Chapter 638 The Guardian of the Collection (Part Two)
Jiang Mu frowned, unusually not using a lazy tone, but rather a cautious confusion.
"The moment I stepped inside, it was as if the 'world' had been covered by a thick layer of frosted glass."
Fu Heng continued, her voice still calm, but a hint of tension could be detected if you listened closely: "The sound was both far away and very close. You could hear the noise, but you couldn't distinguish the specific location or level, just like an ordinary person standing in a busy downtown area."
Xia Mingang rubbed his ears hard, his expression contorted: "I used to be able to hear the teeth-grinding sound of mutated creatures gnawing on things a hundred meters away, but now I just think...noisy! Just plain noisy! My brain is about to explode from this lousy gong-like voice, but I can't hear a single useful fart!"
It was as if overnight they had been stripped of their innate and most relied-upon weapon.
He went from a hunter with exceptional perception to an ordinary person trapped in a storm of noise and light.
Yun Zhao was very surprised. She quickly made a move, and a bluish-green fluorescent light appeared from her palm, flew to Xie Tu who was closest to her, and slowly disappeared into his body.
Xie Tu was already very familiar with her mental threads and remained calm throughout.
Fluorescence probed along his mental nucleus...
The town center was bustling with activity, and people were constantly coming and going. If they weren't careful, they would be bumped into by the mutants.
Fu Heng glanced around and gestured for everyone to move to the edge of the flower bed.
The team members demonstrated exceptional combat awareness, and the mission was not delayed by any unexpected incident.
Not long after.
The white mythical beast appeared in the air, overlooking the entire ancient town from above, searching for the 'most bustling' spot where the gatekeeper might appear.
Yun Zhao's brows furrowed more and more tightly.
A few seconds later, she withdrew her hand and looked up at her companions. "We didn't detect any external mental shielding force. It's more like the 'rules' of this area itself are covering your sensory systems."
Xia Mingang's gaze fell on the teahouse on the second floor across the street. The sound of gongs and drums seemed to be coming from inside the building, and the noise sounded like a theatrical performance.
Hearing Yun Zhao's voice, he blurted out without thinking, "What do you mean?"
Xie Tu translated it into plain language: "Here, the upper limit of perception for all living beings is set at a very low level."
The figure of the fire phoenix appeared behind him and flew in the opposite direction from the white beast.
Jiang Mu glanced at Huo Feng, crossed his arms, and said, "A gatekeeper who craves excitement and creates excitement himself, yet he wants to set the rules for receiving 'excitement'?"
Yun Zhao felt something was off. "It has the ability to establish or block senses?"
Fu Heng didn't dwell on that. "It means that with the S-class Sentinel's senses, we can find it quickly."
"Consider it as helping to avoid the danger of sensory overload; once it's gone, everything will naturally return to normal."
Their goal in coming in was very clear.
—Find the guardian of the collection to help Yun Zhao regain his strength.
Xia Mingang shrugged. "There's no point in studying this now."
Seeing that they didn't seem to care and there were no clues at the moment, Yun Zhao decided to end the conversation.
Because it was just too noisy around.
The mutants kept passing by, their faces bearing stiff smiles, occasionally stopping to admire them, truly acting like tourists.
The core rules of this area are more bizarre than they expected, forcibly leveling the playing field and immersing everyone in this false liveliness on an "equal" basis.
It didn't take long.
The two spiritual entities quickly relayed the message back.
Jiang Mu spoke first: "It is indeed a tourist town. Every street is lively. I can't see anything wrong with it."
Fu Yu paused for a second, then blurted out, "It would be a miracle if the White Xi Beast could even tell."
Instead of asking what's wrong with a child who only knows how to play, ask them what's fun about it.
Yun Zhao looked at Xie Tu.
Xie Tu nodded to her, "Fire Phoenix has discovered a few unusually lively places. As for whether the gatekeeper is there, we'll have to go and see for ourselves to find out."
