BFET Chapter 5

Red Check

You Xue thought she had misheard and looked at Xie Yi with an expression of disbelief, “You guys go in, and I’m still as before?”

Xie Yi gave a simple “Mhm.”

At that moment, You Xue felt that she had spoken too soon when she said he was crazy earlier; Xie Yi was truly crazy now!

What a joke!

The Source of Pollution was the most central location in the entire Enclosed Zone. Taking a newbie who had just joined the team there? That wasn’t crazy, what was!

“That’s the Source of Pollution,” You Xue tried to dissuade him. “Shen Shu is just a newbie. Isn’t it inappropriate to take him in there?”

Xie Yi frowned slightly, raising his eyes to meet the gaze of the certain newbie in the rearview mirror, “He’s not just an ordinary newbie.”

“What do you mean not an ordinary newbie?” You Xue gave him a “what nonsense are you talking about?” look. “Even if he’s S-class, isn’t he still a rookie who just joined the team? How is he not an ordinary newbie!”

Xie Yi didn’t want to explain too much, so he added, “I’ve already consulted Captain Fei about this matter, and she agreed.”

You Xue: “…”

In just over two hours, what exactly did you plot with Captain Fei behind my back?

You Xue sighed silently, giving up on struggling with this arrangement that had obviously become a fait accompli. She cast a pitying glance at the quiet rookie Shen Shu in the back seat, silently praying in her heart that nothing would happen.

This time, the Jeep didn’t take the underground tunnel but drove directly through the residential area.

Old concrete buildings were densely piled together, weaving countless intricate narrow lanes.

It was just after two in the afternoon, the leisurely time after lunch.

Men, women, old and young gathered in small groups to chat, and children played in the alleys. All kinds of noisy sounds intertwined into a score called life, spreading in all directions.

The world became vivid at that moment.

No one noticed the black Jeep driving against the sparse traffic on the road, gradually moving away from the hustle and bustle and heading towards the outskirts of the city.

Beyond the Kui City’s outer perimeter blockade was an artificial no-man’s land, patrolled by the Security Defense Team every week. This was the only way to reach the various Enclosed Zones.

After passing through the no-man’s land, it would take about half an hour to reach one of the entrances to the Fengjiang Enclosed Zone.

However, because he planned to go directly to the Source of Pollution this time, Xie Yi took a detour, and to avoid the activity range of the Mutated Entities in the Central Zone, he chose a more remote entrance.

The journey took two hours longer than usual, and it was almost dusk when they arrived.

The weather, which had been overcast all day, was now letting a bit of sunlight through.

The heavy clouds were stained with mottled twilight.

Xie Yi drove the car into the Enclosed Zone and found a fixed hidden spot near the border of the Central Zone.

After the group of three got out of the car, You Xue headed straight for a small path, while Xie Yi led Shen Shu around to the trunk.

The trunk contained a huge silver box, filled with various weapons and ammunition.

Xie Yi glanced at it, casually grabbed a gun, and moved aside, “Choose the weapon that feels best to you.”

Shen Shu responded with a “okay,” and looked at them cooperatively for a while, then picked up a weapon from the box that surprised Xie Yi.

It was a pure black pistol.

The gun body was only palm-sized, and it looked somewhat delicate in Shen Shu’s hand.

The MER Machina Gun was the smallest pistol currently registered with the main team.

However, because of its short range and limited practicality in missions, even though it was the only firearm that could accommodate high-pollution factor rapid dissociation bullets, it was never the first choice for field teams.

Perhaps Xie Yi’s gaze lingered for too long, too obviously, Shen Shu couldn’t help but ask, “Captain Xie Yi keeps staring like that, can’t I choose this gun?”

Xie Yi raised his eyes to look at him, “You can, but I suggest you pick another one.”

Xie Yi didn’t pay attention to what Shen Shu chose in the end.

A few minutes later, You Xue returned, concisely summarizing the recorded information extracted from the Tagging Anchor, and the three of them set off towards their target point.

Towering giant trees covered the entire Central Zone, and the dense shade blocked out all light.

The night vision mode on the goggles automatically switched on after entering the Central Zone, and the previously set target point also appeared on the goggles in sync.

The distance from their current location was not far. According to the Smart Terminal’s calculations, it would take at most an hour, if all went smoothly.

Everything was quiet, with only the occasional sound of footsteps and the rustling of grass leaves.

The three of them proceeded without obstacles. Apart from the time You Xue spent extracting information from the Tagging Anchor midway, they arrived at the last Tagging Anchor point near the Source of Pollution even ten minutes faster than expected.

The plants near the Source of Pollution were affected by the high concentration of pollution, growing more densely and distorted than those on the periphery.

Dense weeds grew entangled, clinging to the thick tree trunks, outlining countless bizarre shapes. The constantly spreading branches and leaves seemed to be intertwined with the treetops, brandishing in mid-air.

Xie Yi half-squatted on an exposed tree root, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings, which were almost entirely occupied by weeds.

Too smooth, and too quiet.

“I feel like something’s not right,” You Xue said as she approached, having finished extracting information.

Xie Yi stood up and looked at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Yes,” You Xue hesitated slightly, “but I’m not too sure.”

“Look,” she quickly swiped the floating screen of the Smart Terminal, sharing the content with Xie Yi. “The change in pollution concentration near the Source of Pollution has always been very high, so the wavelength values we usually extract from this Tagging Anchor should normally be like this part, with extreme fluctuations.”

“Sometimes this fluctuation frequency should be very high,” You Xue swiped the screen, pointing it out to Xie Yi. “But look, starting 10 days ago, here, the amplitude of the fluctuation suddenly became smooth, and it’s still in this state now.”

“10 days,” Xie Yi said softly, “That’s too long.”

“Yes, too long,” You Xue nodded. “So I think something’s not right here. Normally, the stable period here wouldn’t exceed a day.”

Xie Yi raised his head and looked at her, asking, “So why did you say you weren’t too sure?”

“Because…” You Xue’s expression became strange. “When I was extracting information from the Tagging Anchor just now, it popped up a maintenance prompt, a Red Check. Then I checked its replacement time, and it was half a month ago.”

Xie Yi frowned upon hearing this.

You Xue: “You know, Red Check means the machine is already damaged, but the Tagging Anchor was just replaced half a month ago. In theory, it shouldn’t, and it’s impossible for this to happen.”

“That’s not right,” Xie Yi interrupted You Xue.

You Xue was taken aback, “What’s not right?”

Xie Yi looked at her, “There’s another possibility. If the pollution concentration in the Enclosed Zone exceeds the Tagging Anchor’s extreme value, causing an overload, it would also lead to damage to the Tagging Anchor.”

“Impossible,” You Xue denied directly. “If that were the case, we would also be affected. How could we still be standing here so calmly?”

You Xue pulled the screen information back to the high-fluctuation area with normal records from 10 days ago, “And if there was an overload situation, the Tagging Anchor’s wavelength value would be at a peak point within a certain period, and then it would suddenly drop due to overload damage. The change nodes here are obviously different.”

Xie Yi: “What if it’s a flash explosion?”

You Xue opened her mouth, “Flash explosions only occur in high-risk Enclosed Zones.”

Unlike Enclosed Zones with solidified ecosystems like Fengjiang.

High-risk Enclosed Zones change almost every day, and flash explosions are one of the changes within high-risk Enclosed Zones. It means that the pollution concentration instantly surges and then rapidly drops, like a comet streaking across the moon, rising sharply and disappearing quickly.

“You two, would you like to come and take a look here before continuing the discussion?”