Dark Zone

"This is not a joke," Lorraine said expressionlessly, "Student Ivy, please correct your attitude."

Ivy forced her attention away from his face: "I just suddenly thought of something happy."

"If you don't listen carefully, there will only be more 'unhappy' things in the future," Lorraine said, "Since you don't have enough patience, I can only tell you simply-"

"Keep your distance," Ivy said quickly, "right?"

Her interruption did not offend Lorraine. He said, "I won't give you any extra points."

"You've already told me..." Ivy remembered what he said before and promised, "I will treat you as a teacher until the test is completely over."

Lorraine said sternly, "I hope not a teacher in the sense of fun."

Ivy: “…”

The conversation ended quickly, and Lorraine called the guard to escort Ivy away. Ivy guessed that his schedule must be very full. At the last moment when the door closed, she clearly saw Lorraine leaning down slightly, with his black curly hair hanging down. From this angle, she could only see the tip of his nose, and his skin was as white as the sun.

It's so strange. He is often on duty outside, but his skin is so good and white.

During the time they were at the base, Ivy and some of her classmates' exposed skin had turned wheat-colored. The corridor was quiet, and Ivy asked the guard, "Who lives next door to Teacher Lorraine?"

The silent guard answered her question: "Xin Lan."

No surprise.

Xin Lan is indeed in charge of clerical work related to the base and the expedition team.

"Is he here now?" Ivy said, "I just happen to have a share here—"

"Teacher Xin Lan doesn't live here. This is just a dormitory assigned to him," the guard replied in a serious tone. "He has severe mysophobia and allergies. The smell of the pine trees here affects his vision."

Ivy was stunned for a moment: "Oh."

She hadn't heard of it.

But Xin Lan rarely takes walks.

The first area is located in an area with distinct four seasons, and pine is a commonly used greening tree species. If Xin Lan is sensitive to its smell, her life will indeed be restricted.

The guards escorted her all the way to the 20-meter-high wall, where Ivy retrieved her cell phone and communicator.

There was a misty drizzle in the sky. She took a step forward and then quickly stepped back, as if she was burned, and asked the guard if he had an umbrella.

Although it has been nearly fifteen years since the "Code Eight" acid rain crisis, and the safe zone has constant air detection effects, Ivy still has terrifying scenes of avoiding acid rain in her memory.

A hundred years ago, when people mentioned the harm of acid rain, they only mentioned eye pain and inflammation, itchy skin, difficulty breathing, etc. But the acid rain in her mind was real acid. Large drops of rain fell on the skin, corroding the flesh and even exposing bones in an instant. People wore tattered clothes and looked for shelter everywhere. Some people's hair follicles were severely damaged, and no hair would grow in the places that were exposed to acid rain.

History books call this acid rain crisis that occurred near District One "Code Eight." It quickly claimed the lives of a large number of refugees in a short period of time and caused the death of a large number of animals and plants in the wasteland. Many people took to the streets, calling on everyone to stop using fuel vehicles for travel, shut down coal-burning factories, and close all industrial factories that emit gases into the sky. If it weren't for the wasteland's artificial intelligence's occupation of District One, there would be more people joining the march.

Ivy's parents were also victims of acid rain. Her father had several distinct scars on his back, some of which looked like burns and some like bullet burns. Her mother had an exposed scalp of about four square centimeters on the back of her head, without any hair.

Only the little Ivy survived unharmed as she was held tightly in her father's arms and protected under his body.

After that, the government took a variety of optimization measures, and most people felt that there was no difference, but there was no such severe acid rain.

Only humans who survived the acid rain still have fear.

Ivy is afraid of rain.

Even a light drizzle would cause her to have serious holes corroded on her body. She would even have hallucinations when the rain splashed on her, and she would see a five-year-old child's arms corroded by acid rain, leaving white bones, bleeding profusely, and his body like cheese full of holes.

She must have an umbrella.

The guard said: "Please wait a moment--"

"Xiaobao!"

A refreshing voice penetrated the rain curtain. Yu Mo held a large transparent umbrella and smiled as he stretched out his hand to her: "Come here."

He stood next to a malfunctioning little robot, looked up at the stern twenty-meter-high wall, and smiled: "There is a sign prohibiting entry here. Can you come here by yourself? Or should I pick you up? Can you tell the security guard next to you? I have no hostility -"

The wooden guard next to him finally murmured something human: "I'm not going to shoot him."

Ivy took off her coat, put it on her head, and quickly hid under Yu Mo's umbrella.

He lowered his head and carefully wiped the splashing rain on her coat with a tissue: "As soon as I saw it was raining, I called you, but there was no response. I was worried that something had happened to you, so I asked your teacher Xin Lan--"

"It's okay, I'll just lend you my umbrella," Ivy asked, "Why are you coming back so late?"

"It's so late that I have to pick you up." Yu Mo lowered his head, his long silver hair shining softly. "What did Teacher Lorraine talk to you about? About tomorrow's test?"

