107 The Lost Village (XI)
◎Here, here, above me◎
After Zhu Ning left, fifteen cleaners were left in the deserted village.
Zhu Ning had already entered the village house. Because they had lost track of time, they didn't even know how long Zhu Ning had been there.
Jin Tao tried to open the door but it was completely blocked. He also tried to look for Jiang Ping and the others. The garrisoned troops also disappeared after entering the house. Jin Tao could only see an old man outside.
The other person had white hair and a face full of wrinkles. His face was pressed against the window, and steam was still coming out of his breath.
There was an electronic keyboard behind him, but no one was playing it and there was no sound.
And the weirdest thing is that all the doors are blocked and none of them can be opened.
Jiang Ping, Zhu Ning and others entered another world.
It seemed as if the world here was sealed off. Zhu Ning and the others could not return to this world, and Jin Tao and the others could not enter.
Jin Tao tried to contact Zhu Ning, and not surprisingly, without Prometheus's participation, their channel could not communicate.
The setting sun was still hanging in the sky, and the village road was covered with a layer of warm red light. People were standing in the village houses on both sides of the road. They stood there quietly, and the hot air they exhaled formed a white mist.
From the outside, each house looked empty of anyone except the villagers, and inside each window was quiet.
The other cleaners asked Jin Tao uncertainly, "What should we do?"
They are a pure cleaner team, and their only hope is Zhu Ning. Her qualities are closest to those of a demon hunter, but she has completely disappeared now, and they don't even know whether Zhu Ning is dead or alive.
What if Zhu Ning died in there? Are they just waiting to die outside?
"How about we look for a way out?" We couldn't rely on Zhu Ning for everything, could we? In such extreme circumstances, humans were more likely to trust themselves.
"Yeah," someone said, "why not give it another try?"
"I tried it before, but it's no use. I can't get out."
When Zhu Ning went in, some people were not idle either. They had tried it before. They had tried it three times before, and the fourth and fifth times had the same result.
Apart from consuming their physical and mental strength, this group of people gained nothing.
They were literally trapped to death.
Jin Tao pondered for a moment and said, "Stay where you are and conserve your energy. Those with low spirit values will be in the inner circle, and those with high spirit values will be in the outer circle."
At this time, it is very much like gathering together for warmth in the snow. The cleaner's manual originally said that if they encounter trouble, they should wait where they are. If they try again, they will easily become mentally ill.
The cleaners stood in a circle, which was a strange sight. In the sunset, fifteen cleaners were stationed on the village road. Because it was daylight, they didn't even need to make a fire.
They were surrounded by villagers, who stared at them without blinking, their gazes falling on each person as if they were under pressure.
The cleaners sat close together, most of them with their heads down, either closing their eyes or staring at the palm-sized bricks in front of them.
But it was no use. There was an old lady lying at the window opposite, her eyes bloodshot as she looked at me. Even with my eyes closed, I could imagine her distorted eyeballs.
Jin Tao promised Zhu Ning that he would take care of the people, and he was gritting his teeth and insisting at this time. He was actually in a bad mental state, but this group of people was likely to go crazy.
At present, everyone is barely maintaining stability, but no one knows how long it can last.
Fifteen people, thirty eyes, everyone's eyes were filled with fear, even if they closed their eyes, their eyeballs were moving back and forth restlessly.
Crazy emotions are contagious. These people sitting together are like a constantly fermenting barrel, with a suffocating feeling of oppression hovering over their heads, which can explode at any time.
No one spoke, no one wanted to be the trigger.
"Hey," someone suddenly said in a muffled voice, "Don't touch me."
They sit in a circle, with the outermost people facing the villagers. There is someone behind everyone, which is a safer sitting position. There will always be colleagues watching over your back, so you don't have to worry about what's behind you.
So when he felt something was wrong, his first reaction was that his colleague behind him was playing a prank.
"I didn't touch you." The cleaner behind him sat back to back with him, a little annoyed by him. He put his hands on his knees, "How could I touch you?"
The man froze and clearly felt a strange sensation on his right shoulder, as if something was placed on it. If it wasn't his colleague, then who was it?
He didn't dare look back and instinctively reached out his hand to touch back. He didn't touch the other hand, but he touched a soft and sticky object. It was very long, with a wet and sticky surface, leaving water stains wherever it crawled.
