Chapter 271: Deep-Level Pollution

On the third day after Outpost 13 entered a state of combat readiness, nearly eighty percent of the teams had returned, and for a time, the outpost was teeming with people, giving it a rather imposing atmosphere.

However, this imposing atmosphere of large numbers could not mask the panic of the crowd; many wore expressions of worry throughout the day, as this was, after all, their first encounter with a so-called Calamity-class Other.

Moreover, as more teams returned one after another during this period, those students who had been implanted with seeds of evil thoughts were continuously being discovered, and each discovery triggered a wave of chaos and terror.

After all, you could be laughing and chatting with a companion one second, and the next, the smile on that companion's face would slowly tear open as they launched a frenzied attack on you; that horrific scene was truly too impactful.

The level of eeriness of this Calamity-class Other was far beyond that of the so-called Erosion-class Others they had cleared previously.

Over these past few days, Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e had also been constantly monitoring some of the purification towers on the periphery of the outpost, and the result was as they had expected: the purification towers in one direction were dimming one after another.

And they were continuously drawing closer to the outpost.

Clearly, the ultimate target of that Calamity-class Other was indeed the outpost where they were located.

This undoubtedly made the sense of pressure even more intense.

Yet they had no way to deal with this and could only hold the outpost and wait for reinforcements.

It was on this very day that Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e received news that Duze Honglian's team had appeared outside the outpost.

Upon receiving the news, the two immediately rushed to the outpost gate, as they had been keeping an eye on the movements of Duze Honglian and the others; after all, in this Outpost 13, the strength of Duze Honglian's team was second only to Black Swan, and if they could also be inside the outpost, it would undoubtedly greatly strengthen the defensive forces here.

There was also another reason...

That was that the direction from which Duze Honglian and the others had been advancing was exactly opposite to the direction in which that Great Calamity-class Other was currently polluting the purification towers—one was pushing outward, while the other was moving inward.

In other words, if Duze Honglian and the others were bold enough, they might have had an encounter with that Great Calamity-class Other, and this was definitely not good news.

The evil-thought illusions left behind by that Great Calamity-class Other alone were enough to cause massive influence, and if Duze Honglian and her group had collided with it head-on, then they would have to be fully prepared against them.

When the two arrived at the outpost gate, an argument was taking place; some student guards were clashing with a member of Duze Honglian's team, with insults being hurled back and forth.

However, with the appearance of Jiang Qing'e, the shouting from both sides ceased.

"What is going on?" Jiang Qing'e's willow brows slightly furrowed, her cold voice radiating a sense of pressure.

"Sister Jiang, they wanted to force their way through the checkpoint the moment they arrived, refusing to pass through the 'Laughing Demon Mirror'!" a student guard said hurriedly.

That was correct; the mirror set up at the outpost gate was jokingly called the "Laughing Demon Mirror" by many students, because quite a few students had already turned into demons after laughing in front of that mirror...

Other students also joined in the condemnation; after all, in the current situation, the outpost was already filled with anxiety, and for Duze Honglian's group to refuse to follow the rules, was this not treating everyone's life as a joke?

Jiang Qing'e's sharp gaze turned to that member of Duze Honglian's team, and the latter, locked by her gaze, felt a bit guilty and defended himself: "These people inexplicably want us to stand here and laugh for half a day; isn't this just torturing people?"

Jiang Qing'e's gaze swept over the group and discovered that all of them had a look of terror in their eyes, and their entire bodies radiated a sense of wretchedness.

Ye Qiuding was also among them, and facing Jiang Qing'e's scrutinizing gaze, his expression was somewhat uncertain.

Jiang Qing'e looked around and finally discovered that Duze Honglian was currently being carried on the back of a team member, her long hair disheveled, her complexion appearing exceptionally pale.

Duze Honglian clearly did not want to face Jiang Qing'e at her most wretched moment, which was why she had not spoken earlier.

But now that she felt Jiang Qing'e's gaze, she could only glare back with a mix of irritation and weakness.

"Injured to this extent?"

Jiang Qing'e walked forward slowly, arriving before Duze Honglian, her golden eyes radiating a hint of sharpness: "Did you run into that Great Calamity-class Other?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding students gasped in alarm, and they could not help but take two steps back.

Duze Honglian gritted her teeth and said, "That has nothing to do with you!"

"Who you encounter is indeed none of my business, but that Great Calamity-class Other is about to strike, and we must be cautious regarding anyone who has been polluted by it."

Jiang Qing'e said slowly: "Duze Honglian, tell me, have you been polluted?"

Duze Honglian turned her head away and did not answer.

Jiang Qing'e glanced at the student carrying Duze Honglian; it was a member of Ye Qiuding's team, and at this moment, his body was trembling slightly, his eyes filled with an inexplicable fear.

"Put her down," Jiang Qing'e said suddenly.

The student hesitated upon hearing this, then set the weak Duze Honglian down; the latter's legs went soft and she was about to collapse to the ground, but Jiang Qing'e reached out an arm to block her.

Duze Honglian was almost slumped against Jiang Qing'e, and she said with a mix of shame and anger: "Jiang Qing'e, what are you trying to do?!"

Jiang Qing'e ignored her, simply extending a slender fingertip to trace across Duze Honglian's back, and then she felt a faint stinging sensation from her fingertip.

This caused Jiang Qing'e's eyes to narrow slightly; she immediately gave an order, summoning some female students who formed a human circle, surrounding her and Duze Honglian and blocking the view from the outside.

Then, disregarding Duze Honglian's struggles, Jiang Qing'e lifted the clothing on her back, and the next instant, her golden eyes suddenly constricted.

The female students forming the circle screamed in fright, nearly running away on the spot.

Because they could see clearly that on Duze Honglian's smooth back, there was actually a bizarre smiling face slowly wriggling.

Jiang Qing'e quickly covered Duze Honglian's back with the clothing, her expression looking rather grim; this bizarre smiling face seemed to be branded onto Duze Honglian's back, which was clearly a much more severe case than ordinary pollution from a seed of evil thoughts.

"Was it because you were greedy for academy points, wanted to follow behind that Great Calamity-class Other to scavenge purification towers, and ended up running into it?" Jiang Qing'e said indifferently.

Duze Honglian still did not speak.

"This is a manifestation of the power of evil thoughts eroding flesh and blood; judging by this, it won't be long before this power of evil thoughts hollows out your body, and by then, you will also become a flesh-and-blood puppet controlled by that Great Calamity-class Other."

Jiang Qing'e's palm gently patted Duze Honglian's slender and supple waist, saying: "What a pity for such a good skin; it will soon become a bloody mess."

Duze Honglian's body trembled slightly, and on her beautiful face, a look of terror finally emerged.

In the end, she used the last of her strength to grab Jiang Qing'e's wrist, suppressing the humiliation in her heart, and lowered her exceptionally proud head toward the latter.

"Jiang, Jiang Qing'e..."

"Help me!"