Chapter 20: Han Nianling’s Warning
The stench could be smelled even from a hundred meters away.
The murky river water made it impossible to see its true appearance.
Debris and unknown roots, with parts emerging from the water surface, were everywhere in the river channel, all covered in algae.
Various kinds of garbage floated on the slow and calm river surface.
Only when huge bubbles occasionally emerged from the river surface could one know that the depths of this river were not as calm as they seemed.
The JD River, flowing from south to north, traversed the entire city of JD City, passing through districts such as 06, 04A, 01B, and so on.
When human civilization was still rooted here, the human residents here seemed to hail it as the mother river of JD City.
However, now that JD City had long since disappeared, the beings nurtured by this mother river were no longer human…
The cement bridge connecting the two banks had collapsed during the war, leaving only a few solitary, incomplete bridge piers standing in the middle of the river channel.
Standing on the edge of the broken bridge and looking down, one could see vague outlines in the murky water, more than ten meters below.
It was unknown whether it was the wreckage of the broken bridge or vehicle ruins that had sunk into the river.
Footsteps on the edge of the area dislodged a few precarious pieces of gravel.
Along with the debris, they fell into the black river water, making a few crisp splashing sounds and creating ripples.
This commotion was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.
Vaguely, Zhong Jing seemed to see several dark shadows surging where the gravel had just fallen.
It was unknown what lurked in these deep waters.
“It’s very dangerous to stand there, you know. The lifespan of this bridge has far exceeded its service life. It could collapse at any time.”
Han Nianling’s voice suddenly came through the headset, interrupting Zhong Jing’s investigation of the river.
She looked back and saw Han Nianling standing not far behind her, holding a briefcase.
Seeing that she had already packed up, she had most likely completed her inspection work here.
Due to her injuries, Zhong Jing did not participate in the task of guarding the surrounding area like the other mercenaries, but stayed by Han Nianling’s side to ensure her personal safety.
This could be considered a rather special consideration, but Zhong Jing didn't particularly like this special treatment.
It felt like it was constantly reminding her of her difference from others, especially now that her secret had been exposed…
However, she didn't know if it was an illusion, but Zhong Jing felt that her current physical condition was not that bad.
The bruises from the impact had almost healed.
Apart from some pain in the fractured rib area during larger movements, there seemed to be nothing else.
At least, she could handle a battle without any problems.
Han Nianling’s reminder was not without reason.
Standing on the bridge, Zhong Jing could feel the faint swaying beneath her feet.
Before long, even this last piece of wreckage would inevitably sink into that murky river water.
Walking off the broken bridge, Zhong Jing subconsciously glanced at the briefcase in Han Nianling’s hand, suppressed the desire to ask, and turned her head to look around them: “Then… what should we do next?”
“Head south along the river. The assembly message has been sent. We’ll set off when the team is assembled…” Han Nianling said, outlining her plan while looking south.
The further she looked in that direction, the more yellowish the sky became.
This scene was caused by impurities and pollution in the air.
That direction was also the core area of JD Ruined City.
Along the river… south…
Zhong Jing’s gaze fell on her feet… on this asphalt road that followed the course of the river, but her thoughts, in that instant, extended far along this road, reaching the blurry memory fragments deep in her mind.
This road seemed to be… part of the Witch’s advance route, but her blurry memory made her somewhat unsure of the detailed content at this moment.
“Han… Employer Han.”
An impulse was growing in Zhong Jing’s heart along with her doubts: Zhong Jing increasingly wanted to directly ask Han Nianling what her purpose was in coming here this time, but as a high-level researcher, Han Nianling would definitely not reveal anything to a mere second-class mercenary temporarily hired by her.
Moreover, a direct question would expose her intentions too much, but perhaps she could obtain some information through indirect means.
“Employer Han, do you really believe what I said? About the changes in my body… this kind of thing.”
“Didn’t I say it before? There are too many phenomena in this world that humans cannot understand.
The changes that happened to you are very unbelievable.
I’m just choosing to believe it temporarily, while maintaining a skeptical attitude.
Everything needs subsequent verification to draw a conclusion.” Han Nianling’s gaze was still fixed on the southern sky and had not been retracted, as if she was not paying much attention to Zhong Jing.
And her words were just repeating the reasons she had given before, without any clues Zhong Jing wanted.
“Just… because of this reason?”
“Precisely because of this reason.”
“Nothing else? For example, some other inspection, or perhaps… my dream…” Zhong Jing was really unwilling to accept that her probing had not yielded the desired effect.
Such a formulaic answer was simply watertight.
She had to resort to some more aggressive questioning.
She vaguely suspected that the ultimate reason Han Nianling had stopped was at the moment she mentioned her dream.
She must know something, and these clues could be connected to her dream.
“Hmm—?”
As Han Nianling dragged out a long nasal sound, she pulled her gaze back and turned to Zhong Jing.
Then she walked step by step towards Zhong Jing, looking down at her with the advantage of being a head taller.
This sense of pressure made Zhong Jing feel a bit uneasy.
“I can’t answer anything about dreams. After all, I’m not an expert in this area. As for inspection…”
“Pa!”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a slap on her rear without any warning made Zhong Jing let out a surprised yelp.
Her face flushed red, and she hurriedly covered the slapped area, retreating several meters away.
Zhong Jing had never expected: that while all her attention was focused on Han Nianling’s gas-mask-covered face, the other party would make such an unexpected move.
This kind of sudden attack was simply unreasonable.
“What are you doing?”
“Alright, inspection completed.”
Han Nianling casually flicked her hand and said: “It feels the same as when I supported you when we first entered the nuclear wasteland. Very good, nothing wrong.”
