258 Pollution

◎It seems... Zhu Ning once lived outside the wall◎

As expected, the signal disappeared as soon as they got out of the wall. All the communication devices in the car displayed garbled characters, there were strange current fluctuations, and the radio station made a crackling sound. There was silence outside the window, and darkness swallowed them up.

This means they are outside the wall, and no one knows their exact location. If something happens, no one will come to rescue them, and if they die, no one will come to collect their bodies.

Zhu Ning simply cut off the in-car communications, and the car's intelligent voice was kept in dormant mode to avoid being contaminated. The strange sound of electricity disappeared.

"Float the bottom of the car." When Lin Xiaofeng didn't know what to do next, Pei Shu instructed.

No matter how many times they have cheated, the investigators will ensure that they stay focused, and Pei Shu and Bai Cheng dare not make any mistakes.

Touching the outside of the wall randomly can easily trigger danger. Who knows which pollution area the pollutants you encounter belong to, so it is best not to touch it.

Lin Xiaofeng nodded cautiously. She carefully controlled the off-road vehicle, spraying power downwards. The whole vehicle floated slowly, trying to keep the noise to a minimum so as not to alert the danger hidden in the darkness.

Due to limited visibility, I didn't dare drive too fast. In front of me was a fallen billboard. The spokesperson on it had long been blurred by the wind and sun, leaving only the outline of his facial features. It was a bit scary to look at it at first glance in the middle of the night.

After walking for a while, Lin Xiaofeng roughly figured out the rules of driving. It was like playing an old handheld game, where there were obstacles above and below, and one had to control the car carefully to shuttle through the middle. If one hit the thorns above and below, it would be game over.

Lin Xiaofeng looked around curiously while driving. This small town seemed to have been "dead" for many years. She grew up in a high-tech city inside the wall. This city seemed particularly ancient to her. It was something she could only see in some period films and cartoons.

Only when I saw it with my own eyes did I realize that it was even more desolate than the scenes in the TV series.

Bai Cheng and Pei Shu have cheated on their partners several times, and they are just nervous. Among these four people, Zhu Ning probably feels the strangest. She feels that this world is very familiar.

They passed a bus stop where an empty bus was parked with its doors still open, waiting for passengers. However, there was no driver or passengers on the bus, as if the people here had disappeared overnight.

There is a sign hanging on the ramen restaurant on the street saying beef ramen is ten yuan a bowl. Further ahead is a barber shop. The revolving light sign at the door of the barber shop no longer rotates. In Zhu Ning's era, this was the logo of the barber shop. The Federation no longer uses such an old-fashioned thing.

Further ahead is a beauty salon specializing in acne removal. The name of the store is Yidouqing, and the promotional pictures hanging on the wall are comparison pictures before and after acne removal.

The car continued to drive, and the true face of the city unfolded before our eyes like a movie: a breakfast stall selling buns, a discount area in front of a fruit shop, and the next street should be a pedestrian street, with a row of clothing stores.

When the light shines on it, the model in the glass window stands quietly, wearing clothes with old-world aesthetics, looking at the people outside the window with a smile on her face, which is eerie.

Lin Xiaofeng didn't dare to look at the model in the window. In comparison, Bai Cheng behind the car didn't seem so scary.

Zhu Ning's frown deepened. She had been to a deserted village before, but the deserted village was inside the protective wall and was not so primitive.

It was the first time that Zhu Ning saw such a large-scale old world. It was so familiar to her. The style was exactly the same as her world. In the past, when Zhu Yao rarely had a holiday, the mother and daughter would drive to the surrounding cities for sightseeing.

Zhu Yao didn't set a destination, just wandered around randomly, often walking into a small town like this one.

Now when Zhu Ning looked at it, a strange impulse emerged in her heart, as if... Zhu Ning had lived outside the wall before. She had driven out with Zhu Yao on a day off and stopped here. They had eaten local beef ramen and strolled along this pedestrian street.

She could even imagine the specific scene of herself and Zhu Yao shopping here.

But the image she imagined was soon shattered, and all she saw before her was a desolate ruin. Zhu Ning still hadn't figured out whether she had really traveled from the zombie world. Now she increasingly suspected that she was living in an uncontaminated old world.

Where was the first generation Zhu Ning before she woke up in the garbage dump?

Was Zhu Ning's memory instilled in her? She was almost confused by herself. No wonder the first generation Zhu Ning saw Zhu Yao in a certain timeline and would rather die a thousand times to prevent the destruction of Area 103. She wanted to know the secret of her own life.

When Zhu Ning looked up, he happened to pass by a middle school with a sign that read "Black Bird No. 1 Middle School." There should have been a banner hanging at the school gate, but it had long been buried in the ruins. There were propaganda posters on the school walls, showing several students in school uniforms holding textbooks and smiling. Judging from the faded posters, the school uniforms they wore were loose-fitting sports style, which was also the era that Zhu Ning remembered.

