Pollution throughout the territory

After taking the plane, Xia Ren and the others arrived at Xizhou, but before joining the leader and heading to Arkham, he had one more thing to do.

The city of Dallas no longer exists. According to internal data, Xizhou's population was about 6.217 billion two months ago, but now there are only about 5.505 billion left. More than 700 million people have died due to the plague, and there are still dozens more. A city has been destroyed, and large areas of land are still under blockade.

Under normal circumstances, such a rapid population death rate would inevitably cause serious social problems. However, under the solace of the Mother Tree of Compassion, the sorrows of the living are forgotten, and coupled with a series of measures taken by the Supreme Alliance Government, people's lives are not How much has changed.

Only occasionally would teenagers and girls who love adventure explore the wilderness with excitement, accidentally come to the edge of the restricted area, and look at the gray land left behind by the color of stars, and they will be shocked to realize the potential dangers of this world.

In a city not far from the ruins of Dallas.

Inside a hospital.

Under the guidance of the employees of the Superman Association, Xia Ren and the others walked through the cold and empty corridors and came to the basement.

Like the Foundation, almost every city on Blue Star will have a Superman Association stationed there, as well as a basement like this one, which is used to deal with critical situations, or to temporarily contain pollutants and storage rooms for corpses that died of pollution.

The body of Aikawa Satoko is kept here.

The staff opened one of the freezers and placed the body on a metal table.

They did not conduct any research or disposal on the body, so Riko Aikawa still looked like she did when she died, except that the clothes on her body were cut off for easier preservation.

Xia Ren looked at the terrifying penetrating scar on her chest and felt very guilty.

At first, she had no choice but to post a help message on the foundation's internal website. Only she saw the message and came to help even though she knew it was dangerous.

It can be said that he directly caused her death.

"You go out first."

Xia Ren asked the staff to leave, then glanced at the room to confirm that there was no surveillance.

He stared at Aikawa Riko's face, and after a moment, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

As his strength increases, most of the system's functions are no longer available, especially the character attribute panel that has turned gray, with only the last updated values ​​retained and no new changes.

This confirms from the side that the system itself is a defective product. At the beginning, when Xia Ren's strength was still very weak, he was still able to play some role. However, as his power became stronger and the things he came into contact with became more complex, the system The initial crude settings were no longer enough to deal with this situation, so they simply stopped covering it up.

Xia Ren can even foresee that perhaps in the end, the system may disappear completely, or the mastermind behind the creation of this system to restrain himself will be honest with him.

But at least for now, the system store is still available.

His attention turned to the most expensive item among them.

Worth 100,000 achievement points... the Immortal Sand Resurrection Jar.

Xia Ren already knows that the so-called achievement points are the magic power absorbed from various pollutants, which is just another name for the system.

He had previously absorbed the fungus-infected pagans, and the magic he obtained was enough to exchange for all the items in the store, and this one was of course no exception.

When he opened his eyes again, Xia Ren already had a talisman in his hand.

He looked at the palm of his hand. The talisman paper was about half the size of a palm, rectangular in shape, with simple lines drawn on one side. It looked like some kind of writing, and each of its lines seemed to be some kind of totem or formation. They all seem to be formed naturally, like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace behind.

I don’t know what material the entire talisman paper is made of. It is constantly overflowing with substances like water droplets that emit milky white light. These substances seem to have no entity. They disappear immediately after dripping to the ground, and they seem to be directly integrated into the ground. Only when they flow through When he held his hands, Xia Ren could feel their faint warmth.

With the appearance of the talisman, the originally gloomy, dry and cold air in the basement instantly became pleasant. With just one breath, your body felt more comfortable than ever before.

Xia Ren's eyes gradually became deeper, and almost following instinct, he held up the talisman that was filled with light and placed it on Aikawa Riko's forehead.

Different from before, those milky white lights no longer slipped through the body, but directly integrated into Aikawa Riko's body.

Then the talisman gradually floated up and swayed gently above the corpse. It began to disintegrate into more intense light spots, falling gently like white snow.

