Mu Yanshen immediately glanced at her.
He Ziyue felt a chill run down her spine. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mu Yanshen walking over. He casually stuffed the skewers into Hua Jin’s hands and moved closer to the screen to have a look.
The screen displayed a series of incomprehensible data streams, but Mu Yanshen seemed to understand them.
Hua Jin, momentarily stunned, could only take the skewers and sit by the fire. “Maybe it’s the same case as Xiyu. Didn’t you previously find out that the base has been searching for people in comas?”
The exact reason was still unclear.
Based on their own experiences, they inferred that they all entered the infinite game world through a similar process: at the moment of near death, their spirits or souls were drawn into the infinite game world, leaving their bodies in a state of suspended animation.
Whether the fatal wounds had disappeared immediately or gradually healed from that time on was unknown.
A few or even a dozen cases might be considered isolated incidents. In such chaotic times, it might not even be widely reported.
But a total of one hundred thousand people…
It wouldn’t be surprising if it attracted attention.
Moreover, the former Yincheng Base included a biomedical research institute, so their curiosity was understandable.
Mu Yanshen added, “But there was no mention of Li Ge in the previous list.”
He Ziyue was about to nod when she paused and glared at Mu Yanshen. “You peeked at my information again!”
“You didn’t say it was confidential.” Mu Yanshen tilted his chin slightly. “Why not check if the list had other people?”
“Walking around in someone else’s mind is impolite enough, at least don’t boast about it in front of them!”
Grumbling, He Ziyue quickly searched for her and Hua Jin’s names as he requested.
“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.” Mu Yanshen paused. “Although I think the main reason is that you were screaming too loudly in your head. Of course, I , myself, also hope I can control my ability more precisely upon waking.”
“Your apology is so insincere—neither my nor Hua Jin’s names are there, and neither is yours. The few in the captain’s group are not there either, but the doctor’s name is, though he’s marked as being at the Central Base’s research institute, so they probably wouldn’t dare touch him.”
No matter how powerful Yincheng Base was, it was almost impossible for them to discover about the infinite game world in such a short time.
Especially when they were previously searching for those comatosed, the lists didn’t seem to have clear objectives. Even those in a coma for only ten months were within their research scope.
They couldn’t possibly know the list of people in the infinite game world.
So people like He Ziyue and Hua Jin, who were “grassroots” civilians, or someone like the captain, whos status is highly classified, were initially not on their search lists.
Chu Chenli wasn’t originally a target either.
It was most likely that they didn’t even know he existed at first.
There was no habit of intercommunication between large bases, and people at Southern Base didn’t like Chu Chenli, so they wouldn’t mention him often. It wasn’t surprising that Yincheng Base didn’t know about him.
But within just two days, they suddenly started tracking him.
Hua Jin glanced at Chu Chenli, who was helping roast meat.
Chu Chenli didn’t seem too interested in the topic. He kept his eyes fixed on the meat and even reminded Hua Jin, “It’s about to burn.”
Hua Jin was momentarily stunned. He didn’t notice the slight smell of meat burning until then, and his expression changed. He quickly turned the skewer and moved it a bit higher to avoid the hot flames.
During this brief moment, the other two had already started discussing whether Ye Lanzhou and his men had deliberately colluded with Yincheng Base to sell Ah Li for profit.
Hua Jin felt like shaking his head and sighing. He initially wanted to remind them that Ah Li had already left Southern Base, so they couldn’t sell him even if they wanted to.
In the end, he decided against it. Those two just liked complaining.
Hua Jin silently turned his head, roasting meat while glancing at Chu Chenli, who hadn’t participated in the conversation at all.
—This guy was just too calm and collected.
“Ah Li, aren’t you worried at all?” Hua Jin couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m worried,” Chu Chen Li nodded. “That’s why we need to rest well and get on the road early, to find Yincheng Base as soon as possible.”
The sooner they reached Yincheng Base, the sooner they could rescue Fang Xiyu.
And the higher the chances of survival for him.
After all, they had Hua Jin with them.
Hua Jin sighed. “I’m asking if-”
Chu Chenli picked up a thin stick from their pile of firewood and then jabbed it into a nearby thick patch of grass.
