Exactly twelve o'clock noon.

The technicians from the third investigation team used a thermometer to measure the temperature again, and the results showed that the longest distance between the two points covered by the "skylight" had expanded to seven meters.

When Shi Yu arrived at the north gate of the community, he immediately saw the metal shed erected above, extending all the way down from the outside of the iron gate along the stairs.

The police officers on the mission informed the property management of the community in advance and asked for the key to the iron railing gate. Some of them gathered at the bottom of the steps outside the iron gate, while others gathered inside the iron gate. Police officers borrowed from the Municipal Bureau to work as laborers were guarding the surroundings.

Seeing a resident approaching, the police officer stepped forward to block the road and said, "Sorry, this road is temporarily closed. Please use another road."

Lian Gui had already walked through the south gate and entered the community, with the only child behind him. He glanced over here when he heard the noise and was stunned for a moment: "Why are you here?"

Shi Yu: “I live here.”

That's right.

Lian Gui didn't really want to dwell on this question, and said, "The 'skylight' is almost expanding to the revolving door now. If you want to go out, you'd better go somewhere else."

Shi Yu looked at the metal shed that was more than ten meters long outside the gate and asked: "Is it impossible to walk inside?"

"I haven't tried it, so I don't know." Lian Gui couldn't help getting angry when talking about this. "Although the first few victims who were hit only had their exposed skin blackened, and the parts covered by clothes were fine...but those who were injured at the end of the mission yesterday were burned to charcoal all over their bodies even though they were wearing clothes. This shows that simply wearing thicker clothes can't block the damage of the 'skylight'. Now I don't know if using other things to block it will work."

Shi Yu listened to the word: "Injured?"

Lian Gui was stunned for a moment before he realized what the other party meant: "All those people who had the accident yesterday are fine. They have been rescued...except for the one who informed me through the intercom that night."

Shi Yu did not ask further questions, but simply said: "Even if what you created can really block the 'skylight', its effectiveness will only last for a limited time."

The scope of the "skylight" will expand and become larger and larger.

"I know." Lian Gui did not deny it. "I asked the technical staff to do some calculations. It will take only two days for the 'skylight' to expand to a size larger than this shed."

Shi Yu turned to look at him.

Lian Gui said: "But we have to try. It's better than just sitting there and waiting to die."

Shi Yu's words broke through his unyielding state of mind: "So, have you tried?"

“…”

The only member of the team had just learned that his companions, whom he thought were dead, had been resurrected on the spot. He started crying again, finally recovering from the emotions of great joy and sorrow. However, his eyes were completely swollen like walnuts: "Boss, let me go."

Lian Gui frowned.

Feng Qu's voice was heavily nasal. "I know you just don't want me to die, but I'm serious. I didn't want to die because everyone else was gone. I really hope to solve this 'Skylight' case as soon as possible. And you just heard that everyone is fine, and I'm not the last one left in the group... Boss, please let me go."

Lian Gui’s frown deepened.

"Even if the metal shed you built can really block the 'skylight'," Shi Yu repeated, "it will only last for a limited time."

Lian Gui listened to it twice, and finally realized something from his words: "What do you want to say?"

"Since there's no way to verify whether this path is feasible, why not try another one?"

"for example?"

Shi Yu said, "Before your team member got into trouble last night, he contacted you via the intercom. Do you remember what he said?"

Lian Gui was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to dig out that memory from his mind.

At that time, Xiao Wu had probably contacted him in a state of extreme fear after witnessing his companions become "charred corpses". He didn't even have time to dial a cell phone, so he subconsciously used the intercom that was hanging on his waist and within reach: "Boss - there's someone on the 'skylight' -"

Just a few words, and then a scream.

When Lian Gui heard about it last night, he was only thinking about what had happened here. After coming here, he dealt with the scene and dialed for help. He was busy all night and one morning, and had long forgotten about this matter.

Now that he recalled it again, he realized that there was something wrong with Xiao Wu's last words: What's up there? What's up there? What's up there?

At that time, Xiao Wu found the outskirts of the community after receiving the information about the "Skylight" that he had passed on. The incident happened within the coverage area of the "Skylight", and the "above" he mentioned obviously refers to above the "Skylight".

At that time, they did not know that the range of the "Skylight" would expand and its lethality would become stronger, so they only thought that they had to reach the right position and look up in order to be hit and shed tears of blood. They might even be chatting while walking towards the "Skylight".

It was not until the first person walked under the "skylight", put on a protective mask, raised his head and looked directly at the "skylight" that he was directly burned into "charcoal" by the power projected from the gap.

Under the visual impact, Xiao Wu subconsciously raised his head and looked directly above the position of the first person. At the same time, he took off the walkie-talkie from his waist and subconsciously asked for help from the leader of his team.

Of course, it wasn't just Xiao Wu. Most of the people present at the time probably raised their heads as well.

But they didn't expect that the scope of the "skylight" was no longer limited to the small area with a diameter of less than one meter, but had expanded to be able to surround all of them...

Shi Yu said softly, "If the area of the 'skylight' had continued to expand in direct proportion, then given its diameter last night, it would have been impossible for all nineteen police officers present to be burned."

Lian Gui took several seconds to react, then his eyes suddenly widened.

This morning, the technicians measured the diameter of the "skylight" to be about five or six meters, but when Shi Yu stood under the "skylight", it was less than one meter. Even if we take the middle value, when they had the accident last night, the diameter of the "skylight" was only two or three meters. How could so many people be trapped inside?

