Chapter 577, Contaminated Zone 6 (Part 1)

Xie Tu rummaged through the supply box for a while and found a bag of strawberry cream bread.

Strawberries are Yun Zhao's favorite food.

Xie Tu could tell she was very agitated—due to the nearby Pollution Zone 6.

Inside was everything she wanted to know: her father, her uncles… all the information was tempting her to stay.

But through that brief encounter, everyone has witnessed the power of Number Six. It only took a moment to infiltrate Number Four before it broke through the barrier set up by Yun Zhao and affected her mind.

This made it even less likely for Xie Tu to let her take the risk.

He wanted to make her happy by eating something.

Xie Tu tore open the packaging bag and held it to her lips; the sweet fragrance filled the car.

He coaxed softly, "There's only one bag of strawberry bread left."

The implication is that if you don't eat it, it's gone.

Yun Zhao numbly accepted the bread. She turned her head and sat up straight, holding the bread but not eating it.

"That feeling hasn't disappeared."

Hearing her finally speak, Xie Tu's brows relaxed slightly. "Which kind?"

Yun Zhao seemed somewhat dazed, and murmured, "The feeling of being watched."

The words fell.

The carriage fell completely silent.

Xie Tu paused slightly, the torn wrapping paper crumpled in his palm, and he said in a very low voice, "We're out."

"I know."

Yun Zhao frowned slightly. "But why hasn't it disappeared? I feel like it's still watching me."

She had been looking out the window for a long time.

They confirmed that the billowing gray fog had long been left far behind by the armored vehicles.

But Yun Zhao just felt that Number Six was still watching her.

It disregarded the little bluebird's threatening remarks and had no intention of letting her leave.

Why?

Yun Zhao didn't quite understand what the relationship was between the gatekeeper and Yun Jue, and why he would allow her, a living person, to live on his territory for six years.

Saying it's six years isn't accurate either.

She might have stayed inside longer if she hadn't run away on her sixth birthday.

"It's just your imagination."

Xia Mingang thought she was overthinking it. "Gatekeepers cannot leave their own domain; that's an ironclad rule."

Fu Yan rarely agreed with Xia Mingang's point of view. She tapped the steering wheel with her fingertips and said to her, "Your mental barrier was depleted too much just now. It should be residual empathic interference."

The guide has a strong sense of empathy and can perceive and capture the emotions of others.

They are also most sensitive to emotions; the stronger their mental power, the stronger their perception.

Fu Yan had read the relevant research data: "It's normal to have residual empathic interference since we just came from a contaminated area."

"Really?" Yun Zhao asked uncertainly.

Xie Tu hummed in agreement, took her hand holding the bread, and brought it to her lips. "Don't think too much, the cream is about to melt."

Seeing that everyone was saying this, Yun Zhao doubted that he was overthinking it and took a small bite of bread following Xie Tu's hand.

The moment the cream melts on your tongue, its sweet aroma flows like a warm current down your throat.

After eating the sweets, Yun Zhao's mood finally improved, and his eyes became clear and bright, unlike the cold look he had just had.

Relieved, Xie Tu got up again to get her a drink.

*

The temporary camp is not far from the contaminated area.

Half an hour later, the armored vehicle slowly slowed down and stopped around a circle of tents.

The twelve sentries huddled on the roof of the vehicle were the first to jump off.

After parking the car, Fu Heng said to everyone, "Go inside and rest for a while. We'll have a meeting tonight to discuss the lessons learned from this mission's failure."

Jiang Mu: "..." He was speechless at this workaholic with a strong will.

Yun Zhao had only taken two steps after getting out of the car when he couldn't help but turn back and say, "It's like I'm the captain."

Fu Mo was silent for a moment: "Okay, Captain. Let's have a meeting tonight to discuss the lessons learned from this mission's failure."

Yun Zhao: "..."

Seeing that the message had been conveyed, Fu Yu waved to everyone and walked in the opposite direction of the camp, carrying her Gatling gun.

