Chapter 456 The Return of Darkness (19)
The two quickly lost their time for sentimentality, as noise came from the house in front of them.
Li Yan and Zhang Hao rushed over immediately, but after dealing with the situation there, they heard gunshots coming from next door.
The soldiers realized that now was not the time for mercy; to be soft on the mutants would be irresponsible to the living.
But soon.
The survivors also discovered that the frequency of aberrations was increasing, with one person aberrating almost every few minutes.
Everyone was insecure and filled with despair; no one knew who would be the next to be mutated.
Some timid people huddled together, and even their cries became extremely suppressed.
Compared to the controllable situation at quarantine sites, people living at home with their doors tightly shut are not so lucky.
The eleventh group patrolled the streets in tanks and ammunition trucks.
The doors and windows of the houses on both sides of the street were tightly closed, and screams and crashes could be heard from time to time.
When they arrived, the house was in complete disarray.
The walls were splattered with black liquid and bright red blood, and a mutant was crawling around in the kitchen, gnawing on it.
The man's body lay beside the refrigerator, a kitchen knife clutched in his hand, its blade covered in black liquid.
Clearly, he tried to protect himself at the last moment, but failed.
Wang Lei pulled the trigger, killing the howling mutant that had stood up.
The sentries didn't linger and immediately headed to the next location with their teammates.
Above the safe zone, sporadic gunfire gradually intensified, and the dense darkness in the air swallowed the light from the flashlights.
"All members of Group Eleven, assemble here!"
"We can't split up anymore, or we'll all be doomed if a Sentinel mutant appears."
As Wang Lei walked, he picked up a walkie-talkie and contacted Sun Chao of the Ninth Group. On the other end, there was also a constant stream of howling and gunfire.
"Please call Captain Xie, the safe zone is gradually getting out of control."
*
Quarantine area.
The battle is nearing its end.
Carbon-based life forms are no match for thermal weapons.
The main battle tanks lined up in a row, firing at full power, and fewer and fewer mutant tanks charged toward the defensive line.
The area illuminated by the searchlight.
The streets were covered with flowing black slime, bubbling and hissing.
Xie Tu stood beside Xiao Yunzhao, his eyes fixed on the front-line battlefield. He noticed that two tanks had suddenly stopped firing.
"E-0105, E-0112, please report the situation."
There was no response from the walkie-talkie for a long time.
Xie Tu called twice, but still received no response.
"Something's happened, let's go check it out," Xie Tu said, turning around to the person behind him.
"receive!"
The scouts from groups seven and eight stepped forward.
Li Hongyun and Tan Wei, armed with flashlights and guns, leaped off the roof of the vehicle and quickly approached the tank.
Main battle tanks are at the forefront.
The darkness was thick with smoke and the howls of the mutants were accompanied by deafening gunfire. Unless you got close, it was difficult to hear anything coming from inside the armored vehicle.
Behind the main battle tank is a temporary supply station set up by the logistics department.
Hundreds of robots were busy moving ammunition boxes back and forth, ensuring the supply of firepower.
The two bypassed the robot and, as soon as they approached the target tank, they heard painful screams coming from inside.
"A distortion?"
"Is it currently undergoing a distortion?"
The two men jumped to the top window of the tank; one touched the handle with his hand, while the other raised his gun and aimed it inside.
With a whoosh, the top window was pulled open.
The beam of a flashlight pierced the darkness inside the tank, illuminating the distorted faces of the soldiers inside.
His body had been corroded by the black substance, and the blood vessels under his skin spread like a spider web. Mucus seeped from his pores and dripped onto the seat, making a hissing corrosion sound.
The soldiers remained rational, their faces filled with fear upon seeing them.
His voice was weak and trembling, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of his throat.
"Don't kill me..."
The soldier's eyes were filled with pleading and a desperate desire to live, "I don't want to die..."
The two sentries exchanged a glance, their weapons drooping slightly.
Li Hongyun was silent for a moment, then said, "Brother, I'll give you a quick death, you'll feel better that way. Otherwise, do you really want to become that kind of monster?"
The soldier shook his head, tears streaming down his face. He didn't want to become a monster, but he also didn't want to die.
Tan Wei dared not look at him again, and still raised her gun and pulled the trigger.
—A gunshot rang out.
The soldier's body slowly fell, the pain on his face finally subsided, but he remained filled with resentment until his death.
After the two men finished dealing with the mutants on another tank, they suddenly became unusually silent.
Xiao Yunzhao sat on the roof of the chariot, swinging her legs. Her gorgeous princess dress was spotless, and even the soles of her shoes were clean.
