Chapter 123 The safe zone is finished, we're doomed...

Shan Ran was completely confused, but she still answered the older woman's question.

"What do I think? I don't think there's such a good thing in the world. Besides, this is an experiment. There's a possibility of gaining superpowers, but there's also a risk of failure. What's the risk? Death?"

"N-I don't know..."

"Furthermore, if such an experiment truly existed, it wouldn't be something an ordinary person like me could obtain. Those powerful families surely have ordinary people within them; if they were to be the first to be experimented on, why would it be my turn? Unless..."

"Unless what?" the man asked urgently.

"Unless you're just a guinea pig."

"......"

Shan Ran gazed at the other person with a deep, unwavering look in her eyes.

Her eyes darted left and right, averting her gaze to avoid looking at Shan Ran, and she also changed the subject.

Since then, Shanran has never seen this older sister again.

Because this woman was doing administrative work in the management level, which was quite important, she caught Chandler's attention.

He came specifically to find Shanran to ask if there had been any unusual behavior from her before she disappeared.

Shan Ran thought for a moment and then told him everything about their strange conversation that day.

"Mr. Cheadle, do you have any leads on her disappearance?"

The usually mild-mannered Chandler's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression: "Recently, many people have gone missing on the mainland. I suspect that her disappearance might be related to those missing persons cases."

"Many people are missing? Is it possible that they are dead, killed by the monsters, and left no remains?"

Cheadle shook his head: "I can't be sure. If only superhumans went missing, it could be said that they were killed by monsters while on a mission. But the disappearance of a large number of ordinary people is really abnormal."

Shan Ran understood what he meant. The level of the monsters that had appeared now was beyond what ordinary people could handle. Shan Ran didn't dare to leave the safe zone easily. She only had an ordinary tactical knife, which couldn't even break the skin of an E-level monster, let alone a higher-level one.

Most ordinary people who are still alive today do odd jobs in various public places to make a living and rarely go out.

If someone can still disappear without being discovered, it's most likely because they went out on their own.

Shan Ran's pupils suddenly contracted as he met Cheadle's gaze and saw the seriousness in the other's eyes.

"Could it be that she believed there were experiments that could grant superpowers, so she offered herself up?"

Chandler's lips tightened into a straight line. He took off his glasses, wearily pinched the bridge of his nose, remained silent for a while, and then spoke: "Miss Shanran, you must be careful recently and do not go out easily. If anything seems amiss, you can contact me directly."

With that, Cheadle left his contact information.

Normally, when Shan Ran has something to do, she will contact her supervisor in the plant group. If she contacts Chandel directly, she will be going through many, many levels, which is a big taboo in the workplace.

Seemingly sensing Shan Ran's worries, Chandel smiled slightly, his azure eyes as inclusive as the ocean, "Just treat me as an ordinary friend, someone you can chat with casually when you need something, there's no need to have too many concerns."

Then they changed the subject, and like true friends, asked Shanran some everyday questions.

Shan Ran's initial concerns gradually dissipated during the conversation.

Chandler was completely unpretentious and never considered those with superpowers to be superior.

Shan Ran felt that he and District Chief Lu Wenrou were both good people, and that the safe zone would definitely be able to develop steadily under their leadership.

If only life could continue like this, so stable.

As it was nearing the end of the workday, a red-haired young man came looking for Chandler.

When he saw Cheadle, his eyes lit up, he called out "Brother!" and quickly ran to Cheadle's side.

Because I was going too fast, I accidentally tripped over a protruding rock on the road.

Chandler's smile carried a hint of helplessness. "Ah Shang, don't rush, move slowly, don't fall."

The red-haired youth grinned and put a hand on Cheadle's shoulder. "Brother, I'm a grown man, not an idiot. How could I possibly fall down so easily?"

Chandler shook his head helplessly and chuckled softly.

"This is Ms. Shan Ran, who works as an administrative assistant in the plant group."

The red-haired youth looked at Shan Ran, raised his hand in greeting, and smiled brightly, his face showing an innocent naivety that had never seen the wickedness of the world.

"This is my younger brother, A Shang."

Since Chandler did not introduce himself by name, Shan Ran addressed him as such.

After exchanging greetings, Chandel bid farewell to Shanran, and Ashang also smiled and waved to Shanran.

Instead of holding Chandel's hand, Ashang put his arm around Chandel's shoulder and said something happily, making no attempt to hide his loud voice.

Although Chandler was helpless, he indulged her.

The days that followed were peaceful until the day the tranquility was shattered. Shanran found it hard to believe, feeling as if it were all a dream.

I just don't know if the peaceful life before was a dream, or if the bloody cruelty now is a dream?

Flames filled the sky, black smoke billowed everywhere, and people were fleeing in all directions.

Their eyes were filled with terror, their expressions were panicked, and they scurried around like headless flies, wanting to escape but having no direction.

"The district chief is dead! What do we do? Where do we go?"

