DPM Chapter 54-Evolution 2-Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
After the rattan captured Luo Ying, they precipitously recoiled. In an instant, Ye Fan, along with ten dumbstruck soldiers, were left standing alone on dark soil.
The soldiers’ first question was: “What do we do now?”
Deep in the forest, the sound of gunfire had faded away. Meanwhile the roots had delivered many carcasses to their feet. The bodies had no heads, appearing to have been neatly severed at the neck.
Together, the eleven men examined the bodies, trying to identify the corpses from their tags or anything else.
Anxious and worried, Ye Fan inspected each and every body, but none of them were Wu Xingyun.
The ten soldiers discussed for a while, eventually deciding to return to base and report the situation to their superiors.
Although none of them said it outright, each soldier distinctly felt in their heart that they shouldn’t pointlessly throw their lives away by going into the forest now.
Their task had been to stay out of the woods and protect Luo Ying and Ouyang Yi.
And Ouyang Yi had run away, Luo Ying had been snatched, and the weapons in their hands weren’t sufficient to battle what dwelled deep in the trees.
Seeing Ye Fan tying up his trouser legs, a soldier tried to kindly persuade him: “Ye Fan, everyone who went in there certainly died……Come back with us.”
Vines were still continuously delivering dead bodies, yet there was no Wu Xingyun and no Luo Ying.
Ye Fan told the soldier: “I’ll wait, if their bodies don’t come……I’m going to go in.”
So eleven people stayed put for an hour, waiting. No more corpses came out.
After examining all the bodies, Lu Shi and four other soldiers were missing, along with Wu Xingyun and Luo Ying.
“They must have been captured,” Ye Fan said, “No matter what you guys decide, I’m going to go and find my huoban (partner/companion).”
Exchanging dismayed glances, the soldiers deliberated and settled on sending two people back to report, while the rest would follow Ye Fan into the forest.
Even if the hope was slim, Ye Fan felt the missing people weren’t dead.
With Ye Fan walking at the forefront, nine people entered the forest. Ye Fan didn’t need night vision googles, instead using his mutated senses to perceive everything.
The forest was……Clean.
That was Ye Fan’s first understanding.
Apart from the rustling leaves of the trees, there were no other living creatures.
Ye Fan incessantly beckoned the others to get closer to himself.
The others followed closely, even though they had no idea what route Ye Fan was taking.
Unsure himself, Ye Fan energetically sniffed the air.
He smelled all kind of trees, and there was a vague scent of people, but not enough to distinguish a clear direction.
Closing his eyes, he tried to use his perceptions, yet still couldn’t find what he needed.
Ye Fan walked a little bit off by himself. The woods were silent, the only sounds the steps of the soldiers behind him.
Until suddenly a different odor wafted to Ye Fan’s nose.
It was foul. To be precise, it was the stench of human urine.
Ye Fan ran towards it, making a circle twice before finding its origin. Squatting down, he inhaled carefully.
He was certain he’d caught an obvious whiff of Wu Xingyun’s body, even if it was a little different than usual.
They marched towards that lingering trace.
Soon enough, they found a small pile of unconscious men in a grove, Company Commander Lu Shi among them.
Running over, Ye Fan checked each one of them.
Wu Xingyun wasn’t there.
""
On account of their low manpower, taking the unconscious soldiers with them as they advanced was not an option.
After a small discussion, one soldier volunteered to stay with Ye Fan as he continued his search. The rest would take their comatose comrades out of the forest.
Now moving alongside the last soldier, Ye Fan asked: “What’s your name?”
The soldier answered: “Peng Dawei. I used to be a photographer. I only joined the army half a month ago.”
Ye Fan didn’t pay much mind, saying casually: “I just graduated high school……Right, if I need pictures in the future, I’ll look for you.”
“No problem!” Peng Dawei laughed. “I can take your wedding photos. I’m sure you’ll be handsome!” Then Peng Dawei’s expression turned melancholy. “I don’t know when this will all be finished. Will everyone have run away?”
