"The lower three districts?" The bartender paused for a moment. "If a spy manages to infiltrate there, it'll be hard to find them."
Qing Chen smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have a plan."
Humans have an instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm. If the search and spy operations in the Upper Sixth District are very strict, then the spies will involuntarily move to the Lower Three Districts to live. In people's common sense, the Lower Three Districts are the most suitable places for spies to hide.
But that's not the case now.
The three districts of City 10 now have a networked joint defense system... that's where the parents' associations are in charge.
Nowadays, the parent-teacher association's control over the lower three districts is so strong that even Qingchen, the founder, feels a sense of dread. Every little thing that happens every day is bound to be noticed by the parent-teacher association.
You should know that all the landlords in the lower three districts have designated contacts; whoever rents their property is required to immediately report to the parents' association every day…
“By the way, boss, the rat infestation in City 10 has been quite severe lately, and it’s said that quite a few people have died from it. The federal government is afraid that there won’t be enough tourists to hold those two events smoothly, so they’ve suppressed the matter,” the bartender said. “But Old Shen said that this matter is not so simple.”
Qingchen pondered for a moment: "I understand. Also, tell Qingyi and Lao Shen that I'm back."
After saying that, he drank the water in his glass in one gulp, and led Zhang Mengqian into the night outside the bar.
The countdown has reached zero.
The world was plunged into darkness.
Chapter 673, The Calamity of All Beings
return.
The world is bright again.
Qing Chen remained standing in the war fortress of the Agricultural Academy.
He looked at Sun Chuci and Tuanzi: "Is everything going smoothly?"
Sun Chuci said, "Four soldiers voluntarily stepped forward and admitted that they had been turned by the enemy... They chose to commit suicide, not because they were cowards. All the rest passed Dingdong's test."
Qing Chen was silent for a moment: "What are their names?"
“I saw on their tombstones that it read: Wang Zhongyu, Li Gongwen, Liu Bingxu, Zhang Boming,” Sun Chuci said.
Qingchen nodded and silently memorized the four names.
Sometimes having a good memory isn't a good thing. Qingchen even remembered that Liu Bingxu was only 28 years old. He was eating sunflower seeds on a steam train and saying that he wanted to marry a beautiful wife and have a child. He said he didn't want his wife to have too many children because he had heard that childbirth was very painful.
Then Li Cheng laughed at him, saying he'd never even been in a relationship, let alone talking about getting married and having children.
Liu Bingxu countered that he joined the army at 15 and was captured by Shindai at 18, so he had no chance to date.
Qingchen still remembers that Zhang Boming had a particularly heavy smoking habit, liked to pick his toes on the steam train, and had exceptionally good luck when playing cards.
Wang Zhongyu likes to sing and says he can play the harmonica.
Li Gongwen is rather dull, but his dream is to go back to the city and buy a holographic projection 'wife' that he can dress her in whatever clothes he wants and make her do whatever he wants...
These vibrant lives are now gone.
Qingchen said, "You all go back and rest. I'll stay here and have some peace and quiet."
He lay back in the chair. This time, back in City 10, the chaotic information contained some hidden clues.
He stared at the dome, his pupils suddenly narrowing.
Under the dazzling neon lights, men and women dressed in beautiful clothes strolled through the streets of the Fifth District.
A giant holographic female model sprayed perfume into the night sky, and golden powder rained down, passing through the bodies of all the pedestrians like a snowstorm...
Just as Qing Chen was about to analyze the situation further, several screams suddenly rang out from within the academy.
The scream was so penetrating, like a knife piercing the night, tearing through the midnight of Whale Island, and could even be faintly heard in the Agricultural College.
Qingchen got up and walked towards the dormitory area.
The Kunlun team arrived first, with hundreds of people scattered throughout the dormitory area to maintain order.
They ordered all students to return to their dormitories and then simultaneously locked down 12 dormitory areas.
When Qing Chen arrived, Kunlun had already set up an isolation zone, and staff members in protective suits were carrying toolboxes and heading into the 12 dormitories.
He found Lu Yuan and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Lu Yuan said with a solemn expression, "As you know, if a Time Traveler dies in the Inner World, their body will return to the Outer World."
"Twelve Time Travelers died?" Qing Chen's expression also turned serious.
Lu Yuan said, "There are 16 of them. Some of them were roommates who died together. What's more strange is that all the victims were reduced to skeletons with traces of wild animal bites on their bones. Don't worry, we are prepared for this kind of thing. The forensic doctor has already entered the scene to begin investigating the cause of death."
The best way to find out the cause of death of the time travelers is to block the area, collect evidence, review the time traveler registration information, and look for commonalities.
Qing Chen frowned in thought. What kind of ferocious beast could devour the Time Traveler into a skeleton in just seven days?
Moreover, 16 time travelers died at the same time!
There are just too many deaths!
Could it be that these 16 Time Travelers participated in some event together and were then collectively murdered? That's possible, but Qingchen instinctively felt something was wrong.
At this moment, Zheng Yuandong also arrived at the scene.
Ni Ergou said to him, "Currently, there are 16 dead, 10 men and 6 women. They all have two things in common: they were in City 10, and their bodies are just skeletons."
Ni Ergou continued, "Judging from the color of the bones, some people have been dead for more than 6 days, while others may have been dead for only 1 day. This means that they were not ambushed while participating in some activity together. Moreover, according to my investigation, they were in City 10 when they last crossed over, and they did not go to the wilderness."
