Chapter 42 Fungal Remains Frenzy 3: No Entrustment of Children.
“Why ask a question that everyone knows the answer to?” the priest said. “When it spreads, this place will naturally become the territory of the spore mother, just like any other occupied area in the world.”
Nanmen Jue's heart sank. He glanced out the window again; the mycelium was very close, almost touching the church. "Why don't you leave? Are you just going to wait to die here?"
The priest shook his head slightly, and his kind smile returned to his face.
"We have no weapons, and we're all just weak civilian staff here. How can we talk about leaving? Besides, we don't want to leave either."
"Why?" Lu Yunxiao asked.
The priest paused for a moment, then turned to look at the still bright moon in the sky.
“I have been with this church since birth. I was baptized here and have prayed here every week until I grew up and worked hard to become a priest here. For the past twenty years, I have worked diligently to live up to my identity and to live up to the trust of the Virgin Mary.”
Nanmen Jue said, "Do you feel that the Holy Mother did not protect you, and you want to prove your innocence by dying for her?"
Her language was somewhat blasphemous, even the reincarnators felt it was inappropriate, but the priest was not angry.
"Believing in gods is merely a way to find solace for one's own soul. It is unscientific to expect gods to solve problems in this world."
It was quite unusual to hear such words from a priest. Nanmen Jue chuckled. One of them was blasphemous, and the other was scientific. How could they not get along?
“A thousand years is like yesterday for me, like the first watch of the night.” The priest said, “When this church is destroyed by time and history, the only thing I can do is to blend in with the dust.”
After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent for a moment. Nanmenjue looked at the priest who had spoken these words so casually and said in a low voice, "You are going to die for your duty."
The priest smiled slightly and told them to go and rest.
Although Zhang Jinghe said that the terrain here was high and that it would not be easy for parasites to come up here, Nanmen Jue, who had been struggling in the apocalypse for more than half a year, still could not fall asleep. She stroked the crow while waiting for someone to come to find her.
But the crow didn't return by the next morning, and the person she was waiting for didn't knock on the door.
When Nanmen Jue entered the dining room, everyone else was already there, including Father Zhang Jinghe, who was having a meal with him, chatting and laughing in a very harmonious atmosphere.
Ji Chengying looked a little listless, with red eyes, obviously she hadn't slept well last night, and might have even had a good cry. However, she was now sitting between Lu Yunxiao and Deng Erhuai, and her condition had improved considerably.
The atmosphere changed the moment Nanmen Jue walked in.
The laughter and chatter faded, and everyone looked at Nanmen Jue with different expressions. Only Zhang Jinghe remained calm, smiling and waving to Nanmen Jue, "Come on, we have egg pancakes this morning. The eggs are freshly dug."
"You took it yourself?" Nanmen Jue sat down.
"No, that's not it."
The atmosphere at the table was subtle, but no one left; they just watched Nanmen Jue eat his pancake.
Zhang Jinghe asked, "When do you plan to leave?"
Seeing that he naturally treated them as a whole, Deng Erhuai was about to say that they weren't together when Nanmen Jue laughed and spoke up.
"What, you can't afford to support so many people here?"
“We can afford to support them in the short term,” the priest said with a smile. “It’s just that you all look so worried, and I was afraid of delaying your plans.”
Everyone fell silent. Of course, none of them told Zhang Jing about the mission, but he could tell they had something on their minds.
“I’m not in a hurry,” Nanmen Jue said.
There was no use in her anxiety; the crows hadn't returned yet, and she didn't know where to go.
Deng Erhuai said, "Father, do you really not know Father Leid?"
Zhang Jinghe paused, then shook his head. "I really don't know."
Deng Erhuai sighed regretfully, "Then, do you know how to get to the New Alliance's base?"
“There’s also quarantine facility A-3,” Lu Yunxiao said.
Nanmen Jue glanced at Guan Junren, who barely looked up, his eyes fixed on the plate in front of him. He remained silent, presumably because his task was one of the two.
“I only know the general direction,” the priest said.
He took out paper and pen and drew a simple map for them. Nanmen Jue quickly finished eating and, not wanting to stay there, left the dining hall alone.