Even if they were bored and huddled together at that time, it is inevitable that some people who are less curious or more vigilant will miss the opportunity to look up. Why did they all fall for it?

And what Xiao Wu said, what exactly is above the “skylight”?

Lian Gui looked up at the sky above the metal shed, but he only saw the scorching June sun in the south. He frowned deeply and asked, "Why did so many of them get infected?"

"Because something else happened in the meantime." Shi Yu said, "For example, at that moment, the destructive power of the Skylight suddenly increased to the extreme; for example, they broke some precepts, causing the damage of the Skylight to ignore the coverage area and fall directly on them; or for example, a third party other than them and the Skylight appeared at that time and killed them with the power of the Skylight."

Lian Gui listened in silence until he heard his last sentence: "A third party? Do you think there is anyone in this world who can utilize the power of nature like the sun outside the 'Skylight'?"

Shi Yu turned to look at him: "Didn't you suspect me of being the murderer from the beginning? Since you think I can use that kind of power to harm people, why can't others?"

Lian Gui was speechless, but he opened his mouth as he looked at him for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.

Shi Yu did not ask, but just said: "The last sentence of your team member mentioned the 'skylight'. He got into trouble after he looked up, so the accident happened at that moment. So I suggest you restore the scene."

Lian Gui was about to say something when his cell phone rang.

It was the third team leader who was discussing with him the candidates for the metal shed.

Lian Gui decided to report to the headquarters first and then think of a way to select someone to be the one to die. The third team leader thought that they should directly select someone who would volunteer to be a test subject on the spot, and he had been arguing with Lian Gui about the plan for half an hour.

"Team leader three, you should know that if you use your status to order your team members to go in, they will not disobey your request at all. What's the difference between you and forcing them to die? They all follow your lead!"

This is Lian Gui’s opinion.

"Then you should also know that if we report to the headquarters first and then select volunteers, not to mention how long it will take for the approval response, the selection alone will not be completed in a day or two. Now the speed of the expansion of the 'Skylight' is obviously getting faster and faster. In two days, the scope may directly cover the metal shed that the investigation team has just built. At that time, it will be a small matter to ask them to build a connected shed. What's more important is that if it really comes to that, it will be impossible to completely hide it from ordinary people! So are you planning to ignore the masses because of personal feelings?!"

These are the original words of the three team leaders.

Lian Gui spoke faster and faster, his voice rising: "Don't forget that your team members are also part of the masses, the youngest of them is only in his twenties! You gave up on them so easily, have you ever thought about what they would think? Why do they deserve this unprovoked disaster?!"

The third team leader's voice was even higher than his: "They don't deserve this disaster, but who else deserves this disaster? Besides, since they chose to join the Ministry of State Security in the first place, they should have been prepared to sacrifice everything for their country and society at any time, including their lives! How do you know that they must be unwilling in their hearts? Didn't your team member always want to go in on his own?!"

Lian Gui got furious when he heard the last sentence: "You guys are willing to send your own team members to death, so why don't you try to take advantage of my team members! You only know how to instigate others to die behind their backs, why don't you just be a coward?!"

The leader of the third team broke down in laughter: "I don't care! The people in my third team will not be cowards like you!!"

The phone was hung up.

Their voices were quite loud, and everyone around them heard the entire quarrel.

Feng Qu was the first to speak: "Boss..."

Lian Gui: "Shut the fuck up!"

Normally, he seldom swore, but unfortunately, he was probably irritated by the third team leader on the other end of the phone, and he turned into a firecracker that was about to explode.

Feng Qu trembled and dared not move.

Lian Gui wiped his face and looked up to find that Shi Yu, who was standing in front of him, was gone. He looked around and saw someone in front of the iron railing door. He was so scared that he almost died: "Where are you going?"

Shi Yu did not step forward. He stood at the edge of the forest-like green belt outside the community and pointed downwards: "Is that your people?"

Lian Gui was stunned for a moment and subconsciously lowered his head.

At the bottom of the stairs that were nearly ten feet high, someone had already put on protective clothing and was putting a mask on his face. He looked exactly like the third team leader who had just argued with him on the phone.

But considering the cumbersome procedures of putting on protective clothing, it was obvious that the other party had already put it on before calling him.

In other words, the third team leader had already made up his mind to enter the "Skylight" himself and be the first person to conduct the experiment before he argued with him.

He didn't even have time to dial the phone number, and shouted directly to the bottom: "Stop right there!!"

The people below seemed to have heard it, looked up and glanced at him, but ignored him and walked straight into the metal shed, disappearing from the sight of everyone inside the iron gate.

There was no sound, and a few seconds seemed to be stretched to infinity, until everyone felt that the scene in front of them suddenly became bright.

Directly above the metal shed, the cumulus clouds seemed to be suddenly disturbed by some force, swirling into a tornado-like mass in the sky. Then, they seemed to be shattered by a hand, cracking inch by inch from the center.

The "skylight" was torn apart.

Looking upwards through the broken window, one could vaguely see through a layer of shallow water waves what looked like a relief on the roof of a palace.

The air from the clouds to the ground began to distort, and in an instant, a heat wave that was so hot that it could almost burn a person to death instantly rushed towards them. The member of the investigation team who was closest to the metal shed at the bottom of the stairs was the first to kneel down, with blackened skin on the back of his hands.