CHAPTER 37

He Ran bent down and fumbled for the flashlight that had fallen from her in the midst of the corpses. She quickly found it and wiped it on her leg to make sure it was still functional.

To be honest, if it weren't for the supply officer, He Ran would have fainted and been engulfed by the corpses. It was all thanks to the supply officer that she was still able to stand here. 

The temperature here was very high, or else the bodies wouldn't have decayed to such an extent. She didn't expect anyone to come for her rescue, but fortunately, she had seen a wall when she first turned on the flashlight. She decided to stick to the wall and walk along it, believing she would eventually find an exit.

There was a possibility that this place was a huge pit, and the only way out was up above. She took off the wristwatch from the supply officer's wrist.

Mental value: 30, pollution level: 99.

Alright, it's already at its limit. No matter how terrifying it gets, it can't be worse than this place. She returned the wristwatch to the supply officer, tightened her bag, and bound her up like a package to herself.

The burden of a living person on her, as someone near d3ath, gave her something akin to a survival instinct. The flashlight's beam was in front of her eyes, and she tried her best not to look at Li Haohao's face on the corpses.

She pretended that this room was a battlefield, and she was struggling through the mountains of corpses on the battlefield. Every step felt like a hand grabbing her, flies, maggots, high temperatures, sweat pouring down her back. She could only tightly hold onto the supply officer's severed leg, preventing the wound from directly touching the putrid flesh.

As she reached the wall, her sweat had already dripped down. She used the flashlight to stick to the edge and saw another wall, mentally noting its relative position. She waded along the wall.

Finally, she found it by touch. She continued shining the flashlight along the edge, and if after shining it four times it only revealed a wall, it meant she had reached a dead-end.

Just as she was walking along the edge, she suddenly heard a hissing sound.

"Hiss..." The sound grew louder, but He Ran couldn't locate the source even when she turned the flashlight towards it. She clearly heard the hissing sound, coming from someone's mouth.

She continued walking forward, and suddenly the hissing sound changed.

"Behind you."

He Ran turned her body around. The voice belonged to Li Haohao.

"Behind you."

She hesitated, then turned 90 degrees, her back against the wall.

The voice said, "In front."

Perhaps because the voice belonged to Li Haohao, He Ran didn't hesitate. She pushed aside the corpses in front of her and ignored the flies buzzing around her. She forcefully continued walking forward.

She didn't know how long she had been walking when the flashlight finally illuminated a wall. There was a hole in the wall with a half-exposed sewage pipe sticking out. The traces of sewage on the wall were particularly filthy. She approached the wall, and the sewage pipe was about two meters away from her position. The wall was covered in greasy stains, making it difficult to climb.

The voice emerged from the sewage pipe, and this time, a metal chain was thrown down as well.

She wiped the flashlight again, held it in her mouth, and climbed up along the iron chain.

Upon reaching the top of the sewage pipe, she saw a girl who indeed had Li Haohao's face. However, her hair had been shaved off, exposing a round back of her head. Her eyes were bright, and she had no bead strings on her hands or feet. She was wearing worn-out vest and shorts, hunching over.

Behind this "Li Haohao," another identical face appeared. It turned out that two girls were working together to hold her.

He Ran put down the flashlight and stared at her for a moment. The girl asked her cautiously, "Are you from the kitchen?"

He Ran shook her head. The other Li Haohao's voice was softer, as if afraid of disturbing someone. She asked, "Then where are you from?"

"I... I came from outside."

The first Li Haohao suddenly kicked her, causing her to fall back, but she managed to grab onto the sewage pipe and hung in mid-air, struggling to climb back up. However, Li Haohao didn't let her go. She stepped on her fingers again, fortunately, she was barefoot, so the impact wasn't too severe.

The quieter Li Haohao said, "I heard gunshots. She has a gun."

The first Li Haohao then said, "Give me the gun."

"I lost it," He Ran confessed honestly, struggling to pry open the sewage pipe. "Li Haohao!"

She still called the other person by the name she had given her, regardless of what the person's real name might be.

This was the first time she could have a conversation with the "Li Haohao" since entering the polluted area. She hoped that this name would trigger a reaction from the real Li Haohao.

But the other person clearly didn't appreciate it. 

"Give me the gun, or else you'll fall down, rot, and be eaten by flies."

"It fell into that... cage. I accidentally dropped it."

"Deception!" The other person was extremely angry and stomped on her fingers again, attempting to kick her back into the pile of corpses.

Deception.

He Ran's eyes welled up with tears.

