Chapter 127 Two Paths: After all, you are loyal and there's profit to be made...
The Lower City Police Department, unusually, did not stand idly by or wait for nearby residents to pool their money for their shift before arriving late. They acted very quickly, setting up protective netting to prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching, and at the same time, they deleted a large number of photos of the scene circulating online.
To prevent the curious residents of Sun City from gathering and watching, the police department went to great lengths to use sealing artifacts. No matter where you looked in the lower city, the area where the abandoned library was located and where buildings were constantly falling was completely covered in darkness, so thick that it seemed to devour everything.
Of course, Du Yu is not among those who cannot see that area.
A team of sheriffs had just patrolled through the area. In addition to the infrared detectors that kept beeping in their hands, one of the sheriffs was wearing a pair of strange glasses that were unusually bulky and had lenses as thick as eggs.
Du Yu didn't know the specific function of the glasses, but just by looking at the ripples emanating from them in his spiritual vision, he could guess their purpose—it was simply to use certain principles and the correspondence between the spirit world and the material world to detect all the spirits in the surrounding environment.
It must be said that besides being a figurehead, the sheriff does have other duties. This patrol team is not only disciplined, but the weapons they are equipped with can be said to take most situations into account. Under normal circumstances, no one can sneak in.
Unfortunately, they met Du Yu.
Not far from them, in the area the patrol had just searched, Du Yu was wearing a [portable curtain] and crouching down to observe the area where buildings were constantly falling—clearly, the sealing artifact that could block her view was ineffective against her.
Centuries-old locust trees, white magnolias, book carvings, and strangely shaped teaching buildings—things with grayish-white surfaces descended from the sky, and just before hitting the ground, they floated down in a manner that defied common sense and the laws of physics, forming the campus that Du Yu found both incredibly familiar and strange.
It was familiar, as she had spent the most beautiful and unforgettable four years there; yet it was also unfamiliar, as Du Yu had been separated from that ivory tower for more than a decade since the apocalypse, never expecting to see it again in the apocalypse.
Taking a deep breath and swallowing the inexplicable emotions surging in his chest, Du Yu calmly observed the building that resembled Jinling University, searching for its entrance.
Main Quest: Return to Your Homeland
[Mission Description: In a distant memory, seemingly from a past life… well, it truly was a past life, Jinling University was a paradise. There you gained knowledge, friendship, wealth… and the most precious things of your life. Go there, go to that place etched most deeply in your heart, where the treasure you've been searching for lies. You know where it is.]
[Quest Reward: Your long-lost homeland is right there. Do you really need a reward to motivate you to complete the quest? You're probably already itching to... But even so, there will still be a reward. Depending on your completion of the quest, you will receive a gift that feels like a gift from a complete stranger.]
[Note: Whether you move forward or backward, it's there waiting for you; it's hard to leave your homeland.]
Du Yu took a deep breath to calm her turbulent emotions as she looked away from the task panel. For once, she didn't feel like complaining about the system tasks.
The system was right. Even if there were no reward, even if there were punishment, even if the whole world tried to stop her from getting close to that place, she would still go there, to the place where everything began and seemed to be the end, to pursue the truth for the dead and the living.
"call--"
Exhaling a heavy breath, Du Yu's eyes held not only excitement but also a deeper sense of heaviness and contemplation.
She wasn't overwhelmed by the unexpected. In fact, although the area looked exactly like the Nanjing University in her memory, a closer look revealed something swirling in the shadows of the buildings, a sight that was mesmerizing at first glance.
Moreover, according to Du Yu's observations, before and after falling from the sky, these objects were not much different from ordinary objects, except that they were not damaged. However, if something prevented its descent or stood in the place where it was about to land, then even the most ordinary object, such as a bunch of flowers, would instantly possess the kinetic energy of a meteorite, violently crushing everything in its path.
After suffering three serious injuries and one death, the sheriffs learned that if any of the personnel in protective suits detected something falling from the sky, they would immediately move away to prevent anyone from dying an unknown death.
Besides, the fallen leaves on the ground, the small stones on the road, and the cracks in the flower beds made of red bricks—these ordinary places could at any time unpredictably spew out powerful corrupted creatures, causing heavy casualties among the explorers.
Among them are [Light]-level Fallen Species, which absolutely could not possibly appear in a city!
Even though the faces of the enormous, mountain-like monsters were hidden by protective shields, Du Yu could still sense despair from the investigating sheriffs.
Fortunately, after the monster emerged from a pair of size 38 women's slippers, it killed only a few people blocking its way before roaring and charging towards a corner deep within the campus.
Otherwise, the [Lamp] level Fallen species alone would be enough to kill all the sheriffs exploring inside and outside Jinling University.
Even Du Yu held his breath the moment he saw the monster appear.