Slightly ahead and not replying, Ye Fan halted, closing his eyes.
Peng Dawei, wearing night vision goggles, looked around, his hairs standing on end.
They were now in a completely different encompassing area. Before them was a deep brown lane made of what looked like branches and tree trunks. The difference being that the branches had the appearance of human skin, and at the end of each branch hung a head.
Plenty were the skulls of animals. Plenty were human. Among these, Peng Dawei saw the missing heads of his own troop.
Ye Fan opened his eyes. Calm and certain, he declared: “In there. They’re alive, not dead.”
His legs quivering, Peng Dawei had experienced a lot of things in these last days. But now, those mocking heads hanging high scared him to the core.
Ye Fan raised his feet and went to step into the passage of skin. Before he could, they heard the hanging skulls groan: “Gugu, gugu.”
Peng Dawei cried out, collapsing to the ground.
Turning his head to glance at Peng Dawei, Ye Fan told the other man: “Wait for me here, I’ll go in by myself.”
Peng Dawei swallowed his saliva, then tried to hand over his gun and night vision goggles to Ye Fan. Ye Fan declined: “Those are useless to me. I don’t know how to fire a gun……”
He turned and walked into the passage.
On either side, the human heads moved their mouths, as if trying to speak, yet only able to make grunts.
Ten meters into the tunnel, Ye Fan turned a corner.
As he gazed at the sight before him, he felt something seeping. Simply closing his eyes, he continued forward.
Ye Fan detected a narrower passage. However, no whiff of Wu Xingyun. On the other hand, Luo Ying’s scent was clear and strong.
Moving straight ahead until he came to a place that felt like a hall, Ye Fan opened his eyes, taking in everything.
He was in a space of roughly square thirty meters, with an enormous tree trunk-like thing in the center of it. It was far bigger than when Ye Fan had first seen it. Though it still had its face, eyes, nose, and additionally, human hands.
It was endlessly shuddering, both hands waving about threateningly in the air, as it raged and snarled at the woman in front of it.
DPM Chapter 54-Evolution 2-Part 2
Translated by Snowfall77
After the rattan captured Luo Ying, they precipitously recoiled. In an instant, Ye Fan, along with ten dumbstruck soldiers, were left standing alone on dark soil.
The soldiers’ first question was: “What do we do now?”
Deep in the forest, the sound of gunfire had faded away. Meanwhile the roots had delivered many carcasses to their feet. The bodies had no heads, appearing to have been neatly severed at the neck.
Together, the eleven men examined the bodies, trying to identify the corpses from their tags or anything else.
Anxious and worried, Ye Fan inspected each and every body, but none of them were Wu Xingyun.
The ten soldiers discussed for a while, eventually deciding to return to base and report the situation to their superiors.
Although none of them said it outright, each soldier distinctly felt in their heart that they shouldn’t pointlessly throw their lives away by going into the forest now.
Their task had been to stay out of the woods and protect Luo Ying and Ouyang Yi.
And Ouyang Yi had run away, Luo Ying had been snatched, and the weapons in their hands weren’t sufficient to battle what dwelled deep in the trees.
Seeing Ye Fan tying up his trouser legs, a soldier tried to kindly persuade him: “Ye Fan, everyone who went in there certainly died……Come back with us.”
Vines were still continuously delivering dead bodies, yet there was no Wu Xingyun and no Luo Ying.
Ye Fan told the soldier: “I’ll wait, if their bodies don’t come……I’m going to go in.”
So eleven people stayed put for an hour, waiting. No more corpses came out.
After examining all the bodies, Lu Shi and four other soldiers were missing, along with Wu Xingyun and Luo Ying.
“They must have been captured,” Ye Fan said, “No matter what you guys decide, I’m going to go and find my huoban (partner/companion).”
Exchanging dismayed glances, the soldiers deliberated and settled on sending two people back to report, while the rest would follow Ye Fan into the forest.
Even if the hope was slim, Ye Fan felt the missing people weren’t dead.
