<div> Chapter 59: Chapter 58 Water Flows Downhill_1
 Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation 
 He hadn’t been dead long; blood was still flowing out.
 Huai Shi crouched down, gazing at the corpse in front of him with confusion. He casually pulled a stick from the garbage pile and poked the body twice. The arm was broken, there was a knife wound on the back that had punctured a lung, and the fatal injury was to the throat. Clean and neat, nearly split in half.
 Soon, Huai Shi put down the stick and the piece of door panel he was holding. He covered the body again, then looked back at the ventilation window behind him. After walking a few steps forward, he turned, estimated the distance, and then sprinted, leaping to scale the wall another thirty centimeters. He had just reached the pipe on the wall.
 However, looking down, he found his footprint overlapping another faint one. As he pushed himself up, he saw fingerprints in the dust on the window’s edge. Someone had been there.
 And their physique was similar to his own, likely a Sublimator who had undergone secondary development. Otherwise, they’d have to be a national long jump champion, possibly with indoor climbing awards too.
 The warehouse was utterly silent, without a single unnecessary noise.
 Huai Shi landed silently and looked around, seeing only piles of boxes and wires on the floor. The wires stretched forward, disappearing into a wall. All he could see beyond them was a huge iron door from which a cold draft blew continuously.
 He felt it keenly; it was indeed a cold draft. This damned place was a cold storage unit.
 After mustering his courage again, he slipped inside and looked around, only to find a mountain of pork. The only other discovery was two bodies, not yet frozen solid. Obviously thrown in carelessly.
 The wounds were identical to the security guard’s outside—an equally ruthless, fatal strike.
 Huai Shi reached out, drew his Sacrificial Knife, and looked around cautiously. After shadowboxing with the air for a while, he had to regrettably admit he was about to freeze like an idiot. And, the killer might have left long ago.
 He walked out of the cold storage and couldn’t help sneezing. The sneeze echoed in the warehouse for a long time but failed to attract anyone’s attention.
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 </div> Aside from the bodies, it seemed to be just an ordinary factory building. But at this moment, the Apocalypse fragments he was collecting were accumulating rapidly. In just a few minutes, his pocket was nearly half full. The concentration of dissipating Source Substance here was shockingly high.
 It constantly emitted pain and despair, the gloomy atmosphere almost turning the entire warehouse into a Haunted House. Ordinary people wouldn’t last a few minutes here. Only an idiot like Huai Shi would specifically look for plastic bags to collect Apocalypse. After all, the fragmented Source Substance was dissipating from here. There had to be a source.
 After some quick calculations and checks, Huai Shi finally found its origin. Actually, there was no need for deliberate calculation; anyone could clearly see the large crack in the wall. The secret space, originally concealed behind it, was no longer sealed. The iris and fingerprint authentication had no effect.
 No matter what, with a large, dead arm stuck in the sliding rail, the freezer cabinet on the floor couldn’t be pushed any further, could it?
 With such a huge entrance right before my eyes, it took me this long to find it just by following the concentration of Apocalypse? I’m really getting a new understanding of my own investigative abilities...
 Behind the door was a dim space. Stepping over the body on the ground and moving forward, he saw a staircase extending downward into unseen darkness.
 In the silence, he crept forward, barely making out a shadow with its back to him. He tensed, drew his gun, and approached cautiously. But just as he pressed his gun to the back of the person’s head, they collapsed forward like rotten wood, slumping to the ground. Already lifeless.
 CLANG!
 The Sacrificial Knife collided with a dagger lunging from the darkness behind him. Someone, taking advantage of Huai Shi’s distraction, had tried to backstab him from the shadows, not expecting him to possess the bug-like skill, Death Perception.
 In that instant of collision, Huai Shi spun and lunged, charging powerfully towards his attacker’s position in the near-total darkness.
 Blind fighting has its techniques—or rather, it’s more accurate to speak of melee combat with cold weapons in darkness. Human joints, weapon grips, and even attack patterns are all limited. Someone familiar with these could, at the moment of impact, deduce their opponent’s position, weapon posture, and even stance. Though perilous, it was ultimately a cruel game of deduction, akin to drawing the Ghost Card. Some, however, had transformed this process into pure instinct.
 In the pitch-black darkness, they collided. Each raised an elbow to deflect the other’s gun hand, then their dagger and Sacrificial Knife clashed once more. Sparks flew erratically in the inky blackness—the cold signature of clashing blades.
 In tacit agreement, neither chose to shoot, instead trying to silently eliminate their opponent. After a few seconds of struggle and numerous weapon clashes, they simultaneously pinpointed each other in the darkness, turned, and struck out fiercely. The Sacrificial Knife and the dagger collided once again.
 A spark flew from the grating steel, briefly illuminating the two figures, now face to face, and the masks they wore. One wore a Little Peppa mask, the other Little Pony.
 In an instant, deathly silence descended.