Ivy shook her head: "Nothing."

Yu Mo was silent for a long time, then smiled: "I don't know when you started to keep secrets from me, Xiaobao. We used to talk about everything."

Ivy looked up and saw that he looked a little sad. His light green eyes, like those of Shaffley, seemed to be cracked with lines. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that... Xiaobao, I just feel a little uncomfortable - don't worry about me, it's nothing serious."

She couldn't bear to see him look like he was about to break.

Ivy chose her words carefully: "Because it involves some of Teacher Lorraine's personal affairs, I am not very convenient-"

"It's okay," Yu Mo said, "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you."

He adjusted his expression and smiled faintly: "It's just that I heard some rumors about Teacher Lorraine... They're not very good. Maybe I was influenced and worried too much."

Ivy Minrui: "What rumor?"

"Forget it," Yu Mo suddenly changed the subject, relieved, "Since it's a 'rumor', it may not be true. I shouldn't say that about him behind his back - let's change the subject, Xiaobao, I heard that Teacher Lorraine is very strict, did he bully you just now?"

If it were anyone else, this sentence would not cause any reaction from Ivy.

But Yu Mo mentioned Lorraine.

Ivy's cheeks could still feel the strength of his hands under the leather gloves, and her ears turned red: "No."

Yu Mo looked at her without blinking, still smiling: "The test will be tomorrow, you must conserve your energy."

Ivy quickly continued the topic: "It shouldn't be difficult."

Yu Mo said: "For you, it certainly won't happen. I believe in you - after all, you are my most proud little treasure."

——As it turned out, Ivy's premonition came true.

The trainees never imagined that the test prepared by Lorraine was to send them to a team that specializes in sniping androids and ask them to follow them to carry out the mission for two days.

Everyone's communicator has a real-time monitoring function. It is said that this is the latest military communication equipment for soldiers. The captain and deputy captain of the Iris expedition team next door have been jealous of it for a long time, but have not been granted permission to use it.

Lorraine gave each of the students they tested one.

He paid for it himself.

He is not the only teacher who will give scores for this assessment. After the assessment, these teachers will give scores based on their performance and the evaluations of their team members.

The practical test arranged by Lorraine was the most dangerous and difficult.

Ivy was randomly assigned to Songxu's group. In the past two days, the corners of his mouth have never drooped, so much so that after getting to know each other, someone asked him enviously: "Brother, where did you make your smiling lips?" It's pretty good.

Their task was not difficult.

Hunting down an android.

——A man reported that he had found a large number of dismantled solar power sources in his new neighbor’s home, as well as a lot of “skin adhesives” and “bone fixatives” that bionic people would use.

These things, which can only be obtained on the black market and are closely related to bionic people, aroused the man's vigilance. He immediately called the police, hoping that the police could come and investigate.

"What's even more terrifying is that the android also kidnapped a human girl," the man gestured, shocked. "Oh my God, she's only five years old. He said she was his daughter, but how is that possible? I don't believe anyone would be willing to marry and have children with a refugee from District 23... Not to mention, he has no money, even poorer than me, how could he have a wife and such a lovely girl?!"

Ivy, who was also a refugee from District 23, paused and held back her offensive words.

Song Xu beside him stopped smiling and tapped the table with his knuckles: "Sir, please be careful with your language. Any discriminatory remarks may lead to prosecution."

"If I had to, I really don't want to have anything to do with you. You were obviously unwilling to accept refugees at the beginning, and now you are pretending to be politically correct, saying that treating refugees well is just a means to win votes, right?" The man was dissatisfied, "Forget it, you guys go and save her. The girl is still so young, I don't want to see her being tortured by the bionic man..."

Bionic man.

One hundred years ago on February 5, 2013, Britain created the world's first bionic man, named Rex.

The limbs and organs of bionic people in this era are still artificial prostheses, including the blood circulation system, pancreas, kidneys, trachea and spleen, etc. At that time, bionic people were still very different from real humans. Until 2040, the rapid development of artificial intelligence assisted in technological breakthroughs in many fields. Humans can cultivate a whole human skin through tissue cells alone. Similarly, this also includes many other organs. In order to avoid human body rejection, the main energy and kinetic energy for the bionic body is still a solar power source about the size of a heart.

As long as you get enough sun, you can walk in the city like a normal person.

Their essence is still a robot close to humans. Once they are developed and put on the market, they are widely promoted and used. Not only simple and crude companion robots, but also teachers, doctor's assistants, programmers...

In all walks of life, bionic people who are cheap, efficient and even don't need to be paid are deeply loved by capitalists.

This is also the most difficult thing to eliminate when the first generation of artificial intelligence "Yuan" rebels. Normal humans can't even tell whether they are "human" or not.

