Chapter 171: Dark Boundless Realm 26
12L: So the boars in Tonglin City are actually contaminated mutated beings?!
13L: How widespread is the mutated being situation? Is the number outrageous?
14L: My primary concern is, what is the source of the contamination? Did it appear out of nowhere? Did the biological mutations occur after the “Dark Realm Arrival” incident, or were they already present? I remember that the reports of boar attacks started spreading just when the game system issued a task, doesn’t this imply that the mutated beings actually appeared before the Dark Realm Arrival?
There are quite a few clear-minded people; surviving for several weeks in the Second World is certainly not just luck.
Kui Xin didn’t look at the replies from the previous floors; she continued typing, summarizing the intelligence gathered: “Currently, the scale of mutated beings is small and not easy to encounter. Initially, the source of the mutations is suspected to be a high-level heterogeneous blooded individual. After the heterogeneous blooded individual dies, their body turns into blood water, which has strong contaminative properties, contaminating the native species of the First World. The native species then go on to infect uninfected species, creating a contamination chain from heterogeneous blooded individuals – mutated beings – ordinary organisms. However, when the blood water is diluted to a certain extent, its contaminative power will weaken; it is uncertain whether the contamination power completely ceases or will delay its outbreak.”
She clicked to publish her reply, which sparked a new round of discussions.
36L: An heterogeneous blooded individual died in Tonglin City, causing that level of contamination. That deceased heterogeneous blooded individual was probably Fang Zhi.
37L replies to 36L: Case cracked! All clues are connected! The source of the contamination is Fang Zhi; he was killed by Remover 233, and the place of death is most likely Tonglin City! Hence, Tonglin City has erupted into a blood contamination crisis.
38L: I don’t understand. The Second World has heterogeneous blooded individuals and ordinary native species, but I have never heard of heterogeneous blooded individuals being able to contaminate native species; I’ve only heard that divine blood can contaminate native species. It seems that heterogeneous blooded individuals have developed different characteristics in our First World… Could this contamination characteristic also be a part of the “Dark Realm Arrival”?
39L: Kudos to the original poster, it must not have been easy to gather so much information in a short time. The timeline of the Dark Realm Arrival incident is too short; many pieces of information are difficult to confirm.
40L: Has the original poster found the specific location of Fang Zhi’s death? That location should be marked as a key investigation area.
Kui Xin was indeed considering whether to disclose the approximate location of Fang Zhi’s death. After much thought, she decided to go ahead and reveal it.
The purpose of posting this information on the forum was to encourage players to work together to respond to the “Dark Realm Arrival.” With proactive players gathering in Tonglin City, it would be meaningless to conceal information now; it would only slow down the investigation.
Thus, Kui Xin provided the approximate scope of the investigation.
“Outskirts of the northwestern district of Tonglin City, Old Industrial Zone.”
The industrial area is quite large, with the tobacco factory located within. She circled an area but did not provide more specific information; the rest would depend on how much players could investigate.
56L: I would advise those who have already gone to Tonglin City to be cautious. Just because Remover 233 published information, you all go blindly? What if that’s a trap? What if you go and he catches you all in one go? Be more aware; I seriously suspect that Remover 233 is actually our forum’s 233! He released this information waiting for this day to gain players’ trust, leading you unknowingly into the trap he prepared!
57L replies to 56L: …So many doubts, so few mouths.
58L replies to 56L: Can 233 predict the future? From the beginning until now, has there been a single time he wasn’t warning players?
59L: If he really did plan for this long, using intelligence as bait to gain players’ trust, then I would have to suspect whether he is part of the game officials. From Fang Zhi to the Dark Realm Arrival, haven’t we been caught off guard every time? I think 233 is strong, but not strong enough to foresee the game’s direction, right?
60L: Please don’t criticize me; I also have this feeling… I worry this is a bait; the original poster is being too kind…
61L: This is hilarious. What benefit is there to tricking you? Are you worrying here just because you went to Tonglin City? I dare say those rushing to Tonglin City are definitely confident in their abilities; these people aren’t fools; they will certainly consider those risks, so you don’t need to worry about it.
“Tsk.” Kui Xin clicked her tongue.
In fact, 56L guessed part of her thought; she did want to gather the players coming to Tonglin City in the same area, guiding them to investigate that tobacco factory. However, Kui Xin was not looking to eliminate them but to ascertain the identities of those players, carrying out a screening of sorts.
She had looked up Tang Guan, Song Tingshuan, who lived just half a street away from He Kangshi, along with Su Rong and the hacker trio; currently, she had confirmed the identities of seven players in the real world.
Moreover, she was certain that Song Tingshuan was the player who had privately messaged her for help on the forum and later became affiliated with an organization, as she had monitored Song Tingshuan’s communications and confirmed some details.
Song Tingshuan was not alone; she had a significant number of people supporting her, and in Tonglin City, there were not just Song Tingshuan and one player sent here to participate in the investigation of the Dark Realm Arrival; there were other players with her as well, though she and the others didn’t come to Tonglin City as the same batch, nor did they know each other’s true identities.
