Everyone was running wildly in the alley. In their fight for life and death, they couldn't even care about their old teammates, let alone the new teammates they had just met.
Self-preservation is the premise of everything and one of the most primitive instincts of human beings.
Once you can't even protect yourself, you won't stop even if your teammates die in front of you.
A tasker who ran to the front looked back, and his sight paused for a second or two from where Chen Yang, who was running with the chestnut-haired young man on his back, was.
In such a context, some people may forget to protect themselves.
That kind of person will be killed by the rules. Even if he doesn't die now, he will die sooner or later.
The tasker turned back and continued running forward.
Chen Yang's breath sprayed into the mask, it was stuffy and hot, and he was a little breathless, but his grip on Chao Jian's hand showed no sign of loosening.
Between protecting himself and protecting Chao Jian, Chen Yang chose the latter. There was no need to think about it, that was his instinct.
Just like the mission on Xiaoyin Island, Chen Yang had just met Chao Jian, and they were not even partners. He had already given up on protecting himself when dandelions were flying all over the mountain, and ran down the mountain with Chao Jian on his back.
Zhang Qi, who was lagging behind, felt complicated. His younger brother could run faster than him even if he carried someone on his back. There is a difference between running in your twenties and running in your thirties.
Also, my girlfriend's legs are fine, why does she need someone to carry her? And at this time.
Zhang Qi covered his mouth and nose and gasped. He ran closer and looked at his brother's hands that were grabbing the target's legs. His fingertips were white, his joints were protruding, and veins were popping out on the back of his hands, showing how hard he was holding.
Brother, you are protecting someone with your entire life.
You have to be fine, you must be fine, Zhang Qi's eyes became moist, his shoulders suddenly straightened, and his body tilted.
"Uncle, are you crazy eating dog food while running for your life?" Jiang Jiang covered his mouth and glared.
Zhang Qi: “…”
Jiang Jiang wanted to say something, but his companion patted his hand that was covering his mouth: "Hold it tight. You're crazy for letting others eat dog food while you're running for your life!"
He imitated his companion's intonation and pronunciation perfectly.
Jiang Jiang: “…”
"What are you doing?" Chen Yang in front turned around, his stern voice muffled by the wet mask.
Zhang Qi and the other two quickly ran away.
When Chen Yang passed by the back of the small clinic, he turned and ran to Qian Qin.
Qian Qin had a white mask on his face that came from nowhere. There was a footprint on the outside of the mask, but he was not affected and still fastened it tightly. Saving his life was the most important thing, so who cares if it was dirty? The boy on his back also had a mask, a clean one.
"Is there something?" Qian Qin looked at Chen Yang who was standing in front of him.
"We don't know what's inside the experience center. You can't take the child there." Chen Yang said loudly.
Qian Qin stopped talking.
"Come with me." Chen Yang carried Chao Jian away.
Qian Qin followed Chen Yang and went around to the front door of the clinic with him.
Chen Yang asked Qian Qin to put the sleeping boy at the door. Qian Qin did not do so until Chen Yang told him about the baby. Then he knelt on one knee and fished the boy out.
When Chen Yang came here before, there was no white stuff in the air, but this time it was all over the sky, and it was very dangerous.
Chen Yang put Chao Jian down, and called Qian Qin, as well as Zhang Qi and others who had come over, and they formed a human wall to surround the door.
There was no movement from the door.
Everyone, you look at me and I look at you.
Chen Yang pulled up his mask and said, "Let's turn around and face our backs to the door."
So they all turned around.
Soon, there was a creaking sound behind them, and the door opened and closed quickly. When they turned around, the boy was no longer at the door.
"She's a shy angel in white." Jiang Jiang leaned against the door, his hands covering his mouth and nose turned a little red from being pressed.
"This is not an angel in white, this is Guanyin Bodhisattva," said the companion.
Others agreed that those who were willing to save people at this time were truly the reincarnation of Guanyin. It could almost be said that they were risking their lives every time they opened the door. Of course, some angels in white could do this, too.
There are more and more bad people in this world, and more and more good people, this is a belief that Chen Yang has always believed in and firmly believed in. The dark places are far less big than the places where the sun shines.
Qian Qin left after making sure the boy was safe. Chen Yang didn't leave. He knocked on the door and said, "Doctor, can you give us some masks and alcohol?" He added, "And trauma medicine."
Everyone's eyes lit up; these were what they needed!
"Brother, you want so much...will she not give it to us?" Zhang Qi was quite depressed. He didn't dare to hold out any hope.
"At least try." Chen Yang said, "It's okay if you don't give it to me."
The end of the world is coming, and everything will collapse with it. There is no specific standard to judge right and wrong.
"Everyone, come over here." Chen Yang held Chao Jian with one hand and waved to the others with the other hand, "Let's build a wall like before."
Chao Jian stood on Chen Yang's left, his right hand covered in cold sweat from Chen Yang's palm, and he whispered, "Loosen up."
Chen Yang was firm: "I won't."
"You clenched it too tightly and your hand is cramping." Chao Jian frowned.
Chen Yang showed rare stubbornness in this matter and refused to let go.