The details all match.

Zhu Ning calmed down and asked, "Is this place the same as when you came here last time?"

Zhu Ning sat in the front row. Pei Shu couldn't see her expression, and didn't know she was acting strangely. He answered every question, "It's different. The contaminated area changes very quickly, often changing completely each time. Furthermore, the direction of the wall is different each time, so we don't necessarily start from the same location."

Pei Shu, perhaps worried that Zhu Ning wouldn't understand, patiently explained, "If the entire world were spread out flat, the Federation's human survivor base could be roughly divided into a small circle, surrounded by a safety wall. Inside the circle are the surviving humans, and outside is the 80% deserted land. Each investigation team's mission is different, and the starting point they choose is also different."

Once you're outside the wall, everything becomes random.

Pei Shu: "Each of us investigators has our own map, which we update frequently. Everyone's map might look different, and we don't really trust others' maps. We only look at our own. You could say the map is our lifeblood."

Pei Shu said as he turned on his secondary brain. Although the secondary brain was disconnected from the Internet, some functions were still usable. A map was projected and shared on the projection screen inside the car.

Zhu Ning examined the map carefully. It wasn't a map, it was a rough draft. A few squares represented houses? A few black lines represented roads? And what was that mess? A difficult-to-defeat monster?

Teacher Pei’s pictures are harder to recognize than Zhu Yao’s handwriting.

Zhu Ning asked, "Does Bai Cheng have one?"

The next second, Bai Cheng's map was projected. They only depicted the areas they had been to. Eighty percent of Bai Cheng's and Pei Shu's maps overlapped, except for the northwest corner, which Bai Cheng had not been to but Pei Shu had been to, and that was the coordinates of Prometheus.

It looks like it's still a long way off.

Zhu Ning lowered his gaze. Although Bai Cheng looked like a female ghost, the picture she drew was very clear and detailed, with the name of the city marked on it, Blackbird City.

It was a city name I had never heard of. Based on Zhu Ning’s experience in his “previous life”, this name might be due to animal migration. For example, blackbirds would come here every year to spend the winter, and it has been passed down from ancient times to the present.

Zhu Ning opened the map. Lin Xiaofeng was only ten years old, and his driving skills were all honed on the road. He had always used intelligent voice navigation before, and had never seen such a simple map.

Pei Shu thought for a moment and said, "It was very quiet here when I came here last time. We were just passing by and didn't encounter any danger."

The danger is limited just outside the wall, but the further away from human cities, the more bizarre the pollutants become, defying all common sense. Some polluted areas are dormant, remaining silent when people pass by without being activated.

Pei Shu's human navigation system said, "Turn left at the next intersection and follow this road to the end."

Lin Xiaofeng obeyed obediently. The road Pei Shu pointed to was the main road, which was considered the widest road in the city. It must have rained here, and the ground was damp.

They don't walk on the ground, and use city roads as a reference.

Bang--

After driving for ten minutes, the right rear of the car suddenly hit something, making a metallic friction sound, as if the car was scratched.

Lin Xiaofeng had only been behind the steering wheel for half a year and didn't dare to do anything radical. Her first reaction was to step on the brakes and then stay in place. She kept in mind a rule: it was better to stay still than to move around.

From a distance, it looks like a black iron bird floating in the air.

Zhu Ning asked, "What did you hit?"

The taillights of the car were also turned on. Pei Shu looked back. It was almost three o'clock in the morning and it was extremely dark. Pei Shu vaguely saw a tree. The tree looked fierce and its branches were hitting the car.

Pei Shu felt something was not right. It seemed that this place was covered by a new polluted area. The old pollutants were swallowed up and occupied by the new pollutants. Compared with the last time he came here, the "king" here had already changed.

Pei Shu: "Just try to drive forward slowly."

Lin Xiaofeng was driving very fast this time. The further he drove, the stranger the scenery outside became. The road below was full of abandoned vehicles. The owners had no idea what had happened and chose to abandon their cars and flee. One car was covered in stains. Lin Xiaofeng thought about it and realized that they were dried bloodstains.

Lin Xiaofeng wanted to drive through this road immediately. The map showed that there would be a mountain ahead and they needed to go through a tunnel before they could leave the city. However, she soon found that this was not possible. The tunnel marked on the map was now blocked, and the entrance to the tunnel was tightly blocked like a scrap car toy.

This mountain looks particularly high, and it is not known whether he can climb over it. Lin Xiaofeng is not sure whether he should climb the mountain or take another route.

Zhu Ning: "Drive closer, let me try."

Zhu Ning has a talent for metal manipulation. She can control metal within a range of twenty meters. Lin Xiaofeng drove the car closer.