Warm brilliance filled the entire basement, and those light spots were like dandelions blown away by the wind, sliding across everyone's skin.

Lily looked up at those light spots, her eyes blurred, as if some memories were evoked.

No one spoke, they stood there blankly, enjoying this dreamlike scene, mesmerized.

The huge wounds on Aikawa Riko's chest were all filled with light spots. Her cold body gradually gained warmth, and her pale skin began to glow with blood.

If there is a miracle in the world, it is happening right now.

I don't know how long it took, maybe just a minute, but the last light spots were all integrated into Aikawa Riko's body.

The horrific puncture wounds have all healed, and her smooth skin is glowing with a healthy light red color. Perhaps because of the lower temperature in the basement, the hairs on the surface of her skin have stood up.

Aikawa Riko's eyelids moved, then she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling in confusion.

Xia Ren breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time he was very excited.

Xuanjun's seven-chapter secret scripture actually has the ability to bring people back to life!

…

…

Aikawa Riko took the water handed by the nurse, took a sip, and then looked out the window, feeling that her head was still a little blank.

Although the Immortal Sand Resurrection Jar reawakened her soul and repaired her body's injuries, after all, she experienced death and it was impossible not to have some side effects.

She forgot the last memory before her death. She only remembered that she went to Dallas to help Xia Ren, but everything that happened next was completely forgotten.

Members of the logistics department wearing judge uniforms rushed over to confirm her condition and told her about recent events.

The city of Dallas was destroyed by a nuclear bomb. Doctor Liao used the remaining fungi to develop a special medicine. Atypical insect phobia has been cured. A month has passed and it is now 1107...

Aichuan Lizi was a little confused, feeling like she had woken up from another world.

She asked about Xia Ren, but the other party didn't seem to know the name.

The logistics department told her that she was injured and fell into a coma in Dallas. She had been recovering in this hospital and did not wake up until today.

After confirming again that she was fine, the judge left.

Aikawa Riko looked at the sky outside the window and put her hands on her chest subconsciously. She always felt that she seemed to have forgotten something important.

…

…

"Yo! Yo! Yo yo yo!"

Niu Changshou was wearing a trendy short-sleeved suit and sneakers. As he jumped, the chains on his clothes rattled, and he said hello in a hip-hop style.

"My dear friend, long time no see."

"..." Xia Ren.

"It's been a long time indeed. I feel like you've changed a lot..."

Is it because the pressure of the plague has disappeared?

However, Niu Changshou's appearance is that he is in his early twenties, so this outfit does not look too out of place. Moreover, he seemed to have this energetic style in the past. It was only later that he faced the haze that shrouded the heads of mankind. Get serious.

Xia Ren looked him up and down and said, "So, you are the one who wants to take me to Arkham City?"

"Brother, what's your tone? Do you not trust me?"

Niu Changshou stretched out his arm to hook his shoulders and said proudly: "After all, I am also a student at Miskatonic University in Arkham, majoring in authentic archeology~"

When he said this, Xia Ren suddenly remembered that when he first saw this guy, he said that he was a rising star in archeology.

It turns out he wasn’t lying.

Xia Ren actually knew the location of Arkham City himself. Last time in the ancient dream, when he and his son-in-law Yu Chen went to the Maggot Man's village, they passed by Arkham City. The two of them also rented a hotel in Arkham. A car was on its way, but the car was never returned. It must have been stolen by someone, or it might have been rotted into an iron frame.

It's just that the time in the ancient dream has now been a full hundred years. During this long period of time, Arkham didn't know what terrible changes had taken place, which led to the place becoming a place filled with wizards and other evil spirits walking in the dark. The entire city, the gathering place of the race, has been hidden and disappeared from public view. It is impossible for normal people to reach it, so it needs the guidance of a guide.

Of course, if the location of Arkham had not changed, Xia Ren felt that he could still find it. After all, a city covered a vast area and it was impossible to be completely hidden.

