Chapter 137 The Origin of the Dwarf's Mutation
The Netherworld Dagger lay quietly within reach, its surface emitting a black light that was no different from that in the video.
The mist swirled around them, and the dagger that once mercilessly slashed at the lives of others now seemed terrifying to Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu took a deep breath, and scenes of using daggers in the past flashed through her mind, including the scene of eating boxed lunches.
It turns out that she really did have a health problem.
Her rage and uncontrollable killing intent were all influenced by the system.
Everything the system gives away is poisonous, including food and other items; it's safe to say the goal was predetermined from the start.
Regardless of whether there is an ultimate dungeon or not, the system never intended for them to return alive.
You shit system, I'll say it again, you're disgusting.
Qiao Yu suppressed her rising anger, tore up a designated bus stop sign, entered the name of service area number 88, and instantly a sign popped up in front of her.
She drove into the service area, looked at the parking lot which was noticeably less crowded, and then got out of the car with a large bag of vegetables in her hand.
It had been a long time since I'd been here, and the staff on duty were still the same familiar faces.
Bobo sat listlessly at her workbench, glancing at the door while working. When she didn't see the person she was waiting for, a hint of disappointment crept into her eyes.
After looking for what felt like the umpteenth time, a familiar figure finally came into her view.
Bobo's disappointment was immediately replaced by surprise. Before anyone could come in, she ran out of the service desk and strode over to greet them.
"Qiaoqiao, you're finally here! I thought you weren't coming. What's been going on lately?"
She looked up at the person who had come, but her eyes were fixed on the plastic bag in Qiao Yu's hand.
Seeing that the vegetables were half again as big as usual, she didn't wait for anyone to speak and quickly dragged her companion towards the parking lot before the companion returned.
Qiao Yu didn't even go inside. Looking at the deserted shops, she understood something, turned around, and then left.
Bobo led the group, turning left and right, past the parking lot to the back door, then slipping past the back door until they reached a small grove of trees outside before stopping.
"Sorry, Qiaoqiao, today's situation is a bit special. I'll take all these vegetables. Name your price."
She didn't even count how many vegetables were in the bag, she just asked for them all, and was even afraid that Qiao Yu would change her mind, so she opened the panel to prepare to transfer the money at any time.
Qiao Yu frowned slightly. This was the first time she had seen Bobo so anxious, even more so than when they first started doing business together.
"What happened? And what's wrong with the service area? Why isn't there a single human here?"
Bobo's surprise vanished, replaced by a wry smile. "To be honest, since the temperature started rising recently, the revenue of all service areas has dropped significantly."
"This is normal, since it's hot and not many people are out. But since the temperature dropped yesterday, there are still very few people at the service areas, and some haven't even opened for business all day."
"We were curious and asked the manager. She said that something was wrong and things were out of control at Xinxin Shopping Mall. Basically, all the buses that are on the same bus line as the mall have been blocked off, which is why there are fewer and fewer people."
"The site is blocked? What's going on? Is it related to the mutation of the dwarves?" Qiao Yu pressed.
A hint of surprise flashed in Bobo's eyes. "How do you know it's related to the dwarves?"
She didn't seem to mention the mutation, so did Qiaoqiao already know?
Under Bobo's shocked gaze, Qiao Yu lowered her eyelids and hummed in agreement: "I do know about them, and I've even dealt with them before, but I didn't expect that they were mutated from ordinary dwarves."
She had speculated that the dwarves mutated without their knowledge, and she also thought that the system had tricked them into turning into that grotesque creature.
I never imagined that Bobo and the others would know about their compatriots' situation, and judging from the looks of it, this isn't the first time it's happened.
"No wonder you're so calm. Are you alright? People like that are hard to deal with; you might catch their 'infect' if you're not careful."
Bobo was taken aback and quickly patted himself down, pulling out a vial of oral liquid and handing it to Qiao Yu.
"Take this and drink it quickly. It can prevent the virus. It's a medicine that we distribute internally and you can't buy it outside."
A bottle of dark green oral liquid, about ten milliliters in size, was unscrewed by Popo, and a very familiar smell wafted into Qiao Yu's nostrils.
She thanked him and took the oral liquid, but instead of drinking it immediately, she held it to her nose and smelled the medicinal aroma.
"Do you have any more? What will you do if you give them to me?"
Bobo didn't seem to care at all. "I'm almost throwing up from drinking this medicine, and we get more before we leave work, so missing one dose won't matter. Besides..."
She looked around and, seeing that there was no one in the forest and no one eavesdropping nearby, quietly approached Qiao Yu and whispered something to him.
"Now that I have this bag of things, I feel much more at ease."
Qiao Yu's gaze followed downwards, where Bobo was tightly holding a bag of fresh, all-natural vegetables in her arms.
Her eyes flickered slightly, and she gave a genuine smile.
"Then I'm relieved. By the way, could I ask about the specifics of the mutation, if it's convenient for you to tell me?"
Bobo looked conflicted. "Well, I shouldn't have told you this before, but so many things have happened recently, and you've encountered monsters, so it's not impossible to tell you."
The two continued into the woods, and Bobo told Qiao Yu about the heartbreaking past of the dwarf tribe.
The dwarf tribe was not like it is now; everyone lived peacefully, and there was no such thing as mutation or blockade.
But it's unclear from which year it started, but overnight, his former companions turned into monsters covered in pustules.
These monsters have no consciousness or basic abilities; they only know how to harm their fellow humans.
At the time, people were unaware that the disease was contagious, so they could only send the mutated members of their kind for treatment. But the treatment was ineffective, and the number of mutated dwarfs continued to increase.
There was nothing anyone could do; they watched helplessly as more and more monsters appeared and fewer and fewer normal dwarves.
The group of dwarves had no choice but to harden their hearts and drive the monsters out of their territory, leaving them to fend for themselves.
When they first drove the monster away, everyone was worried that it might have been a waste of time. But as soon as the monster left the village, they disappeared on a highway.
The highway vanished in an instant, along with the monster hailed as a calamity.
At that time, the dwarves thought that the heavens were helping them, so they drove all the monsters out in one go.
As the number of monsters in the village decreased, the mutation situation within the tribe also stabilized. Until the last monster was driven away, this sudden crisis temporarily returned to normal.
Everyone thought they had won and fantasized that the crisis would be over.
However, the good times didn't last long. The crisis didn't completely disappear; instead, it lurked within the tribe.
Every so often, one of the dwarves will turn into a monster.
At first, everyone used the old method to drive away the monster, but as time went by, the village turned into a town.
As primitive societies transitioned to modern ones, even dwarfs gradually devised ways to avoid turning into monsters.
One of the most important things to avoid turning into a monster is to eat all-natural vegetables.
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