Chapter3:Bestiarian Cult

B66 City, midday, clear skies.

Beihai's blood pressure had never been higher.

"Yu Ming, where the hell are you?!"

To be fair, Beihai had only herself to blame for this mess.

Even though Zhen Cheng suggested that Beihai rest in Hailaer for the night and head out the next morning, Beihai's strict and meticulous work ethic wouldn't allow for any potential mishaps.

So, that very afternoon, Beihai dragged the sleepy-eyed Yu Ming and the exhausted Suluo, who had just finished balancing the books, straight to B66 to scout the area in advance.

Beihai rented a room at a guesthouse in B66, while Yu Ming headed straight to the red-light district to enjoy herself. Beihai didn't stop her.

But the next morning, Beihai discovered that Yu Ming still hadn't returned, and her phone was impossible to reach—she had vanished after a night of debauchery.

Beihai was furious. She had planned to take Suluo and start observing the convoy's movements, but Yu Ming's disappearance threw her entire plan into disarray.

Suluo, just a teenage girl, didn't know much and could only follow Beihai around as they frantically searched for Yu Ming.

"You her friend? Let me tell you, that damn cat-girl slept with my wife last night, and I caught her! You've got half an hour to bring 200,000 yuan to Huifeng Avenue to buy her back! Otherwise, I'll sell her straight to the 'Vet'!"

When Beihai finally got through, the voice on the other end was a thickly-accented, cyberpunk-sounding man.

Beihai's heart sank—she knew immediately that Yu Ming had fallen into a honey trap during her night out.

Two hundred thousand yuan, more than she'd make on a job! Where was she supposed to find that kind of money?

Desperate and not wanting to make things worse, Beihai had no choice but to call Zhen Cheng, venting her frustrations at length.

Zhen Cheng, being her usual straightforward self, immediately transferred 200,000 yuan to Beihai to ransom Yu Ming, asking Beihai to make sure she brought her back in one piece. But in the video call, Beihai could clearly see that Zhen Cheng's tail fur had bristled in anger.

Beihai hurried to the agreed location, knocked on the door, and transferred the 200,000 through the peephole.

The voice on the other side told them to wait. Shortly after, a van pulled up haphazardly, and a masked man tossed out a large bundle from the trunk.

When Beihai unzipped it, sure enough, there was Yu Ming, beaten black and blue, tied up like a dumpling.

"You damn… you damn… you damn idiot!!"

Back at the guesthouse, upon learning that Yu Ming had not only been stripped naked but also had her beloved sniper rifle, which she had used for half her life, stolen, Beihai completely lost it and tore into her.

If it hadn't been for Suluo holding her back, Beihai might have actually strangled Yu Ming.

Beihai rubbed her temples. "If I get you another sniper rifle, will you be able to use it?"

Yu Ming nonchalantly dug in her ear. "Definitely not. I've used that rifle for ten years, so a new one just wouldn't feel right."

Seeing Yu Ming's indifferent attitude, as if she didn't care about losing her most important tool, Beihai felt like punching her right in the face.

Suluo quickly tried to smooth things over. "Um, I-I got the license plate number of that van! If we follow the lead, we can definitely find those guys and get the rifle back."

Beihai massaged her temples. "That's our only option…"

She glared at Yu Ming. "You stay in the room! Suluo and I will find your rifle. If you step out for even a second, I'll rip your tail off!"

When they got back, Beihai was definitely going to ask Zhen Cheng for more money. No matter what, she had to get her to pay more! Otherwise, she'd pluck every single hair off Zhen Cheng's tail!

Beihai adjusted her cap, tucking Suluo's fox ears under it, and the two of them quickly tracked the van's route to a cybernetic black market.

Beihai and Suluo smoothly infiltrated the market, and it wasn't long before they spotted the group who had set up the honey trap, haggling with a black market dealer over none other than Yu Ming's sniper rifle!

Suluo whispered to Beihai, "Sister Beihai, what do we do?"

Three options flashed through Beihai's mind.

First, go in guns blazing, kill them all, and take back Yu Ming's rifle.

Second, try to buy it back, though she might not have enough money.

Third, steal it.

Beihai crouched next to Suluo. "Can you make the lights go out here for a bit?"

Suluo adjusted her headset. "Get ready for a big blackout."

Beihai walked straight towards the stall.

Before the group noticed her, the entire venue suddenly plunged into darkness.

Before the panic could peak, the power was restored.

"Son of a bitch?! Where's my gun?!"

"The bastard stole my stuff!"

The venue erupted into a chaotic gunfight.

"Let's go." Beihai, now carrying a large cello case, looked utterly exhausted.

…

Uncle Zhao really wasn't coming back.

But Nanshan no longer wanted to think about these things.

She pulled the covers over her head and buried herself in sleep. The meal the maid had left at her door remained untouched.

She didn't know how long she had slept. When she finally woke up, the sky outside had already darkened.

Nanshan heard the maid's footsteps as she took away the untouched dinner outside her room.

