Chapter 590, Contaminated Zone 6 (XIV)

The village chief's face was even paler than when they last met, almost transparent, as if he might vanish into the night wind at any moment.

Its silhouette gleamed faintly in the moonlight, like an oil lamp about to burn out.

"You didn't leave?"

The voice was soft, yet it pierced the night clearly, carrying a hint of expected weariness: "Some died, some left..."

The village has never been as peaceful as it is now.

A profound, deathly silence filled the air.

Occasionally, a slight tremor would appear around, indicating that this domain was no longer stable.

"And what about you?"

Yun Zhao walked into the courtyard and stopped a few steps away. "Why didn't you leave?"

The young village chief gave a bitter laugh, "I always had to stay in this village... after all these years. Now that the village is gone, my obsession will naturally dissipate."

"Whether we leave or not makes no difference."

Xia Mingang followed into the courtyard, stood sideways behind Yun Zhao, and whispered to Jiang Mu, "Its sense of self is so strong."

As a creature inside the "box," it not only remembers the past but also knows about the existence of the contaminated area.

It's simply unbelievable.

Jiang Mu raised his eyelids and his gaze fell on the figure on the threshold.

That faint, eerie gaze seemed to sweep over the little bluebird unintentionally before quickly lowering its head again.

"Are you a guide?" Yun Zhao clearly remembered that it could see the fire phoenix the last time it appeared.

Its ability to retain full consciousness is likely related to its spiritual power.

"Guide..."

The young village chief continued to murmur, "Many years ago, I think I heard someone mention this word before. So this ability is called a guide..."

Yun Zhao was taken aback and pressed, "Who told you that?"

The young village chief's figure swayed slightly in the moonlight, "a...man wearing a badge."

Yun Zhao quickly took off his backpack and took out the iron box inside.

"Is this the badge with the double helix design?" She opened the box and held the badge up in the moonlight.

Perhaps fearing it wouldn't be able to see clearly, Yun Zhao started searching for a flashlight.

Her backpack was filled with too much food, and as she rummaged through it, several food packets fell out.

Seeing her anxious look, Jiang Mu sighed, stepped forward to help her carry her backpack, and told her to take her time searching.

The flashlight beam shone on the badge, and the patterns on it glowed with a faint blue light.

The young village chief stared at it for a long time before speaking again: "He said that this badge is seen as a symbol of flowing energy. The double helix represents the cycle of life energy and the interweaving of a certain energy in the universe, similar to Kundalini's ascent and balance."

Kundalini?

Yun Zhao turned to look at Jiang Mu and Xia Mingang.

Xia Mingang raised an eyebrow and replied in a low voice, "Kundalini... isn't that something from yoga?"

"You know?" Yun Zhao asked.

Xia Mingang shrugged: "I found it in a database from some old era before. Kundalini is considered to be a primitive and powerful spiritual energy, representing the untapped potential of humankind."

He paused, a slightly sarcastic smile playing on his lips. "Legend has it that when a person's brain is developed to over 90%, they become like gods, possessing incredible abilities."

"It should be a symbol of a certain civilization, but it's somewhat similar to Kundalini on our planet." Jiang Mu's gaze swept over Yun Zhao almost imperceptibly.

They practically said it outright: it might be a symbol of civilization from your hometown.

Just like the spiritual symbols on their combat uniforms, the national flags, and military flags, each of them has its own unique cultural heritage and meaning.

The surroundings were dimly lit, and Yun Zhao didn't notice Jiang Mu's gaze; she was thinking about something else entirely.

The double helix has another layer of meaning in human knowledge.

— Represents the biological gene chain.

Did some civilization that received the cosmic signal confuse the two things?

For example, Dad came here, perhaps in search of the so-called 'Kundalini,' thinking that this place had the same civilization as them?

Upon arrival, the spacecraft was damaged and forced to land on the planet, where it discovered the invading dark matter.

This speculation relieved her.

If the speculation is correct, it at least shows that the father was not the culprit behind the disaster.

“But when I asked you last time, you said you didn’t know him.”

Yun Zhao: "You clearly saw it, why are you lying?"

"And also, why...why did he tell you all this?"

She asked two questions in a row, and even Xia Mingang noticed her urgency.

The young village chief's Adam's apple bobbed, and his fingertips unconsciously picked at the rough calluses on his palms, the moonlight casting shadows of varying depths on his face.

He once said that knowing things you shouldn't know will bring trouble.

"As for why he told me, maybe he was in a good mood at the time, or maybe... he felt sorry for me."

Before meeting that person, it was just a muddled monster, mechanically doing what the gatekeeper wanted it to do.

Compared to outsiders, these native inhabitants cannot leave even if they want to.

That person told it the truth, a truth that it, as a creature inside the 'box,' should not have known.

"So the reason you've been looking at the contents of the box is because you know about Kundalini energy, like a hungry wolf staring at a campfire—it's the bait that will help you break free from the 'box'," Xia Mingang interjected.

The young village chief nodded slowly, "But we can't touch it, the slime will damage it."

"Someone took the thing away, and you brought it back. Something even more powerful is approaching. It's about to dissipate, and you... won't be able to leave either."

"Who's about to disappear?" Xia Mingang asked instinctively.

Jiang Mu answered for the village chief: "Old Li's son, the gatekeeper of number four."

"Old Li has been searching for his son for decades, wandering around the village every night, asking if anyone has seen his son..."

The young village chief said slowly, "It knows it's no match for us, so it went home to be with its parents. Don't disturb it; let it go in peace."

Young people went to work in big cities, only to be met with the arrival of a dark apocalypse and die far from home.

Many years later, it finally wandered back to its homeland. Originally a mindless monster, upon seeing its homeland reduced to ruins, a powerful obsession was born within it...

A contaminated area was created.

The irresistible allure drew back the "villagers" who had been wandering nearby.

It didn't know if it was right or wrong. Its father and mother were determined to find it, but they were unable to face it because of the awakening of their self-awareness.

Yun Zhao recalled the old woman she met in the first contaminated area, and her desperate desire to rush into the contaminated area just to find her daughter.

Over the past two hundred years, countless similar stories have unfolded.

Dark matter... damn it.

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

At that moment, the contaminated area shook again.

It is stronger than before.

The surrounding environment began to distort, and the three people present realized that this was a sign that the domain was about to collapse.

"You may leave." The young village chief slowly stood up, turning his back to the crowd. "I can't be of much help to the rest, but I hope you can all survive..."