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 The murderous intent vanished, replaced by an indescribably thick awkwardness.
 "..."
 In the silence, the figure in the Little Pony mask broke it first with a couple of coughs. "What a coincidence."
 "Mm," Huai Shi nodded. "Quite a coincidence."
 The atmosphere once again became awkward.
 "..."
 During a seemingly endless staring contest, the person opposite asked again, "How should I address you?"
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 </div> "A true gentleman doesn’t change his name whether standing or sitting—" Huai Shi announced proudly. "Just call me ’Huahai Road Little Peppa.’ And you?"
 "A pleasure, a pleasure," the other introduced themself. "Hutai Road Little Pony."
 And so, the atmosphere grew awkward yet again. They simply couldn’t bring themselves to fight.
 Although I’ve never heard of any Hutai Road Little Pony, why does this particular brand of cheekiness seem so familiar?
 Huai Shi remained silent for a long moment before asking, "Have you eaten?"
 "I have," Little Pony nodded.
 "Out for a walk?"
 "Mhm..."
 After a couple more pointless exchanges, perhaps realizing they were in similar situations, or perhaps not wanting to waste more time, Little Pony was the first to suggest, "Shall we get going then?"
 "Alright, let’s go."
 Huai Shi took a step back.
 They slowly sheathed their weapons and distanced themselves, backs to the wall, remaining on full alert. Each gestured for the other to go first; exposing one’s back would, of course, be even better. Then, realizing the other was no idiot and not easily fooled, they had no choice but to proceed side by side.
 For some inexplicable reason... by the time I realized it, had I somehow acquired a teammate?
 On the short staircase, they exchanged bland pleasantries, all the while racking their brains, trying to figure out where this copycat of their persona had sprung from. Finally, their footsteps came to a halt at the end of the staircase.
 Two paths diverged: one leading up, apparently to another area, and one leading down, into deeper subterranean levels. Little Pony looked around before finally letting their gaze rest on Huai Shi.
 "Up or down?"
 The implication was clear: since mutual trust was lacking, they might as well part ways here.
 But up or down? Huai Shi scratched his head, pondered for a moment, then said, "Man strives for higher ground; water flows to lower land."
 So he’s going up, right? Little Pony thought.
 Little Pony waved a hand and headed down the lower path, only to be surprised when Huai Shi followed closely behind. Bewildered, Little Pony asked, "Didn’t you say man strives for higher ground?"
 "Well, sometimes, it’s good to be like a happy little carbonated drink and just go with the flow downwards," Huai Shi replied earnestly, his words sounding surprisingly philosophical.
 Kidding aside, my investigative skills are so weak it took me ages to find an already open hidden door. If I were on my own, important items could drift right past my eyes, and I wouldn’t even notice. It’s tough being this unobservant. Better to have a companion. We’re both thieves, after all. I don’t want any of the loot; I can even lend a hand. Just sharing information seems reasonable, right? Of course, I’d never admit this place is too somber, too dark, and that I’m a little scared...
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 </div> "Are you sure?" Little Pony gave him a deep look, then averted their gaze. "Fine. Just don’t get in my way. I get first pick of anything we find."
 "It’s all yours." Huai Shi waved dismissively, having no interest in loot or the possessions of The Purified People. He was just here to find someone. If he could also find out why this group was hiding in his family’s old warehouse, that would be a bonus.
 As they advanced, their steps abruptly stopped.
 There was someone ahead.
 Or rather, they had finally spotted what looked like a gatehouse.
 Through a window, they could see a small room. A pot of stew bubbled on a stove, and a TV played a song and dance show. A middle-aged man sat in a chair with his back to the window, engrossed in the TV and some snacks, not even glancing at the surveillance monitor in the corner.
 Little Pony drew their dagger, but Little Peppa pushed their hand down.
 "Don’t be so crude, alright?" Huai Shi sighed. "I’ll handle this..."
 He pulled up his hood again, picked up the deceased security guard’s baton and flashlight, and walked over to knock on the window. He was just about to revive his old ’Gospel Yangge Dance’ routine when he saw it: in the pot on the stove, a human head bobbed slowly in the simmering broth, along with several arms and legs stewed until fragrant and tender...
 The guard in the gatehouse turned around. Huai Shi opened and closed his mouth several times, utterly speechless.
 Finally, he sighed and drew his Sacrificial Knife.
 Some things, it seems, are indeed better handled with a bit of roughness.</div>
 

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Chapter 59 - 58 Water Flows Downhill_1

Chapter 59: Chapter 58 Water Flows Downhill_1 Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation He hadn’t been dead long; blood was still flowing out. Huai Shi crouched down, gazing at the corpse in front of him with confusion. He casually pulled a stick from the garbage pile and poked the body twice. The arm was broken, there was a knife wound on the back that had punctured a lung, and the fatal injury was to the throat. Clean and neat, nearly split in half. Soon, Huai Shi put down the stick and the piece of...

Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 59 - 58 Water Flows Downhill_1

Apocalypse Forecast - Chapter 59 - 58 Water Flows Downhill_1