Katerina had been poisoned by hallucinogens?! But... when?!
Why were he and Zhang Mo unharmed?
Just as Zhang Chen was confused, he vaguely felt a force being continuously drawn from Katerina's body, drifting towards the depths of the corridor.
Zhang Chen immediately activated Absolute Vision.
He discovered that the previously calm biological energy had suddenly fluctuated abnormally.
It was as if this mysterious entity could hide its biological energy fluctuations, making everything appear out of nowhere.
Something that could absorb energy?
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Chen bound Katerina in place with an invisible force field. To avoid harming her, he carefully controlled the force field, slowly pushing her backward.
As Katerina moved further away from the end of the corridor, the rate at which her energy was draining gradually decreased.
Did the closer proximity mean more energy absorption? Was the hallucination meant to lure living beings closer to absorb their energy?
Zhang Chen instantly understood the monster's ability.
He and Zhang Mo might have been unaffected due to the meteor energy within them, or perhaps because they lacked any obsessions.
After all, Katerina kept mentioning "mama," but Zhang Chen had only ever seen her father, and he wasn't even her biological one.
What was at the end of the corridor?!
Zhang Chen turned to Zhang Mo and said,
"Don't wander off, protect mama here. I'll go inside to take a look!"
Zhang Chen said.
"Okay, dad, you be careful too!"
Zhang Mo nodded.
Zhang Chen smiled slightly and turned to walk towards the end of the corridor.
Along the way, all the monster corpses were pushed aside by the force field, clearing a narrow path for one person to pass.
As Zhang Chen walked, it felt like visiting a monster exhibition.
Various monsters and zombies were packed together, frozen in their poses from when they were alive.
Zhang Chen soon reached the end of the corridor.
There was a tightly shut large door here.
It seemed that whatever was attracting all living beings was inside this door.
Zhang Chen gently pushed the door open, and a dense crowd of figures immediately appeared inside.
Everyone was standing, heads bowed, hands hanging down, as if they were asleep on their feet.
These people were men and women, old and young. Dust covered their shoulders, and their clothes were so weathered they looked like they would tear if pulled.
Judging by their appearance, the people inside had been standing here for much longer than the mutated giant rat outside had been dead.
For clothes to reach this state, in the current environment filled with biological energy, would take at least five to six years.
Zhang Chen walked up to a man and reached out to touch his arm.
His arm, along with his entire body, swayed slightly but did not fall.
Like the corpses outside, his muscles were slack.
Zhang Chen lifted the man's arm and indeed saw a golden ring on his left hand.
The people who died here were the first batch of transmigration survivors.
Their energy had already been drained, so it was impossible to tell if they had been drained upon arrival or if they had managed to survive until the final stage of the apocalypse before their energy was siphoned away.
Zhang Chen walked through the crowd and reached the very front of the line.
Here stood a little girl, about seven or eight years old.
Her posture was slightly different from those behind her.
Although her head was bowed, the index finger of her left hand pointed towards a crack in the wall.
There must be something within this crack!
Zhang Chen activated Absolute Vision and took a look.
Indeed, a faint stream of energy was transmitted from Katerina's body, following the corridor, passing through the door and the crowd, and slowly entering the crack in the wall.
Then, this energy continued to be transmitted forward.
After that, Zhang Chen could no longer detect it.
The biological energy content in the air was too high, and the energy transmitted by Katerina was extremely weak. At a distance, it was impossible to distinguish.
But Zhang Chen couldn't rashly use Katerina as bait!
If he risked her energy being completely drained to find the monster behind it, and it absorbed too much... it would be over!
First, let's excavate the wall to see what's behind it!
Zhang Chen slowly raised his right hand and extended his index finger, about to gently tap...
Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation on his leg.
"Uncle, don't..."
It was a little girl's voice.
In the silence, Zhang Chen was intently looking at the wall when suddenly, a voice from behind, coupled with the touch on his leg.
He reflexively kicked out.
Bang!
Boom!
A dark shadow was sent flying, crashing into dozens of standing corpses, piercing directly through the wall behind, and continuing its momentum for tens of meters before crashing through the roof of the building and soaring upwards.
It flew until it became a small black dot.
Although Zhang Chen had encountered all sorts of monsters in the apocalypse, this sudden rear attack was a reflex, a primal human reaction.
In such a situation, he couldn't control the force; he used all the strength he had.
He didn't even realize what had touched him before kicking it away.
In this scenario, even if Zhang Chen found it again, it would likely be too mangled to recognize.
Zhang Chen surveyed the area behind him. Only the corpse of the little girl standing at the very front was gone.
Considering her call of "uncle," it was likely her.
What the heck, it came back to life again?!
Zhang Chen was utterly perplexed.
"Who is playing these tricks?"
"If you have the guts, show yourself!"
Zhang Chen shouted sternly.
However, the surroundings were dead silent, except for the occasional sound of falling shattered bricks from the wall.
The surrounding crowd made no sound, nor any sound of breathing.
"This is uncanny. If you sneak attack me from behind again, I'll flatten this place!"
Zhang Chen said warily.
This place was truly bizarre.
If the monster had revealed its true form and fought me head-on... forget it.
Zhang Chen shook his head. If it had shown its true form, it would probably have been crippled by him long ago.
Perhaps the monster thought of this and therefore didn't appear, which was somewhat understandable.
But that little girl just now could speak, and clearly had something to tell him.
Did this monster possess intelligence?!
Zhang Chen's curiosity grew even stronger.
He gently tapped the wall with his finger, and the entire wall shattered into small pieces, scattering into the deep pit behind.
Occasionally, the sound of rocks colliding with the pit's side walls could be heard.
However, Zhang Chen waited for a long time but heard no sound of rocks hitting the bottom.
Where did this deep pit lead?!