Just as Chao Jian tried to pinch the acupuncture points on Chen Yang's wrist to make him relax, he glared at him in response. His eyes were red under the brim of his hat, and his breathing through the mask was heavy and disordered, as if he was about to cry.
"I was wrong, you hold me." Chao Jian lowered his head, his voice hoarse.
Several people nearby: “…” Sure enough, there was no quarrel.
Chen Yang and his group blocked the door, waiting for a beautiful miracle to happen, but they couldn't wait too long.
Most people have gone to the management office and are not here, so Chen Yang and the others are very anxious.
"Oh no!" Jiang Jiang suddenly shouted, "Those things may be on my clothes."
Zhang Qi said solemnly: "Remove the possibility."
"What should I do? I'm dead!!!" Jiang Jiang collapsed. He had passed the voice change period and his voice was still very clear. But when the decibels were raised... it was like a devil's sound in his ears.
Chen Yang's eardrums and head hurt from the stimulation: "Stop shouting. If it gets on your clothes, we will be the same, no one is exempt."
"That's right, everyone is wearing similar clothes, it doesn't make sense that I'm the only one that got stained." Jiang Jiang recovered only a few seconds later, and then he was dying again, "But this has nothing to do with my death, I'm still going to die."
Lao Xiao disliked the noise, so he grabbed the earphones from his neck and pressed them onto his ears. They were ordinary earphones, but he still felt a shock in his heart the moment he put them on, and then he pulled them off.
"The rules don't have a fixed limit, idiot!" Old Xiao got angry with a sour face.
"... I forgot about this." Jiang Jiang stopped crying immediately. Everyone has that white stuff on them, but it's impossible for them to all be killed. This shows that the white stuff doesn't kill you if you get touched.
"Be careful and avoid physical contact," Lao Xiao's mushroom-headed partner kindly reminded, "If you touch the other person's clothes, your hands will get that thing on them."
Tears welled up in Jiang Jiang's drooping eyes: "I've touched it!" While running in the alley, he patted Zhang Qi's shoulder with the hand that was not covering his mouth.
Zhang Qi was wearing a gray-blue coat, and it was difficult to distinguish the dust on the clothes from the thing with the naked eye.
Jiang Jiang screamed.
"Why are you screaming again? You're the one who's always causing trouble!" Lao Xiao was about to kick Jiang Jiang, but his foot retracted just before it touched him. That thing was like a virus. It was on his shoes and on the other person's legs. Once they came into contact, it would be a cross infection. It was unnecessary.
Jiang Jiang was still howling, his scowl-shaped eyebrows and droopy eyes were twisted like the word "囧". He looked miserable and funny at the same time.
Chen Yang saw the shadows of several friends through Jiang Jiang. They were all the same kind of people. His eyes became much softer: "You are fine."
"I just haven't had any trouble yet." Jiang Jiang was very pessimistic.
Chen Yang frowned. When Chao Jian was on his back, his hands and face were touching him. But Chao Jian was an illegal resident, so he had no reference value.
The silence at the door did not last long before it was broken by a series of footsteps.
The footsteps came from the corner, getting closer and closer, mixed with Zheng Zhitan's voice: "Don't breathe it in."
"That's good." Jiang Jiang tightened his hands on his mouth and nose again and again. He believed that this well-dressed and gentle boss was a big boss at first glance.
"If you want to round it off, I am doing an experiment for everyone." Jiang Jiang sniffed, "Using myself as the experimenter, I am really stubborn."
The companion was disappointed: "You are an idiot."
"You too." Jiang Jiang's mind was very bright at this time, "We are the 500 group."
Companion: “…”
Lao Xiao clicked his tongue in his ear: "Why don't you throw away this idiot and keep it to make bacon for the New Year?"
"… "
Chen Yang now quite likes the noisy scenes among these young people, which allows him to catch his breath.
"Brother, let's go." Zhang Qi said, "It's been so long, they won't give us anything."
As soon as Zhang Qi finished speaking, there was a slight sound from inside the door, which was probably the sound of a bag scraping against the ground. Zhang Qi was very excited, he was willing to be slapped in the face, even if it meant being slapped into a pig's head.
The door opened and closed a little faster than the previous time, because this time the things were not being scooped in, but thrown out.
A very big bag.
Chen Yang opened it and took a look. Everything he wanted was there, as well as disposable gloves and a few bottles of mineral water that he had not mentioned. The doctor had sorted all of them into small bags and then put them all together in a large bag.
"What a good man." Zhang Qi put on a medical mask, tears welling up in his eyes. He almost couldn't help but kowtow to the door.
Several other people also took a mask and opened the packaging bags.
Chen Yang threw two masks to Zheng Zhiqin. He looked at the door of the clinic and didn't move.
"Mr. Chen, aren't you leaving yet? We have got all our things." Jiang Jiang covered his face with a mask, his voice muffled.
Chen Yang didn't answer Jiang Jiang. He was thinking about something. When the doctor opened and closed the door just now, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the protective suit on her, which wrapped her entire body.
Moreover, when he and Chao Jian came here for the first time, the doors and windows of the small clinic were closed.
"I suspect the doctor has taken precautions in advance." Chen Yang thought for a while and then expressed his guess.
