Chapter 322: Toad People (4)

Chapter 322: The Toad People (Part Four)

"Another person is dead!" came a voice from the quarantine zone, followed by a commotion.

Pei Shu and Bai Cheng exchanged glances; as teammates, they needed to carry out Zhu Ning's order to find the hidden source of contamination among the crowd and figure out what was really happening.

Pei Shu gathered information, while Bai Cheng examined the bodies. Lin Xiaofeng, being invisible, was best suited for gathering hidden information in the crowd.

The newly discovered victim was named Jin Shan, a companion of Guo Zilin, who also wanted to go to Utopia.

She was found by someone assigned to search the garage. Initially, he only saw a dark shadow under a car.

Then he heard a "plop." He was startled when a toad jumped out from under the car. He sighed in relief, thinking it was just a toad, never feeling these creatures so terrifying before.

In his crouched position, he looked into the narrow space under the car, his pupils suddenly constricting.

There was a person hanging under the car.

His heart raced, almost shouting out loud. A toad-like person was hanging upside down, limbs up, back to the ground.

It seemed she was trying to escape from some monster, taking advantage of the chaos, but the sandstorm outside was too fierce, leaving no way out.

She had been dead for a while, killed with a swift and clean stab to the neck, with six knives piercing her body, pinning her corpse like a specimen under the car.

Due to the bizarre manner of death, many people were drawn to look. Bai Cheng tried to control the body in the crowd, but it remained unresponsive.

Soon, they found the other two companions of Guo Zilin. Among the psychic abilities of the group, even if the pilgrims were infected, they were still very weak.

The remaining two were also dead. Wang Wei died from bone shrinkage; at the time of death, his bones pierced through his skin, as if he had been crushed into a thorn bush, with no intact skin left.

Qin Yazhi died from drowning, found dead in the drinking area, her head submerged in water.

Now, the three bodies were laid out in a row, all with smiles on their faces, as if they had found peace.

An Chi examined them, "They weren't killed by the same person."

These three died at the same time as Old Liu, possibly by three different killers, who were still hiding in the crowd.

This proved that it wasn't a single line of transmission but multiple lines, meaning there were more infected individuals than currently known.

An Chi said, "One killer can manipulate bones, another is skilled with daggers, and the third must have been near the drinking area."

After An Chi finished speaking, someone snorted coldly and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Take off everyone's helmets one by one?" They clearly didn't trust An Chi's leadership, "How do you plan to make everyone take off their helmets in this situation?"

"An Chi, I put you in charge temporarily, not to rule over our heads. We're all colleagues; don't do anything foolish."

An Chi felt the pressure, but her face remained expressionless. She wasn't seeking attention; this task simply had to be done.

An Chi's psychic ability was to enlarge herself, which was limited in the confined space of the shelter, making it difficult to act effectively.

Everyone should remove their helmets to check for signs of infection, such as uneven skin or a toad in the mouth, or hearing the croaking of toads.

These were patterns they had already identified, but An Chi was only temporarily in charge, and these psychics could follow her orders or rebel at any moment.

If An Chi insisted on a large-scale screening, she would be the first to die.

So Zhu Ning refused to take on this risky role; in movies, leaders are often the first to be sacrificed by an angry mob.

An Chi could only say, "Let's get rid of the bodies first."

Leaving the infected here was not an option. The bodies offered no more clues, and it was best to dispose of them to prevent any potential reanimation.

This decision did not harm anyone's interests, so everyone complied.

They opened the windows and threw out the three bodies. Sand had piled up along the window edges, and in just half an hour, they had disposed of five bodies.

Four pilgrims and one bounty hunter.

Unease spread, and although An Chi hadn't announced her conclusions, everyone in the shelter was far from stupid.

There was a traitor among them.

Everyone realized this. The infection was still spreading, and now they viewed everyone with suspicion.

No one in the crowd had overwhelming power to enforce identity checks.

Pei Shu had always thought Zhu Ning was the best person to step forward. If she revealed her face, using her identity as the Demon Within the Walls to intimidate others, it might temporarily gain compliance.

Then, removing each person's helmet and questioning them thoroughly could quickly identify the anomalies.

But this was dangerous for Zhu Ning, and since she was the first to be infected, no one except Pei Shu and their teammates would trust an infected individual.

Pei Shu paused, suddenly realizing the answer to a question that had troubled him for a long time: why Zhu Ning was the first to hear the toad's call. The reason might be simple.

The contaminant was smart; it directly eliminated the potential leader of the crowd.

The situation in the shelter would only worsen, and this unconventional contaminant was something Pei Shu had never encountered before.

What was its purpose? To watch humans turn against each other?

It orchestrated events, creating chaos at the right moments, like an excellent stage director.

It was still hiding in the shadows, watching them guess at each other without a clue.

A highly contagious entity could infect even Zhu Ning without her noticing.

It could cause hallucinations and infiltrate the crowd.

A planned, intelligent, and highly proactive source of infection, but it also proved one thing.

The source of pollution is not powerful; true powerhouses are like the water ghosts on the Return Home, where killing you has nothing to do with me, just touching you means death.

But where is the source of pollution? Zhu Ning ordered Pei Shu and Bai Cheng to find it, but they still have no leads.

Beep—

Pei Shu suddenly heard the croaking of toads. Since Old Liu's death, Pei Shu could hear their calls, leading him to suspect he had been infected.

