Chapter 60
Wen Yuxiao originally thought that this interstellar voyage would be particularly smooth. When she reviewed the martial arts teaching video sent to her by the Zerg twice and teased Yun Yuxi who was sleeping soundly on her shoulder, time would slip away silently from her fingertips, or she would reach her destination by having dinner.
But the level of chaos in this area was beyond her imagination. The starships that were struggling to sail along the route were often stopped by various fighter planes and armored vehicles, and were interrogated by various inexplicable forces. Sometimes they would be let go if they paid protection money, and sometimes greedy robbers would board the ship, looting all the way from the crowded lower cabins to the guests, reaching out with bad intentions and robbing openly.
This is when Lao Zhu's role comes into play. After all, the Zerg's xenophobia is well-known throughout the galaxy, and almost everyone knows it. It is rumored that this notorious race has always only made friends with useful people, and useless people simply cannot stand within their sight.
The chubby middle-aged man habitually had a smile on his face. He had some connections with the forces behind each robber. He took out some tobacco, which was rare in such a place, and persuaded the armed bandits to leave with a few words. They didn't even have time to get to Wen Yuxiao.
This was the reason why Yun Yuxi could sleep so soundly that her saliva almost wet the fabric on her shoulders. Wen Yuxiao pushed her head aside with some disgust and let her lean against the chair to sleep on her own. He thought he could give Lao Zhu more money later.
Because they were often stopped and robbed, they arrived at the nearest edge planet to the Black Domain in the afternoon of the next day. It was even more chaotic and disorderly here. They had just got off the starship when a huge boom was heard not far away, followed by flames shooting into the sky. One of the tattered spaceships rushed out, flew for a distance, and finally couldn't hold on and crashed into a nearby building.
Yun Yuxi ate and slept all the way. He was so bored that he played online games with his sister. His brain, which was originally a bit lazy, was frightened by this sudden situation. He grabbed the wrist of Wen Yuxiao, who was also shocked, and starlight filled his hand.
Old Zhu skillfully fanned away the dust in the air with his hands, handed the two special gas masks and goggles, as well as a special umbrella, and gestured for them to put them on: "Dear guests, the air quality here is not good. If you breathe too much, you will easily faint."
Wen Yuxiao took off his original mask and obediently took over the two pieces of equipment and put them on. Yun Yuxi, who was standing next to him, did not rely on his own uniqueness. He knew that any arrogant character would end up in failure, so he put them on obediently and imitated Lao Zhu to open the heavy umbrella and raise it.
Their gender was difficult to discern once they were dressed. They didn't take public transportation, so Lao Zhu walked in front, helping the two of them push through the crowd and lead the way. In his words, "There are no traffic laws here, so it's better to walk."
As they spoke, the spaceships hurtling through the air collided with each other. There was a loud explosion, fire rained down, and burning parts clanged and hit the parachute.
Fortunately, the people around screamed and dispersed, and the road was unobstructed for a while. Lao Zhu easily led them into the alley and knocked on the door of a hotel with colorful neon lights.
Because there is always a layer of gloomy haze floating in the sky, there is almost no light here, and it is difficult to tell whether it is day or night. The hotel is still open, and the sound of ghostly howling music and roars can be heard from inside. The crowd caught in the crazy atmosphere is venting their emotions to their heart's content, and no one notices the presence of outsiders.
Old Zhu seemed accustomed to this. He led them through a dark door, blocking out all noise, and patiently explained to the girls, "People here constantly walk on the edge of life and death. How long they can survive depends on their luck. If they feel they're about to die, they sign an agreement with the exploration team and spend the money they received as they please. After entering the Black Territory, few can return alive."
"I'll take you to find the exploration team. They're the only ones who have the conditions to go deep into the Black Domain. I just don't know who the financial backer behind the scenes is. He must be really (expletive) rich." Lao Zhu sighed, verified the handprint and opened the last door. There was smoke inside, and no one was wearing protective equipment. Their faces were pale, and they were exposing themselves to the dangerous air in self-abandonment.
It was much quieter here than there just now. As soon as they came in, everyone's vigilant eyes fell on them, and they touched their weapons in their hands.