Zhang Qi and others who were about to leave stopped and turned to look at Chen Yang.
"My goodness, Mr. Chen, are you saying that the doctor already knew that something unusual would happen at this year's tourism festival?" Jiang Jiang asked in surprise.
"Then why didn't she leave Sanlian Bridge?" Zhang Qi asked, his face changed. He asked himself and answered, "There is only one possibility, she couldn't leave."
The locals all want to stay here.
The atmosphere in front of the door was a little subtle. Chen Yang somehow thought of Xiaoyin Island. It was a curse targeting all the islanders on the island. He knocked on the door: "Doctor, Sanlian Bridge is going to be destroyed."
There was no sound inside.
"Many people died, and many more are dying," Chen Yang said in a deep voice, "The disaster is related to Guan Xiaoyun. She secretly opened the black miracle. According to her, this was a change in the experience hall many years ago. This year she opened it again, and the end of the world is coming."
"We are about to go to the experience center. Do you have anything to tell us..." Chen Yang changed the topic, "What do you think we need to pay attention to?"
The ghost girl wanted to see the black miracle, but she didn't say how long she wanted to see it. This was a loophole that they wanted to exploit.
We need to know how the mutation ended last year. As long as we have the key information, this year's mutation can also be ended.
Chen Yang had no patience and was waiting anxiously. When Chao Jian didn't let him bite the joint of his index finger, he bit the inside of his lip.
Chao Jian pinched Chen Yang's face.
Chen Yang subconsciously loosened his teeth and released the soft flesh that was bleeding.
"Fuck!" Jiang Jiang screamed while covering his mask.
Chen Yang looked in the direction of the sound and saw several bloated tourists staggering towards him. They were unconscious and vomiting stringy substances as they walked.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Let's retreat!" Jiang Jiang was so anxious that he jumped up and down.
Chen Yang's cheeks twitched: "You guys retreat first." He was not giving up. He knew that once he entered the experience hall, he would not be able to get out. He wanted to make a final effort before going in.
Chao Jian didn't say anything. He just stood behind Chen Yang, sticking close to him, using his height advantage to cover the other person in his shadow.
The tourists got closer, and Zheng Zhiqian went over and killed them all, but the filaments they vomited were still floating.
Before Zheng Zhiqin came back, another group of tourists appeared behind him, all coming from the square.
It felt like the filaments had formed into a thin net, covering the Sanlian Bridge.
Jiang Jiang and his companions went over to help Zheng Zhiqin. With more people, they could go faster and would cause the tourists to vomit less.
Lao Xiao was about to kick the door, but his young partner stopped him.
"Don't go crazy! If you kick the door open, the doctor and those two children will die!" the little partner said sternly.
Lao Xiao panted a few times, his eyes rolled, and he grabbed Zhang Qi's collar: "Uncle, say a few more words."
Zhang Qi was just about to help Zheng Zhiqin and the others when he was unexpectedly treated like this. He was confused: "What did you say?"
"God likes to see you get slapped in the face." said Lao Xiao.
"..." Zhang Qi rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I won't bother with a sick young man. Hey, why are you looking at me too, brother?"
Well, I said, it won't hurt to tell you anyway. Zhang Qi winked and said with a very serious expression: "It's impossible, she can't give us any clues."
Less than a minute after Zhang Qi finished speaking, something was thrown out from the door and landed directly in Chen Yang's arms, and he caught it in time.
Lao Xiao and the others glanced at Zhang Qi.
Zhang Qi's unshaven face turned red and black. He stopped explaining because the more he tried to explain, the more ridiculous it became. He walked over to Chen Yang and said, "Brother, this is an MP3 player, right?"
"Yeah." Chen Yang pressed the power button of the silver MP3, but it didn't turn on.
"No electricity?" Zheng Zhiqin came back after taking care of a group of tourists.
"It has electricity." Chen Yang didn't study it any more. He put the MP3 player into his coat pocket and said, "Never mind. Let's go!"
When Chen Yang and his group went to the management office, they found that the door was open and opened as wide as possible, as if waiting for their arrival.
The door looked like a bloody mouth, and if you smelled it carefully, you could smell the blood.
The door was so wide open that the white thing also floated in. Chen Yang frowned and looked around. Where were the others? Why didn't he see Sister Qiao, Qian Qin, A Yuan, Lin Shuwei, and the others? Had they gone in
Chen Yang walked into the management office, and heard Zhang Qi's voice from behind: "Brother, do you want to close the door?" He was now accustomed to treating his younger brother as the backbone of the team, and he felt at ease.
"Turn it off." Chen Yang said.
The gate closed behind them, blocking the growing stream of filaments.
There were no staff members in the management office. Chen Yang suppressed a cough and pulled Chao Jian forward, heading straight for the small room behind the seat of Zheng Zhiqin, whom he had targeted the last time they came here.
That little door is open too!
Chen Yang stood at the door and looked inside. He saw at a glance that a wooden board in the room was lifted up. It was very eye-catching. He took a breath and walked in quickly.
The people behind were used to seeing Chen Yang dragging Chao Jian with him wherever he went. Fortunately, Chao Jian had long legs, otherwise he would have been dragged by him.
