Chapter 374: Flesh, Blood, Weakness (5) (1st update + 2nd update + 0.5 update of 9,300 thunderbolts) [VIP]
The crowds around were all rushing towards the air defense works. Not far behind them, a dull horn sounded from the gate of the works that the exploration team had just checked, followed by an inorganic male voice: "Twenty."
This was the countdown system they had examined before.
The maintenance manual that Lin Cheng gave them also contains information about the daily maintenance of this part. The maintenance process is that three mobile team members are divided into groups, one stands inside the fortification, one stands outside, and the other starts the countdown system.
After a certain period of time has passed in the countdown, the door of the civil air defense facility will automatically close, lowering the entire room to a safe height.
"nineteen."
The male voice continued.
The pace of the people around suddenly quickened, and everyone was eager to squeeze into the fortifications.
Most of the damage done by the creatures of the genus Crimson is mental, while the main purpose of civil air defense is to protect the safety of most people.
That is to say, when the time comes, it will close the door to protect the safety of the people who have entered, while the people who do not have time to enter will only become victims brought by the creatures of the K-type.
But...strange.
It's still very strange.
Bai Jinshu pushed through the crowd and walked in the opposite direction, walking faster and faster, until finally he just ran.
The color of the red glass cover in the sky continued to deepen, and the various lights around it also turned into a dangerous red color. Everywhere you look, everything is shrouded in this red.
Studies have shown that in a red environment, subjects will become more excited and alert, and their pulse and blood pressure will speed up and rise.
Along the way, the faces of the residents in area zzone 08 were a mixture of fear and panic.
With just a glance, Bai Jinshu could see many people with panicked expressions, looking like they were about to cry.
The comments became even more tense:
[Hiss, so nervous, so nervous.]
[If you say this scene is from a horror movie, I would believe it. ]
[It feels so scary, as if I'm about to fight a boss if I move forward.]
[Ahhh, I’m most afraid of this kind of scene when I’m playing games. I won’t watch it if my cabinet moves.]
【Adjust the font to the largest size and use the bullet screen to protect yourself. 】
[Is there no one brave enough to tell some jokes to lighten the mood in the comments? Although I know that the main player is immune to sc, I still feel panicked when I see him walking against the crowd! ]
[Silly child, because the main immune to sc, but you are not immune to sc. ]
[…Shit, what a joke from hell.]
[Depending on you, the almighty house manager! ]
The housing manager actually came out and replied, and a green notice popped up at the top of the screen:
【Announcement: Always be prepared! 】
On the screen, Bai Jinshu had already walked out of the crowd.
After the crowd dispersed, the streets of zone 08 seemed too empty.
After the glass cover above turned red, in addition to the crowd fleeing towards the civil air defense fortifications on the entire street, the various stalls and some decorative items displayed by the shops along the street were all retracted as the emergency system was triggered.
The color of the glass cover became darker and darker, and finally fixed on a very rich and very depressing red. Under the cover of this red, everything in the city had an indescribable sense of weirdness, a depressing texture like solidified blood.
The sky over the city was empty, all projections were cut off, and now when you looked up you could see the blood-red sky.
Here’s where it gets weird.
Almost thirty seconds had passed since the alarm sounded, but...
He could not sense the presence of any C-type creatures.
That's the weirdest part.
For the whole city to be on such alert, then the creatures that are attacking should be of the Critical type that can cause harm to a large number of citizens, right?
But he felt nothing.
The live broadcast barrage also noticed something wrong:
[Why does the Lord keep looking up at the sky? Are the creatures of the Ksitigarbha system in the sky? ]
[No, if it was in heaven, the whole screen would be mosaiced. ]
[Ah? But it hasn't appeared yet, has it? ]
[There was a time when a C-type creature suddenly appeared from the side of the screen during an exploration. The moderator at the time was a step slow to react, and many people were dragged through the SC. Since then, the Foundation has delayed the live broadcast of this project by five seconds to give the moderator time to react.]
[So if there is something in the sky right now, then our screen is already a mosaic. ]
The audience in the barrage were speculating, and Bai Jinshu gradually stopped.
