Chapter 142: The Forbidden Zone

Hm?

Lu Xin looked at Gecko, confused, not quite understanding what he meant.

Gecko lowered his voice as if afraid of being overheard. “Brother,” he whispered, “Qinggang City’s pretty powerful these days. We’ve explored most of the surrounding factions and old cities. Even the ones not fully explored, we know something about.”

“But besides those places, there are some really mysterious spots we know absolutely nothing about.”

Looking at Lu Xin, he said, “These places are called mysterious restricted zones!”

“Restricted zones?”

Lu Xin frowned slightly. “Hasn’t anyone explored them?”

“They have, many times!”

Gecko’s brow furrowed as he spoke softly, “But whether it was reclamation teams, researchers, or armed personnel sent from the city, once they entered a restricted zone, they either went mad or vanished. Countless people sacrificed, yet no useful information ever came back…”

“If their explorations brought back any useful information at all, it was simply this: This place cannot be explored!”

“It’s precisely because we know nothing about them that they’re called mysterious restricted zones!”

…

At this point, Gecko tapped the map lightly, emphasizing his words.

“This place you mentioned is one of them, and it’s the most dangerous.”

“I heard this place once swallowed a fully armed, hundred-man reclamation team. They had wealthy backers who equipped them with the most advanced gear and strongest firepower. They even had an info team relaying messages to the outside. But right after they went in, all contact was suddenly lost. No one ever saw them again…”

…

Lu Xin listened quietly to Gecko, his gaze drifting towards the rearview mirror.

Mom was also listening with interest. Noticing Lu Xin’s glance, she smiled.

“Sounds like a great place for a trip…”

she said, stroking Sister’s little head. “Don’t you think so?”

“Uh-huh!”

Sister nodded vigorously, her eyes shining with excitement.

Lu Xin let out a soft sigh and nodded slightly. Then he turned to Gecko, “Let’s head out then!”

Gecko stared at Lu Xin, eyes wide, thinking he must have misheard.

Lu Xin explained seriously, “Restricted zone or not, we still need to bring the person back.”

…

…

“Reporting latest operational route: Investigation indicates Qin Ran, prime suspect in the Qinggang Satellite City No. 2 8.18 incident, is highly likely hiding in Happy Town. Qinggang Special Action Team member Mr. Lone Soldier proposes the Action Team enter Happy Town to continue the investigation…”

“…Yes, as Vice-captain, I already expressed disagreement, even criticized him harshly!”

“Useless. He’s the Captain, and he insists…”

“Hey, what do you mean ‘be careful then’? Shouldn’t you keep trying to talk us out of it?”

“Oh, oh, okay.”

…

Seeing Lu Xin calmly say they were going to Happy Town to bring back Qin Ran, Gecko’s hair stood on end.

He didn’t dare refuse, didn’t even dare show he wanted to.

But when they finally reached an open area, he hopefully used the excuse of reporting progress to Headquarters to set up the signal receiver and made a call on the satellite phone. Lu Xin didn’t pay much attention to the specifics of the conversation, only catching a few intermittent phrases where the voice suddenly rose. Then he saw Gecko fiddling with some electronic instruments again.

Communicating out here in the Wasteland was such a hassle. Lu Xin couldn’t help but miss life back in the city.

After quite a while, Gecko finally returned, looking dejected, his steps lacking energy.

“What did they say?”

Lu Xin asked Gecko with some concern.

Gecko weakly handed over a metal-framed tablet computer, his voice filled with despair:

“They just sent the data over…”

“They also said it would be good to explore these mysterious areas while we’re at it, and bringing back records could count as a mission…”

…

Huh?

Hearing this, Lu Xin felt a small, pleasant surprise.

Then he smiled, took the tablet, and said to Gecko, “Well, let’s hurry then. I’ll look this over in the car.”

…

…

Gecko really didn’t want to drive because he didn’t want to go to that unknown and terrifying place.

But he didn’t dare *not* drive either, because he felt he had very little say in this crowded car…

Meanwhile, sitting in the car, Lu Xin slowly started scrolling through the information on the tablet.

There wasn’t much data. It was unclear if it was because transmitting information was difficult in the Wasteland, or if there simply wasn’t much information to begin with.

The first file was just a photo of a simple document page with some information written on it:

S-Rank Mysterious Restricted Zone — Happy Town

Location: End of Highway 85

Description: This area is extremely dangerous, covering approximately 50 square kilometers. A dense Mental Force Field can be detected near this region. Approaching the edge of the field may cause various reactions including dizziness, irritability, fainting, auditory hallucinations, and limb spasms. Entering 50 meters into the Mental Force Field will result in inability to return and disappearance from the sight of all witnesses.

Electronic instruments brought near the Mental Force Field will experience circuit system failures and signal disruptions.

Origin: Unknown

Pollution Level: Unknown

Effective Exploration Records: None

…

…

“They actually have data like this? Seems rather unprofessional…”

Lu Xin couldn’t help but shake his head. He swiped to the second page and found a photo.

The photo was taken from an abandoned road, showing what looked like a very empty area.

The weather was gloomy, seemingly foggy, and everything looked unclear.

But, seemingly to prove it wasn’t a lens issue, a small fish tank was deliberately placed in the bottom left corner of the photo. The tank had an electronic time display showing it was taken two years ago. The fish tank itself was captured very clearly – you could even see the algae and the little red goldfish inside distinctly. Further into the scene however, only ripples, like distorted air, were visible.

No specific details were visible.

Swiping to the third page revealed a photo of a person wearing light blue overalls, resembling a worker from some chemical plant. He looked to be in his twenties, with a happy smile on his face, staring blankly at the camera.

Below the photo was a caption: Happy Town Resident.

Turning another page showed photographed handwritten notes, apparently recording some legends about Happy Town.

The exact origin of the town is unknown. The first abnormalities were discovered ten years ago.

The town is isolated and rarely interacts with outsiders.

Occasionally, however, residents leave the town, trading grain for items like salt, fabric, and farming tools with people outside.

Because the residents always wear the same unchanging smile, the place became known as “Happy Town”!

…

Finally, there was a paragraph marked in red text:

Research into Happy Town invariably leads to immeasurable losses.

All researchers who entered the mental energy field of Happy Town never returned alive.

Drones, robotic dogs, and other electronic exploration devices also immediately lost all signal upon entering the mental energy field.

Someone once detained a Happy Town resident who had come out to trade for salt and interrogated them.

Interrogation result: The Happy Town resident was unable to answer complex questions.

That same night, the Happy Town resident, the interrogators, and the research report all disappeared without a trace…”