"Secretary General Cheadle is dead too! We're finished, the safety zone is finished, we're doomed!"

"Someone save us! Help!"

Unbeknownst to them, bombs planted in various houses detonated one after another, turning the inner city into ruins.

Those who couldn't escape were trapped under the rubble; some were rescuing people, while others were fleeing for their lives.

There weren't as many bombs in the outer city, and the fighting strength there was relatively weak, so there was no need to waste so many weapons.

Moreover, some people need ordinary people from the outer city, whose bodies cannot withstand bombs.

It wasn't just bombs; a group of people dressed in black were also reaping the lives of people in the safe zone within the city.

Under Gano's cover, Shan Ran escaped. In her haste to look back, she saw a red figure leaping in the crowd.

She recognized him; it was Chandler's younger brother, Ashang.

He's not dead yet.

Shanran wanted to shout his name, to ask what had happened, whether Chandler and District Chief Lu were really dead as those people said.

But the red-haired youth was so engrossed in his attack that he couldn't hear anything around him.

He targeted the intruders and slaughtered them relentlessly, unleashing his fire-based powers without restraint. When he was exhausted, he would devour crystal cores.

His eyes were bloodshot. He didn't care how many crystal cores he had swallowed. He wanted to kill, to kill everyone.

Seeing the red-haired youth's appearance, Shan Ran fell silent. She understood that the rumors she had just heard were true.

"Senior, let's go!"

Gano snapped the neck of a man in black and urged him hurriedly.

Shan Ran wanted to help the red-haired youth, but given the intensity of the battle there, it would be suicide for an ordinary person like her to go there.

She's too weak; she can't withstand even a single hit from them.

That's so useless.

Why is she so useless?

Lu Wenrou and Chandler, such good people, died so inexplicably, and so many innocent civilians in the safe zone perished here.

She could only watch them die, unable to help in any way.

"Senior!"

Shan Ran gritted her teeth and forced herself to turn around, no longer looking in the direction of the young man in red.

It's already hard enough for Gano to take care of her; she can't hold him back any longer.

The two fought their way to the outer city.

I used to think the inner city was better, but when I was fleeing for my life, I found out that the inner and outer cities were so far apart.

After overcoming numerous hardships to reach the outer city, they discovered that there were even more men in black there.

Because this is the only exit from the inner city, if it is blocked, everyone inside will be caught.

Fortunately, Shanran used to often come to the outer city to buy food from roadside stalls, and during her stroll, she learned about a small alley.

Shanran led Ganuo along a side path, but suddenly heard voices not far away. The two quickly hid in the narrow doorway of a bungalow.

Amidst the commotion, the conversation over there wasn't loud, but Shanran recognized one of the voices.

It is Rong Shuyao.

How did she end up here?

Shan Ran regularly checks the roster of new entrants to the safe zone, but has never seen Rong Shuyao's or the names of those around her.

Then there's only one possibility: she came because of what happened tonight.

"Have you found Shan Ran?"

Upon hearing his name called, Shan Ran unconsciously clenched his fist.

A hand enveloped her, the sweat on the palm already cooled, wetting the back of Shanran's hand as well, making them sticky and intertwined.

At this moment, Shan Ran had no romantic thoughts; she was simply listening intently to the conversation outside.

A somewhat hoarse male voice replied, "Miss Gongyang, our people infiltrated the Plant Group and her dormitory a long time ago, but she happened to be away today, otherwise we could definitely have kidnapped her."

"Isn't your night patrol team one of the top teams in the safe zone? How come your work efficiency is so low? From the day we agreed, you should have made a plan and laid a trap to catch Shan Ran as soon as possible."

“Miss Gongyang, the conditions we discussed were, firstly, to dismantle the high-ranking officials of the security zone so that I could lead it, and secondly, to capture Shan Ran. Of course, I prioritized the former terms, and capturing Shan Ran was just a secondary condition. Besides, all the exits have been blocked, so why would I be afraid of not being able to capture an ordinary person like her?”

“She’s very ordinary, but the people around her are not! Otherwise, how could she have survived until now? Forget it, I couldn’t count on you anyway, I’ll send people to look for her myself.”

"Wait! Miss Ram, are you planning to kick us while we're down? You promised to hand over the management of the safe zone to us, but you've been killing and kidnapping people at will, and in the end you're just leaving us an empty shell. What use is a safe zone to me?"

"Ha, the Night Squad? Cai Siling, who do you think you are? Do you think you can tell me what to do with Gongyang Shuyao? I can kill anyone here whenever I want, so get out of my way!"

"You...it seems Miss Ram is really going to break the contract?"

Another man said, "What right do you, a traitor who betrayed your own organization, have to yell at the Gongyang family here?"

Rong Shuyao no longer bothered to speak to the Night Squad and turned to leave.

The night patrol team, used to their domineering ways, couldn't stand this humiliation and impulsively wanted to attack. If they could just take Rong Shuyao hostage, would they still disobey?