"The entrance to the underground passage has been opened." Zhang Qi stood beside Chen Yang and looked at the dark cave with him. "They went down first."
"Why don't you wait until everyone arrives before taking action?" Jiang Jiang came over.
Zhang Qi took a half step forward, getting closer to the hole, his eyes reddened with excitement: "I understand. The clue to pass the level is right in front of you. You must be eager to find out what's going on."
Chen Yang glanced at Zhang Qi and found that his mask was not worn properly. His expression changed immediately: "Brother Qi, put on your mask!"
"It's on." Zhang Qi casually pulled the mask twice.
Chen Yang helped him adjust his mask and spoke to him in a cold and hard tone for the first time: "Brother Qi, don't you want to get out of here alive?"
Zhang Qi's eyes instantly drifted away.
Chen Yang grabbed Zhang Jinqi's shoulders vigorously, his throat choking: "My first old teammate who died was a little girl. She always said that her intuition was very sharp, but in the end she was also harmed by her intuition. People's thoughts can have psychological implications, especially negative thoughts. As a tasker, you can't always think "I can't survive". If you think about it too many times, then..."
"Brother, don't talk about this anymore. I'm also an old missioner, I understand." Zhang Qi interrupted dejectedly, "When I came in here, I was very nervous, and my condition was much worse than my previous missions. I know that I..."
Chen Yang: "Me too."
Zhang Qi was dumbfounded.
"Me too." Chen Yang repeated. He moved closer and lifted the brim of his gray baseball cap, allowing Zhang Qi to see his bloodshot eyes. In those eyes were his silently screaming soul, which had been burning in the sea of fire and was almost reduced to ashes.
Zhang Qi was shocked: "Brother, you..." How come you look closer to the critical line of collapse than him? He didn't care about being afraid of his brother's target, and hurriedly looked at the man, "Little brother, you have to protect my brother!"
Chao Jian pushed back Chen Yang's hat brim without saying a word and checked whether the strap of his mask was fastened.
Jiang Jiang and his companions, Lao Xiao and his young partner, and Zheng Zhiqin, who was alone, did not express any opinions. Chen Yang was kind but not excessive. Not every teammate valued him, and not every old teammate would receive his care and concern. He was cold but loyal, and those who were cared for by him would have a higher chance of survival.
After all, his empathy can warm people.
Everyone disinfected their hands with alcohol at the entrance of the cave and put on disposable gloves before entering the passage. I don't know if the gloves are useful, but there is no harm in wearing them.
As for alcohol disinfection... Anyway, there is a lot of alcohol, so it is better to wipe it than not to wipe it. Who knows if those white threads are viruses or bacteria or something like that.
The underground passage was very narrow and only one person could walk through it. Chao Jian pulled Chen Yang behind him and he was the first one to go in. Zheng Zhitan was the last one.
Chao Jian walked very fast. The only people in the team who could keep up with him were Chen Yang and Zheng Zhiqin. The pace of the three of them was very close.
Others had varying degrees of strain reactions.
"Why haven't they arrived yet?" Jiang Jiang was short of oxygen. He didn't like wearing a mask in the first place, as he had difficulty breathing once he put it on. Now that he was in the corridor, he felt even more chest tightness, shortness of breath, and felt uncomfortable and wanted to vomit.
"It's almost there." Zhang Qi in the front took a deep breath. At first he knew the direction, but gradually he became dizzy.
"Almost there." Chen Yang gave the same answer in a certain tone. He hadn't met the leading team members along the way, so he didn't know whether they had reached their destination.
This tunnel was definitely not a straight line from the management office to the west side of the memorial hall. Chen Yang held Chao Jian, who was facing away from him, with one hand and held a flashlight with the other hand. His sight followed wherever the light went. He suspected that the tunnel went around the entire Sanlian Bridge.
"Ah!" Jiang Jiang accidentally fell on Zhang Qi's back, and in a panic he slipped off his back and fell to the ground.
Jiang Jiang’s first reaction was to touch the mask, which was still there and had not fallen off.
"What are you thinking about? Can't you just walk peacefully?" His companion picked up the cell phone he had forgotten.
Jiang Jiang wiped the dirt off the outside of the mask, still in shock, with a hint of tears in his voice: "Don't be mean to me, I was almost scared to death."
"Now, if anyone doesn't like someone, they don't have to do anything. Just take off the other person's mask when they aren't paying attention." Jiang Jiang swallowed dryly.
"Are you reminding me?" Lao Xiao's chuckle came from behind.
Jiang Jiang: “…” He wanted to rush over to beat someone up, but his companion not only did not stop him, he even made room for him.
So Jiang Jiang continued on his way dejectedly.
Chen Yang looked back at the others. He also wanted to join in and say a few words to make some jokes, but he found that he didn't have the heart to do so.
When Chen Yang was on a mission in the past and felt mentally exhausted, he would think about what he would do when he got back.
This time was different. After he finished this, there would be another one. And he hoped there would be a next one. There had to be a next one, otherwise he and Chao Jian would be finished.
Chen Yang's bitten tongue scraped his teeth, which was a bit painful. His nerve endings trembled and tensed up again.
