Shackles of Humanity

There were two pilots inside the fighter jet. Luo Kai had knocked the rear-seat pilot unconscious with a single punch. At the controls was a young, inexperienced-looking pilot. Luo Kai didn’t know how to fly, so he pressed the muzzle of a large-caliber Desert Storm against the man’s head and ordered him to change course.

"Alright," the young pilot stammered, his voice trembling. "I’ll fly you... away from here."

"Hmm... Wait, don’t go yet!" Luo Kai spotted several Winged People in pursuit. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. ’On the ground, I couldn’t do anything to you, but it’s a different story in the sky.’

"Turn us around."

The pilot didn’t dare to disobey. He had been part of the chase for a long time and knew this man was a terrifying Martial Artist. He quickly pulled the joystick, slowing the jet and whipping its tail around to head straight for the pursuing Winged People.

The Winged People scattered warily, but they weren’t ready to give up, continuing to follow from a distance. A Winged Person’s arms are needed to control their wings, while their feet are used for balance and steering, so they have very little combat capability. Their primary purpose is reconnaissance and information relay. In an era without electricity, there is no advanced radio technology, so information can only be transmitted by living messengers. This makes the Winged People corps incredibly important.

In terms of speed, the Winged People were naturally no match for the jet, but when it came to agility, the jet was far inferior. Luo Kai tried several times to use the jet’s machine gun to shoot them down, but they always managed to evade him from every angle. He eventually had to give up in frustration.

Four other fighter jets rumbled closer, but they only shadowed him without attacking, as if holding back for some reason.

Luo Kai, however, had no such reservations. He took control of the rear-seat machine gun, aimed at the jets behind him, and opened fire. The weapon was immensely powerful, and when combined with his incredibly potent Insight, his aim was impeccable despite it being his first time using it. One of the jets was immediately riddled with holes. The other three scattered, no longer daring to approach.

Now there was nothing he could do about them. The airfields in this mountainous region were all occupied by the Nanzhao Kingdom; going there would be like a lamb to the slaughter. After a moment’s thought, he ordered the pilot to fly deep into the Tieheng Mountain Range.

"S-Sir... there aren’t any airfields around here. We don’t... don’t have enough fuel to make it to the Xingma Kingdom."

"I’ll make sure you stay alive even if we run out of fuel!" Luo Kai said impatiently.

The fighter flew out of the region shrouded in the smoke of war. Below them lay a boundless sea of trees. Rolling mountains were wreathed in clouds and mist, and the occasional waterfall they passed looked like a cascade from the Milky Way. The scenery was breathtaking. A thought suddenly occurred to Luo Kai: ’If humanity didn’t exist, could the world stay this beautiful forever?’

The jets that had been pursuing him were gone, likely having realized there was nothing more they could do. Luo Kai’s mood lightened. He settled back in his seat, drew the tactical knife from his waist, and began digging out the bullets from his body. He’d been difficult to avoid getting hit when he leaped onto the plane in midair and had taken several shots, all to his legs. Fortunately, the Evil Energy that had transformed his body made his skin incredibly tough, and the bullets had only lodged in the surface.

It made him wonder what it would be like if his entire body were transformed by Evil Energy. ’I’d probably be truly impervious to blades and bullets then, a true Undying Body. It’s a shame this power doesn’t just want to change my body—it wants to assimilate my soul...’

"Sir, there’s a flock of strange birds up ahead," the pilot suddenly said.

Luo Kai narrowed his eyes, focusing his vision. A few strange birds had just emerged from the clouds. They were covered in black feathers and resembled crows, but they were much larger, with sharp beaks and talons. A single glance told him they were trouble.

The flock of strange birds spotted them too, letting out a series of piercing caws. They actually started chasing the jet, moving with incredible speed as they charged head-on, intending to crash into it.

Luo Kai immediately took control of the machine gun and fired at them. The strange birds were no match for its power. A rain of blood and feathers fell from the sky, and in a moment, the entire flock had been shot down.

Luo Kai felt a flicker of doubt and asked the pilot, "Are there a lot of birds like that around here?"

"Not really. Maybe more of them deeper in the mountains."

"What’s your name?"

The pilot answered, trembling with fear, "I... My name is Xiaoliu."