She exerted all her strength and managed to grab the other person's ankle. The more aggressive Li Haohao, who was kicking her, exclaimed in surprise and lost her balance. Her companion immediately grabbed her and pulled her back with all her might.

Li Haohao tried to kick her off, but she held on tightly, showing a fierce expression. Even when she exerted all her strength to pull her up, Li Haohao did not show a friendly face and remained vigilant, ready to kick her away at any moment.

But Li Haohao was still Li Haohao, always appearing weak and timid due to malnutrition. She didn't have much strength. After a few unsuccessful attempts, she temporarily gave up. The two of them guarded the sewage pipe, not allowing He Ran to approach even a little.

He Ran slowly wiped off the corpses and maggots from her pants and boots, checked the condition of the supply officer in front of her, and then let her down, taking a step forward.

The two identical twin-like girls cautiously took a step back.

He Ran raised her hands and then took off her 0922 uniform. Her sweater was also dirty and smelled foul. She said, "I will never harm you, never."

She put down her military knife, took off her boots and pants, and raised her hands again.

At this moment, Li Haohao seemed to notice that she had a companion. She stared at Xiang Chenxi for a while, furrowing her brows. "She's from the patrol team."

Xiang Chenxi's uniform belonged to the patrol team? He Ran wasn't quite sure about that.

After a moment of confrontation, the other Li Haohao behind them hesitantly suggested, "Let's take her away and ask what to do."

He Ran's strength was evident from the confrontation, and the Li Haohao in front clenched her teeth. She cautiously approached with a crouched posture, snatched her boots and weapon, and quickly retreated.

He Ran remained motionless.

To differentiate between them, He Ran mentally nicknamed them in her head. The Li Haohao wearing black shorts and always taking the lead was called Li Haohao 1, while the seemingly weaker but more thoughtful one was called Li Haohao 2.

Li Haohao 1 threw the items to her companion and approached her, giving her a push on the shoulder. "Let's go!"

He Ran didn't ask where they were going. Once again, she lifted the supply officer as lightly as possible, tied her to her back, and followed Li Haohao 2 into the depths of the sewage pipe.

As they walked, she asked without much hope, "Do you have any medicine? My companion seems to be in bad shape."

Surprisingly, they did have medicine, but they refused to give it. Li Haohao 1 said, "No, it's precious."

"Okay, what do you want in exchange?"

"Nothing."

"I know the layout of the thirteenth floor, and I know where the kitchen is. Apart from that, I don't know anything else, and I don't know any other way to get directly to the kitchen besides the recycling station and the rooftop."

"I don't care." said Li Haohao 1 in a fierce tone.

He Ran fell silent, but this path was too long. Whether it was the two girls walking in front of her or the ones escorting her from behind, they both looked like Li Haohao, with her voice. It was difficult for her to suppress her emotions and said, "I fell from above, and before that, there was a girl who looked just like you... she was also in a cage."

"Hmm," both girls replied, their tone somewhat downcast.

"Do you know each other?"

Li Haohao 1 said, "No, we don't."

Li Haohao 2, who was about to say something, remained silent. He Ran noticed the difference between the two girls.

"I'm worried about her. The moment I saw her, she was holding dirty clothes, and I'm worried someone might bully her."

"You don't understand anything." said Li Haohao 1.

"I'm sorry." she apologized and didn't continue to ask.

Li Haohao bullying Li Haohao? Moreover, those camera people also said to rule out the possibility of bullying.

It was just for entertainment purposes.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't ask."

He Ran fell silent again for a while, but she couldn't help it. After a short time, she asked again, "I saw other girls down there who look just like you... are you here to save your companion?"

"We can't save her," Li Haohao 2 turned around. "Today is the Night of Wild Dance."

Li Haohao 1's lips moved, "Don't tell her these things."

"If you're an outsider, tell me, how come you don't know about the Night of Wild Dance?" Li Haohao 2's logical reasoning was clearly better than Li Haohao 1's. Li Haohao 2 seemed like an adviser while Li Haohao 1 seemed like a fighter, being wary and tightly holding the military knife, watching He Ran's every move when the group stopped.

"I saw the posters, but... I don't know what the Night of Wild Dance is. I saw others like Youth Night, Fun Night, just some posters."

"Are you a Silencer?"

"What is a Silencer?" He Ran caught a key piece of information, and the two girls exchanged a glance.

"How did you get in here?"

"I don't know... When I came here, there was a railway, and I came by train."

Li Haohao 1 suddenly showed a surprised smile, but Li Haohao 2 cautiously grabbed her companion's arm. "Something's strange. I don't believe it's just a coincidence."

