The Decaying Dream of America: I Assemble Corpses and Confront Madness

After the engine of the modified all-terrain vehicle was shut off, the deathly silence deep in the mine enveloped the vehicle like a thick, damp cloth. The pervasive mental noise from the outer wasteland was indeed blocked out, but what followed was another kind of ancient, more penetrating oppression. Lin Zheng took a deep breath, a cold, stinging pain shooting through his lungs, which also allowed his tense nerves to relax slightly. However, this brief peace did not last long.

His consciousness seemed to have just surfaced from the deep sea, each sense slowly and painfully adjusting. The damp, musty smell, the sulfurous odor from deep underground, mixed with an indescribable sweet and pungent odor, filled his nostrils. This smell wasn't strong, but like poison, it slowly seeped into Lin Zheng's thoughts, making his stomach churn.

"Arthur's condition is not good." Evelyn's voice, hoarse with weariness, broke the silence in the car. She bent down beside Arthur's makeshift stretcher, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a damp towel. Arthur's breathing became shallow and rapid, and a low whimper escaped his throat, indicating that he was in severe pain.

Lena, holding her modified firearm, warily scanned the dark mine tunnel outside the vehicle, meticulously observing every inch of the rock face and every shadow. Jeremy, on the other hand, sat silently in the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, showing no sign of relaxing.

"I need to go out and take a look." Lin Zheng struggled to sit up, his muscles feeling as heavy as lead, his bones creaking in pain. He took his encrypted communicator from the back seat, turned on the flashlight, and the bright beam pierced the darkness in front of the carriage. He needed to understand the surroundings and determine whether it was a refuge or a new prison.

"Be careful," Evelyn whispered, her eyes filled with worry. Jeremy and Lina also opened the car door, and the headlights of the modified all-terrain vehicle cast two dim beams of light into the mine tunnel, barely illuminating the space dozens of meters ahead.

The mine entrance wasn't a modern industrial concrete structure, but rather a rough rock formation extending inwards like the throat of a giant beast. The ground was slippery, scattered with gravel and unidentified slag, mixed with mud. Under the headlights of a modified all-terrain vehicle, strange marks appeared on the rock face. They were rough patterns drawn with reddish-brown pigment, ancient and partially worn away.

Lin Zheng walked over and carefully observed the graffiti by the light of his flashlight. These graffiti weren't simple lines; they depicted bizarre creatures: some resembled deformed beasts with excessive limbs or misaligned heads; others looked like twisted human figures, their limbs unnaturally elongated, or their heads replaced by a huge, spiked circle. One pattern caught his attention: a huge, almost square shape with dense lines inside, surrounded by several kneeling human figures, their heads adorned with tiny spirals, as if conveying something upwards. This reminded him of the descriptions of the 'Throat of Red Earth' and the 'Aohaitun Mining Town' in *The Origin of the World*, the 'primitive tribes' and 'horrifying customs' there, and the existence of 'otherworldly ores'.

"What the hell is this?" Lena frowned, lightly touching one of the images with the tip of her modified gun before pulling her hand back in disgust. Jeremy remained silent, but his tense muscles and furrowed brows showed that he was equally uneasy.

"These are ritual paintings from an old tribe." Lin Zheng's voice was somewhat hoarse. He sensed a faint, unusual spiritual fluctuation emanating from the paintings. They were carriers of some kind of memory, a distorted belief left behind. He felt a chill creep up his spine. The existence of these paintings proved that this was not a deserted place, nor a long-abandoned site, but rather a territory occupied, or at least influenced, by some primal will.

He turned his head, looking into the depths of the mine, where the darkness, impenetrable by the car headlights, was as thick as ink. Just then, a low, indistinct roar came from the darkness, not loud, yet striking his eardrums with unusual clarity. The sound possessed an inhuman quality, rough and full of wildness, as if some giant beast was issuing a warning from deep within its throat. A faint tremor came from the rock wall, and gravel fell with a soft rustling sound to the ground.

Lena abruptly raised her modified weapon, the dark muzzle pointing directly in the direction of the sound. Jeremy also quickly retrieved his modified weapon from his all-terrain vehicle and cautiously moved closer to the rock wall.

"Did you hear that?" Lin Zheng asked in a low voice, his heart pounding uncontrollably. It wasn't a hallucination. His heightened senses detected a life force, carrying a twisted, unnatural stench, more tangible than the phantoms in the wasteland. This aura perfectly matched the characteristics of the 'Nightmare Creatures,' meaning that their refuge might be inhabited by an even more dangerous predator.

