The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 271 - 187 Infection

Chapter 271: Chapter 187 Infection

"This thing..."

Zhou Yuan looked at the items on the stall, raising an eyebrow involuntarily.

It was a small arm belonging to a Mushroom-Head Monster, specialized for delicate operations. Judging by the wound on the end, this arm had been forcibly torn off from the body no more than three days ago.

There was a bruise on the inner side of the arm, matching the shape of the Mushroom-Head Monster’s palm, suggesting it had ripped off its own arm.

The reason the Mushroom-Head Monster had resorted to self-mutilation was that this arm had been infected with an insidious energy, invisible to the naked eye.

Evil, cold, greedy...

Zhou Yuan could feel a malice akin to the abyss emanating from this sinister energy.

Apart from him, not even an extraordinary person like Xia seemed to perceive this evil energy within it.

"This world also has supernatural forces? Could they be the cause of the Eternal Night?"

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment and decided to buy the severed limb.

This post-apocalyptic society had a currency system, but Hunters seemed to prefer bartering, so Zhou Yuan decided to follow the local customs. He took out a sharp alloy dagger and handed it to the vendor, then pointed at the contaminated arm.

The vendor swung the alloy dagger a few times, examining it carefully. Satisfied, he nodded, then wrapped the Mushroom-Head Monster’s arm in a piece of tattered cloth and handed it to Zhou Yuan.

At the moment of receiving it, the item details popped up.

[Name: Infected Mushroom-Head Monster’s Arm]

[Note: This arm contains an insidious supernatural power. Consumption is not recommended.

Nobody knows when it started, but a plague appeared among the Mushroom-Head Monsters living in the darkness. Infected Mushroom-Head Monsters would die miserably in agony, and the only solution was to immediately sever the infected part.

To trace the source of the plague, one must venture into the dangerous dark forbidden zones.]

"Why did you buy this thing?" Xia asked curiously.

"To study it," Zhou Yuan replied, "I want to research the structure of the Mushroom-Head Monster."

"You understand dissection and biological structure? Are you a doctor?" Xia’s eyes lit up. Doctors were highly sought after no matter where they went, their status comparable to, or even higher than, Hunters.

After all, even Hunters got injured sometimes.

"I can barely say I know a little about this field."

"That’s not bad. Even a half-baked doctor can make a living," Xia said, "In our place, to integrate into a family, you have to show your worth. It could be knowledge, looks, or strength, but you can’t be completely useless. Very few families would support someone who doesn’t contribute."

"I understand," Zhou Yuan nodded, indicating his understanding. In a post-apocalyptic society with scarce resources, only by demonstrating value could one gain acceptance.

He then used his Mental Psychokinesis ability on the vendor, asking, "Where did you get this arm?"

"On a street in the danger zone. It’s a very remote place with few Mushroom-Head Monsters," the vendor answered truthfully under the influence of the Mental Psychokinesis ability.

"Do you have a map?" Zhou Yuan asked.

The vendor took out a folded map from his backpack, unfolded it, and pointed to a specific location in the danger zone.

"That place is deeper than where we went. How did you make it back alive?" Xia exclaimed in surprise.

"I was lucky, but no one else made it back," the vendor sighed.

Zhou Yuan took the opportunity to examine the map.

The map was divided into two main sections, separated by a narrow gorge. The left side was the danger zone filled with mutant creatures, while the right side was the human habitation area, also known as the safe zone.

The safe zone was very large, almost as big as Xinyue Province, with its borders marked by green lines. Outside the green lines was an area marked with yellow lines, which was not part of the safe zone and had some level of danger.

Further out was an area marked with red lines, representing the furthest point the Hunters had explored, extremely dangerous.

Beyond the red zone were vast, unexplored areas depicted in rough terrain on the map.

Beyond that, there was nothing, as no one had ventured that far. People didn’t even know if there was land out there.

The explored area in the danger zone was much smaller, only about one-third the size of the safe zone.

This showed that two hundred years after the catastrophic era began, humans were still in the early stages of exploring the world.

