It was Alley No. 5.
Xu Xiaoyou made the judgment immediately.
Just as described in the intelligence, one moment it was a normal street, and the next, it suddenly underwent a transformation.
That wall completely cut off the block; the sounds from inside could not reach them, and no one knew what was happening within those walls at this very moment.
This was her first time facing an urban legend of the Corrupt Hive City. Faced with the fear of the unknown, her instinct was to turn and run.
Ignoring the gasps of the people around her, Xu Xiaoyou took a step forward, suppressed that urge, and looked at the airtight wall. She slowly reached out her hand.
There was no solid sensation of touching a hard object as she had imagined, nor was there the rough grain of brick and tile. The feeling was difficult to describe.
Her hand sank bit by bit into the wall before her. Ripples spread across the surface of the wall, twisting together to form a series of terrifying ghost faces.
It felt as if she were sticking her hand directly into the stomach wall of some massive creature. The viscous texture and the sensation of being wrapped in flesh were very unpleasant, as if her entire hand were being churned inside it.
The people on the street watched blankly as the blonde girl's body gradually submerged into the wall, eventually merging with it and disappearing completely from their sight.
...
A thick, rancid stench almost overwhelmed Xu Xiaoyou, making her nearly faint.
This wall was much thicker than it appeared from the outside. There was no flesh-and-blood barrier inside; instead, it was replaced by a mountain of dark red liquid pressing in from all sides, her vision almost entirely occupied by the deep crimson.
Restraining the nausea rising in her stomach, Xu Xiaoyou groped her way forward.
Ordinary people would easily lose their sense of direction in such an environment, and she was no exception. As she went deeper, she lost her way, and was guided forward almost entirely by Anya.
Anya's senses were keen, and she could still distinguish scents in the air even in this environment. Before long, she led Xu Xiaoyou out.
As soon as she stepped into Alley No. 5, she felt a pervasive, bone-chilling cold. What met her eyes was a blood-red sky, a sinister crescent moon, and a red tide flooding the entire street, reaching nearly up to her calves.
For a moment, it felt as if she had arrived in a post-apocalyptic world.
It was terrifyingly quiet. The street was empty, and the several-person-tall alchemy furnace had vanished.
The fixers who looked like Taoist priests from before were also nowhere to be found. The entire city had become deserted, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Moving through the bright red liquid was like wading through a swamp; every time she wanted to pull her leg out, it took a significant amount of effort.
She even wondered if this liquid was the gastric juice of some creature. It felt corrosive, and her skin felt a stinging burn wherever it made contact.
Her clothes, naturally, remained intact. Clothes being corroded was something that only happened in adult games.
Darkness pressed in continuously, and her vision beyond five meters was completely replaced by a hazy gloom.
Whispers constantly drifted into her ears, and the sensation of something crawling up her spine made her shudder. Any slight movement in the surroundings would cause her nerves to tense up.
Humanity's most primal fear is the darkness. Staying in such an environment for a long time would erode one's sanity, especially knowing that a group of urban eldritch creatures that enjoyed dismantling human limbs were out in force in the dark.
She seemed to kick something; its shell was hard and shaped like an irregular oval.
After being kicked, the object rolled through the viscous liquid with a squelching sound.
Xu Xiaoyou snapped her fingers, and a card appeared in her hand.
【tool card】
【quality: dim (white)】
【effect: can transform into tools used in daily life. note: this card is automatically destroyed when its durability reaches 0.】
【durability: 100%】
The card turned into light, and a kerosene lamp appeared. She lifted the lamp, and the dim flame gradually drove away the hazy darkness around her.
As the darkness receded, the oval silhouette on the ground became clear, and a sudden chill shot to the back of her head!
It was clearly the head of that old Taoist from before!
At this moment, those lifeless eyes were staring right at her. Even though it was splattered with blood, Xu Xiaoyou could still see the final traces of terror on the man's face.
Such profound despair.
Xu Xiaoyou forced herself to calm her racing heart and looked at Anya.
Anya showed no signs of unease or fear, merely observing the surroundings with curiosity. Seeing that Xu Xiaoyou was uncomfortable with the head, she stepped forward and kicked it dozens of meters away.
Squelch—
The head rolled into the darkness and slowly faded from their view.
After doing all this, Anya's wolf ears twitched slightly as she leaned toward her, looking like she was seeking praise.
Xu Xiaoyou's mouth twitched slightly.
Only about two minutes had passed from the time Alley No. 5 manifested to when she entered.
Those armed, fully equipped fixers had vanished as if they had evaporated into thin air. The street was chillingly silent.
Judging by the old Taoist, it was likely that the others had also met a grim fate.
In any case, that was a grade 3 agency. Their funds might not have been massive, but they were sufficient; it was impossible for them to hesitate over a few bullets when facing a crisis.
Their frontal firepower would not be inferior to a small-to-medium-sized gang in the chaotic regions. Moreover, those fixers were far stronger than individual gang members. Yet, they had collectively disappeared without a trace, like stones falling into a vast lake without even making a splash.
What on earth had happened in those two minutes...?
Xu Xiaoyou searched around with her eyes and finally spotted the outline of a black object under a billboard covered in missing person flyers at a street corner. It was long and very conspicuous.
She walked over and picked it up; it was the automatic rifle dropped by the old Taoist.
The body of the gun was covered in a gel-like red liquid. Xu Xiaoyou shook it, and large clumps fell off.
Pulling the trigger only produced a dull thud. Looking inside the barrel, the chamber was filled with this gel-like liquid. It seemed to have jammed at the critical moment.
Looking at this jammed rifle, Xu Xiaoyou could imagine the old Taoist's despairing expression at the time.
Ordinary fixers couldn't afford to maintain this kind of automatic rifle. Not to mention that the ammunition itself was expensive—the money spent on a single magazine far exceeded the cost of the gun itself—even the routine maintenance and oiling of the parts was a significant expense.
Judging by the model, it was an old military product from Universal Heavy Industries. After all these years, its accuracy was bound to be terrible. This kind of thing was fine against low-intelligence hyenas, jackals, ghouls, and stray fixers, but against more troublesome enemies like grade 2 fixers and above, it probably wouldn't be very effective on open ground.
She now possessed Fireball Bombardment and had long-range means. She no longer relied on guns as she once had. She might consider a high-precision sniper rifle, but she had no use for this old automatic rifle.
However, selling it on the black market would fetch a good price.
Thinking this, Xu Xiaoyou chuckled like a little money-grubber.
Another tool card appeared in her hand, transforming into a travel bag.
Unzip, pack, zip up, and turn it back into a card to tuck into her card slot—it was all done in one smooth motion.
Seriously, that tool card she got from the last draw was quite useful after all!
Rate on N.U.