The crowd gradually became restless. Based on Pei Shu's experience, a small-scale bloodbath was about to occur.

At this moment, someone approached Pei Shu. As a Fire Psychic, Pei Shu was in high demand wherever he went. Someone wanted to recruit him, but Pei Shu refused.

The beeping sound grew louder. Where was it coming from?

Pei Shu entered the bathroom. The shelter's shower room was designed for practicality, equipped with a row of showerheads and curtains for privacy.

The bathroom was old, the walls yellowed, and the curtains were moldy, but steam filled the air, and there was no sound of water. Everyone was searching for the source of pollution, so naturally, no one would be showering at this time.

Pei Shu cautiously pulled back the curtain. With a swoosh, Pei Shu met a pair of golden eyes.

Another toad. The toad's eardrums pulsated, emitting an annoying sound.

Not just one toad, but many, like after a rainstorm, toads scurried across the road, easily stepped on by people.

Pei Shu felt his mental state deteriorating, uncontrollable anxiety rising, and a strong urge to crush all the toads, making them burst and stop their incessant croaking.

Kill all the toads, kill everyone.

Pei Shu injected himself with a mental healing agent and planned to leave the bathroom immediately. At that moment, he caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye.

A figure appeared behind him, obscured by the curtain, unclear who it was. Pei Shu remained still, paying attention to the movements behind him.

Beep beep beep, the toad's croaking grew louder.

Suddenly, the person behind him lunged forward. Pei Shu was prepared, flames erupted, and he grabbed the person, pinning them to the ground through the curtain.

With a thud, he tightly gripped the person's neck, covering their head with the curtain. The person wasn't wearing a helmet, and the curtain outlined their facial features, revealing a man.

The man's body was cold, but his strength was immense. Without using any psychic abilities, he struggled fiercely, trying to crawl away. Pei Shu didn't give him the chance, pressing his palm against the back of the man's head, forcing his face into the ground, and releasing flames.

The air filled with the smell of burning flesh. The man didn't even scream, and after a while, he stopped struggling.

Dead?

Pei Shu panted heavily, feeling his mental state was severely abnormal. He hadn't intended to kill so quickly, but at that moment, he couldn't think clearly.

In this contaminated area, killing usually meant entering the victim's cycle, quickly becoming the next infected.

But now that the person was dead, there was no bringing him back. If Pei Shu joined the infection chain, he might gain more clues and provide observable samples for Zhu Ning.

The strange beeping sound seemed to weaken slightly. Pei Shu turned the body over to see who had tried to kill him.

When he flipped the body, Pei Shu was stunned. It was Old Liu?

Even though his face was charred, Pei Shu recognized him. This was really Old Liu's face.

Wasn't he dead? His body had been thrown out, so how could he be here?

...

Zhu Ning listened to the distant commotion.

If her guess was correct, the number of deaths should have increased, as well as the number of strange creatures among the crowd.

Zhu Ning was confined in the prison area, with only herself and the murderer next door remaining.

Zhu Ning extended her tongue, carefully observing the abnormality inside her helmet's camera. Her tongue was no longer red but olive green, covered in small bumps forming the shape of a toad.

The toad was unusually large, definitely alive, its head protruding, two golden eyes half-visible, as if Zhu Ning's tongue were a surface of water, and a toad was slowly emerging.

Her tonsils hung in her throat, expanding and contracting, emitting a beeping sound.

Bang!

The murderer next door suddenly slammed into the iron bars, roaring, "I've put up with you for too long, croak croak croak, stop it!"

He could hear it, Zhu Ning thought. Neither Pei Shu nor Bai Cheng knew about the toad in her mouth, but this man could hear it, and to him, it was unbearable noise.

The man was on the edge of madness, but Zhu Ning wasn't frightened by his roar. She walked to the bars, separated from him by a thin iron barrier.

The man lunged out, but he couldn't even catch the hem of Zhu Ning's clothes, always just an inch short, driving him mad.

Zhu Ning sat cross-legged, no longer examining her tongue but instead observing the man, as if she had found a new experimental subject. She guessed that her current state must be quite bizarre.

The man became even angrier, shouting loudly, "What are you looking at?"

Zhu Ning calmly replied, "I'm watching when you will die."

The man froze, fear creeping up his back. Infected individuals generally struggled to control their emotions, except for monsters like Zhu Ning, who, with a live toad in her mouth, could remain calm.

Zhu Ning added, "I'm watching who will kill you."

Infection required a chain. Whoever killed this man would inherit his "toad virus." Zhu Ning wanted to know who would kill him.

She might witness the process of infection, thereby gaining more information.

The man shrank back, beeping, Zhu Ning's mouth emitted the toad's croaking, her gaze on the man like she was looking at a fly, ready to flick out her tongue and stick to him at any moment.

Now, the detention area is unguarded, and it has always been loosely managed, not a tightly-knit organization.

If Zhu Ning wanted to kill him, no one would intervene; similarly, if others wished to kill him, Zhu Ning would not stop them—she would only watch, seeking the patterns she needs from the chaos.

Bai Cheng and the others were wrong; Zhu Ning is not unaffected by the contamination. Her high mental strength merely makes her madness less obvious; she is steadily and darkly losing her mind.

The beast cage cannot contain her; the only one who can imprison Zhu Ning is herself.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed by the prison bars, signaling the arrival of someone with murderous intent.