Chapter 597 Contaminated Zone 6 (Twenty-One)
The floor of the passageway is not flat, but slopes slightly downwards.
The concentration of dark matter was so high that the beam of a flashlight could not penetrate it, barely illuminating an area of half a meter around Xie Tu's feet.
To prevent them from getting separated, Xie Tu had them untie their belts and tie them together, and everyone held onto the belts as they moved forward.
"Stay close." His voice sounded particularly cold and deep in the passageway.
The seven people walked forward in silence, their belts taut, and they could feel each other's slight tugs.
The line moved slowly, like a clumsy snake, snaking along the sloping ground. The beams of flashlights shattered into dim, yellowish spots in front of them, barely illuminating the heels of the person in front.
Some mutants would occasionally appear ahead, but Xie Tu would take them out before they could get close.
It took about half an hour to walk.
Xie Tu tugged at his belt and suddenly stopped.
"Captain Xie, what's wrong?" Huang Tinghai, who was walking behind him, asked.
Xie Tu stood there for a moment, sensing the situation, and then said, "The wind has disappeared."
A moment of silence fell over the group.
Staying up there is death, going down there is death, either way there is a dead end.
Cai Zhou's Adam's apple bobbed, and he broke the silence in a hoarse voice: "The wind's gone... Are we almost at the exit?"
Xie Tu didn't respond, but simply pointed the flashlight beam diagonally forward.
He could sense that the passageway was gradually widening.
The airflow that was originally flowing along the sloping direction of the tunnel had indeed stopped, and the dark matter, like solidified ink, had disappeared even the slightest tremor.
With such high levels of dark matter, some people have already begun to experience mental confusion.
Apart from Xie Tu, each person only had one dose of inhibitor and no guide. They could only stay here for a maximum of three hours.
Xie Tu was planning to risk erosion by releasing the Fire Phoenix to explore the way forward.
Suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.
The light was peculiar, bluish-white, like solidified moonlight, tearing a clear crack through the thick, dark matter.
The light that can penetrate this dark substance is not an ordinary light source.
With his excellent eyesight, Xie Tu quickly spotted a dark figure standing at the very front of the halo.
He was tall and thin, and what he held in his hand seemed to be a palm-sized crystal, from which light was flowing.
It made no sound, but just as Xie Tu and the others stopped, it turned slightly to the side and waved towards the deeper passageway.
The movements were small, yet they clearly conveyed the meaning of "follow me."
"What...is this thing?" Huang Tinghai gripped the belt buckle at his waist, his voice filled with vigilance.
A guide who suddenly appears in the darkness is more unsettling than any visible danger.
Yu Fei supported the injured person beside him who was almost unable to stand, and lowered his voice: "Could it be... other people trapped?"
"no."
Xie Tu felt that the crystal was very similar to the items in Yun Jue's cabin.
You Fei's throat tightened as he asked, "So, are we going to go or not?"
The presence of light sources in such places subconsciously gives people a bad feeling.
Xie Tu ran his fingertips along the hilt of the sword for a moment, then finally tugged at his belt: "Follow me."
Regardless of whether the other party is friend or foe, at least for now, that silvery-white halo is the only way out.
As soon as the group moved, the dark figure turned and walked deeper into the area, at a pace that was just right for them to keep up.
The further you walk, the wider the passageway becomes.
Several forks in the road appeared ahead.
The silver beam paused slightly at the fork in the road, and the dark figure turned sideways to probe the rightmost passage before the beam of light disappeared into it.
Xie Tu stared intently at the dark figure ahead, tugging at his belt to signal everyone to turn.
They walked in silence for nearly an hour.
The dark figure ahead suddenly stopped, and the silver beam of light abruptly turned to the right at an inconspicuous crack.
It was so narrow that only one person could pass sideways, and the faint sound of flowing water could be heard from the depths of the crevice.
The dark figure waved towards the crack, seemingly wanting them to go inside.
Xie Tu walked to the crack, reached out and touched the edge of the stone wall. It was warm to the touch, without the stickiness and fishy smell from before.
He glanced back at the crowd who were barely holding on, then stepped aside and whispered, "Go inside."
You Fei took the lead and was the first to crawl into the crevice.
The wounded injected themselves with inhibitors, rallied their spirits, and kept up. Soon, only Xie Tu remained outside.
Xie Tu turned around, and the dark figure remained standing twenty meters away from them.
Darkness filled the surroundings, making it impossible to see his face.
"Who are you?" Xie Tu asked.
The shadowy figure shook his head and made a "six" gesture with his fingers.
Xie Tu's eyes flickered: "Six gatekeepers?"
The shadowy figure nodded.
Xie Tu looked up and locked onto him. "Why are you helping us? Are you a mutant? Is it because of this crystal or something else that you've retained your self-awareness?"
The shadowy figure remained silent, immediately stuffing the crystal in its hand into its pocket, and the surroundings returned to complete darkness.
Do you know Yun Zhao?
After the question was asked, silence fell over the surroundings.
The dark matter was so dense that it was impossible to see whether it was reacting or not.
Xie Tu seemed to have the answer in his heart, and slowly said, "She awakened her ability and became a rare S-class guide. A year ago, she led the townspeople to the Dawn Base."
"Because of Yun Zhao, the base allocated houses and two plots of land to every household in the town, and they are all living very well now."
"But the deaths of her eight uncles became a deep wound in her heart. She hated herself for not awakening her abilities sooner and saving the people she cared about most..."
In the darkness, a very faint "click" sound came—like the sound of bones colliding.
Then came a rustling sound, as if something was trembling.
Xie Tu seemed not to hear, his gaze fixed on the darkness, and continued, "She joined the Dawn Base's operations department, carrying out the most dangerous missions in the contaminated zone, hoping that one day she could enter the sixth contaminated zone."
"How...how do you know all this?"
Its voice was tinged with a heavy, sluggish quality, as if it hadn't spoken in a long time.
Xie Tu smiled and said, "Because I'm her boyfriend."
A short, muffled thud suddenly erupted in the darkness, like a skeleton crashing against a stone wall.
A faint light appeared again ahead.
The shadowy figure took out a crystal and was carefully examining Xie Tu. Compared to his earlier kindness, his gaze now seemed to be critical.
Xie Tu remained calm and introduced himself, "Xie Tu, 26 years old, S-class Sentinel, one million in savings, parents passed away early, no siblings, can cook and do housework."
Seeing his familiar manner of introducing the crystal, the shadowy figure silently put it down.
"You can move around in the contaminated area, so you should know where she is. Are you not going to see her because you don't want her to see what you look like now?"
Xie Tu said, "Actually, she doesn't care at all..."
At this point, Xie Tu's emotions became somewhat apparent. "She is stimulated by dark matter and is extremely prone to losing control. There are too many things here that could affect her. You'd better come with me to see her."
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