Chapter 5 The Talking Mutant
Within the contaminated area.
The streets were filled with a sense of darkness that seemed to stretch endlessly.
I don't know when it started, but a light drizzle, like mist, began to fall from the sky.
Rain shone through the car windows, blurring the view outside.
Raindrops pattered against the car roof.
The car was stuffy, the atmosphere so oppressive it was almost suffocating.
Yun Zhao looked at the time; the flow of time remained unchanged.
Or rather, the clock is running normally.
4:46 PM.
Two and a half hours had passed since they mistakenly entered the contaminated area.
The sentries at Dawn Base couldn't possibly be this slow; they should have arrived much earlier.
He Xiang had the same thought, muttering to himself, "Each contaminated zone is different. I wonder how big this newly formed contaminated zone is. Perhaps the people from Dawn Base have already entered..."
As for why they weren't found...
Who knows?
"Nighttimes in the contaminated area are extremely dangerous!"
Cheng Dongshu pursed his lips, staring intently at the ticking time, his entire body tense. "We can't stay here overnight!"
Cheng Dongshu subconsciously turned to look at Yun Zhao, as if wanting to ask for her opinion.
Yun Zhao remained quiet, silently observing the scene outside.
The mental barrier amplified her perception countless times, allowing her to occasionally capture the emotions of everyone in the car behind her.
Fear, tension, panic, and...trust?
"Yun Zhao?"
When Cheng Dongshu saw that she didn't respond, he called out to her.
Yun Zhao gave a soft "hmm" and reached into the pile of luggage beside him.
moment.
She pulled out a black umbrella and a backpack.
The backpack contained a compass (useless in the contaminated area), a flashlight, a map, a diary, and a sharp dagger.
There are also a small amount of dry food supplies.
Yun Zhao placed the backpack on his lap, unzipped it to check, and replied, "You're right, we can't stay overnight in the contaminated area. I'll go out and see if I can find the key."
My uncles used to frequently go to the large base to exchange for supplies and had dealings with the base's sentries.
An A-level sentinel once told them this.
At night, the entire contaminated area "comes alive".
Yun Zhao didn't know how he 'came back to life'.
I thought the troops from Dawn Base would arrive soon.
But if we don't find a way to save ourselves now, we'll most likely have to spend the night here.
It's better to rely on yourself than on others.
She couldn't gamble with the lives of everyone in the town.
He Xiang was startled by these words and hurriedly stopped him, "No, the situation outside is unclear, Sister Yun Zhao, you can't go out."
Cheng Dongshu gritted his teeth, "You're not much of a fighter, I'll go with you."
“Why is Brother Dongshu acting so recklessly…” He Xiang was extremely anxious.
No one knows anything about the contaminated area, and it's raining outside. Who knows what we might encounter if we go out rashly?
Yun Zhao shook his head and said to Cheng Dongshu, "You are a B-level sentinel, so you should stay here and guard everyone."
She then turned to He Xiang, signaling him not to worry, "The newly formed contaminated area is less harmful; I can handle it."
He Xiang was still worried. The guide's strength lay in the spiritual aspect, while Sister Yun Zhao was gentle and weak. What if she encountered danger?
"Why don't Brother Dongshu stay here and watch over everyone, and I'll go with Sister Yunzhao?"
Yun Zhao pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "Okay."
The tiny bluebird, no bigger than a palm, slowly appeared and perched on her right shoulder. It seemed extremely interested in the situation outside and flapped its wings a couple of times, which was quite unusual.
Its eyes were sharp, and it stared at Cheng Dongshu with its noble head held high.
[Useless.]
Cheng Dongshu felt stifled, and his gaze was once again like that of someone looking at trash.
Is this bluebird insulting him?
They're definitely insulting him!
Yun Zhao didn't notice this little incident. She put on her backpack, opened her umbrella, and got out of the car.
The rain was falling heavily and rapidly, the sound of it pattering against the umbrella.
The air outside was filled with a damp, fishy stench, mixed with the smell of rain and dust.
Looking through the rain, a thin mist enveloped the entire street, the interplay of rain and fog blurring the whole world.
The streets were deserted and deathly silent.
It was eerie, gloomy, and deathly still, filled with an indescribable sense of unease.
He Xiang quickly put on his raincoat and followed him out.
The five people in the SUV next door noticed the commotion and stared at Yun Zhao in shock, gesturing to her through the car window.
Yun Zhao pointed ahead, indicating that she was only staying in this area.
Once she is far away, the protective barrier above the vehicle will dissipate.
This is a good opportunity to test the limits of my abilities.
Yun Zhao reassured them and walked forward with his umbrella.
The little bluebird flapped its wings, and green fluorescence appeared out of thin air, turning into countless tiny stars. Instead of disappearing as usual, it lingered around her.
The spiritual threads began to spread wildly.
Are you scared?
Despite it being a mysterious place that others would avoid at all costs, she felt her blood boiling and a faint sense of excitement rising within her.
He Xiang hurriedly jogged up behind her and walked alongside her on the street.
The dirt road on the ground had been turned into a cement road at some point. Rainwater gathered into puddles and flowed down the ground, turbid and carrying diluted black sludge.
"It's a mutant."
He Xiang was a little nervous and said as if reciting a memorized text, "It is written in my brother's diary that the contaminated area has a fatal attraction to mutants. Once a contaminated area is formed, all the mutants in the vicinity will come to it."
He Xiang regarded that diary as his guiding principle and could recite it from memory.
His heart was pounding, and he instinctively gripped the gun hidden under his raincoat.
"take it easy."
Yun Zhao softened his tone, "The large base must have a way to deal with the contaminated area. We just need to find the key to get out."
I don't know if it was her comforting words that had an effect.
He Xiang calmed down a little, but remained vigilant about his surroundings, moving his feet cautiously.
The two walked about fifty meters forward, and the scenery behind them became invisible.
The thick fog had obscured the vehicle tracks.
We walked for a while longer.
There is a crossroads ahead.
Yun Zhao, holding a black umbrella, suddenly stopped, as if his spiritual senses had caught something different.
mood?
She stared blankly in that direction.
A short while later.
A figure could be faintly seen in the thick fog ahead.
He Xiang quickly picked up his gun, his whole body stiffening as he stared intently at the blurry figure without moving.
The figure drew closer and closer, gradually revealing its true form.
He was a middle-aged man with a square face, wearing a cheap T-shirt and baggy ripped jeans, with a black fanny pack around his waist.
As if he hadn't seen them, he muttered to himself and walked across the street.
"I need my wages... Xiaoming is sick, I have to get them today..."
"Where's the boss? Why isn't the foreman answering the phone?"
"Oh, the boss must be sitting in a warm office, drinking tea under the air conditioner..."
Yun Zhao looked down and saw black liquid flowing down the square-faced man's body, constantly gushing from his trouser legs, mixing with the rainwater and dripping onto the ground, forming shallow puddles.
This is a mutant.
Can mutants in contaminated areas transform into human-like forms?
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