Chapter 301 The Final Area
"Getting out is easy; with a map, there's no problem."
"Just follow the map and you'll naturally find the exit."
“I remember Hera drew a map for you,” Bell said. “Do you still have it with you?”
Hearing this, Xien paused for a moment, then thought for a moment and handed her the map he had kept in his pocket—it was a map drawn on the back of the identity tag, and it marked many hidden areas between the test sites—he had passed through some of them while searching for An Ru and the others, but none of them were as lively as this place.
But for now, this thing is their biggest asset on Sunset Hill.
Bell took the map. Hera's drawing skills were superb, but due to the limited space, it looked like a circuit diagram at first glance—it was filled with all sorts of precise values and names, making one's eyes ache from looking at it.
She spread the map on the ground and began to make corrections on it directly with blood as ink. Her movements were very professional, like someone who was a tactical planner or someone who specialized in researching team operations, not at all like an operative rushing to the front lines of a control mission.
From the map, this vast testing ground only occupies a part of the whole – upon closer inspection, its shape resembles a distorted human face. Whether at the entrance or the internal experimental area, they are scattered everywhere, without any rules, as if they grew out of their own whim – she later discovered that this was indeed the case, as many coordinates did not correspond to the actual location. However, there were notes below, such as "As of January 27, 1980, we have acquired 1221 operatives."
"1980?" Sheen found the timing very strange.
"The flow rate here is different from that outside, but everything projected here is similar to the real world, only the essence is different."
"1980 was the second year of Eoubs' founding, and also the year when mankind first detected the existence of the wave layer."
Belton paused, gave a barely perceptible sigh, and continued, "Among those 1,221 operatives, some had a forbidden substance implanted in my body—'imperfectionism'."
"Wait... Although I've seen the secondary recovery experiment, the time period you mentioned is more than a hundred years ago." Sheen unconsciously began to ponder the meaning of the other person's words, and then realized some chilling facts. Could it be that this place had already been recorded by the Mirror of Eternal Dreams? Everything she was seeing now was actually just like them, pitiful creatures lost in this alternate dimension.
"Why do you think Roy wants to activate its usage rights?"
"There are just too many forbidden things within the fluctuation layer, and every continent is vying to use them to cause trouble."
"If that's the case, why not just get rid of all the operatives and contraband on the list?"
“Sunset Hill bears all the negative elements of the Mirror of Eternal Dreams. Do you still think this space was created out of thin air?”
Bell pointed to the map, which roughly translates to "This is where we are now." They were currently in the center of "Experimental Zone Three," a map filled with numbers and dense markings that would be nearly impossible to find without her pointing it out.
"I understand what you mean."
"It's just a capitalist conspiracy theory, and I think everyone in Eoubs understands that."
"But I just want to finish this mess quickly and go home to get Roy back my half-dead dog."
Bell looked up at Sheen, somewhat surprised that the man's purpose was so pure. After a moment of silence, he said, "We can take a detour and go directly to District 27. If conditions permit... getting the lock would be the best option."
"I knew it," Sheen thought, "she must have something else important to get."
What is a lock?
The girl fell silent again, staring intently at her. Her pupils, as if they had undergone minor cosmetic surgery, now appeared even purer, almost without any impurities, reminiscent of glass beads to the average person.
But the first description that came to mind for Sheen was a black hole—oppressive and cold.
The unspeakable torment she had endured seemed insignificant in this emptiness, as if it were a commonplace, mundane matter, nothing out of the ordinary.
"I must put Hera back in prison."
"She's crazy... in ways you can't imagine."
“Based on the flow rate comparison, an hour has passed in the outside world. I know you still have many teammates, but any operative without a conceptual taboo item... will only face certain death if they go up against Hera.”
"Don't worry, we have powerful backers."
For the first time ever, Sheen started to worry about He Yu—please, as the fastest person in history to advance to B-level, you really shouldn't die too soon.
The two began their journey towards District 27.
Along the way, Sheen glanced at Bell a few more times—well, she knew she should be focusing on the aliens around her, but she couldn't help turning her head to look—now, she was becoming more and more aware of the plans and darkness hidden deep within the other party.
The child didn't make any move, just obediently followed behind. Noticing her gaze, he said, "Don't worry about them, these guys aren't aggressive towards living people."
"I'm just a little curious about you." Sheen shrank back and walked forward without looking to the side.
"Why?" Bell was clearly interested in this question.
“No reason why, just think of it as a lower-class person’s envy of the powerful.” Sheen smiled, a fleeting hint of sarcasm in his expression. “Just like Eoubs’ rating, to some extent, implantation surgery for forbidden substances carries a 90% risk of death. Even if it’s successful, some people will experience severe side effects. I saw one last time; after the surgery, the person’s head became enormous, and he was only a teenager, but at that time, this idiot still believed he could do it… until he was thrown into the shredder.”
“I used to think that the outside world’s rules didn’t apply to the Euubs circle, until I saw how people in the council selected the forbidden items and arranged the surgery.”
"Besides, you are the famous B01, and I am just C05."
"Looking at you a few times won't hurt me."
Bell couldn't help but ask, "Judging from the properties of your forbidden substance... it's not just as simple as C05."
She thought Sheen would make up some excuse to refuse, but to her surprise, the answer she received was very clear.
“I once helped a parliamentary official and handled things perfectly.”
"You know, if that incident were exposed, it would be a phenomenal disaster in the Eoubs industry."
"How do you think I'm doing so well in America? Please... I don't even have the interest to sleep with those losers."
"If we're talking about a stroke of luck, it's nothing more than that Roy you mentioned—he has a troublemaking younger brother."
"Oh, the entrance must be just ahead."
Sheen stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.
Before they knew it, they had arrived in District 27.
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