A coincidence of what? He Ran carefully observed, and Li Haohao 1 became even more alert than before, holding a military knife and charging towards her. He Ran was confident enough to handle an adult one-on-one, let alone a malnourished teenage girl. With a slight move, she grabbed Li Haohao 1's wrist and swiftly took the knife, pulling the person into her arms.

Li Haohao 2 immediately rushed forward disregarding her own safety, but He Ran simply threw the knife on the ground with a clang, leaving Li Haohao 2 stunned.

Li Haohao 1 had prepared herself for a desperate struggle, but He Ran just hung tiredly on her, holding her neck from behind and gently said, "I won't harm you. Tell me, what is a Silencer?"

The girl in her arms stiffened for a moment and suddenly bit her arm. He Ran didn't mind and let her go, kicking the military knife away.

Li Haohao 1 was still in shock, while Li Haohao 2 made up her mind and approached her, just an arm's length away, raising her head. "Are you... a rebel?"

"Rebel against whom?"

"Against the Governing officials and the Silencers. Are there still any normal people in the patrol team?"

The Governing officials represented the official side, and the Patrol Team represented the military, but what side did the Silencers represent? It sounded like the Patrol Team had already been taken over by the Governing officials or the Silencers.

He Ran slowly bent down and tried to place her hand on Li Haohao 2's shoulder. "I'm sorry... My mind isn't clear. I'm not part of the Patrol Team or the Governing officials, and I don't know what the Silencers are... My name is He Ran. I'm a researcher from A4C2 Outpost. The outpost is about a six-hour drive from Daomiao City."

Li Haohao 2 felt a bit uneasy and removed her hand, hiding behind Li Haohao 1, peeking at her. After thinking for a moment, she came out again. "What is the outpost for?"

He Ran wanted to explain the functions of the outpost, but they seemed too complicated for these two girls in front of her.

She remembered December 22nd and said, "The outpost serves many purposes, and one of our responsibilities is to receive distress signals from the surrounding areas and go rescue people... We received a signal from Daomiao base, so we came. We usually can't enter the base. I'm sorry, I don't know... the Night of Wild Dance, the Silencers, what they are."

"The Silencers... It's also difficult to explain clearly. The Night of Wild Dance, the Governing officials, the Patrol Team, and the Silencers come together and give themselves a fancy name, devouring us."

Suddenly, Li Haohao 1 perked up her ears. "Time is running out."

"Do you hear the music?" she asked.

He Ran focused her senses and seemed to perceive faint vibrations from the cracks in the bricks and the flowing sewage.

"They are about to die." Number Two said calmly.

"Who?"

"The girl you saw, the one just like us. She will die tonight."

A flicker of sadness flashed across the faces of the two girls, and they quickly started running ahead.

"As long as you're not with the Governing officials and the Silencers..." Li Haohao 1 said as she ran.

"What are the Silencers? I'll help you k!ll them." He Ran followed behind.

"Nonsense, you don't have a gun, you'll be k!lled."

"I do."

There was still one on Xiang Chenxi.

"You said you lost it. Deception!"

"I can't stop bullets, and I was afraid you would attack me. I... I just..."

It was as if she had returned to the rhythm of interacting with the real Li Haohao.

He Ran's mood calmed down a lot. Regardless of her current mental value or pollution level, she felt that everything was normal now.

Finally, there was light above, and the two girls stopped. One person acted as a human ladder for the other, climbing up and extending an iron chain down.

He Ran took Xiang Chenxi and held her in her arms. Xiang Chenxi's lips were pale, but she was still breathing. He Ran was grateful for Xiang Chenxi's good physical condition, as she had endured so much torment and was still alive.

It's just that her body was burning hot.

They crawled through another passage that emerged from the small hole, climbing and crawling along the pipe. Finally, they reached inside a cabinet.

The cabinet had a translucent shell, and before she crawled out, the shell had been closed.

Just as she was about to push open the shell, she saw Li Haohao 1 press a button. Immediately after, she started spinning uncontrollably, and clean water gushed out from all around.

They had crawled into a washing machine.

"My companion—" She held onto the shell tightly but saw Li Haohao 1 step back, blocking the view of the glass window towards the outside.

The camera person stood at the doorway, lingered for a moment, and then left without noticing anything unusual.

Li Haohao 1 pulled her foot out of the tub, turned around to look at the door, while Li Haohao 2 threw away a pile of dirty clothes in her hand and stood upright.

They stopped the washing machine and pulled out the damp but much cleaner Outpost woman and their companions.

The Outpost woman whispered, "Do you have any medicine? I'll give you anything in exchange. She has a fever."

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