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

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Brutus shoved the door open roughly, shoving Lin Zheng and Evelyn into the shabby clinic of Fort Parsey. The heavy wooden door creaked and scraped, as if the entire fortress was groaning under the force of the blow.

His large hands gripped their shoulders like iron clamps, the force so strong it seemed to penetrate to their very bones, the oppressive pressure making it hard to breathe. The air was thick with the musty, decaying smell unique to fortresses, mixed with a faint whiff of sulfur wafting from the distant underground, making everyone uneasy.

The room was cramped, barely enough to accommodate a few people. Damp water seeped from the mottled stone walls, and moss grew quietly in the cracks, as if the walls themselves were breathing, exuding a damp, earthy smell. The dripping sound echoed in the silence, its rhythm as unsteady as a heartbeat, pounding against the eardrums.

The kerosene lamp flickered, emitting a faint light, and the wick made a slight crackling sound. The flame stretched out a distorted human-shaped silhouette on the wall, sometimes long and sometimes short, sending chills down one's spine, as if there were unseen shadows lingering around.

In the center is an examination table made of iron frame and wooden planks, its surface covered with scratches and dark red stains, marks left by time and illness, faintly exuding the lingering smell of old blood, which becomes even clearer in the humid air.

Percy lay there, his upper body bare, his massive frame covered in old scars and new sores. The scars, like distorted maps, recorded countless tug-of-wars with death, each one a testament to an inhuman struggle.

His prosthetic eye was inlaid with a piece of black ore, which shimmered red under the kerosene lamp. The light flickered unnaturally, carrying a sinister malice, as if a living thing was spying inside, making people involuntarily look away and dare not meet its gaze.

The air was heavy, the disinfectant mixed with the smell of blood and rust, making people feel suffocated and short of breath. Every breath felt like swallowing rust, their throats were dry and painful, and their lungs felt like they were being squeezed by the heavy air.

Evelyn took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and force herself to remain composed, suppressing the doubts in her heart. She took her scalpel from her toolbox; the blade reflected a cold glint in the candlelight, as if warning of the impending invasion and demonstrating her resolve as a healer.

She put on her gloves, the sound of rubber rubbing against her skin particularly jarring in the confined space, as if each movement carried a certain ritualistic quality. As she approached Percy, her heart involuntarily quickened; it wasn't just nervousness, but also a vague fear of the unknown illness.

Percy's chest heaved unevenly, his breathing heavy and whistling. Each inhale pulled at his chest muscles, producing a low gurgling sound, like boiling magma or the panting of some abyssal beast. His body emitted a strange, mixed odor, a blend of rotting earth and an indescribable sweet-smelling smell.

Evelyn first pressed on the skin of his left arm, which was as cold as stone. Her fingertips transmitted a stiff texture, as if touching millennia-old ice, devoid of any elasticity of flesh and blood. Her fingers trembled slightly, and when she withdrew them, they left a faint white mark on his skin that lingered for a long time, like an unnatural ice sculpture.

She then moved to her right arm; her skin felt like a branding iron, and a wave of intense heat shot through the back of her hand. The burning pain made her furrow her brow, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The temperature difference between her left and right limbs was unbelievably huge, which overturned all her common medical knowledge.

Evelyn frowned, forcing herself to concentrate as she continued to examine Percy's neck veins. The veins were abnormally bulging, glowing with an eerie green light, and pulsating faintly, like venom flowing in the earth's veins, or like the roots of some plant growing under the skin, indicating the severity of the illness.

She placed the stethoscope close to Percy's chest. The moment the cold metal touched his skin, Percy's body trembled slightly, as if sensing the intrusion. His heartbeat was erratic and irregular, sometimes heavy like thunder, sometimes as faint as a mosquito's buzz, like the drumbeats in a storm, completely contrary to normal human physiology.

The scalpel lightly sliced ​​through the skin, making a shallow incision. The blade pierced the flesh silently, a chilling sight. No blood flowed from the incision, but the skin fibers at the edges stretched outwards in an eerie, stringy manner, revealing the grayish-white tissue beneath, devoid of any healthy color, as if it were lifeless.