"What is it?" Lina's voice was cold, but a hint of wariness could be heard in it. She didn't answer Lin Zheng's question, but instead focused all her attention on the depths of darkness, her index finger already on the trigger.

"The sensors are interfering." Lina raised her left hand; the screen of her encrypted communicator flickered with a faint red light, and the once smooth signal curve was now violently trembling, like an electrocardiogram showing a rapidly beating heart. "It doesn't seem like electromagnetic interference; it's more like a biofield... or something else."

The deep roar came again, closer and clearer than before. This time, it was accompanied by a rhythmic, fine rustling sound, as if countless tiny pebbles were being scraped across the ground by some enormous body, slowly approaching them.

Lin Zheng's face was pale; exhaustion and fear reached their peak at this moment. He knew he had to make a judgment. This mine could not provide them with true safety. It was not a refuge, but another lair teeming with predators, and these predators seemed to pose a greater physical threat than the phantoms in the wasteland.

"Arthur can't delay any longer." Evelyn's anxious voice came from inside the modified all-terrain vehicle. Lin Zheng turned his head to look at Arthur, whose face was pale, lips trembling, and breathing becoming increasingly rapid. "The effects of the cardiac stimulant have worn off, his body temperature is continuing to rise, if this continues..." Evelyn's voice choked, she didn't say the word, but everyone understood.

Arthur's injuries had reached a critical point. The excessive jolting from forcibly traversing the wasteland, coupled with the continuous accumulation of mental stress, had pushed his body to its limits. The rudimentary medical conditions could not stop the infection from worsening. Each painful groan he uttered was like a dull knife, repeatedly tormenting Evelyn's heart and reminding Lin Zheng that their time was running out.

Evelyn's eyes held a complex mix of professionalism and despair. As a forensic pathologist, she had handled countless cold corpses and understood the fragility of life. Arthur's vital signs were irreversibly sliding towards death, and she, a doctor with top-notch medical training, was powerless to stop it—a feeling more agonizing than facing the threat of a monster.

Lin Zheng closed his eyes. He could feel the air in the mine growing heavier. The eerie graffiti, the howls and rustling sounds from the depths of darkness, intertwined with Arthur's weak breathing, forming a deathly elegy. The mine was not a path to survival.

"We have to get out of here," Lin Zheng said in a deep voice. His voice carried an unwavering resolve, a clarity he had forged from the edge of the wasteland. He looked at Lina and Jeremy, their eyes flashing with the same determination. They both saw a danger deeper within the mine, a danger more hidden and more aggressive than the wasteland itself. The monsters on the wasteland attacked only on instinct, but the monsters here seemed to have a more specific purpose.

Lina retrieved the modified firearm, put her specially made gloves back on, and there was no hesitation in her eyes. "I'm going to check the modified all-terrain vehicle." She knew that once Lin Zheng made a decision, there would be no turning back.

Jeremy nodded, his expression grave. He glanced at Lin Zheng, then at Arthur, who lay unconscious inside the modified ATV. He knew this decision meant they would once again face that desolate wasteland that devoured reason, but the mine before them had become a trap waiting to be harvested. Without a word, he walked directly to the engine of the modified ATV. Every movement he made revealed his inner struggle and his desperate desire to survive.

Evelyn listened to Lin Zheng's decision, her heart breaking, yet she understood it was the only option. She carefully adjusted Arthur's stretcher, wrapping him even tighter in a blanket. Her hands trembled slightly, but she strived to remain calm and professional, not letting her emotions affect the entire team.

"Where are we going?" Evelyn asked softly, her voice tinged with a barely perceptible despair. The engine of the modified all-terrain vehicle roared in the darkness, like a colossal beast awakening from the abyss. This was no place to linger; the deep roar and the scraping of metal grew closer, as if countless invisible hands were tugging at their sanity.

"I don't know," Lin Zheng replied, his gaze piercing through the windshield of the modified all-terrain vehicle, looking towards the dark mine exit. That was the wasteland, the nightmare they had just escaped, but now it was their only hope. The wasteland was vast; perhaps deep within, there truly were settlements not yet completely corrupted. It was a faint hope, but also the only direction.

"We can only move forward." Lina's voice came from behind her, and she raised her modified gun again, aiming it at the mine exit. "Waiting here will only make us dinner for those things." Her eyes were colder than the darkness of the mine.

The engine of the modified all-terrain vehicle finally settled down, emitting a rhythmic growl that reverberated throughout the mine. Jeremy jumped back into the driver's seat, his hands firmly gripping the steering wheel. The growls and rustling sounds from the depths of the mine became even clearer, as if some being was whispering joyfully, announcing the confidence that its prey was trying to escape, yet unable to. An indescribable sense of oppression seeped from the depths of the mine, a cold and hungry malice, like viscous mud, clinging to everyone.