Zhu Ning's metal control did not fail. The cars were piled up on top of each other. If one of them moved, the entire ruins would collapse. The noise was particularly loud in the dark. Lin Xiaofeng always felt that there were countless monster eyes hidden in the night.

Even Zhu Ning felt that something was not right. She remembered the strange dream she had before she set out.

One abandoned car after another was taken out in an orderly manner like catching dolls, and was gently placed aside, but the tunnel seemed to be filled with people. Zhu Ning took out almost fifty cars, but he still hadn't reached the end.

Zhu Ning clenched her hands. She could no longer sense the steel deeper in the tunnel, so she needed to drive the car forward a little. Half of their car's front end was already inside the tunnel.

The tunnel looks very dangerous, and it would be difficult to evacuate once you get in.

Do you want to go in? Or take another route?

Zhu Ning was about to ask the guide, "What do you think?"

Pei Shu's brows were furrowed behind him, and Bai Cheng even stopped smiling. Before, the arc of her smile was particularly large, scarier than pollutants, but at this moment, the smile was suddenly put away, and her whole face was cold.

Bai Cheng: "Take a detour."

Zhu Ning trusted the professional guide's judgment and nodded. Lin Xiaofeng steered the car backwards and just started it, when suddenly everything went dark in front of his eyes and something rushed towards him without warning.

That thing seemed to have jumped down from above, and with its inertia it smashed down hard. If it were an ordinary car, it would definitely have been smashed into a deep hole.

It was too fast, and there seemed to be afterimages between the movements. After seeing it clearly, Zhu Ning's pupils suddenly contracted. She was not an old hand, but she had seen a lot of pollutants, and the one in front of her was too familiar.

It was a man in a blue down jacket. He had neither a fish head nor a pig head, but a human face. It wasn't that Zhu Ning knew this man. The corners of his mouth were covered in blood. He opened his mouth and roared towards the car, pounding on the windshield frantically, as if he wanted to crash into the car.

His clothes were also covered in blood, and there was a cut on his neck, as if he had been bitten by a monster.

Zhu Ning's mind buzzed and she recognized what it was. She could recognize it even if it turned into ashes. It turned out to be a pollutant in the form of a zombie.

Are there zombies in this world?

Bang bang bang——!

One after another, zombies fell from the sky, like monkeys attacking, without any rhyme or reason. The car body was shaking and there was no time to dodge.

If one is an exception and so many look the same, Zhu Ning has already confirmed that they are zombies.

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-06-07 17:52:11 and 2023-06-08 20:43:23~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 43573082 1;

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: 3 in the hall; Sui Sui Chang An, Lu Zhong Empire Circus is the best to watch, klose69, daily daze, 27874354 1;

Thanks to the little angels who provided the nutrient solution: Tofu Bao (99 bottles); Turkey-flavored Guoba (50 bottles); Mico Sang (36 bottles); Tin Can Guardian, IamK.C. (35 bottles); Fish Bao, Fish Bao, Xiaoyan (31 bottles); Xiaoou Buchou, Yanyi, Fengzao, and Princess Ariel (30 bottles); Lao Wang Lao Wang (22 bottles); Hate All Rainy Days, Goodbye Nonino, Quanquan, Lion Crouching on a Mushroom, and Yanqi (20 bottles); Shili (19 bottles); 46831035 16 bottles; Celery Who Doesn't Like Celery, Haodeya 15 bottles; Mengmeng Dashi, AAA Studying Is So Hard 14 bottles; Rukawa Kaede's Girlfriend Monkey Shaojiu House, Wu Xi, Ovo, Pu Shi, Neko Coco, Belief Magic Bear, Wind Whisper, H Bin X, Fat Gourd, Xiao Xiao, Xiao Duo Duo, XVxv Xu, 85 Years of Antique, Feihua, Bai Yan, The Lady Who Came Out of the Blue, Starliove, Yuan Yiqi's Crooked Hand, Cloudy 10 bottles; Xiao Huanneng 9 bottles; Qingyan and Moonlight 8 bottles; klose69, opps99 6 bottles; Mind Miscellaneous Affairs, Xiao Xiao, Ming Miaomiao, Caojia, Ye Li, 123456, Passerby, 37468977, The Long Road, Gu 5 bottles; Xue Xue Xue 4 bottles; lcfch 3 bottles; Seventeen is not soft, 67168165, I want to go to kindergarten for further studies, Cris, I lift a lever 2 bottles; This world doesn't want me anymore, I won't chase the serialized article even if I die, Ah Man, jumping and jumping, hehehehe, ree886, Oriental daze, hello, Xiao Chen Xiao Chen's wishes come true, Xilan, Yi Lanlanlan, British principal and German boyfriend, Hu Wan, Xing Wumian, Jam, Shui Ye, No signal, A round one, Ah Yang is a pig, 43573082, Tuan Tuan, Hee Hee 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!