With nothing better to do, Luo Kai started chatting with him, getting a better picture of the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was much stronger than the Xingma Kingdom; its territory consisted mostly of plains, which produced an abundance of grain for its large population. Their mechanical technology was highly advanced, and they had a correspondingly large number of Martial Artists. Furthermore, they faced no threats from pirates or the like, and local powers were weak. It was a nation with power highly centralized under a Great Lord.

Xiaoliu came from a wealthy family; his parents were both factory engineers, and he had three younger siblings. His reason for joining the military was simple: the pay was excellent. A pilot in the Nanzhao military could earn over twenty thousand Star Dollars a month.

Luo Kai took a liking to the young man and decided against forcing him to fly all the way to the Xingma Kingdom. He had Xiaoliu lower the altitude over a relatively flat patch of ground. When they were about ten meters up, he leaped from the cockpit, rolling several times upon landing to absorb the impact. He then waved to the circling jet, signaling his farewell.

Xiaoliu circled the jet above him for a moment before rumbling off into the distance.

This was the outer edge of Tieheng Mountain. Luo Kai got his bearings and began heading toward the Xingma Kingdom. As dusk fell, stretches of farmland came into view. The fields were somewhat derelict and overgrown with weeds, as if they hadn’t been tended for a long time. There were no signs of life.

After walking a while longer, he came upon a small town. It was eerily desolate. The streets were deserted, and most of the houses and shops he passed were closed. The few pedestrians he did see were all rushing, their faces filled with haste.

Luo Kai stopped someone, but before he could ask a question, the person shrieked and sprinted away. The scream shattered the town’s tranquility, and the few remaining pedestrians on the street vanished from sight.

Feeling a bit exasperated, Luo Kai wandered around until he finally found an open shop. It was a small restaurant. By now, the sky was completely dark. The main room was lit by a single, dim oil lamp. Inside, a short, fat man sat alone, slurping down a bowl of noodles.

"Proprietor, I’ll have a bit of whatever you’ve got to eat and drink."

The fat man glanced up at him and said woodenly, "We only have noodles. You want some?"

"Yes. A large portion."

"Alright."

The fat man stood up and walked stiffly to the back. A moment later, he returned with a large bowl of noodles and placed it on the table in front of Luo Kai.

The bowl was huge, and the portion was generous. Luo Kai was about to dig in eagerly, but as he brought the bowl closer, he was hit by a thick, putrid stench—the exact same smell that had clung to the Black Bear!

He finally sensed that something was wrong. He shot to his feet, extending his consciousness outward. He was stunned to discover that the entire town was blanketed in a dense Evil Qi. A blackish, malevolent aura of the same energy clung to the fat man nearby. Looking down, he saw that the bowl didn’t contain noodles at all, but some kind of plant, black as ink. It looked like a fungus.

The Evil Qi lingering throughout the town seemed to sense the frequency of his consciousness and began to stir, ready to act. Startled, Luo Kai quickly retracted his senses.

In the end, Luo Kai didn’t eat a thing. He gave the fat proprietor a long, hard look and asked, "Proprietor, do you have a room? I need to stay the night."

"Yes. Please follow me."

The fat proprietor stood up woodenly, picked up the oil lamp, and led him to the second floor. He opened a guest room door. In the instant the dim light spilled inside, a black shadow flashed across the room. Luo Kai’s expression turned even colder. He took the oil lamp from the proprietor and stepped inside. The room was spartan, containing only a simple bed and a table.

Luo Kai took a deep breath, his heart beginning to pound. He sat on the bed. The moment he did, a chill ran down the back of his neck, as if someone were quietly breathing cold air on him from behind. At the same time, he thought he heard a faint whisper in his ear. The feeling was utterly terrifying; there was clearly nothing behind him, yet it felt as if something was there,

His heart rate spiked. He strained his Perception, trying to sense any movement around him, but detected nothing. Besides himself, the only other heartbeat in the small inn was the faint, weak one belonging to the fat proprietor.

After thinking for a long time, he decided the best course of action was to wait and see. He pulled out his pistol, placed it on his chest, and lay down on the bed fully clothed. He had thought he no longer knew the meaning of Fear, but this place had just given him a genuine scare. Fear is born from the unknown. This town was deeply strange; he had never seen black Evil Qi before, and it seemed the unknown fungus in the bowl was capable of emitting it.