After a brief rustling, he pulled out the stick, revealing a thin snake hanging from its tip. The snake had silver rings around its body and was twitching, but it didn’t seem to have the strength to lift its head.
It seemed to be a venomous snake.
Chu Chenli raised his hand and flicked the stick away. The stick shot through the air like an arrow and embedded itself in a distant tree trunk. The snake wriggled a few more times before going completely still.
All this happened in a matter of seconds.
Chu Chenli turned back and looked at Hua Jin, who was still in shock. He asked, “What?”
Hua Jin closed his mouth, hesitated, and then said, “…Nothing.”
He almost forgot that in most situations, it was Chu Chenli who worried about them. The times they needed to save Chu Chenli were rare.
His appearance is just too deceiving. Not only is he the youngest among them, he’s also not as flamboyant as He Ziyue—the team often jokingly called him “Little Brother Ah Li,” and eventually, they genuinely started treating him as their little brother.
As the older siblings or even the guardians, they constantly worried about their little one being bullied.
So they ignored the fact that he could probably single-handedly take down an entire base.
Hua Jin glanced at Chu Chenli again.
Even in the dark, with the fire casting a scary shadow over him, it only served to enhance the atmosphere, his face was still strikingly handsome—delicate and fragile.
If not for living with him day and night, no one would believe such a slender frame held so much power.
Someone like him easily garnered superficial affection but was also easily tagged with preconceived stereotypes.
Just like when they first entered the game.
Ten thousand people were divided into numerous small groups. Chu Chenli, Hua Jin, and He Ziyue ended up in the same group.
Within their group, Chu Chenli stood out the most in appearance. Many men tried to get close to him, boasting about their gaming skills and fitness prowess, promising a good time if he stuck with them.
Then the system announced the rules: no respawns, and points earned would be equally divided among team members.
Immediately, those who were fawning over Chu Chenli distanced themselves.
Their own lives and interests are much more valuable than a pretty face.
Their sudden change in attitude was so swift that Hua Jin, who was also shunned from teams, found it amusing.
The reason Chu Chenli, Hua Jin, and He Ziyue initially teamed up was simple—they were all considered “weaklings” who were excluded by their group.
No need to elaborate on Chu Chenli.
Hua Jin, in the eyes of many men, was a standard pretty boy. Even with Chu Chenli as a foil, he didn’t look any taller or stronger.
He Ziyue was the only woman in the group, this factor resulted in her being immediately shunned.
But after the first round, the three of them were the only survivors of their group.
The so-called fitness enthusiasts and self-proclaimed game experts perished, eyes wide open in disbelief. Even those who joined Chu Chenli out of sympathy couldn’t close their gaping mouths after watching him effortlessly clear out the mobs.
In the end, standing amidst the monsters’ corpses, Chu Chenli looked back at them against the light, asking if they were alright.
His white clothes were stained with blood, and splatters of blood on his face and arms did nothing to diminish his beauty.
His expression remained eerily calm after the massacre, and the evening light behind him gave him an almost angelic halo, adding a touch of softness and innocence.
Back then, Hua Jin felt his legs trembling, filled with horror.
He Ziyue, snapping out of her daze, murmured, “Mom, I think I saw an angel…”
Hua Jin: “…”
If not for He Ziyue’s interruption, he might have knelt before Chu Chenli on the spot.
After being teammates for so long, Hua Jin had gradually become immune to Chu Chenli’s frightening aura during battles. But occasionally, his teammates’ irrational worries would drag him into another extreme vortex—
“Ah Li seems so easily deceived. What if he gets bullied in the future?”
Eventually, they only remembered the latter part—
“What if Ah Li gets bullied?”
It became a deeply ingrained instinctual worry.
Drawing himself out of his reverie, Hua Jin sighed again.
Ah Li was certainly strong.
But…the lesson from the Southern Base was still fresh.
Hua Jin mulled over the matter for a long time, feeling that perhaps his unresolved frustration with the Southern Base was still gnawing at him. The priority of saving teammates always trumped teaching scum a lesson.
If not for that wretched base detaining Ah Li, they might have been able to set off for Yingchen Base to rescue Xiyu even earlier.
—A sin added to their tally.
Hua Jin silently added another entry to his mental ledger.
