Chapter 68

The hoarse roar was still echoing when similar sounds began to rise from different parts of the city ruins.

They were not as massive, but they rose and fell, equally making one's scalp tingle.

The most terrifying thing was that countless roars could be heard in unison not far from where Shang Jianyao and the others were, just a hundred meters away.

At this moment, the high clouds seemed to have been shaken apart by such commotion, and the yellowish moon briefly revealed half of its face.

The bright moonlight scattered, illuminating the buildings at the end of the street, which were several hundred meters tall.

In the thick night, the windows reflected the moonlight, revealing countless figures.

Their appearances were indistinct, but the only thing that could be determined was that they seemed to be looking at Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and the others, and their bodies were slightly hunched.

Shang Jianyao and the others almost instinctively reacted, each taking different actions to find cover nearby. Even Long Yuehong, who had experienced similar situations several times, did not lag behind, fully demonstrating the effectiveness of her training.

The clouds moved quickly, and the moon was mostly obscured again. The buildings at the end of the street once more plunged into deep darkness, with only their outlines faintly visible.

After a while, seeing no attack, Qiao Chu, wearing the exoskeleton suit, was the first to leave his hiding place.

However, he did not return to the middle of the road but directly went to the left side of the street, where the dark red stone bricks were laid. The trees here, with leaves not yet completely fallen, blocked the view from above, making it difficult for any potential shooters at the end of the street to aim.

Similarly, Jiang Baimian, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen also approached Qiao Chu.

Shang Jianyao looked up at the sky, seeing the moonlight and starlight becoming even fainter, and suddenly dashed out of his hiding place, performing two rolls in succession, and arrived beside Wu Shoushi.

Then, he dragged the corpse, bent over, and quickly entered a house on the left side of the street.

The sign of the house was hanging at an angle, half-broken, and only the four characters "Snack Group" in gray soil script could be seen.

Inside the house, rectangular tables were arranged in two rows, covered in dust.

Shang Jianyao didn't care about the dirt, placed Wu Shoushi on one of the tables, and, following the first aid knowledge taught by Jiang Baimian, undid the man's shirt and began performing chest compressions.

"It seems useless..." Jiang Baimian, who had entered the room at some point, watched as Shang Jianyao completed the procedure.

Before Shang Jianyao could speak, she habitually instructed:

"Check his body for any clues."

Qiao Chu, wearing the exoskeleton suit, walked to the open doorway, pursing his lips, and looked for two seconds:

"There's no need. Let's head to our destination as soon as possible."

Jiang Baimian turned to look at Qiao Chu and said sincerely:

"If we can figure out what happened to this relic hunter and why he was sleeping on the street, it might help us avoid a lot of dangers in our subsequent actions.

"This place is really bizarre, and the monsters are more terrifying than I imagined.

"Also, the number of 'Heartless Ones'—how do they survive? What do they eat?"

Although the 'Heartless Ones' have the instinct to reproduce and won't disappear due to individual deaths, they are still living beings and need sufficient food. In the city ruins without agricultural and industrial support, they can't maintain such a large population by just eating each other, rats, and insects.

The ecosystem will gradually balance itself.

"Perhaps this city has a very ample supply of resources... The 'Heartless Ones' have survival instincts and will actively seek out these things." Bai Chen also entered the house and speculated on the reason.

As for whether the stored food has expired or deteriorated over the years, the 'Heartless Ones' wouldn't consider such things; they are almost brainless.

"Maybe." Jiang Baimian didn't deny it.

After all, she didn't know where this city ruin was in the old world. What if there was a food storage facility in another ruin?

Moreover, the 'Heartless Ones' have evolved over generations and might have developed the ability to eat raw rice and flour.

Long Yuehong, listening to the two women's discussion, couldn't help but say:

"There are so many 'Heartless Ones' here, and the situation is bizarre. Should we retreat?

"On the way out, we can carry some things, and it would still be a great harvest!"

As he spoke, his eyes were on Qiao Chu.

Qiao Chu ignored him and just urged Shang Jianyao:

"Hurry up."

He seemed to have accepted Jiang Baimian's earlier argument, thinking it necessary to investigate Wu Shoushi's fate; otherwise, it would be more dangerous for him too.

After saying that, Qiao Chu seriously brushed off the dust on his body.

Shang Jianyao, holding a flashlight, examined Wu Shoushi and found no obvious injuries, but the man's face was twisted, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying or experienced something extremely frightening.

This was very similar to the bizarre deaths described by the bald hunter Harris Brown in the area north of the Moonlu Station.

Combining this with Qiao Chu's statement, Shang Jianyao could preliminarily conclude that this was due to a Nightmare Horse attack.

As for where the monster was and how far away it was, he had no way of knowing.

He then stripped Wu Shoushi of his clothes and searched for less obvious marks.

"There's a circle of skin on the wrist that is whiter than the surrounding area, indicating he previously wore a watch, which might have fallen off somewhere... No recent injection marks... Unfortunately, we can't perform a blood test here to determine if he inhaled anesthetic gas..." Jiang Baimian came closer and helped Shang Jianyao complete the examination quickly.

