Chapter 6, Shattered Starry Sky

These locomotives come in various forms, lacking a unified style. Some resemble the dual-wheeled motorcycles of the old Earth centuries, while others are advanced single-wheeled roller vehicles. There are also tracked locomotives, and at the very end of the convoy, people even spotted a giant multi-wheeled vehicle resembling a spider.

But, but... why? Its chin barely reached the knees of the crowd!

The four corpses are almost completely devoured by the horde, and the exit of the safe passage is also blocked. What should we do

The prisoners quickly realized that they could not just sit idly by and wait for their fate. A few impatient death row inmates immediately began to claw at the outer wall of the base, climbing downwards.

With the threat of the corpse swarm eliminated, the temporary teams formed by the prisoners have completely disbanded. All survivors, including Qin Lun and the other two, now number twelve individuals.

The prisoners, originally scattered in various places, quickly ran towards the central location. At such a moment, whether they wished to or not, they had to unite to face the unknown fate that lay ahead

Two prisoners emerged from the opposing team, cautiously observing Qin Lun as they approached to move Chekhov's body. One of them dragged a foot, tossing him into the corner between the corridor and the base hall, where numerous zombies were gathering around the bodies of three federal soldiers.

It is not that the prisoners are unwilling to unite in this unfamiliar world, but rather that it is genuinely difficult for them to establish mutual trust. The five murderers each have psychological issues to varying degrees, making their thoughts hard to fathom; they cannot be considered normal individuals. Even the other prisoners who are reluctantly dependent on them are unwilling to get too close to their side.

As Qin Lun's attention wavered, the "death list" deep within his consciousness quietly receded. Shaking his head at the book, he stood up and gazed into the distance

Qin Lun gently closed his eyes, greedily inhaling the warm, dry fresh air. For him, as long as he could attain freedom, Earth was no different from this unfamiliar world; the only concern in his heart was his sister, who had been separated from him since childhood

Climb down! Only by climbing down can there be a way to survive

In the depths of the Gobi Desert, more than ten kilometers away from the base, a black line suddenly appeared. Within just a few minutes, the black line transformed into a dust dragon composed of sand and soil, rolling in from the distance.

What is this ... ... locomotive? As the rolling dust dragon approached, the prisoners were astonished to discover that it was actually a convoy composed of dozens of various locomotives, instantly causing an uproar.

Can we go back? Xiao Lian hugged her knees, her head lowered, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed

Lin Feng grasped the iron support while exploring the steep "slope," with Xiao Lian closely following behind, supporting the injured Qin Lun. Centered around the underground construction of Area 91, this "hill," which is attached to rocky soil, is not naturally formed, and many areas are quite loose.

They pushed it open, they pushed it open! The prisoners shouted excitedly, their cheers filled with the joy of having escaped death

"This is not Earth, where exactly are we?" exclaimed a prisoner who had come to his senses.

"They are the indigenous beings of this world!" The disciple Hansen's expression changed as he shouted to all the prisoners

Since that incident occurred, he has not heard from his sister for over ten years. Perhaps the best choice is to let his sister stay away from him and bear the happiness of both alone. As for himself, who bears the weight of dozens of lives, regardless of the truth of that incident, he has already embarked on the fateful path of a murderer, and there is no turning back.

Since there are organic machines, are they intelligent life? The prisoners gathered again, their vigilance having risen to the highest point

Its entire body was concealed within a hooded cloak, and a pair of thick motorcycle sunglasses nearly obscured half of its face. A massive firearm with a flared muzzle was slung across its back, while two ammunition belts crossed over its shoulders. Striding with a swagger, it exuded an air of dominance that seemed to declare, "None but I shall prevail"

Hehe, this Russian fat pig weighs at least 240 pounds, equivalent to two people, enough for those zombies to share!

As a mercenary, he has identified that this is not a natural phenomenon, but rather caused by a multitude of objects moving at a very high speed. For example: a herd of galloping horses, a convoy of mechanical vehicles, and so on

No wonder those who have died turn into zombies! No wonder the particle beam guns in the hands of the federal soldiers become ineffective! No wonder all the modern instruments in the base are completely unusable! It turns out this place is not Earth at all; it seems that even the laws of science differ from those on Earth!

However, this is not the most astonishing aspect; the strangest part is that several kilometers away from them, a fault line has appeared across the entire continent. In front of the continental fault line lies a vast and boundless cosmic starry sky, where numerous stars twinkle intermittently in the tranquil and profound expanse.

After the prisoners gathered again, the dust dragon across from them seemed to have noticed their presence, curving through the Gobi Desert and heading straight towards them

Although there was no sun overhead, the orange-yellow light dome enveloping the floating continent emitted intense light and heat, making everyone feel drowsy. Qin Lun and the other two found a large rock beneath the base, leaned against it to shield themselves from the wind, and took a short rest

In a moment of contemplation, Qin Lun suddenly felt a stir in his heart. He opened his right hand and gazed at the black oval pattern in his palm. Ever since he had killed Chekhov and obtained that refreshing aura, the oval pattern had been pulsating rhythmically. That refreshing aura seemed to emanate from the oval pattern, circulating throughout his body like blood, in a continuous cycle.

