Chapter 35: A Call for Help

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Inside the silent shopping mall.

The outer shell of the off-road vehicle was covered in scratches and dried mud, yet the interior had remained surprisingly intact.

Xia Tong lightly leaped inside. The leather seats were somewhat cracked and gave off an old, musty scent. Judging by their condition, the vehicle had been in use for a long time, though it had evidently been well maintained.

Compared with the surrounding air of decay and dust outside, this was undoubtedly an excellent temporary shelter.

She pawed at the various buttons inside the vehicle. Every basic function still started smoothly, and the facilities were remarkably complete. The few people who had owned it had clearly taken excellent care of their means of escape. Unfortunately for them, it now belonged to her.

Xia Tong twitched her nose. In the storage compartment before the passenger seat, she discovered several unopened bottles of purified water and a few vacuum-sealed packs of high-energy military rations. They were exactly the kind of quality food she needed, perfect for replenishing the strength she had expended.

She bit open one of the ration packs. The taste was nothing to praise, carrying a strange, cloying sweetness, but she swallowed it in small bites without changing expression, rapidly restoring the energy consumed in the earlier battle.

Once her stomach was full and her strength had recovered somewhat, Xia Tong turned her attention back to the tablet. She carried it in her mouth to the relatively level dashboard, then began operating it skillfully with her paws.

She had already memorized the city map in broad outline. What concerned her more now was the information that Ke Ji had deliberately hidden.

Before long, however, an encrypted folder secured by several layers of passwords caught her attention. Its name was simple, consisting of only six words:

“Gazing into Deep Blue Project.”

“Gazing into Deep Blue...”

A flicker of curiosity passed through her catlike eyes. Anything encrypted so solemnly by members of a wasteland base could hardly be ordinary information.

She focused her mind. A faint but exceptionally pure strand of psychic power seeped from between her brows and cautiously entered the tablet’s encryption module.

A password of this level posed no great challenge to her. In her previous life, she had studied similar decryption techniques in order to access rare, advanced healing materials. In the process, she had secretly picked up quite a few useful tricks.

A moment later, accompanied by a soft beep, the encrypted folder opened successfully.

Inside were no lengthy reports, only several scattered experimental records and streams of data whose meaning was unclear. Xia Tong patiently read through them one by one. Gradually, a vague outline began to take shape in her mind.

“...Special energy-tide node... highly active mutagenic factors... enhanced biological mutation... Experimental Station Three...”

She murmured the most frequently occurring keywords under her breath, her eyes gleaming.

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This so-called “Gazing into Deep Blue Project” seemed to be related to a special energy-extraction technology, as well as the use of that energy to transform mutated organisms.

The “Experimental Station Three” mentioned repeatedly was, according to the markings on the map, located deep within the “Abandoned Old Industrial District,” where she currently was.

“So that’s how it is.”

Xia Tong searched further and found Ke Ji’s personal journal. Sure enough, it recorded the purpose of their team’s expedition.

The special plant known as the Moonlight Orchid was their primary objective. Investigating the abnormal energy fluctuations that had recently appeared at “Experimental Station Three” was their secondary mission.

In his journal, Ke Ji speculated that the strange fluctuations might be connected to some crucial stage of the “Gazing into Deep Blue Project.” They might even have given rise to some unimaginable “result” or “disaster.”

Perhaps that was another reason the base had sent them here.

“Experimental Station Three...”

Xia Tong had already made up her mind.

Whether to uncover the secrets of this world or search for more resources that might still exist, she had to take a look at that place. Comparing the route map on the tablet with the surrounding terrain, she firmly memorized the path leading to “Experimental Station Three.”

Her next plan had already quietly taken shape in her mind...

...

...

Night spread rapidly across the sky like thick ink, making the ruined city appear even more terrifying in the darkness.

Following the route she had planned earlier, Xia Tong left the area surrounding the shopping mall and threaded her way through the wreckage of abandoned factories and twisted metal pipes.

The deeper she went into the “Abandoned Old Industrial District,” the heavier the sulfurous odor in the air became, along with an inexplicable sense of oppression. A thin gray mist gradually spread through the surroundings, and visibility continued to fall.

Just as she reached an area encircled by tall walls that appeared to be the outskirts of “Experimental Station Three,” the tablet computer she had been carrying in her mouth, its screen glowing faintly, suddenly emitted a soft crackling sound.

A bright-red communication request icon then appeared on the screen, accompanied by a line of urgent text that flashed repeatedly:

“Emergency distress call! Experimental Station Three has been invaded by an unknown organism! Energy core overload! Repeat! Emergency distress call! All authorized personnel, respond immediately upon hearing this! Coordinates...”

“Hm?”

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“Did something happen?”

A cold electronic voice came intermittently from the tablet, distorted by static and especially grating in the dead, mist-shrouded night. Xia Tong halted mid-step and immediately turned off the screen, lest it attract some strange creature.

A distress signal sent at this hour suggested that the situation was critical. She even suspected that this might be the consequence of the “Gazing into Deep Blue Project” spiraling out of control.

After remaining where she was and thinking carefully, she decided to wait and observe. She would scout the area first. Better that than rushing in blindly and meeting her own destruction.

The mist around her grew thicker and thicker, almost swallowing the entire abandoned industrial district.

The outlines of distant buildings appeared and vanished within the fog like lurking colossal beasts. She could sense extremely unstable energy fluctuations radiating from that area. The situation truly seemed grave.

“Looks like tonight isn’t a good time.”

Xia Tong reached her conclusion quickly.

There were too many unknowns over there. Besides, it was nighttime, and who knew what strange mutated creatures might emerge? In any case, it clearly was not suitable to continue forward recklessly.

Once she had made up her mind, Xia Tong immediately concealed her presence and silently retreated into the shadows of a collapsed factory nearby. Her gaze pierced the fog toward the area marked “Experimental Station Three,” and a trace of determination and coldness flashed through her eyes.

“I’ll wait until tomorrow.”

As for the poor people waiting to be rescued, they could go on suffering for a while longer. Xia Tong could only say that there was nothing she could do.

...

The night deepened. The dense fog seemed to come alive as it churned between the abandoned factory buildings, devouring their already indistinct outlines. The odors of sulfur and rust grew more pungent, mingling with an indescribable stench of decay and dampness.

At last, Xia Tong stopped in a small abandoned warehouse and curled up in a corner, preparing to make do for the night...

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