Then, she straightened up, her expression slightly serious, and looked at Qiao Chu, Bai Chen, and Long Yuehong:

"Most likely, he was forced to sleep by a Nightmare Horse-like ability.

"However, we can't be certain if it was a Nightmare Horse or another monster."

"It wasn't a Nightmare Horse." Qiao Chu was very sure.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"Um... Do you know what a Nightmare Horse's roar sounds like?"

Qiao Chu opened his mouth, as if to imitate, but then felt it was too embarrassing and gave up.

At this moment, Shang Jianyao also stood up straight.

He held the flashlight and asked seriously:

"Is it like this?"

Without any embarrassment, he imitated the loudest and most terrifying roar he had heard earlier.

Of course, this time, he controlled the volume.

"No." Qiao Chu shook his head without hesitation.

Jiang Baimian frowned slightly:

"It seems the most terrifying monster in this city ruin is not a Nightmare Horse."

This was what she wanted to confirm with her earlier question—whether the Nightmare Horse was the one making the loud roar and causing the responses.

"Is it like this?" Shang Jianyao imitated the various roars he had heard earlier.

"None of them." Qiao Chu, wearing a helmet, couldn't help but ask, "Can't you just imitate a horse's neigh? The Nightmare Horse's roar is essentially the same as a normal horse's neigh, with slight differences."

Shang Jianyao glanced at Qiao Chu:

"Never seen a horse."

After saying that, he turned around, bent over, and began searching Wu Shoushi's pockets.

The first item he found was a bronze badge with a blurry human face, a knife, and a gun on the front, and a small chip embedded on the back.

Shang Jianyao had seen similar things before and knew it was a Hunter Guild badge, which he handed to Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian didn't read the content of the chip and put it away directly.

Wu Shoushi's previous missions and this exploration were unlikely to be related.

The second item Shang Jianyao found was a blue and white checkered handkerchief.

The handkerchief looked old and a bit worn, but it was neatly folded.

Shang Jianyao unfolded the handkerchief, found no clues, refolded it, and put it back in Wu Shoushi's chest pocket.

The third item was a half-block of black chocolate wrapped in tin foil.

The chocolate had obvious signs of melting and re-solidifying, but there were no bite marks.

While Shang Jianyao was examining the chocolate, Bai Chen suddenly said:

"Probably, he would lick it or put it in his mouth to dissolve when he wanted to eat it."

She spoke very calmly, as if such things were commonplace.

Shang Jianyao nodded slightly and asked:

"Do you want it?"

"In this city ruin, there's no need." Bai Chen shook her head.

There would be plenty of supplies to find here.

Shang Jianyao didn't ask anyone else and continued searching Wu Shoushi's clothes.

The fourth item he found was a neatly folded piece of paper.

The writing on the paper was neat:

"Owes Ruxiang a can of beef;

"Owes Ah Gang two payments, equivalent to a large bag of compressed cookies;

"Owes Zhang Cripple half a bowl of oil;

"Owes Orangk a pistol and ten bullets;

"Owes Xiaoguang a meal of meat;

"Owes Ruxiang a flower..."

Shang Jianyao quickly read it, refolded the paper, and put it in his pocket.

"Are you going to help him pay these debts?" Jiang Baimian was a bit surprised.

However, she wouldn't be too surprised by anything Shang Jianyao did.

Shang Jianyao answered expressionlessly:

"If I meet his companions, I'll give them this paper and the Hunter Guild badge."

Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and slowly, saying no more.

The fifth item Shang Jianyao found was twelve coins in Wu Shoushi's trouser pocket.

From their patterns and designs, they seemed to be from the old world.

"Can old world coins still be used?" Long Yuehong glanced at them and asked in surprise.

"Yes, but not by their face value. Only by the type of metal and weight." Bai Chen explained briefly.

Of the twelve coins, seven were silver-white, and five were golden. Shang Jianyao looked at them for a while and put them in a small compartment of his camouflage backpack.

Next, apart from the clothes, pants, and shoes, he only found Wu Shoushi's black pistol.

"UB-7, with five bullets left." Shang Jianyao identified it and attached the gun to his utility belt.

The bullets were 7.62mm, different from the ones they had prepared before leaving.

As for the automatic rifle Wu Shoushi had carried when they first met, it was nowhere to be found.

After the search, Shang Jianyao put the clothes back on Wu Shoushi.

"Let's go." Qiao Chu, seeing no useful clues, urged impatiently.

Jiang Baimian and the others didn't object and followed him out of the house.

Shang Jianyao, walking last, looked up and suddenly jumped, pulling down the metal door.

With a clatter, the house was sealed.

"What's the point? The 'Heartless Ones' can open doors, and they'll just become their food." Qiao Chu couldn't help but say, then added in a low voice, "Follow me!"

Shang Jianyao didn't make any other moves, followed the group, and continued to run through the deep night toward a certain place in the city ruins.

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