The headset on her bedside table vibrated. She crawled over, weakly putting it on, and answered the call.

"Nanshan! I heard from the guys that you're back in A05! How about hanging out tonight?"

Hearing this voice, Nanshan's heavy mood finally eased a little.

"Sure," she replied weakly.

"The usual spot, come pick me up…"

"Got it, I'll be there soon. Hey, what's wrong? You sound really down."

"Bull…"

He shouldn't have asked. The emotional walls Nanshan had spent so long building up crumbled with just one short sentence.

Nanshan couldn't hold back her sobs. "Uncle Zhao… Uncle Zhao is dead…"

"What?!" The voice on the other end was shocked.

"That bear-man? Dead?! But he's huge, and he lived in an A-grade city! Which gang would be dumb enough to mess with him?"

"Don't say any more… Just come pick me up."

"Alright, I'm on my way. Wait for me."

After hanging up, Nanshan went into the bathroom to freshen up.

A few minutes later, when she stepped out, she was a completely different person.

Her dull uniform had been replaced by a studded leather jacket; the black stockings and little shoes were swapped for torn jeans and combat boots; her clean nails were now painted a witchy black.

She applied thick eyeshadow, her once sleek hair now a chaotic mess—a rebellious cry against the world.

A small stone hit the window. Nanshan slung her backpack over her shoulder and opened it, only to see the guy from the phone, Bull, already waiting below.

"Jump down!" The short-haired guy in a jacket called up softly.

"I'll catch you!"

Nanshan put one foot on the windowsill and leaped out of the mansion, landing safely in Bull's arms in a princess carry.

"You've gotten lighter." Bull grinned, the lines of his cybernetic enhancements moving with his smile.

"Or maybe you've just gotten stronger." Nanshan landed steadily on the ground.

"When did you get a new cybernetic implant?"

"About a week ago. Our tribe took down a military hovercraft, fully loaded with brand-new implants! Whenever you're ready, I'll take you to get your own implant surgery."

After their playful banter, Bull finally got serious. "So, what happened to Uncle Zhao?"

"Because of a forbidden book." Nanshan's eyes lowered.

"And the book?" Bull pressed.

Nanshan looked at him.

"Well," Bull sighed.

"As long as you're okay. There's one less paper book every time one's read. We don't have many left."

The two of them slipped through the city's sewers, taking a raft to the A05 city outskirts.

Bull helped Nanshan through a broken fence, and they climbed onto a motorcycle parked outside. "Come on, I'll take you to the tribe!"

Nanshan didn't hesitate, jumping on the bike and wrapping her arms around Bull's waist.

"Hold on tight!"

The motorcycle roared to life, tearing off into the distance in a cloud of dust.

How she wished she could just run away with him like this, never having to return.

The jeep bounced along the rough road.

Beihai gripped the steering wheel, focusing intently on driving.

Yu Ming lay on the backseat, resting with her sniper rifle as a pillow.

"Hey, what's that?"

Following Suluo's curious gaze from the passenger seat, Beihai looked out the window.

The city outskirts were a typical wasteland landscape—almost all areas outside the cities were like this, with barren mesas rising abruptly from the ground, their towering, flat-topped forms strikingly impressive.

And in the direction Suluo was pointing, there was a massive mural, at least a hundred meters high, painted with some kind of glowing material on one of the giant rocks. It depicted a figure that could be a giant or some kind of monstrous creature, its limbs outstretched in a menacing pose.

"Oh, that…"

Yu Ming glanced out the window, uncharacteristically breaking her silence.

"That's probably the work of the 'Bestiarian Cult'."

Suluo was puzzled. "What's the 'Bestiarian Cult'?"

"Well," Yu Ming shrugged, not seeming too eager to discuss it.

"To put it simply, they're a bunch of lunatics in a cult. Ever since they were driven out of the cities, they've been active in the wastelands. These people believe that the nuclear war a century ago awakened giant monsters that were slumbering underground."

"They named these nonexistent creatures 'Titans,' considering them the protectors of nature. They hope that by awakening these monsters, they can destroy this hopeless world. Ever since their Pope founded the cult, they've never stopped searching for these sleeping giants, even resorting to bloody rituals with human sacrifices in an attempt to summon them."

Yu Ming shrugged again. "If you ask me… there are many ways to express despair with the world, but theirs is the most childish I've seen."

Beihai had heard of the Bestiarian Cult before and had been warned by veterans in her field to stay far away from them—these maniacs were several times more dangerous than the Vortex Gang when they went berserk.

Suluo grew nervous at the thought. "Doesn't that mural mean the Bestiarian Cult is nearby?!"

"Wasteland tribes usually drive the Bestiarian Cult to remote, uninhabited areas. As long as we stay on the main road, we don't need to worry."

Beihai drove the jeep into a canyon. She pulled out binoculars and scanned the area; the current location had an excellent view, with the entire main road in sight. They could easily chase or retreat depending on the situation.

"This is the spot," Beihai said, lowering the binoculars.

