Void Jigsaw Puzzle

Guo Ling and Zhang Chuyu didn't know how long they stayed by the flower bed beside the central road in Houkun City. The two got along very well. Guo Ling learned a lot about the situation in Houkun City and Fengyao City from Zhang Chuyu, and Zhang Chuyu also heard about the existence of "Cosmic Gangsters" and "Turtle Clan" for the first time.

However, Zhang Chuyu did not share with Guo Ling that he had been kidnapped and slapped in Fengyao City. That was a shame in his heart, and he would take revenge one day and make that man named Tan Jia pay the price.

The two even briefly forgot that just a few dozen meters away, the protesting crowd had become disenchanted with the group of planes in the sky and were rushing into the "Big Ingot" one after another.

This group of people want an explanation and more importantly, a promise: they are all living people, not guinea pigs, and they cannot be used as test subjects for new product tests without their knowledge.

Zhang Chuyu, having previously served near the "Big Ingot," knew that given their moral composure, they wouldn't resort to a large-scale armed crackdown for the time being. However, nothing could be certain. If the crowd truly broke into the core area, posing a threat to the safety of senior officials, the defense forces would be ready to respond.

"Brother Guo, why don't we take this opportunity to leave here and come to my place to sit down, have a drink and get together." Zhang Chuyu invited warmly.

Guo Ling thought about it and nodded in agreement.

After all, he hadn't come here with a specific goal in mind; subconsciously, he was just trying to get over his emotional pain by visiting a strange place for a short while. Besides, making a local friend wouldn't be bad either. If they were to establish a galaxy-spanning alliance of Earth civilizations, they would need to build a good relationship with Fengyao City.

The two were about to get up and leave when Zhang Chuyu suddenly frowned: "Something's wrong. Why is it so quiet outside?"

Sure enough, Guo Ling then discovered that because they had been hiding in the corner of the flower bed, they could not see the central road and the "big ingot" on the other side of the flower bed, and could only rely on the sound to judge what was happening over there.

I could hear all kinds of noise just now, but now it was suddenly dead quiet.

This was truly unusual. Even when the protests died down, there would still be some discussion and conversation among the crowd. But now, the silence was so intense that it was as if everyone had disappeared in an instant.

Only the fleet of planes in the sky continued to roar with bravado. The hissing sound of their engines reached my ears, more like a mockery than a threat.

"Look, there's no movement now, right? You're still trying to protest? Wishful thinking!"

The two looked at each other, and both controlled their body posture slightly. They put their hands on the edge of the flower bed, quietly stuck their heads out, and looked in the direction of the "big ingot".

Both of them widened their eyes at the same time.

Central Avenue was still packed with people; the protesters hadn't dispersed. However, none of them seemed alive. Rather, while they were moving slowly and showing facial expressions, they looked like the walking dead.

In other words, there was no sign of life in their slowly moving bodies or open eyes.

It would be fine if it was just one person, but all the people on the entire central road in front of the "Da Yuanbao" gate who had participated in the protest and watched the excitement were all like this, and just a moment ago, they were extremely excited. This is extremely puzzling.

At this moment, the group of planes in the sky dispersed instantly as if they had received a signal, returning the entire sky to the people on the ground without reservation, as if they had never existed.

Under the brighter light, Guo Ling saw that this group of people had one thing in common besides their similar appearance and movements: everyone had a little moisture on their body or head, as if they had been sprinkled or rained by water, but it clearly hadn't rained just now.

A bad guess suddenly came to his mind, and he quickly pulled Zhang Chuyu down. The two of them stood shoulder to shoulder again, their backs leaning against the wall of the flower bed.

"We were just talking about stimulants and sedatives. Could it be that you... no, they... I mean, the people at 'Big Ingot' used sedatives on the protesters? Otherwise, I can't imagine any other means that could have turned everyone into such a horrible state in such a short time. I think this is even more extreme than using weapons to suppress the ground!"

Zhang Chuyu was also taken aback when he heard Guo Ling say this, but then he thought again and said, "But how did they get so many people to take the sedatives in such a short time? When those fake planes first appeared in the sky, they were pretending to make them look up with their heads and mouths open. I feel like this stuff has to be taken orally, right?"

"Is it possible... that stimulants need to be taken orally, while sedatives can be absorbed through the skin just by contact? When they used the fake plane to scare these people just now, they wanted to test the stimulants first, so they came up with the idea of ​​tilting their heads and opening their mouths. But now, to quell the unrest, they've just sprayed the sedative... Because, I just saw that every exposed part of their head, face, legs, and feet is more or less wet, as if they've been showered."

Zhang Chuyu rolled his eyes.

Yes! Although stimulants and sedatives are often mentioned together, they are, after all, two different products. Who knows if their development progress for embodied forms is exactly the same?

Moreover, it seems that there is no other possible explanation except this one.

Zhang Chuyu looked at Guo Ling with admiration, feeling even more fortunate to have known this elder brother. However, he wasn't sure whether he should still invite Guo Ling to his home for a chat.

Because the situation outside had changed. Clearly, judging by the effects of the sedatives, the very thing these protesters had been so intent on doing had been reversed. In other words, the people in "Big Ingot" were free to focus on other things.

If this "other matter" included dealing with Zhang Chuyu... after all, he was a grassroots civil servant who had deserted the battlefield. Although he had temporarily escaped danger after disguising himself, he was no match for the enemy's overwhelming numbers.

Guo Ling noticed Zhang Chuyu's hesitation and said with a smile, "It's okay. The situation has changed. Let's go to your house next time. The most important thing right now is to find a way to leave here. After all, you are still being hunted by them. However, we have to be very careful now, because we are the only living people on the whole street. If we show up, we will be easily discovered."