Chapter 72

Jiang Baimian glanced at Shang Jianyao and the others, then looked back at Qiao Chu and asked:

"Where is that laboratory?"

Qiao Chu, wearing a helmet and unable to show his facial expression, had not yet answered when the desolate, hoarse roar echoed through the sky once again:

"Awooo!"

This time, Shang Jianyao and the others could clearly hear that the roar came from not far away, just a few streets behind the "Urban Smart Network Control Center."

It was so massive and loud that it made Shang Jianyao and the others' ears ring and their heads spin.

It seemed to come from the depths of everyone's heart, from memories of unshakeable fear, causing Long Yuehong's legs to tremble uncontrollably, and Bai Chen to subconsciously tighten her scarf as if trying to strangle herself.

Jiang Baimian's body trembled slightly, as if she was using all her strength to resist the fear. Shang Jianyao's body shrank slightly, as if he were still a child.

However, he quickly returned to normal, no, not quite normal, he smiled, looking very excited.

His thoughts seemed to have skipped over the word "fear" and landed on "excitement."

Of course, this was also because the huge, hoarse roar had subsided, leaving only the echoes and the intermittent howls from the ruins.

At this moment, Qiao Chu let out a low laugh without much amusement:

"That laboratory is where that sound came from."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baimian and the others were startled and began to speculate:

The mysterious laboratory that produced the huge roar... the hydroelectric station that has been operating since the old world's destruction... the city ruins that are regularly maintained... the partially functional power lines and equipment... the cat-like creatures that can force people to sleep... the nightmare horses that can create real nightmares with severe consequences... the existence suspected to be a "High-Level Heartless" in certain areas of the swamp without radiation pollution but with many monsters...

These pieces of information, when connected, seemed to bring the truth close, yet it was terrifying.

Jiang Baimian, despite her fear, felt a bit excited.

This was one of the reasons she formed the "Old Adjustment Team"!

"I wonder if the research in that laboratory is related to the destruction of the old world..." Jiang Baimian muttered to herself.

Qiao Chu ignored the question and took a step forward with his legs covered in black metal framework:

"It's time to restore power."

Jiang Baimian caught up, asking quickly:

"Do you have a layout map of this place?"

"First, we go to the underground machine room to close the circuit breaker and restore power to this building. Then, we go to the 17th floor power grid center to complete the power restoration." Qiao Chu seemed to have already figured out the situation of this "Urban Smart Network Control Center."

Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and the others didn't say much more and followed Qiao Chu, who was wearing an exoskeleton suit, through the left side of the gate into the courtyard.

The courtyard was very spacious and well-landscaped, with various abandoned cars neatly parked in their respective positions, not blocking the road.

Clusters of tall or short, fluffy or messy dark green plants were scattered around, their shadows flickering like monsters hiding in the darkness, making Long Yuehong's body even more tense, as if he was ready to react at any moment.

In his mind, the team shouldn't have entered the "Urban Smart Network Control Center," shouldn't have restored power here, and shouldn't have tried to open all the doors of that mysterious laboratory.

Regardless of whether this would bring a new round of disaster to the already fragile human society on the gray earth, Long Yuehong felt that they couldn't withstand the danger contained in that mysterious laboratory and the eerie ruins.

He didn't want to sacrifice himself, didn't want to become 80 months of compensation.

In front of the building where the "Urban Smart Network Control Center" was located, there was a pond with murky water and floating debris, but not as much as he had imagined.

Under the faint moonlight and starlight, Long Yuehong suddenly saw a black shadow flash in the water.

"There's something!" He aimed his "Berserker" assault rifle at the spot in fear.

Qiao Chu turned and looked at him:

"Just an ordinary fish."

Long Yuehong immediately relaxed, but the residual excitement finally ignited the fear that had been building up in his heart.

"No, not ordinary! Do 'Heartless' not eat fish? I, I don't want to go in! I give up! I'll wait for you at the jeep!" He blurted out all his thoughts in one breath.

At this moment, he even felt that Qiao Chu wasn't that charming.

Qiao Chu, wearing a helmet, was initially stunned for a second, then narrowed his eyes.

He silently raised his arm covered in the exoskeleton suit and aimed the strange silver rifle at Long Yuehong.

Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen opened their mouths simultaneously, ready to stop him, but hesitated, unsure if they should take action, their hearts torn by intense conflict.

Qiao Chu didn't give them a chance to react and prepared to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, he found that his finger couldn't pull back!

Apart from that, his finger could move flexibly in any direction.

It seemed that he was missing only the action of pulling the trigger!

Qiao Chu's gaze subconsciously moved past Long Yuehong and landed on Shang Jianyao, who was a bit further back.

