Chapter 697: Walk Slowly on the Yellow Springs Road
The old man didn't even look at the eyeball, but just pinched it gently with two fingers. The eyeball, like the wall before, quickly melted into a sticky liquid and dripped into the sewage under his feet.
"Xiao Jiuzi..."
The old man uttered a hoarse and low voice like a night owl to the dark and deserted waterway.
"The things you left for the young master have already been taken by our family. You... can go with peace of mind."
He sighed softly, carefully wiped the dust off the parchment scroll and put it close to his body.
After doing all this, the old man slowly pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a creepy smile:
"However, please walk slowly on the Yellow Springs Road and don't be too anxious. We will soon send all those who killed you down there to accompany you. Who do you want to arrive first, [Mask] or Zuo Bai?
"Jiejiejie——"
The old man let out a series of sinister low laughs, and before the laughter died down, his palm casually and lightly pressed on the edge of the hole he had melted.
The next moment, the old man's figure blurred like a ghost and disappeared from the spot.
Five seconds later.
With the hole in the wall as the center, the underground shaft wall, which was more than 20 meters long, along with the supporting structure, seemed to have lost all its strength in an instant, and collapsed and softened.
Like cream splashed with strong acid, it turned into a large pool of sticky mud and collapsed with a loud noise.
The ground above, having lost its support, suddenly sank downwards in a large area, becoming soft and mushy, forming an irregular pit, the edges of which were constantly dripping with a muddy substance...
……..
The hunchbacked old man came to District 9 to pick up something for his young master, and he took the jumping passage.
Zhao Jingyi came to District 9 to pick up something on behalf of her tutor, even though her tutor had forbidden her to do so.
But she still came as quickly as possible. There's nothing she can do about it. Students' filial piety is sometimes so touching.
Zhao Jingyi took a "tortuous" route.
It refers to the vast ruins area and uninhabited area between districts. You can drive however you want and there are no traffic regulations to restrict you. You can drive as you please as long as you can reach your destination alive.
However, when Zhao Jingyi and her convoy finally arrived after going through many hardships, they found that something was wrong.
All entrances and exits of the city have been blocked under martial law, and the atmosphere is grim.
Teams of Survey Corps soldiers, wearing uniformed weapons, replaced the usual security personnel, taking over and guarding all entrances and exits.
A convoy from District 6 was stopped outside the city.
The convoy was not large, consisting of eight heavily modified transport trucks and armed off-road vehicles, each of which looked as if it had just been fished out of mud and blood.
Thick yellow sand and dust covered the original paint, and the front of the vehicle was covered with splattered and solidified blood. Cracks like claws' teeth could be seen on the armor plates of some vehicles, and some of the car wall panels revealed hideous holes.
Obviously, the road was not smooth.
When they set out, the convoy consisted of fourteen vehicles of various types, and eight of them were able to reach the city walls of District 9.
The survival rate is over 50%, which is a figure worth bragging about in long-distance freight between downtown areas.
You should know that long-distance fleets will prepare about 30% more "cargo volume" as normal transportation losses.
When the convoy unfortunately encounters hordes of zombies or other distorted monsters that are difficult to defeat during transportation, the "cargo" prepared in advance will be "released" to clear the way for the convoy.
As for what exactly is “distribution”, where does it come from, and why is there such a spirit of dedication?
Believe me, you don’t want to know the specific answer, it’s not Zhao Jingyi anyway.
At this moment, Zhao Jingyi was sitting in the cargo box of a transport truck at the middle rear.
The carriage was dimly lit and filled with the stench of engine oil, sweat, and residual blood.
She leaned against her suitcase and listened to the two transport team members in the same car whispering to each other.
"What the hell is going on? Why is District 9 suddenly locked down? Something's not right. What's going on in there?"
The team member with the scar on his face kept glancing at the cold muzzles of the Survey Corps soldiers' guns outside the car window.
Another team member spat into the car and complained:
"Who knows, maybe they just want to find an excuse to collect another 'toll'.