Evelyn whispered, "His vital signs are completely erratic, which doesn't fit any known medical theory." Her voice trembled slightly, echoing in the small examination room, and her eyes flashed with deep confusion and fear. Her medical beliefs were facing an unprecedented challenge.

She quickly recorded the temperature difference and abnormal skin elasticity data. Her notebook was soaked with sweat, and the ink was slightly blurred. Those records were like a powerless indictment of the crazy reality.

The strange illnesses common in Ochre Labyrinth State are mostly caused by groundwater pollution, causing miners' skin to harden like rock. But Percy's case goes far beyond those cases, as if his body is being reshaped into something she has never seen before.

Local folklore says that when mining deep underground, strange objects were unearthed, and those who came into contact with them experienced uncontrolled body temperature. Some even witnessed miners' skin cracking open and sprouting root-like tendrils that greedily devoured flesh and blood—a truly terrifying sight. Percy's current condition is strikingly similar to these descriptions.

Evelyn examined her abdomen, which was abnormally swollen, and felt as if there were wriggling creatures inside, sending a chill down her spine. She held it still, and the thing moved under her skin, making a faint rustling sound. Each movement felt like it was darting under her skin, and her heart rate soared.

She recorded the violent fluctuations in her pulse rate, her fingers tingling slightly. Her mind flashed back to the anatomy classes at medical school, where corpses had never resisted so vividly, let alone with such a bizarre illness.

Lin Zheng stood at the end of the table, his eyes slightly narrowed, and activated his "Realistic Deconstruction" ability. His vision instantly overlapped, the world shed its superficial disguise, revealing the truth hidden deep within, everything becoming transparent and cruel.

He saw the tangled, plant-like structures within Parcy's body, the vines varying in thickness, displaying a sickly gray-green hue, coiling around organs and blood vessels, like ancient roots greedily eroding the soil, drawing life force.

The surface of the vines is covered with dense energy runes, with a faint light flowing through the veins of the runes. The runes are like living circuits, and each energy pulse bursts into a ghostly green spark at the intersection, bringing a burning sensation.

The runes clearly guided a powerful energy pulse, each pulsation affecting the entire body. Lin Zheng's temples throbbed, as if resonating with this inhuman pulse.

Lin Zheng's headache worsened, and his mental energy was being stripped away like silk threads. Every wisp of consciousness was being pulled into that pulsating energy, as if he were falling into a bottomless abyss. His mental barrier was on the verge of collapse, and the intense backlash made the veins on his forehead bulge.

He recognized that these vines bore a striking resemblance to the live experimental materials he had studied before. The roots and flesh were fused together seamlessly, the boundaries blurred, making it impossible to distinguish between the host and the parasite; they had become one.

The structure inside Parcy's body is even more complex. Vines extend up to the spine, wrapping around each vertebra. Their pulsating rhythm is ancient and heavy, like a deep breath from the earth, carrying the fragrance of decaying soil, or like the whisper of some primitive creature.

This was strikingly similar to the whispers of the abyss he had read in his previous lingering dream, whispers that entwined his soul like vines, murmuring forbidden secrets. Now he realized that it was not an illusion.

Lin Zheng's eyes were bloodshot. He gritted his teeth and stared intently, trying to etch every detail into his mind. However, the edges of his vision began to blur, and dark spots spread like ink—a sign of his abilities being overloaded.

He sensed that this was not the first time Percy had flared up; the vines inside his body were covered with healed wounds and intertwined new tissue, recording the traces of countless outbursts and rebirths, each one stronger than the last.

The accounts of the servants' psychological trauma circulating in the fortress's gossip now surfaced in Lin Zheng's mind. Some said that when Percy had an episode, the entire mine would tremble, and even inhuman roars could be heard coming from deep within the ore.

Lin Zheng abruptly withdrew his gaze, his forehead drenched in cold sweat, and he leaned against the wall, panting, as if all his strength had left him. The world returned to normal, but a faint, eerie green afterimage remained on his retina, lingering for a long time.

