Catastrophe Containment Facility
Chapter 870 Muyuan Community

Chapter 870: Chapter 870 Muyuan Community

The architectural style in this area looks completely different from other places in the county town.

The urban area is enclosed by a two-meter-high wall, with only one entrance and exit. Two security guards sit at the gate, staring blankly outside.

This town-sized urban area seems to exist independently within Lingyuan County, and people around it don’t find anything strange.

Tao Qingqing immediately became curious. If there was any fun to be found in this town, it could only be within this urban area.

When she went in, the guards at the gate didn’t stop her much. They just asked her to register and leave her contact information, then gave her a small tag, warning her that outsiders are not allowed to stay over at night. If she hasn’t left before dark, the guards would drag her out.

Tao Qingqing casually stuffed the tag into her pocket and swaggered into the urban area.

Apart from the high surrounding wall, this urban area seemed identical to other places in Lingyuan County. It had supermarkets, malls, internet cafes, karaoke bars, everything needed for daily life could be bought within this area.

Tao Qingqing stood at the entrance for a while purposely, noticing that few people inside wanted to leave, and they assumed it was natural for the area to be walled up.

After observing for a while, Tao Qingqing realized that smiles were scarce on the faces of the people here, and even other expressions were rare. The whole urban area was filled with a repressive atmosphere.

They appeared like puppets made by Xu Hai, walking the streets like zombies, seemingly devoid of souls.

Of course, the absence of souls was just a metaphor. These people indeed looked like ordinary people, unaffected by any sinister powers.

After noticing the strangeness, Tao Qingqing called the only old Demon Hunter in Lingyuan County to ask about the walled urban area.

Initially, the old Demon Hunter was unwilling to talk, but under Tao Qingqing’s persuasion and coercion, he eventually revealed the truth.

This urban area is called Muyuan Community, now often referred to as the Isolation Zone by Lingyuan residents.

It’s not just because of the high walls; the people in this region are inherently out of tune with those outside.

Decades ago, a sudden epidemic broke out in Lingyuan County. All families afflicted were forcibly relocated to this urban area. Even after the epidemic was over, the people here were not accepted by the outside world, and gradually, they resisted leaving.

Over time, the entire Lingyuan County recognized Muyuan District as a normal community.

However, starting a dozen years ago, disappearances began occurring intermittently within Muyuan District. There was a certain probability that visitors staying overnight would disappear the next day.

"Outsiders" refers to people from outside Muyuan District.

The Hunter Association sent several groups to investigate, but some found nothing, while others vanished entirely.

Even the captain of a Sarakh City Demon Hunter team disappeared here without a trace.

Due to a lack of clues and manpower, Lingyuan County simply set up a checkpoint at the entrance to prevent outsiders from staying the night, after which the disappearances reduced.

The reason the old Demon Hunter initially didn’t tell Tao Qingqing the truth was because he feared she too might disappear in this community.

It’s a well-known fact among all Demon Hunters in the Sarakh area not to investigate this community, but as an Outsider, Tao Qingqing didn’t know this, and as an assistant to a Ranger, she had the authority to investigate any suspicious place.

Every time someone investigates, whether a Demon Hunter goes missing or not, it always ends in disarray, causing unnecessary losses. That’s why the old Demon Hunter concealed the truth about Muyuan District.

Tao Qingqing hung up the phone, ignoring what the old Demon Hunter said; she planned to stay there for the night!

If the old Demon Hunter had been honest from the start, Tao Qingqing certainly wouldn’t have been interested. But since he hemmed and hawed, it suggested there might be something fishy here.

Such a mindset like Tao Qingqing’s is considered taboo among Demon Hunters.

When faced with anomalous areas of uncertainty, unless ordinary people are under threat or ignoring it might lead to a spread of anomalies, it’s not recommended to investigate rashly without preparation.

Knowing there are tigers on a mountain yet still heading toward it isn’t seen as bravery in the Demon Hunter world but as recklessness.

However, Tao Qingqing never received Demon Hunter education, and in essence, she was still a monster, so she didn’t intend to follow the unwritten rules of the Demon Hunters.

She went to the market in Muyuan District, the most crowded place in the entire urban area.

Like the rest of Muyuan District, people’s actions here were monotonous. They didn’t chat or haggle; they just picked what they wanted, asked for the price, paid, and left.

If people were as straightforward about buying groceries in other markets, the vendors would probably laugh out loud.

Pretending to buy groceries, Tao Qingqing took in everyone in the market, small bats quietly slipped from her pant legs, forming comprehensive surveillance of the market.

She then pulled out a phone that Wen Wen had applied for her. This phone’s advanced features were ahead of its time, although still slightly inferior to the Ranger Terminal.

A year ago, only core-level Demon Hunters could use high-end communication tools like this phone, but now it was being distributed to all Demon Hunters. Any Demon Hunter could get such a phone through an application.

It’s estimated that it would take at least another ten years for such phones to appear on the civilian market, just like the current phones ordinary people use, which Demon Hunters had already been using ten years before their official release.

However, Tao Qingqing did not take out the phone to make a call but to play a song.

She needed to find a song that could break the oppressive atmosphere of the market to observe everyone’s reactions and find out the problems existing here.

After searching for a while, Tao Qingqing’s eyes lit up. She turned up the volume to the maximum and pressed the play button.

’The shocking lightning cultivation, the sky falls and the Purple Gold Hammer breaks through, Purple Electricity this...’

Tao Qingqing knew this song by accident, back when she first stayed with Wen Wen; the two of them shared a room in a hotel.

Someone next door played this song, disturbing Wen Wen as he tried to read. Wen Wen asked Tao Qingqing to politely communicate twice, but the person not only didn’t lower the volume but deliberately played it repeatedly.

So Wen Wen gave them a lesson in "love," shoving the speakers into their bodies, and everything became quiet after that.

So in such an oppressive place, playing this song was simply a genius idea.