Chapter 143 It Wants to Eat You

"Two possibilities."

Xie Tu lowered his head to wipe the sticky substance off the knife and sheathed it. "Firstly, the situation here is the same as in Contaminated Zone 88. The key is only found where the gatekeeper is located."

As for the second option...

He didn't say it, but everyone in Team Zero knew perfectly well.

This is a theory that researcher Qi proposed a long time ago.

—Five-star contamination zone, no key.

There have been no survivors from the combat troops at the four bases, in all the incorrectly rated contaminated areas.

Suddenly, everyone felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, and some were reluctant to face this possibility.

Except for... Yun Zhao.

She stood a little further away and was touched by Xie Tu's words.

It's not fear.

Rather, it was a mixture of anticipation and excitement?

In her subconscious, she even hoped it was a five-star polluted zone.

If Team Zero can kill the gatekeeper, it means they can carry out five-star missions in the future.

Then she can go to Contaminated Zone Six...

The little bluebird, realizing its own consciousness, finally perked up and stopped just watching the excitement. Instead, it used its spiritual threads to capture the emotions present in the neighborhood.

The original body wants to enter the sixth contaminated zone to find out its origins and wants to bring its uncles home.

The little guy always knew.

The turquoise spiritual threads transformed into countless tiny stars, disappearing into the surroundings and spreading outwards invisibly.

The corpse of the frogman mutant lay on the ground, emitting a pungent, fishy smell.

The flippers drooped limply, the forked tongue tip hung limply to the side, and the strange water film had lost its function.

It looks particularly disgusting.

The peregrine falcon wandered around the various floors before returning.

Duan Xi's expression relaxed: "I checked several places, and the time was 4 pm."

"Sixteen o'clock, if you arrange them clockwise, it's sequential sixteen." Song Liang wrote it down in his notebook, then casually asked, "Is it exactly four o'clock?"

Duan Xi: "...Yes."

"Time hasn't passed???"

"……yes."

Song Liang: "..."

Duan Xi's expression turned strange. "This residential area is very large, with exactly sixteen buildings."

As Tao Haohao listened, he felt his brain was starting to malfunction. "Then what does this mean?"

Xie Tu's ears twitched as he carefully discerned the sounds from upstairs. He then lowered his head and adjusted the time on his communicator to exactly 4:00 PM.

"We don't have enough clues right now, so let's not worry about that for now and go in to take a look."

The noise from upstairs and the television were still there.

The sound was very muffled, and even he couldn't make out what it said.

There was such a commotion just now, but no one showed up.

If it were the Yanchi search team, they would definitely show themselves upon seeing them.

It's obvious there are no living people here.

They need to find someone, a gatekeeper, and the key.

Xie Tu returned to Yun Zhao's side, grabbed her backpack strap, and led the way into the apartment building.

Song Liang and Tao Haohao pushed the stack of supplies at the back.

"I should have known better than to bring so much ammunition."

"Who knew the bullets would be useless..."

"Enough with the nonsense, just in case it comes in handy in the next scenario."

"There's another scene?! We can't possibly visit all 24 scenes, can we?"

A cacophony of chatter came from behind me.

Yun Zhao had to admire how quickly everyone adjusted their mindset after learning that this place might be a five-star contamination zone.

The six people did not choose to take the elevator.

Carrying a lot of supplies up the stairs is really inconvenient.

Finally, Xie Tu spoke up, saying that he would leave the ammunition on the first floor and go upstairs to check first.

With a clear goal in mind, he led Yun Zhao to the sixth floor.

Yun Zhao managed to keep up with the team, which was a rare achievement.

The daily training has been very effective; at least her physical strength is noticeably better than before.

The group quickly arrived at the sixth floor.

There were no lights in the hallway, but the light was very bright.

Looking out of the window in the stairwell, you can see the artificial lake in the community.

The lake is surrounded by lush greenery, and the blue sky and white clouds are reflected on the calm lake surface, like a beautiful painting unfolding before your eyes.

But further away, thick fog rolled in circles, isolating the entire residential area.

