The street where Ni Ji and his friends were was very quiet, and there was not a single living being to be seen. This was a polluted area, so of course there would be no living people.
But this area, which has been confined for many years, does not feel desolate at all. In fact, the streets are full of life.
The clothes hanging on the balcony were still dripping with water. The lights in the houses on both sides of the road were on, and the sound of the TV was playing.
There was a toy snail towed by a child on the roadside, and a missing person notice was posted on the electric pole. It was probably about someone's underage daughter who ran away from home.
A moment ago, the black arm suddenly emerged from the alley and attacked Ni Ji. Now it has completely disappeared. No one knows where it is lurking, and not even a trace of black smoke is left.
It seemed like this was a normal street that was bustling with people just a moment ago, but all the living people suddenly disappeared.
On the empty and quiet street, Song Yuansi walked beside Ni Ji.
"Something's wrong, Brother Ni." Song Yuansi said in a low voice, "It's daytime now, and this should be a safe area. Why would a mutant attack you?"
The sentinels have very sharp hearing, and even the quietest voice may be heard by others.
Ni Ji didn't say anything, but just stretched out his hand and made a few gestures in front of his chest.
Diffused—this is the first sentence.
Go to the back and stay away from me - this is the second sentence.
Tan Shu, who was lying far behind, was also making hand gestures with one of his confidants.
"Stop it, Brother Shu. Ni Ji is very strong in fighting. The thing the teacher wants is at the bottom of the sea, and he hasn't got it yet." The dear said in sign language, "Keep him for now, he'll be useful."
Tan Shu stared at Ni Ji, who was walking in the front, with a gloomy face for a while, and finally made a gesture of assent.
To him, Ni Ji was always like a thorn in his throat.
Although, Ni Ji was currently inferior to him, he always seemed very quiet.
But he still felt uneasy in his heart.
No one knows his classmate better than he does. He is strong, reckless, and always does what he wants, never influenced by others.
Now Ni Ji seemed to have changed in some way. He became less talkative and much harder to understand.
As long as he stayed there, even if he was quiet and silent, Tan Shu would sometimes feel scared in his heart.
Tan Shu decided to take advantage of this opportunity to enter the polluted area to deal with this serious concern that had always made him uneasy.
He had the latest intelligence on Area 5 in his hands. He was the only one in the entire team who knew it.
It was a formidable mutant that loved to lurk in the shadows and capture the strongest Sentinels in the team.
As the contaminated area spreads, only you know the activity area of this "newly emerged monster".
This is a critical information gap that can be used well.
After I get what the teacher wants, I will use this to keep him in this polluted area forever, Tan Shu thought gloomily.
Things will be done quietly and without a trace.
It's normal for a few people to die or get injured in the contaminated area, and the teacher can't blame him for anything.
…
The jeep that Lin Yuan was riding in drove to a temporary village on the seashore.
Many fishermen's families gather here, and most of the time they live together here.
Only when there is an emergency of contamination spreading or mutants overflowing, will they rush to the sentry post and escape the disaster under the protection of the sentry post.
In the morning, most of the adults went to the sea, leaving only some half-grown children and the elderly in the village.
The jeep stopped in the village, and Dahu knocked on the door. "Contaminated Area No. 5, searching for sunken ships, needing aquatic spirits, twenty Imperial Dollars. Who's coming?"
When they heard the twenty imperial coins, a group of children in ragged clothes gathered together and raised their thin arms high.
A boy of about 11 or 12 jumped down from a height, spat out a straw in his mouth, pushed through the crowd and came to the front of the car, "Brother Hu, I'm going."
Da Hu nodded and threw him a small purse, "Xiao Mu, get in the car."
The boy who received the money bag opened the bag and took a look at it under the envious gazes of his friends. He smiled happily, handed the money bag to his little sister, pointed to a dilapidated shed, and said, "Run back and give it to mom. Tell her I'm not coming home tonight."
The little girl held the bag of money tightly and ran barefoot in the mud.
The boy scrambled swiftly onto the back of the jeep.
"I brought him with me because I was going to go into the water to retrieve something."
Xiaoniao and Lin Yuan, who were in charge of driving, explained, "Don't worry, these kids have been into the contaminated area more times than you have. Ever since they separated into spiritual bodies, they have started to explore the contaminated area. Sometimes they are lucky and find something good, enough for the whole family to chew for a year or so."