She was indifferent to her surroundings.
Perhaps feeling too bored, she took out her satellite phone and started playing Tetris on the battlefield.
Two phoenixes stood guard on either side of her.
Although the little bluebird doesn't understand games, it's obvious that the main body is messing around, stacking blocks haphazardly, and dying and restarting in no time.
"Couldn't the guide have saved them?"
After Li Hongyun returned, he seemed a bit off, muttering, "People outside have undergone mutations, and they can be saved by guides. Why can't guides save them?"
"The guide's ability is based on normal spiritual resonance and guidance."
Xie Tu's voice was extremely calm, "Don't be affected by the contaminated area, or you will be assimilated."
The sentries of the reinforcement troops had never set foot in a high-risk contaminated area, nor had they ever witnessed such a vivid and distorted process.
These monsters retain their appearance and consciousness from when they were alive.
The sentries will subconsciously see them as normal human beings, thus feeling pity for them.
Xie Tugang also praised them for their good mental fortitude.
In the blink of an eye...
When faced with the mutation of two soldiers 'fighting side by side', some people's minds become unstable.
Amidst her busy schedule, Xiao Yunzhao looked up and raised her chin, "Sentinels are so fragile."
Two phoenixes chirped in agreement.
The little bluebird revealed the exact same expression as its original form.
The sentries could understand those disdainful and contemptuous looks without even needing a mental translation.
Tang Zixuan sighed, as if they were being looked down upon by a child.
He patted Li Hongyun on the shoulder, intending to offer a few words of comfort.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie crackled to life.
A message came from Group Nine: "Team Leader Xie, the mutation rate in the safe zone is accelerating. Groups Eleven and Twelve have discovered two Sentinel Mutants, Rank A. One teammate is injured, but fortunately, the injury is not serious and his life is not in danger."
Xie Tu frowned upon hearing that someone was injured. "How is the command center?"
"Four sentries were guarding there. One of the guards mutated, and Commander Zhong has ordered a large number of personnel to evacuate outside."
Sun Chao paused for a moment, then continued his report: "The underground shelter is under renovation and it will take at least three days to evacuate the residents."
"But given the current situation, Commander Zhong believes that relocation would be even less safe."
The underground shelter was simply converted from a subway line, and the space inside is cramped.
Survivors gather in large numbers, and if multiple people undergo mutation, the resulting casualties are even more severe than on the ground.
"So Commander Zhong's idea is not to evacuate, but to hold the ground to the death."
Xie Tu didn't ask any further questions after hearing this.
Given the current situation, not evacuating is advantageous for them.
The gatekeeper is reconstructing the events surrounding the fall of Nanjing. The mutation process of all organisms should follow the same sequence as it did back then.
It is uncertain whether the entire population will ultimately undergo a mutation.
Staying on the ground and utilizing existing weapons and fortifications will allow them to better defend against an invasion.
Xie Tu then asked, "What's the situation with the buffer zone?"
Sun Chao replied, "There have been riots at four quarantine sites, but they are still under control. However, it is strange that most of the people whose pollution levels were previously above 30% are now fine."
Even though something happened in the safe zone, the pollution levels of those people remained unchanged.
Some people's pollution levels are even decreasing.
This is extremely unusual.
Xie Tu squinted slightly, "Antibodies have appeared?"
His words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples.
The surrounding sentries all looked up, their faces showing great surprise.
Sun Chao's voice came through the communicator, tinged with uncertainty: "Antibodies? Captain Xie, you mean... they might be able to resist the erosion of dark matter?"
"Just a guess."
Xie Tu said, "Initially, people were powerless against the dark matter, but some people miraculously survived the disaster."
He paused for a moment, then said, "We are all descendants of this kind of people."
After that disaster.
One type of person develops exceptionally keen senses, and their strength, speed, and reaction abilities far surpass those of ordinary people.
Another group awakens powerful mental strength, naturally able to resist the erosion of dark matter.
The appearance of Sentinels and Guides is closely related to Dark Matter.
Sun Chao took a deep breath. "Based on this hypothesis, there might be a lot of Sentinel mutants or Guide mutants among those people, right?"
Currently, there is nothing to worry about because no distortion has occurred yet.
"If that's the case, the buffer zone cannot be maintained."
Tang Zixuan turned to Xie Tu and asked, "Captain Xie, wouldn't it be better if we struck first?"
The sentries behind him had different expressions.
Strike first to gain the upper hand?
But those people now look like normal people.
The sentries simply couldn't bring themselves to do it.
If a massacre were to actually be carried out on the buffer zone, their mental state would definitely be in trouble.
