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

The cold air swirled through the intricate network of sewer pipes, creating a hollow echo.

Lin Zheng clung to a rusty metal ladder, feeling the rough texture of its long-corroded surface with his fingertips.

Each time he moved upward, his movements were slow and determined.

Faint footsteps came from above, along with the soft hum of a flashlight beam cutting through the darkness.

Those were members of the "Cleanup Squad," a group of ruthless killing machines, tracking him down along the blurry traces he had deliberately left behind.

Lin Zheng suppressed his aura, merging himself into the deepest shadows, leaving only his eyes to calmly observe in the darkness.

These sewers are the city's intestines, far more complex than any surface map can depict.

Only those from the lower classes, like the "Mole People," can truly understand its labyrinthine structure and hidden entrances and exits.

Before forcing him to leave, Mayor Oakes gave him a homemade map.

He then realized that many of the routes below were not straight, but rather winding and layered, hidden among abandoned pipes and derelict pumping stations.

At the same time, he could also sense that the invisible "textures" woven from despair and death in his surroundings were becoming clearer than ever before.

These textures let him know which pipes had been abandoned, which passages were blocked by mud, and which corners were suitable for hiding.

His ability to create clear, self-made maps and perform realistic deconstruction allowed him to build a three-dimensional model in his mind.

The sewers are not a two-dimensional maze, but a three-dimensional structure, and he must make good use of this.

His heartbeat remained unusually steady; he was no longer the prey that had panicked and fled in terror.

The sacrifice of those slaughtered in the camp burned away his inner weakness, leaving behind the flames of revenge.

Lin Zheng slowly adjusted his posture and waited. He knew that the pursuers would never give up on him easily.

Below, tiny ripples appeared on the water's surface.

Several members of the "cleanup squad" dressed in black combat uniforms appeared at a huge pile of filth.

Their searchlights swept across the darkness, their beams illuminating the decaying underground space.

Their movements were well-trained, and they vigilantly checked every possible hiding place.

The captain used hand gestures to order the team members to spread out and form a fan-shaped search formation.

Lin Zheng noticed that their weapons were standard assault rifles, equipped with silencers and infrared sights.

This means they intend to conduct a silent, efficient hunt here, without attracting any attention on the ground.

He watched them approach step by step, each of them with their faces covered by masks, revealing only their unwitting, wary eyes.

One of the team members stopped a short distance above Lin Zheng, and the searchlight swept upwards.

The beam of light swept past and stopped on the metal ladder he had just climbed.

The team members touched the ladder and felt the dampness and some sticky substance on it.

In that instant, Lin Zheng reduced his breathing to a minimum, and his heartbeat became barely perceptible.

The team member withdrew his hand, shook his head, and then reported to the captain through his headset.

"Suspected discovery, Captain."

Lin Zheng activated [Real Deconstruction], but did not open his eyes. His ears caught the friction sounds they made as they moved, and the subtle noises coming from their earpieces.

He felt a faint vibration in the air caused by their presence.

He "saw" the lines of all objects and people.

This is a higher level of "listening," a deeper level of perception.

The fact that the cleanup team could keep up with him in such a complex area must mean they had some special detection methods. And the only special thing about Lin Zheng was his ability, so they would use that as bait!

He wanted to give them a taste of their own medicine, to let them experience what it's like to be hunted in the dark.

"The equipment is working, Captain! It's over there."

A burst of bullets swept over immediately, but the blurry positions and the difference in elevation prevented them from hitting Lin Zheng.

Lin Zheng judged the time well, slid down the pipe, and landed in another abandoned water storage pool below.

The sewage was up to his knees and emitted a strong odor.

He crawled along the pool wall, moving in the opposite direction of his pursuers.

He took a deep breath and began to plan his "hunting ground".

"Fat Mountain," a massive landform formed by the accumulation and solidification of urban grease and organic waste over the years, is a good choice.

The ecology there is abnormal, and it is not far from the location of the "filthy flesh womb".

Lin Zheng needed a place where he could use the environmental advantages to neutralize the enemy's equipment advantages.

Fat mountains are undoubtedly a perfect trap.

He constructed a three-dimensional model of this underground labyrinth in his mind, identifying key entrances and exits and unstable structures.

He knew that brute force alone could not put these well-trained soldiers in a desperate situation.