Oh, I hope they're not too shady, otherwise after this trip, after deducting the loss and the cost of 'distribution', they won't make much money at all."
When this matter was brought up, both of them seemed very angry.
"Fuck, I really don't understand why all the districts are suddenly going crazy and registering those blank residents, fuck!!!"
"Yeah, if I want to hire a 'distributor' in the future, I'm afraid the price will go up like crazy. It's getting harder and harder to survive in this world."
The captain of the transport convoy came back with a gloomy face and slapped the wall of the carriage they were in, making a dull sound and interrupting their conversation.
The captain's face looked extremely ugly, and it was obvious that the negotiations with the Survey Corps were not going well.
Zhao Jingyi disguised her identity and sneaked into a shipping fleet of a pharmaceutical company in District 6. In name, she was also one of the "cargoes" being transported.
Well, it's the cargo that needs to be protected.
Therefore, she did not have any say on the surface, but just stayed quietly in the corner of the carriage, like other silent boxes.
Just quietly observe, listen and think.
However, she didn't have to wait too long.
After a while, the door locks of all the carriages were opened from the outside.
The pharmaceutical company's entourage and several "passengers" like Zhao Jingyi filed out of the carriage one after another.
One of the men, who looked like a pharmaceutical company executive, walked quickly to the transport captain, spoke to him in a low voice for a few words, and handed a box of cash to him.
Then he turned around and walked towards them quickly, his expression also not looking good.
"The convoy couldn't get in. District Nine was under martial law, allowing entry but not exit. There was no telling when the lockdown would be lifted. The people in the transport team were unwilling to go in and were locked in the city. Their vehicles and people turned around and were about to return to District Six.
We can only move the goods into District 9 by ourselves. Don't worry, I have already contacted the buyer's company in District 9, and they will send someone in to prepare to receive them soon..."
The supervisor simply explained a few words and without any intention of negotiation, he directly ordered the employees to start unloading and moving the goods.
Fortunately, they mainly transport medicines or precision medical equipment.
Although each box looks quite tall, it is actually not too heavy, and the accompanying employees are equipped with basic exoskeleton power-assisted brackets.
This is almost standard in inter-regional transport teams, in order to prevent the accidental damage of the vehicle during transportation, which requires manual handling.
Some people may think that relying on manpower to carry goods in an uninhabited area or even a ruins area full of dangers is tantamount to suicide, and it is impossible to return to the city alive.
Joke~
For any company, if it pays high transportation costs and the goods are eventually lost on the road, and the employees are lucky enough to escape and return, they might as well have died on the road!
Zhao Jingyi did not participate in the moving.
She paid three times the "ride fee" of ordinary cargo, and her identity was that of cargo, so she only needed to move herself.
She stood quietly by and watched as the pharmaceutical company employees activated their exoskeletons, unloaded a box from a truck, and stacked it.
Her gaze passed over the busy crowd, toward the blockade formed by armored vehicles and gun barrels, and the outline of the steel city behind it.
"Something might have really happened inside. The situation is unclear. Should I still go in as planned?"
This thought only lasted for a very short time. Zhao Jingyi did not hesitate for too long and immediately took out her seemingly inconspicuous but extremely heavy suitcase from the car.
Silently following the team of workers moving boxes, one by one, they passed the checkpoints guarded by Survey Corps soldiers.
The soldiers of the Survey Corps guarding the city glanced indifferently at everyone entering the city.
Their gaze lingered on Zhao Jingyi for two more seconds, perhaps because her temperament was different from the porter's, or perhaps because of the suitcase in her hand.
But in the end, they looked away indifferently without stopping or checking.
After all, they received orders to conduct a strict investigation and prohibit anyone from leaving the city. The order did not mention entering the city at all.
Of course, the most crucial thing is that the transport captain had just stuffed a sufficient amount of "inspection fees" into the pocket of the officer on duty during the negotiation.
As long as the "inspection fee" is paid in full, whether it is inspected or not, the items you carry are "safe". Even a whole truck of high explosives will become harmless "building stones" in the documents;
On the contrary, if you don’t pay enough “inspection fees”, even if you are transporting just a bag of ordinary laundry detergent, it will be identified as a “large-scale biological weapon”.
so.