The door and entrance to the management office were both open, which meant that Baisi had also entered here, so she had to be careful.
The group of eight people were divided into several atmospheres: some were relaxed, some were dull, some were calm, and some were boiling. Their experiences and personalities determined their state of mind towards the same thing.
Chen Yang looked at the time from time to time. After walking for more than twenty minutes, he stopped at Jian.
"Are we there yet?" Chen Yang asked while standing in the aisle.
"We're here." Chao Jian said.
Chen Yang hurriedly grabbed his shoulder and went out. In his sight was a group of taskers who were squatting or sitting in a disheveled state. Next to them was a completely sealed-off old life experience hall.
They had circled around to the main entrance of the experience center, and above their heads was the square to the west!
Chen Yang threw a bag of masks to A Yuan and asked her to distribute them. He checked in front of the experience hall: "Where is the disk?"
"I didn't see it." The teammates said in unison.
There is nothing strange here, it's just an ordinary old tourist attraction.
Chen Yang subconsciously wanted to take off his mask to breathe, but Chao Jian slapped his hand away. He pursed his lips, wondering if the disc and the so-called power that could confuse the mind would disappear when the black miracle was opened...
The doors and windows of the experience hall were nailed with various seals, layer upon layer. Chen Yang and his teammates stood at the door and looked inside through the glass windows.
It was pitch black inside and you couldn’t see anything. The so-called “black miracle” came from this abandoned experience hall.
Ever since the incident, the experience center has been blocked and no one has come in since then. Everything seems to remain the same as when the incident happened.
Chen Yang muttered to himself that something must have happened at that time, which led to the "black miracle".
Everyone worked together to pry open all the seals. There was an iron lock on the door of the experience hall. Zhang Qi hit it twice, but the iron lock did not move at all. It was very sturdy.
"Let me take a look." Ai Xiaoyu walked up, she took a look at the lock, and then, in everyone's surprised eyes, she took out a small leather bag. After opening it, it was full of all kinds of tools.
Ai Xiaoyu picked out two items, fiddled with the keyhole for a while, and with a "click", the lock finally opened.
Everyone quickly pushed open the door and rushed into the experience hall.
"Bang!" The door of the experience hall closed again, isolating all the poisonous white filaments outside.
"Ah-chu!" Someone sneezed violently again, and everyone stared at him.
“… Don’t be nervous, it’s just that the dust here is too heavy. No, I’m really fine. I know my own body!” The man rubbed his nose through the mask. He was also panicked, but he forced himself to calm down.
They waited for a while, and seeing that he was still alive, they continued their investigation.
Since no one has cleaned this place for many years, there is thick dust everywhere and even the original color of the furniture has become blurred.
The power supply had broken down long ago, so everyone used flashlights to scan the area. Wherever the flashlights could reach, there was devastation, and wherever they couldn't reach, there was complete darkness.
"Oh my God, what exactly happened in this place back then? Has anyone of you gotten any relevant information from the local residents?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know the details, but I know it was a big event and even the army was mobilized," someone answered.
Chen Yang tilted his head towards the voice and shone his flashlight over there. The teammate was wearing a mask, so he couldn't see his face clearly. He could only tell that he was a man. "Where did you get that information?"
"An old man," the man said. "I happened to run into him because he was suffering from Alzheimer's. He spoke illogically and mentioned this matter without any reason."
Chen Yang nodded. Neither he nor Chao Jian had found out anything about the "Black Miracle".
At the entrance is the ticket gate of the experience hall, on which is placed a row of mineral water bottles, but they have long since gone bad and the water inside is turbid and black. There is a chair behind the bar, which was originally the seat of the ticket inspector, but now it is covered with thick dust, which is several centimeters thick.
"Huh?" Jiang Jiang's eyes suddenly flashed, he quickly walked towards the chair, brushed off the dust with his gloved hand, and took out a metal object from underneath.
"It's a watch!" Jiang Jiang wiped the dust off the watch, held it up high, and showed off his find, "It's for men!"
Chen Yang looked at the dust on the chair, a strange look in his eyes. He suddenly looked at the man and asked, "Did the old man say that when the accident happened, all the people in the experience hall were rescued?"
"Let me think... No... No." The man recalled, "Grandpa said that only some people were rescued at that time. It must have happened very suddenly. Some people... were left here forever." He shrank his neck in fear, "The rest are gone. Grandpa was later found by his family."
"It's true." Chen Yang muttered. He looked at Jiang Jiang who was playing with his watch. "Don't you think the dust on the chair is too thick?"
"What do you mean?" Jiang Jiang was confused.
"Don't you understand what he means?" the companion asked meaningfully.
"You..." Jiang Jiang was about to ask what he meant when a picture flashed through his mind. He hurriedly threw away his watch and said, "My goodness, the unusually thick layer of dust on the chair must belong to the ticket inspector of this gymnasium. He is just like the tourists and residents in the square who had their headphones robbed and whose bodies turned into ash like dried plants."
The more Jiang Jiang thought about it, the more scared he felt. He got goose bumps all over his body. He really shouldn't have touched anything randomly.
There was silence for a moment, and then the noise started again.
