Chapter 409: The Strange Woman
Hmm... Was he just particularly unlucky, or is it related to the biological sample?
Lin Ye put away the small bag and walked toward the sports car.
Mental Acceleration!
Time suddenly stopped flowing. By the time Lin Ye sensed the anomaly, an invisible attack was already right next to his head!
If his reaction had been even a fraction slower, he would have been headshot right then and there.
Lin Ye's left shoulder exploded instantly. The energy unleashed by Blood Burning pushed him out of the way, allowing him to dodge this attack.
'It feels like something is blocking my danger perception...'
Only at the very last moment did Lin Ye barely manage to sense where the attack was coming from.
Lin Ye got up from the ground. Part of the flesh on his left shoulder was missing, but the wound had already healed.
The attack never reappeared, even as Lin Ye drove away. It was as if that headshot attempt was just a random occurrence. This time, Lin Ye didn't dare use the mental purification technique. He was afraid it might affect his perception of his surroundings, and besides, this might not necessarily be some kind of mental attack.
Lin Ye smoothly returned to the vicinity of the wasteland. Those adventurers who had entered the wasteland were gone. Perhaps they had entered the pit, or perhaps they had vanished too.
This time, Lin Ye didn't stop the car. The previous ambush had briefly given him a premonition: if he didn't leave this place quickly, he might not be able to leave at all.
The sports car drove into the wasteland, heading straight for the Bottomless Pit. Lin Ye planned to take a look at the Bottomless Pit. That was where all the problems began;
perhaps some traces remained there.
The car was fast. It didn't take long to get near the Bottomless Pit. Lin Ye didn't drive into the pit itself but instead kept a distance from it.
Because he saw the wreckage of the squad that had been sent to deal with the Contaminated Zone.
Everyone was dead, and they died in different ways.
The adventurer squad had turned into twisted, shriveled, withered plants.
The Carnot Heavy Industries squad had been crushed and flattened onto the ground.
The Deep Pit Products squad lay collapsed on the ground, like piles of boneless sludge.
The Bio-Tech squad had been drained of their contents, leaving only human skins behind.
Lin Ye wasn't very familiar with the other squads, but they had all died in different ways at the edge of the pit.
These squads were equipped with at least one high-level spiritual energy user each. Some squads even had multiple high-level spiritual energy users. Yet all of them were dead. Not a single one survived.
Lin Ye carefully observed the ways these people died, then turned the car around and left the Bottomless Pit. Regardless of how these people died, he shouldn't get any closer to that place. This was the warning those 'seniors' had given him.
Besides, those adventurers who had entered the wasteland earlier had all disappeared. Lin Ye had no intention of using his own body to investigate the reason for their disappearance.
'Wandering off to other places would only invite unnecessary risks. Looks like I can only go take a look at that Ruins.'
Just as Lin Ye was seriously pondering this, he suddenly noticed a wounded woman by the roadside making a hitchhiking gesture. In a place like this, she really didn't seem like a normal human.
But Lin Ye still pulled over, because in his perception, she was just a very ordinary mid-level spiritual energy user. And up until now, he hadn't encountered a single enemy he could actually perceive.
"Uh... uh..."
The woman managed to make some sounds, staggering as she climbed into Lin Ye's sports car. Her teeth and tongue were gone, and she was missing many body parts. It was as if she had just been robbed by the asylum.
"You don't seem like an adventurer on a commission... Are you perhaps one of the earlier group that came in?"
Lin Ye glanced at her attire and asked.
"Uh uh!"
The woman nodded vigorously, her eyes slightly moist.
"I can help you, but you have to tell me everything you know."
Lin Ye felt she probably didn't know much either, but since she had survived until now, she must have something going for her.
The woman nodded forcefully, looking at Lin Ye with great urgency.
Lin Ye took out some biological materials from his ring space, preparing to repair the woman's body. Unlike the upper-body adventurer from before, she wouldn't die immediately. There was no need to use that dangerous treatment method.
"Huh?"
Lin Ye tried to use runes to repair her tongue, but he found that whenever he attempted to use biological materials to mend her body, the materials would rapidly alienate and rot, eventually turning into a puddle of filthy blood water.
Simply touching her didn't cause this phenomenon. It only happened during the repair process.
"Your body has already been contaminated. Ordinary materials simply can't repair it. However, I still have some special biological samples. These samples should be able to repair your body."
Lin Ye hesitated a little. He was afraid she might suddenly explode like that upper-body adventurer from before.
"Uh uh!"
The woman hurriedly took off a spatial accessory from her neck and handed it to Lin Ye.
"It's not that I wanted this. It's just that this biological sample is quite dangerous. You might end up worse off than you are now."
Lin Ye wrapped the spatial necklace around his hand. Since she had already given it, it would be awkward to return it.
"Uh uh!"
The woman urgently indicated that she didn't mind.
"Alright. I just happen to want to find a test subject to study this biological sample anyway."
Lin Ye took out the small bag and used the material inside to repair the woman's body structure. This time, no rotting occurred. He hadn't figured out the reason yet.
"You should be able to speak now. Tell me everything you know."
After dealing with the woman's problem, Lin Ye continued driving toward the Ruins.
"I am a researcher from Carnot Heavy Industries. You can call me Sera. After we entered that wasteland, nothing happened at first. But when we got close to the edge of the pit, various invisible attacks suddenly fell upon everyone. Everyone else died. The reason I survived is because the attack I received was... special.
Afterwards, I was so scared I ran out of the wasteland. I kept running until I reached those Ruins. But I didn't dare enter the Ruins. I've been hiding in the woods until I saw your sports car and came out. I've seen this car before. You must be a friend of Ms. Carnot's, right?"
Sera excitedly recounted her experience.
"...I feel like you're lying to me, but I can't tell that you're lying. If my feeling isn't wrong, then you really should consider finding a more promising job."
Lin Ye said with a frown.
"I'm not lying to you... Alright, fine, I'm still a research assistant. But I didn't lie about the other parts!"
Sera hurriedly defended herself.
"Relax, I won't do anything to you. After all, I'm not sure if you're lying or not."
Lin Ye rarely encountered situations like this. He felt this woman didn't seem simple. Her survival probably wasn't just due to good luck.
But this wasn't a big deal. They would be together for a while. As soon as she showed the slightest flaw, Lin Ye would cleanly and efficiently deal with her.
"Are we going to enter those Ruins?"
Sera asked cautiously.
"That's right. I hope you can leave this place alive."
Lin Ye stepped on the accelerator, and the sports car charged straight into the Ruins.