Chapter 47-I Clean Up Garbage in a Wasteland World

Chapter 47 The Bizarre Aquarium-4

Zhu Ning froze. A person's first reaction in this situation is to shoot, but she didn't have time.

Just as she raised her gun, she was violently yanked downwards. The speed was too fast; a normal person couldn't react at all. Her vision was instantly submerged by water. Before sinking into the accumulated water, she heard someone shouting, "Zhu Ning!"

It was Li Nianchuan who called her. Chu Ling and Li Nianchuan were closest to her and discovered the anomaly immediately.

When they turned around, Zhu Ning had already been overturned, gun and all. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the water, as if dragged away by some marine creature using brute force.

Tang Ke: "There's something under the water. Protect the Cleaners!"

Chu Ling had wanted to shoot, but amidst the chaos, she was afraid that strafing with bullets would cause friendly fire.

She hesitated for merely a second. A second later, Zhu Ning was gone. They stared at the water surface. The accumulated water only reached the knees; it should have been a shallow water area. Even if one fell down, it was easy to get up.

But Zhu Ning was gone, as if there was a hole beneath the accumulated water leading straight to the deep sea, and she had fallen into a trap.

The Demon Hunters held their guns, waiting in full battle array. After Zhu Ning was dragged away, the water surface swayed for a while, then returned to calm, as if everything just now was an illusion.

The transparency of the water here was not high. The water body was a bit greyish. If one stared at it for a long time, it seemed that it wasn't a water surface.

Instead, it was countless wriggling grey little worms. Their bodies assembled to form something resembling a body of water, waiting to devour new prey anytime, anywhere.

They were standing in a pool of worms.

Li Nianchuan's scalp went numb. He watched helplessly as Zhu Ning disappeared, and it was easy to imagine that the next victim would be himself.

The grey little worms in the water surface seemed able to climb up along a person's calves, drilling into pores along the seams of the Cleaner's work uniform.

People were afraid of worms and unknown tiny creatures, actually not because of fear of being eaten in one bite by the worms—after all, a worm's body size was not like a large animal—but fear that they would drill into the human body. Just this step was terrifying enough.

Before the dense mass of worms drilled in, a person's imagination could scare them crazy.

Mental pollution.

Li Nianchuan had fought Fishmen with Zhu Ning before and quickly reacted. The water here was a form of mental pollution. Li Nianchuan carefully held his gun, constantly brainwashing himself in the way Zhu Ning had taught him.

This is normal. This is normal.

Li Nianchuan opened his eyes. His brain was not chaotic; he really seemed a bit stronger than before.

Li Nianchuan had been preventing himself from being mentally polluted, so he had no time to look around. Just as he recovered his senses, he suddenly heard a muffled sound from behind.

Bang!

A Demon Hunter in front was knocked down. In the swaying water, Li Nianchuan saw a blurry black shadow flash by. It looked like a shark, or some water monster. There was only a thick black shadow that suddenly appeared and grabbed the Demon Hunter's ankle.

The sea monster hadn't left; it was still in this body of water. The unknown monster churned in the water, instantly kicking up a large splash.

After Zhu Ning was grabbed, it was their turn now.

...

Zhu Ning was being dragged downwards by a hand.

The water current rushed past her ears rapidly. She watched helplessly as she got farther and farther away from the water surface.

Zhu Ning profoundly understood one thing: what it meant to be a marine creature. On land, humans could possess absolute initiative, but anyone, once entering underwater, had to make way for marine creatures.

Thanks to the Demon Hunter beating her up, if it were the Zhu Ning from a week ago encountering this situation, she would absolutely have no power to fight back.

The underwater environment was complex, and she couldn't see anything clearly. Zhu Ning had an instinctive reaction, raising her left foot and kicking ruthlessly downwards.

Suddenly, her ankle loosened, and she kicked empty air. It was as if she had been fighting wholeheartedly against some force, but the enemy suddenly disappeared. For a moment, she was somewhat at a loss.

Left?

What was the thing that dragged her just now? If it was a monster, it couldn't have vanished completely in a second.

Zhu Ning looked through the green screen. She was floating in the depths of the ocean. The seabed was pitch black, and a sense of oppression hit her in the face. She was the only one on the seabed.

She was like a stranded astronaut, floating alone in the barren universe.

No teammates, no support. She didn't even know where she actually was. At that moment, her greatest feeling was loneliness—a vast expanse of blackness as far as the eye could see.

Zhu Ning floated for a while. If she let the loneliness expand, loneliness could torture a person into madness. She took deep breaths, using breathing to combat loneliness. She had seen a sci-fi movie where a stranded astronaut had to save themselves. She had to start saving herself.