Fighting alone without firearms is unrealistic for Lin Zheng; he needs to rely on other forces.

He must lead them into a dead end woven together by the environment and those inhuman beings.

Lin Zheng looked up and saw a beam of light piercing through the crack in the pipe; it was the faint light before dawn.

Time was running out; he had to act quickly.

He trudged carefully through the sticky mud and rotting garbage.

The air was filled with the distinctive rotten egg smell of methane, a product of decay and decomposition deep underground, and also a potential weapon.

Lin Zheng began to leave some inconspicuous marks on the pipe wall.

Those marks, if not looked at closely, are just dirt and scratches, but his trackers will not overlook any detail.

He knew they would interpret these "traces" and mistake them for clues he left behind during his hasty escape.

But these markers are actually a carefully designed decoy, leading them in a predetermined direction.

He passed through a narrow passage, and suddenly the view opened up before him, leading him to the outer area of ​​Fat Mountain.

Everything here was gigantic, the pipes were covered with thick grease, and the walls were covered with long strips of white, yellow and gray solidified matter, exuding the smell of age and decay.

At the edge of Fat Mountain, rocks and soil mix with solidified grease, creating a bizarre, writhing landscape.

It was eerily quiet here, with only the faint sounds of the "filthy womb" wriggling in the distance and the splattering of water droplets falling on grease.

Lin Zheng stopped at the entrance of a huge "canyon" formed of solidified grease.

He glanced back at the road he had come from, knowing that the "Cleanup Squad" would catch up soon.

He needs to complete another part of the induction before they arrive.

Lin Zheng changed direction and carefully bypassed the canyon, heading towards the area where the "Filthy Flesh Mother" was active.

The last time he saw them, those blobs of flesh had only devoured a few members of the "elimination squad," but now they may have grown much larger.

The fleshy ground was sticky and elastic, causing him to sink a little with each step before slowly pulling out.

He needs some new "bloody smell" to attract them.

Lin Zheng gritted his teeth, cut his palm with a scalpel, and blood dripped down his palm, mixing with his old wounds, and splattered along the path he had taken.

He deliberately delayed each step to ensure the smell of blood could spread evenly.

He felt the response from the "filthy wombs," that deep, indescribable hunger.

coming!

The sound grew closer, chunks of meat rubbed against the rock wall, and countless mouths chewed, the crunching sound sending chills down one's spine.

He cannot walk too fast, nor can he walk too slow.

Too fast, and the monster might not be able to keep up; too slow, and he himself will be devoured.

This requires a precise understanding of the habits of non-human creatures and absolute trust in one's own physical limits.

Lin Zheng moved along the other edge of the canyon, making sure he always maintained a "perfect" distance from the pursuers and monsters.

Finally, he arrived at the top of a rickety "bridge" made of huge blocks of oil.

The bridge connects the two ends of the canyon, below which is pitch black and bottomless.

He knew that once he pried open the metal pipes that served as a key support point, the bridge would collapse.

This was the final trap he had prepared for the "Purge Squad" and the "Flesh Womb".

He bent down and wrapped his arms around a metal pipe connecting the bridge to the rock wall.

The pipe was completely covered in grease and mud, blending into the surrounding structure.

The metal felt cold and rough in my hands.

Lin Zheng used all his strength, his muscles tensed, and his veins bulged.

He heard the approaching footsteps of the cleanup squad below.

They entered the canyon, and the beams of searchlights shone into the air from below.

"What's up there?" one of the team members asked through their headset.

He heard the captain's low, wary reply: "Quiet, check both sides."

Meanwhile, from the darkness on the other side of the bridge, an increasingly loud and teeth-grinding scraping sound came from the depths of the darkness.

That was a swarm of "filthy flesh wombs," lured by the smell of blood, rapidly approaching this place.

The two hunters were finally lured into the same deadly trap by Lin Zheng.

The leader of the pursuers seemed to have sensed something. He suddenly raised his head and shone his flashlight beam precisely at Lin Zheng's location.

In the brief beam of light, Lin Zheng's face was illuminated.

There was no anger in those eyes, only an extreme, cold calculation.

Lin Zheng's eyes met those of the pursuer leader in the air, and then he used all his strength to pry the metal pipe, which served as the key support point, out of the solidified grease!