266 City of the Dead (VIII)

◎Who is your employer?◎

A person's mood can be inferred from the way he kills. Pei Shu had a gun in his hand, but he didn't shoot. He is a fire-type mutant, so he didn't choose to set people on fire. Instead, he strangled Zhu Ning's neck because he was not sure of the true meaning of that sentence.

Strangling is a slower process, giving him a chance to regret it.

The questions in Pei Shu's mind became heavier and heavier, as if they were going to break through his skull. He still hadn't figured out the answer.

Zhu Ning was almost suffocating. If she hadn't been wearing protective clothing, her cervical vertebrae would have been broken by now. Zhu Ning thought of herself as an ordinary person, and the difference in strength was too great. She had no idea how to escape effectively.

Zhu Ning wanted to find a weapon to fight back, but with the gun on her back, she could only grope forward, and the documents on the table were pushed over and scattered all over the floor.

Zhu Ning's breathing became less and less, and his vision became darker and darker, as if he had accidentally fallen into an abandoned reservoir on a rainy day, with a stone tied to his foot, and could only sink helplessly.

bite--

Just when Zhu Ning was about to die, she suddenly heard a system prompt.

[Passive combat mode is on]

Zhu Ning suddenly opened her eyes. A sea-blue data stream flowed rapidly, and the system panel unfolded before her eyes. Once her brain recognized that the experimental subject was not in a combat condition, her body would directly enter a passive combat state.

She doesn't need to know what the system is, and she doesn't need to have any memories. Her body will command itself like a machine in automatic mode.

Pei Shu tightened his grip on Zhu Ning's neck and was still thinking about the problem when he suddenly felt the danger approaching. It was his sixth sense. A guillotine appeared behind his head unexpectedly. At the same time, all the metal objects in the house shook rapidly as if they were summoned.

Pei Shu had to let go because the guillotine was coming towards him and he couldn't avoid it. The metal knife spun and brushed past his shoulder, almost cutting off his right arm.

The protective suit was torn open, revealing not flesh and blood, but boiling magma.

Pei Shu's assessment of Zhu Ning was wrong. This person was indeed not an ordinary person, otherwise he would not have been deliberately written down in the investigation notes.

Zhu Ning breathed a sigh of relief. After escaping the danger of suffocation, he controlled the computer on the table and turned around to smash towards Pei Shu as if he was holding an axe.

Bang--!

The sword hit his right cheek and Pei Shu's body fell on the bookshelf behind him. Zhu Ning smashed the office to pieces like a demolition worker. Only then did Pei Shu see the snow-white mycelium tubes under the table, connected and entangled with electric wires. He had only found experimental materials before.

Pei Shu could certainly recognize that it was part of a human-machine joint device. It was normal to see it anywhere inside the wall, but this was outside the wall. How could the mycelium left by Prometheus be here?

Before Pei Shu could get up, the second round of attacks came one after another. He could only raise his hands to block it. He had not set fire until now, not because he suddenly gave up the mission of assassinating Zhu Ning.

There was something he didn't understand. If he set a fire, all the information here would probably be burned to ashes.

Pei Shu was holding back while Zhu Ning was in rampage mode. The heavy machinery was turned on and Pei Shu rolled on the ground. A hole was blasted out where he had been lying. Zhu Ning was going to grind him to dust.

Zhu Ning grabbed his neck and pushed him to the ground. Pei Shu's back rubbed against the floor, and sparks erupted.

Puff——

An iron rod pierced Pei Shu's chest, and a spider web suddenly opened up on Pei Shu's back. The human eye could not easily see it, but one could feel the murderous intent. It was like a precise knife array composed of countless knives, which could grind a person into meat paste in an instant.

Zhu Ning broke Pei Shu's left leg and stepped on his shoulder, directly blocking his attempt to stand up. He clenched his right fist and crushed his wound hard. The place where the wound and the iron rod met was like forging iron, and the iron rod was burned inch by inch.

A large amount of magma was flowing on Pei Shu's body. If you took off his protective suit at this time, you would find that there was not even an inch of human skin.

A man in the shape of flame has taken shape under Pei Shu's control. In just a moment, he can burn this place to ashes.

Zhu Ning looked at him quietly. Pei Shu couldn't see Zhu Ning's expression through the helmet. He only felt that she was dressed in black, like a god of death who specialized in reaping human lives.

