"If we go out, will we be able to come back?" Pei Xiangjin turned to ask Qian Kun. "We plan to bury him outside to prevent cross-infection."
Qian Kun looked them up and down in their protective suits and nodded, "Okay."
This kind of thing should be left to the professionals. Everyone watched from afar as these guys in protective suits and full gear carried the body out and buried it along with their blood-stained protective suits.
They are probably the only ones to date to have walked through that net and returned unharmed, all thanks to the protective suits they wore.
Pei Xiangjin had anticipated that they might one day expose their "wealth," but he didn't expect it to happen on their very first day. That very night, they captured four groups of people who were attempting to rob them.
Fortunately, three of the four were no pushovers. They beat the robbers so badly they cried for their parents and swore they would never do it again.
Although they were not afraid of being provoked, the room full of supplies was indeed a ticking time bomb that kept them on their toes.
"Please hand over the work to us as soon as possible. We need to get to the next location quickly."
Finally, after Pei Xiangjin's fifth urging, the radiation protection equipment inside the wall was delivered to them, taking advantage of the arrival of a new batch of prisoners.
That evening, they left the iron fence without notifying anyone.
The moment he flipped the net over, Yi Heye looked at the road beneath his feet.
Behind them lay a settlement torn apart by barbed wire, a breeding ground for countless sinful yet tenacious lives. They nourished themselves with each other's flesh and blood, stubbornly blooming clusters of bloodthirsty flowers on a barren land.
Before them lay endless wilderness and a hazy sandstorm. The pale moon hung at the edge of the horizon, like a cold and eerie eye, indifferently observing everything that was happening before it. It clearly witnessed everything, but it would not tell the passing travelers what kind of road awaited them.
When he came to his senses, Yu Yili had already opened the package that had been delivered and picked up the Roentgen detector inside to measure the nuclear radiation in the vicinity.
After testing the radiation, he used his little spider robot to check the toxicity again before saying with relief, "It's safe here for now."
The group breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and then swarmed around the large package.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" "Be quick, be quick!"
Urged on by his left and right, Yu Yili hurriedly pulled out a few cans of food from his package—during these few days of being cooped up, they had eaten seven meals together, each consisting of only potato stew, and now they were dreaming of eating something different.
Yi Heye opened a can of candied yellow peaches, which he had specifically requested. The moment he opened it, he felt his heart was about to explode with happiness.
Pei Xiangjin ordered mixed vegetable canned food with rice, which looked very tempting. Yi Heye traded a small piece of yellow peach for a spoonful of pickled cucumber mixed with rice, and almost shed tears of happiness.
LOPO got a new battery, so it no longer needed any canned food. When the other side heard that Little Cloud had come along, they even sent over its pet treats.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a delicious aroma wafted over, causing Yi Heye and Pei Xiangjin, who were devouring their food, to pause in surprise, and then simultaneously feel nauseous: "Ugh..."
Seeing their reaction, Yu Yili quickly reached out to protect his can. Looking up at their resentful gazes, he instantly felt a little aggrieved and said, "What are you doing?!"
"How could you... ugh..." Pei Xiangjin said, gagging uncontrollably, "You can still eat meat??"
Yi Heye also gave a thumbs up in astonishment: "Awesome... awesome!"
Yu Yili, fearing they would steal his can of braised meat, turned his back to them and said, "I thought you guys were awesome. You've been starving for so many days, I dream about eating meat every day. I couldn't sleep last night, and staring at Captain Pei's nape made me hungry..."
Upon hearing this, Pei Xiangjin immediately covered his neck in horror—thankfully, the supplies from the other side arrived in time, otherwise he didn't know which day he might fall asleep and never wake up again.
The group enjoyed a delicious meal under the moonlight, finally replenishing their willpower, which had been worn down over the past three days.
They carefully checked the supplies again, finalized their plan, and continued on their way.
The pale moonlight painted the yellow sand on the ground silvery white, and the vast night sky became a unique sight to behold.
But the long, aimless journey made them all think of navigating the not-so-pleasant fog in Area A, and they instantly huddled together.