With Ye Fan walking at the forefront, nine people entered the forest. Ye Fan didn’t need night vision googles, instead using his mutated senses to perceive everything.
The forest was……Clean.
That was Ye Fan’s first understanding.
Apart from the rustling leaves of the trees, there were no other living creatures.
Ye Fan incessantly beckoned the others to get closer to himself.
The others followed closely, even though they had no idea what route Ye Fan was taking.
Unsure himself, Ye Fan energetically sniffed the air.
He smelled all kind of trees, and there was a vague scent of people, but not enough to distinguish a clear direction.
Closing his eyes, he tried to use his perceptions, yet still couldn’t find what he needed.
Ye Fan walked a little bit off by himself. The woods were silent, the only sounds the steps of the soldiers behind him.
Until suddenly a different odor wafted to Ye Fan’s nose.
It was foul. To be precise, it was the stench of human urine.
Ye Fan ran towards it, making a circle twice before finding its origin. Squatting down, he inhaled carefully.
He was certain he’d caught an obvious whiff of Wu Xingyun’s body, even if it was a little different than usual.
They marched towards that lingering trace.
Soon enough, they found a small pile of unconscious men in a grove, Company Commander Lu Shi among them.
Running over, Ye Fan checked each one of them.
Wu Xingyun wasn’t there.
""
On account of their low manpower, taking the unconscious soldiers with them as they advanced was not an option.
After a small discussion, one soldier volunteered to stay with Ye Fan as he continued his search. The rest would take their comatose comrades out of the forest.
Now moving alongside the last soldier, Ye Fan asked: “What’s your name?”
The soldier answered: “Peng Dawei. I used to be a photographer. I only joined the army half a month ago.”
Ye Fan didn’t pay much mind, saying casually: “I just graduated high school……Right, if I need pictures in the future, I’ll look for you.”
“No problem!” Peng Dawei laughed. “I can take your wedding photos. I’m sure you’ll be handsome!” Then Peng Dawei’s expression turned melancholy. “I don’t know when this will all be finished. Will everyone have run away?”
Slightly ahead and not replying, Ye Fan halted, closing his eyes.
Peng Dawei, wearing night vision goggles, looked around, his hairs standing on end.
They were now in a completely different encompassing area. Before them was a deep brown lane made of what looked like branches and tree trunks. The difference being that the branches had the appearance of human skin, and at the end of each branch hung a head.
Plenty were the skulls of animals. Plenty were human. Among these, Peng Dawei saw the missing heads of his own troop.
Ye Fan opened his eyes. Calm and certain, he declared: “In there. They’re alive, not dead.”
His legs quivering, Peng Dawei had experienced a lot of things in these last days. But now, those mocking heads hanging high scared him to the core.
Ye Fan raised his feet and went to step into the passage of skin. Before he could, they heard the hanging skulls groan: “Gugu, gugu.”
Peng Dawei cried out, collapsing to the ground.
Turning his head to glance at Peng Dawei, Ye Fan told the other man: “Wait for me here, I’ll go in by myself.”
Peng Dawei swallowed his saliva, then tried to hand over his gun and night vision goggles to Ye Fan. Ye Fan declined: “Those are useless to me. I don’t know how to fire a gun……”
He turned and walked into the passage.
On either side, the human heads moved their mouths, as if trying to speak, yet only able to make grunts.
Ten meters into the tunnel, Ye Fan turned a corner.
As he gazed at the sight before him, he felt something seeping. Simply closing his eyes, he continued forward.
Ye Fan detected a narrower passage. However, no whiff of Wu Xingyun. On the other hand, Luo Ying’s scent was clear and strong.
Moving straight ahead until he came to a place that felt like a hall, Ye Fan opened his eyes, taking in everything.
He was in a space of roughly square thirty meters, with an enormous tree trunk-like thing in the center of it. It was far bigger than when Ye Fan had first seen it. Though it still had its face, eyes, nose, and additionally, human hands.
It was endlessly shuddering, both hands waving about threateningly in the air, as it raged and snarled at the woman in front of it.