Evelyn gently patted Arthur's cheek, trying to bring him back to his senses. Arthur only let out weak whimpers, his body fading away like a candle burning out. She knew the effects of the stimulant had completely worn off; there was no other way. Waiting there was tantamount to waiting for death.

Looking at Arthur, who was half-conscious and breathing like a candle in the wind, Lin Zheng felt a strong sense of responsibility welling up inside him. This wasn't numbness. It was a responsibility born from the depths of despair. He had once turned a blind eye to these fragmented lives, but now he could no longer do so. Arthur was alive, not a corpse; he couldn't ignore him.

"The only chance of survival is to continue the adventure." Lin Zheng's voice was deep and resolute. His heightened senses reactivated in the darkness of the mine, sensing a more primal and aggressive malice emanating from its depths. This place was unsuitable for humans; the power was strong and ancient, seemingly guarding something. This reminded him of the legend of the 'whispers on the railroad tracks' in *The Origin of the World*—secrets hidden deep within the earth, more terrifying than the surface chaos.

He looked at each member of the team. Evelyn's eyes showed weariness, but she hadn't given up; Lena's expression was resolute, her modified gun already loaded; Jeremy's face was solemn, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. Their eyes were filled with exhaustion, but deep within them burned a shared, indomitable flame.

The modified ATV's engine roared painfully again, the vehicle lurching backward due to inertia before the wheels began to turn slowly. The dark mine shaft, illuminated by the headlights, resembled a gaping maw, and the faint light at the exit was their only hope. The engine's sound was like a desperate declaration of their impending journey, jarringly loud in the deathly silence of the mine. The modified ATV slowly drove out of the mine shaft, once again facing the desolate wilderness.

The wheels screeched as they rolled over the broken asphalt. Jeremy gripped the steering wheel, veins bulging on the back of his hands, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. The wind of the wasteland howled through the cracks in the windows, bringing with it a pungent, musty smell of animal carcasses, assaulting Lin Zheng's senses. The sky had changed from dark red to a deep leaden gray, thick clouds like a giant lid, shrouding the entire Ochre Maze in an eternal twilight.

Evelyn carefully reinforced Arthur's makeshift stretcher. Each bump from the modified all-terrain vehicle caused Arthur to let out a weak groan. Her brow furrowed, her eyes filled with worry. She closely monitored his faint breathing and was ready to wipe his body to cool him down at any moment, but she knew that these efforts were only a drop in the ocean.

Lena held her modified gun, the muzzle steadily aimed at the view outside the car window. Withered bushes and twisted distant mountains cast eerie silhouettes in the dim light, each seemingly concealing unseen eyes. Her muscles were tense, her breathing steady, like a wild beast awaiting its prey. She distrusted this wilderness.

Lin Zheng's mental exhaustion hadn't fully recovered, but as he moved further away from the pollution deep within the mine, his heightened senses became active again against the backdrop of the wilderness. With his eyes closed, he could feel a more immense, primal malice surging from the distant depths of the earth. It wasn't the technological detection from the company's pursuers, nor was it a specific biological threat from the mine; rather, it was an presence permeating the air, seeping into every corner. This malice wasn't as viscous or concrete as before, but it was far more oppressive, like an invisible net, silently closing in on them.

His mind felt as if gripped tightly by an invisible hand, each breath heavy as lead. He knew that the "will" of this wasteland had never truly departed, only temporarily receding when they entered the mine. Now, it had been awakened once more by their presence, and was even more enraged. The threat Lin Zheng felt was more despairing than any materialized monster, for it was omnipresent and inescapable.

The vibrant structural lines deep within his mind began to stir again. Not pointing to the road, but to danger itself. The distant whisper seemed to emanate from the depths of the earth, a primal and powerful malice approaching them, foreshadowing an even greater crisis awaiting them. The blood-red sunset on the horizon slowly sank into that unsettling darkness, as if the entire world was holding a grand finale for their impending doom.

The modified all-terrain vehicle continued its journey along the dilapidated highway, the roar of its engine sounding so small yet tragic in the desolation. A faint, imperceptible malice from afar, like an invisible hand, gradually tightened its grip on their hearts. This wasteland seemed to be waiting for its prey, while the blood-red sunset on the horizon slowly sank into that unsettling darkness, foreshadowing an even greater terror to come…

Don't miss this exciting chapter: Chapter 160 Echoes from Despair: Whispers from the Depths of the Mine - Full text available here. Click to read.