But this time everyone is more likely to panic, because who knows which piece of ash is the corpse
"Oh, right." Chen Yang took out his MP3 player at this time. "This was given to us by the doctor at the small clinic. I tried, but it won't open."
Chen Yang had no intention of keeping the clue for himself. This was not a game. Whoever got it would own it. He raised his voice and asked, "Does anyone want to see it?"
Several taskers were eager to try.
Chen Yang handed the mp3 to them for study. He did not go far away, but supervised from the side.
You can look at it, but you can't lose it. It's an important item anyway. Maybe it contains crucial information.
After studying it for a while, they all failed. No, they couldn't turn it on. Others around them didn't want to try, as they didn't have special abilities.
"Then wait a little longer. Now that it has appeared, it must be useful." Chen Yang took back the MP3.
The experience hall was very large. Chen Yang used the light of his phone to look inside. The innermost environment was pitch black, as if there was no end. When the light of the phone swept over, a few reflected lights lit up.
"What is that?" Chen Yang said as his feet moved closer in that direction.
Chao Jian: "Screen."
"Screen." Chen Yang spoke at the same time as Chao Jian. He walked slowly, alert to everything around him.
Everyone gathered around and saw a lot of computer screens, and they were confused and puzzled.
"Why are there computers in the experience center? What are they used for?"
"Wouldn't it be used to play those life videos from the old days?"
"Yeah."
"The screen is broken... There's no point in searching it... Shit!" The tasker pointed at the bottom of the screen and stammered, "Here, here, here, look!"
Everyone's flashlights were focused on that direction. They saw something clearly and gasped.
Black lines stretched out from behind the screen, rising straight up like vines.
Chen Yang's sight followed the black lines upwards. He saw them penetrate the roof and extended to an unknown place.
"Are those earphones out there connected to these black wires?" Looking at the densely packed black wires in front of him, Chen Yang's scalp felt numb.
"To be precise, all the headphones are plugged behind these screens." Zheng Zhiqin pushed his glasses.
Chen Yang closed his eyelids to relieve his dry eyes. He turned his face towards Jian and whispered, "I'm fine. I just overused my eyes and feel a little tired."
"Don't rub your eyes." Chao Jian said.
"No rubbing." Chen Yang sat next to Chao Jian, paying attention to everyone's discussion.
"What is playing in the headphones? Why are all these people following like a demon?"
“I don’t know.”
"Didn't Mr. Qian say that if you wear headphones, you will hear hallucinations. Is there anyone among you who hasn't experienced hallucinations? It's a routine."
"I asked what's in the headphones, not what happens when you hold them. These are two different questions, okay
"… "
"Stop arguing, stop arguing. It's hard for me to breathe."
"The only thing we can be sure of now is that this is an old life experience center, and the sounds played in those headphones were originally the shouts of the market." said a voice with a slight accent.
When Chen Yang heard this, he was about to open his eyes, but someone asked him, "The shouting in the market? Is it true? How do you know?"
"I found this."
"What?"
“A brochure for tourist attractions.”
"You found the clue so quickly? Awesome!"
"Damn, it really is the shouting of the market!"
"Those shouts definitely don't have that much magic power. There must be some incomprehensible weird changes going on."
"… "
Chen Yang opened his aching eyes and Zhang Qi handed him the flyer.
The flyer was very old, with many creases and was wrinkled. Chen Yang read it word by word and let out a breath.
Since the source of everything is this old life experience hall, this place is very likely to hide amazing secrets. We need to go inside and go deeper.
Chen Yang returned the leaflet to Zhang Qi: "There are poisonous filaments everywhere outside, let's search in depth here."
Although most people nodded in agreement with the proposal, a few still showed hesitation.
"I think we should give up. These black headphone wires are so weird. They make everyone outside look like a monster." Someone spoke out to stop them.
"Yeah, look at these black lines, densely hanging on the ceiling, and the light inside is so dim. If you accidentally touch these black lines, God knows what will happen!" Xiao Zhang beside Ai Xiaoyu also echoed, "Why don't we wait and see at the door first? Maybe Liu Zhi will come. If we catch him, we will definitely be able to get something out of him. There is no need to go deeper."
After Xiao Zhang said this, some of the people who were originally planning to follow Chen Yang couldn't help but waver in their hearts.
Chen Yang pondered for a while after hearing this, and nodded, "You are right. It is indeed dangerous to go inside, but if we want to find the answer, we have no choice but to go inside."
"An abnormality has occurred at this mission point. The air is bad, and wearing a mask is not 100% safe. The longer we stay here, the more danger we will face." A Yuan stood on Chen Yang's side.
Those who were swaying towards Xiao Zhang swayed back again, unable to make up their minds.
"I think this is the way to go. Those who want to find the answer quickly can follow me inside. Those who have other ideas can wait at the door." Chen Yang felt that the more difficult the situation was, the more they had to work together. It didn't matter if there were fewer people, but he was afraid that some people would follow but be indecisive, and might ruin the entire team at a critical moment.
"Let's go." Chen Yang waved to the crowd, and more than a dozen people followed him without hesitation. Among the rest, a few people struggled internally for a while, but gritted their teeth and followed. In the end, only seven or eight people chose to stay outside and wait for Liu Zhi.
