As for the Recovery Mission, this was the first time she had encountered one.
As the name suggests, does the system want her to reclaim some item from this instance?
Items that the system will recommend for recycling must be of considerable value.
Looking around, all I could see was yellow sand.
These geological conditions would easily lead to sandstorms, wouldn't they?
Su Cheng sighed softly and chose to head towards the green expanse in the distance.
It's incredibly hot, unusually hot.
Fortunately, the Ice Stone worked well, reducing the high temperature around Su Cheng and preventing her from sweating profusely during her activities.
The face shield of the medical protective suit blocks the sand and dust blown by the wind, but its filtering effect is limited. If the wind is strong, fine dust can still get into the nose.
But that wasn't what made Su Cheng most uncomfortable; it was the light shining through the mask onto her face that made her instinctively feel particularly repulsed.
Su Cheng took out the Thousand-Machine Umbrella, opened it, and blocked out the light, finally feeling truly comfortable and satisfied.
The sunshade effect of the Thousand-Machine Umbrella goes without saying; it created a small, dark haven for her, allowing her to finally open her eyes normally without having to squint.
With the combined benefits of the Ice Stone and the Thousand-Machine Umbrella, Su Cheng truly experienced the thrill of having plenty of props.
She quickened her pace and continued walking forward.
After walking for more than half an hour, amidst the whooshing sound of flying mud and sand, we could faintly hear the sound of footsteps.
But it wasn't the green area in front of her; it was about a hundred meters to her lower right.
She immediately changed direction.
If you know nothing about this instance, asking the local inhabitants is the fastest way to find out its details.
She started running. Unlike ordinary Thousand-Machine Umbrella, the umbrella's canopy didn't sway backward due to the wind while she was running; instead, it remained firmly above her head.
As they got closer, Su Cheng could hear them more clearly.
The footsteps were chaotic, and there were muffled gunshots.
Are the indigenous people fighting each other?
Su Cheng was unsure, but she slowed her pace. With no obstacles in her way, she could see the situation clearly from a distance.
Two people wearing heavy protective suits are pointing guns at a "mummy" wrapped in white bandages.
mummy?
Su Cheng's expression turned strange for a moment, then she moved a little closer.
Unlike her white medical protective suit, the two indigenous people wore military green protective suits that covered their entire bodies and had a heavy texture. The head filter design was very similar to a gas mask.
Looking at the "person" wrapped in bandages, it's no wonder Su Cheng said it looked like a mummy; its entire body was wrapped in dense white cloth, including its face.
Upon closer inspection, one can see varying shades of yellow stains on the cloth strips; these are the seepage fluid from the skin beneath the cloth.
It approached unsteadily, and although it had a human shape, it didn't look like a real person.
Without weapons or sound, it appeared harmless, yet it forced the other two to retreat step by step.
They held their guns, but for some reason, they hesitated to fire continuously.
Su Cheng frowned; it was clear that the two were not incapable of killing them.
What is it about the bandaged man that they are wary of?
Where did it come from?
She remembered watching a movie before. Could it be that she had entered a world that had appeared in the movie...? But if that were the case, this instance should be a special instance.
She stood still, observing for the moment how the two would deal with this mummy whose authenticity was unknown.
"Bang!"
They finally opened fire.
The bullet struck the bandaged man in the chest, but only caused him to tilt halfway.
"Bang bang!"
Two bullets accurately struck the bandaged man's head, and he fell, dust billowing as he collided with the yellow sand.
The dust also contained tiny green particles, which mingled with the grime and moved toward any surviving life forms present.
"Quick!"
The two men nervously took two steps back, and a long rubber tube popped out from the bottom of their backpacks, with a round suction nozzle inserted into the end of the tube.
"Boom!"
The two men carried long, vacuum-like tubes, and the powerful suction sucked away the floating green particles.
Su Cheng was quite surprised when she saw that one of the people's backpacks was flashing a red light, followed by the other person's.
The glaring red light flashed, and the frantic cursing of two people could be faintly heard from beneath their heavy protective suits!
It was clear that their face shields were ineffective against the green particles, and their backpacks showed that their capacity was insufficient to hold the remaining particles.
Su Cheng didn't understand what the green particles were, but judging from the tense expressions of the two people, she could guess that they weren't anything good.
The green particles were released from the bandaged person after their death.
This explains why the two hesitated to kill the bandaged man; they knew their backpacks had limited capacity.
"Beep beep--"
"Beep beep--"
After their backpacks issued warnings, they completely stopped working, and the suction of the long pipe abruptly ceased.
The green particles took the opportunity to fly towards the two people's faces. They seemed to be conscious, able to Perception living beings and the way to enter them.
