Chapter 563, Contaminated Zone 4 (Part 4)

Jiang Mu had somehow found the money and handed five hundred-yuan bills to the old man.

The old man paused for a moment, then took the money and said, "Don't wander around. Come back early after you're done shopping."

The five men responded and came out of the house.

It was completely dark.

There were no streetlights in the village, and the thick darkness of night was like a bucket of cold water poured down, blurring the dirt roads, haystacks, and distant mountain shadows.

Xie Tu took out a flashlight from his bag and walked along the path to the western end of the village.

"The cellar should be in the woods behind the earthen house."

Xie Tu said, "Let's go check the cellar first, then go to the village chief's house."

Yun Zhao hugged the box tightly and subconsciously looked at the others.

Surprisingly, no one objected.

Perhaps sensing the danger, the S-class mutant has not shown itself yet. Instead of searching slowly, it would be better to check other places first.

Most importantly, everyone wanted to know the secret of the two items in the box.

The group evaded the villagers and, following the terrain map drawn by Wei Xu, quickly arrived at the bamboo grove behind the earthen house.

Deep in the woods.

Countless mutants wriggled in the darkness, and the instant the flashlight beam swept across them, dozens of murky eyes simultaneously turned toward the light source.

Yun Zhao: "..."

Xie Tu abruptly turned off the flashlight.

The surroundings were instantly plunged into inky darkness.

A warm, putrid stench wafted from the depths of the bamboo forest, and the sounds of bones grinding together were exceptionally clear in the silence.

Xia Mingang looked at the bamboo forest filled with mutants and kicked at the fallen leaves on the ground. "What if we get trapped inside if we don't get rid of these things?"

Fu Heng used the Gatling gun in her hand to poke aside the mutants blocking her way, and entered the bamboo forest to look for the cellar entrance. "It's too time-consuming to kill them all in a short time, so I'll just leave someone up there to keep an eye on things."

Xia Mingang followed closely behind and went inside.

He kicked one of the mutants away, then turned and asked, "Who's going to stay up there? Another draw?"

He won't lose this time!

Jiang Mu clearly didn't want to draw lots: "If you raise your voice any louder, you can attract all the mutants in the village."

"Then what should we do? Who should we keep?"

Fu Yu pressed the Gatling gun barrel against the ground, probing the location of the cellar, and impatiently crushed some dead leaves.

Xie Tu was also searching for the entrance in the bamboo forest. His gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Jiang Mu: "Are you staying?"

"I?"

Jiang Mu scoffed: "Why should I? Why shouldn't you stay?"

Xia Mingang, unusually, sided with Jiang Mu, saying, "That's right, you didn't participate in the lottery last time."

Fu Heng thought the three men were childish. "Why don't you all stay here, and Yun Zhao and I will go in?"

Xia Mingang's face darkened.

Seeing that another argument was brewing, Yun Zhao rubbed his temples as if he had a headache: "We'll all go inside, just leave the spirit body outside."

Apart from Fire Phoenix, none of the other children came out.

Including the little bluebird.

The little guy thinks it's the boss now and needs to maintain a cool and aloof demeanor.

—That's how cooks used to be.

The argument paused again.

Their S-rank guide captain possesses the ability to purify dark matter, so the spiritual beings need not fear being corrupted.

Leaving them alone is perfectly fine.

"Found it!"

Fuyu knocked on the monster pile for a long time before finally finding a rusty iron ring protruding from a pile of decaying leaves.

Upon hearing this, Xie Tu immediately returned to the edge of the bamboo forest and escorted Yun Zhao through the monsters.

These mutants were also bound by the gatekeepers at night, their bodies stiff except for their heads, and they let out low growls at the passersby.

Too close.

Yun Zhao could even smell the rotten odor coming from their mouths.

Jiang Mu, who was covering the rear, raised an eyebrow. "Wei Xu is quite capable. No wonder he was able to escape the pursuit by hiding in such a dangerous place."

Fu Yu was focused on her career and didn't bother with him, so she simply released her spiritual form.

The water unicorn emerged from the waves amidst the patterns of light.

The glistening water droplets condensed into tiny starlight under the moonlight.

This spiritual entity, its entire body shimmering with a water-like aura and swirling with churning mist, possessed a massive, ethereal form that stretched beyond the bamboo, instantly sweeping away the surrounding mutants several meters away.

The water unicorn, its large, watery eyes wide open, obediently squatted at the cellar entrance, scanning its surroundings: [It's so dark, I'm scared.]

Fu Yu paused, then turned to the others, "Who else is staying?"

"I can't let go."

Xia Mingang wanted to let Bixi show off its power.

However, this bamboo forest is not very large. If two S-class spiritual beings are crammed into this area, wouldn't they push all the mutants into the village?

The village chief's house was located just ahead of the bamboo grove.

Xie Tu glanced at the dim light inside the earthen house, "Fire Phoenix, stay."

The fire phoenix was powerless to resist and could only perch on the water unicorn's head. [Where's the Azure Phoenix! Why isn't the Azure Phoenix coming out?!]

With the fire phoenix by its side, the water unicorn calmed down, its tail fin sweeping across the withered leaves on the ground, and it stood motionless guarding the cellar entrance.

Fu Heng opened the cellar door and jumped in first.

Yun Zhao took out his flashlight from his bag and followed into the cellar, with the others following closely behind.

The cellar was about fifty or sixty square meters in size, dark and gloomy, and you couldn't see anything at all.

As Yun Zhao's flashlight beam swept across the darkness, the cold metallic light reflected back in the instant the beam pierced the darkness.

The others also turned on their flashlights, instantly illuminating the entire cellar.

Inside, there was a sealed chamber.

A huge, curved metal plate was embedded in the earthen wall, as if it had been squeezed in by some terrifying force; countless tiny, glass-like fragments were scattered on the ground, making a crisp cracking sound when stepped on.

The hatch was open, and the interior was filled with twisted, unrecognizable wreckage.

The most striking feature is the broken columnar structure in the center.

The surface is covered with intricate patterns that resemble neither text nor design, and shimmer with a faint blue light under illumination.

Fu Yan poked at the wreckage with the Gatling gun barrel, frowning as she asked, "What is this thing? Some kind of machine?"

Xie Tu squatted down, picked up a piece of half-melted metal, and ran his fingertips along the edge: "...It doesn't look like modern craftsmanship."

"Where did this sealed compartment come from in the cellar? Did someone deliberately place it here?" Jiang Mu leaned against the door, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over Yun Zhao.

Yun Zhao's expression was stunned.

Besides Yun Jue, there was no one else, but what exactly are these metal fragments scattered all over the ground?

Is it related to the items in the box?

"Don't you think this sealed chamber is strange?"

Xia Mingang crawled into the damaged cabin, where the floor was covered with metal debris.

His boots crushed the shards of glass beneath his feet, making a soft "crunching" sound.

The interior space is cramped.

The originally flat bulkhead has been squeezed into a wave shape, but the circular track embedded in the edge can still be identified.

Xia Mingang, after all, came from Hope Base, the most technologically advanced base, and had witnessed the launch site and space station that were currently under construction.

"It looks a bit like a section of a spacecraft." His flashlight swept across the broken emergency light tube, and he felt that his guess was probably correct.