Chapter 97: The Lost Deserted Village (Part 1)

Chapter 97: The Abandoned Village (Part One)

Green, Zhu Ning hadn't seen such vast expanses of green in a long time.

Before her lay a vast expanse of grassland, forming waves when the wind blew.

One could hear the natural sound of the wind rustling through the grass.

It resembled an endless wilderness; if not for the danger, she would really want to take off her protective suit and experience the wind.

It was an instinct etched into human genes, a preference for nature over the technological world within the city.

Behind them stood a towering wall, not made of metal but some even more durable material, with a blue, tech-infused film covering its surface.

It looked like the protective shield that activates after an A-level program, rising from the ground and reaching up to the sky, forming a curved cap above.

When the apocalypse came, these caps could be layered on top of each other to provide protection.

The blue high wall, the green wilderness, and they, the cleaners in black protective suits, scattered like ants, with their black flying cars parked behind them, engines still humming.

Technology and nature contrasted sharply in that moment.

Li Nianchuan squinted his eyes and sighed, "How impressive."

The first reaction of humans was awe, even Xu Meng reacted the same way. For those who had lived in the city since birth, this might be one of the few times they would see nature.

Nearly half of the team members were newbies, all somewhat curious.

After the initial shock, Zhu Ning began observing her surroundings. There were no pollutants or spores here, only vast waves of grass.

It looked like an ideal place for a picnic or camping, devoid of any monsters.

What did they need to contain?

Six flying cars stopped, and all the staff got out, picking up their cleaning tools and lining up orderly.

Someone greeted them; these people wore blue protective suits, and among them was a man of extraordinary build, like a mountain.

He scanned the group, "Just a few unlucky souls?"

Zhu Ning whispered in the internal helmet channel, "Who's he?"

Xu Meng: "The Wall-Exterior Garrison Army."

Wall-Exterior Garrison Army? They were the gatekeepers, the first to detect anomalies and report them up the chain.

Just as Xu Meng finished speaking, the muscular man took over, "I am Fan Minghua, officer of the Third Brigade of the Level One Protective Wall Garrison Army, and the highest authority for this operation."

An officer, Zhu Ning thought, no matter the era, soldiers were always respected.

These garrison troops had to stay far from the city, unable to return home for years, guarding day after day.

Because of them, the people in the city were safe now.

"The Demon Hunters will be done soon, you'll enter the site in five minutes. Remember, do not touch anything."

Do not touch anything, Fang Ying had said this, and Xu Meng had warned them repeatedly.

But Fan Minghua's tone was the most severe, "I mean, anything except for the pollution spores and decayed flesh, including a single pebble, should not be touched lightly."

A cleaner raised his hand and asked, "But our job is to clean the contaminated soil."

This question was valid; Zhu Ning had been informed on her first day about the containment scope—pollution spores were the priority, followed by bringing back decayed flesh, and cleaning contaminated soil and tiles.

That was the professional cleaning team's process, leaving no room for secondary contamination.

If they couldn't even touch a pebble, how would they define their work area?

Fan Minghua: "This land has already been contaminated; you just need to contain the pollution spores and decayed flesh."

Cleaning the contaminated soil and tiles was the ideal state, but in worse scenarios, they could only prioritize the pollution spores to prevent them from spreading to the city and infecting District 103.

This land had already been contaminated?

When Fan Minghua spoke, everyone's mood turned somber, understanding the underlying meaning of his words.

Lost land was hard to reclaim, and maintaining it required significant manpower and resources. When they could no longer maintain it...

That would be the true end of the world for District 103.

"You haven't lived here. If you don't want to die, remember some precautions I'm about to give you. First, do not touch anything, you already know that."

Fan Minghua spoke rapidly, giving no room for thought, "Second, do not believe any sounds."

"Third, do not lose your direction."

"Fourth, do not make unnecessary movements," Fan Minghua paused, "I know you want to ask what counts as unnecessary, but anything not essential is unnecessary."

Zhu Ning frowned; it was the first time she had heard such bizarre instructions before a mission.

Each rule made sense, yet seemed strange.

Not only did Zhu Ning fail to fully understand, but the other cleaners were also confused.

This was a high-risk infection area; caution was never wrong.

"Of course, if you complete your mission and return safely, none of these rules will apply. But if things don't go smoothly..." Fan Minghua glanced at them and continued, "If you're unlucky enough to enter a contaminated area or come into contact with contaminants, or even worse, mutants, I suggest you relax."