Qing Chen suddenly said, "It's a rat."
"What?" Ni Ergou looked at Qing Chen in surprise: "Are you sure it's a rat?"
As they were talking, a forensic doctor came out of the dormitory with a human leg bone in his hand and looked at Zheng Yuandong: "Boss, there are traces of rodent gnawing on the leg bone. It is most likely caused by rats. Further analysis is needed to see if we can find the rat's DNA structure on it."
As soon as he finished speaking, four more students were brought over by members of Kunlun. Qing Chen recognized them; these four students had all been members of Sun Chuci's team.
Qing Chen asked, "What happened?"
A female student sobbed as she spoke haltingly, "We went on a mission, and Li Chao went up to check the situation alone, but he never came out..."
Another student said, "Before Li Chao died, he said that rats had bitten humans to death. We even encountered rats attacking humans in the alley, and they were very fast. By the way, we were with Li Hao at the time, and we were supposed to go up and save Li Chao together, but Li Hao ran away with the others because he was scared."
Lu Yuan said from the side, "I know about this. It seems that there is really a problem with the rats in City 10."
At this moment, the crying female student said, "Principal Zheng, we demand that Li Hao be severely punished. He must be punished for abandoning his teammates and running away."
Zheng Yuandong paused for a moment and said, "I will consider how to handle this, but this is not just Li Hao's problem. You should go back and rest first."
Zheng Yuandong looked at Qing Chen: "You just said it was a rat, so you already have information about that?"
Qing Chen nodded calmly and said, "There's a rat infestation in City 10. The rats there have become bloodthirsty and have even started attacking humans frequently. More than one person has reported this to me, so it's not a coincidence... They ate the corpse of a superhuman!"
Zheng Yuandong's answer was the same as Qing Chen's. He said solemnly, "Only by devouring the corpses of superhumans could a species change so rapidly. It seems that biocontamination has occurred in City 10."
The so-called biological pollution in the Otherworld refers to the fact that the bodies of superhumans are not properly preserved after death, and are eventually absorbed by plants or eaten by animals.
This ultimately led to species undergoing changes that transcended social classes.
The former Federation suffered greatly from biological contamination, and even one of its earliest cities became a forbidden place. The residents of that city were forced to migrate and rebuild a new city.
Back then, it was common for superhumans to die naturally at home without anyone caring, and no one realized the consequences of such an event.
Later, people realized the seriousness of the matter, and the Taboo Tribunal came into being.
Qing Chen pondered, "That's strange. If a superhuman dies, why didn't the Forbidden Tribunal contain them in time? Knowing them as I do, they shouldn't miss the death of every superhuman..."
The Federation has not experienced a biological contamination incident for over two hundred years.
There's a problem.
Zheng Yuandong and Qing Chen said in unison.
Qing Chen frowned, feeling that he had overlooked a crucial piece of information.
This information is very important!
At this moment, Lu Yuan asked in confusion, "What level of superhuman would it take to cause the rats in the city to mutate like this?"
Qing Chen did not answer him, but turned his back to everyone and faced the empty corridor.
Ni Ergou wanted to say something, but Zheng Yuandong stopped him. Everyone waited silently.
The boy stood in the long, deep corridor, his pupils narrowing again.
His gaze swept across the corridor, as if all walls and obstacles had vanished before him.
The world crumbles and is then reconstructed into scenes from memory, with sounds echoing in the corridor.
Xiao San said on the phone: "Parents, the renovation of the lower three districts of City 10 has been completed, and the Parents' Association can now spare resources to continue sending talent out. Recently, the rat infestation in City 10 has been rampant. I don't know if it's because it's too dirty and chaotic or what, but the rats are multiplying very quickly. But don't worry, the situation in the lower three districts is under control. We guarantee to exterminate them as soon as we see them, and strive to nip the rat threat in the bud..."
The mistress said, "But there's something even more important to report to my parents. Those rats are extremely aggressive; they've even caused injuries to people in other districts..."
Pedestrians walked under the neon lights, and someone whispered, "We can't contact Xiao Wang anymore..."
One woman responded, "My boyfriend has also suddenly stopped answering my calls. Has he found out about us?"
At the end of the long street, a woman hurried past, leading a little girl with a cute bow in her hair. The little girl said, "Mommy, I just saw a little mouse that looked like it was watching me."
The bartender said, "Old Shen thinks this matter is not simple."
In his memory, Qingchen seemed to be sitting in that old pickup truck with his brother.
Sitting in the back of the truck, Shadow asked gravely, "Where did Kagami Chika's body go?"
Kamishiro Chika!
In that instant, Qing Chen turned around to look at everyone with a chill down his spine. The shadow's words helped him... put the last piece of the puzzle together.
Only a very few people knew that the body of Kamishiro Chika had not been contained. If Shadow hadn't mentioned it, even Qingchen might not have been able to connect this incident with Kamishiro Chika.
The reason Qingchen felt a chill run down his spine was because...
The fact that Chika Kamishiro's body was not contained is clearly a deliberate act by Kamishiro's side, which is why Shadow is worried.
If it were just an ordinary superhuman being overlooked by the Forbidden Tribunal, the impact on City 10 might not be that significant. As long as they exterminate the rats and collect their corpses, there's still room for redemption.
But if it was the corpse of Kamishiro Chika that caused all this, then the corpse of a demigod would be enough to awaken intelligence in any creature.
The time span of the Timewalker's death is 6 days.
These six days are enough for the rats to devour Kamishiro Chika's corpse completely.