I was in a rush last night and didn't have time to explore the place. Now that I'm walking around, I realize that this is indeed an extremely beautiful church. No wonder Zhang Jinghe was so captivated by it that he wanted to live and die with it.
She came from the backyard to the front hall, stopped in front of the church's main entrance, glanced back, and pushed the door open.
Dust motes danced in the air, the sunlight was serene, and long wooden tables and chairs were neatly arranged, with dried bloodstains scattered among them. The place was deserted.
The statue of the Virgin Mary directly in front of you has her eyes gently lowered and her expression compassionate, while behind her, the sea of clouds surges unhindered.
Nanmenjue paused for a moment at the entrance before proceeding to the statue of the Virgin Mary.
There are no walls or windows here; all you can see is a sea of clouds and mountain peaks. One wrong step and you could be doomed.
Nanmen Jue was naturally not afraid. She stretched out her long legs and straddled the edge, letting one leg dangle and swing idly, looking quite relaxed.
No one would believe it, but these were actually the two most relaxing days she had experienced in the past six months.
Watching the clouds drift by in the wind, Nanmen Jue comfortably squinted her eyes. The light and shadow fell on her outstanding features, and her disheveled hair softened her expression.
He was as radiant as an immortal.
Suddenly her eyes lit up as a figure approached from the side and stopped at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
He didn't say anything, he just stared at her.
"Speak your mind, don't act like I used you and then abandoned you," Nanmen Jue suddenly said, "You're polluting such a beautiful scene."
Guan Junren seemed startled and had already assumed a running posture, but seeing that Nanmen Jue hadn't moved, he slowly turned back.
"Actually... I don't know why I came here," he said softly.
Nanmen Jue looked down.
"I just keep going back and forth, and something just doesn't feel right." Guan Junren stepped forward, looking at her expectantly. "Do you... have some kind of trouble? What did those people you killed do?"
Nanmen Jue blinked and turned to look at him.
“I always felt you weren’t that kind of person.” Guan Junren’s eyes were clear. “I’ll believe you as long as you say so.”
Nanmen Jue suddenly felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart. No one had ever said such a thing to her before.
"I don't think you're that kind of person."
"I'll believe you as long as you say so."
In her ignorant and naive period, when she only knew how to retaliate against all prejudice and humiliation with anger, Nanmen Jue longed to hear such words, but no one cared about Nanmen Jue's anger; they only criticized her for being extreme.
Later, Nanmen Jue felt that she didn't need to understand anymore. As long as she did what she wanted, why should she care what others did? People would only judge her heart by her behavior. As for what she was thinking, who cared?
unimportant.
Being designated as the most wanted criminal by the Supreme God didn't bother her; her only concern was that it would be more troublesome to move around in the cycle of reincarnation. As for the hatred and slander, those were just words and had no effect on her.
However, this idiot whom she had only met a few times and hadn't even told her his name, what made him think he believed her? Looking into his eyes, she seemed to see Zhang Chuxi's trusting gaze again.
She believed she could bring her back, believed they would join the Iron Drill together, and believed they would become partners in this cruel cycle of reincarnation and survive together.
But she died.
Dead!
Those who don't believe in her live carefree lives, while those who do believe in her are as few as stars that fall in an instant.
Nanmen Jue's lips moved slightly. "Don't look at me like that."
Guan Junren was taken aback.
"Do you remember what I said yesterday? A kind and innocent person died because of their kindness and innocence. Do you want to be the next one?"
At this moment, Nanmen Jue showed no trace of the smiling Guan Ge she had in the main hall. She was like a rose with thorns, sharp and menacing. It was unclear what he had done to offend her, but even the corners of her eyes were red, making her appear eerie and dangerous.
"I didn't..." Guan Junren stammered in his defense.
"Why do you believe me? Because of my face? Because of my fake smile? Because I call you brother?" Nanmen Jue chuckled, then suddenly stopped smiling. "Don't be silly. Instead of worrying about my face, you should think about how to survive, you coward."
It hits the bullseye.
Guan Junren could hardly believe what she had said. His eyes widened in disbelief, filled with undisguised shock and sadness. He opened his mouth several times, his eyes reddening, and his voice choked with emotion.
