Embers Ad Infinitum

"Second person?" After hearing this term, words such as "ferocious", "vicious", "deformed", "dirty", "source of pollution", and "hate of humans" suddenly appeared in Long Yuehong's mind.

Although he has never met a second person, the textbooks and the people around him say so.

Jiang Baimian seemed to be able to sense what Long Yuehong was thinking at this time, and said "Hey":

"Subhumans are essentially the same as humans, at least there is no isolation in reproduction."

Before Long Yuehong and others could speak again, she continued on her own:

"The people in Black Rat Town survived the first winter after the destruction of the old world by catching and eating rats. It is said that at that time, the rats in that area went crazy and all came out of the ground. They were all over the mountains and plains. Yes, some of them are covered in ulcers, some have red eyes, and some attack the living creatures around them indiscriminately.

"Uh... I'm going too far, let's go back to the group of people in Black Rat Town.

“After the first winter, because the area where they originally lived was too polluted, which resulted in the death of a large number of residents, they chose to leave and migrate here.

"Unfortunately, the nightmare did not end there. Their bodies gradually mutated, and maybe because they ate too many deformed mice, they became more and more like mice. Ha, I am not an expert in this field. I haven't done any research, I just said this casually.

"In short, their hair becomes darker and more numerous, their bodies are always stooped, and their nails become harder and sharper...

"After several generations of reproduction, the current residents of Black Rat Town are generally less than 1.4 meters tall. They like to live in caves and are very good at digging. Correspondingly, the types of their food have become more diverse. At the same time, they are afraid of strong Sunlight can only be active in the early morning, evening and night.

"They also have many good mutations. For example, they are very talented in mechanics and electronics. Some of the electrical equipment in the old world were originally very broken. After they tinkered with it for a while, they could barely use it. Of course, the premise is that they have Corresponding wires and parts.”

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian said "Oh!"

"I almost forgot to remind you that you cannot say the words 'Black Rat Town' in front of them. This is the code name given to their settlement by some wanderers in the wilderness. It is highly discriminatory, and those in Black Rat Town He is also the kind with a strong self-esteem. Within the company, there is no hatred towards this person, but disgust, contempt, and rejection are definitely inevitable, so we have adopted this title."

"Then why does the company accept them?" Bai Chen, who was driving, couldn't help but ask.

As a former wilderness wanderer, she had encountered hatred and unprovoked attacks from people several times. Coupled with the nightmarish appearance of the people, she had a serious lack of affection for this group, and in some cases even regarded it as a group of people. Intelligent dangerous creatures to deal with.

Jiang Baimian said silently for a while:

“The residents of Black Rat Town don’t have any deep resentment towards humans, and they usually regard themselves as normal people.

“If they weren’t sensitive, have low self-esteem, and employees within the company are full of prejudice against others, the company might gradually absorb them instead of treating them as peripheral vassals.

"Actually, it's not a vassal, it's closer to a cooperative relationship. We exchange weapons, ammunition, old clothes, and a certain amount of food with them for the valuable things they collect. At the same time, they will pass on important news in the Black Marsh Wilderness. Send it back to the company via radio, yes, the company collects used clothes from you for similar transactions."

Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian paused:

“The company also recruits volunteers for certain experiments in Black Rat Town.

"In this regard, the residents of Black Rat Town are very enthusiastic. They are willing to pay anything to exchange for the opportunity for their descendants to become normal people."

Jiang Baimian did not add his own feelings to the narrative, but Bai Chen still felt a sigh of relief when he heard it:

“In the dust world, the stain on the company’s reputation is that it is always associated with biological experiments.

"Before I had in-depth contact with you, I had heard a lot of rumors. I was full of fear of similar experiments. I was afraid that one day I would be caught by the 'Pangu creatures' and sent to a secret place to become a victim of evil experiments. I was afraid of being tortured. His mind would collapse, his body would become deformed, he would become a monster, and he would not even be able to die like a human being.

"And the people in Black Rat Town actually took the initiative to sign up as volunteers for the experiment..."

After listening to Bai Chen's words, Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong realized that the company actually had such an image in the eyes of outsiders, just like the villain in some stories on radio programs.

This is completely different from what they have known since childhood:

They have always believed that the company is a paradise inside, but the outside is in dire straits.

Jiang Baimian laughed when he heard this:

"I can tell that this kind of fear has been suppressed in your heart for a long time, so you said so much in one breath."

She then raised her left arm and bent her elbow:

"This electric eel-shaped bioprosthetic arm is the result of experiments, and so is genetic modification.

"How's it going? After witnessing this with your own eyes, don't you think it's less scary?"

Bai Chen remained silent and did not answer.

"...I understand." Jiang Baimian laughed at himself, "You are even more scared when you see me like this."

She breathed out invisibly:

"You are right about one thing. Most of the volunteers' endings were not very good..."

