Chapter 412, Polluted Zone 320 (Thirteen)
Upon hearing the gatekeeper's words, Yun Zhao's pupils contracted sharply, and his heart pounded violently in his chest, emitting a heavy rumble.
His warmth still seemed to linger in my palm.
But at this moment, my heart felt as if it were frozen, trembling with cold.
Yun Zhao never imagined that the secret of the 'Dark Guide' would be so ruthlessly exposed under such circumstances.
The surrounding scenery was too dazzling for her to look at directly.
Yun Zhao closed her eyes slightly, her eyelashes trembling incessantly.
What will he think?
What will my teammates think?
“I…I’m not like that…” Yun Zhao murmured softly.
The little bluebird sensed the emotions of its host, and, filled with rage, its body suddenly became transparent.
Countless spiritual threads spread out.
Kill it!
The video continues.
Xie Tu ignored him, holding the Tang sword firmly in his hand, but found that he could not get close to the gatekeeper.
It's a mirrored image!
The gatekeeper isn't here at all!
He stopped what he was doing and stood coldly in the familiar living room on the first floor.
"The Dark Guide can silently invade the Sentinel's mental world, take control of his consciousness, and make the Sentinel like a puppet on a string."
The gatekeeper's voice echoed in my ears, cold and sarcastic, "The Dark Guide is a master of disguise. You think your feelings for her are real? That's just a way for her to manipulate you."
"She didn't lie to me."
Xie Tu's eyes remained unchanged, and he said in a low voice, "My feelings for her are my own choice, and have nothing to do with her."
Yun Zhao was slightly startled and opened his eyes.
The man in the picture stands tall and straight like a pine tree, the hazy light outlining his resolute features, his eyes deep and calm, without the slightest wavering.
The figure appeared exceptionally clear in the mirror, as if it could be reached out and touched.
The goalkeeper was clearly losing his composure upon hearing this answer.
These sentries are all out of their minds.
They can't understand human language at all.
The gatekeeper looked at him coldly. "You're too naive. The power of the Dark Guides far exceeds your imagination. They were born to control the Sentinels."
Xie Tu's eyes were calm as he said in a low voice, "If she really wants to control me, what's wrong with being her puppet? I'd be more than happy to do so."
He didn't seem to take the Dark Guide seriously at all.
The goalkeeper was clearly taken aback and suddenly became somewhat agitated.
"What about your responsibilities as an S-class Sentinel? Have you considered the disaster you would bring to the base if you lost control?!"
"You seem to care a lot about that?"
Xie Tu's gaze sharpened, a glint of keenness appearing in his eyes. "Would the gatekeeper be concerned about the safety of the outer base?"
The gatekeeper paused slightly.
Xie Tu saw his reaction and said, "It seems you don't know why we came here."
"Why?" the tall figure asked instinctively.
Xie Tu had seized the initiative, his voice remaining calm, "Tell me first, where is she? Where are my teammates?"
He was met with silence.
The gatekeeper was not stupid; it possessed a high degree of self-awareness and sensed his intentions.
It loses once it makes concessions.
In the living room, the dim light seemed like a heavy gloom, pressing down on the two of them.
The atmosphere reached a stalemate.
The goalkeeper was unwilling to compromise.
...
Yun Zhao witnessed the entire confrontation between Xie Tu and the gatekeeper.
"She didn't lie to me."
"My feelings for her are my own choice and have nothing to do with her."
Her mind went blank, with only Xie Tu's voice echoing in her ears, over and over again, piercing through the gloom in her heart.
Yun Zhao lowered his head slightly. His violently beating heart had just settled back into place when it suddenly started beating a few beats faster again.
The other scenes begin to rotate.
Scenes of the teammates are shown one by one.
Yun Zhao saw Duan Xi make the gatekeeper choke and curse.
"What's it to you?"
"Yun Zhao is our teammate. She would never hurt us, no matter who she hurts."
She saw the rabbit stand up with tears in its eyes, but its expression was unusually firm, and it said the same words as Duan Xi.
"What does this have to do with you?"
"We know better than you what kind of person Sister Yun Zhao is."
She saw Tao Haohao fire a shot at the goalkeeper.
"Ha, trying to sow discord because you think I'm not smart enough?"
"You think you can fool me with some random title like 'Dark Guide'?"
She saw Song Liang standing amidst the ruins, gripping a dagger tightly in his hand, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.
"We are teammates who fight side by side, and that will never change, no matter who she is."
Yun Zhao stood there blankly in the void where mirrors surrounded him.
Hearing their unwavering trust and support, the last trace of unease in my heart completely dissipated.
The little bluebird tilted its head.
Ah, those annoying sentries don't seem so bad after all.
Yun Zhao nodded emphatically: "Yes!"
But Qi Ling's situation doesn't seem too good.
He appears in a shelter within Contaminated Zone 28, the swamp that had once trapped him.
In the picture.
The dimly lit and cramped room had twelve bunk beds and housed twenty-four people.
Qi Ling was once one of them.
This place holds the weight of his long life.
Familiar scene, familiar people.
Qi Ling looked at the familiar faces, her expression somewhat dazed.
Once, in this limited space, he struggled to survive, while the people around him were corrupted and eroded, becoming twisted and insane.
It was his turn last.
Qi Ling wandered aimlessly, looking down at his body that was constantly oozing black slime, his heart filled with bitterness.
This is Qi Ling's inner conflict.
He hated his monstrous appearance.
Outside the contaminated area, he could always feel the difference between himself and normal people.
That sense of alienation, that inability to ever integrate into the senses of a normal person, made him feel like he had a thorn in his side.
Only by returning to the contaminated area can he return to being a normal person.
This gave rise to a complex and contradictory feeling towards the polluted area.
Qi Ling knew that humanity had always longed to eliminate all polluted areas and end the apocalypse.
But without realizing it, he developed a dependence on and fondness for this place that should have been filled with fear.
He dared not let his teammates know.
This thought kept tugging at his heartstrings, becoming a knot in his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.
A voice echoed in the small space.
It was cold and oppressive.
"Do you think you can escape your own conscience by hiding here? Your fondness for the contaminated area is a betrayal of humanity."
Qi Ling's body trembled slightly. He gritted his teeth, and a hint of anger and struggle flashed in his eyes: "I didn't betray you. I just... I only feel like a normal person here."
"A normal person?"
The voice was aggressive, "Stop deceiving yourself. How could a mutant be a normal person?"
"What are you still struggling for? You are part of the contaminated zone, why force yourself to integrate into the outside world?"
Qi Ling's voice was hoarse and broken: "No... I'm not a monster... I'm human..."
The gatekeeper's figure gradually appeared, standing in the corner of the room, his gaze coldly fixed on him: "Human? You're no longer. Your body, your consciousness, have long been corrupted by the contaminated zone."
"What you like is the darkness and dampness here, the familiarity and tranquility."
The gatekeeper said, "The outside world is nothing but unfamiliar ruins to you."
A hint of confusion flashed in Qi Ling's eyes, and his voice trembled slightly: "But... my teammates... they accepted me... they trusted me..."
The gatekeeper sneered, his voice tinged with sarcasm: "Trust? Do you really think they can completely accept you?"
"You are a mutant, a monster, an existence that humanity wants to eliminate."
"To them, you are nothing more than an exception, someone who needs to be 'saved'."
Qi Ling's face turned deathly pale.
He recalled the painful years in the contaminated area, as well as the warmth and trust he felt in Team Zero.
Should we continue to run away?
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