This was for confidentiality; danger came from both worlds. Avoiding threats from the First World didn’t mean one could escape threats from the Second World. Even Kui Xin could not guarantee her own safety. Under such circumstances, maintaining confidentiality of one’s identity was not only responsible for herself but also for others.
Kui Xin quickly ate something, packed her things, and went to tutor Su Rong.
Su Rong had sent a message in the morning saying she wanted to participate in the night patrol; she couldn’t go herself but could send her shadow double along, and Kui Xin considered it and agreed.
Tonight, Kui Xin would not delve deeper into the tobacco factory investigation; she would only observe and patrol the periphery. As for the reason…
……
“Industrial waste leak, scene isolation and cleanup, uncertain reopening date?” Su Rong looked at the urgent news alert on her phone and said, “Goodness, the Old Industrial Zone has been sealed off; several small factories that haven’t stopped operations also paused temporarily, claiming that the leaked chemical waste is toxic… They have organized nearby factory employees to go to designated hospitals for health checks.”
“Quick reaction.” Kui Xin further confirmed her suspicions.
“Has it drawn attention from above?” Su Rong whispered, “This cannot escalate… I’ve seen someone post on the forum that grain prices in some small places have skyrocketed and were quickly regulated back down, many ordinary people are starting to notice something’s off…”
“That’s inevitable.” Kui Xin said, “It can only be controlled. Just imagine, if news of the Dark Realm Arrival leaked worldwide, what kind of terrifying consequences it would bring.”
“First, the financial securities market would be a mess; stock prices would plummet, and the streets around Wall Street would be filled with bankrupt individuals lining up to jump off buildings. There would certainly be riots; uncontrollable grain prices would be minor; more terrifying would be the rising crime rate… and in some already volatile war-prone countries and regions, it could be extremely dangerous.” Su Rong said, “There are already signs of issues abroad, but domestic control is quite good…”
She patted her chest, “We should keep this news from spreading; order cannot collapse.”
“Indeed.” Kui Xin replied.
Su Rong changed to another TV channel and saw a program about air raid warnings, “By the way, I also saw an advertisement on a digital screen at the square about air raid warnings when I went out with my parents last night.”
“Being well-prepared is always right because we can’t be certain of what form disaster will arrive in… The appearance of mutated beings is merely a precursor.” Kui Xin said softly.
She had yet to find any clues as to why the distorted black shadows of the tobacco factory appeared.
Regardless, the emergence of those things must be a bad omen rather than a good one.
In the evening, Kui Xin returned home to check on Little White Mice.
The mice that should be alive were still alive, and those that were aggressive remained aggressive. Kui Xin confirmed that the cage was intact, threw a piece of meat to the aggressive little white mouse number three, then disguised herself and prepared to go out.
She walked into a less crowded area, blacked out the surveillance, and patiently waited. Within two minutes, a dark mass that ignored obstacles slid through the wall and flowed towards her, condensing into a black shadow by her side.
The shadow opened its hand, revealing a note that read: “Sorry to trouble you tonight, Sister Xin Xin.”
Kui Xin took out her phone to message Su Rong: “If you can send messages, why use a note?”
“Uh, for the sake of ritual?” Su Rong replied instantly, “The shadow double can understand your words; you can command it freely. The shadow double is a consumable; if it disappears, I can summon another one next to me. It has a small connection to me, and I can directly control it through thought, but the connection seems to weaken at a distance… I’m not sure if it will dissipate and disappear if the distance is too far.”
“Tonight is just right for a test.” Kui Xin said.
“Okay, thank you for your hard work, Sister Xin Xin.” Su Rong said.
Kui Xin put away her phone and said to the shadow double: “Hide.”
The shadow double melted like a puddle of black mud and slipped underground. It wanted to conceal itself within Kui Xin’s shadow, but she didn’t want it too close, so she took a step back: “Hide in the shadow by the roadside and follow me at a safe distance.”
The puddle of black mud obediently moved to the wall.
Kui Xin felt somewhat surprised.
The shadow double’s concealment ability was indeed high. Her shadow transition ability belonged to a semi-space semi-shadow type capability; the formless and intangible nature of shadows was excellent for hiding. If utilized properly, Su Rong’s ability would definitely be a huge trump card.
As night fell, all parties began to take action.
Kui Xin’s instincts were sending a warning—tonight would not be a peaceful night.
……
“Have you discovered anything?” Song Tingshuan couldn’t help but ask.
“It’s chaotic… too much time has passed; I can’t find anything.” A woman with long black curled hair replied, her appearance concealed, but her voice was very intellectual and pleasant, “I can only retrieve details from last night… and the night before. My retrospection has limitations.”
“Last night, there were two people, a man and a woman… no, a girl.” Her gaze fixed on the worn, rusty stairs as if she saw two nonexistent figures there, “They met here, stood for a while, and began to converse… Their conversation was very friendly; no fighting occurred.”
“What did they talk about?” Song Tingshuan frowned.
“My retrospection isn’t omnipotent; I can only view the scene, not hear the sounds.” The woman with long black hair answered.
