With warm red wine in their bellies and hotpot filling the air with its rich aroma, the five of them felt as if they had been reborn after surviving the life-or-death ordeal. They clinked their glasses in celebration.
"KIKI-jie, did your ability really evolve?"
Shasha barely put her cup down before eagerly asking.
KIKI nodded, looking quite pleased with herself.
"All thanks to a certain someone, I can clearly feel my ability has leveled up!"
"No wonder you were so strong just now." Chen Sixuan’s eyes sparkled. "I haven’t even thanked you for saving me yet."
"Why thank me? Chen-jiejie, do you even realize how many times you've saved everyone?" KIKI waved her hand dismissively, then cast a mischievous glance at Lin Xian.
"Speaking of which—Lin Xian, weren’t you going to tell us where you disappeared to these past two days?"
Hearing that, KIKI's face flushed red as she quickly retorted, "I—I mean, how did you end up there?!"
The others listened, completely lost in their cryptic exchange.
Lin Xian took a deep breath, stood up, and walked over to grab the radio from the sofa.
"If there’s no other explanation… then I was captured by this."
"1542. The Dark Radio."
With that, Lin Xian began recounting his experience after being pulled into the eerie broadcast.
However, when it came to KIKI's part, he glossed over the details—only mentioning that he had witnessed her corruption process and some of his theories.
But even that much left the others pale-faced in shock.
"So that footstep sound was really you?!"
Shasha shuddered as if she had just heard a horror story.
"Lin-ge, you mean you actually killed me over there?"
Lin Xian rubbed his forehead awkwardly.
"That was just a mind game. That thing was trying to break my mental defenses."
At first, Lin Xian had assumed the radio broadcast was purely supernatural.
But now, looking back—
It wasn’t just the darkness.
Some kind of unknown force was actively preying on survivors’ minds.
Shasha’s eyes lit up suddenly.
"So, Lin-ge—you do care about me! Seeing me get killed almost made you lose it, huh?"
She grinned mischievously.
This girl… THAT’S what she got out of this?!
Chen Sixuan, on the other hand, was still unnerved.
"So when I turned off that radio, that was what saved you?"
"Yeah. If not for that—and if you hadn’t helped adjust the frequency through the lights—I definitely wouldn’t have made it out."
"Smart thinking, Lin Xian!"
KIKI listened intently, fascinated.
"Wait—you’re saying that after I passed out, some invisible creature was sucking my blood?"
KIKI shuddered, hugging herself.
"That’s so disgusting…"
Lin Xian’s expression darkened.
"Daluo, do you remember what I said when we escaped Yuchi City?"
Lin Xian continued, his voice grim.
"I was confused back then. Sounds and lights only attract zombies and ghouls.
"But whenever we draw in an eerie entity—
They’re already nearby."
Everyone held their breath.
Lin Xian clenched his fists.
"After being trapped in that Dark Radio, I’m now certain—
Some of these things have been around us all along.
Some only appear in the dark.
Others require special conditions to be seen."
His words sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
Shasha visibly shivered, glancing nervously around.
"Wait, wait, wait—you’re saying those horrifying things… might be right next to us all the time?!"
Lin Xian’s tone was dead serious.
A heavy silence fell over the group.
While Lin Xian’s theory wasn’t confirmed, it served as a terrifying warning.
More than ever, he realized—
They needed a better detection method.
And the key to that was—
The Soul Wave Detector.
This device could detect eerie entities, zombies, and other supernatural threats.
For humanity’s survival, the ability to actively detect danger was absolutely critical.
Without it—they wouldn’t even have ten thousand lives to spare.
"I think… I finally understand what the 1542 Dark Radio really is."
KIKI suddenly narrowed her eyes at Lin Xian.
"Something supernatural, but not related to Abilities… Lin Xian, have you read the Angel Project files I gave you?"
Lin Xian took out the portable hard drive she had given him earlier.
"Not yet. I haven’t even had time to sleep, let alone read it."
KIKI snapped her fingers.
She grabbed the hard drive and dashed to Carriage No. 2.
A moment later, she returned with a portable screen in her hands.
"I think this explains everything."
She set it down in front of them.
"Everyone was so focused on Abilities that we completely overlooked all the other weird stuff."
On the screen was an old document from the Angel Project—
"A Global Investigation on Eerie & Paranormal Phenomena."
This report was compiled by a now-defunct department of the former Federal Government, called the—
Special Item Investigation Department (SIID).
The report contained early records of strange occurrences during the Polar Night—
And every single one of these incidents had one thing in common:
They were all caused by specific objects.
These items were ordinary objects from before the Doomsday—
But after the Apocalypse, they became catalysts for supernatural events.
They were believed to be contaminated by an unknown force—
Turning them into extraordinary artifacts.
The Angel Project classified these objects as—
Items capable of causing regional or contagious eerie events.
The report listed several eerie cases, but only two had been confirmed and contained.
Forbidden Item SIID-01: Big Ben
Forbidden Item SIID-02: Desert-857404 Taxi
KIKI took a sip of cola, then looked at Lin Xian.
"There aren’t many reports, but after hearing your story—
I’m pretty sure that Dark Radio is one of them."