The other cleaners looked at him expectantly, waiting for more, but Fan Minghua didn't continue.

A cleaner asked, "What about after we relax?"

Fan Minghua: "I think it's about fate; those with the ability to survive will live, and those without should just relax and die."

Zhu Ning: "..."

This is telling them to go to their deaths.

"Here’s a friendly tip, when touched by something, don’t struggle, don’t resist," Fan Minghua added.

After Fan Minghua spoke, the cleaning team was filled with resentment.

Zhu Ning: "What does he mean by that?"

Xu Meng hadn't expected this mission to be so strange: "I guess pollution outbreaks are frequent, and it's hard to predict the form of contamination. He can't say much more, but if an unexpected situation arises, these few guidelines might help us survive."

It feels like a random place, everything here is too unpredictable. Fan Minghua could only provide some general rules.

Li Nianchuan suddenly felt his own words were about to come true. Even before the mission started, he felt uneasy.

Could he really die here?

Li Nianchuan fiddled with something inside his helmet and said, "Good news, I just checked the mission fatality rate, and it's not very high."

Before Zhu Ning could speak, Li Nianchuan took another look at the information he found, "Hmm... I might have misunderstood. The outcome of the mission is either everyone survives unscathed or everyone dies."

Very extreme, only 0 or 100.

Zhu Ning: "..."

So it really depends on luck?

Fan Minghua looked at them deeply, "Wish you all the best."

...

The leading group was from the garrison army, with three people taking the lead, and Zhu Ning's large team following behind.

They needed to cross this grassland, where the grass grew taller than a person, at least three meters high.

When people walked through the middle, it was like entering a forest, instantly swallowed up.

More terrifying than a forest was the fact that there were no clear paths here; they had to carve their own way out. As they moved through, the grass would "caress" them.

It always felt as if the grass was alive, like mischievous children running up to you and tapping you with their hands.

People moving through the grass made a rustling sound.

Rustle, rustle—

Apart from their footsteps, the only other sound was the swaying of the grass.

Zhu Ning looked up, feeling as if she were trapped in some strange field. Because of the acid rain earlier, there was no sun, just a dark, heavy sky that seemed to press down.

Inside her helmet, there was a virtual map marking their position. According to the map, they were halfway to their destination.

Li Nianchuan: "This is really nerve-wracking."

Zhu Ning reminded him, "Don't touch the grass."

Although she didn't fully understand Fan Minghua's meaning, if this area was prone to pollution, the grass could mutate at any moment.

Li Nianchuan acknowledged, more than anyone, he wanted to return alive to open his fish restaurant.

About forty minutes later, the front of the large team suddenly stopped, and someone shouted, "We're here, everyone out."

As Zhu Ning stepped out, she glanced back, the grassland resembling a mysterious swamp.

Once the last cleaner emerged, all traces of human activity disappeared, leaving only silence.

An eerie kind of silence.

"Damn, there's a village here?" Li Nianchuan's exclamation caught Zhu Ning's attention.

Only then did Zhu Ning see a cluster of low brick houses.

In the distance, the brick houses stretched out, and from their perspective, they could see the rooftops, which seemed to belong to an abandoned village.

Zhu Ning frowned; the architectural style of the deserted village was vastly different from Zone 103, making her feel a bit disoriented.

It was very much like the countryside of Zhu Ning's time, completely out of place with the high-tech surroundings.

Zhu Ning's grandmother's house also looked like this, nestled deep in the mountains, with beautiful scenery. She used to visit every summer.

The large team began to move slowly into the heart of the abandoned village. At the entrance, there was a large locust tree, a common sight at the entrance of many villages, often with symbolic meanings.

This tree was at least five times taller than a typical locust tree, towering over everything.

The roots were intertwined, blocking the entrance like a net, forcing everyone to climb over the roots to enter the village.

The entire village had been abandoned for a long time, at least fifty to sixty years, covered in dust and mud from rainy days.

Looking inside, the paper cutouts on the windows, usually pasted during the New Year, were still there, though completely faded and would turn to powder at the slightest touch.

On a weathered wooden table, bowls and chopsticks were set, with chairs scattered nearby, as if a meal had been interrupted by something sudden.

An accident must have happened here.

The village was deserted, but most homes lacked curtains. Zhu Ning, having received a gene injection, had much better vision than the average person and could clearly see the interiors as she passed by.