Where did she go?

Xia Mingang stared at Fu Mo's departing figure, feeling bewildered. "No need to rest?"

Jiang Mu didn't want to stay here for even a second longer, so he took the lead and entered the camp. His voice came, "If you want to know, you can follow me and take a look."

"I'm not that free."

Unable to bear his tattered combat uniform any longer, Xia Mingang grabbed a sentry on duty at the door and asked, "Quickly, ask anyone who has any spare clean clothes."

Xie Tu, as always, did not participate in their conversation, keeping his attention on Yun Zhao at all times.

"I'll go get some meat. Do you want it braised or made into soup for dinner?"

Yun Zhao shook his head, which was unusual for him. "There are very few mutated animals here. We can just eat whatever we want tonight. Don't bother. Go inside and rest for a while."

Previously, the town's sentries had only captured small mutated animals.

She had lived in the neighborhood for twelve years and remembered that no large creatures roamed the area.

In this hot weather, Xie Tuzhen might have to travel a long way to get meat.

They had just come out of the contaminated area and were relaxing when Yun Zhao didn't want him to overwork himself.

Xie Tu couldn't help but smile, and his voice lowered a few decibels, "Okay, whatever you say."

The two entered the temporary camp together.

Yun Zhao casually chose an empty tent, turned to Xie Tu and said, "See you tonight."

See you tonight, get some rest.

Xie Tu only entered the tent next to Yun Zhao's after seeing her go inside.

The other side was left empty, reserved for Fu Bei who was out.

Lying on the folding bed, Yun Zhao felt that his ability to adapt was getting stronger and stronger.

It was a bit stuffy inside the tent, and the canvas billowed slightly in the hot air, making a soft rustling sound.

Yun Zhao stared at the shadows on the ceiling, raised his hand slightly, and his spiritual tendrils instantly spread out, covering the entire interior of the tent like a fine spider web.

The mental probe detected that, apart from herself, there was nothing else there.

But the feeling of being watched hadn't disappeared.

It becomes clearer in the silence.

Yun Zhao was still worried, so he raised his hand to add another mental barrier for himself.

Everyone says it's residual empathic interference, but she's never experienced anything like this before.

“Is it just my imagination…” Yun Zhao muttered to himself, staring at the ceiling.

*

at the same time.

The rest of Team Zero had just emerged from the two-star contaminated zone.

With the help of the inhibitors researched by Qi Shiqi, Qi Ling moved freely within the contaminated area, entering and exiting three contaminated zones, and successfully discovered a resource-rich area.

The main force immediately set out, and as the gate opened, truckloads of supplies were pulled out one after another.

The sentries were all beaming with joy.

Qi Ling squatted on the outside, counting the truckloads of supplies and carefully calculating the points rewards according to the table.

He currently owes the team leader 60,000 points...

1234... The reward is divided among four people, and the material reward must reach 240,000 to make up for the debt.

And simply smoothing it out isn't enough. He still needs money to buy meat every day, and he also needs to earn money to modify other parts of the robot.

No matter how you calculate it, it's simply not enough.

With a pained expression, Qi Ling asked his teammates, "Can we not go back? Let's try finding another contaminated area."

"No, some supplies can't be stored for long and must be transported back to the base as soon as possible." Song Liang rejected his suggestion in a second.

Tao Haohao sat in the shade and said in his loud voice, "Why are you in such a hurry? The captain has money, it's no big deal if he owes money."

“Exactly, don’t you miss Captain and Sister Yun Zhao?” Wang Jiayu chimed in from the side.

Upon hearing her words, Duan Xi turned and asked, "By the way, Lao Song, have the captain and the others come out yet?"

Song Liang was standing on the other side, sending a message using a communicator.

He habitually reported to his captain first, and then to the base. Upon hearing this, he replied, "There shouldn't be any, we can't get in touch with them yet."