Chapter 525, Polluted Zone 24 (Thirteen)

Xia Mingang was speechless. "Do you really think the internet in the contaminated area can connect to the old era?"

A two-star gatekeeper doesn't have that ability yet; they can even replicate the network.

Qi Shiqi retorted, "You've never even been to a contaminated area. How do you know there isn't one if you don't go and see for yourself?!"

"It's alright, it's alright. Only by sharing our opinions can we come up with a good solution," Qi Ling advised.

He reached out to grab Qi Shiqi, but then, as if remembering something, his expression darkened, and he abruptly withdrew his hand.

Xie Tu ignored their argument and leaned halfway out to look at the internet cafe downstairs.

Huo Feng went to see it not long ago, and it does indeed have electricity inside.

The computer should be able to turn on, but it's unclear whether there's internet access. The spirit is illiterate and not intelligent enough to use a computer.

"Let's go check it out tomorrow morning," Xie Tu said.

Yun Zhao was asleep, and he couldn't leave her behind, nor could he let Qi Ling and Qi Shiqi act alone.

As for Xia Mingang, Xie Tu will not stop him if he wants to go alone to look for clues.

But obviously.

Xia Mingang did not want to go down alone.

His understanding of the old era was limited to books and a few videos, and even if he went down there, he might not be able to find any clues.

Why not wait until tomorrow morning and invite Qi Ling along?

The group chatted by the window for a while, then quickly dispersed and returned to their respective beds to rest.

The city fell silent once more.

...

Yun Zhao had already decided before falling asleep that if the gatekeeper couldn't activate her memories, she would kill it as soon as it dared to enter her dream.

But to my utter surprise...

She dreamed of zombies while she was asleep.

Those monsters, covered in foul blood, with disgusting appearances, that even a trace of spirit would not dare to touch.

Yun Zhao was fully aware that he was dreaming.

Without losing my memory or having my memories revived, I was inexplicably chased by zombies for two blocks in my dream.

The road was all stairs, sometimes uphill, sometimes downhill.

Yun Zhao felt as if his legs were no longer his own, and every step he took was incredibly heavy.

The roars of the zombies behind them grew closer and closer, and the stench of decay seemed to linger around their noses.

She had a hard time running and almost got caught by zombies several times.

When Yun Zhao opened his eyes, his gaze was full of vigilance, and he only relaxed when he saw Xie Tu's face.

"I ran around in my dreams all night."

Afraid that she would forget later, Yun Zhao quickly told Xie Tu about the scene in her dream.

That's all.

She carefully recalled everyone she knew and their lives from Qingshan Town to the base.

The tone of voice made it difficult to discern the speaker's emotions.

“I don’t think I’ve lost any memories. I didn’t encounter the gatekeeper in my dream, nor did I see my childhood self.”

She was doing parkour in her dream.

The map was still of the same city, and I ran around and around the mountains, which was more tiring than training.

Xie Tu listened quietly, unscrewed the bottle of water and handed it to her, "Shall I try this afternoon? Maybe the gatekeeper is just too afraid to lay a hand on you."

Her mental strength is too great.

The gatekeeper might not dare to enter her mental realm to peer into the fragments of her memories.

Yun Zhao took a sip of water, neither agreeing nor refusing, as if pondering, "After I fell asleep, did anything unusual happen at the hotel?"

"There's none at the hotel, but there is one outside."

Xie Tu described the face that appeared downstairs: "It was the same face we bumped into at the front desk, only the pose on the poster was different."

One head is looking upwards, and the other is looking downwards.

Both times, we were able to make eye contact in a very strange way.

Xie Tu said, "Qi Ling happens to know that person; she was a female star from the old days."

Yun Zhao was taken aback upon hearing this, "You know him?"

Xie Tu nodded: "Finally, we've found a breakthrough. Let's go down and take a look after breakfast."

Soon, a commotion came from next door.

Everyone woke up.

The night was peaceful and uneventful.

"What memory hotel? It's all a scam."

Qi Shiqi, carrying Qi Ling's bag, walked out of the room with a very dissatisfied expression, "It has no research value whatsoever."

Yun Zhao also came out with a bag on his back, turned around and asked, "Were you dreaming?"

Qi Ling shook her head.

He is a mutant who seems to have lost the ability to dream after becoming a monster.

If only he could dream.

Upon hearing this, Qi Shiqi took out his notebook and showed it to Yun Zhao. "I did it, but I encountered a bunch of monsters that were neither human nor ghost. I simply hid in my room and continued writing my research report."

Yun Zhao: "..." Writing a report in a dream?

Her expression turned serious. "You dreamed about zombies too?"

"Zombies?"

Xia Mingang appeared, yawning. "I didn't dream about it. What was that thing?"

He slept all afternoon yesterday and couldn't fall asleep at all last night. He finally felt a little sleepy, but then he heard that the people next door had already gotten up.

Xie Tu's gaze fell on Qi Shiqi, and he suddenly asked, "Professor Qi, do you still remember which number this contaminated zone is?"

"Number 24, do you really think I've lost my memory?"

Qi Shiqi glared and retorted irritably, "Except for having a dream and not encountering the gatekeeper, I'm not so bad as to forget this."

"You really dreamed about zombies?" Qi Ling asked nervously.

Qi Shiqi should have never seen a zombie, so why would he dream about that thing?

Yun Zhao then chimed in, "I dreamt about it too."

As soon as he said that, everyone looked over.

Qi Shiqi's expression suddenly turned solemn.

It seems this is no coincidence.

"I don't know what it was. In my dream, I was in a bedroom, and there was a monster covered in blood wandering outside the door."

After sorting out the rest, Qi Shiqi recounted his dream, saying, "I looked even uglier than the mutants. I don't know if I was the zombie you were talking about."

"I knew I was dreaming, so I simply locked the door and stayed in the room to continue analyzing the research data from the 24th."

He woke up shortly afterward.

Upon waking, he recalled all his research findings clearly.

Qi Shiqi assumed it was a side effect of using inhibitors.

—What you think about during the day, you dream about at night.

Yun Zhao then asked, "Is the map in the dream this polluted area?"

She had seen zombies in room 111 before, and those things were so disgusting that they left a deep impression on her.

So she didn't find it strange when she dreamed about it.

But now, the fact that two people are having the same dream is clearly problematic.

Qi Shiqi's expression was serious. "I'm not sure. That room was very enclosed, and I didn't open the curtains to check."

"However, based on the data from my research, changes may occur in places we don't know about, and we must find the gatekeepers to get out as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, everyone decided not to delay any longer.

A person was carrying a bag of bread, eating as they walked, searching for a way to the back street.

The staircases on both sides lead to the reception area on one side and to an office building next door on the other.

They came out onto the street.

Even though it's right downstairs, you have to go through a huge circle to find the way back.

Twenty minutes later.

They finally reached the residential street on the other side.