Jun would say, in horror movies, talking corpses are often questionable characters... unless of course, we’re in Disney movies, which I am sure we are not.”

The corpse was silent for some time. “I am not lying to you, and you shouldn’t even worry about that now, instead you should be concerned about these. Let me show you...” Light suddenly appeared in the corpse’s hollow eyes.

Wu Siyu did not want to see this so she quickly used her paws to shield her eyes. However, some images still appeared in her mind. He saw Dirty-minded Jun and another man being bitten to death by bats, being burned to death by fire, being crushed by boulders, consumed by locusts, decapitated at a public execution, died due to brain haemorrhage... In that moment, Gu Jun died 1000 times in 1000 different ways. She witnessed all of them. Wu Siyu’s heart palpitated. There was no way these images were real. A person couldn’t have died 1000 times over, even a cat only had 9 lives...

“These are all possibilities in the future.” The corpse’s almost even voice began again, “For now, they still have not happened but for Gu Jun and his partner, all variations of their future lead to death. You are the only one who can change that, only you.”

“Why me?” Wu Siyu did not get it. How come her paintings suddenly possess mysterious power and her poster suddenly could allow people to transmigrate between worlds?

“You’ll understand it in the future.” The corpse answered. “Just accept your power now, accept the power in the cat.” Wu Siyu scratched behind her ears. She missed the days spent lying on the couch, munching on snacks and sipping on drinks. Between a life of heroism and a life of mundane peace, she’d prefer the latter.

“I still choose... to not believe you.” Wu Siyu said, “The reason is still the same, you’re not a panda.”

The locusts filled the sky. The corpse eventually said, “You’re very cautious but you shouldn’t be in this case. I will use the last of my power to help you, you can utilize it without accepting it. Use it to destroy the underground altar, the Locust God mustn’t appear...” Wu Siyu refused but her mind swayed. It was not a corruption but when she came to, something was different about her cat’s body. She did not accept any power but she felt some new forces within her.

“What is the origin of the scientific arcana that you mentioned?” She asked, “Who do you serve?” The corpse did not answer. In that moment, it was as if a barrier had broken. The locusts that previously ignored the iron pole and cage surged forward and made quick work of the pole, cage and corpse. The next second, nothing remained.

‘This is strange. It smells so fishy.’ Wu Siyu thought. She looked around and could feel something moving. Deng Ximei reported the same feeling in her illusion, she saw something breaking through the ground... The Locust God? And its disciples? Shadows loomed in her mind, they coagulated into images of the apocalypse. A big sacrifice, they were going to sacrifice a whole world, no wait, multiple worlds...

Wu Siyu turned her cat’s head down the mutated area. That was where the entrance to the underground altar was. She felt that in her cat’s body. She sensed a timer as well. It told her she only had less than 5 hours left. Whether the corpse was telling the truth or not, she was sure if she did not do something by the end of the countdown, something very bad would happen...

“Fine, looks like I’m forced into motion by that corpse. The fact that it did something like this to me proves that it is not a good character.” Wu Siyu summoned Gu Jun’s name and thought about the horrid images from before. There was a brief connection. She swiftly moved her claws to draw out a kaleidoscope on the ground. She squatted in the middle. Light emitted from the ground. The dimensional door opened. She jumped into it.

Wu Siyu decided not to head towards the underground altar but to locate her child’s father first. However, Wu Siyu could not tell whether this was the corpse’s conspiracy all along. After all, she was utilizing a power beyond her understanding. Furthermore, the corpse could have easily manufactured 1000 different images of Dirty-minded Jun dying to frighten her.

“What else can I do? My hands are tied too.” She had to preserve herself but she couldn’t let Dirty-minded Jun die either. She won’t allow her child to be born an orphan. An orphan would have a hard life, just like his father.