Chapter 54

Shang Jianyao's nerves instantly became highly tense, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the entrance to Black Rat Town.

The boulders blocking that cave were all quite massive, and it was impossible to move them by human strength alone!

Of course, there was a possibility that Long Yuehong had not placed the boulder properly when she used the exoskeleton device to move it, causing it to slide down gradually, imperceptibly, and eventually lose balance and fall to the ground after a long time.

Therefore, Shang Jianyao did not immediately react but waited for further observations.

Bang!

With a somewhat dull sound, the boulder hit the ground, making the entire forest seem to tremble.

The noise quickly subsided, and under the sparse stars, the night was as dark as before.

But unlike before, a gap appeared in the pile of boulders blocking the entrance to Black Rat Town, a gap leading to a place of eerie silence.

Shang Jianyao carefully observed for several dozen seconds, just about to exhale the breath he had been holding, when he suddenly noticed a black shadow slowly crawling out from where the boulder had fallen.

The night wind blew, and the clouds in the sky moved, revealing half a moon.

The bright moonlight shone down, illuminating the black shadow, allowing Shang Jianyao to see its general appearance:

He was short, naked, with thick and black body hair, his back hunched, and his fingernails reflecting a sharp, cold light.

This was a resident of Black Rat Town!

Shang Jianyao's pupils dilated suddenly, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, wanting to see more clearly who it was.

He and Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen had thoroughly searched every corner of Black Rat Town but found no survivors!

The moonlight seemed to brighten a bit, and Shang Jianyao barely saw the face of the figure.

Half of his face had been torn off by a bullet, with dark red blood and milky white brain matter scattered around.

By Shang Jianyao's standards, such a person could not be considered alive.

At the same time, there seemed to be more black shadows moving at the gap in the pile of boulders.

"Damn!" Shang Jianyao couldn't help but curse.

Almost instinctively, he loosened his right hand, which was gripping the gun, and raised it to slap his right cheek hard.

He suspected he was dreaming.

Slap!

Shang Jianyao's right cheek immediately turned red and swollen, with the marks of five fingers faintly visible.

The intense pain and the buzzing sound simultaneously entered Shang Jianyao's mind, making golden dots appear before his eyes.

However, he was still in the same place, with the residents of Black Rat Town still crawling out of the gap in the boulders, followed by another black shadow.

Shang Jianyao did not impulsively fire his gun because he knew his knowledge and experience were not sufficient to make the right decision in this situation.

Therefore, he decided to seek help from Jiang Baimian, hoping the leader of the "Old Adjustment Team" might know how to handle such a situation.

He also planned to wake up Bai Chen and Long Yuehong so that even if they couldn't deal with the anomalies in Black Rat Town, they could still drive away and escape.

Just as he turned his body halfway, Shang Jianyao saw Jiang Baimian's figure appear beside him.

Shang Jianyao felt a surge of joy and was about to report the situation, but his gaze suddenly froze, and his words stuck in his throat.

Under the cold moonlight, Jiang Baimian's beautiful and heroic face sprouted thick, black body hair, like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil.

Shang Jianyao's facial muscles twitched, and he uncontrollably reacted.

He dived to the side, did two rolls, and reached the front of the jeep.

Then, he crouched down on the other side, under the rearview mirror.

This way, he could use the front of the jeep as a "defensive position" and could quickly open the door and get into the driver's seat.

"Something's wrong!" he shouted, trying to wake up Long Yuehong and Bai Chen.

After shouting three times, Shang Jianyao took two steps forward, straightened his upper body, and prepared to open the car door.

But at that moment, he realized he didn't have the car keys.

When they were taking turns on night duty, Bai Chen had given the keys to Jiang Baimian, not to him.

Before Shang Jianyao could think of a solution, Jiang Baimian's voice came from a distance:

"What's wrong?"

The next second, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen's voices echoed from the tent:

"What's wrong?"

Their voices had different pitches, but their tone was the same as Jiang Baimian's.

Shang Jianyao's body suddenly trembled, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He forced himself to calm down and silently calculated the distance between him and Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen.

Unconsciously, a smile appeared on his face, a smile he couldn't control.

Shang Jianyao then straightened his body, preparing to stand up and use his Awakened ability.

At that moment, he saw himself in the rearview mirror:

His right cheek was red and swollen, with an inappropriate smile...

Shang Jianyao suddenly felt a jolt and bent his back again, taking out a fountain pen and a piece of white paper from his pocket.

He lowered his head, using his thigh as a pad, and quickly wrote after the pen cap fell to the ground:

"If I can still see this message later, it means it's not a dream."

As he wrote, Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen's voices grew closer:

"What's wrong?"