He still remembered that the Maggots' village was not far from Arkham City. He didn't know if it still existed. If the Maggots were still there, he really wanted to visit the place again.

It’s not that Xia Ren wants to fight the maggots or is simply nostalgic, it’s just that he is a good boy who is eager for knowledge, and he happened to see that the maggots collected several secret books in his ancient dream, so he couldn’t help but want to " Borrowed” read it.

Xuanjun's seven-chapter secret scripture contains unimaginable power. The first chapter of the Immortal Sand Resurrection Barrier alone is enough to resurrect the dead, flesh and bones. What kind of extraordinary abilities will the following six chapters bring him?

After unlocking the first chapter, he can now see the name of the talisman in the second chapter: Rouzhi Life Extension System.

Just by hearing the name, you can roughly guess what it does.

Everyone hopes that they can live forever, and now, this opportunity is placed in front of Xia Ren. It is a real goal that can be achieved with hard work, not just a fantasy. No one can resist this temptation. ,nobody.

On this trip, Xia Ren still brought Qin Yun, Lily, and Lu Yi with him.

According to his original idea, he wanted to find a safe place for Lu Yi to stay. After all, the latter was basically no different from ordinary people except for the attributes of a vending machine.

Lu Yi is not like Lily or Qin Yun. She has no ability to protect herself. If she encounters an aberration alone, she will probably stop eating. It is really not suitable for her to run around.

But the wish-granting mirror happened to be parasitic on her body and refused to leave. It was one of the contained objects, which made Xia Ren unable to give it up.

If it was just like this, it would be okay. At worst, he could stay in the old house to look after the house and arrange for the logistics department to take care of it. Nothing would go wrong. However, it happened that the wishing mirror was a lily and insisted on staying by Qin Yun's side and refused to leave. .

Xia Ren couldn't give her a loving fist before going out and let her lie at home, not to mention that the wishing mirror couldn't be knocked out at all.

So he had no choice but to let the latter follow.

At this moment, Qin Yun was holding Lily's hand, and Lu Yi was holding her other hand. The two looked like a pair of good sisters with a close relationship.

But only Xia Ren knows the complicated triangular relationship between himself and them.

Under the leadership of Niu Changshou, several people got on a train to a coastal city.

Xia Ren still remembered that when he and his son-in-law went to Arkham in the ancient dream, they seemed to be taking this same train.

Unexpectedly, a hundred years later, this line is still running, and the types of trains are basically the same as they were a hundred years ago.

It seems that the level of technology has not changed all this time.

But what was different from what they remembered was that they got off the bus two stops earlier this time.

Xia Ren wanted to remind Niu Changshou, but after thinking about it, he held back. He couldn't say that he had actually been to Arkham. When the other party asked him, he couldn't explain Gu Meng.

"Where do we go next?"

"Don't worry, just follow me."

Niu Changshou looked mysterious and deliberately refused to explain to Xia Ren.

The station they were at was just a small platform, not the city's main station, so there weren't many people there. Even on the train just now, they were the only ones who actually got off here.

Xia Ren looked around and found that the station staff just glanced at his group and then looked away, as if they were not surprised. This was a bit strange.

You must know that they all have good looks. Not to mention their peerless appearance that can captivate all living beings, Lily's green hair can become the center of attention basically wherever she goes. However, these staff members do not seem to be amazed at all.

Niu Changshou noticed Xia Ren's gaze, guessed his thoughts, and said, "My dear friend, don't worry too much. They are all ordinary people. They just see a little more."

Xia Ren asked doubtfully: "Have you seen... too much?"

Niu Changshou just smiled and had no intention of explaining. He seemed to want to give him a surprise later.

Xia Ren didn't like this kind of half-talk and half-leave speech, but he didn't have any other objections.

The station is in disrepair for a long time. The already narrow platform pavement is severely worn. Some of the cement has peeled off, and the soles of shoes can make a friction sound when stepping on it.

