dawn effect

Chapter 1 Han'an City

March 24, 29.352765th year of Datong, [-] north latitude, at the southern end of the Shuzhou Plain, Han'an City.

The open spaces that used to be green belts on both sides of the road, sidewalks and the atrium of the community are now covered by forests that block out the sky and the sun.

Even the strongest light at noon could not penetrate the once-bustling streets under the trees.

The sewers on both sides of the street have long been clogged because of their age.

The stagnant water permeated the road from the sewers, and the long-term rotting leaves on the road turned the lower part of the urban forest into a paradise for insects, amphibians and reptiles.

The garbage bins left by the roadside have long been rusted and filled with foul-smelling rainwater.

A giant mosquito as thick as a baby's finger, buzzing and vibrating its long wings, flew over arrogantly from under the signboard with the red words "Qianhui Supermarket" printed on it wrapped around a vine, with the corners drooping.

When the giant mosquito flew over the garbage bin, a long, pink tongue suddenly appeared from the garbage cover next to it, which stuck the giant mosquito and shot it back.

The hum is gone.

On the garbage cover, a monster the size of a human head propped up its body, revealing a belly that was different from the green paint and rust color of the garbage bin, and satisfactorily swallowed the prey it had just harvested.

But it was a weird toad with flesh nails all over its back and two webs behind its head.

The corner of the giant mosquito's wing was still outside the mouth before it could swallow it, and the toad seemed to sense something. It took two quick steps and slipped silently into the rainwater-filled trash can next to it.

At the corner at the end of the street, a strange silver disc flew out, spun around quickly, then changed direction, and flew along the street.

After a while, a mutant beast as huge as a prairie lion before the catastrophe appeared at the corner of the street where the drone had just appeared.

The mutant beast looks like a mastiff, with thick limbs, huge drooping ears, mottled black and white fur, and a body armor made of dark red reptile scales. It stands at the corner of the street , watching the street vigilantly.

On the back of the body armor is inlaid a silver-white flat metal machine. There is a small depression on the top of the machine, which is the lifting platform of the drone just now.

In addition to this equipment, two large bundles of animal skins were hung on both sides of the mastiff's body.

The appearance of the mutated beast made the surrounding insects and frogs disappear instantly, and the street became deadly silent.

Behind the mastiff, there was a sound of footsteps coming from water, the sound was slow and cautious.

After a while, a strange figure appeared from behind the mastiff.

But it is a person.

The drone flew back again, paused in front of a person and a dog, and then slowly flew in the direction just now.

The man patted the mastiff's butt lightly: "Tang Yuan, follow."

The big dog named Tangyuan obediently followed behind the drone, marching along the dark street.

The young man followed the mutant dog named Tang Yuan at a distance, raised his right hand, and supported the long wooden handle exposed behind his right shoulder.

This is a young man dressed very strangely. Under his feet are a pair of ordinary combat boots. On the boots is a pair of loose work pants. On the thighs and calves, the scales of the same material as the glutinous rice ball body armor are wrapped.

The upper and lower parts of leather are separated, and the front of the knee is tied with a piece of bone, which looks like the carapace of some kind of turtle.

The upper body is also a thick overalls, with a scale leather armor nailed on the outside, the upper arms and forearms are also wrapped in leather armor like the thighs and legs, and the shoulders and elbows are also protected by tortoise shells.

The leather armor has a stand collar, which also protects the young man's neck.

On the whole, the young man's attire looks like an ancient warrior, but on his head, he wears a helmet similar to the style of a motorcycle rider in the carbon energy era.

However, this helmet is much more advanced and compact, and it is part of Panorama's final batch of products-the full-real perception ecological cabin.

But now this helmet has obviously been converted into a tactical information helmet by young people. Panoramic Company's design standards for the shell of the ecological cabin helmet cannot meet the requirements of young people's use intensity, so it is already covered with mottled marks.

In the young man's field of vision, there are not only the surrounding scenes, but also countless information projected on the helmet goggles after being processed by the Heping III server on Tangyuan's back.

Walking through this street, the young people finally had no water under their feet, exposing the old urban fortified pavement.

Finally, there was a circle of open space in front of which one could see the sky. Even though the surrounding tree canopies were fully extended, they could not completely cover up this huge open space.

Next to the young man, there is a lying down road sign, and on one of the arrows, the words "Labor Square" can still be seen.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief: "AI, look for a campsite."

The drone swayed slightly above the young man and the dog, and flew high into the sky.

"It's still emotional simulation..." The young man looked at the drone flying out of the tree canopy, and stroked the head of the mastiff beside him: "Actually, AI is a good boy, isn't it, Tangyuan?"

Tang Yuan whined twice, lowered her head, and rubbed the young man's thigh.

Soon, a map outlined by lines lit up in the young man's field of vision, with a small yellow dot and a small red dot flashing.

A little boy's voice sounded: "Han'an City is low in the south and high in the north, and the labor square in the southern suburbs of the city is at the junction of drought and flood, so the possibility of encountering mammalian animals increases."

"It is now 25:35, and there are still 10 minutes before the sunset touches the horizon. It is recommended to arrive at the safe area within [-] minutes."

"After investigation, the 32nd floor firefighting floor of the Huarong shopping mall on the west side of the square is the best place to camp. Since there are undead people on the bottom four floors of the shopping mall, Tangning please pay attention to safety when entering."

