Chapter 415: The Shrinking Boundaries

The vehicles pressed onward. As Lu Xin and his companions navigated one obstacle after another to reach the coordinates sent by the Bear Child, they found themselves drawing ever closer to Happy Town—leaving the military map’s red cordon far behind.

By actual distance, they had already entered the area once universally declared forbidden.

In effect, they had stepped into Happy Town.

The sun had long risen, bathing the land in a fresh glow.

In the distance, Lu Xin could see long, winding trails being raced by streams of ants across the wasteland, a picture of ceaseless bustle.

“Could it be the flood discharge effect of that Death Field?”

Chen Jing scrutinized the readings on the various detection instruments, unable to hide her furrowed brow:

“In the past, Happy Town’s spiritual radiation zone spanned about fifty kilometers—it hardly contracted, and rarely expanded.”

“Yet now, although we’ve crossed the old red line, the spiritual assessment device hasn’t registered any significant change.”

“This indicates that Happy Town’s radiation range has shrunk dramatically.”

“…”

Gecko craned his head outside and remarked, “The armed forces converging here are growing by the minute.”

Chen Jing let out a low sigh.

Even though they were well within the forbidden zone, more and more people were gathering—a truly uncanny sight.

After witnessing that family’s madness earlier, they knew there was no persuading these people now.

“…”

The vehicle’s front pivoted off onto a small road; after a brief stretch along a path nearly overrun by weeds, they approached a barren mountain.

At that moment, Gecko’s driving skills came to full display. Towering wheels crushed patches of dead grass as they climbed the mountain until the road disappeared entirely. Only then did everyone disembark, grabbing their weapons and luggage as they trekked through the trees upward.

Once there, Lu Xin noticed a small tent pitched at the summit.

Outside the tent, a short boy with glasses—whose age made him seem barely of age—had set up a tiny table.

On the table sat a notebook. With a serious expression, he hammered away at the keyboard, eyes glued to the notebook. A telescope and a hastily scribbled notebook lay close at hand.

Catching sight of Chen Jing and the others, he merely looked up without greeting.

Lu Xin recognized him immediately—the same guy who dozed off during the meeting in Qinggang.

He looked very young, probably not yet an adult.

Now seated in front of a computer and sporting a thick pair of glasses, he appeared unusually earnest.

But his guard was clearly down—he hadn’t even noticed their approach up the mountain.

“…”

“So, what’s the situation over at Happy Town?”

Chen Jing strode straight up to the boy and asked.

Lu Xin, Gecko, the Drunkard, and even the Doll hovering about twenty centimeters above the ground followed close behind.

It soon became evident that the mountaintop provided an excellent vantage point.

From here, one could clearly peer toward Happy Town.

An endless sea of weeds, dense towering forests, and rows upon rows of armed forces were laid out in plain sight.

“…”

“Within an hour, three more armed forces had arrived here,” the boy reported.

He glanced at the Little Raccoon Electronic Watch on his wrist and replied flatly while continuing to tap away at the keyboard:

“I, along with that vain old woman, infiltrated to conduct an investigation. We can now be almost certain”

“that Happy Town is completely sealed off by these armed forces.”

“At least tens of thousands of troops have cordoned off this forbidden zone entirely.”

“They’ve even breached the boundaries we originally set. Fortunately, it seems Happy Town’s spiritual radiation range is shrinking, so no large-scale pollution incident has occurred yet. However, the internal skirmishes have been fierce, leaving many dead.”

“For now, that vain old woman has gone off to investigate further—I’ll be waiting here.”

“…”

Observing the boy, utterly absorbed in his computer screen while reporting without sparing a glance, it seemed he was extremely professional.

Lu Xin peeked over and found him playing Contra.

Lu Xin shook his head in exasperation.

Not very professional at all.

He clearly recalled Chen Jing saying that he was to lead this mission.

In other words, everyone here was, in theory, under his command.

Thankfully, Chen Jing had even assigned him these men—his work ethic…

But Chen Jing didn’t mind him playing games while answering questions. Frowning slightly, she continued:

“All previous settlements treated the S-level forbidden zone as a Ghost Domain—no one would dare approach it under any circumstances. That very name was coined by these settlements. So why the sudden reversal? Have you uncovered the cause?”

“…”

Without even lifting his head, Bear Child replied, “They’re coming because each of their leaders has lost it.”

“They insist on leaving their settlements to come here—and they’ll kill anyone who tries to stop them. Rumor has it that many factions had already experienced bloodshed before setting out; those who opposed their leaders were slaughtered.”

“Some of the weaker forces were also wiped out in the process.”

“If we consider numbers…”

“…”

Finally, seizing a rare lull, he glanced at the notebook beside him and said, “There are roughly twenty factions—records in Qinggang confirm that forces from Songshan Town, Black Mountain Town, Cigarette Market, and others have now fled to the outskirts of Happy Town.”

Lu Xin was mildly surprised.

He had to admit, the kid had done some actual homework.

Chen Jing pressed on, “Why have their leaders gone mad?”

Bear Child answered, “They’re convinced that there’s a treasure mine inside Happy Town. Whoever secures it stands to amass vast wealth in no time, recruit armies, first absorb the surrounding settlements, then take over Qinggang, and finally set their sights on Central City…”

Chen Jing frowned slightly, glanced down the mountain, and added, “So it’s just that their leaders are mad?”

“At least that’s what they claim,” he replied.

Bear Child shook his head and said, “But it’s not that simple.”

“When I was with the Godly Woman liaising with them, I could sense an undercurrent of madness among everyone—they all seem utterly convinced there’s a treasure inside and that if they enter, they’ll all get a share.”

“So, it’s not just the leaders; everyone’s gone mad.”

“…”

His words immediately brought to mind the family they had encountered on the road.

A surreal thought stirred within him.

How could an S-level forbidden zone—one that silently kills and leaves its victims in worse shape than death—be seen as a treasure?

“And their mode of contamination…”

Bear Child paused, his fingers flying over the keyboard, then continued:

“Based on my and the Godly Woman’s analysis, it appears they’ve been influenced by their leaders.”

“However, these leaders are clearly not all ability users. Thus, the contagion appears to begin with the leaders acting as a transmission base, gradually infecting everyone until all become lunatics…”

“Following that logic, there must be a Pollution Source above these leaders.”

“Only by locating that Pollution Source can we truly crack this case…”

“So… hey big brother, jump in…”

“That’s why the Godly Woman decided to remain inside and continue the investigation.”

“…”

A Pollution Source infects their leaders, who in turn infect everyone else?

This mode of contamination sounds remarkably novel.

Chen Jing’s tone grew grave as she turned to Bear Child, “I’ve seen this kind of indirect transmission before, but never on such a massive scale. Has it been verified?”

“Have those serving as transmission bases shown any other peculiar signs?”

“Is this pollution model based on mere speculation, or do we have evidence?”

“…”

Bear Child paused his game and said, “No concrete proof, but it’s almost certainly the case. No mistake about it.”

Unable to hold back, Gecko interjected, “How do you know all these details?”

“Oh?”

Bear Child, propping his middle finger against his glasses, replied, “I kidnapped two of their leaders—they’re stashed over in the grass.”

“You can go over and check for yourself.”