The exit of the station is also quite simple. It only takes a few steps to get there. There is not even a ticket checker at the door. There is only a ticket office next to it. The staff inside also turns on the air conditioner and dozes on the chair. It is probably even if you don’t buy it. You can get on the bus directly with your ticket and no one will stop you.

It was noon at this time, the sun outside was a bit dazzling, and the air was full of earthy and hot smell. Lily ran in front of everyone happily, her fluffy little skirt swaying, very cute.

From the time they got off the bus to the time they walked out of the station, they only encountered a staff member sweeping the floor and a conductor, but not a single other passenger. There is only an asphalt road with potholes outside the platform, and the distance beyond is covered with weeds and trees. Not to mention residential buildings, there is not even a standard grocery store next to the station.

If it were somewhere else, such a sparsely populated platform would probably have been closed down long ago, but the existence of this platform obviously has other meanings, so it can be kept.

However, even though this place was so remote and rarely saw even a tourist, Xia Ren still saw several taxis parked on the roadside not far away.

If he hadn't seen a driver in the driver's seat through the car window, he couldn't help but wonder if these cars had been scrapped.

Even Qin Yun couldn't help but said: "Is there really any business in a place like this?"

Niu Changshou walked with a relaxed pace and said as he walked: "Aren't we just business?"

He walked to one of the taxis and knocked on the window: "Are you carrying passengers?"

The car window rolled down, revealing a haggard face inside, glowing with an unhealthy waxy glow in the sunlight.

Xia Ren frowned. The moment he opened the car window, he felt the smell of pollution and an unpleasant smell of decay.

The driver raised his head, looked at Niu Changshou, and said feebly: "Where are you going?"

"Arkham."

"More money is needed."

"no problem."

Niu Changshou took out a few alliance coins with a face value of one thousand from his pocket. The latter took them into his hand and counted them before accepting them expressionlessly: "Get in the car."

They didn't bring any luggage. Xia Ren and the others squeezed into the back seat, and Niu Changshou sat in the passenger seat. The driver started the car and didn't seem to want to talk to them and drove directly on the road.

Sitting in the car, the smell of decay became even stronger. Even if the windows were opened and the outside air blew in, the smell only dissipated a little, as if the entire car was rotting. But everyone has even smelled stronger smells, so they can tolerate it.

The speed of the car quickly increased, and the driver didn't care about the passenger's experience at all. He let the bumps go and drove the car wildly on the broken road.

Xia Ren looked at the driver's face through the rearview mirror, guessing that he might have been deformed, but still retained his sense.

Generally speaking, this kind of person will be the target of hunting by the Foundation, but here, he is in the same car with the people from the Foundation and the Superman Association, living together peacefully. I have to say that it feels a bit strange to people. .

The vehicle quickly drove close to a forest, and the sunlight passed through the dense branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadow.

The scenery outside is pretty good. The aroma of the vegetation in the forest somewhat dilutes the smell inside the car. The occasional sound of animals in the forest makes the atmosphere no longer so silent.

About half an hour later, they drove out of the woods. Directly in front of them was a low mountain, and the asphalt road ended abruptly at the foot of the mountain.

However, not far from the end of the road, a dirt road carved out by wheels branched off, leading to a hole at the foot of the mountain that looked like it was man-made.

The entrance to the cave is not wide, and can only accommodate the width of a car. The cave is pitch black, and a faded warning sign stands next to it, marking the danger inside the cave.

Xia Ren originally thought that the driver would go to the cave entrance, but he didn't expect that the driver would go straight and hit the rock at the end of the dirt road.

The moment he was about to hit the rock, the surrounding scene suddenly showed a dizzying distortion.

The wind blowing through the car window suddenly changed from refreshing to chilly and chilly. He looked out the window and suddenly realized that it was still day outside just now, but now it had turned into night, and there seemed to be a lingering haze hanging over his head. There is an ominous atmosphere everywhere in the air.

A thin mist spreads ahead, and the outline of the city is vaguely visible in the drifting mist.

Niu Changshou turned back and smiled at them: "Welcome to the city of chaos and order, Arkham."