"If they follow us into the contaminated area, they can get paid in advance and it's safer, which is better than them sneaking in on their own." Xiaoniao continued, "They don't have the money to go to the Sentinel Academy. Basically, when they are 15 or 16 years old, they will go directly to the barracks. Some of them don't even live to that age."
Not long after, a dark and thin mother ran out. Lin Yuan thought that she might have come to stop her child from going to that dangerous place.
As a result, the mother held onto the railing and handed the boy a dry and cold biscuit.
She loudly told her teenage son, "There's nothing to eat at home. Be sure to bring back some more food."
It feels like there is no way back.
"See, the adults at home don't care. In our place, most parents don't care much about their children."
Xiao Niao held the steering wheel with both hands. She had a short buzz cut and a few sun spots on her face. The whitish reflection of the car lights on her face brought out a hint of indifference.
Lin Yuan looked through the rearview mirror and saw the boy who had just gotten on the bus.
Da Hu was rubbing his head and the boy was smiling, revealing his white teeth. They looked very familiar with each other.
"Twenty imperial coins." Lin Yuan said to himself.
I did the math in my head. Ten apples.
Ten apples are enough to make a child of this age happily go on an adventure in the contaminated area, and even everyone here thinks it is normal.
The bird chuckled, "How much do you think you can get? This time when you came down, the Special Research Institute allocated funds. There are five quotas, and for sentinels of our level, each person only gets 50 imperial coins, which is already a lot. Everyone wanted to go with you, and we had a fight this morning for it. We won and only had the opportunity to come."
The car drove along the road. At first, there were many houses on both sides of the road, fireworks, and a lot of noise.
Gradually, the lights and voices in the houses became less and less. Gradually, only desolate ruins remained, with dilapidated and silent buildings sitting here and there on the roadside, hidden behind dense vegetation.
There used to be a lot of people living here. As the contaminated area continued to expand, humans had no choice but to avoid it again and again.
The jeep stopped in front of a row of red warning signs.
"It's right there." Da Hu got out of the car and pointed to a huge red warning sign in front of him. "That's the boundary of the No. 5 contaminated area."
"Don't get too close. Sometimes the border will suddenly expand and it's hard to guard against." The sentries instructed Lin Yuan.
They taught Lin Yuan everything about the contaminated area all the time. Teaching her everything was the best way to protect her.
Rachel was swept into the contaminated area while trying to save people because the border of the contaminated area suddenly expanded. The sentinels remembered the lessons from this and that incident.
After getting off the car, the sentries took a lot of things out of the car, and the driver looked like he was about to cook a meal.
Xiaomu even skillfully put the wheat cakes his mother gave him into the fire and started to roast them.
Lin Yuan stood there in a daze, feeling very surprised.
She checked the personal terminal on her wrist, then looked up at the sky, making sure it was not yet time for lunch.
"Sister, is this your first time here?" The little boy squatting by the fire baking pancakes looked up at her, smiling with his eyes crooked. "In the polluted area, there is also day and night. It's not time yet, so you can't go in."
He even handed the hot cake to Lin Yuan, "Do you want some?"
In his impression, a fair-skinned girl like Lin Yuan, who came from a big city, would definitely not accept his offer.
But he was a very smart and worldly-wise kid. Whether others wanted to eat or not was one thing, but he was always very considerate in being polite.
Lin Yuan used his fingers to break off half of his cake and said, "Then I'll have a taste."
Xiaomu was completely stunned.
[Hehe, he can’t bear to part with it]
[Quick, give it to him, right in front of him]
[You are reluctant to separate, but you have to take the initiative to separate. What a strange person!]
[Not tasty, got cheated]
[In the emotions he conveyed, why does this thing smell so good?]
[Not tasty, just like that apple, I was cheated]
[Stinky seal]
In polluted areas, there is also a distinction between "day" and "night".
The switching between day and night is different in each contaminated area. During the "daytime", most of the mutants in the contaminated area are inactive, lying dormant and making no movement. It is relatively safe for people to enter the contaminated area at that time.
But when "night" comes, the entire polluted area will turn into a hell where all kinds of monsters roam around, and ordinary people can hardly survive in the darkness.
The sentries spread out the map, called Lin Yuan, and began to discuss the plan after entering.
"We will go in at the beginning of daylight. Our destination is Shanan Bay." Xiaoniao pointed at the map and said, "We must get out before night falls. The distance is not far and we have enough time. Everyone, be alert and don't make any mistakes."
