Chapter 1803: The Wandering Melissa
[Player Passerby A has entered Yongsha Station and encountered a survivor, successfully triggering the instance "The Wandering Melissa." This instance is a B-rank instance. You may choose the Black faction or the White faction to obtain the corresponding instance background.]
Xu Huo chose the White faction.
[Background Introduction: Zone 010, once renowned for its medical research, has been nearly reduced to a no-man's land after three attacks of violent yellow sand and swarms of xenomorphs. The harsh natural environment has caused the remaining humans to suffer from a rare genetic disease. This disease, which only spreads among the people of Zone 010, has been named "Black Thorn." Once afflicted, black thorn-like patches begin to grow from the limbs. These patches not only accelerate the aging of the skin but also penetrate deep into the flesh and bones, absorbing nutrients until they completely cover the body and reach the heart. Besides robbing a person of their lifespan, it also deprives them of their fertility.]
[Because of this genetic disease, apart from "Melissa," no child has been born in Zone 010 for nearly a decade. However, this newborn, who represents the hope of Zone 010, completely disappeared after the CK12 Safe Zone was attacked by a swarm of xenomorphs.]
[Instance Task: Find "Melissa" and bring her home.]
[Instance Time: Unlimited.]
[Note: This instance does not restrict the completion time. Players are advised to be aware of the time difference between the instance zone and their origin zone.]
After reading the instance introduction, Xu Huo looked again at the person on the opposite rooftop who was happily waving his arms and dancing. The man was wearing gloves, but several black veins could be seen on the exposed fingers, which also looked somewhat withered—at a glance, it seemed like the result of long-term malnutrition. However, this man was not gaunt or sallow.
Following the other's gesture, Xu Huo jumped to the opposite building and followed the man down from a small door on the top floor.
Once inside, the man lowered his voice and said excitedly, "After waiting seven years, I finally see another living person!"
"You're a player, right! Only a player would dare to walk outside! Are you going to a safe zone? Can you take me with you?"
"I can give you money. I've collected a lot of jewelry and precious metals in the past! I can give them all to you!"
"I don't want to be alone anymore. I want to go to a safe zone... anywhere with people is fine!"
As he spoke, he started to cry, wiping his tears and sobbing, "I'm just so happy... I haven't talked to anyone in so long. Besides me, the only things still alive here are probably the xenomorphs..."
Listening to his rambling account of his feelings, Xu Huo also learned about his experiences.
The man's name was Fan Yunhong. His family had some wealth. As he grew up, Zone 010 had already become dilapidated. His father originally had some connections and ran a transportation business in the CK15 Safe Zone. This was his hometown. Before CK15 was destroyed, Fan's father secretly stockpiled a large amount of supplies here in this city.
This was considered his hometown. Several nearby villas were Fan family assets. Fan's father used his position to transport supplies and renovate the houses, turning the area into a decent fortress.
Fan's father originally planned to live an isolated life with his son. Unexpectedly, CK15 was attacked, the protective wall was breached, and after the xenomorph swarms were attracted, only Fan Yunhong was brought out by his father's sworn brother.
Fan Yunhong originally intended to follow his father's instructions and live here for the rest of his life—after all, their lifespans weren't long anyway. But after his father's friend passed away, Fan Yunhong, living here alone, nearly went crazy from isolation. He would rather give up this "carefree" life to go to a safe zone. However, this city was too remote. In the early years, safe zone convoys still passed through here, but in recent years, the convoys had disappeared. Probably due to some mental issues from talking to himself every day, he had woken up several times in the middle of the night to find that he had dug up his father's friend's body and placed it on the bed...
From the initial terror and collapse to gradually getting used to it and even sleeping with the corpse, Fan Yunhong sometimes even took the initiative to talk to the body. Then he made a bold decision: to put the body on the rooftop to dry before preserving it.
As he said this, the two had already arrived in the basement. The basement had good soundproofing, so normal volume was fine. As Fan Yunhong recounted his story, Xu Huo also saw the corpse standing like a specimen in a glass cabinet against the wall.
It was hard to judge this behavior, but it wasn't too bizarre. From the story, Fan Yunhong seemed to be basically a normal person.
Passing through the basement passage, they could reach the adjacent villa. Fan Yunhong took out a packaged food packet, heated it with a small heat collection plate, and poured it into a plate.
"This is good meat. I usually can't bear to eat it, but since we're leaving soon, it would be a shame to waste it." Fan Yunhong muttered to himself. After a while, he started worrying about how he would live after entering the safe zone. "I definitely can't take these supplies with me. Can money still be used in the safe zone now... I wonder if my little bit of money can get me a place to live."
"Was the environment in the safe zone very bad before you came here?" Xu Huo asked after tasting the food on the plate.
"Too many people. The players couldn't support them. People starved to death every few days." Although it had been a long time, Fan Yunhong still vividly remembered the shock of seeing corpses being eaten. "That's why my father wanted to leave the safe zone. Food will only get scarcer."
"Do you have 'Black Thorn'?" Xu Huo asked again.
Fan Yunhong shrank his hands back, afraid of being misunderstood, and quickly said, "This disease isn't contagious to outsiders, don't worry!"
"Do you know anything about this genetic disease?" Xu Huo looked down at the barely touched meat on his plate, frowned, and took another bite.
"I heard from others that some gene in the people of Zone 010 mutated due to environmental influence. Almost everyone alive gets this disease. It's like thorns slowly piercing through the limbs and internal organs. When a person is about to die, the nutrients are almost all consumed by it, so I have to eat a lot every day." Fan Yunhong kept shoveling food into his mouth with his spoon. "The more I eat, the longer I can live."
At this point, he became a bit dejected. "Life is so hard, what's the point of living long?"
"But living is always good. As long as you're alive, there's hope. If I had committed suicide, I wouldn't have met you today!"
Fan Yunhong was good at self-consolation. After saying this, he focused on eating, finishing two large plates in one go. Seeing that Xu Huo still had a lot left, he naturally took the plate and finished it in a few bites. Then he wiped his mouth, bent down to pry open a floor tile under the table, pulled out a box, opened it, and placed it in front of Xu Huo. "These are gemstones of decent quality. If you sell them in other zones, you can definitely get a good price."
As he spoke, he was very nervous, his eyes fixed on Xu Huo, as if afraid he would refuse, or afraid he would look down on the contents of the box.
(Chapter End)