“It’s alright, this time we have a compass and a locator to correct our direction.” Pei Xiangjin took the small device out of her bag and said, “That man said he walked about five kilometers. If he hadn’t had these navigation tools and had taken a slightly longer route, we wouldn’t have even needed to walk five kilometers…”
With this calculation, the prospects seemed much more optimistic than they had imagined, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and continued moving forward.
The entire journey was through endless sand, but the ground wasn't as smooth as the deserts depicted on television. It was more like parched, cracked earth, wrinkled and occasionally studded with pieces of trash, seemingly devoid of any hope of life.
As they walked forward, LOPO, who was bouncing around with her pigtails swaying, suddenly fell face-first to the ground with a "thud." Seeing this, the others quickly rushed over to help her up, afraid that they wouldn't be able to take good care of their strong, powerful wife after she was taken away.
LOPO reacted quickly; before they could even reach out, she sprang to her feet. She expressionlessly dusted off her soiled dress, and the next second, she was ready to settle scores with whatever had caused her to fall.
As soon as she bent over, the group of people took a step back in perfect unison. The next second, they watched as LOPO pulled a huge old television out of the yellow earth and smashed it to pieces with a loud crash.
Despite having witnessed LOPO's powerful performances many times before, they still felt deeply moved every time they saw them again.
After the initial shock subsided, Pei Xiangjin looked at the shattered pieces and belatedly realized, "How can there be such an old thing here?"
As soon as they finished speaking, they discovered that buried underground, there were many old objects that would have existed at least a hundred years ago—a cabinet air conditioner, a double-door refrigerator, a bulky computer, a car frame that had been laid on the ground, wheelchairs for the elderly, and some children's toys.
This reminded them of what Qian Kun had said: when District E was first established, everyone made a living by digging up pots, pans, electrical appliances, and wires buried underground.
—At least a hundred years ago, many people must have lived on this land beneath their feet, perhaps in a village, or even a city.
This place was once prosperous and bustling, filled with the sounds of pots and pans, the warmth of human life, the simple daily meals, and the harmonious families. But a hundred years later, it has turned into a handful of yellow sand, buried beneath this desert rarely trodden by anyone.
But this history is not taught in textbooks nowadays, and they looked at each other blankly, seemingly unable to believe that this wilderness they were in had once been such a place.
The silence made their footsteps exceptionally clear. They didn't know what they were feeling as they walked through this desolate prosperity, they only knew that as they walked, the sky gradually brightened.
As the morning light illuminated the land, Yi Heye squinted. On the horizon, it looked as if a cluster of orange flames had been lit, flickering brightly.
The other three also looked in that direction, and vaguely, they seemed to see a small clump of something in the distance.
However, the distance was indeed too far. Even Yi Heye and Pei Xiangjin, whose eyesight was exceptional, could only see a blurry mass. So LOPO volunteered to stand on a small observation platform that they had set up for her and began to adjust the focus of her eyes.
A few seconds later, LOPO jumped down from the lookout tower and said, "A village."
A village? A village located in such a place? Several people simultaneously thought of the rumors from the outside world, Qian Kun's warning, and the man's fear.
Yu Yili was the first to react: "No matter what, let's take protective measures first to prevent any accidents from happening."
Everyone nodded in unison, quickly changed into their protective gear, and then cautiously looked in that direction.
Where did the man get the radiation from? Where did the monster the man spoke of come from? Does the so-called "New World" refer to this place? Does it hold the clues they seek?
Filled with questions, the group, fully armed, headed towards the village. As they got closer, they gradually made out the outline of the village.
Compared to the oppressive and tightly controlled autonomous region for prisoners, this place does look more like a village where humans live. The houses are still simple stone houses, but there seem to be roads and simple signs built in the village. Some houses have some trees and flowers planted sparsely in front of them. Although they look half-dead due to the soil conditions, they still look somewhat alive.
As they got closer to the village, everyone was on edge. They walked along cautiously, glancing around cautiously. Just as they were not far from the village, a noise suddenly came from beside a tree in front of them.
Before Pei Xiangjin could even block his way, Yu Yili instinctively turned his head, and the next second he couldn't help but curse out, "Fuck!!"
This sound was like a chain reaction, causing LOPO to turn around as well. She didn't know what she saw, but for a moment her fluffy pigtails were so frightened that they looked like two straight swords.