林苑的目标是五號污染區內的一艘沉船。
有充分的證據表示，這?艘舊日時代?的巨艦，瑪麗號，攜帶着無數珍寶，在人?類最輝煌的時代?沉沒在沙南灣內。千年來無數人?尋找過它，都毫無線索。
但在不久之前，五號污染區發生嚴重?的擴散事件時。當時有人?親眼看見巨大的瑪麗號一度如幽靈一般，以嶄新的模樣，燈光璀璨地?浮現出水面，數個小時才消失。
人?們這?才發現，瑪麗號就藏在五號污染區內。
小鳥說特研處這?次下發的任務不算什?麽大事。
沉船的位置不遠，一個“白晝”的時間?內完全來得及來回?。
自從瑪麗號被發現了之後，白塔那邊派來了一波又一波的搜索隊。
能撈的東西，都差不多撈走?了。就是他們小隊，也被派遣進來過好幾次，對那一片的海底，都很熟悉。
他們唯一要做的事，大概就是保護好林苑這?位向導的安全。
其實他們更希望林苑能夠待在哨崗，想要找什?麽東西，說出來，讓他們進去找就行。
他們覺得這?樣對所有人?來說，都更便?捷也更安全。遠勝過帶一位沒有經驗又毫無戰鬥力的人?員進污染區。
白塔經常會向哨崗發布下來搜尋任務。大部分時候，是直接指定要搜尋的物?品。也有時候會是像這?樣，派遣一個研究員下來，由?他們護送着進入污染區。
這?些研究員多半要找一些偷偷摸摸，不願公開的秘密事物?。
他們也不屑于過問。只負責在行程中協助和護衛。
首都來的研究員大部分看不上哨崗的哨兵。哨兵們也知道，他們一樣讨厭那些眼高于頂的研究員。
說實話，如果遇到極端情況，自身難保的時候，小鳥覺得她會果斷放棄拖後腿的研究員。優先?保證自己和兄弟的性命。
但這?一次不一樣，無論如何，他們都想保護好一起進入的林向導。
這?是出發前哨長的交代?，也是他們每一個人?的心願。
所以這?一次進來的，是哨崗最強的哨兵。甚至還找來了精神體為海豹的小牧協助，以加快水下任務的完成速度，确保萬無一失。
哨兵們吃完午飯，整備好随身攜帶的武器，太陽升到天空最高點的時候，小鳥站起來看了看自己的手表，“可以了，進去吧。”
一行人?沿着道路，步行前進。
荒蕪多年的馬路上鋪着苔痕，兩側的荒草比人?還高。
正午十分，蟲鳴鳥叫。人?行在草木的影子間?，像是行走?在荒野之外。
巨大紅色警示牌到了。
跨過它，下一步的時候，四周景物?整個就變了。
街道還是那條街道，建築物?依稀也還是相?同?的樣式。
只是街道突然?變得幹淨整潔，筆直地?延伸向遠處。就像時光突然?倒流，那些苔痕不見了，野草也消失了。
路邊的建築煥然?一新，屋子裏還亮着柔和的燈，空中傳來細碎的竊竊私語。
仿佛有人?生活在那些緊閉門窗的房屋中。
可是這?裏是只有畸變物?的污染區。
正午的陽光不見了，天空裏挂着迷蒙的星辰。
不是正常星光，像是油畫大師的畫，濃郁的黃和斑駁的藍色在空中緩慢流轉着。
“跟着我走?，不要随便?亂碰任何東西。”小鳥說着，當先?領隊向前走?去。
她不看地?圖，腳步沒有任何停頓，一路迅速前行。
穿過寂靜的巷子，拐過交錯的道路，沿着護坡淩亂的樓梯跑下去。就像是從小生活在這?個地?方。
“小鳥本來是五號區的居民。”大虎輕聲?告訴林苑，“十年前這?裏也大規模擴散過一次，把她的家覆蓋了。”
他看了一眼跑在前方探路的女哨兵，生怕被她聽見，就沒有再說多餘的話。
小鳥當年是怎麽從污染區跑出來的，她的家人?是否還活着，這?背後的故事也沒必要再提起。
生活在污染區附近的居民，誰沒有幾件不忍觸及的傷心往事。
在小鳥的帶領下，他們很快就到了那片沙灘。
那片沙灘是金色的，像是真正黃金的顏色。海水像鏡面一樣，倒映着那油畫一般星光流轉的美麗天空。
整個世界就像是某個人?的夢。
有什?麽巨大的東西，正在這?夢境中沉睡。
哨兵們很快找來兩艘小船，小船靜寂無聲?地?滑入海水中，在如鏡的海面寂靜航行。
一時間?天地?恍然?不分上下，船行在水，又像是行走?在星空中一般。
