Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!-Chapter 174 - 62: The City of Radiation_2

The old buildings from the bygone era appeared before him with majestic posture. Though most were already weathered and collapsed, faint traces of their past glory could still be seen.

"Mountain and Water Gate."

Chen Jian pointed at the sculpture in the distance and said:

"This thing managed to last so long, honestly I didn’t expect it."

"I remember this thing was once ranked among the ugliest sculptures on DY; is that true?"

"No."

Lei Jie shook his head and said:

"Such conventional things couldn’t possibly make it on the list. Only abstract stuff like the Ingot Pavilion gets there."

"But truth be told, human aesthetics have always been changing. In this end-time era, bigger is truly beautiful."

"No matter how ugly, as long as it’s big, it’s beautiful to the people here."

"? How could that be?"

Chen Jian turned to Ji Xing and Xie Liu, asking:

"Do you think this sculpture is beautiful?"

"... Actually, I think it’s quite okay."

Xie Liu replied earnestly, while Ji Xing nodded in agreement beside her.

"... Fine."

Chen Jian was speechless, as the group passed through the Mountain and Water Gate and entered the core area of Tongling City.

It was then that he finally felt firsthand why the people here were called "mutants".

Because it was merely an objective description, not a malicious attack.

The iron gate at the entrance to the core area was covered with purple-red vines, their leaves densely haired on the backside, unlike any species Chen Jian had seen.

An old beggar wrapped in a heavy cloak crouched by the fence, with three arms crossed over his chest like spider legs, two of which ended in webs of translucent membrane.

A rusty iron can in front of him boiled with a foul-smelling, thick liquid on the fire.

"Traders?"

The City Defense Army on duty reached out to stop Chen Jian and the others, drawing notice to his four-parted lips.

"The entry fee is 10 grams of Gold."

"10 grams?"

Chen Jian frowned and looked at Xie Liu, who nodded and replied:

"That’s indeed the price."

"Getting into the core area requires a fee, but staying in the outer residential area is free."

"Understood. Give it to him."

Upon hearing this, Xie Liu took out a small parcel of Gold that was separately carried, measured it using a balance carried by the City Defense Army, and paid the entry fee. After passing the final checkpoint, the group smoothly entered the core area of Tongling City.

The glass windows of roadside general stores bore brownish-yellow mineral deposits. Unusually-shaped gas masks and unidentified pills were packed in rusted orange metal tins marked with "Civil Defense".

The woman behind the counter wrapped a scarf around her neck, with scaly skin spreading from her collar to behind her ears, reflecting a gray-blue metallic sheen in the sunlight.

As Chen Jian’s gaze passed over her, she first frowned but then provocatively removed the scarf, exposing a chest similarly covered with rough keratin.

"What are you looking at? First time here?"

Chen Jian didn’t know how to deal with such a scene; at this moment, the experience of Xie Liu and Ji Xing came in handy.

They stepped forward, revealing the Holy Blood mark on their wrists at the cuffs, and said: freewebnøvel_com

"We are traders from the Holy Blood Temple, conducting trade in Tongling City in the name of the Holy Blood."

Upon hearing this, the woman’s tone immediately improved.

"Holy Blood? Very well, very well, we welcome the Holy Blood."

"Do you need medicine? I have medicine here to maintain health. If you plan to stay in Tongling City, it’s a necessity."

"Let’s take a look."

Ji Xing gave Chen Jian a look, and the latter stepped forward in a leader’s manner to take the tin handed by the woman and examined it carefully.

"You can try it!"

The woman eagerly promoted her goods, prompting Chen Jian to cautiously pinch a piece with his fingers, lightly lick it, and immediately spit it out.

[Bitter, salty to the point of bitterness]

He typed on his tactical goggles, and Lei Jie slightly nodded, typing back:

[Radiation levels are rising, likely some iodine derivative]

[We can buy some for now, but don’t make it seem special]

[1]

Chen Jian simply replied, then said:

"We’ll take four portions."

"Four portions are not enough!"

The woman deftly picked the pills from the box and then said:

"Holy Blood like you need more medicine, or else the Holy Blood in your veins won’t stay calm."

"Maybe you haven’t heard, but a while back, a Holy Blood went mad in Tongling City, muttering about the ’sun’ and ’Holy Light’, as if possessed."

"But we could tell right away he must have sneaked into that forbidden zone..."

"Why are you so sure?"

Chen Jian curiously asked.

"Because his skin was peeling off in patches, which matches the forbidden zone’s curse exactly..."

Confirmed.

There’s definitely high-dose radiation within the forbidden zone of Tongling City.

Although it’s unclear where the radiation originated, it’s evident that the lack of nearby monsters is likely due to this radiation’s presence.

Instinctively avoiding harm is a fundamental biological trait; monsters may be even more sensitive to this than humans.

After storing the pills, Chen Jian led the team deeper into the core area.

Along the way, apart from standard trading goods, they also witnessed the prosperous commerce in Tongling City flourishing around "radiation".

The so-called "Eternal Flower", said to have roots that can absorb the forbidden zone’s curse, tightly stitched protective gear made from animal hides, and "Silver Dust" which when applied on the skin can mitigate curses but also cause another kind of poisoning with prolonged use...

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