Chapter 153 - 151: Gene Pollution

Chapter 153: Chapter 151: Gene Pollution

Feng Ling was about to see who had spoken when she suddenly felt a tight grip on her arm.

She looked down—

It was Huangfu Miaomiao, clinging tightly to her arm. Her eyes were filled with panic and unease.

Feng Ling remembered that Huangfu Miaomiao was extremely sensitive to malice. Perhaps the Hunters’ animosity toward the Alien Species was making her panic.

Then again, a tragic sight like this would easily stir one’s blood and fighting spirit. It was impossible for any normal person not to be moved.

As she walked, she observed that the patients here primarily exhibited two types of symptoms: one was the unnatural twisting and contortion of their limbs, and the other was the growth of a moss-like substance resembling ice crystals around their eyes, noses, and mouths.

’This must mean that creatures with these characteristics live in the Maze.’

’How cruel.’

Humanity had only been studying Alien Species for half a year, and the research into the Mazes was even shorter, perhaps only two or three months.

Faced with this kind of genetic pollution, it was likely incurable.

Feng Ling lowered her voice and asked Huangfu Miaomiao, "Would your treatment injections have any effect on them?"

Huangfu Miaomiao shook her head. "The medicine in the injections works by stimulating cellular activity to achieve rapid recovery, but their condition is a genetic mutation..."

Their bodies had mutated due to the pollution, so it didn’t count as an "illness" and couldn’t be treated.

Feng Ling glanced at the elderly and children in the beds, then looked away and silently followed the group through the makeshift medical area.

They were led into a small-town elementary school.

All the town’s residents had been evacuated to other locations for emergency shelter, so the school had been cleared out. The classrooms were converted into dormitories with just a few folding beds, making the conditions extremely basic.

But after witnessing the harsh conditions in the medical area, not a single Hunter complained about the accommodations.

Feng Ling thought, ’Whoever arranged this must know a thing or two about psychology.’

She stopped a staff member in a hazmat suit and pointed to the Cat Spider and Cat Owl on the schoolyard. "I have two Pollution Bodies. It’s not convenient to keep them in a classroom. Can I pitch a tent on the field? I brought my own."

"You can," the staff member nodded. "You’re free to use the school grounds and facilities. Let us know if you need anything, but as you can probably tell, this place is very remote and has limited resources. We might not be able to meet every request."

After speaking, the staff member turned and went to the other classrooms, shouting loudly into each one, "Desks and chairs are in the last classroom at the end of the hall! Folding beds, quilts, and pillows are in the sports equipment room! Thermoses and water cups will be brought over in a little while. It’s hard for us to carry large items in these hazmat suits, so we appreciate your understanding!"

The Hunters present were all very understanding.

Someone said, "It’s fine, we can make do. We’re heading into the polluted zone soon anyway. We don’t need to be picky about where we rest."

Another person chimed in, "Yeah, we got plenty of rest on the train. When are we heading into the polluted zone?"

The staff member shouted back, "Another group of Hunters will arrive at noon. We’ll make arrangements then!"

They were the first group of Hunters to arrive here; another group was on its way from Yanjing City.

Feng Ling took out her phone and checked her location.

Her phone’s map showed they were in a place called Black Mountain Town, the town closest to the Primitive Forest.

Precisely because it was so remote and sparsely populated, there was very little buzz about it online.

The public only knew that the Inspection Bureau had conducted an expedition into the Northern Maze and that the operation had been a complete success. As for the specific impact the Maze had on the surrounding environment, nobody knew.

Even if some people did know, the information was probably suppressed to avoid causing a panic.

After setting up her tent, Feng Ling went with Huangfu Miaomiao to move some desks and chairs from a classroom.

She placed the table and chairs next to the tent, creating a convenient place to put food and water.

Some Hunters who weren’t used to living with others followed Feng Ling’s example and began pitching tents on the field as well.

Everyone was bustling about, creating a scene of peace and quiet. In reality, the Hunter forums had already exploded.

[Xu Yiming: Fuck! Didn’t the news say the mission was a resounding success?! What part of this is a success?! There are at least a hundred patients in that broken-down hospital, and who knows how many have already died!]

[Yu Xing: Not a single word of this was in the news. It was clearly suppressed on purpose.]

[Li Sonna: It’s probably to maintain stability. This is different from a typical disaster. If the situation were made public, it would only cause panic. Besides, the expedition’s goal was to capture data on the Maze. As long as they achieved that, it’s not technically wrong to call the mission a success.]

[Liang Jiaqin: You guys are there already? I’m still on the train. They said I won’t get there until noon. The wait is killing me.]

[Zhu Yu: How does the pollution actually happen? Doesn’t anyone think this is weird? I’m from Yuquan City. After the Maze near Sanqing Mountain was cleared, the residents nearby went back to their normal lives. Why is it so awful here?]

Feng Ling browsed the forum and paused for a moment when she saw a Hunter from Yuquan City.

She noticed the information barrier.

These people had just joined the Hunter Alliance and had a very limited understanding of Alien Species and Mazes. In fact, if she hadn’t met Li Qing by a fortunate coincidence, she’d probably be just as clueless as they were right now.

Feng Ling sat in her tent and thought for a moment, then turned her head and said to Li Qing, "Send me the locations of the Mazes whose Maze Administrators have died."

Li Qing replied with his usual precision, "To be exact, the coordinates I received are the locations of the administrators’ deaths, not of the Mazes themselves."

"Close enough. The administrators only operate within the Maze’s territory, just like how you’ve never left Sanqing Mountain," Feng Ling urged. "Hurry up and send them. We agreed to cooperate, so you need to show some commitment."

Li Qing: "..."

He was silent for a moment before replying, "Give me some time. I need to convert the coordinates from the system into your human map coordinates."

Feng Ling went back to browsing the forum.

No one had explained the reason for the pollution’s spread.

’That can’t be right...’

’Su Yuqing, at least, knows about Maze Administrators. And with his personality, he would have definitely reported it to his superiors by now.’

’Come to think of it, even though Inspectors can use this Hunter forum, you rarely see them say anything. Maybe there’s some kind of taboo?’

’The Inspectors may have their taboos, but I certainly don’t,’ Feng Ling thought.

So, she created a new thread on the forum to explain the cause of the spread.

She had just typed an emoticon when she remembered that the Hunter forum used real names, so she couldn’t use a cutesy persona.

Feng Ling deleted what she had typed and made her brain temporarily forget the "Dou Sha" tone. She began editing the post in a very serious manner.

[Feng Ling: There is a Maze Administrator at the entrance of every Maze. If the Maze Administrator dies, cracks will appear in the Maze, causing it to merge with the real world. This is the phenomenon we know as the spread of Maze pollution.]

[Feng Ling: Killing the Maze Master can make the pollution disappear. However, if the pollution has already spread, killing the Maze Master will not eliminate the pollution that has leaked beyond the Maze’s original boundaries.]