Could it be that this thing did not come from the outside, but from inside?
For example, some eyes have been staring at him since he walked against the crowd.
Bai Jinshu's expression remained the same. He looked around but couldn't find any handy props that could be used as weapons. He could only stop suddenly and look in one direction -
The streets were empty, with only some glass covers following the sky and turning into red light strips.
No, something is different. As the alarm sounded, everything on the street should have been taken back by the buildings and the city’s own protection systems.
Bai Jinshu's gaze shifted, and the barrage of comments shifted with it.
【What is it? 】
[Is there a creature of the type watching the Lord from the dark? ]
[The creatures of the enemy type should be hiding in the dark. 】
[On the crimson street, a pair of eyes were hidden behind a building, following She Mochu's movements and moving forward slowly...]
[No, what are you doing! I'm clearly on this side of the screen, why is the atmosphere so tense now as if I were actually there!]
[Who isn't? It's all because the atmosphere is too scary. ]
[Generally speaking, the final boss in horror games is lit in this kind of underworld. 】
Countless eyes focused on Bai Jinshu's visual point, and then... fell on a piece of black cloth in the corner of the wall.
——The black windbreaker equipment of the mobile team.
Bai Jinshu: ...
Barrage: [……]
No wonder after all the people entered the civil air defense fortifications, he was the only one walking on the street for such a long time and did not meet any members of the Zone 08 investigation team.
It turns out that these people are sneaking along the edge.
[I really admire you guys from the mobile squad. 】
[If you want to watch it, watch it openly. Haven't you seen the big guy? ]
【Give me back my nervousness just now. 】
[When I think about how a bunch of people were hiding in the corners of the street and looking at Chu Shen furtively when we were all so nervous, I already feel embarrassed...]
[Awkward +1]
[Awkward +2, I suddenly understood Wei Ye's feelings the last two times.]
【What do you feel? 】
[People scare people, scare people to death! ]
On the street, Bai Jinshu, who was standing openly in the middle of the street, did not move. The other men in black windbreakers, who were hiding stealthily at the edge of the street, also did not move.
It seemed as if he was hiding in the dark and would not come out at all.
Bai Jinshu looked around with a lack of enthusiasm at the mobile team members who were hiding in the corners and observing him, a warrior... or rather a fool who dared to walk in the middle of the road when the C-type creatures were attacking, and continued to walk forward.
He is not afraid of those things, so why should he get close to them like a thief?
He was silent for a moment, then chose to quicken his pace and walk forward.
As he left the street, the gaze that followed him also faded away. Perhaps the other party discovered that his secret observation was discovered by the real owner, so he could only leave in embarrassment and do his own task.
The bad news was that he was the only "big fool" walking in the middle of the street. Not long after Bai Jinshu walked forward, he heard a very small voice coming from the side of the street: "Brother Chu?"
Bai Jinshu turned his head towards the direction where the voice came from and saw a familiar face.
It’s Si Panxuan.
"Brother Chu!" Si Panxuan breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed out from the side of the street, and whispered to Bai Jinshu, "You didn't enter the civil air defense fortifications either?"
"Well, no." Bai Jinshu looked at the two men, "What's wrong with you two?"
He remembered that the two left to evacuate the people. Logically, they should have followed the citizens into the civil air defense fortifications before the countdown, right?
"Ah, we ran into colleagues when we were evacuating the crowd," Si Panxuan took the initiative to explain, "I don't know which team they are from, but they probably mistook us for members of the mobile team that happened to be on a mission nearby, and asked us to quickly follow them to area W-34."
"Then why didn't you go?" Bai Jinshu raised his eyebrows.
Judging from the personalities of these two people who took the initiative to evacuate the crowd, they don't seem to be the type to bury their heads in the ground like ostriches to avoid danger. They shouldn't stop acting with the team just because they are not members of the team.
The Foundation's exploration team members have a temporary group chat for communication, so they don't have to worry about not being able to get in touch.
"Without taking us." Shi Liqun seemed a little aggrieved.