Bugs, they are bugs.
Blood-red worms that look like blood vessels.
"There's a bug!" he screamed.
…
Li Nianchuan heard a scream.
Because it was a sound coming from another world, the scream was muffled, as if someone was shouting with their mouth covered.
Then there was a commotion and someone was shouting.
Li Nianchuan said: "I heard someone shouting."
Zhu Ning knew that Li Nianchuan heard the sound from the previous world, and Jin Tao was probably in some trouble, so they had to find the source of the pollution as soon as possible.
Zhu Ning: "I guess they can't hold on any longer."
In fact, having something to do can help to calm the mind. It is easy for people to have random thoughts when they do nothing.
Xu Meng: "We have to hurry."
Zhu Ning nodded, and even Xu Meng began to feel uneasy, hoping that Jin Tao and the others could hold on a little longer.
She had just contacted Cui Kai, who said he had found a key clue, asked for Zhu Ning's address, and said he would come over to meet her later.
Zhu Ning hung up the phone, and Xu Meng asked, "Are you really waiting for Cui Kai? They're a bit weird."
Xu Meng didn't quite trust these three people, always feeling something was strange about them, especially Jiang Ping.
Zhu Ning: "I also felt that something was wrong with him. He disappeared in the middle."
When she contacted Cui Kai for the first time, Cui Kai answered immediately. When she contacted him for the second time, Cui Kai took almost a minute to reply.
What are they doing?
Of course, if someone is in danger in a contaminated area, a delayed response is perfectly normal; it's impossible to expect an instant response. But if someone is in danger, why is Cui Kai so calm?
Zhu Ning thought again of what Jin Tao had said. He said that some stationed troops would bring people into the contaminated area and kill them.
It can't be true, right?
Li Nianchuan: "I guess they don't trust us."
Li Nianchuan could sense that the garrison troops didn't like those from inside the wall, and they might not want to share any clues they found. Furthermore, compared to Jiang Ping, Cui Kai was relatively normal.
Zhu Ning: "Don't worry about him, find some clues."
The garrison troops didn't trust them, and they didn't trust the garrison troops either. Old Man Wu's house was at the end of the village, and it would take more than ten or twenty minutes to walk there. Zhu Ning didn't plan to just sit there and wait.
If Cui Kai wants to find someone, he will come by himself.
The question is, which house should I enter now?
The villagers all gathered at the window, just like in the first world, but for some reason they just stood there looking at the window, not rushing over or opening the door to come out.
What are the villagers doing? All they can do is watch?
These village houses are like traps. The villagers follow certain rules and do not walk on the village roads. They will only react if Zhu Ning walks into their homes.
This gave Zhu Ning a very strange feeling. The villagers seemed to be afraid of something on the village road.
Is there something terrifying on this road that makes them unable to step out of the door?
Zhu Ning looked up at the setting sun, which was still motionless, like a projection of a photo.
What's so scary?
Aren't these just pollutants from the same polluted area? Why would I be afraid? Could there be something else here? The thought of it is a bit creepy.
If a professional team of demon hunters came, they would definitely disperse to collect clues for the highest efficiency, but Zhu Ning had no intention of breaking up his team.
"Let's go to the village entrance and take a look." Zhu Ning said.
Logically speaking, this place is very close to the village entrance, so they plan to walk towards the big locust tree.
Zhu Ning was in the second world. Even if he found the big locust tree, he couldn't get out. He didn't think about finding the exit, he just wanted to explore the village in the second world.
It only took them four minutes to walk to the village entrance, and they actually found it. They could see a huge locust tree from a distance.
This locust tree is so big that it blocks out the sun. People can only look up at it. The leaves are so dense that even the setting sun cannot be seen. When I walked under the tree, the night vision function of the helmet was automatically activated.
They walked into the shadows.
The tree cast a huge reflection on the ground, with the reflection as the dividing line, as if cutting off the light and darkness, and the shadow formed a world of its own.
This is even bigger than the big locust tree seen in the first world. Li Nianchuan and Xu Meng have lived within the wall all year round and rarely get close to nature, let alone such a spectacular tree.
They are so big that people standing in front of giant trees feel as small as ants, as if all your struggles are in vain.
The tree that you first see when entering the village still leaves a gap for people to enter the village, but now this tree has completely blocked all exits.