The zombies outside heard the movement inside. Zhu Ning raised his hand, and all the ironware in the house blocked the door in an instant. Zhu Ning weaved a spider web again. Even if the zombies broke through the door, they would be harvested by the spider web.

Zhu Ning built a temporary safe house for herself so that even if she lost her memory again and forgot how to use her superpowers, she would not be killed immediately.

The office windows had already shattered during the fight. A storm swept in, soaking the lab materials inside. Pei Shu felt like magma was flowing through his body. Zhu Ning looked down at him and asked, "Who are you?"

Pei Shu's right palm condensed into flames, ready to strike back at any time. He tried to divert Zhu Ning's attention: "Pei Shu."

Zhu Ning was stunned for a moment, and Pei Shu felt that the boot on his shoulder was a little lighter. In fact, Zhu Ning had not changed from beginning to end, but he keenly felt that there was something wrong with Zhu Ning, because this group of people was the most sensitive to murderous intent.

Zhu Ning was a ruthless killing machine just a second ago, but now she suddenly became a little slow. Pei Shu guessed that Zhu Ning had lost her memory again.

They are in a state of amnesia anytime and anywhere, and they will lose their memory as long as they are distracted for a moment, and the steps of their amnesia are not synchronized.

Zhu Ning felt that most of her memory palace had collapsed, and she could only search among the ruins. The last memory in her mind was training at the base. Zhu Ning had been scolded by the coach, who said that her training condition had been poor recently.

Zhu Ning was only seventeen years old at that time. The most important thing in her life was shooting. The doomsday had not yet come, and she had never seen zombies, let alone pollutants. She looked around blankly, feeling that this place was no different from a dream.

Where is she? What is she doing?

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Ning appeared in an office of an unfamiliar school. There were scratching and roaring sounds outside the door, as if there was a monster, and a stranger was under her feet.

Is she going to kill someone?

Zhu Ning grew up in a society ruled by law, so this was a bit too shocking.

Zhu Ning's mind was full of questions. The helmet was covered with densely packed small characters. Zhu Ning quickly read through them and asked slowly and uncertainly, "Who are you?"

As expected, he had lost his memory. Pei Shu smiled. Losing his memory meant he could fight back. He answered again, "Pei Shu."

Zhu Ning: "Are you my teammate?"

Pei Shu's condensed flames suddenly paused, and he asked, "Do you consider me a teammate?"

Zhu Ning: "We should be teammates."

There was a message on the helmet, finding teammates, Lin Xiaofeng, Pei Shu and Bai Cheng, a total of four.

Zhu Ning felt his mind was in a mess. Pei Shu asked, "Where is your destination?"

Zhu Ning found the answer on his helmet: "Find a black car? Leave here?"

What is all this? It's a bit overwhelming.

Pei Shu thought Zhu Ning was a fool. "Why set the destination on the flying car? Is that the exit?"

The two people were talking at cross purposes, but they actually agreed with each other.

Fortunately, it was written on the helmet. Zhu Ning got a conclusion from the previous amnesiac Zhu Ning, "No, I'm looking for teammates, and you are one of them."

The message Zhu Ning left for himself was very simple: find the black car, gather all teammates and leave.

Pei Shu was stunned for a moment. He was silent at first, then he laughed softly. He had never thought in his life that he would be looked for by someone. This was too ridiculous.

Zhu Ning looked at him in confusion. Although he had no memory of him, Pei Shu must be a lunatic.

Pei Shu lowered his burning palm and gave up the idea of ​​attacking Zhu Ning. "I believe you are not my enemy."

The question mark floating in Pei Shu's mind was answered. No wonder there was a question mark. There must be something wrong with his mission.

Zhu Ning moved his foot away and said, "I wasn't one either."

Zhu Ning: "Explain what's going on and where we are."

"Outside the wall," Pei Shu automatically replied, "The world outside the wall doesn't necessarily follow logic."

Zhu Ning didn't understand what was going on. She didn't know what logic or illogicality was. To her, this world was just like the heroine in a light novel, who woke up one night and traveled to another world. But usually the protagonist has a cheat code.

Zhu Ning wasn't particularly frightened, as she had no idea what was happening. Compared to the frantic Pei Shu, she was mentally healthy. Her mind was now preoccupied with returning to her previous world. Could finding the answer allow her to return home? She had a dinner date with Zhu Yao today.

Zhu Ning knew he seemed to be in a state of amnesia. He checked the note on his body and the dangerous-looking controlled weapons on his body, and understood with difficulty, "So we have been losing our memory all this time?"