"We were planning to go with them," Si Panxuan explained, "but as soon as the air defense gate closed, they all put on the hats in their hands and urged us to put them on quickly."
Where did they get the hats?
Lin Cheng was right. The things on top of that thing really blocked the view. Originally, everyone came out just to check these infrastructures, so they didn't wear top hats. No one expected that they would suddenly encounter an invasion of C-type creatures.
It even rained yesterday!
What on earth is this city's defense system made of? Is it so fragile? Didn't Alvin say yesterday that it was a defense system independently developed by the Zone 08 Academy of Sciences? But the rain had only stopped for 24 hours, and the whole city was under martial law.
Even though Si Panxuan had no prejudice or opinion against zone 08, he couldn't help but mutter at this time, "Do you have any reliable equipment here? Is it still working?"
Si Panxuan and Shi Liqun didn't bring hats, so they were naturally left behind by the other people in black windbreakers and were not allowed to go with them.
"Originally, they asked us to find a store that hadn't closed yet and stay inside it, but all the stores here were closed," Si Panxuan pointed around, "Shi Liqun and I had no choice. There were many citizens around us who hadn't had time to enter the civil air defense fortifications. We could only stay there with them as a last resort."
There were still many citizens around who had not had time to enter. The two of them found a place where they could barely hide and protect the citizens around them as they entered. At that time, they saw She Mochu walking along the street.
Now that I have met She Mochu, I must ask him what the current situation is.
"Brother Chu," Si Panxuan whispered, "Do you know what kind of C-type creature has come to this place?"
"I don't know," Bai Jinshu answered very straightforwardly.
Anyway, he didn't see it and didn't feel it.
The feeling of san check is very unique, and he couldn't have passed sc without knowing it.
Along the way, there was really nothing.
"Hiss..." Si Panxuan took a deep breath, obviously misunderstanding what he meant, "That's troublesome."
She was afraid that She Mochu's level was not high enough to see this kind of creature that could affect the entire city.
However, in order to save She Mochu's face, she did not say it, but hurriedly urged: "Then Brother Chu, come hide with us for a while!"
"No need." She saw She Mochu shook his head, his eyes fixed on the glass cover in the sky for a few seconds, and then he looked around calmly, "In this environment, you don't need to hide from small things, but you can't hide from big things."
All the shops on the street have been closed. Although Si Panxuan and Shi Liqun have managed to find a relatively hidden hiding place, the premise of hiding is obviously that there are few people. Now there are too many people here in order for the two of them to gather all the residents who did not have time to enter the civil air defense fortifications.
If any kind of creature really appeared at this time, this group of people would be the first to be unable to escape.
It is true that you don't need to hide from small things, but you can't hide from big things.
"So is this a small matter or a big matter?" Si Panxuan asked nervously.
"Not sure," She Mochu said again, "Just wait."
Who knows if the alarm here will trigger a city-wide response? Maybe the creatures of the type that appear are in other areas.
Ignoring the two nervous teammates, Bai Jinshu sat down casually next to the gap they found, stared at the road ahead with his eyes half closed and began to daydream.
The red color of this place does have a certain impact on people's emotions. For example, he has been here for so long that he is inevitably a little irritated.
It's just that he was irritated, while the others were obviously afraid.
Several citizens around him who had not had time to enter the civil air defense fortifications faintly let out some very low sobbing sounds. Before Bai Jinshu could say anything, a very calm female voice spoke up: "Don't cry, what's the use of crying."
"I... It was my first time, so I didn't get in," the man sobbed intermittently, "My classmates and I skipped the last class, and I didn't expect to meet you when I got out..."
He said nothing more.
The school would probably organize students to enter the civil air defense building when encountering such a thing. This boy skipped classes to play, and without the protection and evacuation of the teacher, he could not squeeze into the civil air defense building here.
"Wipe it off," the calm woman took out a napkin from her pocket and handed it to the boy, "You have to get used to this kind of thing in the future."
The boy seemed to be so frightened that he didn't know what to do. He took the paper handed to him by the woman, wiped it with a tear and said, "Thank you... Thank you."