"Brother, will they really wait for Liu Zhi?" After taking two steps, Zhang Qi lowered his voice and asked Chen Yang.
Chen Yang: “It’s hard to say.” He probably couldn’t wait any longer. The door of the experience center had already opened, and he couldn’t think of any other reason why Liu Zhi had to show up.
"They are so stupid. I really don't know what they are thinking. Maybe their good teammates died and their minds are confused." Zhang Qi sighed, "The right choice is to follow the main force."
Chen Yang shook his head: "Staying where we are or moving forward are both full of unknowns."
Zhang Qi lowered his head and tugged at the gloves on his hands, and said shamelessly: "Brother, if I can survive this time, can we do missions together in the future?"
Chen Yang stopped suddenly. He met Zhang Qi's anxious and expectant gaze, lowered his eyes, and responded vaguely.
Brother Qi, I left your contact information to Wen Qing and Xiang Dong. As long as you go out this time, they will find you.
They are all old teammates who I can trust, just like me.
Chen Yang walked carefully in front. He touched Chao Jian's arm, clasped his five fingers together, and warned the people behind him: "Everyone, be careful and try not to touch these headphone wires."
The black lines were very dense, and in some places they had to turn sideways to pass through, while in other places the lines were so narrow that they were only a few centimeters, so they could only go around. In the end, the group of people were like walking in a maze, moving forward with difficulty in twists and turns in the huge experience hall.
"Huff..."
Xiao Han was nervous and his back was soaked with sweat. As he was very fat, it was very difficult for him to cross the black line every time. Now that he had walked so far, it was impossible for him to turn back halfway.
"Wow, these black wires are not headphone wires at all! How come they are so long!" someone exclaimed.
"Nonsense, it's definitely not an ordinary headphone cable, it's a vine, it can keep growing."
"Stop talking, my hair is all tangled."
"Why is it tied?"
"They were so scared that they stood up and tried to run away, but ended up bumping into each other."
"… "
Just as everyone was moving forward, someone in the middle suddenly trembled and stopped abruptly. The people behind him were unable to react in time and bumped into him.
"Oh, sorry."
Xiao Han didn't have time to stop and bumped into the person in front of him. He subconsciously apologized, but before he could finish his words, the person behind him also bumped into him. Just like dominoes, it caused a chain reaction.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yang turned around.
"I... I seem to have stepped on something." Xiao Han's voice trembled, his whole body too stiff to move.
Jiang Jiang, who was nearby, immediately shone the light towards Xiao Han's feet, and saw a round object under his feet that looked very familiar.
"It's a mouse." Jiang Jiang turned off the light.
Everyone thought it was a false alarm and continued to move forward, but after a few steps, they heard a muffled sound.
“Crack!”
"What's going on?" Everyone was stunned. The next second, an ominous premonition surged in their hearts, making their emotions out of control.
"I don't know! Ooooooh, I'm going to have a heart attack!"
"It's too difficult, this task is too difficult, I'm going crazy-"
"… "
"Just now, it felt like something broke."
"No way, what could be making that sound?"
While everyone was discussing this, Xiao Han said nervously, "I didn't... I didn't mean to do it. I really didn't break it. The gap was just too small."
"Did you break the black wire?" Chen Yang thought of a possibility and his expression became serious.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, Xiao Han nodded slowly.
"Everyone, don't move!" Several voices shouted at the same time, full of panic.
So all the members stopped where they were. No one knew what the consequences would be if the black line was broken, so they could only wait and see.
Under Xiaohan's instructions, Chen Yang stared at the broken headphone cord. In just a few moments, the headphone cord quickly shrank and disappeared as if it had lost nutrients.
It's really a living thing.
The group of people waited there for a long time. It was quiet all around and nothing seemed to be happening.
"It seems nothing happened." Everyone looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Yang continued to lead the way forward. After a while, he saw an empty space. That place seemed to be the original rest area. There were some worn-out sofas turned over to one side, and many tables and chairs were broken on the ground. The scene was in a mess. One could imagine the scene when people fled in panic from here when the accident happened.
"Let's take a break here." Chen Yang looked around and saw no black lines. He sat down first, wearing a mask and not taking it off, and he couldn't drink water or eat anything, so he could only touch the object.
Chen Yang grabbed the target's hand and pinched his finger bones through a layer of gloves.
Everyone sat there slumped, without much communication.
One of Xiao Han's arms began to itch for no reason. He rolled up his sleeves and found that his arm had turned black at some point.
The indescribable itch disturbed Xiao Han's consciousness. He forgot to shout and forgot to tell his teammates about his symptoms. He just scratched hard. His skin was scratched and torn, and a small black dot was faintly revealed. He subconsciously scratched it.
The dot became bigger and clearer as he scratched it. He pinched it between his thumb and index finger and pulled it out little by little.
At this time, Xiao Han was completely unconscious. He pulled out a black wire from his flesh and blood, which was exactly the same as the headphone wire.
The line becomes longer and longer, and the flow continues.
Several taskers not far away saw this scene and screamed in fear. Others were attracted over and they watched Xiao Han mechanically pulling black lines out of his body, and eventually his whole body disintegrated.
