Chapter 192

Jiang Zhi wasn't the type to take credit for others' work, she explained: "Senior Chen also contributed half."

Chen Qi Bai smiled, then bent over to pick up a protective suit and said to them: "Last night I already told you about the dangers on this island; during the day, stay away from the jungle as much as possible, watch your surroundings while walking, there is also a force on the island wearing protective suits and wielding highly lethal electric guns—if you can avoid them, do so."

Also don't go near the beach; man-eating monsters hide beneath the sand—this is what I saw with my own eyes last night together with He Zhizhi.

Chen Qi Bai's words made several people nearby turn pale, especially Zhao Anya, who had thrown a tantrum in the jungle yesterday; it's hard to imagine, but if she had encountered those people, she would probably be dead now.

"How could there be monsters on the beach? What kind of island is this exactly?" Xu Chao asked, trembling.

Chen Qi Bai shook his head: "I don't know either."

The usually silent Chi You suddenly said: "Yesterday I saw people in protective suits; I counted them—there were six, carrying baskets and walking in one direction."

Chen Qi Bai/Jiang Zhi asked: "Where?"

Chi You tugged at his hat brim and said: "I'm directionally challenged."

Jiang Zhi was helpless.

How can such a handsome guy be so directionally challenged?

Chen Qi Bai said: "Today our mission is to find out where their base is; the girls and the wounded should stay in the cave."

He had checked yesterday; the blood mist only spreads in the jungle and does not diffuse toward the cave.

The follower who always trailed behind Zhao Anya, Ning Ningyan, whispered: "I also want to go out."

Everyone else hadn't spoken yet; Zhao Anya nearly shouted: "What are you going out to do? Cause trouble?"

Ning Ningyan lifted her eyes, glanced subtly at Jiang Zhi, then lowered her gaze and said: "I'm good at drawing maps; I've sketched on paper every place I've walked—you can take a look."

Saying this, she handed over the folded paper to them.

The paper was found in the cargo boxes that had run aground on the beach these past two days, along with charcoal pencils that could write normally after drying.

Chen Qi Bai took the paper; on it was drawn a basic map of the island, all the places Ning Ningyan had walked.

She has a strong sense of direction and can draw maps clearly; this skill has been a great help to them.

Jiang Zhi leaned in to look, astonished: "This road is exactly the one we walked yesterday—did you record all of it?"

Ning Ningyan gave a slight nod, appearing like a shy, inarticulate cute girl.

But she had always lived in Zhao Anya's shadow, and no one had noticed her talent.

"You're really amazing," Jiang Zhi praised without reservation.

Ning Ningyan's cheeks flushed slightly as she buried her head in her chest.

Zhao Anya originally didn't want to stay in the cave; seeing Ning Ningyan about to leave with them, she immediately said: "I also want to go with you."

Xu Chao mocked: "Then don't drag us down again, quitting halfway through the road."

Zhao Anya wanted to retort, but her situation was poor; even He Zhizhi, who initially had little presence and no speaking rights, was better off than her—she had to do something, or she'd definitely be abandoned by them.

"I'll follow Senior Chen," she said, not even glancing at Xu Chao, she walked behind Chen Qi Bai and took He Jing Rou's spot.

He Jing Rou stepped back a few paces, already accustomed to the girls' behavior, and said nothing.

Jiang Zhi didn't want to waste time here; putting on a protective suit, she asked: "Will we split into teams again, or act alone?"

She needed to first get a grasp of the situation on this island.

Chen Qi Bai hadn't spoken yet, but several people nearby were already eager to join his team.

He ignored their pleading looks and said: "Let's do rock-paper-scissors like last time, two people act together; a larger group would draw attention."

Besides Jiang Zhi, He Jing Rou, and Chi You, the others were full of complaints but dared not voice them openly.

This time in rock-paper-scissors, Jiang Zhi unexpectedly teamed with Ning Ningyan, while the male lead Chen Qi Bai paired with the female lead He Jing Rou.

The remaining people were Chi You and Xu Chao, Xiao Chang and Zhao Anya.

Although Xiao Chang also looked down on Zhao Anya, the teams were already set and couldn't be changed.

"If you see the blood mist, run to the cave or the beach; absolutely don't shout or make a fuss, stay aware of your surroundings, and if you see someone in a protective suit, hide immediately." Chen Qi Bai said this, then grabbed a protective suit and left.

The remaining protective suit was taken by Xu Chao; he's tall and strong, does as he pleases—apart from Zhao Anya, who would argue with him, nobody else dares to offend him.

Early morning, as usual, scorching light blanketed the whole island; dense verdant foliage flourished, today's temperature was noticeably higher than usual, the humid heat hit the exposed skin pores, inexplicably giving rise to a feeling of chill.

Jiang Zhi felt too stuffy; after wearing the protective suit for a while, she took it off again.

Her arms and ankles were wrapped with tight cloth strips, her forehead bound with red cloth to keep back her short hair; sweat trickled down her hair tips—those were slightly upturned phoenix eyes, sharp and cool when tense, with pale lips lightly pursed.