He still couldn't figure out how to "get used to" this kind of thing.
"Are you scared?" the calm woman took the initiative to speak.
"It's okay," the boy got rid of his fear a little, realized that he should be embarrassed like this, and quickly said, "I just didn't stay outside after the alarm sounded... Sister, do you often do this?"
He asked the calm woman.
“It’s not that bad,” the woman said calmly, without any of the tension on the other people’s faces. “Probably only a few dozen times.”
"Dozens of times?" The boy was shocked. "Sister, have you seen... them?"
"The teacher said... those things will kill you if you see them once," he whispered, "They said I died like this before, and I don't want to die yet."
"There's nothing to be afraid of when you die," the calm woman did not comfort him. Instead, she said, "To live in this world is to experience endless suffering."
Hearing this, Bai Jinshu suddenly became interested in the conversation between the two people.
In a world of K-series, not many people can realize this and agree with this concept.
He turned around and found that the person who said this was a woman who looked to be around 30 years old and had a calm expression.
As for the young boy next to her who was frightened by the fact that he could not enter the civil air defense fortifications, Bai Jinshu estimated his age and thought he was probably in junior high school.
It is normal for people who are not yet adults to feel fear when facing creatures of the Crimson type.
The woman noticed that Bai Jinshu turned around and looked at them, and raised her eyes and said, "Do you agree with this statement?"
"I agree," Si Panxuan heard She Mochu's voice as soon as he came back, "But since living means experiencing endless suffering, why not just commit suicide?"
What are you talking about?
The creatures of the Ke system may come at any time, and you are here to instigate others to commit suicide?
Si Panxuan twitched his lips and quickly walked to the side of this ancestor: "Then you'd better stay alive. Living has infinite possibilities. If you die, there will really be nothing."
I don’t know whether She Mochu wants to live or not, but what if there is someone here who is too mentally fragile and really believes this and plans to die immediately?
"It makes no difference to me." The calm woman did not let his words lead her to further conclusion. Instead, she looked up at the sky and said softly, "My child, life is a cycle with no end. The grass will wither, the flowers will fade..."
As she whispered softly, more voices joined in. Most of the people who were panicking just now calmed down miraculously, and gradually followed her voice and whispered together -
"My child, life is a cycle without end. The grass withers and the flowers die. If you carry your sins into eternity, you will fall into hell and the eternal fire of karma."
"You must sweat to live, and you must cry to survive."
“If suffering silences a person, it can also be considered as giving him wisdom.”
“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters as if he were in heaven.”
“When everything returns to silence, it is also the time for everything to start anew.”*
Si Panxuan held his breath slightly and looked in the direction of Bai Jinshu.
What are you doing?
Evil cult?
Bai Jinshu naturally didn't know either.
But the effect of doing this was very obvious. Most people were calmed down. Those who followed the calm woman to recite the content became much calmer. Those who did not follow the woman were also influenced by this environment and became less frightened, and gradually calmed down.
In such a strange and peaceful atmosphere, finally, the color of the glass cover in the sky gradually faded.
The alarm has been lifted.
The red light gradually disappeared, and the color of the sky changed from a deep, oppressive crimson to a light pink, then to orange, and finally returned to the blue of a normal sky.
In the distance, the sunset glow climbed up the corner of the building again. The crowd behind him gradually stood up from the ground. Everyone supported each other and walked away together. When the crowd was about to leave, the woman with the calm voice stood in front of Bai Jinshu and handed him a card.
"What is this?" Bai Jinshu looked down at the black card and did not take it.
“The address,” the woman looked up at him, “if you need anything in the future, you can come find me here.”
After saying this, she stuffed the business card into Si Panxuan's hand, picked up her bag and left, leaving them with only her slim back.
"What is this?" Si Panxuan asked curiously.
"An address." Bai Jinshu took the card from her hand and looked at the words on the front: [N-21 District WM239]
This should be the address.
On the back is the words that the woman just said: [My child, life is a cycle with no end. The grass will wither and the flowers will fade. If you carry your sins into eternity, you will fall into hell and enter the eternal fire of karma.]