"You... I was attracted to you because of your appearance, but I've always been a sincere and polite person. I've never offended you or done anything to wrong you. What gives you the right to... insult me like this?"
Nanmen Jue did not answer, but simply turned his head away again.
Heavy breathing was right behind him. Guan Junren clenched his fists. His last shred of reason told him not to hit this man who could kill him with a wave of his hand. He gave a bitter smile.
"I was blind to think you were a...good person."
After saying that, he strode away.
Once his footsteps had completely disappeared, Nanmen Jue's straight shoulders relaxed slightly. His eyes were blank for a moment before he suddenly spoke: "Stop hiding, come out."
Her voice was a little hoarse, and she cleared her throat. "I heard you come in just now. Do you want me to drag you out myself?"
Upon hearing this, a few rustling sounds rang out, and a little girl emerged from under the table near the door.
Nanmen Jue looked at her in surprise. She had only heard someone come in from the middle, and never expected it to be a little girl.
The girl looked to be seven or eight years old. She was wearing clothes that were a bit too big for her, but her hair and face were neatly made up and tied in a small braid. She blinked her innocent big eyes and didn't seem afraid as she took a few steps closer to Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue squinted at her, "What's your father's name?"
The little girl was stunned. Perhaps she had never experienced anything like this before, where the first question someone asked her wasn't what her name was, but what her father's name was.
"Zhang Jinghe, my dad's name is Zhang Jinghe," she said in her sweet, childish voice.
It turns out she wasn't Father Ryder's daughter.
Nanmen Jue hadn't planned to complete the task anyway, so he wasn't particularly disappointed. He just casually remarked, "Father Zhang is still going strong for his age."
He's almost fifty and has a seven or eight-year-old daughter.
Despite the teasing, Nanmen Jue didn't take it to heart. She turned back and continued to admire the scenery.
During the day, the sea of clouds rolls and churns, covering up those unappetizing mycelia below, making it quite a beautiful sight.
Unexpectedly, the little girl walked up to Nanmenjue and smelled a milk candy scent when she got close.
The taste of a child.
"You haven't asked my name yet," the girl said.
Nanmen Jue didn't even turn his head. "Didn't you hear what that uncle said just now?"
“I heard you,” the girl said honestly.
"Then why are you still coming near me? Aren't you afraid I'll just throw you off right here?" Nanmen Jue said. "They don't dare come near me, you know."
"You won't."
Nanmen Jue was genuinely surprised and turned around to take a serious look at the girl.
The girl looked at her seriously and said, "What you just said was all a lie. That's not what you really think."
Nanmen Jue was speechless. "How did you know?"
“Because you’re crying,” the girl said.
Nanmen Jue instinctively touched his face.
“You’re crying inside.” The girl reached out her hand, and Nanmen Jue didn’t flinch. Her small hand touched Nanmen Jue’s cheek, so soft and warm. “I can feel that you were actually very sad when you said those words.”
Nanmen Jue's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. She was unsure what expression to make. Could a little girl really see through her disguise? How ridiculous!
She wanted to muster her habitual flippant smile and scoff, "You know nothing!" But in front of her was an innocent-looking child. She knew how fragile and easily hurt children were. If the person she cared about spoke ill of her, she would be very sad.
Moreover, she has already verbally abused someone today.
She fell silent, looking unusually at a loss, and was trying to figure out what to do when the arrival of another person broke the deadlock.
"dad!"
The girl let go of Nanmenjue and rushed into the priest's arms.
"Good girl." Zhang Jinghe gently hugged the girl, then untied one of her crooked braids and tied it back up. "I want to talk to this big brother for a bit. Why don't you go play in the yard?"
"The handsome older brother hasn't even asked me my name yet."
"I'll tell him for you."
The girl gave in, touched her neatly braided hair, and skipped away, her wide dress fluttering like a butterfly with fluttering wings.
Nanmen Jue watched her retreating figure and said, "You know how to raise children."
The priest smiled. "Is there a hidden meaning in your words?"
Nanmen Jue chuckled softly; she unconsciously relaxed a lot in front of this priest.
