On the sea, the large ship slowly came to a stop. Hu Li jumped aboard to see the fishermen who had reported jumping into the sea, while Xu Tonggui brought the branch secretary from the ship onto the deck.
The branch leader had changed his clothes; they were a simple, purely prison-style outfit with horizontal stripes. He had injuries on his face, but hadn't suffered any inhumane treatment, and looked somewhat presentable. Xu Tonggui asked him, "How do we get in?"
The branch secretary remained silent.
Without any warning, a dagger was plunged into his elbow joint. The intense tearing sensation came abruptly and quickly, and he couldn't help but cry out.
Screams echoed across the deck, and the once clean floor was now soaked in blood.
Unexpectedly, Xu Tonggui acted so decisively. The people behind him were also startled. After realizing what had happened, they didn't know whether to step forward to stop him or remain silent. For a moment, they were stunned.
Xu Tonggui showed no intention of waiting for the branch secretary to hesitate. After pricking one arm, he raised the other arm without stopping, giving the secretary no time to think.
"Wait a minute! I'll talk!" The branch leader didn't even have time to recall the various fighting techniques he had learned before. He could only instinctively twist his body in vain, trying to get away. He confessed everything, "Going down requires contacting headquarters. You can only go down after headquarters gives you permission!"
Xu Tonggui stood up and looked at the group of people behind him. Someone understood what he meant and stepped forward with a communication device so that the branch leader could make contact. Inheriting Xu's fine style, he also held the device in one hand and a knife in the other, the tip of the knife gleaming.
Xu Gao, who was standing at the back, looked away, his eyes twitching slightly as he tried to keep them in check. For a moment, he had the illusion that they were the ones who were the antisocial organization.
Hu Li, who had gone down to ask the old man, came back up. He casually remarked, "The one who jumped into the sea was a man, a drunkard."
According to the old man, the other person smelled of alcohol.
"No need to rescue them," Xu Tonggui asked. "What about the fishermen?"
Hu Li glanced at him and said, "I told him to go back."
As the branch leader, whose still-intact hand was trembling, prepared to pick up the communication device, not far away, the sea began to surge restlessly beneath the surface, as if something was penetrating the deep sea and pushing the seawater outwards.
A passage appeared from the sea. Everyone stood still and looked over, even the branch leader who had just picked up the communication device was stunned.
This is indeed the correct passage.
However, unlike the passages he had seen before, this passage was completely still, unlike the fluid passages that could appear and disappear at any time.
Rather than saying the passage was opened, it's more accurate to say that it was damaged from the inside.
The special search team's boat descended down the passage.
The ocean is a strange world that many people have never seen, dangerous and fierce, with the most primal cruelty and vitality of nature.
They descended to a completely dark place, and finally, at the end of the passage, a light appeared.
The white light appeared somewhat faint in the sea, but it was clearly visible.
They went down from the sea into a river, where they were greeted by towering buildings.
There was something inexplicably eerie about the scene before my eyes.
The dome overhead is the source of the city's light, and all around are modern skyscrapers. The tallest building has been burned down to just a black shell, and the fire has spread to the neighboring buildings, the bright flames scorching the eyes.
A huge fire was burning above, but people on the roadside seemed oblivious and continued walking. Glass shattered and fell from the building. Some people noticed in advance and avoided it, but others were not and were directly pierced by the glass and fell to the ground. People nearby ignored them and walked by.
The sound of a house collapsing came from one side.
The special search team quickly split up, with each original team becoming a separate squad, led by a squad leader, to search other areas. Xu Tonggui and Hu Li led a squad to the site of the collapsed building.
The two most capable fighters were paired together. The others were a little confused, but they didn't object and quickly went to their respective places.
Xu Gao was fortunate enough to be assigned to this squad, and for the first time, he felt so safe working with the captain and deputy captain.
The sound of the building collapsing was loud, seemingly close by, but in reality, it was quite far. They walked through several streets, and everything seemed normal until they reached an intersection.
Upon reaching the intersection, some people were so frightened by the scene before them that they unconsciously tightened their grip on their guns.
Corpses littered the ground, piled upon each other, blood flowing everywhere and down the drain. All the bodies were huddled together, all bearing a red scratch on their necks, with no other injuries.