Zhu Ning felt as if she had entered a bizarre theme park. Each house she passed revealed its interior structure, and from the furnishings, one could deduce the general life of the family.

Some homes displayed family portraits and cross-stitch embroidery hanging on the walls.

Others seemed to have children, with baby walkers placed inside and children's toys scattered on the floor, though they were now covered in dust.

One family appeared to be passionate about art, owning an old electronic keyboard with a damaged music score covering the keys.

The buildings in the abandoned village were not tall, mostly single-story houses, with only a few having two or three floors.

Zhu Ning walked past another house, instinctively looking inside. Suddenly, she stopped.

She saw someone.

The figure was hidden in the dark corner of the room, standing only a meter tall, like a child.

He was watching her.

People in the abandoned village?

Zhu Ning stiffened, feeling a chill emanate from that direction. She blinked and looked again.

It wasn't a person; it was... a statue?

A half-human-sized statue sat in the shrine, with bulging eyes that seemed ready to fall out, making it impossible to identify which deity it represented.

The family's decorations were peculiar. The statue faced the window, as if it were... watching every passerby.

Was this a local belief?

Zhu Ning glanced at the altar, where offerings were still placed, plastic fruits that hadn't rotted but had gathered dust and faded.

On the roof of the house, a goat's head was placed, seemingly for protection.

Zhu Ning was so engrossed that she forgot her surroundings, standing motionless for a long time. Why did she feel the statue was alive?

Slap—

Zhu Ning's shoulder sank as a hand tapped her right shoulder from behind.

She instinctively turned around, almost colliding with the person behind her.

"Don't look, don't touch, don't approach," Xu Meng immediately gripped her shoulder, warning her in a low voice.

Zhu Ning suppressed her urge to strike back. They all wore helmets, unable to see each other's expressions, only gauging emotions through tone.

Xu Meng's voice was also low, likely finding the place strange as well.

Xu Meng opened a private channel with Zhu Ning: "This mission must succeed. Get Li Nianchuan out, everything else can wait."

Zhu Ning's shoulder relaxed as Xu Meng withdrew her hand.

What did she mean?

A truce? Zhu Ning thought Xu Meng might take advantage of the situation to kill her here.

But Xu Meng was right; the priority was to get Li Nianchuan out.

Li Nianchuan, unaware of what had just transpired, was preoccupied with thoughts of returning home to open a restaurant, careful not to touch or look at anything.

"Really, people lived here?" Li Nianchuan asked.

"They probably moved away after the radiation," Xu Meng replied.

Xu Meng knew more about the Federation's history than Zhu Ning. Eighty years ago, the radiation came suddenly, causing massive mutations in plants and animals, nearly leading to human extinction. High walls were then built to protect them.

However, maintaining the walls was costly, and the areas between the walls retained their original traces.

This place was a relic of human habitation.

Li Nianchuan responded with an "Oh," and fell silent, the group becoming quiet.

After about ten minutes, they reached the back mountain of the village, and the team finally stopped.

They had encountered the Hunters leaving as they entered, some being carried out on stretchers.

There were many fresh bloodstains on the ground.

How dangerous is this place?

Everyone was already uneasy, and the Cleaners' skills were inferior to those of the Hunters. Seeing the Hunters' fate made them even more afraid.

This mission was different from previous ones. There was a risk of secondary contamination at any moment, and without the Hunters guarding them, they felt less secure.

Beside them was a forest, with a well nearby, likely used by the villagers for water.

There were several low houses, some for rest, others possibly for toilets.

Scattered on the ground were piles of rotten meat, unidentifiable due to the open space, which reduced the smell.

Blood-red contaminated spores floated in the air. Zhu Ning had seen contaminated spores before.

They were usually found in dark sewers or concrete buildings within cities.

But here, the spores were in nature, backed by a forest, drifting everywhere, settling on the edge of leaves, and clinging to the eaves of houses.

The contaminated spores glowed a blood-red, like strange fireflies, creating a stunning and beautiful scene.

For a moment, it felt as if the contaminated spores belonged in harmony with nature.

Humans are the true monsters in nature.

The supervisor said, "Stop looking around, finish up early and get out of here."

Zhu Ning retracted her gaze; Li Nianchuan had already entered his work mode, reporting, "Class A mission, pollution area is 50,000 cubic meters in size, pollution concentration at 210%, pollutants not fully detected yet, estimated to be over 600, all deceased."