所有人?的動作都靜悄悄的，仿佛害怕驚擾到什?麽東西一樣。
“到了。”小鳥突然?說。
兩艘小船停了下來，船尾蕩着一點點的漣漪。往下看，水鏡印着璀璨星河，看不見海底的任何事物?。
“安啦。這?個地?方我下去過了很多次。”小牧脫了上衣，露出細細的胳膊，就準備往水裏跳。
“等一下。”林苑喊住他，“你可不可以和我，共享視覺？”
小牧沒聽明白，“共享什?麽？”
一根冰冰涼涼的東西不知道從哪裏出現，觸碰了一下他的眉心。
“就像是這?樣。”林苑說。
小杜眨了眨眼睛，發現他雖然?是站在林苑對面，看着林苑，卻很神奇地?同?時可以看見了自己的臉——用林苑的視角。
這?就是共享視角。同?時可以看見另一個人?眼中的世界。
“哇，這?也太酷了。”他說。
對這?位吃了他半塊麥餅的姐姐的那一點一點埋怨之心立刻就煙消雲散了。
男孩在口中叼着一柄短短的匕首，撲通一下跳進了水裏。
再浮上來的時候，海豹線條流暢的尾巴甩起一片水浪。漸了船上的大家一臉。
上半身男孩，下半身海豹的小牧沖大家揮揮手，一頭紮入深海之中。
林苑閉上了眼睛，在船上坐了下來。
她看見了海底的水泡，咕嚕咕嚕的氣泡不斷向上飛舞。
光線變得很暗，她看見男孩劃動的手臂不時出現在視線裏。
有細小的魚群，在附近游過。
她和小牧共享了視線，通過那個不斷下潛的男孩的雙眼，她看着了海底的世界。
海水，總是帶給她一種熟悉而依戀的感覺，像是她從小就住在海洋的深處。深深的大海，又總帶給她危險的感覺，像在那最深層之處，有着無限的秘密等着她親手解開。
過了沒多久，她看見了那艘沉迷在海底的船。
那舊日裏的龐然?大物?，如今靜靜躺在海底的淤泥之中。甲板和欄杆上累覆着層層疊疊的藤壺，窗戶的玻璃全都碎了，一個個黑洞洞地?像張開着的大口，有無數細小的魚群，在期間?進進出出。
小牧來到一個舷窗前，雙手扶窗沿伸進腦袋看了一會，扭動尾巴靈巧地?游了進去。
海底非常黑，幾乎沒有任何的光線。
但小牧的視力能适應這?裏。
他的眼睛變得和海豹一模一樣，大而圓的晶狀态，使水底的影像聚焦在那特殊的視網膜上，讓他可以看見船艙裏朦朦胧胧的景象。
林苑跟着他的視線，一路游進船艙，按照事先?說好的計劃，游過被衆多藻類寄生的餐廳，游過腐朽了的駕駛室，穿過甲板，拉開一道艙門，沿着斑駁的樓梯向下游。
在那昏暗無光的長長走?廊兩側，所有的艙門都被拉開過了，海員們的卧室浮飄着被翻出來的雜物?。
這?裏曾經來過許許多多的搜尋者。
游過那些翻亂的船艙時，可以看見一兩具死?去海員骸骨。
這?些骸骨都躺在床上。仿佛當年在是睡夢中沉沒，不曾醒來，就這?樣永遠沉睡在這?片寂靜的深海中。
到了，就是這?裏吧。
小牧來到走?廊的最深處。握住最裏一間?船艙的門把手。
他不費什?麽力氣就推開了那道門。一群亮藍色的霓虹蝦虎魚從船艙內迎面沖出來。
習慣在深海潛游的小牧避開那群魚，看向被他打開的船艙。
這?裏是船長的卧室。
卧室內早已被搜尋一空。
死?去船長的遺骸還在，蒼白的骷髅坐在一張辦公桌前，桌子和椅子是被固定在地?板上的。
船長的屍體，似乎也被固定在了那裏。就那樣歪歪斜斜地?保持着握着筆的姿勢，在寂靜的時光中坐了無數年。
之前來過的搜尋者，掃蕩似地?帶走?了船艙內能帶走?的一切，桌面和抽屜都是空的，連船長帽子上的一小塊寶石都被摳了去。
帶回?一件瑪麗號船長的遺物?。
小牧想起了自己需要完成的任務。這?也是特研處分派下來的任務。
看上去很簡單。
要帶點什?麽回?去？
已經沒什?麽可拿的了。小牧想，不如把船長的帽子帶回?去吧。
也不知道什?麽材料做的，這?麽多年泡在水中都沒有腐爛。
Things from the old days are great. Even the fabrics used to make hats are different.
