Out of the City

After sending that message, Legal Vanguard stopped replying, no matter how Yue Shi tried to question them.

Yue Shi casually tapped on the location.

“It’s the Qingshan Sanatorium again?”

He couldn't help but fall into thought.

He searched for “Qingshan Sanatorium” on the Supernatural Forum, and after the page redirected, he clicked on the pinned post.

After a few glances, Yue Shi almost burst out laughing.

The sanatorium’s origins dated back to before the advent of the supernatural.

Legend had it that a child, struggling with academics and addicted to video games, was sent by his parents to an internet addiction treatment school.

After undergoing some indescribable 're-education,' the child finally returned to normal and became a model student.

Later, he diligently studied and obtained certifications, eventually becoming a renowned psychologist.

To give back to his hometown, he invested in opening the Qingshan Sanatorium there, specializing in treating middle-aged and elderly people for gambling addiction, alcoholism, smoking addiction, short video addiction, square dancing addiction, and even the addiction to pressuring their children into marriage and childbirth…

It enthusiastically welcomed all teenagers to send their “abnormal” parents and elders for transformation, turning them into good people who were valuable, meaningful, and contributing members of society.

At its peak, the sanatorium had over 300 patients.

Unfortunately, after the advent of the supernatural, Qingshan Sanatorium became a supernatural domain, and no one inside made it out alive.

The Investigation Bureau once sent people to investigate the situation inside, but all the dispatched investigators went missing, neither dead nor alive.

Supernatural detectors showed that the 50-meter perimeter around Qingshan Sanatorium was filled with strong contamination; ordinary people would suffer severe adverse effects just by approaching.

However, because the supernatural entities and contamination within the sanatorium never showed signs of leaking or spreading, remaining quietly fixed in place for years, and no one died unless they actively courted death by entering, the Investigation Bureau didn't waste public resources dealing with it.

Two users on the forum had successively stated that clues about the Su family’s illegal labs could be obtained from Qingshan Sanatorium.

If the Su family truly had an escaped researcher hiding inside, a great deal of useful intelligence could likely be extracted from them.

As for whether this was a trap deliberately set by someone with ulterior motives?

After mastering the special invisibility ability 【Hidden Black Feathers】, Yue Shi didn't mind taking a slight risk; even if he gained no information about the Su family's labs, he could at least use the opportunity to kill some supernatural entities in the sanatorium and strengthen himself.

Deciding to act immediately, he still needed to do some preparatory work before setting out.

He couldn't expose his whereabouts, nor could he let others know he had gone to Qingshan Sanatorium. If it truly was a trap, his unprovoked visit would undoubtedly arouse suspicion and cause a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, Qingshan Sanatorium wasn't too far from Amber City, making things easier for Yue Shi.

Early the next morning, after washing up, Yue Shi first withdrew some cash, then bought some food and medicine to put in his backpack, and finally removed all electronic devices from his person.

With his backpack on, wearing a mask and plain glasses, he activated 【Hidden Black Feathers】 and calmly hitched a ride on a transport vehicle heading out of the city.

Entering and exiting Amber City required crossing a large bridge, beneath which flowed a rushing river.

The sound of rapid currents constantly filled his ears; this was an artificial river that encircled the entire city, providing Amber City with a layer of protection, isolating it from the Chaos Zone.

There was a checkpoint on the bridge; the transport vehicle driver could only pass after presenting their documents and registering.

Few vehicles were encountered along the way; most people wouldn't easily leave the safe city, and it was equally difficult for outsiders to enter.

Military facilities were also set up on both sides of the bridge, primarily to prevent unlawful forces from the Chaos Zone from storming the checkpoint and entering the city.

On the other side of the bridge, beyond the city, the road surface gradually became pitted and uneven, with dirty puddles in many places. Various types of garbage littered the roadside, and even body remnants could be seen.

Following the dilapidated road, the transport vehicle drove into a wasteland, with Amber City receding into the distance behind them.

The sun hung in the sky; having left the city's towering buildings, the bright sunlight illuminated a vast, expansive view.

In the distance, a vast cluster of buildings, dilapidated and extremely irregular, covered the land, extending further and further.

These buildings were low-rise shanties, abandoned buildings from an older era, and makeshift prefabricated houses, all resembling a slum.

This was one of the relatively orderly parts of the Chaos Zone.

Since leaving the city limits, the transport vehicle driver and the bodyguards on board had become quite vigilant, fearing a roadside robbery.

Yue Shi quietly jumped off the vehicle, landing steadily, and continued on alone.

After walking for a while, he managed to snatch a dilapidated modified motorcycle midway. After neatly dispatching the original owner, Yue Shi sped off on the motorcycle, its engine roaring, towards Qingshan Sanatorium.

By then, he had deactivated 【Hidden Black Feathers】, as an unmanned modified motorcycle would only draw more attention.

The motorcycle's performance was unexpectedly strong, though it was overly bumpy and hard on the back. It wasn't until late afternoon, nearing evening, that Yue Shi finally approached his destination.

He saw a dirt road covered in pebbles, dirty and chaotic, with dust swirling. Every now and then, he'd spot garbage strewn across the middle of the road—broken furniture, rotten clothes, scattered everywhere.

But at least he had finally arrived at an inhabited area.

Several disheveled and dirty little heads peeked out from the buildings on either side, earnestly observed Yue Shi for a few moments, then quickly retreated.

They were all children living there.

However, based on Yue Shi’s past experiences wandering the Chaos Zone, the old, the weak, women, and children here were all untrustworthy; if one was deceived by their seemingly harmless appearance, they could very well be devoured completely, leaving not even bone fragments behind.

Yue Shi couldn't help but speed up. The surrounding buildings gradually became denser, and some spacious, tidy houses appeared, with people quietly observing him from within.

After driving for about another three kilometers and turning a few streets, he was forced to stop because the road ahead was impassable, blocked by a fresh mound of earth and broken bricks forming a roadblock.

Yue Shi wasn't surprised by this; encountering a roadblock in the Chaos Zone was perfectly normal.

He didn't want to waste time on such trivial matters and intended to take a detour.

But just as he turned the motorcycle around, figures emerged from the houses lining both sides of the street.

They were all older men, dressed in rags, covered in grime, and emitting a strange odor, as if they had just crawled out of a garbage dump. Most of them had disabilities.

These people had blank, dazed expressions, driven forward by several burly men holding weapons, surrounding him.

“Trouble!” Yue Shi immediately drew his gun, and with a bang, a bullet randomly struck a 'lucky' individual.

Blood splattered, and the group finally stopped, calming down.