After Faking a Disability, I Married the New Chief Sentinel 62

Chapter 62: Ghost Town

In the end, Xu Xunyue used mental interference.
He had never really intended not to let him kiss. He just liked to see Zhu Hui begging him with those pleading eyes. Now that he had acted coquettishly, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
It was afternoon when the few of them approached the D1 zone boundary line. The snow had stopped, and in its place was a drizzling rain.
The boundary line was composed of stone monuments, signboards, and ground markings. After years of erosion, the colors were no longer bright.
Looking through the rain, the streets and squares with their faint outlines in the black mist were the buildings of Ghost Town.
Everyone knew the dangers within, but one couldn’t see the specific situation just by standing outside. Only those who had gone in and come out alive could bring back effective information.
A regular cataclysm zone was a ruin plus various kinds of cataclysmic creatures. Only a region with a contamination core would, to some extent, reproduce old-world scenes.
Xu Xunyue let Zhu Hui push his wheelchair, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
At this time, only the five of them were preparing to cross the boundary line, but many were coming out of the black mist on the other side in a panic.
Among those who came out, a small number were calm, and even had the time to size them up. Seeing Xu Xunyue in a wheelchair, they showed a shocked expression.
But most of them were in a sorry state, their protective suits stained with blood, missing arms and legs, looking miserable.
In addition, there must have been a portion of people who had not been able to come back.
Xu Xunyue and Zhu Hui were used to this. Cheng Tao, who had been recommended by Luo Mingxu, also appeared quite calm.
It was rare, but this person was neither a noble nor a young Sentinel who had just come out of the White Tower. He had already secured a good position in the military intelligence department and could have settled down in the Imperial Capital for a long time. But recently, he had suddenly pulled some strings and wanted to run out.
The frequent changes in the boundary line had put the various Undeveloped Zones in the spotlight. To run out at this juncture was undoubtedly a strange act. But being strange also had its benefits. After all, there were many fewer competitors. This was how he had found Luo Mingxu.
The other two’s expressions were not so natural, but they also had no intention of retreating.
“Zhu Hui and I will go deep into this cataclysm zone,” Xu Xunyue said. “If the environment is particularly dangerous, you can stay on the periphery, or retreat in advance and provide support outside the boundary line.”
The three of them nodded.
The people who came here were either for seniority or for a living. If it was neither, then all that was left was to explore the cataclysm zone itself.
The Empire stipulated that unless there were special circumstances, one must form a squad to enter a cataclysm zone. For a temporarily formed team—at least for now, it was unknown if there would be a next cooperation—there was no need to reveal their hand so quickly.
At this moment, the contamination assessment meter showed the cataclysmic factor concentration on the few of them as:
Xu Xunyue 0%, Zhu Hui 3%, Yu Yuan 8%, Yi Chengli 12%, Cheng Tao 10%.
Safe values.
It was just that 0% and 3% were too unbelievable.
Even Yu Yuan, who had seen Zhu Hui’s low cataclysmic factor concentration level before, was shocked, let alone the other two.
Yi Chengli, facing the gap for the nth time, was already somewhat calm.
Cheng Tao, on the other hand, exclaimed, “Could this be the strength of an Imperial Chief?” and then his face stiffened, feeling that his words were not very appropriate.
After all, Guide Xu is not…
“Get ready.”
The person in question didn’t seem to mind his slip of the tongue.
Or rather, he didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to these minor details. It was Zhu Hui who gave him a somewhat cold glance.
“Let’s go,” Xu Xunyue said.
Zhu Hui took the lead, and the few of them hurriedly followed, entering the black mist at the same time.
The soldier who had just come out of the black mist murmured as he watched their figures disappear, his tone still filled with shock, “A wheelchair, and a Guide. Is that really safe…”
“Idiot,” his companion hammered his shoulder with his fist. “You didn’t recognize those two, did you?”
“Huh?”
“The eye color, the hairstyle, plus the wheelchair, and that Sentinel beside him. Who do you think they are?”
Behind them, the conversation of another group of people came from far to near, their tone excited and high, and with a strong smell of alcohol.
Turning around, he saw the bald Sentinel walking at the very front.
“Brother Guang, you’re also coming in from here today?” The Sentinel who had come out of Ghost Town stopped his conversation with his companion and greeted him with a smile.
“Yeah, we brothers haven’t worked for a while. We’re going in to find something valuable to sell.” The bald Sentinel friendly patted his shoulder and asked, “Hey, what do you mean by ‘also’?”
“Five people just went in from here.”
“Five?” The bald man understood. “It’s them.”
The two of them exchanged a look, both knowing that the other understood what they were saying.
“Right. Since not much time has passed, why don’t you guys hurry up and follow them? It’s always safer to have someone clearing the way in front.”
The black mist that separated the cataclysm zone and the Undeveloped Zone had a strange effect that violated the natural laws of the world. Even if humans entered from the same place in the same direction, they might enter different locations in the cataclysm zone.
There was only one way for squad members not to be separated: to enter at the same time.
The shorter the time interval, the closer the positions would be after entering.
The bald man waved his hand.
“We can’t compete with them for resources. If we’re behind, we’ll probably only be able to pick up some leftovers. It’s not interesting.”
He gestured to his team members, “We’ll go in from over there.”
…