Xie Tu observed the environment in the corridor.

This neighborhood is clearly a high-end community.

The design features one elevator serving two households.

The two heavy security doors were tightly closed, and the smart locks beside them stood silently in the dim light, awaiting the return of their owner.

The floor was paved with solid marble, with some water film and black slime remaining.

The frogman mutant couldn't have come to the sixth floor for no reason.

More than one mutant species crawled out of the lake.

Where did the others go?

Xie Tu stood in front of one of the doors, where the sound of the television was coming from.

"Tao Haohao, come and break down the door."

Tao Haohao was clearly prepared. He walked over with a knife in his hand, wedged the knife into the electronic lock, and used brute force to pry open the door with his bare hands.

Of course, they can send their spiritual entities inside to investigate.

However, since spirits are inherently playful, they inevitably miss some clues.

Yun Zhao watched as Tao Haohao's arm veins bulged as he forcefully pried open the heavy security door a crack.

Seeing Tao Haohao's incredible strength, she had to admit that Sentinels and Guides were indeed different.

The little bluebird tilted its head to look as well.

As the door opened a crack, the sound of the television clearly reached everyone's ears.

Xie Tu squinted, finally understanding why he couldn't hear what was being said.

Because the content on TV is being played in reverse!

The group entered the house.

The house was luxuriously decorated and clean, but it lacked any sense of life and looked like a showroom.

The sentries opened their senses.

"No one's home. Who turned on the TV?" The rabbit got goosebumps.

Yun Zhao walked to the sofa and sat down, watching the content on the television.

It's a program on a local TV station.

Because it was played upside down, the sound was very strange.

She wasn't familiar with the functions of old-fashioned electrical appliances, so the training course wouldn't cover that.

So he asked, "Did old-fashioned televisions have a reverse playback function?"

Xie Tu followed him over, found the remote control on the coffee table, and said, "Try it and you'll see."

Not long after he finished speaking.

He soon discovered that the remote control was useless; no matter which button he pressed, the TV did not respond.

Song Liang and his group had already opened all the room doors and gone inside to check.

The wardrobe was empty, containing no personal belongings.

Xie Tu looked up and met her gaze for a moment, then put down the remote control and began to study the content on the television.

A short segment of content is played repeatedly.

The images show tourist attractions such as Yanchiwan Nature Reserve, Tiger Gully Glacier No. 12, Five Temples Grottoes, and Shibaocheng Ruins.

It looks like a tourism promotional video for Subei.

But why put it upside down?

What are those mutants doing on the sixth floor?

Everyone was completely baffled.

The space was wriggling and repairing itself, and the door that Tao Haohao had just destroyed was quickly restored to its original state.

Not a trace was left.

Including dirty footprints on the ground.

Yun Zhao didn't understand either, but she was very patient and not in a hurry at all.

At least it's much more comfortable inside the contaminated area than outside.

"I'm going to the restroom," Yun Zhao said to Xie Tu as she got up from the sofa.

Xie Tu turned his head and glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door, then nodded.

The bathroom is at the end of the living room hallway, just a few steps away. Everyone is in this house, so it's very safe.

Yun Zhao didn't call for the rabbit.

The bathroom door was closed; the interior was clean and tidy, and all the facilities were brand new.

There was still water in the toilet.

After Yun Zhao finished taking care of his personal hygiene, he went to the sink and turned on the tap, and clear water flowed out.

There is no shortage of water here, so why are the frogman mutants asking them for water?

She washed her hands while looking down in deep thought.

Just then, the television sound outside the door suddenly stopped.

The little bluebird suddenly straightened up, its sharp eyes fixed on the closed bathroom door.

It wants to eat you.

It was a seemingly random sentence, but Yun Zhao understood it.

The gatekeeper has his eye on her?

Yun Zhao was not surprised at all; that dream seemed to have been intentional.

She grasped the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open.

Outside the door, however, what came into view was not the living room of the model room where Team Zero was located.

Rather... that chaotic land filled with fragments.