I Am Extraordinary Alone
Chapter 54 - 53: The Rotten Egg

Chapter 54: Chapter 53: The Rotten Egg

Wei Tianyang followed the Mud Man down the slope, the sensation of walking on the chitin-covered ground was quite peculiar—it was both solid and slightly elastic, as if there was a layered structure beneath, like corrugated cardboard, that would creak and groan under pressure.

The Mud Man was carrying a large clump of mud on his back, like a turtle shell, which conveniently held all his equipment and supplies.

They trekked across the plains, the factory ruins seemingly close at hand, yet when they tried to reach them, they found themselves feeling incredibly distant. Moreover, once they descended from the high ground, the factory buildings were no longer visible, replaced by a dense, matted entanglement of deep red vines.

Wei Tianyang was anxious, for Kacha and Starbucks were still in the subjective reality; his sudden disappearance in front of Kacha would surely cause them worry.

However, the Mud Man dispelled his concerns,

Since there was no concept of time in the objective reality, and it was energetically superior to the subjective reality, any ammunition spent, injuries sustained, or dirt collected by the Superpower Special Forces in the objective reality would not be reflected when they returned to subjective reality.

No matter how long they stayed in the objective reality, upon their return to the subjective reality, their condition and their elapsed time would remain unchanged.

This was also why the Superpower Special Forces had been able to keep this secret for decades.

To Wei Tianyang, this experience felt as if his soul had traversed to another world.

When they reached the base of the vines, Wei Tianyang discovered that each of them was as thick as a great old tree, all muscular like a strong man’s limbs, coiled and knotted, with dark red veins that seemed to have some kind of liquid moving within, subtly bulging and contracting.

It was hard to imagine that these things could possibly be bulletproof.

The Mud Man made a welcoming gesture and said, "See if you can cut through them. If not, no worries. We’ll mark this location and broadcast it on the MSF network, and there will constantly be people trying to clear them."

"MSF network?" Wei Tianyang, who was already wielding the Bone Knife, paused to ask upon hearing this term.

"MILITAIRES SANS FRONTIERES, Soldiers Without Borders, a network solely for the Superpower Special Department. We volunteer to assemble and enter the objective reality to cleanse the scars of the world, our objectives and missions transcending politics, ethnicity, and nations," explained the Mud Man.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Tianyang’s Bone Knife sliced through the thick vines as though cutting paper, and just as he had guessed, a viscous, dark red sap sprayed out from the severed end.

The Mud Man bent down, extending his finger toward the cut and said, "Hmm... disgusting, not like plant sap at all."

"Blood? Have you seen something like this before?" Wei Tianyang asked.

"No, this is my first time seeing this. The scars can take various forms. I’ve cleared a few that were egg-shaped with an outer shell. Breaking them would splatter something akin to excrement, and others..."

As the Mud Man spoke, he noticed that Wei Tianyang wasn’t paying attention; he simply kept moving forward, continually cutting through the vines, splattering his body with the dark red sap. The Mud Man followed Wei Tianyang, exploring deeper into the factory.

After they cut through the outer layer of vines, they entered one of the factory buildings, which should have housed production lines and a variety of machinery. But just as Starbucks had said, after the outbreak of the civil war, the local government sold off the equipment, leaving the place a hollow shell.

At that moment, Wei Tianyang saw two black shadows moving in front of him. He looked around the rest of the factory and saw even more black figures, walking to and fro.

From their posture, they appeared to be armed guards.

However, the Mud Man seemed oblivious to these figures—even passing through them without any reaction.

"Hey, I see black shadows... What are these things? Is this normal?" Wei Tianyang alerted.

Upon hearing this, the Mud Man looked around, shook his head without panic, and explained, "What you’re seeing are the shadows of people moving in the subjective reality."

"So that means..." Wei Tianyang slowly said.

"The subjective and objective realities are essentially the same place. This factory, in your timeline, has people active in it, which is why you can see their shadows. But in my time... it’s empty, so I can’t see them," said the Mud Man.

"Then... can I..." Wei Tianyang watched a shadow pass by him and tried to slice at it with the Bone Knife.

But the Bone Knife passed right through without any effect.

The Mud Man chuckled and said, "Of course not. If that were possible, we wouldn’t need superpowers to carry out our missions. Unfortunately, unless you leave this place, at best you can use it for reconnaissance. That’s what we do."

What a pity!

Nevertheless, he could at least take a good look around the factory, see how many Tiantai Pharmaceutical guards there were, and where they were holding the refugees.

Wei Tianyang cleared all the vines in the factory, opening a path to other buildings, and along the way, he took note of the distribution of guards throughout the factory complex.

Tiantai Pharmaceutical hadn’t deployed many people here. After all, this was just a temporary reception and placement site for the Medicine People; these poor individuals would eventually be sent to a containment site to remain there forever...

When they reached the adjacent factory, Wei Tianyang found the refugees, a dense crowd of black shadows surrounded by five or six armed guards in the central open space, but since they were just shadows, Wei Tianyang couldn’t make out their faces or genders.

The Mud Man, noting Wei Tianyang’s grave expression, inquired about the situation.

However, upon learning about the dealings of Tiantai Pharmaceutical with the local warlords and refugees, the Mud Man could only shrug helplessly, indicating he couldn’t offer much assistance.

His timeline was a month behind Wei Tianyang’s, and he was unable to extend a helping hand. Moreover, he couldn’t change the future because once he left the objective reality, any information about the future gleaned in the subjective reality would be forgotten—perhaps this was some sort of universal law.

The core of the vines was located in the third factory building, which housed a colossal purple-gray pus-filled core. It occupied most of the space in the room, sitting in a corner of the factory, and had numerous puffy white bubbles dripping with fluid sprouting around it.

At the base of the core was a large pool of secreted substances forming a sturdy base from which thick, dark red vines grew, resembling fire hoses tossed onto the floor. When these vines reached a certain length, they would branch out, giving birth to new vines.

Each one gives rise to another, and thus these vines overtook the entire factory complex, ensnaring it all within their embrace— and the faint stench in the air also originated from here.

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