There was a strange sensation on her ankle. Clearly there was nothing there, but there was a feeling of restraint. The most taboo thing when swimming underwater was being entangled by things like water weeds.

She reached out and touched it. Her fingertips felt a subtle abnormality, almost imperceptible.

Zhu Ning pulled carefully. It was a strand of hair.

Not a large handful, just a single thin strand. Was it not a ghost hand that grabbed her just now, but a strand of hair? Did a hair strand have such great strength?

Zhu Ning held one end of the hair strand and then gently pulled outwards, like discovering a loose thread on a sweater in winter, afraid to pull too hard lest the sweater unravel completely. She had to observe the situation while pulling, ready to stop at any time.

This hair strand got longer and longer. It looked like a woman's hair. If it grew on a human head, it would at least be waist-length hair.

But things were getting weirder. This length far exceeded the length a human hair strand should have. It had no end.

Clearly, one end was wrapped around Zhu Ning's ankle, but it seemed impossible to finish pulling it; an infinite length of hair could be pulled out.

Zhu Ning didn't dare to move after pulling only two meters. She stopped and looked at her hand. Messy hair strands were wrapped around her fingers. The black hair wasn't that conspicuous against the black protective suit, seeming to merge into one. This speculation of merging was what made it more terrifying.

These hairs were... alive?

The hair was visibly growing and multiplying, and wriggling in the palm of her hand.

People shed a few strands of hair when showering; Zhu Ning was no exception. Reasonably speaking, she should be very familiar with this daily scene of hair strands in the palm.

But now the hair was moving, like wriggling maggots. The wriggling hair strands crawled slowly. Starting from the palm, they wanted to climb all the way up her forearm.

Zhu Ning tensed all over. Any normal person would find this stuff disgusting. Just the thought of living hair strands climbing all over one's body would make one's skin crawl. Once the mental state became unstable, one would struggle.

Given the current situation, the more one struggled, the deeper one would be entangled.

Zhu Ning stopped. She didn't move anymore, forcing herself to accept the fact that there was living hair in her palm.

This is normal. This is normal. This is normal.

Zhu Ning continually brainwashed herself. It's just living hair, completely normal.

The pulled-out hair strands wrapped around Zhu Ning. Their growth speed became faster and faster, multiplying from one strand to a cluster in the blink of an eye. It was practically gushing, like oil gushing from the seabed.

After only about two minutes, Zhu Ning was already enveloped by a mass of hair.

She had been holding the gun before she fell behind. The gun strap hung on her arm and hadn't been lost even now.

But she dared not shoot at all. She had a premonition that if she dared to shoot, these hairs would instantly wrap around and strangle her to death. She could only relax her body as much as possible.

Countless hair strands climbed on her body, trying to find seams in the work uniform. At the neck, the edges of the helmet and clothes, they kept probing, wanting to surge in.

Once a hair strand entered the interior, the hair with reproductive ability would grow from the inside. It probably wouldn't take long for the inside of her work uniform to be burst by hair.

And Zhu Ning herself would be deprived of all oxygen, reduced to a slave of the hair strands.

Contaminants in all contaminated areas tried every possible way to pollute you, and this place was no exception. The hair strands probed at the edges of the work uniform. They climbed for a long time but didn't find any tiny seams.

She didn't know who designed the work uniform, but this designer deserved a top design award. The quality was truly good.

Zhu Ning suppressed her instincts and deliberately ignored the existence of the hair strands. She had been dragged very far and couldn't see clearly where she was now, only knowing the water was very deep.

To simulate the seabed, aquariums were generally equipped with artificial waves. The artificial waves would move every minute, so the bottom of this water wasn't a stagnant pool.

Zhu Ning spread her limbs. Those hairs floated by her side like water weeds.

Zhu Ning and the mass of hair were like associated organisms, or perhaps, the hair strands were a trap, and Zhu Ning was the new prey it had captured.

She could feel the hair moving, and they moved with a tangible sensation. The tactile sensor device of the work uniform transmitted that feeling very clearly.

Very itchy.

She didn't know if it was psychological, but that itch was amplified, itchier than insect bites or skin diseases, requiring all her willpower to refrain from reaching out to scratch.

Zhu Ning remained motionless, not even holding her gun. She was just sensing. The contaminated area was no longer the layout of an aquarium; this place seemed like the real deep sea.

"Prometheus?" Zhu Ning asked. This was the only person she could contact.

[I am here.]

A clear and calm answer, like the automatic reply of a trashy artificial intelligence from Zhu Ning's era.

