Two months later.
Ever since Chi Ying’s overwhelming strength had been exposed, Gu Chi no longer restricted her from accompanying him on missions.
As a result, Mu Yu personally witnessed Chi Ying turn a ten-kilometer radius of wilderness into a sea of towering flames.
The zombies there were reduced to ashes within mere seconds.
And once the threat was gone, Chi Ying even took the time to extinguish the flames using her water ability.
Mu Yu: “…”
In comparison, her own fourth-level fire ability felt like a child’s toy wand—completely harmless.
Another time, when Lu Yunfei was paired with Chi Ying on a mission, they were ambushed by a horde of zombies near an A-level safe zone.
He watched helplessly as a thick, towering wall of earth—almost a hundred meters high—rose rapidly around the perimeter of the zone, sealing it off entirely.
“She really is the daughter of a hero…”
When the person in charge of the zone came to thank them, Lu Yunfei was the first one pushed forward as a representative.
Lu Yunfei: “…”
No, he was just tagging along with the real powerhouse, picking up crystal nuclei.
Everyone in the team who had advanced to level 4 or 5 abilities found themselves reduced to emotionless crystal-core scavengers overnight.
Chi Ying cleared the battlefield like slicing through vegetables, and they followed behind like janitors picking up loot.
Although they were initially uncomfortable with how their usefulness had suddenly plummeted, after two months of this rhythm, many began to feel an odd sense of satisfaction.
“Chi Ying!” Lu Yunfei lowered his binoculars. “Seven o’clock—large zombie cluster detected! The leader’s likely in that direction!”
Chi Ying stood up, eager.
“Got it. I’m heading over.”
Nearby, Lin Xun was organizing the crystal nuclei he’d collected.
“Chi Ying, it’s all sorted,” he said, gesturing at the sorted piles.
Chi Ying blinked, unsure why he was informing her of this.
Still, she forced herself to reply, “Okay. Um, thank you for your hard work.”
Lin Xun smiled warmly, clearly pleased.
“You’re welcome.”
Just then, Mu Yu darted over from the side.
“This is the last location where headquarters reported abnormal zombie activity,” she said. “There were also reports from the North District, but that’s too far from our current position.”
“After we deal with this leader, what’s our next destination?”
Chi Ying froze.
Why was she being asked that? How would she know?
The actual Captain Gu Chi, long forgotten by the team: “…”
Mu Yu scratched the tip of her nose awkwardly. “Ah, sorry, Captain Gu. That question should’ve gone to you.”
Over the past two months, she’d gotten so used to relying on Chi Ying that she’d unconsciously overlooked Gu Chi.
“…It’s fine,” Gu Chi said, suppressing his internal suffering.
He glanced at the locator and confirmed their next destination.
“There’s good news,” he added. “Professor Yu’s developed an instrument that can detect leaders based on Zhang Bin’s crystal nucleus.”
“Our current goal is to bring Bai Qing in for testing.”
“Really?!” Mu Yu’s eyes lit up. “That’ll make everything so much easier.”
“Exactly. Not just for us—for every exploration team. It’ll greatly increase their safety.” Gu Chi let out a breath. Everything seemed to be moving in a better direction.
Beep—
The communicator buzzed just then.
Gu Chi answered. “This is Gu Chi.”
“Commander Gu, what’s your progress?”
“Two locations left,” Gu Chi replied, glancing at their map.
The voice on the other end sounded unusually urgent.
“Commander Gu, we’ll assign other teams to handle the rest. Please return to the Alliance as soon as possible. We have more pressing matters for you.”
Gu Chi’s expression hardened.
“What happened?”
“The situation is complicated. We’ll explain everything when you arrive.”
He ended the call and turned to Mu Yu. “How many leader-level crystal nuclei do we currently have?”
Mu Yu did a quick mental tally of her spatial storage. “Eleven—twelve if you count Bai Qing’s.”
In the back, Bai Qing—who had been quietly lounging—suddenly shivered.
“Chi Ying and I will go after the last leader. Everyone else, rest up in the car. Something’s happened at headquarters—details are unclear.”
“At most, it’ll take a few hours. Get some rest. We may need to travel through the night.”
