Chapter 37
"Are you sleepy? Take a nap, you should arrive by the time you wake up."
Seeing that Chen Nan, who had been staring outside, finally turned away and covered her mouth to yawn, Tang Ke, sitting next to Chen Nan, said softly.
"Hmm, Master, how much longer until we arrive?"
Having sat for over two hours, Chen Nan gently shifted her body and couldn't help but rub her back as she inquired about the situation.
"There are still two hours left. If you don't want to sleep, we can eat something first." Seeing that she didn't seem particularly sleepy, Tang Ke reached for a backpack at her feet and took out some bread and two bottles of water.
"Okay!" Chen Nan reached out and took the small bread from the other person, then winked at her master and whispered, "Master, where are the others?"
"It's alright. They all ate while you were distracted. If they didn't have anything, they have something in their bags." Tang Ke said casually, glancing at the other passengers on the plane following Chen Nan's gaze.
"Yes, we've already eaten. You can eat by yourself, little one."
A middle-aged man with a curly beard, sitting diagonally to their side, overheard their conversation and immediately turned around with a smile.
"What do you mean 'little kid'? He has a name! Call him Xiao Chen or Xiao Nan, didn't he just say that?" The person next to him, who looked like the other person's girlfriend, raised her arm and gave him a hard slap.
"Yes, yes, yes! Honey, I understand." The henpecked husband with the curly beard replied repeatedly.
Seeing his pathetic state, many people on the small plane laughed.
Chen Nan found it amusing and then said to everyone, "Then I won't be polite."
Then she unwrapped the bread and started eating.
Tang Ke, like her, also unwrapped the bread, opened the bottle of mineral water, and quickly began to eat.
In this era, inflatable bread, compressed biscuits, and bottled water are the most common foods people eat.
Chen Nan and the other party had eaten together on the road when they went out on missions before.
At that moment, Chen Nan didn't care too much and quickly started eating.
Chen Nan was unaware that while she was eating bread and biscuits, many people on the plane were actually secretly staring at her.
Many people on the plane had actually been to Zone 73 before, or had a good understanding of Zone 73.
Once they got there, they knew that this was what they ate most of the time.
So now, everyone is secretly watching to see if Chen Nan, this delicate 21-year-old girl, can adapt to all of this.
Some of them were there to protect Tang Ke, some were there to earn military merits, and some were there to work long-term.
Anyway, if Tang Ke's young apprentice is a bit spoiled, they will subconsciously take better care of her in the future. But if she behaves well, they will naturally feel more at ease when interacting with her.
Chen Nan was unaware of the secret stares from those around her. After lunch and a trip to the restroom, she immediately closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep when she returned.
In the middle of the night, she felt Tang Ke, who was next to her, cover her with a coat like an old father. Chen Nan did not open her eyes and remained drowsy.
The plane departed at 11:00 AM and didn't actually arrive at Safety Zone 73 until 4:30 PM. By then, the entire Safety Zone 73 was completely dark. It seemed that only the area where their plane was parked was lit; the rest of the city was pitch black.
"This is all underground. The highest floor above ground is the second floor, and most floors are only one floor. Each floor above ground is only occupied by one or two guards. Everyone else lives underground, and every household here has the habit of drawing blackout curtains. In this place, if a large area of motion-sensor lights outside turns on, it means an accident has occurred."
As Tang Ke helped Chen Nan off the plane, she quickly introduced them to each other.
Then, after finally settling down in that place, Chen Nan understood why this place was so important.
The entrance to the safety shield and the entire energy input point are all located here.
Most of the scientists who developed the safety shield are also here.
Even many secret research institutes that study mutated monsters from other countries are located here.
Import and export operations between our country and neighboring countries are also located here.
The country's largest prison for serious criminals is also located here. Almost all the prisoners are vicious and hardened criminals who spend almost every day digging for crystals underground.
Those crystals are actually another source of energy for the safety shield.
When Chen Nan and the others left the center of the country, they could not actually see the so-called safety shield.
But in this place, she could clearly see the transparent safety shield.
As the workers below placed pieces of transparent crystal into the equipment below, and as one superhuman after another placed their hands into the machine, Chen Nan could see the safety shield in front of her becoming clearer and clearer.
"Gah!!!"
Inside the safety shield were individuals, soldiers, desperately throwing crystals and energy.
Outside the safety shield, however, were all sorts of bizarre and terrifying monsters and hordes of cockroach-like creatures flying around, repeatedly ramming their bodies against the shield.
With each impact, the seemingly sturdy safety shield only vibrated slightly.
Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, the transparent safety shield only vibrated slightly.
But when external objects hit the same spot thousands of times, cracks will gradually appear on the safety shield.
If the impact force from the outside exceeds the energy supply from the inside, a small hole will suddenly appear at the crack in the safety shield. Then, with a whoosh, all the monsters waiting outside and constantly impacting the same spot will swarm in from that hole, screaming as they rush in.
Above them are flying monsters, and below them are walking monsters.
The entire protective shield wasn't attacked from just one point. Countless terrifying monsters were attacking from every direction along the shield's edges, which stretched to the heavens.
And if a place is breached, and various cockroach monsters and terrifying creatures rush in, all the superhuman soldiers who have been waiting inside the safety shield will quickly rush out to fight back.
They all carried the small recording devices that Chen Nan used to carry when she worked at the police station.
In this place, that thing actually exists like a counter.
Everyone's merits and military achievements are actually recorded based on that record.
Most of the superhuman soldiers in this place are either real soldiers or special superhumans who were previously criminals.
In this place, once they accumulate a certain number of merit points, they can be pardoned by the state and may be able to exchange those merit points and military merit points for a new, clean identity. Then they can leave this place and go to other cities in the country that are safer.
