Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 415 Frankenstein

Frankenstein has arrived.

The iconic zombie siege is something Zheng Fan finds somewhat strange, even after accepting the world's premise: a brainless zombie defending itself against a brainless zombie.

But then I thought, if even people with brains have to guard against people without brains, then it seems pretty much the same thing.

This city wall was clearly not as tall and thick as the Undead City, and there were many stitched-up corpses standing on and around the wall, keeping watch for the outside world.

Looking beyond the city wall, one can see a cluster of buildings that were clearly converted from the original buildings, highlighting a bandit-like style that fits Zheng Fan's imagination.

Compared to the Undead City, which is an outlier with a gothic style and a touch of wasteland, its "bloodline" is obviously much purer.

Jiang Si's approach was not concealed, directly attracting the attention of the stitched-up corpses.

However, the design of the corpse airship was quite distinctive. After recognizing it as an airship under the command of the Undying City, they did not obstruct it and guided Jiang Si to land at a fixed location before welcoming him.

When Jiang Si came down, she could smell a faint stench of decay. Although Frankenstein's preservation techniques were excellent, the demand for stitched corpses was too great, and not all stitched corpses could be fully preserved, so the smell of decay was unavoidable.

She was greeted by a tall, stitched-up corpse dressed in armor. Due to the stitching, stitched-up corpses are generally a bit larger than normal corpses, but this one was quite prominent among them.

"Is he an envoy from the Undying City?" the other party inquired.

"Hmm." Jiang Si responded and showed the relevant documents. The other party did not take them but glanced at them from a distance and nodded slightly.

“I am the captain of the garrison in Frankenstein. You can call me Walton,” the man introduced himself.

"Jiang Si".

From the moment they met, the other party had been giving Jiang Si quite a once-over.

It was almost completely rotten, seemingly fragile but actually incredibly strong, and it even carried a strange odor. The messenger of the Undying City was indeed extraordinary.

“I’ve already informed Victor, now I’ll take you to him,” Walton said, gesturing for you.

"Even though it's a corpse, the etiquette is really well done," Zheng Fan said to Jiang Si.

Jiang Si nodded, which was a response to both Walton and Zheng Fan's words.

After descending the city wall, we boarded a special car that was assigned to pick us up. The car didn't look very nice; it looked like any ordinary family sedan that you could see anywhere on the roadside.

Jiang Si and Zheng Fan observed the situation in the city without saying much along the way.

The lives of the stitched-together corpses are not much different from those of normal corpses, but some of them are so badly decomposed that they can barely walk. One corpse can be seen struggling to walk, covered in flies, and with a stumble, its arm suddenly tears off.

For Zheng Fan, the streets were somewhat like a small county town in the countryside, with many small shops of varying quality on both sides displaying their signs directly, mostly for preservation.

However, the conditions of the shops vary. Some are just roadside stalls that help customers with sewing and mending, and that's about it. The work is done in a very rough manner.

This is something you absolutely cannot see in the Undead City.

Zheng Fan initially thought the Undead City was nothing special, but after seeing Frankenstein's situation, he now felt that Mr. Undead King had done a really good job.

The corpses cast different glances at the only vehicle that passed by on the road.

"Are they alright?" Jiang Si asked.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Walton said, "It's much harder for a stitched corpse to live smoothly than for a regular corpse. For example, I've replaced body parts three times in the past, and made countless small stitches. It's only now that things have stabilized."

His words were filled with感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings) about the hardships he had faced in the past.

“Spiritual essence is crucial for the evolution and growth of corpses. To prevent them from decaying to the point of being beyond repair, stitched-up corpses require significantly more spiritual essence than ordinary corpses.” Upon hearing this, Jiang Si understood something: “That’s why the decaying Kenstan owes so much spiritual essence.”

Being taken in as a vassal by the Undying King naturally requires paying tribute of spiritual essence regularly. For the sake of his own eternity, the Undying King's rent-collecting business is very extensive, far beyond just his own city.

According to Jiang Si, Mr. Wang even had a list, a grudge notebook filled with cities under his jurisdiction that didn't pay their taxes properly. Frankenstein wasn't exactly a complete non-payer, but they always seemed to be short a little.

Although the Immortal King knew Frankenstein's difficulties, he basically turned a blind eye to it. However, over the years, the amount of the small deficiency each time had become quite large.

The king's "money" is ultimately not so easy to owe.

Walton's rugged face also showed bitterness, but he didn't say much. His job wasn't in this area, and he didn't understand many details, but the fact that stitching up a corpse was like that was so obvious. They couldn't even harbor too much resentment; they were just too unlucky.

The vehicle drove into a large compound.

Looking at the building in front of him, Zheng Fan suddenly had a thought: "It looks a bit like a KTV."

Jiang Si agreed, saying it resembled a large KTV with a glittering exterior and opulent lighting, exuding a tacky yet luxurious vibe.

There were already figures waiting at the entrance of the KTV.

The figure appeared smaller than the stitched corpse, even somewhat thin, with a neatly combed slicked-back hairstyle, gold-rimmed glasses, and a polite smile on his face.

Before Jiang Si even got out of the carriage and reached him, he spoke up: "I am sorry for not greeting you properly. Why didn't you give us a heads-up before the envoy of the Undying King came to inspect us? Doesn't this make us seem impolite?"

"Seriously, how can a corpse pretend like that?" Zheng Fan couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the other person. "And it's clearly a corpse wearing glasses, isn't that ridiculous?"

At this moment, Jiang Si, dressed as a literary young woman and also wearing glasses: ?

"Oh, sorry, that doesn't include you. You're not an ordinary corpse." Zheng Fan clapped his hands, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

"I am Victor, the current lord of Frankenstein. May I ask how this messenger is addressed?"

“Jiang Si. I remember the city lord’s name was Elona, ​​right? What happened to him?” Jiang Si asked, recalling the contents of the documents she had seen.

"That was the previous city lord, and also the one who nurtured me. Unfortunately, he completely decayed last month. So I took over this position," Victor explained respectfully, yet with a hint of sorrow.

died?

The body is dead, well, anyway, it's dead, it died a second time.

In any case, even if the consciousness that awakens from a corpse retains some memories of its previous life, its physical characteristics are no longer the same as when it was alive. Therefore, most corpses do not consider themselves the same as the people they were in life.

Therefore, it doesn't matter if it's described as dying twice; it's just that two independent beings on a spiritual level died separately.

Jiang Si wondered if the corpse really died so simply. Generally, someone who could reach the level of a city lord would not die so easily due to natural decay.

It can last a long time if it's patched up and repaired.

If a corpse is about to "die," then the signs are very obvious. Since there are signs, it is only natural for a city under its jurisdiction to report to the Undying King in advance.

Is it simply that we've neglected to maintain contact with the Undying City, or is there something else going on with the death of the previous city lord?

Jiang Si's quick mind started working.

Victor invited Jiang Si into the building: "I'm not sure what kind of inspection you're planning, but you can stay here for the time being. The conditions are less than in the Undead City, but I hope you won't mind."

(End of this chapter)