It Was Probably All Dream Talk

Little Curly's knowledge was also limited; after all, he wasn't a researcher, and regarding the vengeful spirit virus, he could only speak of what he had seen, which was beyond the scope of his knowledge.

Yu Xing subtly guided the Little Curly to reveal a lot of information. The boy didn't seem very bright, and there were many flaws that even Yu Xing found excessive, yet the Little Curly still explained them with great enthusiasm.

For example, the fact that there are a total of 63 numbered cities is common knowledge that even people who don't follow the base would know. Yu Xing was much more careful when trying to get information out of him, but the Little Curly looked completely dumbfounded.

Yu Xing suspected that the child's ability to survive in this apocalyptic environment was due to some kind of protagonist's halo.

Could he be an important "NPC" in the simulation? The kind of NPC with a special identity or special destiny who must live to a certain point in time to complete what he is supposed to do before he dies.

Yu Xing knew that this world should be real, not created by the system, because the supernatural energy here was so vast that the system simply could not create it, so there were no NPCs.

However, in the real world, there are some people whose luck is special. Some suffer terribly, while others have everything go smoothly. It's like fate is playing a joke on them, and there's nothing they can do about it.

A dark glint flashed in his eyes, and he had already controlled the color of his pupils before opening them, so as not to attract attention. A probing look appeared in his dark gray pupils.

Yu Xing deliberately wore a gossipy expression, leaned close to the Little Curly's ear, and whispered, "Is that girl your girlfriend?"

"No, no, we were just classmates." The Little Curly blushed and added, "We were classmates before the virus spread. Later, the vengeful spirit virus broke out, and we couldn't go to school, so we stayed at the base together..."

"Weren't you just going to the base today?" Yu Xing thought to herself, "Sure enough, if we rule out the possibility that the Little Curly has some special luck, then there's only one answer left: this kid just came from a safe place."

Besides Base 51, there's no safe place in the city, so where else could it be? It could only be a base in another city.

Just now, when Little Curly mentioned the woman who had been tormented by the virus for a year, he casually mentioned that his home was actually in city number 52, right next to city number 51.

"... Ah, right, we came here because we felt the city was too dangerous after leaving the original base." The Little Curly scratched her head sadly. "Amy and I walked for nine days before we arrived, and we just made it in time for today."

"Why did you leave the original base? You don't seem to have any experience dealing with viruses. Aren't you just asking for trouble?" Yu Xing smiled. "What, do you want to be a lone wolf like me and rely on yourself?"

"This... don't ask, I can't say." The Little Curly, who had been chattering away like a torrent of beans, suddenly evaded the question, unaware that the more he avoided it, the more attention he drew to the matter.

The child couldn't lie, and seemed unwilling to lie, so he simply refused to answer.

Yu Xing wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

But in his heart, he thought that something must have happened at Base 52.

Little Curly's attitude towards the base is quite good, suggesting that he hasn't suffered any grievances at Base 52 and has been well protected. If he had no other choice, he certainly wouldn't have chosen to risk his life to run away from "home".

Only Base 52 is no longer habitable...

Ah, I see. Base 52 has been taken over by the virus.

It's not necessary for everyone in the base to die. As long as the resources needed for survival are destroyed, causing the base to become unable to continue operating, people will naturally find new ways to survive. Therefore, it is very likely that Base 52 was overrun by the virus, and the remaining survivors signed some kind of confidentiality agreement and came to other cities to seek help.

There must be a clause in the confidentiality agreement that prohibits disclosing the news that the base has been destroyed to others.

As for why it was concealed, there are many possibilities. Yu Xing doesn't intend to speculate blindly for the time being. Only one thing is certain: the base is not necessarily completely safe, and humanity has not yet truly possessed the resources to fight back against the vengeful spirit virus.

When this kind of problem arises, it usually becomes the Main Quest for the deducer.

Whether it's finding a way to survive before a full-scale viral attack, helping humanity strengthen its defenses, finding a buffer for the survival of the species, or even discovering the truth about the existence of the virus... these three types of tasks—survival, combat, and deduction—are all common missions for deduction.

Having learned all this, Yu Xing already had a clear understanding of the situation.

He really wanted to go inside the base and see what it was like to observe the construction and the way the survivors lived.

Furthermore, what research has been conducted on these viruses by people around the world? What exactly is this so-called virus vaccine? Why are the teams dispatched by the base capable of traversing cities—do these people possess additional support systems? Besides those searching for people, what other types of teams exist, etc...?

These were all questions he didn't know, but he had to figure them out.

Even supernatural invasions are happening in all directions. He doesn't believe that humanity wouldn't make any progress in such a critical situation. They have to evolve something to survive.

If those lone wolves in the city were just ordinary people, how could they possibly resist repeated mental pollution? Even the constant tension of being in a deadly environment can cause mental turmoil.

Unless they have the confidence.

Just as Little Curly mentioned, as the truck moved forward, the people at the base would stop from time to time to lay out a safe path ahead. But what exactly is that safe path?

How could an ordinary person possibly clear out a large safe area while surrounded by ghosts? It could only be through special means, but even Little Curly couldn't explain such means, Yu Xing couldn't get any useful information from him.

He suspected that some people in the base, as well as the "lone wolf" who stubbornly stayed in the city, possessed abilities beyond those of humans, just like the deducers.

"Speaking of which, the guys who picked us up this time were really nice." The Little Curly looked at Yu Xing, then at himself, and said with a hint of jealousy, "I watched them pick you up from a bookstore by the roadside an hour after I got on the bus. You were unconscious and your clothes were tattered, and the most polite guy in the group took off his uniform and gave it to you."

"Waaaaah, Base 51 is the most welcoming base I've ever seen! Even in my old base, the higher-ranking people spoke to us with arrogance or coldness. I really can't wait to go inside Base 51!"

You could tell that Little Curly was very touched by this.

But Yu Xing was not moved.

There's an unpleasant but true saying: in a post-apocalyptic world where people's mindsets have changed and human nature has become more blatant, it's very difficult for someone as naive as Little Curly to survive.

For example, Little Curly would only feel happy and expectant about the enthusiasm of Base 51, but Yu Xing would be wary.

Is the base's eagerness to recruit new members truly driven by genuine concern for our compatriots in distress around the world?

Of course, there are no other signs that Base 51 has any other intentions at the moment, but those who analyze the data know that once the signs appear, it may not be long before it is doomed.

So...

Little Curly, his mouth dry from talking, crawled back to his seat, took out a bottle of water he had just received from his bag, tilted his head back, and gulped down two mouthfuls.

Then he turned around, about to say something, but hesitated for a moment, and then became even more confused.

Huh?

What did he do just now to be so thirsty?

Did he talk to anyone?

The corner where Little Curly was looking was empty; there was no one there.

"That's strange, I can't remember what I just did..." the Little Curly muttered to himself, looking at the space he had created while trying to fall asleep.

"Oh, was I just sleeping? Did I dream?"