Percy suddenly twitched at that moment, abruptly opening his eyes. His prosthetic eye shone brightly red, staring intently at the two of them, his gaze chilling, locking onto Lin Zheng like a hunter scrutinizing its prey, with a certain malevolent scrutiny.

"Continue," Percy commanded hoarsely, his voice like sandpaper scraping against rock, carrying an undeniable pressure. Each word felt like a stone pressing down on one's heart, sending chills down one's spine.

Evelyn switched positions to examine Percy's legs and saw that the skin on his calves was covered with cracks, and green light seeped out from those tiny cracks, like fluorescent fungi blooming on rotting flesh, revealing a morbid beauty that was both horrifying and unsettling.

She carefully scraped off some samples and placed them into a glass slide, her movements so gentle as if she were afraid of waking a sleeping monster, even deliberately slowing her breathing.

Under the microscope, the cell nucleus is deformed, with extra chloroplast-like structures, exhibiting plant-like characteristics. The cell wall is also as tough as a plant, greedily devouring the surrounding human cells endlessly.

This is practically a living specimen of plants parasitizing humans! The case of mutated crops in the cornfields of the ochre mining area flashed through her mind, where the crops grew human faces and screamed for help. How similar this scene was!

Evelyn slowly shook her head, her eyes filled with endless despair. Her medical knowledge crumbled at this moment, and she could no longer explain what was happening before her. Her hand froze in mid-air, feeling utterly powerless for the first time.

Lin Zheng tapped his fingers lightly and rhythmically on the table, mimicking the motion of stitching, trying to calm the raging storm in his mind. He tried hard to recall if there were any records of similar runes in his knowledge of the entire domain; every possibility was like a piece of driftwood in the sea.

The shape of these runes reminded him of the patterns on Native American ruins, which were said to lead to the depths of the earth and awaken the sleeping ancient gods. This was no coincidence that they resonated with the ancient pulse within Parcy's body.

Percy's origins are rumored to lie deep within abandoned mines. It is said that during an expedition he came into contact with something unknown. Some say he dug up a living root system, which then merged into his body, drastically changing his personality.

The wooden door to the clinic suddenly creaked open and was gently pushed open. Mia Grey walked in carrying a basin of water. She kept her head down, her eyes darting around, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Percy, as if afraid that if she looked at him for even a second, she would be swallowed up by his gaze.

She held the basin of water and shook it, reflecting her pale, bloodless face, clearly showing fear and exhaustion.

Mia retreated to a corner, picked up a rag, and wiped the instruments with trembling hands. She dared not look at Percy on the examination table anymore, and even curled up slightly, trying to minimize her presence.

Percy closed his eyes, his breathing gradually becoming steady, but the rhythmic pulsation he felt under his chest did not stop; instead, it became clearer, as if some kind of unknown digestion was taking place.

Evelyn put away her scalpel and reported her initial findings in a hoarse voice: "The signs are disordered, and there is foreign growth in the body, which may have fused with the host to an unimaginable depth." Her words were filled with suppressed shock.

Upon hearing this, Percy merely nodded slightly, showing no anger. In fact, a strange satisfaction crept into his lips, a smile like that of a predator admiring its prey, sending Lin Zheng and Evelyn into a chilling abyss.

The image of vines lingered in Lin Zheng's mind, burning his retina like a brand. It was not just an illusion, but a reflection of reality.

After the examination, Brutus stepped forward and gestured for them to follow him. He led them to the lounge area in the corridor next to the examination room. His footsteps were heavy like war drums, each step vibrating the ground and making a dull echo.

The corridor was narrow and dimly lit, with several torches hanging on the stone walls, their smoke swirling and making it hard to breathe. The flickering firelight cast long, distorted shadows, and the clearly visible carvings on the walls resembled the claw marks of some giant beast, a horrifying sight.

The two found a stone bench and sat down. Evelyn rubbed her temples, her fingertips turning white from pressing, trying to dispel the deep-seated headache and calm the turmoil in her heart.

