Chapter 386: Metal sphere
Without wasting words, Lin Ye directly walked into the Contaminated Zone. He didn't actually have absolute confidence in surviving, but this phenomenon that could blast people into bloody mist was eighty percent related to spiritual energy. The first person exploded only after landing, while the second person exploded the moment he entered. Both were thrown in from the same position, indicating that the location where this phenomenon occurred was not fixed.
In other words, as long as Lin Ye was sharp enough, he could avoid this explosive phenomenon.
Lin Ye did not actively use his mental energy. Instead, he concentrated his mind and moved forward slowly. The moment any abnormal spiritual energy fluctuation occurred around him, he would dodge in advance.
Just as he took his third step, Lin Ye detected an abnormal spiritual energy fluctuation about to pass through the middle of his body. He took a small step to the right, barely avoiding that spiritual energy fluctuation.
He didn't dare make any large movements, because this body's mobility was limited. Once there were multiple or continuous spiritual energy fluctuations nearby, there was a possibility he wouldn't be able to dodge.
Furthermore, balance and center of gravity were also extremely important. These were the key points to precisely controlling the body while moving.
Lin Ye slowly advanced within the Contaminated Zone, occasionally making small, rapid adjustments to his position. He proceeded like this towards the center of the Contaminated Zone. The closer he got to the center, the denser the abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations he needed to avoid became.
At the center of the Contaminated Zone, the abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations had become so dense that every step required consecutive dodges several times over. Lin Ye struggled to maintain his body's balance, ultimately falling down right at the center of the Contaminated Zone.
His head hit a silvery-white metal sphere. After he bumped into it, those abnormal spiritual energy fluctuations disappeared.
Rubbing his head, Lin Ye picked up the heavy metal sphere and returned to the edge of the Contaminated Zone. The Captain took the metal sphere, patted Lin Ye's shoulder, and said with a smile: "Kid, well done. From now on, you're a member of the company. Get him some food."
A team member beside them handed the prepared food and drinks to Lin Ye, giving him a friendly smile.
"Thank you."
Lin Ye took the food and prepared to return to the pathfinder team.
"You don't need to go back there. Just stay with me. It's safer by my side."
The Captain placed the metal sphere into a box and carried it with him.
Lin Ye did not refuse. Nor did he have the ability to refuse.
After completing the mission, the team quickly withdrew from the jungle. This mission had gone very smoothly, and the team members all showed expressions of relief. For them, this kind of mission was also very dangerous. This time, only a few team members had died, which was already a very good result.
Once out of the jungle, they quickly found the team members and vehicles they had left outside earlier. After confirming that the vehicles and personnel were fine, they boarded the vehicles and returned to the Free City.
Sitting on the cold, hard seat of the off-road vehicle, Lin Ye just calmly watched the scenery outside the window. He didn't ask any questions, because his understanding of the Free City was almost zero. In this situation, any mistake could be fatal.
Forty minutes later, Lin Ye finally saw the outline of the Free City. It was a metropolis whose prosperity could be felt even from a distance.
The off-road vehicle didn't enter the city directly. Instead, it stopped by the woods outside the city.
Lin Ye had a bad premonition. He hoped his premonition was wrong.
"Want to get down and take a look?"
The Captain sitting beside him asked Lin Ye.
"...Look at what?"
Lin Ye revealed a fragile smile, making him look like a young man who understood nothing.
"To see the fate of those without value in the Free City."
Lin Ye followed the Captain out of the vehicle. The 'pathfinders' also got out. Several armed personnel pointed their guns at them and led them to the edge of the woods.
Those young people trembled as they moved forward. Most of them had guessed a certain possibility, but before truly facing the outcome, they still held onto a sliver of hope.
"I don't understand. Why not keep them for the next pathfinding mission?"
Lin Ye asked, puzzled.
"Because it's troublesome. Rather than having the company feed these useless trash until the next Contaminated Zone appears, or releasing them to let them talk nonsense in the city, it's better to deal with them here. At worst, we can just recruit more next time. In the Free City, the cheapest things are the garbage used for pathfinding."
The Captain said disdainfully.
The armed personnel released their safeties and aimed their gun muzzles at those young people.
"Wait!"
Lin Ye's voice interrupted the final step.
"Do you have an opinion?"
The Captain placed his hand on Lin Ye's shoulder. The smile on his face vanished abruptly as he looked at Lin Ye with icy eyes.
He was a fourth-tier spiritual energy user. By his side, Lin Ye had no room for resistance whatsoever.
"No, I just want to say thank you to my friend. You saw it earlier too, she always took care of me."
Lin Ye said somewhat sadly.
"Ah, that's no problem then. Go on, hurry up. After dealing with this trivial matter, I'll take you to see the world. Believe me, it's a place you could never go even if you picked up trash your whole life."
The Captain said cheerfully.
Lin Ye jogged over to the young girl who had pulled him back earlier. She was a girl with a fierce expression. She didn't welcome Lin Ye's approach. Instead, she pushed Lin Ye away and said loudly:
"What are you coming over here for! You're already one of them! Get back there!"
"Only I can decide where I should stand. Do you like red flowers?"
Lin Ye asked with a smile.
When he stood in this position, everything was already over.
"...So-so. What, are you going to give me flowers? I'm not an ordinary woman. Ordinary flowers can't move me."
Although she felt the topic was a bit off, seeing Lin Ye's calm eyes, the young girl also calmly gave her answer.
She knew what those people were going to do. In her final moments, she didn't want to appear too pathetic.
"Look behind me."
Lin Ye dispelled his mental mark.
An invisible spiritual energy fluctuation erupted around the Captain, sweeping through the entire armed team. The entire team instantly exploded. Vehicles were destroyed, equipment shattered, and flesh-and-blood bodies blasted into sprays of bloody mist, just like blooming flowers.
The silver metal sphere was a very precise spiritual energy device. Lin Ye didn't know its operating principle, but he could insert a mental mark when his head made contact with it, interfering with its operation.
The metal sphere's operation method was related to mental energy. Lin Ye's action was like inserting a screw into a precision instrument, forcibly preventing the instrument from operating. So, when he removed that screw, the instrument would operate explosively for a period of time.
The mental mark was a mental energy usage technique taught to him by Little Ye. He rarely used this thing normally, because he almost never tracked enemies, preferring to resolve things on the spot.
Furthermore, tracking enemies didn't require such trouble and could easily leave traces that the enemy might discover.