After walking several tens of ters, turning a corner, they ca across a large street, and Lan Jiwan couldn't help but gasp.
Looking around, the sidewalks on both sides of the road were crowded with all sorts of tents or shanties, while the curbs were piled with various garbage, mixed with excrent and scattered needles.
This gulp of cold air was sowhat unexpected; the air had a strange sll, like the acrid mix of cat urine and a sickly sweet burnt odor.
Being a sorcerer of the Hidden Moth Sect, Lan Jiwan also practiced the Poison Detection Skill, and couldn't help but furrow her brows, saying, "There's actually a hallucinatory elent..."
He Kao explained, "That's the sll of flying leaves."
Actually, the strange sll here wasn't just the residue from flying leaves, but also a mix of excrent, rot, and even a faint corpse stench.
Lan Jiwan instinctively held her breath, standing there feeling a bit at a loss.
The divine sense extended outward, revealing that so tents and shanties were empty, but most had inhabitants. Many were in a worse state than the girl they had seen before, and so had already stopped breathing.
Earlier, seeing just one girl, Lan Jiwan could still ask the Sect Leader Senior Brother to find a way to save her, but now, faced with this street full of such sights, she could no longer speak.
He Kao understood her feelings as well, gently patting her back and saying, "This isn't your fault, let's go."
Lan Jiwan sighed, "It's still sumr now, imagine winter..."
It's very dangerous for ordinary people to walk through such an area; even if they're not afraid of danger, they don't want constant trouble, especially for soone like Lan Jiwan. That's why He Kao ca prepared with a disguise.
Both wore long coats with hoods, a dusty gray color that looked sowhat bulky, hiding both their faces and figures. They also practiced the Stealth Skill, making them easily overlooked, almost unnoticed.
Even if soone occasionally noticed them with ill intentions, their techniques could easily handle it.
Passing through this neighborhood, they entered an open park located in the city center. The park was nad after a famous general and president in United States history, featuring so greenery, sculptures, lawns, and benches.
The sun had risen high, and the sunlight was scattered on open spaces, with temperatures gradually exceeding twenty degrees. From a distance, the park seed leisurely and relaxed, with people basking in the sun, so pushing strollers or supermarket carts.
But upon closer inspection, the strollers weren't carrying babies, but all sorts of chaotic items. Many people's actions and expressions were strange, their movents sowhat bizarre, like the walking dead.
This wasn't rely a description but a judgnt, even He Kao secretly caught his breath.
A few days ago, Li Xiuyuan told him about a Forbidden Technique called Chan Body Technique, and later he sought advice from i Guyu on how to discern various similar techniques.
i Guyu inford him that the Lingxi Skill is a natural counter to techniques like Illusion Body, Puppet Body, and Transformation, capable of seeing through them in an instant, though Xiaoi hadn't ntioned the Chan Body Technique.
Yet, as He Kao thought, the Chan Body should also be easy to distinguish.
The Chan Body Technique has two branches: one leaning towards the Alchemy Cauldron lineage creates Chan Bodies akin to puppets, with a blood flow operation different from normal people, like the walking dead, easy to spot.
The branch leaning towards the Observing Body lineage creates Chan Bodies very lifelike, but still not normal people; even if the blood flow operation is well disguised, the divine soul state remains abnormal.
But arriving here, He Kao realized his mistake; the aforentioned thods might be effective in the Eastern Country, but here they weren't very useful.
Many people in front of him had abnormal blood flow states as well as abnormal ntal states, their physiological functions, including their nervous systems, had suffered irreversible damage, their brains fried!
In such an environnt rife with D-grade abuse, mixing in a few Chan Bodies would make discernnt nearly impossible.
Leaving this park, they headed further toward the suburbs, passing through another sowhat chaotic district near the city's edge.
Most roads here were very narrow and old, with passing cars speeding by loudly, houses and infrastructure already dilapidated, yet crowded with people inside.
But unlike the street they initially encountered, there were no tall buildings here, nor were there many people sleeping on the roadside; many resembling small shop windows had iron bars welded across them.
Occasionally, few people could be seen loitering, seemingly aimless, sotis hearing fireworks going off from unknown directions.
At one point, He Kao even used casting to stabilize a flying stray bullet, watching as its head spun in the air before falling to the ground... they avoided going too deep, skirting around crowds when possible.
Many roads here are impassable; either a baffling building blocks the way, tall grids, or a natural barrier like thorn bushes or small streams.
Cars can't pass through; or require detours spanning long routes, making it even harder on foot. But with He Kao and Lan Jiwan's cultivation, they effortlessly traverse the visible and invisible isolation zones.
This place is unlike the Eastern Country; many areas lack surveillance, or any that exists is destroyed.
But certain communities constantly maintain surveillance, especially at outer road junctions and peripheral areas, like the peaceful community they entered another afternoon.
The streets are clean, surrounding greenery well-maintained, many trees trimd into shapes, with quaint detached houses lining the roads, uniformly fronted by neatly cut lawns, so yards even boasting small pools.