Shang Jianyao's body was slightly bent, as if he was taking deep breaths.

He met Qiao Chu's gaze with deep, dark eyes and spoke with difficulty but earnestly:

"My mother said, even if you like someone very much, you shouldn't indulge their bad habits."

...

When Jiang Baimian fired a grenade at the "Sleeping Cat," creating a significant explosion.

In a square with multiple sculptures in the city ruins.

The mechanical monk Jingfa, wearing a yellow monk's robe and a red cassock, stopped his actions and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

In front of him were several tattered female "Heartless" corpses.

Not long after, the desolate, hoarse roar that shook the sky sounded again from the direction of the explosion.

As the red light in his electronic eyes flickered, the mechanical monk Jingfa abandoned the surrounding corpses and ran towards the source of the sound.

...

In the dark city ruins, on a street, in a building.

Du Heng, a middle-aged handsome man wearing a deep black robe, with black hair and a mustache, muttered to himself in confusion:

"Not here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an explosion sounded from not too far away.

Du Heng didn't react much to this, but soon, the desolate, hoarse roar also sounded from that direction.

"Could it be there?" Du Heng thought for a moment and walked towards the stairs.

...

In a shop on the street in the ruins.

The blonde, blue-eyed Taoist Jialulan was lying on a very soft black leather recliner, dozing off.

Unfortunately, she couldn't fall asleep and was woken up by the consecutive explosions and roars.

"Ah, my cultivation is still not enough. My master can sleep soundly next to a factory... Well, well, since I'm awake, I might as well go with the flow. I wonder if I can find a ride on the way..." Jialulan scolded herself in a refined manner.

Even when she talked to herself, she used the language of the gray earth.

Then, Jialulan slowly got up and walked towards the direction of the roars.

...

On the other side of the city ruins, in a square with many machines.

A convoy of five vehicles was parked there.

One of the five vehicles was a gray-green armored car.

Beside the armored car, a middle-aged man wearing a gray-green beret looked at their harvest and nodded in satisfaction.

"Brother Li, how long has it been? We've already filled all the vehicles. How about we look for more vehicles that can still run and be repaired, and try to get one for each of us?" A bald man approached, excitedly suggesting.

The "Hyena" Lin Li, known as Brother Li, looked around, his gaze slowly sweeping over the faces of the dozen or so core members, seeing that they were all equally joyful and excited.

He had a prominent nose and a slightly protruding forehead, with a rather distinctive appearance.

"Sure," Lin Li nodded in agreement with the bald man's suggestion. "The main thing is that we haven't found any weapons that can effectively enhance our strength, or technical data that we can exchange for good things from major forces. We need to prepare for the future. There must be a major force behind Black Rat Town, and we need to be ready before they figure out what's going on."

Just as he was about to add a few more words, the explosion and the roar sounded from the same direction.

After listening quietly for a while, the "Hyena" Lin Li smiled:

"It seems there's something good over there.

"Let's go check it out. If there's an opportunity, we'll take action; if not, we'll look for something else."

This was the style of their bandit group, like hyenas that smell carrion and rush over but don't take risks, waiting for opportunities from a distance.

"Yes, Brother Li!" His core members, who were about to take turns sleeping, all stood up with renewed energy.

...

Upon hearing Shang Jianyao's words, Qiao Chu's lips moved slightly.

Only then did Long Yuehong realize that Qiao Chu had intended to kill him.

Suddenly, all the beautiful scenarios he had imagined fell apart, bringing him back to "reality."

"He, he..." Long Yuehong was terrified to realize that Qiao Chu was not a companion, not someone worth following, not a person with great charm.

He had been like a fool all along.

This was too bizarre!

Before Long Yuehong could finish speaking, a series of ripples, both real and illusory, appeared in Qiao Chu's golden eyes.

Jiang Baimian, who had decided to stop Qiao Chu, suddenly felt a strong sense of despair:

She had wanted to lead Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong away from the danger zone, but instead led them to a high-risk ruin; what was supposed to be a routine field exercise had escalated to this point, which was a failure as a team leader; her former dreams had to be abandoned due to a mistake, and her body was almost on the verge of collapse...

Such a person might as well die...

At this moment, Jiang Baimian was completely disheartened, giving up the struggle and just waiting to die.

Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, and Shang Jianyao had similar reactions, all feeling so despondent that they didn't want to do anything, not even speak a word.

Qiao Chu didn't attack, but instead put away the silver rifle, his gaze cold but his voice gentle:

"Don't worry, it's all over."

Long Yuehong and the others, who were deep in a gray, despondent world, felt as if they had heard the comfort of an angel.

PS: Early update, please give me a recommendation!