There is no way to go.
"The road is blocked." said Xu Meng.
The vines continued to grow, intertwining their roots and forming a wall of vines. They didn't even dare to use weapons to blast an exit. Who knew if a mutant plant like the big yellow flower would appear?
Outside the wall, they were in awe of plants, even a small flower by the roadside, let alone such a big tree.
If this tree mutates, it will be like a giant and destroy this deserted village in an instant.
Li Nianchuan moved his nose and said, "It seems like something is rotten inside."
He smelled something rotten, fresh, as if it came from a tree.
Zhu Ning and Xu Meng couldn't smell it at all. She began to think that artificial humans were really useful. Li Nianchuan's canine genes were actually stimulated in the extreme environment.
Zhu Ning looked up and saw that there were many vines attached to the surface of the big locust tree. The vines were intertwined with each other, and there were many gaps between the vines. It stood to reason that someone could really be hidden inside.
Li Nianchuan: "I'll go up and take a look."
He has canine genes, and his hearing and sense of smell are very sensitive, making him very suitable for reconnaissance work. Zhu Ning said, "Be careful."
Li Nianchuan checked his equipment. For safety reasons, he also carried a cleaning backpack. If he encountered any danger up there, even if he was trapped, there were survival supplies in the backpack.
After the inspection, he began to climb the tree. The tree was like a cliff made of vines. Li Nianchuan was very agile and began to climb by taking advantage of the protrusions of the vines.
The closer to the roots, the denser the vines are, as if the inside is completely sealed, but the closer to the crown, the vines become sparser.
Li Nianchuan was not climbing randomly, he was climbing according to the direction of the smell. A faint smell of decay lingered at the tip of his nose, and he felt that he was getting closer and closer.
Li Nianchuan looked down halfway up and realized he was already six meters above the ground. Zhu Ning and Xu Meng were watching him under a tree. They probably wanted him to go home and open the fish restaurant smoothly, and they were on guard against him getting into danger, so they kept looking after him.
With Zhu Ning and Xu Meng watching over him, he felt very safe. Li Nianchuan didn't even feel it was scary to climb so high. After all, he didn't have any ropes or professional climbing tools with him.
The smell of decay was very close, so he adjusted his breathing and continued forward.
Before, Li Nianchuan felt that he was just climbing a huge tree trunk. When he was ten meters away from the ground, branches extended in front of him. Because the tree was too huge, the branches looked like a forked road.
Li Nianchuan stopped, the smell seemed to come from the right.
He had no rope on him and was already more than fifteen meters from the ground. He looked down and saw that Zhu Ning and Xu Meng's figures had become very small. Only then did he realize how high he had climbed.
I might even fall to my death here.
He is a little afraid of heights.
Li Nianchuan carefully extended his hand to the branch on the right, his heart beating rapidly. Zhu Ning and Xu Meng didn't even dare to speak, so there was no extra sound in the channel, only Li Nianchuan's own breathing.
Snap——
Li Nianchuan hooked onto a branch, his feet dangling in the air, his arms tightly holding the branch like a monkey.
He had never done such a risky thing in his life. His legs were shaking uncontrollably, and the feeling of not being able to step on anything solid was too terrible.
His arms were even slipping. The extreme environment tested his mental strength. His body was numb and he didn't dare to look down. He took a long breath before turning over and getting himself up.
Zhu Ning and Xu Meng were watching from below, fearing that Li Nianchuan would accidentally fall to his death.
Seeing Li Nianchuan climb up and land safely on the branch, Zhu Ning and Xu Meng breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. They both really hoped that Li Nianchuan could go home.
Li Nianchuan's face was pale, and he didn't dare to let go of the branch. It took him a while to catch his breath. Xu Meng asked him on the channel, "Are you okay?"
"Not bad." Li Nianchuan was still shaking when he answered, but it was strange that people would relax after experiencing extreme fear, as if their brains were completely empty and they were in a very wonderful state.
Li Nianchuan sniffed: "The smell of decay is getting stronger."
He could feel it not far away from him, "I'm almost getting to my goal."
Zhu Ning was also very curious about what was on it, so she asked Li Nianchuan to turn on his camera and share it so that Zhu Ning and Xu Meng could see it.
