Chapter 654 - 644: Hello There 2

’The people here are surprisingly polite.’

The next second, Moira Lynch turned to leave without a moment’s hesitation.

In a desolate place like this, with the air so heavily polluted, for someone to just pop out of nowhere and greet you... you didn’t need to be a genius to know something was wrong.

’Who the hell knows what that thing is.’

Just as Moira Lynch was about to use Space Movement to escape, the distant shadow closed the gap between them at an uncanny speed.

Then, a clear voice suddenly reached her ears.

Hello!

It seemed like a perfectly ordinary greeting, but hearing it inexplicably made Moira Lynch’s skin crawl.

At that moment, only a single word echoed in her mind: ’Run!’

The next second, she vanished, reappearing ten kilometers away.

Just as Moira Lynch was about to breathe a sigh of relief, her eyes widened in shock as she looked behind her.

The black shadow—it had actually caught up, endlessly repeating, "Hello!"

Only this time, compared to the initial calm, its tone was laced with a distinct, unhinged quality.

It was like a serial killer chasing you with a knife while chanting "Amitabha Buddha."

An ice spike materialized in Moira Lynch’s hand, and she shot it straight at the black shadow.

The black shadow didn’t dodge or flinch, seemingly fearless. But a second later, the ice spike struck its body, sending it flying backward.

Through Moira Lynch’s spiritual sense, she perceived the shadow dissipating in mid-air as it flew back.

She was certain it wasn’t dead.

A shiver ran down Moira Lynch’s spine at the thought. ’No, I have to get out of this place as fast as possible. And I need to figure out what the hell is going on with this world.’

With that, Moira Lynch disregarded the drain on her energy, picked a direction, and began a continuous series of Instant Teleportations.

She watched the data from Patience, and only when she saw the air pollution levels steadily decreasing did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness I chose the right direction.’

She didn’t know how long she’d been going, but eventually, Moira Lynch felt her energy reserves run dry. She had no choice but to stop.

Fortunately, Patience now indicated that the surrounding air was back to normal, and the unsettling feeling that had plagued her was gone.

Moira Lynch removed her helmet and put on a black face mask.

Sensing the sounds of a battle not far away, she decided to go take a look.

’This world is just too dangerous.’

Moira Lynch headed in the direction of the commotion.

After walking for a few minutes, she saw several robots in the distance fighting a gigantic ant.

The robots’ weapons only left faint scratches on the ant’s exoskeleton, while the creature’s powerful mandibles were capable of inflicting immense damage.

However, the fighters were clearly experienced. They knew the ant’s weak points, and by working together, they finally managed to defeat it.

It was then that the group seemed to notice Moira Lynch standing in the distance.

In an instant, both sides grew wary.

As Moira Lynch watched, the lead robot suddenly raised its hand partway and gave a little wave in her direction—the exact same gesture the black shadow had made.

’Seriously, what is wrong with you people?’

Moira Lynch complained internally, but her body’s reaction was instinctual. She turned and fled without a second thought.

Seeing Moira Lynch turn and run without the slightest hesitation, the other robots gathered around. "Captain," one said, "looks like that’s not one of the Infected."

"Yeah. Once we’ve collected the spoils, we’ll go after her. See if we can find her."

As they spoke, the mechanical parts of their suits began to slowly retract, revealing living flesh and blood underneath.

By now, Moira Lynch had stopped running.

She had genuinely intended to flee, but her energy was depleted. Besides, she quickly realized they weren’t giving chase.

When she extended her spiritual power to scout the area, she happened to overhear their conversation.

’So it was a test.’

’Since they’re going to come looking for me, I might as well slow down.’

Taking advantage of the moment, she contacted her other three teammates.

[Moira Lynch: Some areas have severe air pollution. Also, be careful of anyone who waves from a distance and says "Hello!"]

[Hugh Finch: Got it. This world is dangerous. Be careful. Don’t get hurt.]

After waiting a moment, she had only received a reply from Hugh Finch. She had no idea how the other two were faring.

A little while later, she heard the heavy rumble of a vehicle approaching from behind.

She turned to see a heavily armored vehicle driving slowly in her direction.

"Young lady, what are you doing out here all alone?"

A man hopped down from the vehicle and asked Moira Lynch.

"I... I was with my family. They..."

Moira Lynch lowered her gaze, her expression filled with sorrow.

Seeing her expression, the man naturally assumed something had happened to her family.

"Do you remember what happened?"

As if afraid of scaring the young woman, who looked barely out of her teens, the man softened his tone as much as he could.

"I... I just remember I was out scavenging for supplies with my brothers, and then we saw a black shadow in the distance waving at us, and then..."

Moira Lynch didn’t continue—she couldn’t think of anything else to add to her story. Instead, she just started sobbing, figuring she’d let them fill in the rest of the details themselves.

Just as she’d expected, the man in front of her and the others in the vehicle all looked at her with sympathy after hearing her story.

"Don’t be sad. I’m sure your brothers would want you to keep living."

Moira Lynch nodded. "I know. I’ll be strong. It seems like you know what kind of monster killed my brothers. Can you tell me?"

"You don’t know?"

"It’s a type of monster we call the Infected. We still don’t know how they’re formed. All we know is that they resemble humans, but they’re faceless and entirely black. If you attack them, their bodies just disappear. Their attack power is incredible, and they’re extremely fast.

Also, they only seem to be hostile toward creatures with a similar form to their own.

When they encounter a similar creature, they’ll wave first, then say the word ’Hello!’. Whether you respond or not, they attack the very next second. It’s almost impossible to defend against."

"To date, the mortality rate for encounters with this type of Infected is over ninety-five percent. Young lady, you’re incredibly lucky."