He wouldn’t let the grudge of bullying Ah Li go unavenged.
They would return to exact their revenge after saving Xiyu!
As the night deepened, the wind howled through the camp.
Chu Chenli’s movements paused abruptly, and he turned his head to peer into the depths of the forest.
Amid the howling wind, there seemed to be a faint sound akin to wolves…
–
At the Southern Base, near a corner of the protective barrier.
Wolf-like mutants and giant spiders clung to the pale grey barrier, their massive jaws repeatedly striking with sharp teeth, exerting such force that the ground trembled slightly.
Not far from them, the ground was littered with the ashes of fallen mutants.
Occasionally, small mutants would rush forward, only to let out a shriek upon contact with the barrier and disintegrate into ashes instantly.
This was the aftermath of the mutant wave they had detected earlier.
The mutant wave had approached stealthily during the night, but the Southern Base was lucky this time. The main force had deviated from its path, leaving only a small group of stray mutants to continue towards the base.
Such a small number was hardly a threat, given their preparations.
After much deliberation, Ye Lanzhou and Professor Huang decided to test the new barrier.
Previous tests had shown that the new barrier was incredibly powerful, with some researchers even suspecting that Huang Shuyin’s report of malfunctions was due to stress-induced hallucinations.
However, they quickly realised this wasn’t the case.
Initially, the new barrier performed exceptionally well, neutralising the mutants upon contact without the need for the team to engage.
That was until two wolf-like mutants and four giant spiders joined the fray.
When they first collided with the barrier, they seemed momentarily paralyzed, staggering backward. But by the second and third attempts, they had become immune to the barrier’s effects, lunging at it like starving predators.
Their drooling, gaping jaws made it clear this wasn’t just an attack.
It looked more like they had found a delicious meal.
Standing within the barrier, Professor Huang’s face turned pale. He noticed the severity of the problem before anyone else—
The spots the mutants were gnawing at were closest to the black energy stones!
“We’re in trouble. We can’t let them continue—”
“Crack.”
His warning came too late. The giant spider’s final strike shattered the barrier, and the wolves immediately burst through, heading straight for Professor Huang.
Behind Professor Huang was a storage of black energy stones.
“Dad!”
Huang Shuyin instinctively rushed towards her father.
The unexpected event caught everyone off guard. Huang Shuyin barely managed to knock her father to the ground, using her own back to shield him from the wolf’s jaws.
She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.
“Bang.”
A gunshot rang out, and the leaping wolf’s body froze momentarily in mid-air before crashing to the ground.
The impact shook the ground, snapping everyone back to reality. The team pulled Huang Shuoyin and her father to safety, while Ye Lanzhou led the others against the remaining mutants.
However, the shots from the shadows were faster than any of their actions.
A series of gunshots echoed, and the mutants fell almost simultaneously.
Only Ye Lanzhou, at the forefront, managed to kill one giant spider. But the nearest bullet had grazed his shoulder, causing him to flinch and slow down, resulting in his hand being coated in the spider’s viscous blood.
He frowned, his first thought being someone’s personal vendetta.
Yet, when he turned around, there was no one in sight.
After the mutants were slain, the gunfire ceased.
Facing the panicked questions of his teammates, Ye Lanzhou offered a brief reassurance before turning back to Professor Huang.
Professor Huang stared blankly at the mutant corpses, muttering, “No change…”
Ye Lanzhou was puzzled. “What do you mean, no change?”
Professor Huang looked up at him, pointing at the corpses. The surrounding team members also watched the bodies with tense, wary expressions.
According to previous records, mutants shot in the head should be capable of standing up and continuing their attack.
Only awakened beings or specially made ammunition could reduce them to ashes.
However, these corpses didn’t disintegrate but lay motionless like ordinary animal carcasses.
Ye Lanzhou turned around and noticed that the giant spider he had killed also remained a headless corpse.
Huang Shuyin muttered to herself, “So, it wasn’t my imagination…”
Other researchers quickly activated the backup barrier, blocking the few remaining mutants outside.
While directing his team to move two of the corpses to the lab, Professor Huang pulled his daughter aside.
It looked like another all-nighter was ahead.
Normally, Ye Lanzhou would have promptly followed, but this time he hesitated, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to tell Professor Huang that continuing the research was unnecessary.