After entering Ghost Town, they realized that the rain inside was even heavier.
After passing through the thin layer of black mist, the view in front of them suddenly opened up. Xu Xunyue took out an umbrella from his equipment and opened it.
Outside a cataclysm zone, rain was normal. But inside a cataclysm zone, who knew what these “rains” contained.
Drip, drip, drip… The rain hit the umbrella, making an even louder sound. He looked around, and there was no one in his field of vision.
Normal.
Before he retired, every time he led a team into a cataclysm zone, there would be such a stage.
On the premise that everyone entered the boundary line at the same time, it would take at most an hour and at least ten minutes for the five-person squad to gather.
For someone who knew nothing, accidentally entering a cataclysm zone and being separated from their companions was a hellish start. But for Guides and Sentinels who had been trained and knew the basic rules of a cataclysm zone, this was just a small difficulty that had to be faced.
At present, everything was normal. Xu Xunyue held the umbrella made of special material and sat in his wheelchair, observing the surroundings with his senses and spiritual power.
In his line of sight were four streets that looked even older on a rainy day. His wheelchair had appeared in the central square. Around him were a dry fountain, cracked stone sculptures, and blackened wooden benches, but no people.
Large raindrops continuously fell into the fountain pool, accumulating a pool of black, smelly, stagnant water, which made Xu Xunyue, whose sense of smell was not very sensitive, frown.
His hearing was interfered with by the sound of the rain, and he did not capture the movement of any living things.
In his spiritual perception, however, there was one and only one existence rapidly approaching.
Xu Xunyue glanced at the locator connected to his personal terminal and confirmed that it was his Sentinel rushing over.
He looked toward the street on his left.
Zhu Hui would come from here.
Should I go and meet him…
Suddenly, a sound of a plastic bag rubbing against the cement floor came from the left.
A shadow instantly enveloped his entire body. With a flick and a turn of his hand, the wheelchair actually slid silently and quickly toward the wall.
Then, a black shadow holding an umbrella—yes, holding an umbrella—appeared at the street corner on the left. It hurriedly closed its umbrella and entered an old residential building with an open unit door.
Xu Xunyue: “…”
The cataclysmic beings of Ghost Town really live up to their reputation.
There must be a reason why this place got this name. As the name suggested, the cataclysmic beings transformed from humans here all had a bit of a ghostly image from the ancient culture of the Empire.
Even the cataclysmic beings on the outskirts of a cataclysm zone had a stronger autonomous consciousness and behavioral logic than those in other places.
So…
Did the cataclysmic being hold an umbrella to imitate the behavior of the human soldiers who came here, or did it feel that the “rain” was harmful?
No, that’s not right. It can’t be the first reason.
Xu Xunyue quickly reacted. In all the information he and Zhu Hui had collected and exchanged, there was not a single clue that it had rained in Ghost Town.
There was no information mentioning the strange phenomenon of “the cataclysmic beings here holding umbrellas when it rains.”
Then, was hurriedly closing the umbrella and entering the house imitating human behavior, or was it because in its cognition, holding an umbrella was not a long-term solution?
His spiritual perception and mental link told Xu Xunyue that his Sentinel was getting closer and closer, but his five senses still couldn’t capture the other’s tracks.
Then he would wait a little longer.
High-speed movement was Zhu Hui’s strong suit. It would be better for him to stay here and use his spiritual power to sense the positions of the others.
The magnetic field of a cataclysm zone was unpredictable. Sometimes personal terminals could be used, and sometimes they couldn’t. Xu Xunyue had already checked his personal terminal, and it clearly showed that the signal was interrupted.
The few of them could not contact each other through technological equipment.
And Yu Yuan was a Guide who was very suitable for team battles. Her spiritual power was gentle, and her compatibility list was also very wide. Contacting her would allow them to more efficiently contact the other two and communicate.
Xu Xunyue did two things at once, looking for Yu Yuan’s spiritual power while talking to Zhu Hui through their mental link.