After the war between humans and intelligent robots, the bionic people produced now all have clear signs, a power button in the middle of the forehead, and a piece of steel deliberately installed on the right arm. It cannot be covered or removed and is connected to the skeleton.

More importantly, these bionic people no longer have the important learning ability, nor can they be upgraded. If they are scrapped, broken, or no longer needed, they will be thrown away directly and treated strictly in accordance with the Robot Law. Once they have "thoughts", they will be destroyed immediately - the government encourages this behavior, and after confirmation, the informant will be given a generous reward.

This is also the reason why the man reported his neighbor as a suspected bionic person.

This is no small matter. With surveillance and security equipment everywhere today, thieves and robbers are almost extinct. Many retired military personnel serve in special operations teams in the city, responsible for capturing and destroying these bionic people who attempt to integrate into human life.

Ivy rushed to the front and almost caught the android several times.

There was no way. She was the fastest, had the best jumping ability, and was more agile. The others simply couldn't keep up. In this team, no one could compare to her.

Song Xu and another special investigator tried their best, but they could only see her using her wrist claws to shuttle between high-rise buildings, her figure like Spider-Man in historical film appreciation.

The so-called steel jungle, this was the first time that Song Xu deeply understood the meaning of this.

He looked at Ivy with starry eyes, feeling that she was just like a nimble golden monkey, swinging freely in the forest.

The special investigator had beads of sweat on his forehead and stuttered: "She... is she really just a trainee?"

"Of course," Song Xu said solemnly, "the two of us are called 'Wolong Fengchi'."

Ivy ignored the two people behind her. The real-time communication would tell her the direction and coordinates of the android's escape - he stumbled all the way, holding the human girl and fled into the dark area - the darkest and poorest place in the first area.

This is always an area that surveillance has not been able to fully cover. It is a mixed bag of people, including frustrated people whose jobs have been replaced by machines, illegal immigrants from other areas, a prosperous underground black market, and various illegal human body modification surgeries.

Even the most advanced communicators lose signal here.

Fortunately, Ivy caught a glimpse of the other party before the signal disappeared.

This bionic man assumed the identity of a retired soldier. From behind, he looked just like that retired soldier, strong and muscular, holding a child in one hand and an illegally modified gun in the other.

Ivy chased after him.

Her uniform attracted the sidelong glances of the black market personnel. Many people in a hurry looked at her with vigilance, but no one would take the initiative to attack her - she was a government official, and everyone would protect themselves and would never challenge the government's authority.

This is a "gray area" that the government cannot control and can only accept as existing. Even the most prosperous cities need sewers, and gathering these people together can prevent them from going out and polluting other places.

Ivy could no longer care. She could clearly hear the little girl crying. A five-year-old human girl was kidnapped by the androids as a hostage, far away from her parents. Her temple was throbbing. It was no longer about the test results. Her sense of justice urged her to rush to the front line.

The android was obviously very familiar with this place. He rushed into a narrow street. The walls on both sides were covered with sticky and icy things. He could no longer use his flying claws to climb walls. Ivy could only chase him along the narrow, downward stairs. After going down four kilometers, she saw him stumble into a store with a white flag with a red cross.

She followed closely behind -

Pushing open the revolving door, a pitch-black gun was pointed at her forehead: "Don't move, who are you?"

Ivy calmed her rapid breathing and said, "I'm here to hunt down the androids."

The muzzle of the gun was moved away, smoke filled the room, and a pungent smell filled the air. The opponent was a middle-aged man with a big beard and a red neck, wearing overalls and a baggy sweatshirt with a dirty collar.

He drank a glass of wine and looked at her gloomily: "The Dark Zone does not welcome government lackeys."

"It's holding a five-year-old," Ivy said. "I have to—"

With a bang, the bearded man angrily smashed the glass, cursed something that sounded like Czech, and pulled out his gun to shoot.

Ivy seized the opportunity and knocked him down with a sweeping kick, and at the same time, she disarmed his pistol with one hand.

With a crackling sound, bullets, magazines and gun bodies fell into pieces, and all these parts fell on the side of the bearded man's face.

"I'm sorry to bother you, please forgive me," Ivy apologized earnestly, "I can't watch an innocent child get hurt."

She didn't stop, but turned around to search inside, and went up to the second floor, where she saw the bionic man jumping out of the window holding the child.

Ivy jumped down immediately after him: "Don't move!"

The other party didn't listen, so she had no choice but to take out her pistol and aim at the man's legs.

A large hand covered the muzzle of her gun.

A cold breath enveloped her. Lorraine covered the muzzle of her gun with one hand to prevent her from shooting, and with the other hand he pressed her into his arms and quickly wrapped her in a dark windbreaker.

"Don't shoot here," Lorraine said, "unless you want to be shot like a wasp's nest."

He used Chinese.

He paused for a moment, then held her hand under his black windbreaker until it trembled.

Tomorrow, the predicted sensitive period arrives.

All the medicines have lost their effectiveness.