Chapter 245 - 140: Warning

Chapter 245: Chapter 140: Warning

The broadcast ended, and an uplifting construction anthem began to play on a loop. Xu Mo went back inside and ate.

After finishing his meal and cleaning up, Xu Mo headed to the assembly point. When he arrived, Zhang Yun was already there, leaning against a nearby wall. Her expression was grim; she had clearly heard the morning broadcast as well.

The two met up and received their assignment: Area F-6, as usual. As they walked toward their patrol zone, the other patrol members around them were also discussing the broadcast in low voices. The atmosphere was more somber and uneasy than usual.

"Did you hear the morning broadcast?" Zhang Yun spoke up first, her voice low.

"I did." Xu Mo nodded. "Looks like the situation is more serious than we thought."

"Yeah." Zhang Yun kicked a loose stone at her feet. "That rumor about ’eating mutated meat can turn you into a Superpower User’... I heard it back in the shantytowns, too. The stories were so vivid, saying someone ate mutated wild dog meat and their strength multiplied several times over. Another claimed that eating some kind of strange fish made their skin impenetrable. Now it seems that was all nonsense—and potentially deadly nonsense at that."

Zhang Yun paused, her tone laced with a hint of lingering fear and relief. "Good thing I didn’t believe it, or have the guts to try. The mutated creatures are creepy enough just to look at; who knows what would happen if you ate one. Things are fine this way. Patrolling is hard work, but earning a living through your own skills gives you peace of mind."

Xu Mo glanced at Zhang Yun. He could see in her eyes the awe and clarity that came from surviving a life-or-death experience. Zhang Yun wasn’t the type to be tempted by illusory power. Her resilience stemmed from a clear-eyed understanding of reality and a solid military background.

"The broadcast’s emphasis on construction is also meant to give everyone a clear, safe path forward," Xu Mo said. "It’s a way to guide people’s attention and energy toward productive things."

"I hope it works." Zhang Yun sighed. "I’m just afraid some people are already obsessed and won’t listen. Or maybe some are just completely desperate." She recalled the hopeless days after her squad was wiped out. ’If another squad hadn’t found and rescued me, would I have started having extreme thoughts, too?’ She didn’t dare to dwell on it.

The two fell silent and focused on their patrol. The scorched fields remained unchanged, and the distant river flowed quietly, as if the threat had never existed. But the air seemed to hang heavier than usual, filled not only with the sweltering heat but also with the formless pressure brought on by the broadcast.

The afternoon patrol remained quiet. When they handed over their duties, the officer on duty gave them an extra warning: "Stay vigilant lately. Besides what’s in the water, keep an eye on the people on the shore, too. If you see anyone acting abnormally, behaving strangely, or with any unidentifiable mutations, do not approach. Report it immediately."

This comment clearly echoed the morning’s broadcast, indicating that Jiang City now considered "mutation caused by consuming mutated meat" a new internal threat that required vigilance.

On the way back, Xu Mo mulled over the deeper implications of the broadcast.

’The origin mechanism of Superpower Users is still a mystery, and it’s unrelated to eating mutated meat. Jiang City’s firm debunking of the rumor suggests they’ve likely done some research on Superpower Users. At the very least, they know for a fact that awakening a Superpower has nothing to do with consuming mutated substances. This only adds to the mystique and rarity of Superpower Users.’

’Furthermore, the fact that the medical department could so quickly confirm the dangers of eating mutated meat and summarize the characteristics of the resulting mutations implies they already have a foundational understanding of mutated creatures themselves.’

’Then there’s the common person’s blind craving for power. The allure of rumors, combined with persistent material shortages and external survival pressures, is spawning all sorts of irrational, risky behavior.’

’Jiang City has obviously noticed this trend and is trying to manage and suppress it with a two-pronged approach: "construction" and "warnings." But how effective that will be remains to be seen.’

’The most crucial point is that the risk of "mutation" has spread from external creatures to humanity itself.’

Before, mutation meant zombies, strange birds, or the fish in the river.

Now, humans could also become the new "zombies" because of their own choices. This blurred the line of who the "enemy" was, making the internal environment far more complex and dangerous.

Returning to his small courtyard, he found the sky was still bright. Instead of immediately starting his cultivation as usual, Xu Mo sat on a chair in the yard and sorted through the recent information in his mind.

’The secrets of the Red Star Industrial Zone, the bizarre monster in Area G-2, the mutated fish in the Area F-6 river, the malignant human mutations caused by eating mutated meat... these seemingly isolated incidents all seem to point in the same direction: the process of mutation in this world is accelerating. It’s also becoming more diverse and penetrating deeper into the very essence of living beings.’

’And humanity, whether as passive victims or by actively courting disaster, is already caught deep within it.’

Jiang City was trying hard to build walls to keep external threats out. But now it seemed some threats were already inside the walls—in people’s hearts, and on their dinner tables.

Xu Mo thought again of the man in the gray jacket and his group. They had chosen a relatively stable path. But others, driven by desperation or ambition, were likely heading down a road of no return.

"Power..." Xu Mo murmured to himself. He, too, was pursuing power, but his path was through arduous cultivation and tapping into his own potential. This was fundamentally different from the methods of those who pinned their hopes on external objects, even at the cost of destroying themselves.

Night fell, and the lights of Jiang City shone as usual. But beneath those lights tonight, how many people were lying awake because of the morning broadcast? How many were hesitating, or terrified, or still staring at a piece of meat from an unknown source in the darkness, dreaming impossible dreams?