This tiny scratch took everyone's lives.
A small group of people looked toward the street beyond the intersection.
The scene was one of utter devastation. From the crossroads to the street, a continuous trail of blood and collapsed buildings stretched out, bullet holes were everywhere, and the clean cuts from the collapsed buildings were just like the necks of the people lying on the ground.
Someone has been here, and that person is very strong, at least overwhelmingly so to the person lying on the ground.
The further you go, the more oppressive the atmosphere becomes.
The vast majority of people present were on edge, their minds in a state of high tension.
After turning a corner, a large crater appeared in the ground. Inside was a mutated creature covered in eyes of all sizes. Its eyes were no longer moving, and some pupils had been completely pierced, clearly indicating that it was lifeless.
It's hard to imagine how such a large pothole, spanning five lanes of road, was created.
They heard the sound of a cane hitting the ground behind them. Turning around, they saw an old woman carrying a vegetable basket walking out from the street corner and onto the pedestrian crossing.
This was originally a very normal scene, but in this context, it seemed even more eerie.
There were still vehicles on the road, but they were only passing through the intersection and did not seem to be turning onto the road where the pedestrian crossing was located.
The change happened in an instant. Glass shards flying from the collapsed house punctured the vehicle's tires, causing it to skid and lose control. Even so, the people inside the car remained expressionless, their hands gripping the steering wheel.
The vehicle sped toward the elderly man who was still slowly crossing the pedestrian crossing. The people inside remained expressionless, and the sound of the tires screeching on the ground did not attract the old man's attention. Strangely, they seemed completely unaware that they were heading toward the end of their lives.
No matter how bizarre the situation was, the other person was still a human being, a living, breathing person. Xu Gao, who was at the end of the group and closest to the sidewalk, ran quickly, wanting to at least save the old man.
Just as he was about to reach the person, he heard the sound of buildings collapsing and breaking down in the distance behind him, and something was advancing rapidly at an unimaginable speed.
Before he could reach the old man, a huge dark shadow attacked from behind and flashed past him.
He could even see that the spiky downy hairs on it were only a few centimeters away from his pupils.
The car and the old man were both thrown into the air by the alien creature, the vehicle being tossed high into the air and then falling back down, making a sickeningly loud sound.
After hitting the vehicle, the alien species did not stop, but continued to retreat, leaving deep scratches on the ground with its spikes, before crashing heavily into the building.
If I'm not mistaken, the alien seemed to have a knife stuck in its body. It didn't stop after crashing into the building, continuing to pierce through it and crash into the next building.
A huge hole appeared in several buildings, and the buildings began to tilt, one after another.
After the spiky alien creature passed by, Xu Gao dared not close his eyes at all. Even though his eyeballs were sore, he still dared not move. Then he saw a white figure flash by in the rising dust.
The feeling of death was so close that he didn't even dare to look down to check if he had any extra wounds. He just stood there, motionless, as if any movement would lead to something irreversible.
Someone looked toward the already tilting building and whispered, "...There seems to be someone on the roof."
The others followed suit.
There were indeed people on the roof of the last building. They were too far away to see clearly, only a vague outline.
White shirt and black pants, white hair.
Just as they looked over, the person on the roof jumped directly from the top floor and fell into the billowing dust.
Xu Gao finally snapped out of the shock of death and turned to look at Hu Li the moment he saw the white hair.
Hu Li's gaze had changed as he glanced at Xu Tonggui, who was standing at the very front. Xu Gaoyu also looked at the person standing at the front.
It's hard to describe what this feeling is like.
The person was still the same person, still the same, he just stood there looking into the dust and mist, but inexplicably seemed to have completely changed, making him feel unfamiliar.
They neither stepped forward nor left; the group simply stood there, as if waiting for something inexplicably.
A figure emerged from the dust and mist in the distance. Behind him, a tilted high-rise collapsed with a deafening roar that pounded against eardrums and irritated already taut nerves.
The figures gradually became clearer, and they could see them clearly.
It is indeed white hair.
His full head of white hair billowed backward in the rising dust, his eyebrows and eyes barely visible beneath the white hair, with bloodstains at the corners of his eyes. He dragged a long sword in his hand, the tip of the blade pressed against the ground, red blood still sliding down the blade, leaving a winding trail.