Even if they manage to leave this place alive, it will be a lifelong shadow.
Xie Tu noticed everyone's hesitation and rejected Tang Zixuan's suggestion.
"Our main objective is to save the city. Indiscriminately killing any creatures that haven't mutated is breaking the rules."
Xie Tu said, "The people are part of the city. Killing and saving are contradictory and will anger the gatekeepers."
Clearly, Xie Tu did not want to provoke it.
Instead, it wanted to achieve the salvation that "it" envisioned.
The sentries all breathed a sigh of relief, including Sun Chao on the other end of the walkie-talkie.
"Team Leader Xie discovered the rules?" Tang Zixuan realized.
Xie Tu hummed in agreement.
He not only discovered the rules, but also the gatekeepers.
We just can't think of any other way to eliminate it for the time being.
"But the buffer zone is clearly a very dangerous hidden danger; we can't just eliminate it, nor can we ignore it."
Xie Tu changed the subject, turned on his military walkie-talkie, and issued an order: "Attention, 21st Army Group, assemble the soldiers who know how to pick locks and immediately open the doors of the houses in the buffer zone."
"Evacuate people from quarantine sites and relocate them to residential areas in the region. Gatherings of more than three people are prohibited."
"Inform the public that if they encounter danger or discover anything unusual, they should shine their mobile phone's built-in flashlight into the street. Once a light is detected, nearby troops will immediately rush to their aid!"
A series of responses came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.
"receive!"
"receive!"
...
This reduces the probability of dying from attacks by mutants.
Once they encounter Sentinel or Guide mutants, the Sentinels can defeat them one by one and will not be surrounded.
Xie Tu turned off the military communicator and said to Sun Chao, "Groups Nine and Ten, patrol along the streets and assist the army in the transfer. Remember, do not go deep into the quarantine area."
"yes."
Sun Chao asked, "Should we make the same arrangement over the safe zone?"
Xie Tu: "It won't work. There are too many people in the safe zone, and there aren't enough houses."
The city has a population of nearly ten million.
Now everyone is concentrated in the five central districts, leaving no extra space for the crowds to disperse.
"Notify Group 11 and Group 12 to hold on for a few more hours. Once the quarantine area is cleared in a few hours, we will rush over to provide support."
Sun Chao agreed: "Okay."
Xiao Yunzhao was playing games.
The battlefield was filled with the sounds of artillery fire and roars.
The surroundings were too noisy, and even though everyone was close by, she still couldn't hear what the sentries were talking about.
Of course, Xiao Yunzhao didn't care about any of that.
As a child, she was accompanied by a nanny robot, and the only one she could talk to was a little bluebird.
She had never experienced the warmth and complexity of human society.
They have never experienced the emotional bonds between people.
They have little interest in other people's affairs, are indifferent, and don't care about the life or death of others.
"Stop playing, it's bad for your eyes."
Xie Tu bent down, picked her up, and placed her inside the chariot.
Closing the car door finally shut out some of the external noise.
Xiao Yunzhao was used to doing whatever he wanted, so he completely ignored what he said and continued playing the game with his head down.
Xie Tu looked at his phone screen.
She played Tetris for ages, but was still stuck on the second level.
The blocks were stacked crookedly, and she could never place them where she wanted, but she didn't get angry. She would just restart the game after it died.
She seems to have had weak sensory integration abilities since childhood.
Xie Tu watched her focused yet slightly clumsy operation, and a wave of indescribable emotions welled up in his heart.
"Do you need my help?" he asked.
As a result, Xiao Yunzhao thought he was trying to steal her game.
One minute they say it's bad for your eyes, the next they offer to help.
This means he wanted to play it himself!
Xiao Yunzhao hid the phone behind her back with both hands and said disdainfully, "You still can't figure it out."
Xie Tu's silence was deafening.
She stared at him warily, like a kitten guarding its food, as if afraid he would actually snatch her phone.
"I'm not playing."
Xie Tu leaned back in his seat, looking somewhat helpless.
His gaze fell on her young but earnest face. "There's something I want to ask you."
Xiao Yunzhao confidently took out her phone again. "Go ahead and ask."
She slid her fingers clumsily across the screen, the blocks still stacking crookedly, but she was having a great time.
Xie Tu asked, "How wide can your mental barrier cover?"
This is crucial.
The extent of her mental barriers seems to differ between her childhood and adulthood.
Xie Tu had never seen her use the barrier on a large scale and was unsure of this.
As always, Xiao Yunzhao was perceptive and instantly understood his intention: "You want me to protect the safe zone?"
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