Zhu Ning was very familiar with the data. There were once 600 pollutants here. What happened?

Li Nianchuan found the data puzzling as well. How could they not have detected the full count?

Xu Meng also found it strange, but as the team leader, she remained calmer than the others: "Let's get to work."

Zhu Ning took out her containment tool, and the nearby cleaners also retrieved their equipment. Zhu Ning felt like picking cotton for the first time as a cleaner.

Now they resembled a cotton-picking squad.

The pipette-like containment device touched the contaminated spore, which was immediately sucked in, adding one purification point to Zhu Ning's total.

It was odd; Zhu Ning had done this hundreds, if not thousands, of times, but for the first time, she felt like she was hunting.

They seemed to be catching fireflies or hunting some rare birds that existed in nature.

Human hands were stained with blood, and the contaminated spores seemed to lose their freedom once contained.

They... were pitiful?

Zhu Ning frowned, feeling that her thoughts were strange, not something that belonged to her.

Was this a characteristic of the area? Something that confused people?

Zhu Ning glanced around; no one else seemed to share her feelings, continuing their work as usual.

Because the system in her mind was a pollutant, did she empathize more with the pollutants?

Zhu Ning was here to take advantage of the situation. The strange feeling flashed through her mind and was quickly overshadowed.

This was all about purification points; the system in her mind seemed to thrive on them.

Zhu Ning immediately entered the "cotton-picking" state.

The containment work proceeded smoothly. Both Xu Meng and Zhu Ning wanted Li Nianchuan to leave alive, and the three of them occasionally observed each other.

It had to be said that Li Nianchuan's mental state had really improved. This time, he hadn't implanted a chip, but after working for half an hour, he showed no signs of mental contamination.

After an hour, Zhu Ning had already contained 2,780 contaminated spores, bringing her total purification points to 7,834.

This made up for some of the regrets from the ant nest.

Zhu Ning looked up; the contaminated spores were almost gone. With enough cleaners, the task should be over in another hour.

Zhu Ning kept her eyes on Li Nianchuan, who showed no signs of abnormality. Good, no suicidal tendencies, no anomalies, he should be able to go home safely.

Not just Zhu Ning thought this way; the cleaners nearby shared similar thoughts, "Finally almost done, let's get out of this hellhole."

This time, nine teams of cleaners came, three people per team, plus the stationed military, making a total of thirty people.

It was hard to keep an eye on everyone among the thirty. One of the cleaners closest to the well hadn't moved for two minutes.

This wasn't too unusual; being still was better than moving around. Containing contaminated spores often led to mental contamination, so many would rest for a bit.

Under high pressure, zoning out was good for everyone.

So initially, no one noticed anything amiss.

A cleaner stood by the well, staring blankly at it. The well's bricks were mostly scattered, but what he saw wasn't the well itself, but a small yellow flower by its side.

The delicate yellow flower swayed in the wind, making one want to touch it.

It was just a flower, nothing strange, touching it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Zone 103 rarely had such flowers; only genetically engineered artificial varieties grew within the city. This was the first time he had seen a natural wildflower.

He stared at it for two minutes, but it felt like a lifetime.

His eyes were fixed on the flower, the yellow petals trembling in the breeze, as if inviting him.

He reached out, trembling, intending only to touch it, but for some reason, at the moment of contact, he changed his mind and plucked the flower.

Pfft—

When the stem broke, green sap covered his hand.

His nearest colleague saw this and was about to warn him not to move, but it was too late.

The small yellow flower lay in his palm.

The broken stem pierced his palm, using his body as a new root, growing rapidly, expanding to three times his size in just a second.

At the time, Zhu Ning was focused on Li Nianchuan, and Xu Meng's attention was entirely on her team.

Most of the cleaners were a bit tired, and their first reaction was shock.

Zhu Ning heard the sound and glanced toward the incident, not seeing anyone specifically but noticing a giant yellow flower suddenly appearing in the air, like a balloon figure at a supermarket entrance.

The yellow flower looked harmless, and everyone just gazed up at it.

Time seemed to slow down deliberately, everything moving slowly.

No one screamed or shouted.

In the next moment, the yellow flower opened its petals like a monster opening its mouth, revealing rows of teeth, and lunged down.

Crack—

They heard a bone-breaking sound, followed by a spray of blood, splattering the ground like rain.

The yellow flower had bitten off the man's head.