He walked over easily, with the ruins of the collapsed building and the lifeless alien corpses behind him.
The figure and face were familiar, but the person was completely unfamiliar. When those emotionless pupils looked over, this person regarded everyone as if they were inanimate objects.
Hu Li opened his fox-like eyes, which he usually kept squinting, and his hand was already unconsciously on the weapon at his waist, out of habitual alertness.
I was indeed scammed before.
Xu Gao was the one most shocked at the scene, his pupils shrinking as he watched the people walking towards him.
The figure in front of me gradually overlapped with the vague silhouette I had seen in the video before.
Even without anyone else pointing it out, he could tell that it was 001.
He finally understood why Hu Li could recognize 001 at a glance through images even though he had never met him.
This overwhelming, almost suffocating sense of oppression is indeed a most unique and affirmative calling card.
They are very familiar with each other, extremely familiar.
Xu Gao already had a guess in his mind, but he still didn't dare to connect this person with the person who had been gossiping with him in the small restaurant.
As they passed by him, the other person said, "These are all dead people."
It means to prevent him from engaging in meaningless rescue efforts.
The white figure that passed by after the alien species was this person. He couldn't see the other person clearly, but the other person noticed him.
The sound that came through my ears was light and cold, slightly different from the sound I had heard before, but the timbre was the same.
As he walked over, the people around him unconsciously made way, eventually creating an opening.
Jiang Yujin walked up to Xu Tonggui.
With a little force, the knife in his hand sank steadily into the ground. He took out a map from his pants pocket and handed it to the other person, saying, "This is a map of the city; all the streets are on it."
He didn't seem surprised by Xu Tonggui's arrival, or perhaps he had expected it. Jiang Yujin touched the man's face with his bloodied hand, turned the man's head towards the still-standing high-rise building, and said, "Take care of the mutants that thing created. I'll go find someone."
Xu Tonggui looked down at the person in front of him with delicate features and said, "Okay."
He didn't ask why the other person was there or who they were looking for; he just agreed directly.
His face and neck still bore the marks of blood from the touch, and his leaden pupils held a silent yet intense emotion, his adrenaline surging rapidly.
Like a wolfhound poised to pounce, having experienced bloody battles, it remains silent and eternally loyal.
The white-haired man took the knife he had found and left, disappearing almost instantly.
Xu Tonggui handed the map to Hu Li and asked him to lead the team.
The meaning was clear: he wanted to act alone, and Hu Li understood.
That's why this person was put in the same group in the first place, so that he could leave now.
The ground began to tremble, and in the direction the person had pointed, a gigantic alien creature began to take shape, its viscous body climbing up the building.
Xu Tonggui disappeared from the spot.
The alien body that had just appeared in the distance was pierced through, creating a large hole that could be seen even from a distance. They could even see the building behind it through the hole.
Along with the alien species, the surrounding buildings collapsed rapidly, and the flying dust obscured everyone's vision.
These towering buildings and alien creatures were easily dismantled, manipulated, and destroyed in their hands, like toys. Large parts of the alien creatures' bodies were torn apart and then fell from the sky.
Xu Gao's eyes remained wide open.
He had never seen Captain Xu carry out a mission with such a large scale or such speed. These alien creatures, which they would have to be prepared to die to face, had just been pierced through with a large hole.
"Feeling unfamiliar?"
Hu Li unfolded the map, not looking at Xu Gao, and said while looking at the streets on the map, "This is the real Captain Xu."
Unexplained amnesia, bureau rules, and consideration for the citizens—all these things bound this person like chains. When on missions, he could only suppress his abilities to avoid accidentally injuring people or causing excessive damage to buildings.
001 is the key to unlock the lock.
Recalling the look in Hu Li's eyes, Xu Gao had no doubt about what Hu Li had said before: if 001 wanted to, Xu Tonggui could dismantle the Special Investigation Bureau in a heartbeat.
He believes it now.
The other party seems capable of doing such a thing.
"The second squad will assemble at the bank at the intersection of South Second Street and advance towards South Third Street. The third squad will go to the West Fourth District. The fourth and fifth squads will continue to search the surrounding area according to the schedule. The seventh squad will be ready to provide assistance."
