Chapter 320: Bai Mu Yun: You're Overthinking

After Lin Xin raised the question, Ying Duo nodded.

Then Lin Xin saw a translucent popup appear in front of his view, its edges outlined in glowing green.

【Player "Ying Duo" invites you to join the team.】

【Yes/No】

Lin Xin was stunned for two seconds; the thing completely ignored any normal energy fluctuations and just smeared itself over his retina in an overbearing manner, leaving him momentarily unsure how to react.

What is this? Cognitive interference? Or a consciousness link?

"....... Okay."

He strained to push a word out of his throat, realized a verbal agreement was useless, and then selected "Yes" with his mind.

He had just joined the Team Channel when another message popped up.

【"Lin Xin" has joined the team.】

【Ying Duo: Luo Jinyou was taken away by the Supervision Bureau; Lin Xin says the plan needs to be changed.】

Concise, direct, no fluff.

Lin Xin hadn't even had time to process that these people had formed a private group behind his back, excluding him, when the next message immediately popped up.

【Fang Zhiyan: Lin Xin pulled you out, have you already met?】

The moment Lin Xin saw the name, he felt a chill down his back, as if some cold, slick thing crawled up along his spine.

Fang Zhiyan.

Head of the Mutation Department.

The demon in the laboratory.

He had once seen Fang Zhiyan from afar at the Dome Headquarters, the man standing before a massive culture tank, its transparent vessel containing the floating remnants of a half‑formed experimental specimen.

Fang Zhiyan calmly recorded data with his dark red eyes, a smile even on his face, as if admiring a work of art about to be completed.

Lin Xin chose to be assigned to Tianmian City; besides the mission requirement, a large part of the reason was to stay farther away from that person.

And now, that name, rendered in pixelated font, lay quietly in the team list at the upper left of his view.

—The boss of his superior.

—Right in the team he just joined.

No wonder Co-Absorption has been causing so many incidents lately: first spreading mutations throughout the city, then blowing up Tianmian City's iconic Air Train.

If it's this person, then it's not surprising at all.

【Ying Duo: Hmm.】

Ying Duo just replied casually, and Fang Zhiyan didn't continue to press Ying Duo; the next message directly @‑ed Lin Xin.

【Fang Zhiyan: @Lin Xin, give a detailed account of the situation with Luo Jinyou.】

Lin Xin took a deep breath, quickly organizing his words in his mind.

【Lin Xin: At 10:17 a. m. today, the target experienced a sudden mutation while patrolling the Academy's north‑district green belt; preliminary assessment indicates contact with a high‑risk Mutation Source, with the Mutation Value conservatively estimated above 70, and self‑awareness almost completely lost.】

【Lin Xin: He is currently being controlled by the Supervision Bureau under the designation "high‑risk Mutation individual"; Luo De'an is pulling strings everywhere trying to keep him safe, but you know the Church's stance on aberrant transformation...】

He didn't finish, but the meaning was already clear enough.

Fang Zhiyan gave no comment on his report, merely continued to press.

【Fang Zhiyan: What are the Mutation Features? Can the high‑risk Mutation Source be confirmed?】

【Lin Xin: His entire skin is covered with numerous bizarre patterns, spreading from the chest to the limbs and back; both sides of his head's temples bear nascent horns about 3–4 cm long, with a texture resembling semi‑transparent, dark‑blue jade.】

He paused briefly, then continued to spew information wildly in his mind.

Sending messages this way felt rather strange, like typing frantically inside his brain.

【Lin Xin: The coccyx extends into a tail‑like organ about 60 cm long, covered with fine scales; overall appearance… if described by visual traits, it resembles the "Nightmare" or "Demon" recorded in the Old World, but its material looks more like a mineralized Mutation specimen.】

【Lin Xin: He had contact with Hong Ling of the Field Operations Department before the mutation, so it is reasonable to suspect Hong Ling triggered his Mutation Out of Control.】

Fang Zhiyan was silent for a full five seconds after receiving these descriptions.

【Fang Zhiyan: Field Operations Department? How did they end up at Mitra Academy?】

【Lin Xin: It's currently uncertain, but Hong Ling's triggering of Luo Jinyou's mutation was just a spur of the moment; they likely have another purpose.】

【Fang Zhiyan: Interesting.】

Lin Xin didn't know whether those three words were evaluating Luo Jinyou's Mutation Features as "interesting" or commenting on the Field Operations Department; he only felt his back grow colder.

【Fang Zhiyan: The plan must be preemptive; the Supervision Bureau's standard procedure for fully mutated individuals is "purification," which you'd rather call "execution." Once they deem Luo Jinyou has lost human consciousness, Luo De'an's interference is futile.】

【Fang Zhiyan: I need him alive before he steps onto the test platform.】

To Fang Zhiyan, Luo Jinyou is first a valuable experimental specimen, and only second a "friendly target" that needs rescuing.

Fang Zhiyan doesn't mind Luo Jinyou turning completely into an aberrant species; in fact, he looks forward to that step.

It is an indispensable part of his experiment, since whether Luo Jinyou can regain human memory and reason after fully becoming an aberrant species is also his subject of study.

But the prerequisite is that Luo Jinyou must live until then.

【Fang Zhiyan: First confirm where Luo Jinyou is being held, then uncover the Field Operations Department's purpose; we'll rush there as soon as possible.】

Lin Xin stared at the line, his brows tightly knit.

Rush there quickly? The Air Train tracks have been blown to pieces, and the Teleportation Array linking the ground to the Floating City is under full martial law by the Church.

How is Fang Zhiyan supposed to get up? To reach the Floating City perched tens of thousands of meters in the sky?

But he didn't ask; it wasn't his concern.

He glanced at the messages and, to be honest, he wouldn't dare assign any of these tasks to Ying Duo.

Lin Xin didn't know whether Ying Duo's abnormality was feigned or genuine, after all the Mutation Department is notorious for having no normal people.

"In short, do you need to rest first?"

Lin Xin asked tentatively, noting that Ying Duo had been confined in the Chen Family for so long and might need some time to rest.

He had no idea; the harsh imprisonment he imagined not only didn't happen, the Chen Family even provided Ying Duo with good food, drink, and entertainment there.

————————————————

Bai Mu Yun sat at the bar drinking bitter wine, Lu Mu crouched in the corner, tossing a coin in his hand, repeatedly catching and throwing it again.

"So we just barely escaped death from the cannon mouth of Tianmian City, and now we have to voluntarily crash into the Church's Teleportation Array? That Air Train would be better off not being blown up!" Lu Mu lowered his voice, full of grievance.

Why does it seem that when the Air Train is blown up, we end up with even more trouble?

Bai Mu Yun gave no reply; Gold Horizontal Pupil calmly stared at Lu Mu, with a gaze almost sympathetic.

Lu Mu felt a chill in his heart at being stared at.

"........ Why are you staring at me?" He instinctively clenched the coin.

Bai Mu Yun raised his hand and gently patted Lu Mu's shoulder.

The motion was light and slow, like comforting a lamb about to be led onto the slaughter line.

"The transport, isn't it right here?"