—
A few days later, they returned to headquarters.
News of their arrival had reached ahead of them, and several people were already waiting at the base entrance—including Yun Ling, who stood outside, excited.
Oddly, several people in full protective suits stood nearby next to a tall metal frame. Its purpose wasn’t immediately clear.
Chi Ying stepped out of the vehicle, with Bai Qing following closely.
Looking at the Human Core Headquarters—where no zombie had ever stepped—Bai Qing’s fingers trembled. It was visibly excited.
They were finally here.
It turned to greet the people waiting for them, even smiling.
However, the reception party—men and women alike—gave it strange, uneasy looks.
Its smile froze.
Was its current body really that ugly?
“Chi Ying!” Yun Ling waved.
Chi Ying smiled and walked up the steps to her. Yun Ling looked mostly unchanged.
But Chi Ying’s eyes landed on her neck.
The Lingquan Space pendant that once hung on Ye Wuhan’s neck was now around Yun Ling’s.
Chi Ying asked mentally: Tong, did the original novel mention Ye Wuhan giving the Lingquan Space to Yun Ling?
[No. That should be impossible. Ye Wuhan valued the Lingquan Space too much—even if it’s the heroine, he wouldn’t hand it over. It’s the male lead’s only golden finger. He never let it out of his sight.]
Chi Ying raised her eyes and asked cautiously, “Where’s Ye Wuhan? I don’t see him…”
Yun Ling’s smile faltered slightly. “He went on a mission recently.”
“You didn’t go with him?”
Yun Ling shook her head. “If you hadn’t warned me, I might’ve gone.”
Chi Ying’s eyes widened. “Warned you?”
Yun Ling explained: “Not long after you left, Ye Wuhan confessed to me.”
Chi Ying was stunned. That fast?
“And then?”
“I remembered what you said—about needing to stay focused to become strong. So I rejected him.”
[SHE REJECTED HIM?!] the system screeched. [That’s not supposed to happen! She’s the heroine!]
Chi Ying: Didn’t the plot already fall apart? That’s why you’re here collecting Saintess Points.
[…Oh, yeah.]
Yun Ling went on, “I thought that would be the end of it, but he tried to use his authority to order me around…”
She recalled how Ye Wuhan, after being rejected, had flown into a rage and tried to command her using his status as the Lingquan Space’s master.
But what he didn’t realize was—Yun Ling, as the spirit of the space, wasn’t bound by the owner.
That was when she finally saw him for what he was: a hollow shell of a man.
[In the original plot, when they first got together, Yun Ling didn’t actually “like” Ye Wuhan. She only agreed because of his status. Their mutual affection came much later.]
Chi Ying realized: So the timeline where Yun Ling should’ve accepted him was altered. No wonder I gained 100 Saintess Points two months ago.
“Hmph,” Yun Ling snorted, tugging on the necklace. “I also took back what I gave him.”
As the spirit of the Lingquan Space, she could easily reclaim it—far more easily than its so-called master.
Chi Ying nodded, satisfied.
But behind them, Bai Qing was being surrounded by the protective-suit team.
Though they kept a meter’s distance, they were clearly terrified despite the gear.
Eventually, they turned to Gu Chi.
“Captain Gu, we… we’re too afraid to detain it.”
Bai Qing tilted its head.
Detain… what?
Gu Chi gave a light glance. “Handcuffs and muzzle?”
“Here.”
He waved Bai Qing over. “Come here.”
“Okay~ coming~”
Gu Chi quickly cuffed its wrists. Bai Qing blinked.
Huh? What’s this?
Mu Yu looked away, wincing.
Tsk, poor guy. Well, it is a companion show—she wouldn’t watch it either.
Gu Chi fastened the muzzle and nodded.
“Take it away.”
Bai Qing was wheeled off, still utterly confused.
…Maybe it’s better this way. If it ever finds out what humans are truly like, it might never recover.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The author has something to say:
It will take seven or eight chapters for Song Shi to go offline, and she will need her QAQ for the next plot
It will be offline sooner or later, don’t worry~
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152
Poor Bai Qing 😂😂