Shang Jianyao wrote more and more frantically, more and more sloppily, but he managed to finish the sentence.

Then, he casually put the paper back in his pocket, straightened his upper body, and stared at himself in the rearview mirror, his eyes suddenly becoming deep.

He listened to the approaching footsteps and quickly organized his thoughts, trying to say:

"Last night at this time, it was midnight, and today at this time, it's also midnight.

"Last night at this time, we were camping outdoors, and today at this time, we are also camping outdoors.

"Last night at this time, I was dreaming, so today at this time..."

Shang Jianyao stopped talking to his reflection, his expression first blank, then gradually becoming certain.

Just as Jiang Baimian reached the other side of the jeep, Shang Jianyao suddenly realized:

"So, today at this time, I am also dreaming!"

As he spoke, it felt as if countless stars exploded in his mind, and the strong self-awareness made his consciousness penetrate through the illusory scenes.

"Phew!" Shang Jianyao sat up, exhaling the breath he had been holding.

He quickly looked around and found himself still in the tent, still in the sleeping bag.

In a flash, Shang Jianyao pulled with both hands, exerted force, and swiftly detached himself from the sleeping bag, jumping to the other side of the tent.

That was where Jiang Baimian was sleeping.

In the dim darkness, Shang Jianyao could barely see anything, but he could hear Jiang Baimian's breathing, which was rapid and irregular, as if she had just completed a five-kilometer cross-country run.

"Wake up! Wake up!" He grabbed Jiang Baimian's body, shouting and shaking her.

This commotion caught the attention of Bai Chen and Long Yuehong. One stayed outside to guard against any unexpected events, while the other approached the tent, asking loudly:

"What's wrong?"

Shang Jianyao didn't answer, continuing to shake Jiang Baimian's body violently.

Finally, Jiang Baimian spoke:

"Stop... stop! I'm dizzy!"

Shang Jianyao immediately breathed a sigh of relief and straightened his body.

At this moment, Bai Chen had already pulled open the tent door.

Bathed in the moonlight from outside, she saw Shang Jianyao squatting beside Jiang Baimian's sleeping bag, panting heavily, while Jiang Baimian sat in the sleeping bag, looking bewildered.

"Did you find anything unusual?" Bai Chen asked calmly.

Shang Jianyao blurted out:

"I had a nightmare..."

He involuntarily paused, feeling like a child seeking comfort from an elder after having a nightmare.

Seeing that Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen were not mocking him or interrupting, Shang Jianyao calmed down and continued:

"A very realistic nightmare. I couldn't wake up even when I slapped myself. I felt intense pain, but still couldn't wake up.

"Until I used my Awakened ability to strengthen my judgment and awareness of the dream, I finally woke up.

"In the dream, the residents of Black Rat Town had turned into zombies, and your faces had grown thick, black body hair."

Zombies were a concept from radio stories.

Jiang Baimian was no longer bewildered, her expression gradually becoming serious, and she nodded lightly:

"I also had a nightmare.

"I dreamed that I was doing research in a laboratory, and you were all my assistants..."

At this point, Jiang Baimian suddenly faltered.

After a moment, she continued:

"That dream was very realistic. Because of some details, I also suspected I was dreaming and quickly pricked myself with a needle, feeling the same pain as in reality.

"This dispelled my doubts. Then, an accident happened in the neighboring laboratory, and toxic gas leaked, spreading throughout the building.

"I was leading you all in a mad dash to the exit, trying to escape the company before the gas spread, when Shang Jianyao woke me up."

As she spoke, she raised her left hand and brought it into the bright moonlight.

Shang Jianyao and Bai Chen, who had moved closer, saw a small, slightly swollen red dot on the back of her hand, about the size of a needle prick.

Jiang Baimian then looked at Shang Jianyao's face and, as expected, found the red, swollen area with the marks of five fingers.

"I didn't have a needle with me..." Jiang Baimian thought for a moment, "This wasn't caused by sleepwalking."

She then pointed her left hand at the five-finger mark on Shang Jianyao's right cheek, gesturing in the air:

"This wasn't me."

Bai Chen followed Jiang Baimian's hand and examined it carefully:

"It can't be completely ruled out. The redness and swelling are too obvious, and the finger marks are somewhat distorted, making the comparison inaccurate. Also, the difference in finger length isn't significant."

"Really, if it was my left hand, his face would still have teeth marks," Jiang Baimian's left hand fingers emitted a faint electric current.

Her left arm and hand were part of an electric eel-type bio-limb, known for its immense strength.

Bai Chen acknowledged this, and Shang Jianyao was speechless.

Just as he was about to describe the scenes he saw in his dream in detail, Jiang Baimian suddenly frowned:

"Have you thought of anything?"

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