Chapter 787: Escaping the City District
Escaping the City District
"It doesn't seem like there's a problem here."
Eura looked at the quiet block outside the window, relaxing a little.
"But isn't it a bit too quiet here?"
Ryan said softly.
Having just escaped from the commercial district, she didn't believe there wouldn't be any danger here.
The surroundings could only be described as dead silent, the only sound in the entire block being the car engine.
"It really is a bit too quiet."
Lin Ye dumped a pack of snacks into his mouth and downed a whole bottle of mineral water.
"After those giant centipedes finish integrating, they might chase us here, so we'd better not go back."
Little Guardian observed the block outside the window but didn't spot anything unusual.
"Then I'll speed up."
Lin Ye stomped on the accelerator. There was still plenty of gas; no need to conserve it yet.
The car wove through the blocks. Twenty minutes later, Lin Ye slowed down.
"Something's off here. According to the city map, we should have already gotten out."
Lin Ye didn't dare stop, afraid of attracting something nasty.
"I've been watching the buildings along the road. Every single one looks different, yet there's this feeling of repetition."
Eura said with some confusion.
"Same here. Even the ones far away aren't identical, but I still get that repetitive sensation."
Ryan felt uneasy.
"I know why..."
Lin Ye suddenly stopped the car, staring at a building by the roadside.
"...Did that building just move?"
Eura's face twisted with terror.
"The entire block is slowly shifting. That's why we don't see identical scenes but still feel the repetition..."
Ryan nervously shrank back.
"This block is alive. It doesn't want us to leave."
Little Guardian swept her gaze over the area. As if sensing their awareness, the block stopped its slow movement and began blatantly reshaping the terrain around them.
Lin Ye started the car. Instead of retreating, he kept driving forward along the road.
"We're not turning back?"
Ryan had no idea what Lin Ye was planning.
"Turn back where? We're like ants on a treadmill, except this treadmill can change direction whenever it wants. Unless we can outrun the terrain's speed of change, moving in any direction is pointless."
Lin Ye didn't think flooring the accelerator would get them out. He wanted to observe first, then figure an escape.
"...Maybe we could split into two groups. If we move in opposite directions, at least one group might get out."
Eura quickly came up with a plan.
"No. The terrain isn't changing as a whole—each individual piece shifts independently. Splitting up would just trap us in two different spots."
Little Guardian shot down the idea.
"Then what if a lot of people ran in different directions? Could someone get out?"
Ryan wasn't trying to be difficult. If there was a workable method, maybe they could find the block's weakness.
"There are only two directions here, unless you want to go into those constantly shifting buildings."
Lin Ye stared at the roadside structures. It seemed the road itself was the only part that didn't change terrain. If it could shift too, they'd have been crushed by the pavement by now.
"Maybe we can try accelerating and blasting through. If the road's movement is slower than the car, we can break out of this area."
Even faced with hopelessness, Eura never gave up. After barely escaping from that place, she refused to be stuck here.
"Give me some more time. We've got enough gas."
Lin Ye didn't think speeding on a road that could change direction was a good idea.
If the road shifted diagonally, they might crash straight into a building.
After driving another half hour, Lin Ye suddenly yanked the steering wheel, barreling into a narrow street between two buildings.
The surrounding buildings reshaped their terrain like Tetris blocks. Tons of construction material slid onto the street, trying to swallow the car.
"Hold on tight!"
Linye floored the accelerator. The tires rolled over debris, and the car's front end lifted.
Under Lin Ye's control, the car flew over the street and landed on the side of a two-story building.
Lin Ye whipped the wheel and crashed through the yard of the two-story building, smashing through its front door.
"Follow me!"
Lin Ye shoved open the door, climbed over the hood, and charged into the building. He had seen this structure twice before—it was the only building in the entire area that had repeated itself.
If this block was an anomalous creature, then this building had to be one of its vital parts.
Of course, it could also be a trap specifically targeting Lin Ye. After all, such a subtle trap could only be spotted by him.
The interior layout was bizarre. The walls were patched together from all kinds of materials, and the floor sloped downward.
After Lin Ye and the others barged in, the building didn't react, but massive amounts of construction material started flooding in through the windows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lin Ye blasted the encroaching material apart with his hunting shotgun and sprinted toward the lowest point of the building.
There sat a control panel covered in buttons. Lin Ye fired, hitting the power button.
Bang!
The construction material that had almost reached them suddenly stopped moving. Outside, the block also froze in mid-transformation.
After thinking for half a second, Lin Ye led the others back to the car.
"...Why are we running?"
Eura asked, confused.
"This area probably has its own consciousness. I only turned off the control panel's power—it's hard to destroy the entire console, and I can't destroy the whole block. It's still now, but there might be a backup plan to reboot. Wasting time there would be stupid. Better to get out fast."
Lin Ye started the car, reversed, made a U-turn, and took a side road back to the main road.
The entire block was frozen. Lin Ye floored the accelerator, racing out at top speed.
"I think that's the exit!"
Ten minutes later, Eura spotted a different-looking block up ahead.
Lin Ye drove straight out of the block. The moment the car left, the area behind them shuddered.
The whole block came back to life and started assimilating the differently styled district next to it. Luckily, the assimilation wasn't fast enough to keep up with the car.
"Good thing we ran fast. We almost couldn't get out."
Ryan looked back at the receding block, feeling like it was watching them too.
Lin Ye glanced in the rearview mirror and stepped on the gas.
The surroundings were noticeably more normal. Maybe because they were closer to that block, there wasn't anything dangerous nearby.