The harmless Zhao Jingyi, pulling her equally harmless suitcase, safely set foot on the land of District 9 again!!!
……..
According to the original plan, Zhao Jingyi should go directly to the coordinates sent by her instructor, pick up the things and leave immediately.
However, the unusually tense atmosphere in District 9 made her feel vaguely uneasy.
From a probabilistic point of view, she felt that the blockade of District 9 should have nothing to do with the tutor, but what if?
After all, a tutor's ability to stir up trouble, especially to stir up big events, should not be underestimated.
Walking on the street with her suitcase, Zhao Jingyi's mind was racing with various thoughts.
As a scientist, especially one trained by Zuo Bai, Zhao Jingyi also learned to be cautious.
To conduct an experiment, you need to prepare all the equipment in advance, design a control group, and preset various possible unexpected situations and response plans.
In her opinion, doing things and doing experiments are similar in underlying logic - both require as much information as possible, consider various variables, and prepare for the worst case scenario.
After all, if the experiment fails, you might be able to replace the materials and start over, but in your own case, you are the only one with the supplies, and there is no chance to start over.
"We must reassess the risks and cannot blindly follow the original plan."
Thinking about this, she stopped a taxi on the street, opened the door and sat in the back seat.
"Master, go to Maple Forest Hotel."
She reported a pre-selected stopover point, and then asked casually,
"Did something happen in District 9? I see checkpoints set up everywhere on the road."
The driver was a middle-aged man with dark skin. He glanced through the rearview mirror at the middle-aged woman in the back seat who looked ordinary. He also replied in a casual tone:
"That's right, even the Survey Corps has been transferred into the city.
Since this morning, the roads have been bustling with activity. Every now and then, you can see the blue and white police cars whirring by, making everyone panic.
Zhao Jingyi frowned:
"So, what happened?"
The driver shook his head:
"Who knows what exactly happened? There wasn't a single word in the news. But I saw some speculation online that it might be because the 'air tax' is really going to be implemented.
The Executive Yuan is worried that there might be large-scale protests or even riots, so they're deploying forces in advance to conduct drills and deterrents in the city."
Zhao Jingyi nodded slightly, admitting that this speculation was logical.
Blocking the urban area can indeed effectively prevent dissatisfied "blank citizens" from escaping from District 9 and running outside to become "free citizens" without jurisdiction.
In the past, empty-handed residents could leave at will, but with the introduction of the air tax, they can’t leave without paying.
But deep down she always felt that things might not be that simple.
Just as she was thinking about it, the driver suddenly lowered his voice, as if he wanted to share some important secret.
There were clearly only two of them in the car, and I don't know if he lowered his voice because he was afraid that someone might eavesdrop.
He pretended to be mysterious and said:
"But, let me tell you, I personally think it's definitely not about the air tax, but..."
"Oh?" Zhao Jingyi cooperated with an interested expression. "Then why do you think that is, Master?"
The driver coughed lightly and opened up the conversation completely:
"In my opinion, this situation is most likely - someone is dead! And it must be some very important person who died!
That's why the city was blocked off and the murderer was being apprehended. Otherwise, nothing else would be worth the government making such a fuss.
In order to prove his point, the driver brought up an old story:
"Think about it, even seven or eight years ago, when the news reported that a group of ghouls wandering from the ruins area were approaching District 9, the city was never as tense as it is now.
The last time the entire city was blocked like this and the Survey Corps was deployed into the city was probably more than twenty years ago.
I remember there seemed to be a congressman at that time, yes, it was a congressman, I don’t know who killed his entire family?
I remember that congressman’s name was, uh, what was his last name…”
Listening to the driver's endless analysis, Zhao Jingyi's face didn't show much expression, but she was thinking in her heart:
"That's quite plausible. So, District 9 isn't searching for the instructor, is it? If that's the case, then that's... great!"
(End of this chapter)
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