Since it's the weekend, many children are playing, adults are ho. So are walking dogs outside, others holding barbeques and drinking beer in backyards, appearing confident and composed.
Neighbors would greet each other with smiles from afar, presenting a harmonious scene.
Lan Jiwan and He Kao walked over from a distance, and many people instinctively smiled and prepared to greet them. But when they saw them clearly, so couldn't help but lose control of their expressions, showing confusion, fear, or even anger.
They were strangers, not walking dogs, not like they were just strolling, not driving but walking quickly. Their attire was also strange, not matching the style of this community.
Soone turned back into their house to call the police. In fact, there was no need for them to report. As soon as the two appeared here, they were noticed by surveillance, and soon a police car arrived, blocking their way.
Two officers got out of the car and stood in different positions. Seeing the faces of He Kao and Lan Jiwan, they seed slightly relieved, their hands leaving the grips of their guns. One officer stepped forward to verify their identities...
He Kao had no choice but to use a bit of technique, making the two policen subconsciously believe that they had already verified their identities and that there was no problem with them being there.
After sending the police away, the two left straight ahead. Lan Jiwan whispered, "Such a yard, it's a pity not to plant vegetables or hang bedding..."
He Kao: "What are you thinking? Living here ans you can't stop consuming. Frugality isn't a beautiful virtue but an unacceptable bad habit."
Lan Jiwan inexplicably said, "Ye Liangchen is dood!"
He Kao couldn't help but laugh at this: "Indeed, he won't survive."
What's this got to do with Ye Liangchen? Back then, he took on the renovation project for the Nanhua North Suburb Jinxiu Science and Technology Park. As it turned out, because the park construction was left incomplete, he didn't receive the project paynt and went bankrupt.
Back then, he lived on the construction site and simply stayed, having nowhere else to go without getting the paynt. He grew vegetables and raised chickens in the abandoned park, which also had fruit trees...
If such a thing happened in this city, no matter the kind of neighborhood, Ye Liangchen would never be able to live in that way.
Hiding in abandoned buildings might be possible in the short term, as long as he wasn't discovered by the police, security, gangs, or any wandering miscreants, and could handle various unforeseen dangers. But reclaiming wasteland for farming was absolutely impossible!
Lan Jiwan added, "Quite a few people here aren't exactly healthy."
He Kao: "That's just by your standards."
After all, Lan Jiwan was a Tier Four Cultivator, able to use her Divine Sense to detect the vitality, blood, and ntal state of people, and indeed, many here carried various ailnts, even if many symptoms were not obvious.
These might be caused by lifestyle habits, diet structure, and dications taken regularly, such as chronic poisoning symptoms, manifesting as various stress-related allergies.
But these were only by Lan Jiwan's standards. Overall, their condition was relatively normal, unlike those walking corpses seen before.
They tried to show themselves as strong, whether in body or spirit.
Leaving this community, He Kao and Lan Jiwan finally arrived at the busiest place they had seen today. It looked a lot like a suburban town, with a small leisure square in the town center, surrounded by various shops, with police and patrol cars on the street corners.
He Kao had an impression of this place; it was the United States version of a university town, with a world-renowned university nearby and several other schools and institutes. There were many dostic and overseas students.
The headquarters of the educational training institution run by Mr. Mi, Hu Weidong, was not far from here. According to the latest reports from the Ancestral Hall, Hu Weidong recently opened a financial consulting company, mainly helping various people with accounting and tax services.
Rumor had it that this company was reported not long ago, attracting an investigation from the official tax authorities, and even the company head was nearly arrested... But then it seed Hu Weidong managed to sort out the issue.
He Kao had no plans for an on-site investigation there today. He simply wanted to wander around the streets.
On a weekend afternoon, there were many people in the town, mostly young. Their faces seed to carry sunshine, and their conversations often burst into hearty laughter.
Looking at this vibrant scene, it was like being back in the Eastern Country. He Kao and Lan Jiwan both lowered their hoods. Here, they didn't stand out.
But when they entered the town, Lan Jiwan slightly wrinkled her nose again because she detected a faint unusual scent, which she had slled on the city center's street this morning.
In this place with fresh air and bright sunshine, there was actually the scent of flying leaves.
The town had cafes, bars, supermarkets, convenience stores, and various other shops, including places selling crafts and souvenirs, indicating that many tourists ca here on ordinary days too.
So places had all kinds of banners and posters hanging or standing at their entrances, with different slogans written on them, supporting or opposing so matters or groups. So were civilized, while others were straightforward insults.
Even if so content was occasionally hard to understand, taking out a phone and opening a translation app generally made it all clear.
At the entrance of so places were signs distinguishing identities. For instance, the dessert shop they just passed had a prominent sign at the entrance specifying who they served, and certainly, He Kao couldn't go in.
But as He Kao walked past the entrance, several girls reached out to stop him, ignoring Lan Jiwan, focusing only on He Kao.
The Stealth Skill doesn't make one invisible, just lowers their presence to so extent. People with a purpose would still notice him, especially since they stopped using the Stealth Skill after arriving here.
**
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