Driven by curiosity, Little Cloud quickly peeked out, and the next second it bounced into Yi Heye's arms with a bleating sound, as if its bottom had been blown up by a firecracker.
What is that? Why are you making such a fuss?
Yi Heye and Pei Xiangjin were bewildered by this group of people, and couldn't help but peek out to take a look.
The next second, the combat leaders of both teams gasped and fell silent in unison.
hiss……
There was a person in front of me, but—
Why are there two heads?!
Author's Note:
So cute, with two heads (not really).
Chapter 173 (Number 173)
The creature that could barely be considered human was standing behind the tree roots, looking timid, clearly quite frightened by the four of them.
This is—or rather, it's more like two people forcibly pieced together.
Looking down, there's a torso and a pair of legs. The shoulders become unusually wide, and at the neck, it's like two branches splitting off from the top of a tree trunk, growing out two heads that are tightly pressed together.
This appearance was truly frightening, especially since it suddenly appeared before them, forcing them to freeze in place.
Yi Heye didn't know how long his mind had been blank. He waited until the two-headed man moved cautiously before he suddenly came to his senses and went into a state of alert.
Looking closely at these two heads, they should both be teenage girls. They have similar faces and their features are not bad. They both have long brown hair. If their hair were separated, they would look like a pair of beautiful twin girls.
But the fact that these two heads were on one body was so bizarre and frightening that Yi Heye felt his scalp tingle. He made up his mind that if she, or rather they, dared to make any move, he would not be polite.
Just as he and Pei Xiangjin were on high alert, sharpening their knives and drawing their guns, Yu Yili, who had been initially frightened, suddenly made a gesture to them and then cautiously walked over.
Yi Heye and Pei Xiangjin exchanged glances for a moment, then saw Yu Yili greet them softly, "Hi, hello."
The two-headed girl timidly hid behind her, seemingly showing no malice other than fear.
“Don’t be afraid, we’re just passing by.” Yu Yili extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The two-headed girl hesitated for a moment, then extended her left hand to shake his.
He only shook hands with the left hand, which triggered Yu Yili's obsessive-compulsive disorder. So he said to the head on the right, "Don't you want to shake hands with me too?"
The girl on the right hesitated for a moment, then finally reached out her hand—it felt good.
After a brief greeting, Yu Yili turned to his companions and said, "Don't be afraid, they are not monsters, and this is not contagious."
As soon as he finished speaking, both heads looked up at the same time.
However, seeing two heads made Yi Heye uncomfortable, so he stiffly looked away.
“They are conjoined twins, identical twins in their mother’s womb. However, in the first two weeks of pregnancy, due to some external factors, they were not completely separated. The fertilized egg continued to grow and develop, and was eventually successfully born, resulting in their current state,” Yu Yili said. “This situation occurs only once in every 100,000 pregnancies, and most conjoined fetuses die in the embryonic stage. So it is a miracle that they were able to be born and grow into adults.”
"To be honest, they are no different from us. It's just that our sisters share the same body and organs, so their lives are a bit harder."
Upon hearing this, the two girls' eyes lit up instantly. They looked at Yu Yili with gratitude, as if this rare recognition was enough to replace countless cures.
Hearing this, Yi Heye seemed to be able to accept it with a bit of difficulty. He secretly glanced at the two sisters and they did seem less frightening than before.
"And they are so symmetrical," Yu Yili exclaimed. "They are really beautiful."
Now his teammates believed that this was definitely what he truly felt.
Yu Yili's words quickly won over the two young girls, who subconsciously moved closer to him, using physical distance to express their trust and affection.
They cautiously sized up the group of people. After a long while, the girl on the left asked softly, "Excuse me... are you the ones who have come to take us away?"
Take them away? The group didn't understand what they meant, exchanged glances, and shook their heads.
Yu Yili then said, "No, we were just passing by. Did anyone say they were going to take you away?"
The two girls paused for a moment, then shook their heads simultaneously.
It seemed that asking like this wouldn't yield any results. Yu Yili thought for a moment and said, "We're just passing through and would like to stop by your village to rest. Could you please show us the way?"
Fearing it might seem insincere, Yu Yili turned around, took out his own can of braised meat from his luggage, and stuffed it into their hands. The two girls had never seen anything so good before, and their eyes lit up again.