Chapter 11: Destruction and New Discoveries

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The towering chimney spewed thick black smoke, shrouding the entire incineration plant in a haze; the air pollution was visibly severe. Feng Mu sniffed deeply, a pungent, indescribable stench invading his nostrils—it was like the smell of a rotting corpse soaked in toilet cleaner, both foul and strangely fragrant, inducing nausea.

Wang Jian quickly pulled out a mask and handed it over. “It’s awful, right? When I first arrived, I couldn’t stand it either, but after a couple of days, you get used to it. Hmm, wearing a mask filters out most of the smell.”

Feng Mu thanked him and examined the mask; it was slightly thicker than the medical masks from his previous life. Once he put it on, the odor was much less intense—at least it no longer triggered a physical gag reflex.

“Is this the smell of burning cursed corpses?” Feng Mu asked.

Wang Jian nodded, then shook his head. “The incineration plant has several sections. Burning cursed corpses is only part of it; they also burn pollutants, radioactive waste, and general garbage. But the most pungent definitely comes from the cursed corpses.”

Feng Mu swallowed hard. “Is the air toxic?”

Wang Jian scratched his head. “They disinfect everything before burning, so officially, the plant says it’s not toxic. But all the workers secretly think it is. So, Feng Mu, are you still up for this?”

Feng Mu waved it off, “It’s fine. You’re here too, right? I’ll just wear my mask properly.”

A friendly smile appeared on Wang Jian’s face. “Yeah, there’s definitely some toxicity, but it’s not as dangerous as outsiders think. My dad worked here almost twenty years, and I’ve never seen him get sick.”

Feng Mu nodded and quietly pressed the edges of his mask tighter.

Although Wang Jian hadn’t really spoken much with Feng Mu back in class, they were both part of the same group of dropouts, and once out of school, an inexplicable closeness formed between them.

Wang Jian thought for a moment, then lowered his voice. “Actually, this job is pretty easy most of the time. Sometimes you even get some unexpected perks.”

Feng Mu wasn’t particularly interested in these perks but still showed appropriate curiosity. “What do you mean?”

Wang Jian deliberately dodged the question, teasing, “Come on, you’ve never seen a cursed corpse up close, right? I’ll take you to see one. If you’re lucky, maybe something else might happen…”

He chuckled mysteriously.

Feng Mu’s eyes lit up. Tugging at his backpack strap, he eagerly followed Wang Jian.

...

The stifling heat made the air shimmer.

Wang Jian opened the incinerator door, bent down to lift a black body bag off the floor, and expertly tossed it onto the table before unzipping the bag.

“Look, this is a cursed corpse,” Wang Jian said.

Feng Mu’s eyes widened. Though he had seen pictures online, the visceral shock of seeing one in person rattled him deeply.

The head was covered in grotesque flesh nodules, the chest bizarrely sunken, ribs jagged and interlocking like cannibalistic teeth, and the arms twisted beyond recognition. Only the legs retained a faint outline of their former human shape.

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Feng Mu covered his mouth, pale with horror. “It’s even more terrifying than the pictures. I can hardly imagine how a human could mutate into this.”

This was Wang Jian’s first time facing a cursed corpse as well; he had even vomited before and still hadn’t fully adjusted, but he forced a calm expression. “I suspect the images online are photoshopped. Otherwise, if people thought this was the worst outcome of martial arts training gone wrong, how many students would dare practice?”

The cause of cursed corpses remained uncertain.

But there were two prevailing theories:

One was that excessive nuclear radiation accumulated in the body, causing genetic mutations.

The other was that martial arts training reached a certain level and went awry or turned to dark paths, leading to cellular deformities.

Feng Mu instinctively touched his chest, his smile pale. “You might be right. Now I think dropping out isn’t such a bad thing after all.”

Wang Jian zipped up the bag, fighting back nausea, then pushed the corpse into the incinerator and started the cremation process.

Flames surged from the densely perforated bottom of the chamber, transforming into hundreds of fiery serpents that coiled around the cursed corpse, greedily consuming bone and marrow.

Wang Jian glanced at Feng Mu and managed a smile. “Yeah, I hope all the students aiming for college in our class get admitted, advance in martial arts, and someday, they’ll all come here.”

Feng Mu nodded silently, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He quickly took off his backpack and made as if to throw it into the incinerator.

Wang Jian was startled. “What are you doing?”

Feng Mu stopped, unzipped the bag, and took out the outermost “graduation certificate.” He flipped it open, showing Wang Jian the piles of test papers inside.

“I want to burn all my stationery and exams—to say goodbye to my failed and useless student life.”

Wang Jian grinned broadly and waved his hand. “Go ahead, burn it all. Burn it clean.”

Feng Mu zipped the bag up again, gathered his strength, and threw the backpack in an arc. It landed squarely on the cursed corpse’s chest, devoured by the jagged ribs, melting into the flames.

Wang Jian pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Feng Mu, who shook his head.

Wang Jian removed his mask and lit the cigarette. “Keep an eye on things for me. I’m stepping out for a smoke—the smell in here is too strong.”

Feng Mu smiled gently; his pupils reflected the flickering flames, and the shadows beneath his feet seemed to melt into a radiant pattern.

One cigarette finished, then another, then half a pack...

When Wang Jian returned, reeking of smoke, the incinerator had already shut down automatically. On the scorching metal plate lay only a pool of pale crushed bones and... a black lump!

Pitch black, irregular, about the size of an apple core.

Amid the pale remains, the black lump was shockingly conspicuous.

Feng Mu’s pupils dilated slightly, fixed unblinkingly on the lump as if it held some strange, hypnotic power.

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His Adam’s apple moved, and he swallowed unconsciously, startled by a sudden desire.

“I want to eat it.”

Feng Mu was horrified and abruptly looked away toward Wang Jian, who had just walked in.

“Hey, you got some good luck. Usually, you have to burn ten cursed corpses to get one black core,” Wang Jian said, using tongs to pick up the lump and rinse it in cold water.

As it was washed, the lump’s shape became clearer—like a dented walnut, not broken, with many cracks of varying depth on its surface.

Feng Mu glanced at Wang Jian’s expression. “Strange. He doesn’t seem affected. So, only I want to eat it?”

“Here,” Wang Jian suddenly tossed it to him.

Feng Mu forcibly suppressed the impulse within, steadying his hand to catch it.

Almost at that moment, a prompt box popped up in his mind.

“That’s why I say this job isn’t bad. Occasionally, you burn out a black core. I don’t know what it’s for, but the black market buys them. The price isn’t high—only about a hundred or so—but it’s free extra money.”

Wang Jian looked eager for Feng Mu to accept the job and persuaded him, “So, what do you say? Want to work here? We could keep each other company.”

Wang Jian truly didn’t want to burn cursed corpses alone anymore. Day shifts were fine, but night shifts... not because he was scared, just sometimes it felt eerie.

Feng Mu clenched the black lump in his palm, feeling its coldness, but his voice burned with intensity. “Yeah, I’m in.”

Of course, it wasn’t for the extra cash, but because...

[Special metal detected—fragment of Yinsha Jiuyou’s cursed iron residue.]

[Is it edible? Yes.]

[Current consumption slot—wrought iron, no empty slot available.]

[Note: To consume new iron, please remove the occupied consumption slot and reset consumption level.]

[Remove and reset?]

[…]