This thing...could it be a cult from the interstellar age?
I wonder if his previous recognition of the woman’s words aroused her interest, and this person wants him to join this church?
Bai Jinshu put away the business card with a strange expression.
Before, both he and She Mochu were dismissive of these things.
But what this woman said aroused his interest, especially these three sentences:
“Life is a cycle with no end.”
“When everything returns to final silence, it is also the time for everything to start all over again.”
"Carry your sins into eternity."
The siblings Xuan Kai and Xuan Chang, whom they met before, mentioned that Xuan Chang had died before.
This church also preaches the so-called "eternal life", "recycle", "life is death" and other things, which makes it difficult for him not to think in this direction.
"Let's go back to the base first," Bai Jinshu put away the business card in his hand, looked at the surrounding civil air defense works that were gradually opening their doors, lowered his head and sent a message in the temporary group chat:
[She Mochu: Si Panxuan, Shi Liqun and I are together. We will go to the aircraft and wait for you.]
The remaining five people in the team arrived at the aircraft not long after.
But compared to Bai Jinshu and the other two who were fine, these four people seemed to have suffered much more.
Jia Li covered his ears and didn't say a word. Ming Qingrong and Wei Ye were grinning. Zhang Lu looked painful: "Let's take it slow. Don't talk."
The four of them jumped onto the aircraft as if they were escaping. After more than half an hour, Wei Ye slowly spoke: "I feel like my brain has been shaken evenly."
“Me too…” Ming Qingrong said in a hollow tone, “This thing’s lethality is so great, I feel like I wasn’t killed by the creature, but this thing took away half my life.”
"Sister, are you feeling better?" Si Panxuan rubbed Zhang Lu's solar plexus for a while, and Zhang Lu said weakly, "Better."
The four of them followed other citizens into the civil air defense fortifications. They didn’t think much of the buzzer when they inspected it before, but only after they actually entered did they realize how powerful this thing was.
"When the buzzing sound started, my brain felt like it was going to explode," Ming Qingrong collapsed. "It felt like someone was drilling into my head with an electric drill."
Before, everyone thought that what She Mochu said about the buzzer being used to stop people from having wild thoughts was a bit exaggerated, but now after experiencing it this way, they no longer have any doubts about the effectiveness of this civil air defense facility.
The next second after the door closed and the space fell into darkness, the buzzer suddenly rang.
The sound seemed to be drilling into people's heads and prying open everyone's crown. Not to mention having random thoughts, once this thing sounds, your brain will lose the ability to think.
All his strength was used to cover his ears. In the early stages of the design of the civil air defense fortifications, someone must have taken this situation into consideration. Even if he covered his ears, the evil sound that penetrated his brain did not stop, but became more and more intense.
During the time they were in the civil air defense fortifications, the four of them, not to mention thinking about the safety of their teammates who were still outside, they even doubted whether they could get out alive. The rare time that something else popped up in their minds was about when the sound would stop.
It can be said that as an anti-Cthulhu device, they have used blood and tears to test that this thing is really useful.
Zhang Lu's head was buzzing. She definitely wouldn't be able to drive in a short period of time. Other people here couldn't drive either. She could only wait for her to rest here for a few hours before gradually driving the aircraft towards the base.
Along the way, Si Panxuan remembered something.
"Oh, about that hat," she suddenly said, "we should always carry it with us from now on. Even if it blocks our view, don't leave it in the dormitory. Just hold it in your hand."
She and Shi Liqun roughly recounted what happened to them a few hours ago. When they mentioned that the black windbreakers of the mobile team did not allow them to follow because they did not have hats, Zhang Lu casually asked, "Didn't they tell me what was special about the hat?"
"They didn't say it, but I noticed something was wrong," Si Panxuan thought for a moment and said, "After they put on the hats, the transparent board in front of them turned black."
"That's impossible," Ming Qingrong interrupted, "I clicked that button before, and everything in front of me was pitch black after I clicked it. I couldn't see any road."
The panel on the top hat is very close to the eyes. Rather than being a panel, it is more like a lens placed in front of everyone's eyes.