After all, they would soon be unified under the Central Base, rendering current research progress somewhat irrelevant.
However, recalling how Professor Huang had poured his heart and soul into his research, Ye Lanzhou couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Once at the Central Base, Professor Huang’s years of research might turn to waste.
He might not enjoy the same research freedom there.
After a moment of hesitation, Ye Lanzhou decided to follow with a few men, ensuring Professor Huang’s safety.
Seeing Ye Lanzhou trailing behind, Huang Shuyin asked, “Is Chu Chenli really gone?”
Ye Lanzhou’s face stiffened, his pace slowed.
Huang Shuyin read his reaction and didn’t press further, instead asking, “What about the person I brought back?”
Ye Lanzhou blinked, “What person?”
Huang Shuoyin explained, “The person I brought back after we got separated during the rescue mission. He was attacked and separated from his friend. He was ill, so I brought him back.”
She had left the person with the guards at the gate before departing for an urgent matter.
There was a well-established process for taking in survivors, so she wasn’t too concerned.
But since she had brought him back, she felt obliged to check on him.
Ye Lanzhou couldn’t recall any new survivors recently but thought it might have happened while he was unaware, as he no longer oversaw such matters closely.
“I’ll ask Renxi about it,” Ye Lanzhou responded habitually.
“Speaking of Xiang Renxi, what’s going on with him?” Huang Shuoyin asked, “I haven’t seen him since I returned. Is he sick?”
She had returned safely with her team, and Xiang Renxi was usually very proactive in these matters. He would be at the gate to welcome them back nine out of ten times, only absent if he was on a mission himself.
This time, however, he was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Lanzhou’s face turned green, his tone stiffening, “Just a small matter. Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to him.”
Seeing his reaction, Huang Shuoyin realised she had hit a nerve.
Noticing the awkward expressions around her, she grew increasingly curious.
She fell silent but kept sneaking glances at the teammate whose face had shown the most dramatic change—
This teammate looked like he hated Xiang Renxi with a passion.
She decided to talk to him later.
Silently, the group made their way to the lab. Amid fleeting personal feelings, most were preoccupied with how to strengthen the base’s defences and understand the mutation phenomenon.
No one noticed Xiang Renxi standing alone in the communication room.
On the lone external communication screen, a shadowy figure of a man was visible.
He appeared to be wearing a white lab coat, holding a clipboard, with glasses and greying hair, exuding a scholarly demeanour.
The unstable background flickered with static, occasionally revealing the characters for “Yingchen” in the background.
The man, resembling a researcher, was speaking in a seductive tone, offering all the imaginable benefits—wealth, fame, power, prestige, and even strength enhancement.
Throughout most of this speech, Xiang Renxi remained expressionless.
Until the man paused briefly and added, “If you aim to reach the Central Base, you’ll need a significant token of loyalty—how about the entire Yingchen Base? Would such an achievement be substantial enough?”
The man claimed to be the actual leader of Yingchen Base, promising to fully cooperate and open the base’s doors to them, handing over everything.
Inwardly, Xiang Renxi thought, this guy must be insane.
But a madman wouldn’t go through so much trouble to contact their base, and the provocations would make even less sense. If they were truly that arrogant and impulsive, the Central Base would have already taken action to eliminate this threat.
The Yingchen Base was far worse than the Southern Base.
If it was real, they must be seeking something.
They were even willing to use their entire base as a bargaining chip, but they weren’t asking for Ye Lanzhou or Xiang Renxi to join them.
They must be after something significant.
Xiang Renxi’s first thought was the two people sent by the Central Base to Nanzhou.
If not, it could be someone like Professor Huang, a high-level researcher.
Other than that, the base didn’t have anything more valuable than Ye Lanzhou and Xiang Renxi combined.
After careful consideration, Xiang Renxi cautiously asked, “What do you want?”
The man replied, “Chu Chenli.”
Xiang Renxi’s expression went blank for a moment, but he quickly remembered—
Experimental subjects.
The Yingchen Base had been searching for long-term comatose experimental subjects.
The man continued, “We need your cooperation. I heard your Commander Ye was once his lover, and that he was seriously injured saving Commander Ye’s life?”
