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

A sharp, piercing buzzing sound suddenly tore through the air, jolting Lin Zheng out of his absurd state.

He almost instinctively reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

An emergency campus safety alert flashed on the screen: A fire has broken out in the Miskatonic University library area. All faculty, staff and students are advised to evacuate the area and await further instructions.

Fire?

Lin Zheng frowned, the nausea in his heart being partially dispelled by the sudden turn of events.

The Miskatole University Library is the heart of the university, housing countless valuable documents and historical archives. The cost of its annual renovation and maintenance is enough to support several impoverished communities.

He hesitated for a moment, but his body had already acted first.

The school is not far from where he is now; he can get there by walking a few blocks.

His steps became heavy and hurried again, this time not out of boredom or curiosity, but out of a misconception of being drawn into the center of the event, which drove him forward.

The air on the street was still filled with the cloying, rotten smell unique to the "Happy Leaf Series Products," but the alarm seemed to have the power to dispel numbness. At least some of the zombie-like people looked up for a moment, and then lowered their heads again.

A fire truck sped past him, its siren blaring, kicking up a gust of cold wind.

In the wind, the sweet smell dissipated, and a faint, sour smell of burnt wood floated up.

Lin Zheng quickened his pace, passed through several alleys, and finally arrived at the outskirts of the university.

Thick smoke billowed up, casting an ominous orange-red hue across the night sky.

The scene was chaotic, with firefighters moving through orange flames and billowing smoke.

Even though the fire was right in front of them, they did not put it out.

Because, in this chaos and emergency, what lay ahead of them seemed particularly out of place.

On the open lawn in front of the library, there were no panicked students or evacuating crowds. Instead, a large group of people gathered around a burning flame, throwing books back into it.

They wore matching green T-shirts and held banners, their faces displaying a fanatical and determined expression.

This wasn't an escape; it was more like a grand ceremony.

The pungent smell of smoke hit my nose, mixed with the sulfurous smell of burning paper and the acrid smell of old, charred wood.

The water mist sprayed from the fire hose carried a cold, earthy, and rusty scent, which was evaporated by the heat of the flames, making the air thick and humid.

The group of environmental protection students on the lawn stood not far from the cordon, neither hindering the firefighters' work nor attempting to approach the fire.

They just stood there, with a kind of holy smile on their faces that resembled religious fanaticism, shouting something.

"Trees are living things! Stop the logging!" a girl shouted, waving a flag.

"Logging is a crime! Printing is complicity!" another person shouted, raising his arm.

The back of their green T-shirts featured a cartoon image of a tree being felled and oozing red liquid, with the words "With my flesh and blood, I nourish the forest" prominently displayed below.

The banner fluttered in the night wind, its words written in a crooked, artistic font, carrying a shocking slogan:

"Save the trees, start by destroying paper!"

"Burn ten thousand books for the sake of one tree!"

Lin Zheng felt a chill run down his spine.

absurd.

Absolutely absurd.

The scene of books being burned was described by them as a "performance art" and a "necessary sacrifice".

Lin Zheng discovered that the obsession in the eyes of these environmental protection students was no different from that of the people yearning for happiness outside the "Happiness Experience Center" he had seen that morning; only the exterior was different.

The former is a passive, chemically-induced hallucination; the latter is an active, self-identifying madness.

The things they believed in possessed a disturbing purity.

He walked up to a slightly older student from the environmental protection club. The student was staring intently in the direction of the library, muttering to himself as if in prayer.

"Hey, excuse me."

The student turned his head, his eyes flashing with fanatical light in the firelight, his brows carrying a condescending sanctity.

"Is there something you need, friend?" he asked, his tone tinged with impatience.

"Why...why did you do this?" Lin Zheng pointed to the burning books and then to the banner behind him, trying to keep his voice calm.

"This is for Mother Earth," the student answered without hesitation, his voice loud and full of conviction.

"Do you know that's a library? How many crystallizations of human civilization are inside? How many books? How much knowledge?" Lin Zheng's emotions finally got out of control, and his voice rose a few octaves.

The student looked at him calmly, a hint of pity in his eyes.

"Knowledge? My friend, we are here to destroy that so-called 'knowledge'." He spread his hands, making a helpless gesture.

"Haven't you seen it? All of humanity's wars, pollution, and injustices are driven by 'knowledge' on paper. History, philosophy, and science are merely tools that exacerbate destruction."

He pointed to the moon in the sky, which was stained red by thick smoke.

True wisdom resides in nature, in unspoiled forests, and in clear streams. What humanity records on paper is nothing but greed, lies, and destruction.

"Burning books can save nature?" Lin Zheng felt a strong sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.

"Yes!" The student's eyes gleamed with ecstasy.

"This is a ritual, an awakening. Burning these carbonized tree remains releases their imprisoned souls. Using these old, decaying 'wisdom' as offerings, we declare our determination to return to nature."

He looked around and saw students from other environmental groups casting approving glances his way; some even began to applaud quietly.

"We need a shock! We need to get attention!" The students' voices grew louder and louder, almost drowning out the sound of the fire trucks.

"People are overwhelmed by consumerism and meaningless information; they can't feel the cries of nature. Only this kind of radical, seemingly insane behavior can truly pierce their numbness!"

"But your behavior... is completely criminal!" Lin Zheng tried to restrain the other party with law and morality.

"A crime?" The student sneered, his smile filled with contempt.

"Aren't your so-called 'laws' and 'morals' built on the exploitation of nature? They protect loggers and polluters, while labeling those of us trying to save the planet as criminals!"

He took a step forward, almost touching Lin Zheng's face, and his holy fervor almost suffocated Lin Zheng.

"Tell me, my friend, which is more valuable: an ancient forest that has evolved over millions of years, or those piles of papers filled with lies that will be forgotten in a few hundred years?"

Upon hearing this, students from nearby environmental protection groups echoed their sentiments, hurling various accusations and insults.

"Stubborn elements poisoned by the logic of the old world!"

"He's been corrupted by information!"

"Can't you smell it? How pure and invigorating the smell of burning is!"

Lin Zheng felt a tightness in his throat and difficulty breathing.

He suddenly found himself in a world that could not be measured by common sense.

His logic and rationality appear so pale, powerless, and even ridiculous in the face of these fanatical, self-consistent beliefs.

He even wondered if he was the one who had been "poisoned" and was a "stubborn element".

Lin Zheng retreated with difficulty, one step after another, until finally he was defeated amidst the scornful gazes of the crowd.

At this moment, he became a heretic excommunicated from the church, wandering on the edge of fire and fanaticism.

Finally, school administrators arrived, and after consulting with the firefighters, they decided to put out the fire directly.

The water guns splattered the group's faces, finally extinguishing the fervor and flames in their hearts.

They screamed, cursed, and shouted, then took a big gulp of water.

Well done!

Lin Zheng couldn't help but applaud the firefighters in his heart.

If he didn't do it this way, Lin Zheng would think he had really gone mad.