After this thing turned black, I couldn't see the surrounding scene at all.
"It doesn't seem to be completely black," Si Panxuan thought for a moment, "there are some very simple white lines on it."
"Map." As soon as she finished speaking, she heard She Mochu speak.
"What map?" She didn't respond.
"Those white lines are a map," Bai Jinshu said calmly, moving his gaze away from the window. "That panel can also be used to prevent Critical Creatures when encountering a crisis."
All the mechanical equipment here has many physical functions.
For example, the previous civil air defense fortifications, looking at the performance of Zhang Lu and others, you can tell that they are definitely useful, and this panel also has a similar function.
"Once the screen goes completely black, you can't see the surrounding environment," She Mochu said nonchalantly, "The white lines are a simplified map of the city that has been pre-loaded into everyone's panel program, so after the alarm goes off, all the shops along the street and the debris on the street will be cleared away."
This ensures that even when the mobile team members cannot see their surroundings, they can still know how to navigate the city based on the interface display.
The designer's idea is also very simple and crude. Since the mobile team members must act outside when the C-type creatures attack, they should deprive everyone of their vision and cut off the san check that is transmitted through "seeing" as soon as possible.
The second step is...
"Oh, I see!" Wei Ye suddenly realized, "No wonder the thing above our heads can scan biological information."
They scanned each other for a long time out of curiosity. The function of this thing is to recognize some basic information of the creature in front of it, such as gender, age and some basic values. Originally, they thought it was unnecessary and just for fun, and these things were of no use at all.
But what if this function is used when everything is pitch black and the only way to understand the terrain is by some simple white lines?
In this case, you can tell without looking whether the person in front of you is a teammate or something else!
"Damn," Ming Qingrong said flatteringly, "What a clever design!"
This future world really has something.
"But this thing doesn't seem very reliable," he said, and then muttered, "Didn't Brother Chu just..."
He stopped talking halfway.
Unfortunately, the real owner has already heard it.
"Nothing?" Bai Jinshu glanced at him and asked casually, "What did you scan me to see?"
"Uh..." Ming Qingrong smiled awkwardly, "I'm just curious about your numbers, Brother Chu."
"So what was swept out?"
"It's all question marks," Jia Li continued, "It seems that it can't recognize Brother Chu."
"The principle of this thing should be the same as that of the access control system, right?" Si Panxuan interrupted, "Didn't the access control system fail to scan out Brother Chu before, because Brother Chu was not considered a human being."
"Well, I..." Bai Jinshu suddenly paused.
Hiss... Yes, the access control system didn't scan him out because She Mochu is not a human. In essence, he is also a mythical creature of the K-type, so this thing, like the access control system, can't scan him out, and all that is displayed are question marks.
Then in the eyes of all team members who have activated the anti-Cthulhu device, his information should all be displayed as [? ? ? ].
So the players he saw on the street today...
Bai Jinshu was silent for a second.
In contrast to his silence are the viewers of the barrage.
[Fuck, I can’t hold it any longer. ]
[So those people hiding behind the building thought the Lord was a creature of the Anti-type! ]
【I thought they were hiding to make fun of the Lord. I repent.】
[You should repent. They probably thought a huge monster of the K-type was walking on the street.]
[A fake monster that counters the enemy: Squidward with his fangs and claws bared. ]
[The real monster that counters the enemy: my beautiful Lord. ]
[Don't say it, I love you so much. 】
The author has something to say:
So it was actually:
Metal Perspective: I was walking down the street, and a bunch of my colleagues who were hiding treated me like a new employee.
Team member's perspective: Damn, there's a full【？ ？ 】Crimson creature wandering on the street, damn, so nm scary, hide, hide, damn, he stopped, help!
In the five dialogues marked with *, some of the formatting is adapted from the Bible, and a few sentences are quoted from the original text. I don’t know if it exceeds 15 words. Anyway, I’ll mark it as quoted first.
This paragraph took me a long time to write, so I didn’t write 10,000 words today, so I lost 800 words (plop)
First 20 + Random 20
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