Chapter 440 The Return of Darkness (Part 3)

Xie Tu and Xiao Yunzhao's search for the missing person did not go smoothly.

Strange phenomena frequently occurred on the road.

The surrounding pollution concentration is rising, slowly climbing from 23% to 29%, and small amounts of dark, dust-like substances can already be seen drifting in the air.

I hadn't walked far when an ambulance sped past, an accident had occurred at the intersection ahead.

Xie Tu, carrying Xiao Yunzhao, followed the crowd of onlookers to the intersection where the car accident had occurred.

The scene was extremely horrific.

Seven or eight cars collided together; some had their front ends severely deformed, while others had their sides dented.

Another van was lying across the middle of the road, its wheels askew, overturned, with one of its doors knocked off and lying forlornly not far away.

The scene inside the car was even more shocking.

The bus crashed into the guardrail, and screams and groans filled the air inside.

The driver of the black sedan, with its front end deformed, was trapped inside the mangled cockpit, his head hanging limply, blood streaming down his forehead.

The passenger in the front passenger seat was contorted in pain, his arm hanging out of the window in a bizarre posture, motionless, his fate unknown.

On the sidewalk, there were still more than a dozen people lying there, their fate unknown, with blood flowing everywhere.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of gasoline, blood, and burning, all mixed together, making one want to vomit.

The surrounding crowd gasped and sighed.

"What's going on?"

"It seems like we were waiting at a red light when the bus suddenly accelerated and rear-ended several private cars, which then blocked the intersection, hit pedestrians crossing the road, and collided with a car coming from the opposite direction."

"My God, there have been so many car accidents lately."

"This is the eighth case this month."

"Haven't you seen the news? Car accidents are increasing all over the country lately..."

A middle-aged man who witnessed the whole thing was talking enthusiastically when he turned his head and saw a cold-looking man holding a little girl standing behind him.

"Brother, with such a bloody scene, you shouldn't bring your child to join in the fun."

The kind-hearted uncle said to Xie Tu, "Don't frighten the child, stop looking and leave quickly."

Xiao Yunzhao proudly raised her head.

This little incident couldn't possibly frighten her.

"Yes, thank you for reminding me." Xie Tu thanked her politely before she could speak.

As he turned to leave, he saw the doors of two ambulances open.

Not only medical staff came down, but also two AI medical assistance robots.

Xie Tu squinted as he examined the robot; the patterns on it looked somewhat familiar.

Qi Ling's family's robotics company?

Medical staff carried a stretcher and jogged to the middle of the road to check on the injured.

The medical staff on the other bus prioritized treating the bus with the most passengers. As soon as the doors opened, stretchers were quickly transported there to provide immediate care for the seriously injured.

Within minutes, the two injured people were carried off on stretchers.

One of the injured had his eyes closed and his body bent at an incredible angle, with the sound of his bones cracking audible.

But the person was still alive, wriggling on the stretcher.

Yes, it wriggled, like the bones in its body were dissolving, like some kind of reptile.

Xie Tu calmly withdrew his gaze, took advantage of the chaos to "pick up" a cell phone from the ground, and left with Xiao Yunzhao in his arms.

The phone still only shows the time, not the date.

Disasters don't happen in an instant; there are signs beforehand.

The government must have sensed something, which is why it was able to quickly establish hundreds of large official shelters across the country after the disaster.

But awareness doesn't mean you can fight it, nor does it mean you can find a solution.

How similar his and Yun Zhao's current situations are!

Xie Tu lowered his head to the person in his arms.

She seemed uncomfortable being held; her youthful face betrayed a hint of impatience as she squirmed restlessly in his arms.

Yun Zhao was transported back to his childhood as soon as he entered. Is this related to the current timeline?

Judging from her reaction, she didn't reject him, and the two got along very naturally. It was as if she remembered their last meeting.

But how is that possible?

According to conventional time logic.

The young Yun Zhao and the adult Yun Zhao exist on different timelines.

If the first time it was the adult Yun Zhao who went back to the past, then the young Yun Zhao would not have any memories when they met for the second time.

The truth is, Xiao Yunzhao seems to still remember Xie Tu clearly.

Her two entries seemed to trigger the same time loop, the contaminated area time loop was reset, and she actually experienced the same loop repeatedly.

These are clearly two different contaminated areas.

Xie Tu had been on missions for so long that he thought he had a pretty good understanding of the contaminated area.

Even now, the true nature of the contaminated area remains unfathomable.

Xiao Yunzhao had no idea what he was thinking.

She struggled for a while before finally exploding, her childish voice carrying a hint of command, "I want to ride in the car!"

The man carried his own backpack, with her backpack slung over his right shoulder, holding her in his arms, and carrying a bag in his other hand.

—The bag contained her clothes and boots that she had changed out of.

There was so much stuff that the gun at her waist was digging into her calf as she moved around, which was very uncomfortable.

Xiao Yunzhao is not someone who can compromise herself.

Walking is impossible, and carrying her is uncomfortable.

She looked at the cars parked on the street and found one that looked good. In her childish voice, she said, "I'll sit in that one."

Xie Tu looked up.

She was referring to a sleek red sports car that was very cool and expensive just by looking at it.

Xiao Yunzhao pouted in dissatisfaction and urged repeatedly, "Go and buy it, I want to ride in that car."

She had just learned a new word, "buy," and was finding it novel.

Xie Tu paused for a moment, then said, "I probably can't afford it."

I only got a few dozen banknotes from Jiang Mu, and half of them were spent on buying her clothes and shoes.

The remaining amount is definitely not enough to buy a sports car.

Xiao Yunzhao gave him a disdainful look as if to say, "How can you be so poor?" and said matter-of-factly, "You're really useless. If you can't afford it, then just rob it."

The little bluebird perched on Xie Tu's head, proudly raising its head with an expression exactly like its original form.

Yes! You can grab it!

The fire phoenix, circling overhead and probing, excitedly chimed in: "Yes! We can steal it!"

It's another one against three.

Xie Tu suffered a complete defeat.

He could only say in the end, "There are too many people on the street, and walking like this will take too much time. I really need a vehicle."

*

A few minutes later.

Xie Tu asked for directions and arrived at a nearby car rental shop.

This city is even more real than Zone 88.

It is not advisable to have any conflict with the indigenous people before darkness falls.

To avoid causing countless troubles later.

Xie Tu used his last bit of money to rent a Beetle that looked similar but was actually dozens of times cheaper.

Xiao Yunzhao didn't care.

Because she couldn't tell the difference between these cars at all.

The owner, a young man, sat in front of the computer at the front desk and asked Xie Tu, "Could you please show me your ID card and driver's license? The deposit is 2,000 yuan, and it's 180 yuan per day. How many days do you need to rent?"

Xiao Yunzhao raised her little head and asked, "What is an ID card?"