"Didn’t you find any high-tech relics or ancient civilization books out there?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"The area was severely affected by the disaster. Everything was destroyed by the cataclysmic war, burned to ashes and debris. I only found a piece of newspaper fragment, and nothing else," the vendor replied.

The vendor took out a transparent box from his backpack. Inside was an old newspaper fragment, but frustratingly, this piece was part of a drawing, showing nothing meaningful.

"This thing is useless to you. Why not give it to me?" Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

"Sure, I’ll give it to you." The vendor, having a good impression of Zhou Yuan, generously handed over the fragment along with the box.

Zhou Yuan and Xia continued to browse the market but found nothing else of value.

"I’m hungry. Let’s eat." Xia rubbed her belly, having expended a lot of energy fleeing all the way here.

"I’m not very hungry. I just want to rest."

"Then let’s go to the inn we often stay at."

·

After renting a room at the inn, Zhou Yuan immediately closed the door and placed the Mushroom-Head Monster’s arm on the table for a detailed inspection.

"Such evil energy, even more sinister and cold than the Satan I encountered in the movie world..."

Zhou Yuan carefully felt it, shivering with goosebumps, as if peering into a void abyss.

He summoned Fang Qing using the Paru Ball, knowing that ghosts were more sensitive to negative energy.

Zhou Yuan briefly explained the lore of this world to Fang Qing, who also frowned deeply at the severed arm, feeling strong discomfort. After a long moment, she said:

"This energy feels like a dark, damp parasite, relentlessly draining the life force of the infected, with considerable aggressiveness. Once touched, infection is inevitable. However, the energy on this arm has mostly dissipated. As long as it isn’t consumed directly, there’s no danger.

Hmm... since superhumans were born after the catastrophe, it is understandable that other species might also evolve. But evolving this kind of ability is quite inconceivable."

"To uncover the source of this power, I need to delve deeper into the danger zone. For a Shadow System extraordinary person like me, it shouldn’t be much of a problem..."

Zhou Yuan paused briefly, "I’ll set off once I gather more information."

Up until now, the system had not prompted the next stage of the mission, likely due to inadequate intelligence.

He then took out the transparent box containing the newspaper fragment, carefully opened it, and used the Lesser Restoration Skill on the fragment.

After a moment, a complete newspaper lay on the table.

Zhou Yuan couldn’t read the text, but the Eyes of Identification served as a translator.

[Daily News, April 17, 10365.

Famous singer and actor announce marriage;

Forest conservation policy implemented;

Aerial garden project officially starts, expected to be completed in two years;

Haibolong Technology Company makes significant breakthroughs in gene modification, claiming that humans will gradually evolve into superhumans;

...]

Zhou Yuan looked at the only illustration on the whole newspaper, taking up most of the space, showing a half-length portrait of a man and a woman, presumably the celebrity couple mentioned in the news.

"Gossip occupies the main page, indicating a very stable society back then," Fang Qing analyzed.

"Indeed, which also means the catastrophe happened without warning."

Zhou Yuan said solemnly, "According to Xia and Qiao, today’s date is June 23, 10571, which is exactly 206 years after the catastrophic era began.

And the exact date of the catastrophe is April 18, 10365.

That’s the day after this newspaper was published."

"This..." Fang Qing was stunned.

One day, the world was peacefully celebrating, and the next day, it was destroyed. This was truly...

"The only useful news in this newspaper is that Haibolong Corporation made a major breakthrough in gene modification... Xia and Qiao and the other superhumans are likely products of gene modification. Those mutant monsters might be as well."

Zhou Yuan thought of the "Night-Grass" he encountered earlier, capable of proliferating massively without light. This was clearly targeted gene modification.

Coupled with the hibernation capsule produced by Haibolong Technology Company that fell a year ago...

A theory began to form in Zhou Yuan’s mind: perhaps Haibolong Technology Company didn’t suffer much during the catastrophic era, instead hiding and secretly operating all along, influencing this world.

Finding Haibolong Technology Company’s hideout might reveal all the mysteries.