“That child’s name is Zhang Zhi, I call her Zhizhi.” Zhang Jinghe sat down next to her. “She is not my biological daughter. Back then, her mother was pregnant and almost miscarried in front of the church. I delivered her baby, but unfortunately she didn’t make it.”
Nanmen Jue exclaimed, "Ah! Then you're practically her biological father too."
“Yes, all these years, I’ve never seen her father come looking for her. I am her father,” Zhang Jinghe said. “She is the treasure I would protect with my life.”
Wait a minute, this plot is familiar...
Nanmen Jue's jaw tightened. "I will not accept anyone entrusted with my orphanage."
Zhang Jinghe was taken aback, then smiled broadly, the fine lines around his eyes widening.
Nanmen Jue pulled his long legs back, which were hanging outside. "You're not really looking for someone to entrust your child to, are you? You don't look like a madman. You wouldn't want to die in the line of duty and drag your daughter down with you, would you?"
"If I say yes, how would you refuse?" Zhang Jinghe asked.
Nanmen Jue remained silent.
She placed both legs on the ground, as if she was ready to run away if he dared to admit it.
Zhang Jinghe laughed again, "You silly child..."
"No, don't talk to me like that, it's giving me goosebumps." Nanmen Jue sighed. "Seriously?"
“I have indeed been looking for someone to entrust Zhizhi to, but I have not been able to find a suitable person,” Zhang Jinghe said. “Although she is young, she is very special. As you just saw, she can sense people’s hearts. This talent… or rather, this curse, destined her to be no ordinary child, yet she was born in this era.”
Nanmen Jue frowned, then relaxed. "It's not that I don't want to help you. You've seen it yourself. I'm barely able to protect myself. Many people hate me. There are at least seventeen people in this world who want to kill me. You expect me to take your precious daughter and run away?"
Besides, she would be leaving this world in three months. She swallowed those words back.
Hearing her say that, Zhang Jinghe's ever-present smile disappeared. He sighed, and a hint of sorrow appeared on his face, which, though weathered by time, still possessed a certain charm.
“…I really have no other choice.” He said softly, “In the past, there were survivors like you who came up the mountain, but the situation is getting worse and worse, there are fewer and fewer people, and people’s hearts are getting worse and worse. Occasionally, someone will come up, but they don’t seem to have the qualities to be trusted. If this continues, Zhizhi will only be able to wait to die with me.”
Nanmen Jue frowned again.
Zhang Jinghe looked at her, his eyes glistening with tears. "The moment you stood in front of me and took that man's gun, a voice inside me told me, 'It's you. You are the most suitable candidate.' Although your companions seem to have some reservations about you, I trust what I see and what Zhizhi feels."
"Can't you really...save Zhizhi?"
Nanmen Jue pursed his lips, looking like he wanted to get angry but had no anger to show, feeling incredibly frustrated.
“Of course, this is not coercion. In this world, even the most powerful people are not necessarily harmed by anything, so you don’t need to feel burdened.” Zhang Jinghe said gently, “If this is Zhizhi’s fate, then I will take responsibility for her until the very end. She is my responsibility, not yours.”
"Cunning old man," Nanmen Jue cursed inwardly.
She tightened her jaw, exuding an aura of unapproachability when she wasn't smiling. After a long silence, she said, "I'm sorry."
The light in Zhang Jinghe's eyes dimmed. He gazed at the vast sea of clouds, exhaled softly, and revealed a smile that was no different from before.
“I understand.” He nodded. “Thank you for saving my life yesterday.”
"I just don't like that person," Nanmen Jue said, turning his head away.
Zhang Jinghe's eyes were gentle, the same look he had given Zhizhi earlier, and now he was looking at Nanmen Jue with the same gaze. Nanmen Jue's back straightened unconsciously.
But she didn't change her mind.
As they walked through the courtyard toward their room, the other reincarnators came out together. They had their backpacks packed and were about to meet Nanmen Jue. Both sides stopped in their tracks.
Nanmen Jue: "Oh, leaving already? Watch your life."
"No need for you to bother," Deng Erhuai said coldly.