Pei Shu had never encountered such a strange situation before. The iron rod had already merged into his shoulder.

Zhu Ning seemed to be suddenly dragged from the training ground to the examination room. The text on the helmet screen was the question she had written by hand, and she needed to find a solution.

Zhu Ning fell into a state where he could lose his memory at any time, and was surrounded by monsters that would bite people. Zombies, they should be what Zhu Ning understood, the kind in the movies?

Zhu Ning looked at the messy office floor and felt that the white coat looked particularly familiar, but he didn't think much of it and asked, "When do people tend to lose their memory?"

Pei Shu: "Distracted?"

Zhu Ning thought carefully and said, "People often lose certain memories. In daily life, memory loss usually occurs when you suddenly turn around and your attention is distracted. For example, when I'm doing housework, I suddenly turn around and wonder, 'Hey? What was I doing just now?' When you focus your attention on just one thing, the rate of memory loss should slow down."

Zhu Ning had a clear mind and exuded a youthful energy. Pei Shu listened to her carefully.

Zhu Ning: "It stands to reason that two people's amnesia wouldn't necessarily be synchronized. Now that we've met, one advantage is that we can remind each other of our lost memories."

That's the truth. In fact, as long as they have teammates, they will reduce a lot of repetitive behaviors in searching for memories.

"Cooperation is the only way." Zhu Ning: "So listen to me carefully from now on and don't be distracted."

Pei Shu usually acts as a teacher, but now the situation is reversed. Zhu Ning, who has lost his memory, is more like a teacher, and Pei Shu, who is mentally confused at any time, really needs someone to guide him.

Pei Shuming knew that Zhu Ning probably had no idea what pollution was and was acting solely on passion, but he couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do next?"

Zhu Ning: "The zombies outside can only be attacked physically. It seems you can handle it."

Pei Shu: "I can't handle it when the quantity reaches a certain level."

Zhu Ning ignored this and acquiesced to Pei Shu's approval, saying, "It's clear there's another creature carrying out a mental attack. My helmet says that if I completely lose my memory, I'll turn into a zombie. The biggest problem we face right now is memory loss."

Zhu Ning drew a line on the ground with his finger and said, "If this is a coordinate axis, it represents our memory. Continuous amnesia means that our cognitive memory and abilities are regressing."

For example, Zhu Ning now perceives herself as only seventeen years old. She has regressed to adolescence, and if she continues to regress like this, she might enter childhood. Therefore, she must think quickly while she can still use her brain. If she regresses to infancy, she will probably become a complete zombie.

Zhu Ning: "My memory is declining at an increasingly rapid rate. The good news is that you're older than me, but you've consumed more memory than me, which is a good thing."

There are also advantages to being older.

Zhu Ning continued, "The good thing is that our past selves are constantly leaving us messages. I have a bunch of notes here, and you have an investigation notebook?"

Pei Shu: "Do you want to integrate the clues?"

"Yes," Zhu Ning said, "Although we both have lost our memories, at every stage we are definitely trying to get closer to the truth. Those of us who haven't lost our memories are definitely not fools, and we might be very powerful."

Zhu Ning is currently in the middle of his second-year syndrome and has a blind confidence in himself. "I've been losing my memory, so I can't understand some of the information, but maybe I can understand yours, or you can understand mine."

Pei Shu commented, "You look like an investigator."

Zhu Ning didn't know what this was, and it didn't sound like much of a compliment. To her, the highest honor was a gold medal.

Zhu Ning took Pei Shu's investigation notes and said, "Our first step is to eliminate erroneous information, such as this."

Zhu Ning turned to the page about killing Zhu Ning and tore it into pieces without hesitation. Pei Shu did not stop her, and the last page of notes turned into fragments.

Zhu Ning handed the notebook back to him: "I suggest you write a new message."

Pei Shu: "What?"

Zhu Ning said shamelessly: "Believe Zhu Ning."

"Huh?" Pei Shu couldn't help laughing. Should he add a sentence after believing in Zhu Ning and gain eternal life?

To be honest, this guy really has too much of a chuunibyou.

Zhu Ning took advantage of the fact that he hadn't lost his memory and could communicate, so he took out a notebook and said quickly, "Tell me why you are here, and why I am here."

Zhu Ning was afraid he would forget it soon, so he added before Pei Shu could speak: "One more question. You should be the first teammate I met. What about the other two?"

