Chapter 644 The Guardian of the Collection (Part 8)

The instructions were simple and brutal, yet they contained an extremely powerful spiritual force.

The mutants, who were wriggling, wandering, and mimicking various lively behaviors on the street, suddenly stopped moving!

The empty eye sockets collectively turned towards the direction of the passage.

The next second.

The densely packed mutant population began to surge towards the entrance of the passage mechanically, silently, like a tidal wave.

The rustling sound of countless limbs rubbing against the ground converged into a suffocating torrent.

Without hesitation, they walked towards the exit one after another, entering the dark passage in an orderly fashion, their figures quickly swallowed up by the deep darkness.

This is the path that Yun Zhao gleaned from the red eyes.

When she gets close enough to the manor castle, Kerry can sense her, and the manor's passageways will open according to her thoughts.

The tourist town was located right where they came in.

The distance is sufficient to open a passage.

Yun Zhao had actually considered killing these mutants, but firstly, the group didn't have much ammunition, and clearing out the monsters would take too much time; secondly, she was afraid that her uncle might be among the mutants.

After much thought, the best solution was to lure them all to the manor castle.

As the gatekeeper, Kerry should be able to control the mutants, and Uncle He can help with the investigation. If his uncles were there, he would definitely be able to recognize them.

The crowd stood still, watching helplessly as the army of mutants coalesced into a silent torrent, marching into the darkness in a line.

A luminous blue phoenix hovered high in the sky.

The visuals are both magnificent and eerie, filled with a powerful sense of awe as the sacred and the sinister intertwine.

Xia Mingang felt a chill run down his spine.

They thought they could cause trouble in the contaminated area, but the guide's "big move" meant directly controlling the mutants to leave, leaving them with nothing to do with it.

...

Inside the manor castle.

Kerry put on a light green bow tie. Sensing that the passage had reopened, it happily went out to greet its little master.

Halfway there, they realized that hordes of monsters were swarming in.

"My little master is still as mischievous as he was when he was little," Kerry muttered, turning around to go home.

Dark matter surged and seeped out from the cracks in its shell.

Upon receiving the order, all the robots inside the castle raised their cannons and headed towards the passageway.

Hearing the commotion, Uncle He came out of his room and asked what was going on.

Kerry replied, "It's a monster that the little master let in. She's playing with the gatekeeper."

Uncle He was shocked. "Why did Zhao Zhao let the mutant in?"

With a large bow on his head, Kerry said in a childlike voice, "I don't know, but it's okay, I'll handle it. I'll just kill them all."

Kill him?

As a member of the mutant species, Uncle He felt a chill run down his spine.

"I'm going out to take a look!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly went out, and casually called over the nine sentries who were loading the truck outside...

*

The sky was still dark, making it impossible to distinguish between day and night.

However, just over ten minutes later...

The once bustling town has become deathly silent. All the lively decorations are still there, but the only "actors" and "audience" have all left.

Five people stood at the exit, waiting for the gatekeeper to react.

The result was extremely disappointing.

Until the last mutant in town disappeared, the gatekeeper remained quiet and made no move.

Jiang Mu crossed his arms and stared at the empty town. "Wrong direction?"

Yun Zhao was also thinking about something.

Why does it react when Jiang Mu damages the power switch, but ignore it when he moves the entire town?

Yun Zhao turned his head: "Xia Ming'ang."

"What are you doing?" Xia Mingang responded promptly.

Yun Zhao stretched out his hand to him: "Let me see the doll."

The two stood very close, separated only by Xie Tu.

Xie Tu took the doll that was handed to him. Its fur was fluffy and soft, with a slightly cool, plush feel, and it felt just like an ordinary toy.

He checked it over and, after confirming there were no problems, handed it to Yun Zhao.

The fuzzy texture is a delight to the touch.

Yun Zhao examined the doll for a while, his mental energy slowly seeping into its interior, and said in a low voice, "The gatekeeper is an Arctic fox doll."

No response.

The little bluebird didn't notice it moving, which dispelled her doubts.

Strangely, she didn't sense the gatekeeper's movements either, but the little bluebird and the bixi did.

Why can the spiritual body perceive?

"Let's discuss this further once we're in the car." After confirming that the doll was no longer a suspect, Xie Tu opened the driver's door and gestured for everyone to get in.

Fu Mo glanced down at the communicator; one hour and fifty minutes had passed.

They only have a little over four hours left, so they have to hurry.

"Let's go, think about it while we drive." Fu Heng was the first to pick up her weapon, bend down, and step into the car.

This is a seven-seater minivan.

The left-hand door was open. On the left-hand single seat in the second row sat a man dressed in tattered clothes. He had his head down, holding a candied hawthorn and a crystal in his hands, and was completely oblivious to the situation around him.

Fu Yu glanced at him, trying not to bump into him, and bent down to enter the last row.

Yun Zhao, clutching the Arctic fox plush toy, silently boarded the bus and sat in the second-row right-hand seat.

She wanted to stay with her uncle; if he saw her from time to time, he might recover faster.

Xie Tu saw this but didn't say anything, got into the driver's seat and started the car.

Xia Mingang reacted quickly. He was already standing next to Xie Tu, and when he saw Yun Zhao sitting in the back, he immediately went around to the other side and took the passenger seat first.

"Childish." Jiang Mu scoffed and squeezed into the last row to sit with Fu Mo.

The car quickly got on the road and drove steadily past the antique-style archway at the exit of the ancient town.

Outside the window.

What came into view was an unexpectedly beautiful landscape of mountains and clear waters.

The asphalt road is smooth and clean, stretching forward along the winding river valley.

To the right is a clear stream, its waters gurgling gently; to the left is a lush green hillside, the dense forest appearing a deep, dark green under the gloomy sky, and various wildflowers, whose names I don't know, blooming quietly in the roadside grass.

It feels very out of place.

The lush natural landscape simply doesn't suit the 'lively' nature that the collector prefers.

But Uncle He couldn't possibly lie to them.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Everyone seemed to be pondering this question, and for a moment no one spoke.

Yun Zhao carefully recalled the bet he made with the gatekeeper.

—Guess its identity within six hours.

Guess?

The atmosphere inside the car was too somber.

The little bluebird, probably bored, suddenly hopped onto her lap.

Two tiny feet stepped on the Arctic fox resting between her knees. The fox felt fluffy and she found it fun. She reached out her paw and poked the blue eyes embedded in the fox's face.

The eyes are made of glass, an industrial mass-produced product of the old era, with extremely fine silver specks adorning the pupils.

The corners of her mouth were embroidered with fine stitches to form a very subtle upward curve.

Unlike the typical doll's endearing smile.

His expression was more like an all-knowing, ambiguous indifference, with a hint of eeriness.