As he spoke, he pulled out a notebook and pen from his backpack and sketched out the general layout with just a few strokes.
The entire town is nestled against the mountains and beside the water, and is an irregular rectangle with dozens of streets.
It is larger in scale than many ancient towns from the old days.
"but……"
Xie Tu abruptly changed the subject, drawing everyone's attention.
Jiang Mu continued, "The town isn't the whole story here; the front and back gates connect to the highway."
It wasn't the hazy fog that blocked it out, but the highway.
Clearly, the territory of the gatekeepers of the collections extends beyond the ancient town.
This place fits Uncle He's description of as 'lively,' but it's clearly not a big city.
It was just one of the possible hiding places for the gatekeeper.
The 5S team had received some intelligence before they arrived, so they didn't say anything about it; at most, they would just have to put in some effort to find it.
Xie Tu circled several unusually bustling spots in Huofeng.
Yun Zhao stared at Xie Tu's sketch, and after confirming the direction, said, "Shall we split up and try to check the entire ancient town before dark?"
No one objected.
Yun Zhao and Xie Tu formed a team, while the other three decided to go it alone.
"Contact me if anything comes up, I'm leaving now." Fu Yu finished checking the magazine and stood up nimbly.
Instead of taking the usual route, she took two steps back, made a very short running start, and her military boots precisely landed on the edge of the granite flower bed that was half her height, using the momentum to leap upwards!
With his body stretched out in the air, he gripped the thick branch of an ancient tree that stretched out horizontally beside him with his right hand, and with the power of his waist and abdomen, he nimbly flipped onto the roof of an ancient town building next to him.
Although some of her senses were blocked, it did not affect her performance at all.
Looking around, the rows of white-walled, black-tiled wooden buildings with gently sloping roofs and almost uniform heights, and not too far apart, truly resemble a 'sky corridor'.
The height of the two-story building was easily climbed by the sentry.
Xia Mingang didn't want to squeeze in with the mutants, so he thought he would follow suit and go over from the roof.
He patted his orange-red combat uniform, mimicked Fu Qi's running start, and leaped off the edge of the flowerbed—
The leap was slightly less than expected, and there was a noticeable friction sound when it grabbed the tree branch. The movement of flipping onto the roof was also a bit clumsy and heavy, and the gray tiles under its feet made a soft "crack" sound.
Fortunately, it didn't break.
Xia Mingang stood on the roof, catching his breath slightly, and muttered, "Tsk, this lousy place really limits my performance..."
At least I avoided being squeezed together with those strangely smiling "tourists" below.
After they got onto the roof, the two quickly started running along the roof ridge.
Dark purple and orange-red figures flashed across the continuous gray tiled roofs, becoming an abrupt yet swift sight in the eerie ancient town.
Jiang Mu also planned to go up to the roof. Before leaving, he turned to look at Yun Zhao and said recklessly, "It seems that the captain can only take the approachable route."
Yun Zhao: "..."
After Jiang Mu finished speaking, he nimbly flipped onto the roof and his figure quickly disappeared from sight.
Yun Zhao turned his head and forced an explanation to Xie Tu: "Even if I could go up, I can't. We'll all go up on the roof. What if we miss the gatekeeper?"
Xie Tu smiled and nodded, "Yes, you're right."
Yun Zhao stared intently at him: "Are you trying to laugh?"
Xie Tu's smile faded: "No."
The cobblestone streets of the ancient town are full of mutants; it's uncertain whether touching them will trigger an aggressive reaction.
How to get there is still a problem.
Yun Zhao didn't forget the important matter and didn't argue with him. She stood under the tree by the flower bed and planned the route.
She was observing intently when she caught a glimpse of something unusual out of the corner of her eye.
Xie Tu seemed to sense something and looked up with her.
On the first building on the street, the white billboard with black lettering, directly opposite, had its lettering vanish instantly, as if erased by an eraser.
A new font has appeared.
Are you looking for me?
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