After putting away the map and giving his instructions, Hu Li finally glanced at Xu Gao and said, "Didn't I tell you before that Xu Tonggui is the second best in the game?"
Judging from Xu Gao's expression, he clearly hadn't said that.
——
Chen Jing and two others were in a dungeon.
After destroying the silver building to disrupt their research, they were constantly being chased, and alien species kept appearing wherever there were piles of flesh.
Instead of confronting these people and the aliens head-on, they chose to run. After crossing half the city and killing several officials, the number of people chasing them dwindled, and the aliens disappeared from their sights at some point.
They roughly guessed that the Special Investigation Team had arrived. On the morning they produced the results, they anonymously reported the largest outpost in the area they had previously discovered, and judging by the timing, the Special Investigation Team should have arrived by now.
To find the crystal, someone must restrain the Zero people and the aliens; the Special Search Team is the best choice.
They discovered the dungeon by chance when the ground collapsed. There were people inside, but they didn't seem to have been parasitized yet. Some of them still had their eyes open. After seeing them, no one broke into the dungeon to try to kill them.
There were a few living people in the city in the dungeon, but they were barely breathing and could barely open their eyes. They were clearly not far from death.
On one of the floors, they saw four people locked in a dark room. The four were wearing diving suits and were already dead.
They were the four people I met on the sea last time I came here. I don't know how they got here, but instead of finding the treasure, they died in this dark dungeon.
It looks like no one has been here for a long time; the people who were alive were imprisoned until they died.
As I descended one more floor, unexpectedly, there was another laboratory, but it was now empty. The laboratory was on one side, and on the other side were the prison cells. The person in the cell was leaning against the bars, his hand still gripping the rusty iron bars, already lifeless.
Unlike the people above, the people here all have one thing in common: they all have the number "0" on their faces.
The group looked through the lab records, and then glanced at the people in the other cell.
Contrary to what outsiders say, the markings on the face do not indicate that the headquarters approves of the person. Instead, they mark the person as a defective product that cannot be used for experiments or whose experiments were not successful. They send defective products out of headquarters to do other work, and some defective products want to stay at headquarters, so they are locked up here.
This city has no humanity.
There was no soil at the bottom of the dungeon. The three of them went down the stairs and finally saw that the entire floor was filled with scarlet chunks of flesh.
These things are everywhere.
At times like these, the feeling of being watched is especially intense.
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment they saw the chunk of meat, scorching flames ignited, continuously penetrating downwards, and the chunk of meat shrank as it writhed.
Little Fatty knocked open the obstruction on one side, making it easier for Chen Jing to search for the meat on the other side.
They didn't know exactly how big the thing was, but they were determined to find the crystal inside. Since they couldn't pinpoint its location, they had no choice but to search relentlessly.
Above them, from the entrance they had come in, came a rhythmic, deep, and resonant sound of canes striking the ground, slowly echoing in the damp air of the dungeon.
"Tap—tap—tap."
The sound of the cane hitting the ground disappeared.
A figure suddenly appeared atop the burning flesh, a cane ablaze, skin shrunken in the flames, and the gray-haired man's eyes looked at them, asking before his throat was also burned: "What are you doing?"
It was a question, but he didn't seem to want an answer. His body gradually extinguished in the fire, and chunks of flesh crawled up from under his feet.
The color of the dungeon, which was originally lit by incandescent lights, gradually changed, and an unknown place began to emit a dark red light.
The chunks of flesh transformed into blood-red vines that began to grow upwards, covering the entire dungeon. The branches pierced through the bodies of the people inside, absorbing every bit of nourishment, and the entrance was sealed off.
The chunks of meat shrank rapidly under the fire, yet they continued to grow at the same time.
It is constantly replenishing its nutrients.
Chen Jing immediately thought of the 113,000 people still in the city.
The citizens here may not just be actors performing for the big investors, but also the reserves of nutrients for this thing.
The person standing on the scarlet chunk of flesh eventually transformed into a monster resembling one entwined with vines.
A small replica quickly took shape, and the moment it was completed, vines attacked from all directions.