【Pen】
Suddenly he heard a voice.
The voice was very strange, not like a person speaking, yet it could be heard clearly in his ears.
He noticed that his perspective was split. While he was seeing the dark seabed, he was also seeing the sky above the sea at the same time.
It was the sister sitting on the sea who opened her eyes which had been closed.
It turned out to be Sister Lin Yuan who was speaking.
Xiaomu obeyed the voice and reached for the pen in the captain's hand.
The metal pen had been soaked in sea water for many years and was covered with green rust. It was now worthless.
Therefore, it did not attract the attention of any explorer who came in earlier.
Xiaomu took the pen from the captain.
[Insert into the small hole on the desktop] That strange sound rang out again.
As expected, Xiaomu found a very inconspicuous hole in the lower right corner of the desktop.
He tried to insert the rusty pen. Surprisingly, it fit perfectly.
With a slight twist, the pen body broke under the weight. But a drawer popped out from under the thick wooden tabletop.
Neither he nor Lin Yuan heard it when the drawer was opened.
It was as if a mysterious sound from the darker bottom of the ship, coming from the depths of the ocean, was echoing to the unknown and vast place.
It sounded like the sigh of a dead soul reluctant to leave the human world, or like the mysterious mutterings of gods.
Something woke up the moment the drawer was opened.
In Xiaomu's eyes, he only saw the drawer filled with glittering imperial coins and an old, mottled wooden box.
Wow. Xiaomu was dazzled by the dazzling color of the golden coin.
[Just take the wooden box] The voice in my mind sounded again.
However, those golden colors seemed to be able to seduce people's hearts, and the beautiful colors flowed into the boy's heart.
I only need to take a handful of these Imperial Dollars so that my mother won't have to worry about it every day, and my sister can buy a new pair of shoes.
Maybe I can buy myself a better short sword.
Or maybe just apply to the Sentinel Academy and study for a few years? After graduation, you can become a captain, or live near the White Tower...
As if bewitched, his thoughts went further and further, and his fingers were already touching the glittering golden thing.
I'll just take a little, I have to take a little away.
[Can’t take it] A voice suddenly exploded in my mind.
Xiaomu was stunned.
【Don’t touch! 】
[Can’t take it! ]
【Open your eyes】
【Wake up! 】
That is an instruction.
A series of strong instructions came into my mind.
Xiaomu woke up with a start. The round eyes of the seal became clear.
As far as I can see, there are no shining imperial coins in the drawer.
The small wooden box lay in the drawer, surrounded by tiny, hairy, colorful sea worms.
I don't know why I mistook these colorful, apparently poisonous insects for imperial coins and even wanted to catch a few of them.
I never imagined that there would be Imperial coins from this era on an old ship.
I don’t know what would happen if I were really bitten by those colorful insects.
How many people have come off this boat? Surprisingly, no one has ever discovered this bug that can tempt people.
Fortunately, Sister Lin Yuan woke me up in time. Xiaomu broke out in a cold sweat.
He used an iron bar to push away the insects that were crawling in the dark water and wrapped the small wooden box with a piece of rag.
"I got it," he said to himself.
【I'll be back soon.】The voice responded in my mind.
The little seal was very happy to have completed the mission, and swam out of the cabin with its tail wagging.
On the surface, the extremely sharp-eyed sentinel reported the situation on the seabed, "He has completed his mission and is surfacing."
It went smoothly and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Lin Yuan, who was sitting on the sea with his eyes closed, moved.
I seemed to hear some sound.
Like a kind of fish.
Huge and ferocious.
Diving in the deep sea, swimming towards here.
a whale.
killer whale.
"There are other sentinels approaching." Xiaoniao stood up from the boat. "A group of people? We don't know if they are friend or foe. Everyone, be on guard."