Chapter 369: Chapter 369
Seeing that Suzy hadn’t returned for quite a long time, Mark came over to look for her.
He had caught wind of some strange commotion earlier, but lacked the specifics of what had actually transpired.
Suzy turned her head toward him. "Why did you come over?"
"Just checking things out," Mark replied calmly.
Realizing that Mark was Suzy’s companion, Tina gave him a polite greeting before taking the initiative to fill him in on the recent events—including how they had tried to warn the middle-aged man, only for him to ignore them and march straight into the barrier anyway.
"You’re saying... he went inside?" Mark murmured softly, his expression turning somewhat strange for a moment.
"Yeah, went right in completely empty-handed. Not sure if he’s brave or just plain reckless," Tina shook her head.
When their own teammate had gone in earlier, he had at least carried weapons. This middle-aged man was even more impulsive, barging in with nothing at all. If he ran into danger, there was no telling how he’d handle it.
Noticing Mark’s odd expression, Suzy asked in confusion, "What’s with that look? Do you know something?"
Mark met Suzy’s gaze, only to avert his eyes a moment later.
"I don’t," he answered softly. After a pause, he added, "I just have a bad feeling about this."
Suzy and Tina exchanged a look.
Truth be told, she shared that exact sentiment right now. A black barrier appearing out of thin air was deeply unnerving no matter how one looked at it. Just staring at it for too long made Suzy feel distinctly uncomfortable.
"Miss Becker, is there really nothing in there?" Suzy asked.
At this moment, Tina was staring intently at the black barrier ahead, her expression grim. Hearing Suzy’s question, she didn’t turn around, explaining, "As far as I know, nothing."
Not long ago, the person who had ventured into the black barrier was one of her teammates—a veteran who had been discharged right as the apocalypse broke out. Having undergone rigorous military training, his physical capabilities were still at their absolute peak. If there had been anything inside, it would have been impossible for him not to notice.
Yet the reality was that after her teammate went in and took a loop through that mysterious space, he found nothing and saw nothing. Inside was complete pitch darkness, without a single trace of vegetation or living organisms.
"Nothing at all..." Suzy muttered to herself. "Could it really be completely empty? Or is it possible... that whatever’s inside just hasn’t appeared yet?"
It was merely Suzy’s speculation, but hearing it, Mark glanced at her, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.
He chimed in, "That’s not impossible."
Tina didn’t join in the conversation. Her mind was in a complete jumble, and she had no idea what to do next. They were utterly helpless against the black barrier before them.
Now they were left with only two choices: either make a wide detour or wait here for the black barrier to dissipate.
The former option would consume far more gasoline, and their fuel tanks were almost running on empty. The reason they had chosen this route in the first place was because there was a gas station up ahead where they might have resupplied. As for the latter, no one knew if or when the black barrier would disappear—it might just stay here forever for all they knew.
Now they were trapped at both ends, and Tina couldn’t help letting out a heavy sigh.
"Ahead! Something’s happening up front!"
Someone suddenly yelled out from the crowd.
Hearing the shout, everyone raised their heads to look ahead. What they saw left every single person astounded.
A figure was slowly walking out from the black barrier not far away—it was the middle-aged man.
He appeared completely unharmed, though his expression was laced with irritation.
The man closest to him couldn’t wait to ask, "How was it? What’s inside?"
The middle-aged man spat on the ground and said loudly, "There’s nothing inside! I walked around in a full circle and didn’t see a damn thing. Weird as hell."
When he had first stepped in, he was a bit tense. But after wandering inside for two minutes without seeing or experiencing anything, he had gradually calmed down. He didn’t rush to leave either, taking another loop around the perimeter, yet still coming up empty. It felt as if he had stepped into a vast, empty black room—a bit eerie, but harmless. After walking a bit further without discovering anything, he had simply turned back.
"See, just like when we went in last time, there’s nothing in—"
Before the man speaking could finish his sentence, his voice suddenly choked in his throat.
His eyes locked onto the space directly behind the middle-aged man. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed as if he had just witnessed something that rendered him entirely mute.
The people nearby followed his frozen gaze, and their expressions froze in the exact same instant.
A hand... An actual hand had reached out from inside the black barrier.
That hand rested heavily on the middle-aged man’s shoulder. The fingers were unnaturally long and greyish in color, looking as though they had been soaked in liquid for far too long, completely stripping away any natural skin texture.
Before the middle-aged man could react, he frowned and looked back at the speaker. "What’s wrong? Why are you speaking like—"
His words were cut short.
The hand tightened like an iron vise catching its prey, and yanked back viciously.
The middle-aged man’s body was dragged backward by a terrifying surge of brute force. Under the horrified gaze of everyone present, he was hauled straight back into the black barrier.
After a split second of dead silence, a brief, blood-curdling shriek echoed from the darkness—and then abruptly vanished.
The air felt weighed down by a suffocating pressure, and even the wind seemed to freeze in place.
A deathly, bone-chilling silence descended upon the road.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter