286 Fungal City (VIII)

◎A pair of eyes appeared under the toes◎

The gun in Qi Xueliu's hand was still smoking. Lying on the ground was a mother and son. This was the fourth pair of mold people they had killed.

Prometheus gave up looking for Zhu Ning and instead looked for clues about the source of the pollution.

Du Yiqi was not wearing a helmet. Mold had grown on his burns, and there was Prometheus hyphae on his forehead. At first glance, it looked like a particularly suitable piece of rotten wood, with mushrooms vying to attach themselves to it.

Qi Xueliu always felt that Du Yiqi still had his own consciousness, but it was just covered up.

Prometheus ignored her. Next to him was an Internet cafe with dozens of computers displayed, which looked spectacular.

Qi Xueliu frowned. Did Prometheus want to connect directly? As expected of a mutant AI, it relied on electronic devices to gather information. But there was no internet here, not even electricity.

Prometheus walked to a computer, unplugged the wires on the back, and opened the arm of the protective suit. Their protective suits could always be connected to external devices.

After the line was connected, the computer flashed twice, indicating it had power. Qi Xueliu couldn't figure out how to operate it. The computer wasn't connected to the internet, but there might be residual information inside. To ordinary people, that would be garbage, but to Prometheus, it was a sea of ​​data, and it was easy to find what he needed.

Du Yiqi rolled his eyes as if he had received an electric shock, and his whole body was shaking.

Qi Xueliu gritted her teeth. How could this ruin a person's body? Du Yiqi was not a robot. He would be crippled if he did this.

If one computer stopped working, Prometheus would replace it. After replacing only ten computers, Du Yiqi started foaming at the mouth.

Qi Xueliu wanted to pull out her gun and shoot Du Yiqi from behind. She couldn't kill Prometheus, but she couldn't bear to see her teammates suffer like that. But then she thought about the mycelium still connected to her brain, and any movement she made would be tantamount to seeking death.

After replacing thirty machines, Prometheus was finally able to dock properly. The mycelium grew from the helix to Du Yiqi's cheek, flashing blue light. Du Yiqi rolled his eyes until his eyeballs almost popped out.

After a while, the whites of his eyes that were rolled up excessively rolled down, and his dark eyeballs moved.

"I figured it out," said Prometheus.

Qi Xueliu gritted her teeth. She knew of course that this was a confrontation between Zhu Ning and Prometheus. She even secretly hoped that Zhu Ning would win because Prometheus was too terrifying.

His method of understanding the contaminated area didn't even require any cost. Was this considered cheating? After Prometheus gathered the information, he only needed to wait for Zhu Ning gracefully at the destination.

Qi Xueliu was not very optimistic about Zhu Ning's fate.

…

The other side.

The fire was burning, and Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu died with their mouths wide open. If the flames hadn't been suppressed, the mold would have spread.

This was the fifth mother and son pair that Lin Xiaofeng had met. They were like haunting ghosts that could not be dispelled. After a while, he would see two figures, one big and one small, at the intersection again.

Lin Xiaofeng tried to talk, but could hardly get any more information out of him, and soon the attack began.

Lin Xiaofeng stepped past the mother and son and continued forward. She felt a tingling sensation around her waist. She scratched it subconsciously, then felt something was wrong.

It seemed like she pressed something soft under her fingers, and juice spurted out with a "pop". Lin Xiaofeng retracted her fingers tremblingly. If she had used more force, her intestines would have been crushed.

The corrupt mold spread quickly, from her calves to her abdomen, and mold also grew on the surface of her bones and internal organs.

Pei Shu asked, "Where have you been?"

Lin Xiaofeng answered obediently: "My belly."

Pei Shu frowned. The wound started from his back and extended to the back of his neck. The muscles on his back had completely collapsed and stuck to the protective suit. If it was torn, he would probably tear off a piece of intact skin.

Zhu Ning: "It's down to my chin."

Zhu Ning is small in size now, and no one else is responsible for its construction.

"The logic of contamination is that if you encounter the same mother and child, the infection will gradually deepen. The mother and child are not scary, but the infection is irreversible." Zhu Ning said calmly. She stretched out her newly grown left hand, and the gaps between her fingers had been occupied by mold.

Zhu Ning's lower limbs had just grown to the level of his thighs, but the incisions were covered in mold.

The contaminated area is not of the “quick kill” type, but of the type that pollutes slowly.

Zhu Ning: "I guess if it happens three more times, he will die."

Pei Shu and Lin Xiaofeng can hold on a little longer.

Pei Shu: "Could you please not be so calm when you say your own death date?"

Zhu Ning: "I won't die. This is the way for me to survive that you and Bai Cheng risked your lives to find."

Bai Cheng is dead, no matter whether it is a corpse or not, Zhu Ning will get it back.

Pei Shu fell silent when he heard Bai Cheng's name. They kept walking while they talked. After a while, he said, "Prometheus didn't show up."

This city is neither big nor small, but we never encountered it again afterwards. We didn't even hear any movement, as if we were the only group here.

Zhu Ning: "Maybe they are making faster progress than us and are waiting for us at the finish line."

She still remembered what Prometheus said. They were all looking for the source of the pollution. Pei Shu became more pessimistic.

"It seems we've arrived." Lin Xiaofeng said softly.

At the end of the dark and damp street, there was an abandoned construction site. It was basically completed and glass was being installed. This was the place of death mentioned in the report.

The clues clearly indicate that they are related to Aunt Lan and Xiao Wu, and they want to find out the reason.

Zhu Ning: "We didn't go in the direction of Moon Street, but we still ran into Aunt Lan."

The construction site and Moon Street are in opposite directions. Zhu Ning had previously guessed that the mother and son could only be encountered on the road leading to Moon Street, but in fact, it was not the case. They were everywhere, like lingering ghosts.

Pei Shu had been here before and knew the way. Zhu Ning felt that the job of investigator was not something that ordinary people could do. He had been here so many years ago and still remembered the approximate location.

Pei Shu: "Several landmark buildings have remained in the same location."

It is normal for changes to occur within the polluted area, but the changes here are relatively small. We have been dragged into it and can only follow the logic.

Zhu Ning: "Go in and take a look."

There is a gate at the entrance of the construction site. Workers must be equipped with safety helmets and work cards to enter. It has become a polluted area and has long been rusted.

The three of them passed through the gate and entered the construction site, while being on guard against the appearance of Prometheus's men. The construction site was quiet and filled with an eerie chill.

It was Zhu Ning's first time entering an abandoned construction site. "This place is worse off than other places."

Lin Xiaofeng nodded vigorously. After a closer look, he discovered that the construction site seemed to have been devoured by mold, with wriggling and twisted mold spots growing everywhere.

From the naked eye, this place seems much more dangerous than other places. Could this be the source of pollution?

There are twelve buildings in the abandoned construction site, which were originally intended to be built into residential buildings. Zhu Ning thought that if it were her time, if a murder occurred at a construction site and it caused a big uproar, it would not be conducive to real estate transactions. The real estate developers would probably find ways to suppress the news.

But then she thought, in her time, people paid first and then built the building, investing their life savings. It was good enough if the building didn't fail. A few deaths or ghosts were considered minor problems for the residents.

Zhu Ning thought he would have to look for a while after entering, but he found it so quickly. It was very conspicuous. There was a cordon under a building and a sign prohibiting entry.

What was strange was that there was incense inside the cordon, but it went out very early and was stuck in a bowl of rice. Next to it was an upside-down photo frame, and there were rotten flowers all over the ground. The branches would become soft when touched lightly, and as usual, they were covered with a thick layer of mold.

It should be a worship of the dead, and it is very pious. At least paper money and incense sticks have been burned for several days.

Pei Shu: "That doctor had a fever? Doctors can be superstitious?"

Zhu Ning: "People will change."

Sometimes people are not superstitious, but their mentality changes after encountering some major changes.

I always want to try it. What if it exists? Then wouldn’t my child be very lonely if he died and had no one to take care of him?

Zhu Ning's former neighbors were an engineer couple. After his wife died, the husband became weird.

I live right across from Zhu Ning's house, but they don't even put up "Fu" signs during the Chinese New Year.

Zhu Ning's thoughts suddenly wandered, and the front door of the neighbor opposite appeared in her mind. If her memory was false, why would there be such an insignificant detail?

Pei Shu asked, "Are you sure it will be useful in killing Prometheus?"

What if after the investigation, it turns out to be a waste of time? Why does he think he should run away as soon as possible?

"If you want to use pollution to kill people, you must at least understand the pollution source," Zhu Ning said, coming to his senses. "Turn the photo over and take a look."

Pei Shu was very obedient and turned the photo frame over from the garbage. The back of the frame was moldy, but the front was covered with a layer of glass and had not yet grown mold.

When Zhu Ning saw the photo, she thought of An Shi, the thing she had seen before. That thing could move. Her eyes followed Pei Shu's movements and she asked, "Is that Xiao Wu?"

Pei Shu turned his back to Zhu Ning, stared at the photo for a while, and said, "No."

Zhu Ning couldn't see and asked, "Are you sure?"

Xiao Wu was wearing a mask and his real face had never been seen, so how could he be so sure? Pei Shu held up the photo and showed it to Zhu Ning, who was also confirmed after seeing it.

The photo shows a little girl with two low ponytails, smiling brightly at the camera.

A line of small words is attached below, remember...Tongtong.

The deceased was named Tongtong, and her nickname should have been written as it was big news after all, so her real name was not revealed.

Their understanding of this world deepened. Pei Shu said, "There's nothing more."

Everything that was supposed to rot here had rotted away. The mold crawled from the photo frame to Pei Shu's palm. After entering the abandoned construction site, the speed of its spread accelerated significantly.

Zhu Ning: "Let's go up and take a look. The sooner we go, the sooner we leave."

The three of them were like detectives investigating a case, with Pei Shu leading the way and Lin Xiaofeng following silently with Zhu Ning on his back.

This building has thirty-six floors. There is actually an elevator for workers next to it, but they are afraid of making too much noise at night, so they go up one floor at a time.

There are no handrails installed on the stairs here, and it is dangerous and narrow to walk up. I checked each floor roughly and there was no one else there.

After reaching the top floor, I couldn't see the cordon clearly when looking down because there was no railing. Not to mention children, even adults could easily fall.

Why would a kid come here to play when he has nothing better to do? Looking for excitement?

The rooftop was also moldy, and it was very slippery when people walked on it, just like soapy water in the bathroom. Pei Shu was searching for any information nearby.

There were some building materials piled on the rooftop, not sure whether they were discarded or not used in time. Pei Shu searched around and saw a bright yellow object in the pile of scrap steel. He moved the steel away and found a car the size of a fingernail.

Children's toys.

It's not very sophisticated and can only slide. Is this a mysterious place for children to play?

While Pei Shu was searching, Zhu Ning couldn't be idle either. He said, "Xiaofeng, go to the edge of the rooftop and take a look."

Lin Xiaofeng hesitated for a moment. The ground was covered with mold and it was too easy to slip, but she unconditionally trusted Zhu Ning's choice and carefully moved to the edge of the roof. The more she moved, the more scared she became. Because her thighs were moldy, her thigh muscles trembled with every movement.

As she got closer, the land in her sight became smaller and the space downstairs became larger.

The wind was so strong on the rooftop that people standing there looked like helpless flowers and plants. Lin Xiaofeng felt like she was Tongtong, and she was following the same path as Tongtong.

When his toes touched the edge of the rooftop, Lin Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief. It was strange that after walking here, he was inexplicably no longer afraid and actually felt very relaxed.

There was an empty space below, nothing unusual.

Zhu Ning lay on Lin Xiaofeng's back, with a whistling sound in her ears. She looked down over Lin Xiaofeng's shoulder, but there were still many blind spots. She turned on the God's perspective but couldn't see clearly below. Within the visible range of 30 meters, everything was gray except the rooftop.

After using the habit skill, Zhu Ning has fully understood the "weakness" of this talent. He can only see what is known or consistent with his cognition. If he can't see it, it means that there is something unknown hidden.

Zhu Ning lowered his voice and said, "A little further."

Lin Xiaofeng swallowed his saliva. No normal person would agree to Zhu Ning's request. He had already reached the edge and would fall if he took another step.

Lin Xiaofeng closed his eyes, like an acrobat, and his fear subsided a little after losing his vision.

Lin Xiaofeng stretched out his feet tremblingly, not daring to let his feet leave the ground, as if he was moving over.

Half of her front foot was hanging in the air, with nothing underneath. In order to let Zhu Ning see clearly, Lin Xiaofeng leaned forward.

Lin Xiaofeng's action really expanded Zhu Ning's field of vision. She stretched her head and looked down. A normal person's vision should still not be able to see clearly, but Zhu Ning's God's perspective outlined an edge.

A pair of eyes appeared right under Lin Xiaofeng's toes.

It was the mask of a gas mask, and the outline of the eyes was as big as an egg. Xiao Wu was hanging upside down on the ceiling like a spider, with mycelium spreading from his limbs. To be accurate, he was stuck to the rooftop by mold.

Xiao Wu let out a strange laugh, his childish voice extremely innocent, "Mom! There's someone here!"

When Lin Xiaofeng heard the familiar greeting, he suddenly opened his eyes and rolled backwards, but a hand reached out from below and Aunt Lan grabbed Lin Xiaofeng's ankle.

The author has something to say:

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2023-07-07 16:22:41 and 2023-07-08 21:00:13~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the shallow water bomb: 1 for cultivating immortality with a cat;

Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 66841751 1;

Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: 3 of the other crazy me; 2 in the hall; EUDAIMOnIA, hello, goodbye, Rukawa Kaede's girlfriend Mahou Shaojiu House, 56830258, 66841751, all about money, Zibuyu, Lei, Uncle Jumu, Lan Province's first removal Fu Xinyi, ∠Xin, Northeast Facelift, Existence, It's Yu Yuzi, 1 of daily daze;

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