Li Nianchuan climbed high enough and hid his body among the leaves. Zhu Ning could not see Li Nianchuan's complete body with the naked eye.
This tree is very big, and its leaves are thick and broad. The smallest leaf is the size of a palm, and the largest is bigger than a human head. The feeling of walking into it is quite wonderful, just like walking into a tall grass field, as if the leaves are caressing you.
After encountering the man-eating yellow flower, Li Nianchuan didn't even dare to do a small action like brushing away the leaves, and pretended to be a snake climbing on a tree.
As he was climbing, he was thinking about what might be hidden in the tree. The most terrifying thing might be that the heart of the tree was an insect's nest, and he accidentally dug up the mother's nest.
Li Nianchuan has been fully prepared. No matter how terrifying it is, it is no more than this. After preparing himself mentally, he will not be overly frightened.
The smell of decay was already very strong. There was a large gap in the vines in front of him, and he squinted his eyes to look inside.
The screens on Zhu Ning and Xu Meng's helmets were what Li Nianchuan saw. Through Li Nianchuan, Zhu Ning saw the inside of the vines. It was like he had entered the nest of something, and it was densely packed with insects.
Insects of all sizes were entangled on the vines, but they emitted a blood-red color, making them look extremely weird.
This tree... is infested by insects?
Can insects also parasitize trees?
Zhu Ning had become somewhat immune to insects after seeing them so many times. Perhaps because he hadn’t seen them with his own eyes, he didn’t hear the sound of his spirit value dropping.
But Li Nianchuan's body seemed to be frozen. The camera stopped for a while, and Zhu Ning could hear Li Nianchuan's rapid breathing.
"The stinky, stinky smell doesn't come from inside." Li Nianchuan's stuttering voice came.
Zhu Ning frowned, and Li Nianchuan continued, "Yes, yes, on top of me."
He could not speak clearly and had to work hard to straighten his tongue.
above?
What does it mean to be above him?
Li Nianchuan was originally leaning against the tree hole to look at insects when he suddenly felt something strange on the back of his neck. He immediately froze and felt quietly. There was something hanging there, touching the back of his neck with the wind.
It was like... someone was hanging there and touching him.
Logically, he would lower his head when encountering something terrifying. This is everyone's first reaction. They want to hide like an ostrich, thinking that if they can't see the danger, the danger can't see them either.
But he had to overcome his fear so that he could convey the image to Zhu Ning and Xu Meng.
Zhu Ning felt that Li Nianchuan's camera began to shake. He must have raised his head. At first, he only saw large leaves. Under the green night vision filter, ordinary leaves looked scary.
The tree grew so dense that the dense leaves blurred the camera lens.
Then, Zhu Ning saw a pair of feet among the leaves. They were an old lady's feet. She was wearing a pair of brown cloth shoes with dark red blood stains on them.
Eeyore——
At this time, a gust of wind blew, and the leaves rustled in the wind. The feet swayed slightly, making a creaking sound.
Is there someone hanging from a tree?
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-11-01 21:01:06 and 2022-11-02 18:58:59~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the rocket launcher: 36148656 1;
Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: update quickly or I will kill you! 1;
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: update quickly or I will kill you! , 26799528 2; Nan Chiye, Jiuai, Dada is a little cutie 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Greedy Foodie 142 bottles; Actually 59 bottles; Which Little Cookie Are You? 50 bottles; 36148656 29 bottles; 2245, Shallow Rabbit, 20909355, Winter is Here and I Don’t Want to Get Up, Tangerine Garden Devil, I Am Your Little Angel 20 bottles; Zi Bu Yu 18 bottles; Honey Grapefruit Tea 15 bottles; 35581057 14 bottles; Little Beibei Bubble, Garopos, South Wind Effect, 111, KK Little Bread, Purple Hamster, 26799528, 49430991, Yan Xi 10 bottles; Aji, Don’t Add BL in Romance 6 bottles; July Fire, 19520523, 24709080, XiXi Angler Lianwa, I'm a Novel Driven by Hobby, Monday is Not Happy 5 bottles; Wang, Yusheng 2 bottles; Tongtong, Shao Ruo, Serendipity, 25424628, Black Cat, Old Fisherman yo_, 40068909, Dog Bloody Wind Pie Qingleng Fishing Series Siha, Cute Shovel, Zao Zao 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