At first glance one might think she was a handsome, striking young man; a closer look revealed delicate, graceful features, slightly long black lashes like a crow's, a typical Eastern beauty face.

This was the image seen through Ning Ningyan's eyes; she had been staring for a long time, and when the girl looked over, she quickly averted her gaze, her ears slightly red.

Jiang Zhi is sensitive to external sensations, thanks to the original host often running around for work, forging a fit body.

Plus, having learned martial arts in those previous worlds and wielding a dagger, her explosive power is even more terrifying than a man's.

So she had long noticed the little girl beside her always sneaking glances; although she doesn't discriminate against lesbians, her orientation is completely straight, rock-solid.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhi asked, still pretending it was casual.

Ning Ningyan always speaks in a soft whisper, gentle as a breeze over grass: "You seem different from before."

Jiang Zhi looked at her, memories flashing before her eyes, confirming that the original host wasn't close to her—classmates rarely spoke—she paused a few seconds and asked: "In what way?"

Ning Ningyan had shoulder-length black hair tied in a little bun, with trendy air bangs, a melon-seed face, eyes round and large, pupils pure black, very much like cat eyes.

All we heard was her lowering her eyes, then slowly saying: "The current He classmate is better."

Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, barely audible.

Jiang Zhi didn't catch it clearly, but she heard footsteps nearby, pulled Ning Ningyan to crouch behind a tree, and listened carefully to the surrounding steps.

There were many people; a rough estimate puts the number at least twenty or so.

Ning Ningyan stayed quietly by her side, occasionally reaching out to faintly brush the girl's hem.

She inhaled the fragrance from the girl nearby; even though sweat soaked her whole body, there wasn't a trace of body odor, only like the world's most unique and bewitching perfume.

A viscous dark desire welled up in the depths of Ning Ningyan's pure black eyes, then flashed away instantly.

Jiang Zhi carefully observed the people passing by, all wearing identical protective suits, armed with weapons, dragging a cage behind them, covered with special fabric that blocked light and muffled any outside sound.

What exactly was inside the cage?

Jiang Zhi had formed a plan.

The group's formation was slightly loose; they were likely laborers on the outermost edge of the organization, with a ranking system. The man at the front, whose protective suit was a noticeably different color, had a strong deterrent presence, and those following him were all afraid of him.

"I want to see what they're up to. You go back to the cave now." She whispered to Ning Ningyan beside her.

Ning Ningyan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, be careful."

Jiang Zhi quietly fell in behind them, trailing at the rear, until at a turn she swiftly slit the throat of a lone suit‑wearer, dragged him to a hidden corner, stripped off his protective suit and put it on, then hurried to catch up with the back of the group.

The person ahead whose suit bore the x-9635 code noticed her, turned and gave her a glance, then asked in a low voice, "Where have you been? Took you long enough to catch up."

Jiang Zhi was greatly relieved that everyone wore the suits, which covered their whole faces, making them indistinguishable; they could only tell each other apart by the codes on their backs.

She had once studied voice imitation in another world, so posing as a man was no problem; moreover, speaking through the suit altered her voice, making it muffled and unrecognizable.

"I heard some movement behind and paid attention." she said.

9635 grunted, "These past few days a lot of people have come to the island; the higher-ups sent an investigation team to clear them out, so they should be gone soon."

The person he was referring to must be this very group.

Jiang Zhi wasn't surprised; the island surely had surveillance, so their movements would eventually be exposed—but what exactly was the investigation team that 9635 mentioned?

Before she could ask, 9635 complained, "Those monsters' intelligence has increased again; tomorrow it's our turn to go fishing, and I really don't want to."

The fishing he spoke of must be the monsters lurking beneath the sea sand.

Jiang Zhi went along with it, saying, "Yeah, I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow."

9635 glanced at her.

Jiang Zhi's body tensed, and her hand instinctively covered the dagger at her waist.

9635 said enviously, "If I had your mindset, I wouldn't panic when it's time to fish."

Jiang Zhi: "…" Well, she had been overthinking.

9635 continued, "However, if we could catch that merperson king tomorrow, we'd be promoted three levels and wouldn't need to go out fishing anymore."

Jiang Zhi's breath caught unconsciously, and after a moment she said, "How could the merperson king be so easy to catch? Those monsters are already highly intelligent—wouldn't the merperson king be even more terrifying?"

9635 leaned in mysteriously and said, "We've caught one before; it stayed in our lab for a long time, but then something happened—I don't know what—and it escaped."

Jiang Zhi stared at him in astonishment, clearly not expecting to hear such a secret.

9635 wanted to keep talking, but the squad ahead suddenly halted.

The man at the very front, wearing blue protective gear and holding a rifle, suddenly walked over to this side, stopped in the middle position, his voice sounding like it came from a machine, accompanied by a strange hissing noise.

"A bug has gotten into the formation; nobody move, or you'll be shot on the spot."

The formation instantly froze, nobody daring to move, bodies rigid in place; the faces hidden inside the suits were filled with deep dread, and no one dared to look directly at the man in the blue protective suit.