Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Central Area

“So for the time being, that’s the current situation,” Ji Cheng concluded.

“Mm, we’ll have to see how things develop before we know the specifics,” Zhang Lingfei nodded as if she understood.

“What are those two riddlers talking about?” Luo Rao whispered to Zhang Jing’e.

“No idea—probably discussing something about Pang Weiwei.”

Ji Cheng and Zhang Lingfei exchanged their views on the situation, then stood in silence for a minute before pressing his earpiece.

He switched to a private channel, one he’d set up previously with the ability users from Rest City.

“Where are you now, and how much longer until you arrive?”

After five or six seconds, a broken signal came through: “Almost… there, ten… minutes or so.”

“You didn’t run into any danger, did you?” Ji Cheng asked again.

“Luck’s… good… nothing.”

“Alright, hurry over, and thanks again.”

The communication ended.

“I still don’t get it,” Zhang Lingfei hesitated, as if she wanted to say more.

“There’s a saying—”

“You,” Zhang Lingfei was at a loss for words, glaring at him in irritation.

Despite being on assignment, she had applied a light layer of foundation, making her face look exceptionally fair and smooth. Her long, wavy hair fell to one side, lending her a striking beauty—at least when she kept her mouth shut.

“If you needed helpers, why didn’t you contact our ability users from Southport? At least Lu Shangbai and the others would be willing to help you, wouldn’t they?” Zhang Lingfei couldn’t hold back her question.

Her voice was rougher and more languid than Zhang Jing’e’s, breaking the aura she projected.

Ji Cheng tapped his wrist computer, projecting the light screen onto the ground. “We’re in Zone A, while Councilor Huang’s team is in Zone B. Should we contact them?”

Zhang Lingfei replied, “Mm… no need.”

Zone A and Zone B were in the same direction and both would enter the central area through the garbage disposal room at the boundary, so they were bound to run into each other.

“Councilor Zhou’s team is in Zone D, farthest from us. Do you think they’d risk taking a detour to help?”

“Fine,” Zhang Lingfei rested her chin on her hand and turned away.

Ji Cheng rubbed his ears to ease the tinnitus. “What’s the radiation level now?”

“No idea, it’s not showing anymore.” Luo Rao took out a radiation pen and shook it helplessly.

“If we go deeper, communications might cut off,” Ji Cheng shook his head. “Let’s go, quick in and out. Staying here too long could seriously harm our bodies—I don’t want to end up infertile.”

After leaving the Synapse Hall, they turned into a corridor and continued downward, swiping cards to pass through one door after another.

“Keep up.”

“There’s a sound of wheels up ahead, let’s pause for a bit.”

“Move forward.”

They advanced quietly, ducking into side rooms whenever they heard heavy footsteps on the floor. Thanks to Ji Cheng’s sharp resonance sense, the four kept a safe distance from the patrolling mechanical guards.

The tables and chairs were swallowed by dried mud, short-circuited devices spewed black smoke, more skeletons appeared, and many labs had nearly turned into caves of rock and sand.

The strange sights drew them closer together without realizing, until Ji Cheng suddenly stopped and was bumped from behind.

“We’re here.” After a moment, he spoke slowly.

Before them lay a garbage disposal room, steeped in the acrid stench of corrosive fluids. The floor was littered with hair, household trash, abandoned incubation pods, transparent roasting trays, and evaporating dishes.

The mesh-reinforced walls, the darkened stains in the corners, and the many shards of glass showed this place had often witnessed accidents and mishaps.

“We should crawl through that opening,” Zhang Lingfei squeezed in front, pointing at a sewage outlet in the room.

Waste from the central area was expelled here; below the opening was a raised incinerator, still functioning, sending up foul-smelling heat and smoke.

“Looks like we took too long—lots of people have gone in already,” Ji Cheng noted the dense footprints below the outlet.

This disposal room and the connected outlet were the only way into the central area from Zones A and B—no card swipe was required here.

Teams from Zones C and D had to sneak in from somewhere else.

Neither the blue researcher ID cards nor the white assistant researcher cards had authority to enter the central area directly.

“Let’s go, we’ll head through as well.”

