Chapter 365 Second Cycle (10)

The car fell silent instantly, with occasional bursts of gunfire coming from the vehicles leading the way.

Everyone was pondering what Qi Ling had said.

Qi Ling's analysis makes some sense. Since the goalkeeper changed the rules to increase the difficulty, he would inevitably reveal some flaws.

Including Song Liang, the entire Zero Team was recalling the survivors they had rescued before.

They rescued everyone themselves, and Yun Zhao, Qi Ling, and Rabbit were all present when everyone registered their identities.

At that time, their attention was focused on people looking for the sun pattern.

The goalkeeper released a smoke bomb, perfectly diverting Zero's attention.

Song Liang was driving, keeping an eye on the road ahead, when he broke the silence by saying, "But the survivors have already left the safe base. Even if we have a suspect, finding him within 72 hours will be no easy task."

Yun Zhao corrected him, "There are no 72 hours anymore. I've been out for about eight hours."

The two of them wasted time sleeping.

Yun Zhao suspected that Xie Tu's severe corruption was also intentional on the part of the gatekeeper.

It was all to keep her occupied.

Xie Tu squinted, his thoughts racing.

She had spoken with the gatekeeper, and based on the information revealed, it was certain that the gatekeeper was a humanoid being.

"Send the spiritual entity to the front to inform them to immediately return to the safe base and retrieve the register," Xie Tu ordered.

The register contained detailed information about all the survivors, including their ID numbers, workplaces, and home addresses.

The gatekeeper is not from the old era; if it lies, it will surely reveal its true colors.

The road ahead had not been cleared before, and there were many mutated zombies.

A variety of strange superpowers appeared without warning and began attacking the vehicle.

All three vehicles were ordinary private cars, and they couldn't withstand the constant attacks from the zombies.

Later, the sentries didn't have time to continue discussing and focused on clearing a path to deal with the zombies.

The ammunition in the marching backpack was rapidly decreasing.

The gatekeepers not only increased the difficulty, but also took away Zero Team's armored vehicles and the ammunition they had transported out.

They tried every possible means to slow down their search for it.

Xie Tu opened his backpack, took out the food and distributed it to everyone in the car, and then opened a box of strawberry milk for Yun Zhao separately.

They ate as they traveled.

An hour later.

Team Zero returned to the familiar yet unfamiliar town of Dongyi.

The night was deep, and the beam of light from the flashlight was the only light in the entire world.

The safety base's suspension bridge was broken, high walls stood tall, and the river smelled foul.

Xie Tu whispered to Yun Zhao, "Duan Xi and I will go in. You two wait in the car."

Too many people can easily destroy some clues, and going through them one by one takes too much time.

Yun Zhao nodded. "Go ahead."

The sentries in the vehicle remained silent.

After Xie Tu got out of the car, Lin Yu asked Qi Ling in a low voice, "Does your team leader have to report to the guide before doing anything?"

Qi Ling: "...I don't know."

The car was only so big, so Yun Zhao naturally heard it too.

She said, "It needs to be reported."

Lin Yu was a little embarrassed. "I was just asking out of curiosity."

Yun Zhao: "It's okay. Have you all eaten? I still have food in my backpack."

As she spoke, she took all the food out of her bag and distributed it to everyone.

The sentry has a big appetite.

Unfortunately, their armored vehicle was missing, along with the sausages and cured meats they had brought in.

Yun Zhao was starting to miss Xie Tu's claypot rice with preserved meat.

*

Xie Tu and Duan Xi used tools to nimbly leap over the high wall and enter the base.

The peregrine falcon took the lead and flew into the hotel where they had stayed for more than ten days, seemingly familiar with the place.

The two followed closely behind.

The lobby tiles were covered in dust, leaving footprints with every step.

The entire security base had been without power for some time.

The room was furnished the same as when they left, but all the ammunition boxes that had been piled up in the corner on the first floor were gone.

The door to the restaurant was open, and Duan Xi took out a flashlight and shone it inside.

The room was in a mess, with many tables and chairs moved and the tables covered with moldy, dirty tableware.

Clearly, after they left, many survivors brazenly moved in and made a mess of the place.

Duan Xi, who had lived here for so long, was furious when he saw this. "Damn it!"

Xie Tu glanced at him and said, "This is a contaminated area."

One should not develop feelings for anything in the contaminated area.

"I know," Duan Xi explained, "I just couldn't help wanting to curse."

Xie Tu turned around and said, "Don't waste time, go find the registration book."

Qi Ling had been responsible for keeping the register.

On the day he left, thinking he would come back in an hour later, he left the registration book in his room.

The two men, holding flashlights, climbed the stairs to the third floor.

They quickly arrived at Qi Ling's room and forcibly broke down the door.

The furnishings inside were exactly as they were when Qi Ling left, and even some of his personal belongings remained intact.

Xie Tu glanced at it only once before walking to the bedside and opening the bedside table drawer.

Qi Ling told them that he had placed the registration book in the last drawer of his bedside table.

But when Xie Tu opened the drawer, he found only a few familiar dark blue boxes, but no register.

He opened both drawers to check, but there was still nothing there.

"The register is missing?"

Duan Xi: "Was it taken by the gatekeeper?"

“Hmm.” Xie Tu’s gaze deepened. “Its actions have actually confirmed our suspicions.”

The gatekeepers... have always lived right under their noses!

Duan Xi was not giving up. Fearing that Qi Ling had misremembered, he turned around and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching every corner of the room with a flashlight.

Xie Tu lowered his head, staring at the several dark blue boxes in the drawer.

The rabbit once gave Yun Zhao a box, which he then threw into the river.

He paused only for a moment, then calmly took the items out of the drawer and stuffed them into his backpack.

In case I need it someday.

The two searched the entire house thoroughly and confirmed that the register was indeed missing.

Stepping out of Qi Ling's room, Duan Xi turned around and violently opened his own room door.

"Captain, wait for me a moment, I'm going inside to get something."

Duan Xi took out a copy of the novel and put it under his pillow, reading it for a while every night before bed.

Since Qi Ling's room hadn't been touched by the survivors, his room naturally hadn't either.

They had long held sway over those people, and even though they believed the group had fled, no one dared to touch their belongings.

Duan Xi went inside to tidy up, stuffing his belongings and the novel back into his backpack.

Xie Tu also went back to his room to get some toiletries for Yun Zhao, and then opened all the rooms where his teammates were staying to check if any personal belongings had been left behind.

After they finished tidying up, the two went downstairs and out.

At this moment.

Fire Phoenix finally sent word that Tao Haohao had appeared and was on his way to join them.

Xie Tu returned to the car. "The register is nowhere to be found. We may have to split into groups and search for the gatekeeper in different areas."

Yun Zhao's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this news.

She seemed to know who the gatekeeper was.