"Suluo, come with me to plant the mines—WTF, Yu Ming, what the hell are you doing?!"

"Huh?" Yu Ming, leaning against the car door, was in the process of taking off the last piece of clothing she had left—her underwear.

"Just getting into the zone, what's the problem?"

Suluo did her best to avoid looking at the naked Yu Ming and said to Beihai, "Sister Beihai, let's go plant the mines."

Beihai and Suluo buried the pre-prepared EMP mines beneath the yellow sand, spacing them every ten meters.

The convoy they were targeting consisted of three large cargo trucks, with two armored escort vehicles at the front and back. The EMP mines were designed to completely disable the electrical systems of the vehicles, making it impossible for them to continue moving.

After planting the mines, the two returned to the lookout, only to find Yu Ming doing naked yoga on a waterproof mat she had laid out. The scene was nothing short of outrageous.

Beihai decided to ignore the oddball and sat at the edge of the cliff, pulling out a sandwich for dinner while keeping an eye on the road.

Mellow guitar music hovered over the camp.

The drifters seemed unfazed by Nanshan's arrival, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

As usual, Bull took Nanshan to meet their leader.

"No means no." The tribe leader, "Red Cloud," now called "Chiyun," said sternly.

"Don't think that just because you've read a few forbidden books, you can easily blend in with the tribe. The hardships of the wastelands are beyond what you can endure, young lady."

"It's not that I have anything against you, but letting you join our tribe on a whim would be irresponsible to you, and even more so to the entire tribe. If your family comes looking, we wouldn't stand a chance. As the leader, I have to think about these things."

"Please, Chief Chiyun," Nanshan clasped her hands together, her voice almost pleading. "I can't stand being in that suffocating place for even one more second… You know, the only time I've ever been happy is when I'm hanging out with the tribe. Please, grant me this request."

Bull chimed in as well, "Chief, just let her join."

Chiyun glared at him. "What business is it of yours? Stay out of it!"

Then, with a sigh, he added, "I just don't get it. You're a rich young lady—you eat real meat and vegetables, ride in hovercars, have people protecting you wherever you go, and never have to worry about your next meal. You'll never suffer any injustice, so why would you want to join a drifter tribe?"

"Sure, I know those forbidden books have had a big impact on your worldview. But you need to understand, your life is what at least 80% of the people in this world dream of. The fairness and justice you experience are what so many people would do anything to have. You can't just turn your back on that."

After being turned away again, Nanshan returned to the campfire in low spirits, picking up a bottle of beer. She didn't drink it, just traced the bottle's rim with her thumb, staring blankly.

Bull sat beside her, trying to comfort her. "Come on now. Try to understand the Chief. He has a lot on his plate, and letting someone join the tribe is a big deal—he can't take it lightly. One day, you'll be able to join, and I'll be the first to raise a glass and a flag for you!"

Nanshan managed a faint smile.

"Hey, Bull, since Nanshan finally made it to the tribe, why don't you tell her about what happened two weeks ago?" The goat-beastman strumming the guitar suggested with a smile.

Bull smacked his forehead. "Oh man! I meant to tell you! How could I forget?"

"Yeah, right," snorted the TV-headed guy nearby, "don't go spouting nonsense to our delicate little lady here."

The campfire crew burst into laughter.

Bull retorted indignantly, "Screw you! I'm not like you guys, popping Youtilin for fun. I'm telling you, it's true! Chief Chiyun can back me up!"

Nanshan's curiosity was piqued. "Brother Bull, what's this about?"

Everyone around the campfire started talking at once, making Nanshan's head spin.

"Everyone, shut up."

A Gurkha knife slammed into the table.

The wolf-beastman wearing a red bandana said coldly, "The Chief told us to keep our mouths shut. Didn't that mean anything to you?"

Bull was even more irritated. "Keep our mouths shut? How the hell am I supposed to keep quiet about this?! And you—how can you act like nothing happened after seeing something like that?!"

The wolf-beastman erupted in anger, "Huang Ying is dead! He was stabbed to death by those Bestiarian lunatics! Do you really want to rip that wound open again?!"

Nanshan's curiosity only grew stronger, so she turned to the goat-beastman for an explanation.

"I wasn't part of that mission," the goat-beastman said.

"Two weeks ago, the Chief led Bull and some other guys from the tribe to drive out the Bestiarian Cult that had been spotted near the camp. But that time, ten men went out, and only eight came back."

Nanshan's heart clenched. "The Bestiarian Cult… did the cultists kill them?"

"I don't know."

The goat-beastman's expression turned grim.

"Because I heard from the survivors that the Bestiarian Cult might have actually awakened something terrible from beneath this wasteland—"

"The convoy's here!!!"

With the scout's report, the drifters in the tribe immediately sprang into action.

"I'll tell you more later!"

Bull ignored the wolf-beastman, who continued to drink in silence.

He grabbed Nanshan's hand. "Come on, I'll show you something exciting!"

Nanshan smiled. "Alright. But you better protect me, okay?"

"Of course. I'm the knight, and you're the princess."