The abandoned subway tunnel stretched out behind them, gradually being swallowed by the deepening darkness. The clamor of the pursuers seemed to fade away for the time being, but the oppressive feeling that followed them like a shadow clung to the nerve endings of Lu Chentang and Wen Shifei like a maggot attached to their bones.

"The edge of the 'Silent Zone' is just ahead." Wen Shifei's voice was a little deeper than before. She stopped, took out a strangely shaped breathing mask from her backpack, and handed one to Lu Chensheng. "Put it on. The air here... isn't very good."

Lu Cheneng took the mask, feeling it was icy cold. It was much simpler than the military-grade biohazard masks issued by the Tianshu Consortium, but its design was ingenious, effectively filtering out airborne particles and certain unknown spores. He noticed that Wen Shifei's eyes, besides vigilance, held an indescribable solemnity, as if they were about to enter not a geographical area but a forbidden realm.

"'Silent Zone'... why is it called that?" Lu Chensheng asked as he put on his mask. The mask blocked out the polluted air from the outside world, but also made his own breathing clearly audible.

Wen Shifei adjusted his mask, his voice distorted through the voice changer. "Because it's... too quiet here. Abnormally quiet. No insects chirping, no wind blowing, and even... even the mutant creatures roaming the ruins rarely set foot here. Legend has it that anyone who enters here, if their heart isn't calm enough, or their will isn't strong enough, will have their soul devoured by the 'silence' here."

"Soul devouring?" Lu Chen's brows knitted slightly beneath his mask. As an absolute rationalist, even though the emotion suppression chip had lost its effectiveness, he remained skeptical of this almost superstitious claim. However, Wen Shifei's serious expression, and his own heart, which was just beginning to feel fear, prevented him from completely dismissing it as nonsense.

They stepped into the "Zone of Silence".

It was as if he had passed through an invisible membrane, and everything around him subtly changed in an instant. It wasn't a sudden dimming of the light, nor a sudden drop in temperature, but rather an indescribable feeling of oppression that enveloped him from all sides.

Just as Wen Shifei had said, it was unusually quiet here. The sound of their footsteps on rubble and scrap metal echoed in the empty underground space, seeming particularly abrupt and harsh. There was no sound other than the sounds they themselves were making. This extreme silence, far from bringing peace, was like a heavy lead weight, pressing down on one's heart, making it difficult to breathe.

The surrounding landscape also exuded an eerie sense of decay. Twisted, unprecedented plants stubbornly sprouted from the cracks in the concrete floor, their leaves an ominous dark purple or grayish-white, coated in a greasy sheen. A faint, strange smell, like a mixture of rusted metal and rotting vegetation, hung in the air, faintly perceptible even through the respirator.

"Where...was this place before?" Lu Chensheng asked in a low voice. He found that his voice had become a little dry.

"This was a large-scale biochemical experimental base in the early days of Sky Dome City, codenamed 'Pandora.'" Wen Shifei's gaze swept over the twisted plants with a hint of disgust. "It was later abandoned due to a serious leak. Officials claim that all pollutants have been removed, but everyone in the lower city knows that this is a forbidden area. Those plants are the 'legacy' of the failed experiment."

Lu Chen's heart sank slightly. A biochemical experimental base, a leak, a legacy of failure… these words combined inevitably reminded him of Wen Shifei's brother, Wen Yuan. Just how many of these hidden Pandora's boxes were the foundation of Sky Dome City's prosperity and order?

They carefully navigated the abandoned factory buildings and twisted pipes. The building structures had long been eroded beyond recognition by time and unknown forces. Huge metal supports pierced the sky like the ribs of a monster, and the ground was littered with broken glassware and rusted instrument debris.

This was the first time that Lu Cheneng felt "fear" so clearly.

This emotion, like an icy serpent, crawled up his spine, gripping his heart and making it difficult to breathe. Cold sweat seeped into his palms, and his muscles tensed unconsciously. He recalled the unfamiliar, intense surge of pain and rage he'd felt atop Tianshu Tower, smashing the crystal sculpture and first feeling. But fear was more insidious, more difficult to control. It silently seeped into his consciousness, magnifying his fear of the unknown and eroding his sanity.

He even had an illusion, as if those twisted plants were watching them in secret, and that in those deep shadows, there were monsters lurking, ready to devour anyone they chose.

"Don't look around, concentrate and follow my steps." Wen Shifei's voice suddenly sounded in his ears, pulling him back from the brink of losing control.

Lu Chenheng snapped back to his senses, realizing he'd already fallen behind by a few steps. Wen Shifei was watching him warily. Her eyes, peering through the mask, were still sharp, but Lu Chenheng could sense a hint of... worry.

"I..." He tried to explain, but found himself speechless. He was ashamed of his recent loss of composure. He had once been the "Zero Authority," in control of everything, but now he was in an abandoned experimental base, captive to his own fears.

Wen Shifei didn't ask further questions, but simply said, "The most dangerous thing about the 'Silent Zone' isn't the visible monsters, but the way it amplifies your inner negativity. If you let fear take over, you'll get lost here and never be able to leave." She paused, then added in a complex tone, "You feel very different now."

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