"The best route has been planned. It is recommended to enter through the garage entrance and follow the emergency passage to the campsite."

"Can the glutinous rice balls go up?" Tangning asked.

"Please don't repeat this embarrassing question over and over again, the same mistake, AI will only make it once."

"You admit that you are an AI."

"Tangning, you still have 34 minutes."

"You've learned to change the subject."

The little boy's voice fell silent again. On the map in Tangning's field of vision, a green line lit up between the red dot and the yellow dot, and an arrow flashed at the starting point, as if impatiently urging him.

Tangning smiled slightly, followed the direction of the arrow, and walked towards the west side of the square with Tang Yuan.

The golden sunset slanted in from the huge tree hole above the square, enveloped the figures of Tangning and Tangyuan, fell on the water behind them, and reflected into the dark street.

The dark and gloomy street just now seemed to be lit up with warm lights.

It's a pity that although there are still rows of shops on both sides of the temporarily bright street, there are only two long figures, one big and one small, on the street.

The underground garage of Huarong Commercial Building was dark, but the full-sensing helmet had an automatic fill-in light function, so in Tangning's field of vision, the garage was as bright as if illuminated by a slightly greenish light.

There was movement in a car, and two pale, skinny undead people suddenly sat in it.

Stimulated by Tangning's appearance, they "woke up" and struggled violently in the car, grinning through the window and scratching at the tempered glass window in vain, trying to attack Tangning.

Tangning glanced at the car, and saw a woman in the back seat and a man in the front seat.

The shoulders of the male's clothes were torn, and the place that was once soaked in blood had long been moldy and decayed. Now that he struggled again, the entire left side of the undead male's body was exposed, revealing the muscles wrapped in strips of half-dried meat gray skin.

The woman was trapped by the seat belt around her waist, while the man climbed up from the seat, leaning on the front window of the car with his hands, staring at Tangning with terrifying pale eyes, hissing continuously.

However, the sound insulation effect of the windows is very good, and the sound cannot be transmitted.

This should be a couple. After the wife was infected, the husband tried to drive her away from here, but was attacked by the mutated wife in the car.

Closing the windows of the car, sealing himself and his wife in the car, waiting for the mutation to come, is the last nobility of this husband.

Tangning did not "handle" the pair of undead people, and there was no instruction on the goggles, indicating that the drone gave them a zero risk assessment.

Turning to the emergency exit door next to the elevator in the underground garage, Tangning pulled out the weapon on her back. It turned out to be a bone knife that faintly glowed with light.

The door is locked here, and with a single slash, the iron lock is easily cut open like a watermelon.

Tangning walked along the fire escape, led by the drone, all the way up.

Tang Yuan was very resistant to this kind of "passage" where she couldn't turn her body away. She no longer rushed to the front. Instead, she waited for Tangning to walk down a flight of stairs and arrived at the corner before quickly crossing this section and waiting for Tangning to go The next turning point.

There were also a few undead hidden in the tunnel, but none of them mutated. The information in the goggles and the boy's voice had already been reported to Tangning.

The bone knife fluttered, without a blade, but it seemed to be extremely sharp.

The knife technique was also extremely precise. Every time Tangning attacked, she could always accurately cut through the upper and lower jaws of the undead, cutting off most of the undead's head.

There is no scene of blood splatter, the muscles of the undead seem to have shrunk, and the blood vessels are almost dry.

Their bodies are still moist and fresh, only the brainstem and spine, but their strength and speed are far stronger than ordinary people.

Clearing all the way, when Tang Ning and Tang Yuan arrived at the firefighting floor on the 32nd floor of the building, they happened to catch up with the red sunset glow in the sky.

……

Looking out from the 32nd floor of the Huarong Building, the tall canopies of the giant forest trees have completely submerged the ruins of buildings and streets below the [-]th floor of the entire city.

They are like a whole low green cloud, extending in all directions without end.

Only those high-rise buildings with tens of hundreds of floors can pierce through the blockade of dense branches and leaves, and reveal their dilapidated figure above the green clouds.

The remaining glass windows on the top floors, under the setting sun, reflect the soft light of the colorful clouds in the sky, stubbornly proclaiming the glorious human civilization that once existed here.

The red sunset gradually faded below the horizon, and the forest in the distance gradually became noisy.

Between the upper and lower clouds of red and green, countless flocks of birds began to gather in the sky.

They hovered over the city, gathered and dispersed, made noise, and finally threw themselves into the high ruins in groups.

Those high-rise ruins protruding above the forest, where humans once lived and worked, are now the safest nests for wild birds.

The change in temperature in the evening makes the air start to flow and gradually become a breeze.

The low-pitched roar and strange sounds coming from the forest in the southern outskirts of the city were carried into Tangning's ears by the breeze.

All kinds of creatures and non-living things lurking in the forest during the day gradually become active from south to north.

The colorful clouds in the sky gradually became more purple and thicker.

Leaning on the concrete pillar of the firefighting floor on the 32nd floor of the ruins of Huarong Commercial Building, Tangning admired the extremely magnificent natural picture scroll between heaven and earth through the helmet and goggles.

And under this beautiful scenery, murderous intentions are everywhere.

(End of this chapter)