Without using her true form, she wasn't confident she could defeat the monster; at best, she could escape unscathed—but that wasn't enough. The place she wanted to go was deep within the monster-infested region.
Deep within Jinling University, in a certain area, something seems to be hiding, something that intensely attracts these monsters. Each corrupted being, disturbed and emerging from strange places, simply kills a few people before heading straight for that area.
A hint of seriousness flashed in Du Yu's eyes. Strength was one thing, but numbers were another. Moreover, with a sheriff patrolling nearby, even if she managed to sneak in, she would have to be extra careful to prevent making too much noise and having her gains stolen.
Although injuries sustained by the avatar won't affect the main body, creating an avatar isn't cheap. The resources consumed to enhance the avatar's power are even more staggering, so Du Yu prefers to save resources wherever possible, acting cautiously and avoiding reckless actions.
strangeness……
Du Yu stroked her chin, frowning as she looked at the distant buildings. This suspected spirit world creation from Jinling University gave her a very contradictory feeling.
One moment he felt the comfort and peace of rolling around on the lawn under the bright sunshine, and the next he felt the terror of being surrounded by enemies, with one wrong step and he would fall into the abyss. These two feelings kept alternating in Du Yu's perception, and the contrast was so great that Du Yu almost thought he was having a mental breakdown.
But gradually, she figured out a set of rules.
When a sense of security washes over you, the buildings are relatively safe; but when a feeling of terror arises, that's exactly when monsters will leap out of the buildings.
Therefore, it is clear that the two intertwined contradictory states were not Du Yu's illusion. Within that ever-expanding complex of buildings, there was a judgment mechanism that Du Yu had not yet discovered operating, determining whether it was a safe zone or a dangerous zone at one time.
Du Yu's legs were almost numb from squatting, and she still couldn't figure out why the safety and danger were intertwined in the building complex, but she wasn't in a hurry.
Based on previous recollections, Jinling University has only "lost" less than one-sixth of its original size, and the space within the building complex is far from stable. Du Yu still has ample time to explore ways to sneak in.
"Huh?"
Just as Du Yu was about to leave, his gaze inadvertently fell upon a figure approaching from afar, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Brother Bian, it’s too dangerous here. I’m glad you’re willing to take the risk for me, but even if the core of the Ascension Plan is here, it’s still not as important as you…”
Soft hands cradled his forearm, and the woman leaned on his shoulder with complete trust and without any wariness, just as usual. Sweet words of care lingered in his ears, but Bian Shaoyan no longer felt the usual surge of pride and ambition in his chest. He even felt a little annoyed by the repetitive and rambling words.
That surgery took away so much.
Hair, reproductive organs, ninety percent of the body... these are all just appearances.
For so many days, ever since he learned that he could no longer stand up on his own, the fire of anger burning in his chest had grown stronger and stronger. The scorching pain helped him get through the experiments, endure the difficult rehabilitation, and bear the ridicule of others, ultimately supporting him to stand here, and filling his heart with the ashes of revenge.
Money, power, women, status... these are all external things. Bian Shaoyan doesn't want anything now, he just wants to catch those damned people and make everyone who made a move suffer a hundred times more pain than he did!
Bian Shaoyan glanced at the security android sent by Blue Grid Communications, his expression twitched slightly, and he revealed a gentle smile: "No, don't say anymore. Since I promised you, I will definitely do it—I said I would win you a ticket to the future."
Amidst the girl's delighted and sweet smile, Bian Shaoyan almost believed his own lies: the android organs simply no longer secreted hormones, but his brain still belonged to him.
Bian Shaoyan seemed to have an abacus in his mind, meticulously calculating and weighing everything around him—
Lange Communications is controlled by the Du and Gu families. Quark's people have infiltrated for a long time, but they've only managed to penetrate the outer layers. Fortunately, those two old men don't have long to live, and the Ark is only for young people, so they're not reliable.
As for the heir who also boarded the Ark, that illegitimate son of the Du family who appeared out of nowhere? He's a complete fool and not worth mentioning at all.
As for the Gu family—looking at the woman holding his arm, Bian Shaoyan's smile rarely showed any genuine emotion.
Gu Tu is the sole heir of the Gu family. The only person who could shake her position, Gu Xi, died in the experiment of the Sun Chasing Project. As long as she can control Gu Xi, she will have half of Blue Grid Communications, and the other half will not be far away.
"Brother, watch out!"
A mutated rat the length of an arm darted past, startling the woman, who couldn't help but move closer to Bian Shaoyan.
Bian Shaoyan felt both annoyed and subtly smug. Look, even though he had become like this, there were still women who loved him to death and were willing to give up everything just to get a smile from him.
"Don't worry, I will protect you."
"Always?"
"certainly."
After all, you are loyal and there's profit to be made in it.
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