Inside the jeep, the atmosphere suddenly became tense, and no one spoke for a long time.

After a few seconds, Jiang Baimian turned to look at Shang Jianyao and "complained":

"Why don't you make a joke at a time like this?"

Shang Jianyao responded seriously:

"As a person who is determined to save all mankind, I never joke on similar topics."

"...Same." Jiang Baimian sat upright again.

After a while, she pointed forward and said:

"Turn left and go into the mountains."

When we got here, there was a patch of hills in the Black Marsh Wilderness, some of which could even be called hills, and Black Rat Town was located in the mountains.

After driving along the bumpy road for a while, Jiang Baimian couldn't help but roll down the window:

“Really, the total distance traveled up and down is greater than the distance traveled forward.

"After such an outing, I will definitely have to overhaul the chassis when I get back..."

While complaining, Jiang Baimian suddenly closed his mouth.

She tilted her head slightly and sensed it carefully for a while, then her brows gradually furrowed:

"There's very little electrical signal in the direction of Black Rat Town."

This has entered her sensing range, and it also means that Black Rat Town is very close.

Shang Jian Yao instinctively raised the "Berserker" assault rifle and put it on the car window:

"Could it be affected by the anomalies north of Yuelu Station?"

It's not close to Yuelu Station, but it's not too far either. It takes almost half a day to get there.

"Maybe." Jiang Baimian nodded, his tone obviously more solemn than before.

"Team leader, do you need to wear an exoskeleton device?" Long Yuehong asked relatively calmly, no longer as startled as she had been in the past few days.

"Okay." Jiang Baimian did not take the unknown situation lightly.

She immediately ordered:

"You put it on."

"Why not Shang Jianyao?" Long Yuehong blurted out.

"Shang Jianyao wants to follow me into Black Rat Town. The exoskeleton device can't get in. Well, it can actually get in, but it can't be used." Jiang Baimian briefly explained.

Shang Jianyao had no objection to this and remained silent, highly alert for any abnormalities that might suddenly come.

After Long Yuehong put on the exoskeleton device, the jeep continued to drive.

Two or three minutes later, Jiang Baimian issued the order:

"parking."

She immediately pointed to the woods and shrubs in front of her:

“Black Rat Town is over there.

"Long Yuehong opens the way."

"Yes, team leader!" Long Yuehong opened the door and got out of the car first.

After a group of four people entered the relatively dense woods and walked forward for several minutes, they suddenly smelled a familiar smell.

That's the smell of blood!

"Now we are in big trouble..." Jiang Baimian muttered to himself immediately, seeming to have thought of the possible development.

Holding the grenade gun, she quickened her pace slightly and walked towards the other end of the woods.

There was a gray-yellow mountain wall there. There was a deep cave where the mountain wall was covered by trees and weeds, and a richer smell of blood escaped from inside.

"That's Black Rat Town." Jiang Baimian said in a deep but not low voice.

With just one glance, Long Yuehong understood the reason why the exoskeleton device could not function in Black Rat Town:

The entrance to the cave is only 1.4 meters high. No matter how much the exoskeleton device is retracted or adjusted, it cannot reach this level, and the inside of the cave will obviously be even shorter.

As a result, after a person wearing an exoskeleton device enters Black Rat Town, which is essentially a cave, he cannot even straighten his waist, and his combat effectiveness will naturally be greatly reduced.

Before approaching the cave, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian looked to the left at the same time and saw two corpses under a tree.

The two corpses were very short, their bodies tended to curl up, and their clothes were completely stripped off.

Their nails are sharp and hard, obviously yellow, and there are a lot of black hairs on their body. At first glance, they look like giant rats in heavily polluted areas.

However, the hairs are not dense, and you can see through them the rather pale skin underneath.

The eyes of the two corpses were wide open, and their remaining expressions were frightened and angry. Their bodies and surroundings were soaked in blood that looked no different from normal humans.

Frankly speaking, except for the thicker hair, shorter stature, weird nails, and pale skin, Shang Jianyao didn't feel that there was any fundamental difference between the two dead residents of Black Rat Town and himself.

This was not the first time that Long Yuehong saw a corpse. Although she was still a little scared, disgusted and didn't want to look directly, she was able to control herself.

He hissed and said:

"They won't all die..."

When Jiang Baimian heard this, he subconsciously turned his head and looked at the deep cave. He didn't have the courage to go in immediately.

She seemed to be able to predict what kind of scene it would be inside.

At this time, Bai Chen, who was squatting down to inspect the body, raised his head and said in a deep voice:

"Dead by gunfire."

Jiang Baimian narrowed his eyes slightly and said to himself:

"Who could have done it..."

After saying that, she took a breath and walked towards the entrance of "Black Rat Town".

Without any instructions, Shang Jianyao followed her closely.

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