Killing cockroaches and monsters earns you merit points, conducting scientific research earns you merit points, saving lives earns you merit points, and engaging in planting and construction earns you merit points.
The entire 73rd safe zone felt somewhat like the legendary era of work points to Chen Nan.
In this place, for most people, the fastest way to earn merit points is still to kill cockroach monsters.
As for inventions and creations, those are indeed things that only a very small number of talented people can do.
Besides the monsters that break through the safety shield and come in on ordinary days, they also encounter monster hordes driven out by neighboring countries, as well as swarms of cockroaches that suddenly fly down from the cockroach planet.
That was the time when all the superpowered individuals in the entire 73rd Safety Zone united to fight the enemy.
Because of daily contact with these monsters, even though most of them are superhumans, there is still a possibility that some people could be infected a second or third time.
Therefore, in this place, there is also the possibility that superhumans may suddenly mutate.
At that point, you might have to immediately grab a pistol or use your sword abilities to point it directly at your former brother.
Once you get to this place, people stop caring about status or gender; most people only care about ability and luck.
In this place, only legitimate military personnel care about your official rank and status.
Others, most people only care about their own life and death and their merits.
In the entire 73rd safe zone, merit points are everything.
It can be exchanged for food, drinks, accommodation, and other necessities, as well as foreign currencies.
As Tang Ke's apprentice, Chen Nan stayed with Tang Ke after arriving here. Tang Ke owned a rather large four-story villa in this area, with two floors above ground and two below, which he supposedly acquired using his own merit points.
After arriving here, Tang Ke took Chen Nan to register first, and they received a new recorder. Then, Tang Ke took Chen Nan to the safety shield.
He showed Chen Nan the place where everyone usually earned points for their achievements.
I also showed Chen Nan around how everyone goes to the Superpower Institute to get their superpowers and exchange them for merit points and money.
All the superhumans here who input their superpowers into the safety shield receive merit points and money.
"Everything here comes from money, glory, and responsibility. Don't be fooled by how mercenary everyone seems; when a real crisis hits, everyone rushes to protect the energy shield. Those with superpowers will lend them theirs, and those without will desperately mine energy crystals. Besides the prisoners and soldiers here mining them, almost all the nearby cities are also supplying energy crystals here."
Furthermore, all the death row inmates and serious offenders in our country aren't actually executed or imprisoned; they're sent here for rehabilitation. If they're lucky enough to become superhumans, they've truly been reborn. By the way, you can apply for voluntary infection here. If you survive, you become a superhuman; if you don't, it's all over. Most death row inmates, if they can't stand mining crystals every day, will apply for voluntary infection.
As Tang Ke explained to Chen Nan, he nodded slightly to the people across the street who saluted and greeted him. In this place, almost everyone in the city seemed to know him and treated him with great respect. Some people quickly stood up upon seeing him, some immediately removed their hats and nodded slightly, while others directly raised their hands in a military salute.
When leaving Beijing, Tang Ke felt a little awkward and hesitant.
At the facility, he mostly kept to himself. Or perhaps the people there were somewhat afraid of him, yet also avoided him.
After the two arrived at Ping'an Police Station, he, Captain He, and Xiao Yu took care of Chen Nan for a while, but then they stopped caring about Chen Nan and stayed in that small police station almost every day without going out.
Later, regarding his visit to exchange prisoners of war, Chen Nan was not present, and there were no related reports online. Therefore, Chen Nan did not know the specifics of his situation.
But here, from the moment she stepped off the plane onto this land, Chen Nan sensed the other person's relaxation and ease.
Yes, in this most remote and safest area outside the country, which outsiders would consider extremely dangerous, Tang Ke reacted as if she were back in her hometown, relaxed and at ease.
Listening to his introduction, watching him accept the other person's greetings with great respect, and seeing how he generously showed her around the various places.
Remembering what was written in the book—that he and his presidential cousin had both intentionally contracted the virus after arriving here—Chen Nan hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Master, how did you get infected? Were you accidentally infected by someone? Or were you unlucky enough to get infected while capturing supernatural beings?"
In fact, no one in this world knows the specifics of how Tang Ke and Tang Xin were infected.
As for whether or not someone was intentionally infected, there will certainly be no related records on the internet in the country, and the people of the country will not casually discuss how they were infected.
After all, even for ordinary superhumans in the country, the government protects their information and doesn't allow netizens to discuss them too much. Let alone people like Tang Xin and Tang Ke.
As for Chen Nan, she naturally learned about it through the original novel.
After all, in the original novel, she passed away; her adoptive master died. When Tang Xin was deeply shocked and emotionally distraught, it was the female lead, Guo Ying, who went to comfort and soothe him.
Under the female lead's patient comfort and reassurance, the most outstanding and powerful third male lead in the entire novel, unusually vulnerable, rested his head on her lap and told her about his father's death, how his family of over twenty people were ruthlessly expelled from the presidential palace by the former president, and how they suffered long-term imprisonment and persecution.
There was no other way. When the former president finally relaxed his restrictions on them, their mother and aunts took it upon themselves to send all of them, the siblings, to the most dangerous Safety Zone 73. There, they arranged for the older siblings to be infected first. In the end, all six siblings went in, but only Tang Ke and Tang Xin survived; the other four siblings all died in that deliberate infection.
This incident is Tang Xin's scar, and it should remain Tang Xin's scar.
Chen Nan shouldn't have deliberately reopened other people's wounds.
But when Tang Ke brought up the matter, Chen Nan, for some reason, deliberately asked her about it.
Everyone says that most of the time, the supernatural masters in the country have great trust in their disciples.
At this moment, Chen Nan just wanted to test it out and see if the other party would lie to her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com