349 Border

The overturned vehicle was slowly righted by construction machinery, and the people trapped underneath struggled to climb out.

"Cough cough... cough uh—whoosh!"

The Armed Mobile Team Captain, Wonska, hunched over with difficulty, and the people next to him quickly patted his back to help expel the radiation rainwater that had accumulated in his chest.

"Ugh—Ptooey! Ugh, ugh, ugh... Huff!"

His body convulsed rapidly, his muscles spasmed, and he knelt on the ground until the doctor came and injected him with a dose of Elytra. The power of the void quickly took effect in his body, his blood vessels were cleared by purple energy, and for a moment, his body seemed to be swallowed by purple light.

It took him several tens of seconds to recover. His wounds healed, and the broken bones were reconnected by the connective tissue nurtured by the void.

"Welcome back from hell, Captain Wonska."

The doctor, wearing a bird-beak mask, crouched down; his gear actually resembled that of a fierce warrior. He looked at Wonska through his gas goggles and said:

"Your teammates are all dead, and the escorting Sealed Object is missing—tell me, what happened?"

"Evans Knight, cough cough—"

Wonska coughed up a mouthful of blood, steadied himself, and said:

"It was a betrayal. We were suddenly attacked by knights sent by the Kingdom Council. By the time the incident occurred, Qualia Rain had already arrived. In the confined space, we were no match for her. She defeated us all in no time. Only I was lucky enough to be caught by the seatbelt and hung upside down for three whole days... which is why I was not swallowed up and killed by Qualia Rain."

"The knights of the Kingdom Council never betray their masters. Not only do they enjoy extremely high salaries, but they also hold prestigious positions, so there is no reason for them to rebel."

Evans Knight shook his head and pressed on:

"Which knight betrayed you and suddenly killed you?"

"My lord, that knight is Miread Fenny."

"Miread Fenny —a woman?"

Evans repeated the name. Wonska's facial muscles were burned by radiation, leaving his skin torn and bleeding. He had to squint every time he spoke, and his voice was hoarse like a bellows. "Yes, she had purple hair and eyes, was tall, and had a frivolous and disreputable demeanor. After defeating the Fermi Institute's convoy, we were supposed to return immediately, but she suddenly turned against us while passing through the forest and defeated all of us."

"But."

Evans said, "There is no such knight in the Kingdom Council."

"There is neither a female knight nor Mirede Fenny, nor a female knight Miread Fenny."

"Holy crap, what kind of monster?"

Li Aoz was startled and subconsciously let go. The Shar Pei immediately fell to the ground, let out a human-like "Ouch!", and glared resentfully at Li Aoz: "You're strangely good-looking, but why do you always have such a sharp tongue?"

"Is it my fault? You're really scary-looking..."

Li Aoz shrugged, paused, and then pondered, "... Insulting someone?"

Li Aoz raised an eyebrow and looked at the group of small animals surrounding Mirrid.

Something's not right.

Putting aside the fact that animals can talk, which is actually quite common in the universe, normal cats and dogs, no matter how close they are to people, will not Guild Leader as much like 'humans'.

These animals have facial features that are incredibly similar to humans. One gray speckled pheasant even has a middle parting. Including the Shar Pei, these animals have so many features and postures that they are so similar to humans. Their movements are also full of human-like tilting of the head, excitement, and confusion.

Li Aoz couldn't help but ask, "Mirrid, these animals... could they be..."

"Yes, it's people who changed."

As Mirrid spoke calmly, he took out a packet of glucose solution from his pocket, poured it into a porcelain bowl, and many animals immediately crowded around to feast on it.

Li Aoz walked over to her and observed Mirrid's expression. She felt neither relief nor ease; the act of feeding these... humans turned into animals seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.

I know what you want to ask.

Mirrid rested his chin on his hand and said calmly:

"This is a village near the Fallen Zone, which is the so-called Kingdom Border. After all, it is close to the void, and various Sealed Object are scattered everywhere. Apart from Bounty Hunter who are eager to get rich, almost no one will come near it."

"The kingdom deliberately did not notify the people here to evacuate, so that these people would fend for themselves and become cannon fodder to slow down the Void's advance—only when the Void's infection gets close and purple spots appear on their bodies will they flee in panic."

"Most of the adults fled with their families, but most of them were wiped out by the Qualia Rain on the way. Even those who were lucky enough to survive were tracked down by the Fermi Institute's Mobile Team and the infected were contained and controlled. Well, nominally it was to protect them, but in reality, they were used as guinea pigs to conduct various drug experiments in order to 'test for drugs to save humanity'."

The little animals ate without a care in the world, and the bowl of glucose was quickly devoured. Mirrid calmly took out bread, cereal, and ham from his backpack.

"Aww, so delicious!" "I never want to eat tree bark again." "Without Sister Mirrid, I really can't live a single day."

Looking at the small animals scattered on the ground, Li Aoz understood their identities from their mumbled and childish words.

"These... are all abandoned children?"

Li Aoz said.

"Originally, there were still some elderly people, but not long after they became animals, their organ functions failed—this is not hard to understand, is it? Animals usually have a much shorter lifespan than humans. An 80-year-old person, after being transformed into an 80-year-old animal, would have completely deteriorated in bodily functions."

Mirrid finished off the food he had and stood up.

"Come with me."

After saying that, she led Li Aoz down the main road of the village, up the hill, and across the stone steps covered with fallen leaves. A small shrine immediately came into view.

Mirrid stepped forward, gently shook the rope bell, then pressed her left hand against her right wrist, bowed her head, and silently prayed for a moment. Li Aoz vaguely hear her whisper:

"The truth lies dormant, and all methods are revealed to dispel illusions..."

After a series of strange incantations, the tightly closed wooden door of the shrine suddenly opened, revealing the dimly lit Dojo inside.

Li Aoz stepped forward, a chill running through him. Within his extraordinary Gene Sequence, the part belonging to [Sequence Nine · Gravity] began to stir, seemingly trying to struggle to break free from his body and plunge into it.

[This is--]

Li Aoz pressed down on his body without making a sound, shifting some gene fragments to soothe the extraordinary sequence within him, his expression solemn.

He knew what that meant.

[Gravity] is not only one of the top ten Sequence Aura, but it also belongs to another system. It has a strong resonance relationship with certain Aoneng.

In such an environment, there is only one reason that can evoke a strong resonance with gravity.

Mirrid took off her shoes and entered the Dojo barefoot. She bowed slightly forward and calmly reported:

"I have brought the man to you, Enrique."

How can there be rumors that I switched to a different writer?

He turned around and killed two women to prove his innocence.