Nanmen Jue smiled and stepped closer to Deng Erhuai. The woman with the high ponytail immediately looked at her warily, but stubbornly stopped in her tracks without backing down.
Nanmen Jue approached her, bowed slightly, and closed the distance to an almost ambiguous level. However, there was no intimacy between them; instead, there was only tension between them.
"Didn't you say you were going to kill me? How can you kill me now that you've left?" Nanmen Jue said softly. "Or did you realize you couldn't kill me, so you ran away?"
Anger filled Deng Erhuai's eyes, and Nanmen Jue suspected that if she didn't know she couldn't beat him, she would have already pulled out the sniper rifle behind her and blown her head off.
Nanmen Jue smiled, about to say something more, when Lu Yunxiao approached them and reached out to grab her arm.
Nanmen Jue was taken aback, but did not resist, letting Lu Yunxiao pull him away.
“That’s going too far, South Gate,” Lu Yunxiao said. “If you don’t want us to leave, just say so.”
Nanmen Jue looked at him incredulously, and the others were also stunned, as if they had seen a ghost.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Having his thoughts seen through by two people in a row, Nanmen Jue was almost exasperated. "Who's stopping you from leaving? Go if you want, don't bother coming back!"
She strode into the room, while the others exchanged bewildered glances.
Deng Erhuai asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"It means exactly what it says," Lu Yunxiao said matter-of-factly. "Although I don't know why, it seems like the South Gate doesn't want us to leave now."
"Nanmen?" Guan Junren raised his voice. "Did you know her before?"
“I don’t know him. I first saw him in the coffin in the courtyard.” Lu Yunxiao asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
"Don't you think it's strange that you're calling a top wanted criminal so affectionately?" Deng Erhuai had a headache. "Never mind, that's not important. Why doesn't he want us to leave? No, where do you get the feeling that he doesn't want us to leave?"
Nanmen Jue's attitude made her want to pull out her sniper rifle and shoot her; she couldn't hear any hint of "trying to keep" him!
“I wasn’t sure at first, but then he got angry and I became sure,” Lu Yunxiao said. “She was trying to provoke you into attacking her. If you fell for it, you would stay and kill her.”
"No, wait a minute..." Deng Erhuai was a little confused, "Am I the kind of person who is so easily provoked?"
Ji Chengying whispered, "Maybe... he just wants to give it a try?"
The group fell silent at the same time, and Deng Erhuai cried out in frustration, "So why doesn't he want us to leave?!"
"I don't know, we can just go ask." Lu Yunxiao walked calmly towards the room. "Does anyone remember him..."
He hadn't taken two steps when Deng Erhuai grabbed him by the collar.
Her expression turned serious. "Don't move. Listen, what's that sound?"
The air on the mountain was very quiet, without even a bird chirping. Deng Erhuai, being a purple-named individual with a higher physical fitness level, reminded the others that they also began to hear a rumbling sound.
"It sounds like... a car?" Guan Junren said uncertainly.
The group's expressions changed, and they quickly ran out of the courtyard, looking down the mountain.
A convoy of pickup trucks was breaking through the sea of clouds and heading up the mountain. The truck beds were full of soldiers with live ammunition. The man in the lead truck, holding a gun and laughing loudly, was none other than Shan Peng!
“It’s Shan Peng!” Deng Erhuai blurted out.
"I can't see anything clearly," Lu Yunxiao said. "Shan Peng? Did he meet up with the NPCs?"
"What is he coming here for?" Guan Junren asked in alarm, or rather, he had already guessed it but didn't want to admit it.
"Kill Nanmen Jue," Deng Erhuai said confidently, but his expression did not relax at all, and his jaw remained tense. "Don't panic. The only one who has offended him is Nanmen Jue. Maybe he won't go on a killing spree... probably not."
Seeing Shan Peng laughing wildly, Deng Erhuai felt a little less confident.
As they were talking, Shan Peng also saw them standing at the intersection. When they met his eyes, Deng Erhuai's pupils contracted sharply, and she subconsciously pushed Lu Yunxiao away from her.
"careful!"
With a bang, a bullet struck the spot where they had just been standing.
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Author's Note: *From the Bible
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