Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 61: Will You Beat Me to Death?

"Is it real?" Ye Tong stood up in shock, looking at Ji Ning in disbelief, and asked in a low voice, "How do you know?"

Ji Ning turned on the light in the room, stretched out her palm, pointed to several spots, and said flatly, "People who handle weapons for years will develop calluses in certain spots on their fingers.

Ye Tong looked carefully at Ji Ning’s fingers. Although they didn’t have calluses, the finger bones were somewhat different from an average person’s. Thinking about the posture of holding a weapon, a complex look flashed in her eyes, "Sister Ning, have you stayed at the base too?"

Ji Ning didn’t reply, standing up and taking off her coat.

Sometimes silence is the best answer, Ye Tong thought.

But what puzzled her was why Ji Ning had no identity information at all.

A dreamless night.

Ye Tong’s biological clock always worked on time.

She turned over to look at the bed beside her, found it empty, and instantly became alert.

"Sister Ning?"

Ye Tong got out of bed in a panic and ran to the bathroom barefoot.

But there was no one inside either.

She bent down to look for Ji Ning’s luggage bag and found it still there, instantly breathing a sigh of relief.

She sat heavily onto the bed.

Suddenly, there was a sound of a card being used at the door, and Ji Ning returned with a bag of breakfast.

"Eat up, then we move," Ji Ning said as she placed the breakfast on the table and went to pack the luggage bag.

Ye Tong watched as Ji Ning strapped black ribbon-like weights around her waist and thighs, and couldn’t help laughing, "Sister Ning, so you also wear weights all the time?"

Ji Ning glanced at her, "It’s not a weight belt."

"It’s not? Then what is it?"

Ye Tong curiously reached out and touched a rectangular hard piece with a black ring on it, "Lead weight, huh."

Ji Ning grabbed her wrist sharply, warning her with keen eyes, "Don’t move recklessly, you have one too."

With that, she took out a heavy black belt from the luggage and tossed it beside her.

"What is this? So mysterious?" Ye Tong picked it up with amusement, examining it closely, and pulled on the black ring inside, only to be dumbfounded.

It was a sharp dagger.

She was so startled she let go at once, and the dagger slipped back into the black belt.

"Tie it around your waist," Ji Ning said.

Ye Tong carefully fastened the black belt around her waist, worriedly asking, "Is this belt secure? Won’t it cut my waist?"

Ji Ning didn’t reply, continuing to pack her luggage.

Wearing a dagger on her waist for the first time, Ye Tong felt uneasy, constantly fearing the blade might cut her, so every movement was cautious, almost tiptoeing as she walked.

Ji Ning couldn’t bear watching anymore, so she grabbed Ye Tong by the back of her collar and dragged her forward.

After checking out, the two headed westward.

Nanling City, vast and sparsely populated, was deserted in the early morning.

The gray sky poured down smog, with visibility only a dozen meters, making it an ideal place to shoot a horror movie.

Ye Tong wore a gas mask, following behind Ji Ning, feeling a little anxious, constantly sensing something following them, and frequently looking back.

"Someone is following us," came Ji Ning’s voice through Ye Tong’s earpiece.

"Huh? What do we do?"

"Follow me," Ji Ning suddenly sped up, and Ye Tong quickly caught up. Before long, the two vanished into the thick fog.

Two minutes later, several figures appeared where they disappeared.

Looking around for a long time, they finally spoke into a walkie-talkie, "Report, target lost, should we continue searching?"

"Continue."

The lead person made some gestures to the three around him, and the four of them began searching in different directions.

At this moment, the two perched atop a street lamp quietly leaped down and headed off in one direction.

"Sister Ning, who are they? Why are they tracking us?"

"People from the base, probably sent by the hotel owner."

***

The two continued walking in the direction of Ji Ning’s Smart Brain map until they reached the edge of the safety zone.

At this point, visibility was only a few meters. The sky looked as if split in two, one side gray and one pitch black, and they were about to enter the pitch-black side.

Ye Tong glanced at the environmental tester on her protective suit; outside radiation levels were at 28%, dust particle concentration at 53%, and harmful substance levels at 43%, and she was instantly scared. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

For someone who grew up in the safety zone, knowledge of the Pollution Zone was limited to media and books. Although she had been here before, she had never reached the edge of the safety zone or experienced it firsthand.

"Sister... Sister Ning, is that the Pollution Zone ahead?"

"No, it’s a buffer zone, fairly safe."

Ye Tong swallowed hard, her scalp tingling, hair standing on end.

This buffer zone was already pitch black, like entering a ghost forest. How bad would the Pollution Zone be?

"If I say I want to go back now, will you kill me?"

"Heh..."

"Sister Ning, I’m afraid of the dark, really afraid." Ye Tong took a big step forward, getting closer to Ji Ning, as if that would make her safer.

Ji Ning, seeing her timid posture, brightened her wrist lamp slightly, then pressed a button on her protective suit, and soon a beam of light shone from the hat on her head.

"Hey, the hat lights up too? How do I turn it on?" Ye Tong looked down at herself, and Ji Ning pressed a button on the side of her protective suit, causing the light to hit her face.

With the large area of light, Ye Tong suddenly felt a bit safer.

They continued moving forward, and after walking for more than half an hour, a few light spots appeared faintly ahead.

Ye Tong was so frightened she clung to Ji Ning’s back, "Sister... Sister Ning, there are ghosts..."

"People."

"People?"

"Dim the light and activate the safety catch on your weapon." Ji Ning reached back to press the light button on her anyling suit, simultaneously dimming her own light.

Ye Tong saw Ji Ning placing her hand on her side, her pace significantly slowing down.

She tensed up herself, instinctively holding her breath, daring not to make a sound.

As they continued forward, the lights ahead grew larger, gradually revealing silhouettes under the lights.

About seven or eight tents were set up, with spotlights erected beside them.

Each tent had a few silhouettes moving around, occasionally one or two people emerging from the tents, fiddling with devices in front of them.

The two hid behind a rock, observing carefully.

Ye Tong whispered, "Sister Ning, what are they doing?"

"Don’t know. Let’s go this way."

Ji Ning led Ye Tong lightly around the side, trying not to disturb these people.

After walking for a long while, until the lights were out of view, Ye Tong asked, "Are those people from the base too?"

"No, they are Hunters."

There’s an energy wave from a superpower user.

"What are Hunters?"

"Hunters are members of the Hunter Alliance. They often roam the gray areas, undertaking tasks to earn commissions."

Ye Tong nodded, partially understanding, curious to continue, "Sister Ning, how do you know so much? Are you really from the mountains?"

Ji Ning paused slightly, turning around to look at her, making Ye Tong nervous, her voice trembling a little, "Wh... what’s wrong?"

"Didn’t you read the materials I sent before you came here?"

"Ah? What materials?" Ye Tong looked blank.

Ji Ning genuinely rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, and turned to walk forward.

Ye Tong, feeling guilty, trot to catch up, "I was busy shooting a movie, memorizing lines, wasn’t I? I’ll check them, I’ll check immediately."

"Watch the road!"

"Ah, okay..."

The surroundings grew increasingly harsh, with weeds flourishing, some taller than a person.

The ground was uneven, with visible construction debris from over 100 years ago.

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from a distance, causing Ye Tong to immediately cling tightly to Ji Ning from behind.

"Ah... ghost..."