[Be careful of the cataclysmic beings here. They are more difficult to deal with than the ones in the underwater city.]
[They are not in a state of reenacting their past lives. They have a certain autonomous consciousness and don’t just fight and kill.]
[Don’t worry, don’t rush. I met a cataclysmic being, but it has already left. You should hold your umbrella well.]

Whoosh— A light breeze blew past.
Xu Xunyue looked up as if he had sensed something, and just happened to see his Sentinel jump down from the roof.
Zhu Hui’s figure was agile, and even his landing was light and graceful, not making a sound. The umbrella made of special material opened, casting a dark shadow on his sharp brows and eyes.
His protective suit was intact, without a single wrinkle, and there were no traces of being wet by the rain.
It seemed that the journey had been smooth and he had not encountered any danger.
Xu Xunyue’s mood brightened a little.

[How do you feel? What is the concentration of cataclysmic factors on you now?]

Zhu Hui nodded and made a five with his hand.
Xu Xunyue didn’t speak. He held the five fingers he had spread open and pulled him down for a French kiss that lasted a few seconds.
Saliva exchanged.
“…?”
The Sentinel was still dazed when he was released. He didn’t understand why his brother, who had a serious and cautious attitude toward the cataclysm zone, would kiss him like this outdoors.
But this didn’t stop him from simply wanting to kiss back. Anyway, there was no danger and no one in the way now—but he was blocked by Xu Xunyue’s raised finger.

[This is to enhance your immunity.]

Zhu Hui’s resistance to cataclysmic factors came from Xu Xunyue, and Xu Xunyue’s assessment result was always 0%.
Zhu Hui himself had also said that when he was in and out of the cataclysm zone before marriage, the concentration of cataclysmic factors on him was also lower than his companions, but not to this extent now.
When an ordinary person entered a cataclysm zone, the value on the assessment meter would quickly soar to 30% and then slowly increase. For a Sentinel to only have 5% now was truly amazing.

[Brother! You can’t do this!]
Xu Xunyue was looked at by his Sentinel with some shame and annoyance. He read such words from the other’s lip movements.
[You can’t do this to me! Brother, you’re too biased.]
[How can you only be allowed to kiss and not me? You’re doing it on purpose!]

Those thin lips, which had turned wet and red, moved, looking as if they really wanted to voice their complaint about his unreasonableness.
Unfortunately, it was best not to make a sound in a cataclysm zone, and a Sentinel did not have the ability to accurately transmit information through a mental link like a Guide. Being teased, he could only throw a small tantrum like scratching an itch.
After a round of lip movements, Zhu Hui gently bit Xu Xunyue’s fingertip before he stopped. He stood up straight and glanced around, then pursed his lips and looked over with a very unwilling, questioning gaze.
Xu Xunyue held his hand, a smile flashing in his eyes, and said slowly and leisurely:

[I’ve found Yu Yuan, and I’ve also sensed Cheng Tao. Yi Chengli should be further away, but Yu Yuan said she’s linked to him.]
[We’ll be able to meet up soon.]
[There’s not much time. Kiss me quickly.]