Chapter 1 The Spread of Contaminated Zone Six

Summer of 2446.

Under the scorching sun, the boundless Gobi Desert was scorching hot, radiating steaming heat, and even the air seemed distorted from afar.

Boom—

In an area shrouded in gray fog, a heavy armored off-road vehicle burst out of the thick fog, speeding fiercely and kicking up billowing dust.

Seven or eight mutants chased after it.

The monsters were about two or three meters tall, covered in black mist, and their slime dripped onto the ground, hissing and emitting corrosive white smoke.

Once exposed to the scorching sun, they became extremely agitated, baring their teeth at the departing vehicles, their entire bodies radiating intense resentment.

"Great opportunity, rabbit, take them down!" a gruff male voice shouted.

"receive!"

A woman with short, ear-length hair got up from her seat, carrying a heavy sniper rifle, which she cocked and positioned.

The armored vehicle suddenly reversed, executed a beautiful drift, and turned around.

During the process, the skylight above our heads opened.

The female sniper, codenamed "Rabbit," popped her head out of the skylight, set up her sniper rifle, and quickly found support to take aim.

Bang--

Amidst the swirling yellow sand, a mutant fell with a mournful howl after the gunshots rang out.

The immense recoil caused her to lean back, but she quickly regained her balance and continued aiming at the next one.

Sentinels possess superhuman senses, making it easy for them to detect the movements of mutants.

"Great! Kill them!"

The burly man driving the armored vehicle whistled and continued circling around, trying to attract the monsters' attention.

There were five people in the car.

The man in the passenger seat was leaning against the window with one hand. His face had sharp, angular features, and beneath his eyebrows were a pair of deep-set eyes that shone with a sharp gaze.

Several more gunshots rang out...

Xie Tu turned his head to look out the window; the mutants had all been eliminated.

The young man with a buzz cut in the back seat appeared rather composed, holding an old box in both hands. "Captain, we've got the stuff. Shall we head back to base now?"

Xie Tu didn't respond, but raised his left wrist to check the terminal information.

After a long pause, he suddenly composed himself, narrowing his eyes slightly, and said, "Go to the vicinity of Contaminated Zone Six."

Zone Six (Contaminated Area)?

The atmosphere inside the car froze.

Rabbit quickly closed the sunroof, grabbed his gun, and sat back down in his seat, saying, "Captain, we're running low on supplies in the vehicle."

"Yeah, what are we going to do in Zone Six?" the burly man driving muttered.

Is there another new mission?

Xie Tu glanced at them and said, "Go pick them up."

Everyone: ?

…………

After the 22nd century.

Darkness descended suddenly, power was completely cut off, and bizarre contaminated zones and mutant species emerged.

The planet then entered a dark apocalypse that lasted for two hundred years.

In the days without light or electricity, monsters raged, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction, and countless underground shelters fell...

In times of crisis, a small number of people awaken superpowers.

People call them—sentinels.

Sentinels possess superhuman strength and keen senses.

But each time he uses his power, he moves one step closer to aberration. In the end, he will be swallowed up by dark matter and transformed into those man-eating monsters.

Once a Sentinel mutates, it becomes a more dangerous species than a regular mutant.

Perhaps for this reason, another powerful type of soldier was born.

A person with strong mental power who can soothe and calm the disordered mental state of a sentinel.

—Guide.

As the main force of the Dark Ages, the Sentinels existed for ten years before the world's first Guide was born.

Guides are precious and rare.

The guide is weak.

This is everyone's perception.

So when Xie Tu told his teammates that they were going to pick up a senior guide, the team members were all in an uproar!

"Did I hear that right? We're getting a new guide?"

"Did the captain's threat to the base work last time?"

Nineteen years have now passed since the Dark Ages.

Light has returned to the world.

However, the two hundred years of dark apocalypse caused the extinction of more than 80% of plants and animals, and most of the remaining plants and animals mutated.

Food shortages lead to a regression in civilization.

The ground outside is covered with soil that has been weathered into sand.

The world has long been riddled with holes.

The remaining resources are not enough to support everyone, and many ordinary people struggle to even make ends meet.

The four remaining large shelters finally made contact after communications were restored and jointly launched the "Salvation Plan".

They decided to explore the contaminated areas to find the truth behind the disaster.

However, the concentration of dark matter in the contaminated area is too high, and if the Sentinels overuse their abilities while performing their missions, they are very likely to undergo distortion.

This also resulted in a very high loss rate for sentries.

Xie Tu believes that since guides are also a special type of soldier, they should be sent to the front lines to cooperate in combat.

Instead of being kept in shelters like protected animals because of their scarcity.

"Are you sure it's a high-level guide?"

The young man with a buzz cut in the back seat was named Song Liang. He glanced at the two who were jumping the most enthusiastically, and then swept his gaze over the person next to him who was fast asleep with his head covered.

Unable to resist pouring cold water on the idea, she said, "It's just picking someone up. Aren't you all overthinking it?"

Tao Haohao, who was driving, laughed heartily, "Don't you know our captain? If it's just picking someone up, who would dare to send him on an errand?"

Song Liang turned his head and stared intently at his captain, hoping for an explanation.

Xie Tu crossed his legs, braced his hands against the car window, and laughed, "It's not a base mission, it's a message from an informant."

"According to intelligence, the sixth contaminated zone has suddenly spread, and a small base nearby is migrating northward."

Xie Tu: "They recently separated into a guide, who is said to be of a very high rank."

The rabbit didn't understand. What did it mean?

"What business is it of ours if other people migrate?"

Song Liang rolled his eyes at her. "There are mutants everywhere outside. Migration needs a destination. Find a large base to take you in. The guides among them are your admission ticket."

Moreover, these were guides who were not registered at the four major bases.

Of course, whoever grabs it first gets to keep it.

"I understand, the captain said we were going to rescue someone, you bunch of hard-of-hearing people misunderstood!" Rabbit tried to save face, speaking in a serious tone.

Upon hearing this, Tao Haohao floored the accelerator, shouting, "We absolutely have to get our hands on it!"

…………

At the same time.

A small border town outside of Pollution Zone No. 6.

The gray clouds in the sky rolled and spread outwards from the center, layer upon layer, like countless wriggling tentacles.

The terrifying-looking mutants howled excitedly in the thick fog.

Countless monsters have stepped out of the contaminated area and are attacking the town.

The town, surrounded by high walls, was eerily quiet, like a dead city.

Everyone had been evacuated two hours earlier.

"Twenty years ago, Pollution Zone No. 6 was a hundred kilometers away from here..."

A middle-aged man sitting on the bus looked out the window at the rolling gray fog in the distance and muttered desperately.

The spread is happening far too fast.

If things continue like this, will humanity still have a place to live in the future?

Having lost their only home, with no clear path ahead and no idea where they will return.

The passengers were lost and confused, unsure of what to do.

The little girl, about seven or eight years old, standing next to the man, got up, knelt on the seat, and hugged the middle-aged man's neck. "Daddy, don't be sad. Sister Yunzhao will have a way."