Pei Shu frowned. If they were really a team of four, and there had been no news and no one had come to look for them, there were only two possibilities: either they were injured or they were dead.

Of course, there is also the one that Pei Shu is most familiar with, being framed by companions. Based on his experience and pessimistic attitude, he believes that there may be a traitor in their team.

…

A flying car suspended in mid-air.

Lin Xiaofeng wanted to press the button quickly and escape immediately, but she couldn't move. It was not because of fear, but as if she was restrained by some force, which was Bai Cheng's special ability.

Bai Cheng's pale face emerged from the body bag, but Lin Xiaofeng still couldn't understand why there were two Bai Chengs.

Bai Cheng: "You will lose your memory soon. Floating in the air won't cause your memory to fade so quickly."

This was the longest sentence Lin Xiaofeng had ever heard Bai Cheng say. The person who spoke was Bai Cheng who had crawled out of the body bag. Compared to the one in the black raincoat, her voice was not mechanical at all, but rather very gentle. If you only listened to her voice, you would have thought she was some gentle older sister.

What amnesia? This city can cause amnesia? But from the tone of her voice, it seems that Bai Cheng will not lose his memory.

Lin Xiaofeng knew he couldn't escape, so he asked, "Did you plan all this?"

Bai Cheng: "At most I gave an introduction."

Bai Cheng slithered out of the body bag like an ice-cold snake. At that moment, Lin Xiaofeng actually felt that Bai Cheng was very beautiful. It had nothing to do with human aesthetics. Bai Cheng looked like a beautiful python, and the scales on her body would reflect light when she moved.

Lin Xiaofeng couldn't help but tremble and asked, "You led us here?"

Maybe Bai Cheng knew that Lin Xiaofeng would soon lose his memory, so he quickly admitted, "Yes."

As a ten-year-old, Lin Xiaofeng found it difficult to process such a big thing and asked, "Why?"

She wanted to know the reason.

Bai Cheng sat up and sat in Pei Shu's original position. Looking in the rearview mirror, there were two Bai Chengs behind Lin Xiaofeng.

They look exactly the same, but their temperaments are completely different. One is as weird as a corpse, while the other is so gentle.

The gentle Bai Cheng said, "Because I am doing business for my previous employer, I want to ensure that you enter Blackbird City."

The previous one? Lin Xiaofeng didn't understand. Could a bounty hunter take on two orders at the same time?

Or maybe it was Bai Cheng in the black raincoat who took over Zhu Ning's business, while Wenrou Bai Cheng took over another business. Can it be handled like this?

Lin Xiaofeng asked: "Who is your employer?"

She didn't know what answer she wanted to hear. Even if she knew the answer, she couldn't tell Zhu Ning in her weak state.

The two Bai Chengs spoke at the same time, their voices different, creating a strange sense of dislocation. "Zhu Yao."

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-06-15 20:15:16 and 2023-06-16 19:48:30~

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: 4 in Tangli; 2 in 64409124; 1 in Tingting, Tika, Jianghu Zhujiu, Cen Yan, and You Don't Walk Around Here;

Thanks to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: No Cuckooing (68 bottles); Follow Your Heart and Float with the Wind (34 bottles); Little Monster, Strawberry Fried Rice, Everyday Leisure, Winter Lovely, and Niangkou Sansan (30 bottles); 48639480 (25 bottles); September Cricket (23 bottles); Yiwu, Bear Beibei, Stop and Go, Rebirth of Lazy Sheep, Xiaoxiao, Little Fish, and Half Snow (20 bottles); 52785515, Dorayaki (17 bottles); Oasis (15 bottles); Cola Sauce (11 bottles); yumumiaozi, Tongtong Xiaojiaojiao, Black Spade, Otaku, Sister Sister, 49724106, Nine O'Clock Turns into Green Buns, Vivita (10 bottles); Cang (9 bottles); Zhuyuebai, 62611697, Pinching Mom's, Qian Bao's Surname Is Not Jin, White Peach Oolong, and Nanyue Jiangqing (5 bottles); black707stones, 64409124 4 bottles; 3 bottles of yogurt; 2 bottles of Tuantuantuan, Kunnie, Qingyan Dengyuese, and Shiqi Buruan; 1 bottle of Luluolue, Xilan, Zhuzhu and Baobao, ree886, Guoba Can't Slide Down, Midsummer, Joy, 58626564, Hello, and WJJ;

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