Chapter 142: Happy Town
Chapter 142: Happy Town
“Huh?”
Lu Xin looked at Gecko with confusion, not quite understanding his meaning.
Gecko lowered his voice, as if afraid someone might overhear, and murmured, “Bro, our Qinggang City is pretty powerful these days. We’ve explored most of the surrounding major powers and abandoned cities, or at least have some understanding of them.”
“But beyond these places,” he continued, staring at Lu Xin, “there are still some incredibly mysterious zones that remain a complete enigma to this day.”
He added, “Such places are known as forbidden zones!”
“Forbidden zones?”
Lu Xin frowned slightly. “Has no one explored them?”
“They’ve been explored. Many times!”
Gecko furrowed his brows, his voice dropping even lower. “But whether it was land reclamation teams, or the researchers and armed personnel dispatched by the city… once anyone enters a forbidden zone, they either go insane or vanish. Countless lives have been lost, yet not a single useful piece of information has ever been brought back…”
“If there’s one piece of useful information these explorations ever yielded,” he said grimly, “it’s this: Those places are not to be explored!”
“Because we know nothing about them, that’s precisely why they are called forbidden zones.”
“…”
With that, Gecko tapped the map with a finger, emphasizing his point.
“That place you mentioned,” he stated, “it’s one of them. And the most dangerous one.”
“I’ve heard stories,” he went on, his voice heavy. “That place once swallowed an entire fully armed land reclamation team of a hundred men. Those people had big investors backing them. They were equipped with the most advanced instruments and the most powerful firepower, plus an information unit to relay messages to the outside real-time. But after they went in, they too suddenly lost all contact. No one has seen them since…”
“…”
Lu Xin listened quietly to Gecko’s words, his gaze shifting to the rearview mirror.
Mother was listening with keen interest. Noticing Lu Xin’s look, she smiled gently.
“It truly sounds like a wonderful place for a trip…”
She stroked Little Sister’s head as she spoke. “Don’t you think so?”
“Mmm! Mmm!”
Little Sister gave a vigorous nod, her eyes bright with excitement.
Lu Xin breathed out a soft sigh, nodded slightly, and then said to Gecko, “Let’s head out then.”
Gecko stared at Lu Xin, eyes wide, wondering if he had misheard.
Lu Xin explained seriously, “Whether it’s a forbidden zone or not, the person still needs to be brought back.”
“Reporting the latest operational route. After investigation, it was learned that Qin Ran, the prime suspect in the August 18th incident of Qing Harbor Satellite City No. 2, is highly likely hiding within Happy Town. Lone Soldier, member of the Qinggang Special Dispatch Operation Team, proposes that the team enters Happy Town to continue the investigation…”
“…Yes, I, as the Deputy Captain, have voiced differing opinions and even reprimanded him sternly!”
“Useless. He’s the Captain, and he insists…”
“Hey, what do you mean by ‘then be careful’? Shouldn’t you keep trying to dissuade us?”
“Oh, oh, okay.”
“…”
Seeing Lu Xin casually suggest going to Happy Town to bring back Qin Ran made Gecko feel his hackles rise.
He didn’t dare refuse outright. He didn’t even dare show any inclination to refuse.
But when they finally drove into an open, empty stretch, he seized the opportunity. Using the pretext of reporting their progress to Headquarters, he eagerly set up the signal receiver. He then dialed on the satellite phone. Lu Xin didn’t pay much attention to the specifics of the conversation, only catching a few intermittent, loudly spoken phrases. Then he watched Gecko fiddle with some more electronic devices.
Communicating out in The Wilderness was incredibly troublesome. Lu Xin couldn’t help but start missing life back inside the city walls.
After quite a while, Gecko finally slouched back, head down, looking utterly dejected.
“What did they say?”
Lu Xin inquired with some concern.
With a weary gesture, Gecko handed over a tablet computer encased in a metal frame. His voice was despondent.
“They’ve sent the intel directly…”
“And said taking the opportunity to explore one of these mysterious zones might be a good thing after all. Bringing back the records could count as completing a mission…”
“…”
“Oh?”
Hearing this, Lu Xin felt a twinge of unexpected surprise.
Then, smiling, he took the tablet and said to Gecko, “Let’s make good time then. I’ll look it over in the car.”
Gecko truly did not want to drive, because he didn’t want to go to that unknown and terrifying place.
But he also didn’t dare not drive, because he felt his influence was quite small within this crowded vehicle compartment…
Meanwhile, once inside the vehicle, Lu Xin slowly began flipping through the information on the Tablet Computer.
There was very little information. It was unclear whether this was due to poor signal transmission out in The Wilderness, or because there simply wasn’t much data to begin with.
The first document was merely a photograph of a simple page containing some information:
S-Class Mysterious Forbidden Zone — Happy Town
Location: End of Highway 85
Description: This is an extremely hazardous zone, covering an area of approximately 50 square kilometers. A concentrated Psychic Energy Field can be detected upon approaching the region. Nearing the periphery of the Psychic Energy Field induces various reactions such as dizziness, irritability, fainting, Auditory Hallucinations, and spasms in the hands and feet. Venturing 50 meters into the Psychic Energy Field renders escape impossible, causing individuals to vanish from the sight of all observers.
Electronic Devices approaching the Psychic Energy Field will experience circuit system failures and signal disruption phenomena.
Cause: Unknown
Contamination Level: Unknown
Valid Exploration Records: None
……
……
“To think there’s even this kind of data… it looks remarkably unprofessional…”
Lu Xin could only shake his head, then swiped to the second page, which held a photograph.
The photo was taken from a deserted road, capturing a view of an area that looked extremely empty.
The weather was overcast, seemingly foggy, making everything appear indistinct.
However, as if to prove the lens wasn’t faulty, a small fishbowl had been deliberately placed in the bottom left corner of the image. The fishbowl displayed an electronic date stamp: taken two years prior. The fishbowl was captured clearly – the water plants inside and the red goldfish were visible in detail. But beyond it, deeper into the scene, only ripples resembling distorted air waves could be seen.
No concrete content was discernible.
Swipe to the third page revealed the photo of a person. The individual wore a light blue industrial jumpsuit, resembling a worker from some chemical plant. He looked to be in his twenties, sporting a happy smile and staring blankly at the camera.
Text beneath the photo served as a title: Resident of Happy Town.
Turning yet another page revealed photographed handwritten notes, seemingly documenting some legends about Happy Town.
The exact time the Small Town emerged is unverifiable. Its abnormality was first discovered ten years ago.
The town is isolated, having little interaction with the outside world.
Occasionally, however, residents of Happy Town venture out, bringing grain to exchange for items like salt, fabric, hoes, and other goods with outsiders.
Because the residents of Happy Town always wear unchanging smiles, it is referred to as “Happy Town”!
……
Finally, a passage marked in red text:
Research into Happy Town has consistently resulted in immeasurable losses.
None of the researchers who entered within the Psychic Energy Field of Happy Town have ever survived.
Electronic exploration devices such as drones and Mechanical Dogs consistently lose all signals immediately upon entering the Psychic Energy Field.
Someone once detained a resident of Happy Town during an exchange for salt, subjecting them to interrogation.
Result of interrogation: Residents of Happy Town are incapable of answering complex questions.
That same night, both the resident of Happy Town and the interrogators, along with the research report, vanished simultaneously, leaving no trace…