Chapter 7 Chessboard Village
Chapter 7: Qipan Village
The day after his sparring session with Huang Tao and Zhang Qian, Zhou Ming packed his luggage, preparing to head to the mission location.
This mission location was even more remote than the town he was currently in, situated in the outskirts beyond the Third Wall.
He carried his equipment case downstairs and walked onto the street, standing on the sidewalk waiting for a taxi, idly looking around in the meantime.
On a nearby utility pole was a notice posted just this morning, stating that the hotel where strange phenomena appeared a week ago had now been razed, and after new shops were built, it was confirmed that the strange phenomena had completely disappeared.
Zhou Ming knew about this strange phenomenon; he had heard about it yesterday at the boxing gym, it seemed that a week ago,
Zhou Ming imagined such a scene and felt his Sanity Points plummet.
The thought of living in such a crazy world from now on made him feel immense pressure.
The streets all around were filled with such notices, all about strange occurrences being eliminated.
Across the street was a bookstore, and on its glass door was a poster for a bestseller. The poster featured the work that won the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, titled "An Old London Love Story."
The bottom right corner of the poster also stated the reason for the award: ordinary, bland, no plot twists or ups and downs, a sense of reality within the calmness.
"Is this the forbidden speech order? Truly… the world has turned upside down," Zhou Ming sighed.
Zhou Ming learned about the forbidden speech order from books left by the original owner.
It stipulated that no one was allowed to discuss topics related to strange occurrences and strictly prohibited the dissemination of any literary works that could potentially provoke dangerous imaginations, including fantasy films, horror novels, urban legends, and any entertainment works that did not conform to reality.
The novels and films people could see now were all everyday animated films and everyday novels with no plot fluctuations, no drastic plot twists, and boring content. The social background was the normal social background before the strange occurrences appeared.
Thinking about it carefully, such a society was truly incredibly ironic. Compared to imaginative novels, this real-life world was even more bizarre and strange.
In contrast, a calm and boring daily life had become a fantastical product sought after but unobtainable… like a dream.
"Beep beep beep!"
With a honk, a taxi stopped in front of Zhou Ming, who had been holding up his hand. The driver rolled down the window.
"Young man? Where to?"
"Driver, to Qipan Village," Zhou Ming said as he got in.
…
Two hours later, Qipan Village was reached.
Zhou Ming stood on the hillside, looking down. Below him was a cluster of low, scattered earthen houses. The yellowish mud walls were constructed from a mixture of earth and stones, so primitive they resembled ruins left over from before the industrial age.
That was Qipan Village, an old village no longer inhabited.
A little further away was a vast forest, green waves undulating for thousands of meters towards the city, forming a buffer zone between the countryside and the city.
The rhythmic sea of trees was shrouded in a hazy morning mist, which swirled above the forest in the morning breeze, like a giant transparent veil, separating the modern city of reinforced concrete in the distance from the low-lying bungalows at Zhou Ming's feet.
Further still, a towering iron wall blocked all sight. Under the leaden sky, it stood like a cold guillotine, cutting the same world in half… that was the Third Wall.
"Hoo—"
Zhou Ming sighed, put on his mask, and walked down the hillside.
Wearing a mask to carry out a mission was common knowledge in this world, and also to adhere to the principle of secrecy.
"Senior!"
"Senior, you're here!"
Huang Tao and Zhang Qian, standing at the village entrance, saw Zhou Ming from afar and waved to him. They were also wearing masks.
After receiving Zhou Ming's "guidance" yesterday at the boxing and kendo gyms, their mindset had completely changed. The fighting skills and swordsmanship he displayed didn't even seem like a student's; he was as unfathomable as a teacher.
They would definitely benefit greatly from carrying out a mission with Zhou Ming.
"You arrived really early."
Zhou Ming smiled slightly at the two, then his gaze fell on the several fully armed soldiers beside them.
The goggles on the soldiers' helmets glinted in the sunlight, and their resolute faces showed a hint of fatigue, but their posture remained straight.
These soldiers were responsible for preventing monsters from escaping the air-raid shelter. They were equipped with the finest and most complete weapons, and each person was well-trained and worked together seamlessly. Even when facing a large group of zombies, they could easily suppress them.
However, when facing a strange occurrence, all these respectable soldiers could do was prevent the monsters from escaping.
Because ordinary weapons, while capable of harming a strange occurrence, were like cutting water with a knife; they could only cause temporary damage to a strange occurrence and could not eliminate it.
Only things imbued with Curse Power could eliminate strange occurrences, such as the several blades in the box on Zhou Ming's back.
But these swords were not for everyone to use. They were actually a type of strange occurrence themselves. If someone with insufficient aptitude used them, they would go mad. Only those like Zhou Ming and his companions, who had undergone special tests and met the aptitude requirements, could use them.
"Since everyone is here, we will stand by around the cordon and await your good news!" The soldier saluted Zhou Ming and the other two.
Zhou Ming returned the salute and pointed in the direction of the forest.
"The air-raid shelter is in there, right?"
"That's right, be careful. Their speed is very fast, and their strength is also very great. We've already lost one squad here," the soldier replied.
Zhou Ming nodded, turned, and led the way into the woods.
"Oh, right! There might still be a few ordinary civilians alive inside. If possible… we hope you can rescue them," the soldier behind him added.
Zhou Ming nodded again, and without looking back, led Huang Tao and Zhang Qian into the forest.
"What tactics will you use for this mission?" Zhou Ming asked.
"Huh? Senior, haven't you thought of anything?"
"I brought you here to learn this time. Just following me is useless; you also need to think for yourselves," Zhou Ming casually found an excuse.
But in reality, he just wanted to hear their opinions to use as a reference for this mission, as he was the real rookie.
"Uh… their strength is very great, so we need to be careful not to get hit by those people and try to dodge. Also, their speed is very fast, so we probably won't be able to create distance from them. Therefore, when they get close, we need to seize the opportunity to use jiu-jitsu to subdue them!" Huang Tao said.
"I think so too, but there seem to be only five of them, and they don't have much combat intelligence. Perhaps a few direct fights will solve it, and it won't be so troublesome at all," Zhang Qian said.
Huang Tao and Zhang Qian both seemed very confident, not nervous at all, perhaps thinking this mission would be simple.
But Zhou Ming didn't think so. This was his first mission, and he had to handle it in the most cautious and safest way possible.