This feeling was quite magical. Zhu Ning had done several missions entering contaminated areas alone. In Experimental Subject 777, she was almost tortured crazy by boredom; no one talked to her back then.

Zhu Ning began to believe it; Prometheus really possessed the capability for hospice care.

Before Zhu Ning could ask, Prometheus guessed what she was thinking.

[Currently no casualties. They encountered an attack. Li Nianchuan and Xu Meng are with Chu Ling. Other Demon Hunters are reorganizing the team under Tang Ke's lead.]

A very simple sentence, just stating facts, but Zhu Ning inexplicably felt that this artificial intelligence was truly intelligent.

It could judge the close relationship between Zhu Ning and the others, reporting news of Li Nianchuan and Xu Meng first, while the Grey Eagle Squad was just mentioned in passing.

Had AI emotional development reached this level? But Zhu Ning felt a burst of horror. Having her thoughts completely predicted was not a good omen.

Xu Meng's side also encountered an attack; no wonder no one contacted her.

Zhu Ning asked, "How are my vital signs now?"

Prometheus could access the human body. Zhu Ning remembered one of its functions was monitoring human vital signs, a bit like the smartwatches of her world.

[Heart rate normal, sanity value stable. You are very healthy.]

In fact, Zhu Ning was somewhat overly healthy. After experiencing all this, she was being wrapped by hair, yet surprisingly didn't generate much fear emotion.

Zhu Ning asked, "What about oxygen?"

Cleaner helmets had filtration systems. The work uniform was designed to enter contaminated areas, taking into account various extreme situations. The work uniform, which was like a motorcycle suit, perfectly became a diving suit at this moment.

[Remaining oxygen can last approximately forty minutes.]

After all, the work uniform wasn't equipped with a dedicated oxygen tank. Lasting forty minutes was already the limit.

"Are there oxygen bottles nearby?" Zhu Ning asked.

Who knew how long she would stay in the contaminated area? In the deep sea, having oxygen made one feel more secure.

[The nearest oxygen bottle is nine hundred meters from you. The Cleaner work uniform interface is a universal interface, capable of connecting to any model.]

A small dot appeared on Zhu Ning's helmet panel; Prometheus marked the location of the oxygen.

It should be the oxygen tanks prepared by the aquarium itself. Staff and performers also needed to go underwater.

Whatever Zhu Ning prepared to do, she had to escape from these weird hair strands first.

There was basic logic within the contaminated area. Contaminants couldn't completely change rules and create things out of thin air that didn't fit logic.

Such a large amount of hair wouldn't appear in a normal aquarium. Animals only had fur; most marine creatures had scales and tentacles.

There was only one kind that could grow hair: merfolk.

This should be merman hair. The hair strands were like antennae with very sensitive perception. They could detect human emotions. As long as Zhu Ning didn't flee or show hostility, these hair strands seemed not to have any strong aggressive intent either.

Zhu Ning carefully extended her hand. The hair strands floated between her fingers but didn't instantly strangle her fingers.

Only after confirming this did she start to move. The amplitude was very small; once the hair strands started to wrap, she would slow down.

She was exploring the space she was in.

There was seawater all around, but this wasn't the real deep sea. In the deep sea, seawater was boundless, never finding an end. The location she was in was an aquarium, which should have an end.

Zhu Ning fixed her eyes on the direction of the oxygen bottle marked by the helmet, advancing with that as the goal.

Thud—

A very muffled sound. She bumped into something, right in front of her.

Zhu Ning groped around. It was very smooth. This should be a transparent glass wall. Had she touched the edge of the exhibition hall?

The oxygen bottle was three hundred meters ahead, but there was a thick glass wall between her and the oxygen bottle.

Zhu Ning was just about to explore how big this place was. Just as she lowered her head, she suddenly froze.

She met a human face.

A man was pressed against the glass wall. His facial features were squeezed out of shape by the glass wall, but his gaze was extremely greedy, staring over urgently all the while.

Zhu Ning frowned. More than one. Outside the glass wall was a dense crowd of spectators, possibly hundreds or thousands.

Hundreds of human faces squeezed over. Their faces pressed against the glass wall, staring straight at Zhu Ning, as if looking at some rare animal.

Their gazes were overly greedy, squeezing the glass wall forcefully, wishing they could drill their heads in to see clearly.

Contaminated areas had their own logic. After entering, you would have an identity living within the contaminated area.

In Line 1, Zhu Ning was a passenger. In the hotpot restaurant, she was a cashier. In Experimental Subject 777, she was a tenant.

Inside the aquarium, there were roughly only three identities: tourists, staff, and the creatures on display.

Zhu Ning was now the one being exhibited inside the glass wall.

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