Chapter 307

Shen Zexi gently closed the door, sighed, and whispered to Qi Hengyu.

"I'm still a bit uneasy; Ying Duo is too quiet—this isn't like him."

Qi Hengyu shrugged indifferently.

"Normally I'd definitely side with you, but maybe he's just lost in that little pig's world and can't pull himself out."

"Such a thing might not make sense for anyone else, but the name Ying Duo carries that kind of authority."

——————————————

At the same time, the long-silent team channel finally popped up a new message.

【Fang Zhiyan: The things you wanted and the lab rats are ready; when do you have time to come to Dream Illusion Bar?】

Ying Duo's golden pupils flickered slightly.

He had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time; never mind how Fang Zhiyan wants to study the player upgrade mechanism—this is a rare painless monster-grinding chance.

He glanced at the bubbles constantly popping up from the bedroom door—that was the sound of Shen Zexi and Qi Hengyu whispering in the living room—and he also sensed the outer barrier.

He stood up, did a charged jump, and installed a device on the ceiling.

He slipped a source crystal inside as an energy source; the air before him flickered, and a Ying Duo focused on watching TV projected into view—his outline was still a bit fuzzy, then after another flicker it stabilized completely.

At the same time, Ying Duo's surroundings began to transform into data streams, which all rushed into the TV and left the room along the energy circuit.

【Transfer】 activated.

In the next instant, the light and shadow in the room seemed to twist slightly, then quickly returned to normal; only on the TV, the pink little pig kept cheerfully counting: "One, two, three..."

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The underground space of Dream Illusion Bar had been heavily remodeled by Fang Zhiyan; besides a small lab, there was also a simple but fully functional "test field."

Fang Zhiyan stood before the central control console, tweaking several data panels, while eight pinkish-white tentacles swayed lazily behind him.

Suddenly, a clump of Ying Guang Lu–colored data stream surged from the control panel in his hand and coalesced beside him into a humanoid shape.

Ying Duo's figure condensed from the data stream, his complexion paler than usual, even his golden eyes somewhat dim.

【Transfer】 can indeed cross the huge vertical distance between Floating City and the ground, but without the Air Train's energy track as a carrier, the energy consumption far exceeds that of ordinary short-range transfers.

As soon as Ying Duo appeared, without even taking in his surroundings, his golden eyes locked onto Fang Zhiyan and he reached out directly.

"Give me some blue potion."

Fang Zhiyan was amused by his look—as if he'd die of blue exhaustion any second—smiling in his dark red eyes, he pulled out a delicate small bottle from his pocket and tossed it over.

"High-grade energy concentrate replenisher; I prepared plenty today because I need to run experiments."

Ying Duo caught the bottle, unscrewed the cap, tipped his head back, and gulped down the viscous, pale‑blue‑glowing liquid inside.

His dimmed golden eyes brightened again, and in the status bar, the blue bar that had been nearly empty began to refill rapidly.

"Looks like your operation last night went smoothly?"

Fang Zhiyan asked casually; Ying Duo actually managed to return the instant he got the message, suggesting he's pretty free.

He wasn't worried Ying Duo would be caught by the Chen Family; besides, the team channel is just sitting there, and given Ying Duo's personality, if anything happened he'd bombard him with messages right away.

"No, something unexpected happened."

Ying Duo shook his head and gave an answer that surprised Fang Zhiyan.

"What kind of mishap?"

"I didn't get the treasure; someone beat me to it, and they stuck the blame on me."

Ying Duo said it expressionlessly, though his tone carried a hint of resentment.

Don't let him find out who gave him that black pot—normally he's the one who throws black pots at others!

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A man covered in wounds, his breath feeble, leaned against the wall and staggered forward through the ruined alley.

He bore a ferocious old scar on his face, yet his eyes were like those of a wounded lone wolf—vicious and wary.

He was exactly the major criminal who had escaped from the Supervision Bureau's special detention zone—Sha Yufeng.

He had already heard in prison about the several disturbances caused last night by Co-Absorption, and planned to exploit Tianmian City's chaos last night to create greater destruction and then flee the city.

However, the Supervision Bureau's response speed and pursuit intensity far exceeded his expectations, and the paralysis of the Air Train network completely derailed his evacuation plan.

He was forced to hide here and there in eastern Tianmian City, nearly being discovered by patrols several times.

"Damn it... those Co-Absorption lunatics actually blew up the tracks too....."

Sha Yufeng cursed low, his eyes full of brutality; without the Air Train he couldn't quickly leave Tianmian City, and being stuck here would eventually see him dragged out by the Supervision Bureau.

Yet he was truly too weak; blood loss and energy depletion made his vision start to blur.

At a corner, he finally couldn't hold up, his legs gave way and he lunged forward.

The expected pain of hitting the cold ground never came.

He fell into a....... not exactly soft, but enough to support his embrace?

Sha Yufeng jerked his head up and met a pair of calm emerald eyes.

It was a girl who looked not very old, with brown hair braided into two neat plaits hanging over her chest, wearing a dark‑red hooded cloak; the hood was down, revealing her pretty but expressionless face.

She was using modest strength to brace Sha Yufeng's falling body.

"You....." Sha Yufeng warily lifted his head, his hand moving to the waist where he hid a sharp shard.

Sha Yufeng's muscles tensed, ready to explode into violence.

"Don't be tense, Mr. Blade."

A calm female voice spoke: "I'm not from the Supervision Bureau; on the contrary... we share a common enemy, and I'm here to help you leave this place."

Sha Yufeng's motion paused, he narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the visitor's face.

"Who are you? What gives you the right to help me?"

"My name is Hong Ling."

She gave a brief self‑introduction, her tone flat.

"My superior is very interested in some information you possess; in exchange, we can provide you with a safe hideout, even........ help you leave Tianmian City."

His heart pounded at Sand Island Peak.

Superior? Information?

Which faction is behind this girl?

But he, now at a dead end, seemed to have few choices.

"........ Who is your superior? What information do they want?" he asked hoarsely.

Hong Ling didn't answer directly; instead, with a fluid turn, she lifted Sand Island Peak onto her back.

"My superior is waiting for you."