The air mixed with floating dust and white silk solidified.
"The headphone wire cannot be broken..." Zhang Qi resisted the urge to wind up the black wires on the ground.
Everyone was alert in their hearts and made sure to be careful when they left.
Chen Yang glanced at the ball of black thread on the ground, and felt uncomfortable and itchy as if hair had grown in his heart. He knew it was a conditioned reflex, and he still felt anxious and fearful.
Chao Jian touched the hair on the back of Chen Yang's head and said, "This is the first time I accompany you on a mission, a real companion."
"Yeah." Chen Yang said. After doing a task alone, he had changed his habit of looking at Chao Jian whenever he encountered a problem. If he didn't change that habit, it would be even harder for him this time.
In other words, Chao Jian discovered that he was still too dependent on himself and would not let his threshold seeds bloom so early.
Chen Yang knew that Chao Jian was many times more cautious than he was in normal state.
"Have you found any clues that you really want to tell me, but you are afraid of accidents and dare not say it or get involved, and you are enduring it very hard?" Chen Yang said.
Chao Jian said nothing.
Chen Yang reached into his pocket, touched the medicine bottle and shook it gently. There was still a lot of medicine.
Chen Yang felt relieved. These medicines would be enough for Chao Jian to take for a while.
The light on the underground floor depends entirely on mobile phones. When one tasker's phone ran out of battery, he threw it out cursing, making an irritating "bang" sound.
Ai Xiaoyu kicked the phone away. She turned around and found Xiao Zhang picking at the collar of his sweater. She asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"
"Xiao Yu, my neck is itchy, can you help me take a look?" Xiao Zhang pulled his collar towards Ai Xiaoyu.
Ai Xiaoyu took a picture with her phone and said, "Nothing."
"Really?" Xiao Zhang kept scratching, "But I'm so itchy."
The teammate's nails were very long, and the sound of them rubbing against the skin was tooth-grinding. Ai Xiaoyu was about to say something when she suddenly saw her pull out a black thread from her neck!
The cell phone in Ai Xiaoyu's hand fell to the ground.
Everything in front of her eyes went dark, and Ai Xiaoyu heard her teammates shouting at her in pain: "I'm going to die, Xiaoyu, I'm going to die..."
“I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… Save me…” Xiao Zhang cried while pulling out the black thread, faster and faster.
Ai Xiaoyu sat there in a daze. She was startled back to reality by multiple beams of light. She found that her mask was wet with tears and her teammate was gone.
Two people died in the same strange way one after another, and a layer of gloom shrouded the team. Fortunately, they knew the cause of death of the two people, so they just had to be careful to avoid them.
Ai Xiaoyu thought so too, but she started to tremble the next moment: "No, no... No, no..."
"What's wrong?" Chen Yang walked quickly to Ai Xiaoyu.
Ai Xiaoyu hugged her tool kit and tightened her cold arms: "She didn't break the black thread."
Chen Yang gasped: "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure..." Ai Xiaoyu murmured with a pale face, "I'm sure."
There was an uproar in the rest area. Does that mean the death of the two teammates had nothing to do with breaking the black line
What's going on
Just now they were able to keep their mentality stable, but at this moment it was no longer possible. Their mentality fell apart in an unstoppable trend. They shouted, ran away, and cursed non-stop.
"Brother, are there any new taboos emerging?" Zhang Qi was very uneasy.
"I don't know." Chen Yang paced back and forth. He asked incoherently, "Brother Qi, how many of us came in?"
Zhang Qi looked confused and didn't pay attention.
Chen Yang didn't have any either. When he was doing normal tasks, he was very sensitive to the quantity of everything and would always count and write them down out of habit. He couldn't take that into consideration in this task.
Chen Yang asked other taskers, his voice was not enough to cover the noise and his throat was sore.
Before Chao Jian was halfway through kicking the sofa, Chen Yang had already overturned the broken sofa.
This time the team finally quieted down. Chen Yang asked again, but everyone gave different answers.
"Twenty-nine."
"Thirty-one."
"Not that many, I think only about twenty-four or twenty-five."
"That was outside the experience center. I roughly looked at the number of people. There were more than 30 people. Excluding the few who stayed at the door, you can count that the number of people who came in was less than 25."
"… "
Chen Yang's head was about to explode. He yelled, "How much is it?"
The taskers who had been talking endlessly just a moment ago were now silent; they could not give an accurate number.
During this task, they were too easily distracted and lost focus on the details.
Just when Chen Yang was about to collapse, he heard a familiar voice, "Xiao Yangyang, I have recalled it."
"There are twenty-three people who followed you in." Miss Qiao glanced at Chao Jian, who was in an even worse mood than Chen Yang.
Chao Jian looked at her, and they both looked away at the same time.
Chen Yang swallowed hard. Twenty-three people, two dead, twenty-one left, but now there are a total of... He had secretly counted them before asking that question.
There are twenty-two people here in total.
One more...
After hearing Miss Qiao's answer, the others counted the number of people. Their faces suddenly changed. There was one more person!
Who is more
Everyone immediately use flashlights to shine on the people around you!