The two turned to run away, but how could their two legs outrun the floating green particles?
Su Cheng knew it would be too late if she didn't act soon. Ordinary fire couldn't burn the green particles, otherwise these two wouldn't have been trying to collect them, but would have burned them directly.
Therefore, Su Cheng used the blue ghostly fire from the Fire-Attracting Art.
But if that doesn't work, there's nothing she can do, being a newcomer to this place.
Fortunately, the blue ghost fire did not disappoint.
Flames suddenly shot up, and the green particles turned to ash the moment they touched them.
Clusters of blue flames, large and small, burned away all the remaining green particles in the air.
The two, who had been spreading their legs to escape, froze for a moment, took a few steps back, and looked at each other, confirming from their shocked expressions that it wasn't the other's doing.
The two looked around and spotted a white figure holding an umbrella about ten meters behind them.
Perhaps it was because Su Cheng's attire was too strange, and even more so because she was incongruously holding a black umbrella, that the two people backed away as soon as she approached.
Helpless, after putting on the translator, she could only speak first to show that she was a normal person, "What was that green particle just now?"
"Was that fire yours?" the young woman's voice asked.
"That's right."
"Who are you? You don't even know that's an infection spore? How dare you walk around outside!" another young male voice exclaimed in surprise.
"My God, what are you wearing? It's obviously not a protective suit. And why aren't you wearing a protective mask? Aren't you afraid of the pollutants in the light?" The young woman's voice was full of disbelief.
"..."
Su Cheng was harshly questioned about her equipment, but she had no way to refute it, so she could only honestly say, "I don't know anything about these things..."
Under the protection of the Thousand-Machine Umbrella, she did not feel any discomfort.
It turns out the green particles are called contamination spores. Based on the situation just now, Su Cheng guessed that the bandaged person might have originally been a normal person, but mutated because of the contamination by the spores.
The reason why the light made her uncomfortable was also found: it wasn't just the high temperature, but more importantly, the "polluting substances" hidden within it.
However, the two were clearly skeptical of Su Cheng's answer, if it weren't for the fact that the blue flame she had just used could burn the spores.
They absolutely did not believe that anyone could remain conscious without any protection.
Why can your blue flame burn spores?
"I don't know either." Su Cheng paused, then continued, "Let's make a deal. You tell me some things, and I can protect you as you leave this place."
The fact that these two people's backpacks were full indicates that there is more than one bandaged person in this desert, and there may even be other contaminated monsters.
Furthermore, their equipment appears to be uniformly issued, suggesting they have a stable place of residence.
Following them might lead her out of the desert, where she could meet more people and learn more useful information, especially since she still had a Recovery Mission to trigger.
The two agreed to Su Cheng's suggestion without much hesitation.
This deal isn't excessive, and although Su Cheng is mysterious, she speaks clearly and doesn't seem like a mutant.
More importantly, she can burn spores.
Their backpacks were full, which meant they had lost the ability to fight the mutants. If they wanted to leave alive, agreeing to her request was the only option.
A note from the author:
none
Chapter 100
The deal was struck, and the three gave brief introductions.
Because it was inconvenient to remove her protective mask, Su Cheng could only determine the gender by their body shape and voice. The woman's name was Lin Xi, and the man's Li Cheng.
After confirming that Su Cheng was not a mutant, Lin Xi and Li Cheng, though puzzled, still gave Su Cheng the spare protective mask.
Through the two of them, Su Cheng gained a basic understanding of the general background of this instance.
Three years ago, the world was suddenly struck by a meteor shower. Meteorites of varying sizes fell from the sky, catching humanity off guard and causing enormous disasters to countless cities.
The apocalypse arrived the moment the meteorite struck, completely unbeknownst to anyone.
Meteorites contain unknown radiation, the sun is polluted, sunlight contains pollutants, and plants are undergoing mutations.
The mutated plant releases spores resembling green granules when it flowers and fruits, which then parasitize other life forms.
When a normal human is infected by sufficient amounts of air or light, or after being parasitized by spores, he will lose consciousness and involuntarily contaminate other living organisms.
They are called mutants or hollow people.
In the aftermath of the disaster, various regions immediately went on high alert, constructing underground shelters and developing protective suits that could withstand radiation, as well as equipment and weapons to destroy spores and pollutants.
Last year, research on protective suits began to show results as people started to return to land and explore the land-based activity areas above the shelters.
Furthermore, a major scientific breakthrough was the invention of N92 Fuel to address spore damage.
Although N92 Fuel is extremely difficult to produce, with both the process and raw materials being very rare, its ability to burn spores undoubtedly brings great hope to those struggling to survive in disasters.