“Wh… what? What do you mean?” Supported? Wait, could it be about that incident when climbing over? Zhong Jing recalled that when she was stopping Xiao Liu from shooting, it was indeed someone suddenly supporting her from behind that helped her climb up.
But even so, what did that have to do with her question? And what kind of inspection was this sort of action?
“Remember: if there are any more strange questions next time, I won’t be so gentle.”
Han Nianling directly ignored Zhong Jing’s question, but spoke to herself and even waved her hand gesturally.
Her indifferent tone carried no trace of jest.
No matter how slowly Zhong Jing’s brain worked, she understood the true meaning hidden in Han Nianling’s words at this moment… This was a warning.
Was I still too naive after all? No matter how young the other party looked, she was still a high-level researcher from the Research Institute, much more mature mentally than herself.
Probing with wishful thinking was indeed a bit too impulsive.
Recalling everything that had just happened, Zhong Jing vaguely felt a little scared, but… her probing was not entirely fruitless.
Han Nianling’s warning itself was a clue.
Her words just now might have touched upon some core information, and it was very likely related to her dream.
Even if reality had become completely unrecognizable, there were clues in it that connected to reality.
But to get Han Nianling to speak… was simply wishful thinking.
“Employer Han, the southern area has been cleared. No danger has been found for now. Shall we set off?”
Just as the atmosphere between the two fell into silence, Uncle Lin’s voice suddenly sounded in the headset.
At the other end of this riverside road where they were, was the assembled mercenary squad.
Zhong Jing quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been a little worried, but it seemed their ‘interaction’ had not been seen by them.
From here, the mercenary squad’s eastward route took a turn, heading south along the river.
After completing all the inspection tasks in Sector 06, they entered Sector 04A to begin a new round of inspection work.
Because the river flowed through the original bustling urban area of this city, the buildings along the way also became extremely tall.
The streets along the way were almost completely filled with abandoned vehicles, some even rushed into the river or into the shops on the other side.
The pitted road surface also made the squad’s advance more difficult.
Even risking building collapse by walking along the sidewalks beside the buildings, the abandoned cars, building debris, and plant roots blocking the road didn't make things much easier.
After crossing an iron bridge that was more than ten meters away, rusty but still relatively sturdy, they officially entered Sector 04A after crossing the JD River.
Compared to Sector 06, the danger level of Sector 04A rose to a new level.
This was the common consensus among those who had experienced missions in Chu Sheng City and were still alive.
At this moment, the mercenary squad, currently within it, had the most direct experience of this.
“Ugh!”
“Careful!”
Si Ling, walking at the front of the team, had just taken a step when the ground, which looked intact to the naked eye, suddenly collapsed.
The sudden sense of weightlessness made Si Ling exclaim.
Fortunately: Uncle Lin, who was arranged behind him, was already prepared for such a situation.
He grabbed Si Ling by the back of his collar and pulled him back from the edge of the collapse.
“Back! Everyone back!”
Uncle Lin, while pulling Si Ling by the back of his collar, quickly and with small steps pushed away, rapidly moving away from the expanding hole.
In the blink of an eye, that intact area was replaced by a hole two meters in diameter.
Falling debris splashed up a series of water splashes, and in the water pit below, finger-sized black worms, stimulated by the sound and water waves, frantically darted towards the direction where the debris fell.
The dense mass of worms was enough to make one’s scalp tingle at a glance.
It was conceivable how disastrous the consequences would have been if Uncle Lin had not acted in time and Si Ling had fallen into the water.
“It’s a nest of mutated water worms. There are probably thousands of them in here.”
Only after confirming that there was no danger of the ground collapsing underfoot did Uncle Lin release Si Ling’s collar, looking into the pit with a frown and speaking.
“Th… thanks.” The shocking scene in the pit left Si Ling with lingering fear.
His legs felt a bit weak for a moment, making it difficult for him to even stand properly.
Although they had tested out several pits before this, it was the first time he had stepped on a nest of mutated water worms like this.
If Uncle Lin had been a step slower, his foot would have been completely lost here.
This word of thanks was quite necessary.
As they went deeper into JD Ruined City, the threat of ground collapse became more and more severe.
Any careless misstep could lead to serious consequences.
“Because it’s close to the river section, there are many underground drainage systems in this area, and the planning is complicated and chaotic…” Uncle Lin said, shaking his head, clearly unable to understand the sewer system of JD Ruined City.
“Just on that sidewalk, in a short distance of seven meters, there were actually six sewer manhole covers that were not on the same straight line. The pre-war world might be much more complex than we imagine…”
“At the next intersection, we’ll turn right and leave the riverside. That should be safer… Wait, what’s that?”
Just as Uncle Lin looked up to confirm the location of the next intersection, the sight he saw made him feel incredible for a moment.
And the next second, everyone who followed his pointing finger and looked also forgot to think for a moment, just staring blankly, causing the surrounding atmosphere to fall into a dead silence.
Not far away, at the intersection formed by two converging roads, the corpse of a monster lay quietly in the middle of the intersection.
And this corpse that shocked everyone was abnormally huge, about ten meters long from head to tail.
Dark green scales covered its entire body, and a huge bloody hole was torn open in its stomach, its internal organs already devoured.
Most of the corpse was just skin covered in scales and bones.
This was a mutated monster called a Crawling Giant Lizard, a mutated creature with an assessed danger level of B or above.
In the perception of the people of Chu Sheng City, it was an extremely powerful existence.
Its hard scales could withstand strong impacts and explosions, and ordinary armor-piercing bullets and rockets could not cause effective damage.
Logically speaking, the habitat of such a creature should be in the inner city areas of Sector 02 or 01.
But this was Sector 04A, which was undeniably an outer city district.
Why would a Crawling Giant Lizard appear here, and in the form of a corpse?
Then who could be the hunter capable of killing such an existence?