After about twenty minutes, with the help of Xiao Lian, Qin Lun finally reached the ground. Standing on the gravel of the Gobi Desert, a warm sensation rose from the soles of his shoes. As he looked around, he saw reddish-brown rocky cliffs everywhere; apart from the occasional howling of the wind through the peaks, the entire Gobi appeared utterly silent, devoid of any signs of life.

Looking at this imposing and charismatic leader of the pocket bike gang, all the prisoners experience a sense of absurd comedy

"You all take a look, what is that over there?" Just as Qin Lun was about to use his consciousness to probe into the 'Death List', a distant shout from a prisoner reached his ears

A four-wheeled vehicle emerged prominently from the convoy, stopping in front of the prisoners. A humanoid figure jumped down from the vehicle and swaggered towards them

These twelve individuals, centered around the five elite murderers known as "The Dissector" Qin Lun, "The Disciple" Hansen, "The Shepherd" Hill, "The Fireworks" Rand, and "The Jester" Grant, each formed small groups consisting of only two or three members.

However, upon closer inspection, these stars do not appear to be massive celestial bodies, but rather floating continents of varying sizes, each enveloped in a spherical orange-yellow light shield.

The distant floating continent appears as small as a firefly, while the nearest floating continent is as large as a grinding disc, with its mountains and rivers clearly discernible.

With each cycle of the book, this aura diminishes a little, now barely perceptible. However, as this aura weakens, the fatigue and pain in his body also fade slightly, as if new strength is surging within him, and even the injuries in his legs seem to be healing rapidly. It appears that this refreshing aura is greatly beneficial to him, gradually enhancing his physical condition.

A height of over thirty meters is not particularly high, but if one were to misstep and fall from a steep slope, it would undoubtedly be a matter of life and death. They certainly do not wish to escape the gaping maw of the zombies only to meet their demise on this desolate and barren desert.

Fortunately, the underground structures of the base appear to be piled together with the surrounding rocky soil on the Gobi Desert, forming a steeply sloped small hill, which still offers some places for climbing and resting.

With the reappearance of the "Death List," the oval pattern in the palm of Qin Lun's right hand also underwent a transformation, turning into a small skull. Moreover, two faint crimson ghostly flames flickered in the hollow eyes of the skull.

The iron gate's pulley emitted a piercing metallic screech as the heavy iron door was finally pushed open slowly, sliding to either side

In addition to Qin Lun, who was unable to exert himself due to a severe injury to his calf, Lin Feng and Xiao Lian also joined the group pushing against the door, striving for their survival

Qin Lun curiously extended his left thumb, rubbing it over the oval pattern, wanting to feel the rhythmic pulsation. However, he immediately widened his eyes, a wave of agitation surging within him, as a black, simple tablet unexpectedly appeared in the depths of his consciousness, identical in style to the "death list" that stored his own information.

As we enter the new century, due to the advancement of science and technology, with the exception of a few primitive forests and polar ice caps, the deserts and wastelands of the old era have undergone environmental transformation to accommodate the ever-increasing population. Similar to the desolate Gobi desert before us, it can only be seen through ancient photographic works.

The exit of the base where they are located is unexpectedly situated in mid-air, at least thirty meters above the ground. It is evident that the underground structure of Area 91 has risen to the surface of the Gobi Desert, elevating the originally ground-level exit of the corridor into the air.

The prisoners quickly realized that the Gobi Desert where the Federal Base 91 was located was likely also a floating continent. A very small number of them had already associated their current situation with the spherical space-time domain above Base 91, and it was certain that their current condition was related to space-time transmission, though they did not know where the entire base had been transmitted to

After adding Chekhov, these four corpses barely blocked the entrance of the corridor, which is about seven meters long, preventing the horde of corpses from entering. Upon seeing the densely packed hundreds of zombies at the entrance, the prisoners no longer wasted time and automatically divided into two teams, strenuously pushing against the iron gate of the base.

Lin Feng remained silent, his face displaying a look of confusion as he gazed upward, appearing extremely despondent. He had confirmed a piece of dreadful news from several prisoners: his father had passed away. The prisoners had seen a zombie dressed in a general's uniform in the control hall of the base, and the only general at the base was his father.

What is this place? As the crowd clearly saw the scene outside the iron gate, the smiles that had just been on their faces froze, and their eyes revealed an uncontrollable shock

Outside the base's gate, there is not the lush primeval forest of the Greater Khingan Range. Instead, as far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of Gobi desert, with oddly shaped rocky cliffs resembling monsters, lying across this desolate and uninhabited land, reminiscent of the western deserts of the old century United States.