Night gradually seeped into the fortress, and a cold wind blew in through the cracks in the walls, carrying the chill from the depths of the earth, penetrating to the bone and making one shiver involuntarily.

Faint footsteps approached from afar, growing louder as Mia Grey and Cross Gray patrolled. The echo of their boots striking the stone slabs was particularly clear in the silent corridor.

Mia's voice was thin and filled with fear: "When the lord had his last attack, the entire fortress seemed to come alive... I saw the walls breathing, and inhuman cries came from the depths of the mine. This time, I feel it's even worse."

Her voice trembled, choked with sobs, and after she finished speaking, she couldn't help but glance back at the direction of the examination room, as if some terrifying thing inside might rush out at any moment.

Cross responded gruffly, trying to suppress her: "Shut up, focus on patrol, don't talk too much. If the lord hears these words, none of us will survive." Although his voice was suppressed, it could not hide a trace of fear from his bones. His hand subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword, as if trying to gain a sense of security from it.

Mia sobbed, her voice growing more desperate: "The servants all say that every time that green light appears, more people die. Last time, a miner was dragged underground by vines and was left with only half a corpse, covered in blood..." Before she could finish speaking, her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Cross sighed heavily: "Lord Percy's power comes from the earth, who dares to question it? But this time... the green light is so bright it looks like it's going to devour the entire fortress, I've never seen such an ominous sign." Deep worry was also evident in his eyes.

Lin Zheng listened intently, memorizing every word and detail they spoke. These seemingly trivial clues, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, slowly pieced together a more complete truth in his mind, a truth more real than any medical report.

Evelyn's gaze turned complex in an instant. She exchanged a glance with Lin Zheng, and the two understood each other perfectly. This seemingly unintentional chatter between servants provided a clue pointing to a deeper darkness: the cycle of Percy's illness, its symptoms, and the terrifying phenomena that accompanied it.

At the end of the corridor, a strong, earthy smell wafted over, as rich as freshly dug soil, mixed with the sweet scent of decaying plants—a strange aroma carrying the scent of death and rebirth.

Mia and Cross walked further and further away, the echoes of their footsteps gradually fading until they disappeared around the corner of the corridor, leaving behind a deathly silence, as if all sound had been swallowed up by the darkness deep within the fortress.

Lin Zheng took out the pebble given to him by Samantha Jones from his sleeve. The pebble was warm in his hand, and the geometric patterns on its surface were shimmering with light. Each shimmer was accompanied by a slight vibration.

The glimmer of the pebble echoed the ancient pulse within Parsi's body, pulsating in sync at an incredible frequency, like an ancient call that transcended time and flesh.

Evelyn murmured, "This is consistent with the pulse of the living runes, as if they come from the same source." Her voice was extremely low, and a glimmer of hope amidst despair ignited in her eyes, yet it was also mixed with profound fear.

Lin Zheng nodded, gripping the pebble tightly. He felt a clear pulse through his fingertips, as if it were not a stone, but his second heart, establishing a mysterious connection with the foreign object inside Percy's body.

Percy's internal rhythm continued relentlessly, each beat striking the nerves of both of them. Their perceptions crumbled; Evelyn's medical theories seemed as fragile as paper, utterly vulnerable in the face of cruel reality. Lin Zheng, through "realistic deconstruction," glimpsed the inhuman essence, confronted the edge of the abyss, and witnessed a scene capable of shattering humanity's worldview.

As night deepened, a low whistling sound suddenly came from the direction of the clinic, like wind passing through a crack in the rock, yet carrying a vibrant life force, as if some ancient being was awakening, the sound filled with wildness and power.

They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Their initial apprehension could no longer restrain their deeper desires. This ailment was far more than just a disease; it was like a door that had been quietly opened, behind which lay a darkness capable of swallowing everything, and they had already touched the threshold.

A deep abyss lay ahead, awaiting their entry. The tendrils of fate had already wrapped around their wrists, guiding them into the unknown depths. They knew that everything had just begun, and there was no turning back.