Climbing the incinerator’s ladder, the four reached the machine’s upper section. Beneath their feet lay a carpet of burned ash, with sticky resin hanging like icicles. At the top sat a flute-shaped device, drawing smoke through tiny holes.

Near the edge of the incinerator’s opening was a clear nameplate, laser-etched:

Experimental Waste Incinerator.

“Thankfully it’s not for human waste, otherwise this sewage outlet would be even more disgusting.”

“If you keep dawdling, you won’t even catch a fresh batch of human waste.”

Click, click.

One by one, they crawled into the outlet, braving the stench and heat, hunching over and moving in silence.

Inside, bubbling liquid flowed along the floor, splashing up if they weren’t careful.

There were also scattered steel pipe frames and cracked glass, the rust on the pipes showing they’d been untouched for decades.

But overall, it was cleaner than Ji Cheng had expected.

...

Central area, Small Hive.

Ji Cheng and his group emerged from a device resembling a security scanner, greeted by eight or nine distinct figures.

Surprisingly, the largest group wore the red battle uniforms of the Red Eagle Republic—five ability users in total.

Second in number were three Southport ability users, led by a man nicknamed “Centipede” under Councilor Huang.

A solitary Blackwater Floating City ability user stood apart, expression cold, bearing the black waterfall insignia on his chest.

Seeing Ji Cheng’s group enter, the Southport ability users immediately approached, faces bright with relief.

“Where are the rest of Yao Lun’s team?” Ji Cheng glanced at the Zhang sisters, who shared his confusion.

Never mind the others—where had Pang Weiwei, who’d arrived at the Synapse Hall before them, gone?

All routes from Zones A and B had sensors.

Had she run into the mechanical guards and simply been eliminated?

“Ji Cheng.” The Southport ability users finally reached them.

Ji Cheng turned toward the voice, fixing his gaze on a short ability user. “Qing Deng.”

“Glad you’re alive.” The other nodded, his deep gray eyes fixed on Ji Cheng.

‘Qing Deng’ Liu Fangjian, whose genetic prototype was a firefly, was known for his low-key manner.

“I’ve got a long life ahead of me,” Ji Cheng chuckled.

“Ji Cheng, what about your team?” Centipede asked.

Centipede’s face was fierce, with two deep red scars running from his cheeks to his forehead, the flesh twisted and rough. When he smiled, it looked like two giant centipedes crawling across his face—hence his nickname; few knew his real name.

Ji Cheng noticed Centipede’s eyes darting among his four companions, instantly understanding the question. He smiled and replied,

“Our team split up to search, then happened to meet these two and came together. The others should be on their way.”

Ji Cheng and Centipede had shared drinks before—not close, but they got along well.

“We didn’t split up,” Centipede said, his expression odd.

Did that mean the others had died? Ji Cheng glanced at the Red Eagle Republic team and the lone Blackwater Floating City ability user.

It was grim.

“Mental contamination?”

“We triggered the defense system while searching for a second-tier prototype—a spore mist trap.”

He turned, revealing his battle suit’s corroded back and skin covered in fish-scale blisters.

“I barely escaped myself.”

The spore mist trap was based on first-level bio-genetic research, deadly to living beings. Once it touched you, it stuck like a curse.

The mist-like spores targeted hematopoietic stem cells, causing massive cell death and eventually destroying the body’s ability to produce blood.

A disgustingly vicious trap, by design.

Centipede scratched his scarred face. “The Blackwater Floating City team encountered mental contamination—almost wiped out.”

“Unlucky.”

“It’s fate.” He shook his head, leaning in to whisper, “Brother Ji, you’re good at network intrusion. We’ll rely on you up ahead.”

“What do you mean?” Ji Cheng replied in surprise.

The map showed no firewalls or similar obstacles.

“It’s like this,” Centipede lowered his voice, “I know the map says it’s safe ahead, but unfortunately, we hit a snag.”

“A snag? The room’s locked? That’s not something I can fix.”

“You misunderstood—there are some strange things at the door.”

Nearby, an ability user named Fu Ting seemed anxious. “Just go take a look, you’ll see.”

Fu Ting had a large mechanical implant embedded in his neck, and his voice was electronically synthesized.

He’d been badly injured in the mines; his neck was nearly bitten through.

“Alright, let’s go see.”