As soon as Old Zhu opened his mouth, he spoke with familiar compliments, and became friendly with the leader who was sitting in the innermost part, smoking a cigarette and crossing his legs, with several female leaders around him. He took out a few small and exquisite metal items from his pocket and stuffed them into the other person's hands.
The boss weighed the metal in his hand, nodded with satisfaction, and grinned a somewhat terrifying smile. His eyes fell on Wen Yuxiao and the others. He just looked at them briefly, not very offensively, otherwise Yun Yuxi, who was already on the edge of his patience, would have jumped up and down with tears in his eyes.
Wen Yuxiao thought that he had finally reached the end of his journey. Tomorrow he would be able to take a spaceship to raid the monster's lair in the Black Domain, fight it for three hundred rounds and slay it, and from then on live an easy and happy life bullying Yun Yuxi from time to time. However, he did not expect that the people on this planet are best at procrastination. Even if Lao Zhu went to ask and stuffed two pieces of precious metals into his mouth, he would only get the answer "Not everyone is here yet, we can't leave."
The closer they got to the black zone, the clearer the monster's mumbling became. It had developed to the point where whispers could be faintly heard during the day. The young lady who was taking care of them overheard her mumbling and complaining, and took the initiative to talk to her: "So you've been contaminated too."
Wen Yuxiao glanced at her strangely. The girl looked dazed, with a strange smile on her face. She was poorly dressed, like she was wearing only a sack. She was as thin as a mummy, and her skin was the same pale blue as everyone else's. Before she could ask more questions, her eyes rolled strangely, and she murmured in a voice similar to that of a monster, "You... came to see me?"
After saying that, the girl fell to the ground lightly as if all her vitality had been drained away, her head still facing Wen Yuxiao, her eyes fixed on her, dark tears streaming down her face.
Wen Yuxiao subconsciously wanted to help her up. He grabbed her cold wrist and looked intently. The light representing life faded without a trace. Only dark mist remained in the empty body.
Lao Zhu was no longer surprised by this matter, so he explained to her that there was a strange disease on the planet near the black zone. The closer to the black zone, the greater the chance of dreaming of being captured by strange tentacles, and then incomprehensible mumblings would echo in her mind. They called it pollution.
This symptom will naturally subside as long as you stay away from the black zone.
"Did you...dream about being captured by tentacles?" Old Zhu asked cautiously, a hint of fear in his eyes. Wen Yuxiao looked up at him with a calm expression. He immediately shuddered and said with an apologetic smile, "Look at me, I don't even know what I should and shouldn't ask. I'll go and urge them to leave."
Yun Yuxi, who was leaning against a nearby cabinet, yawned, looking like she had just woken up. She asked in confusion, "Why are you running so fast? I was just about to ask what we have for lunch."
It was impossible to rely on the people on this planet, but fortunately the Zerg were very powerful. They insisted on sending messages to Wen Yuxiao to inquire about the situation despite an unknown delay. When they learned that the two were stuck and anxious, they immediately provided a solution.
After a while, Lao Zhu hurried back, sweat dripping from his face, and reported to them: "The expedition team's sponsor suddenly wants the latest research results. We should be able to set off this afternoon."
The departure time was much earlier than they had imagined. Fortunately, neither of them had much luggage, so they simply packed up and boarded the starship. Lao Zhu naturally did not follow. He just wanted to earn some money and seize the opportunity of promotion to move to a higher level. He had no intention of selling his life.
But he had already given them enough benefits. The exploration team arranged a relatively clean room for them. They also heard rumors from somewhere that the two girls were contaminated, and almost no one dared to approach them along the way.
The starship slowly sailed into the black area. Wen Yuxiao was still observing the scene outside through the window. Yun Yuxi felt that he could not see anything by staring at the blackness, and was lying on the bed, thinking about it. Suddenly, the sky shook and the earth trembled. The whole starship seemed to have hit something and stopped after a violent jolt.
Yun Yuxi, who was thrown to the ground unexpectedly, got up and grabbed his sister who had just stood up. He suddenly said, "I have a bad feeling."
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