Chapter 637: He Is My Brother

"Can't get that thing?"

Yang Yixie heard Hua Jian Lei's reply on the other end of the phone and frowned slightly.

"Hmm, lately the authorities have been tightening control over this, and the Church is actively cooperating with every official decision, so smuggling it is probably also very hard to obtain."

Hua Jian Lei's voice came through the phone a bit distorted, but the difficulty in his words could still be heard.

Who could have imagined that after the two worlds merged, holy water would be inexplicably placed under strict control, even harder to obtain than during the game.

Yes, although the two of them acted as if they were meeting with a black evil force, their goal was simply to get a bit of holy water.

The external trouble has been mostly resolved, and the authorities have shifted their focus to internal concerns, though they have never ignored it from start to finish.

All resources that lower Mutation Value are strictly controlled, concentrated on healing the Church's and Dome's wounded; beyond that, only the authorities can obtain resources to rescue players deeply caught in high Mutation.

Even when Hua Jian Lei appears on behalf of Entropy Increase to negotiate, the authorities' stance remains resolute: if there are wounded needing rescue, as long as they are handed over to the authorities they will spare no cost to save them, but they absolutely forbid anyone from secretly concealing a high‑Mutation player.

Is your Church about to disband? Even the allocation rights of holy water have gone to the authorities???

At this moment, Yang Yixie somewhat understood the feeling that Han Huan once had—hating iron for not becoming steel.

But he is convinced that Mu Linyuan is deliberately ignoring him; even though he is right here in this world, the "Customer Service 501" representing him has never logged in again.

Sometimes he really wants to follow the network cable and go beat someone up, but turning into a Data Stream and soaring up from the ground is far too conspicuous.

If he has the guts, he could just be a shrinking turtle, staying forever inside the great Cathedral without going out.

At noon, Yang Yixie still cooked meals for three people; although Yang Yichen went back to work, to thank Bai Mu Yun, mother Zhiruo invited him to her home for a meal.

He also doesn't know what Yang Yichen's current job is, or whether he can obtain holy water...

However, the last time Yang Yichen didn't take part in the negotiations with Tianmian City, but was assigned to pick up Luo Jinyou, so his involvement here might not be deep.

What a hassle...

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"Don't be nervous, nothing will happen... Hmm, I think..."

Qi Hengyu clumsily comforted Luo Jinyou, but he himself had no clue.

Even the Church's archbishop and the Dome's corporate executives can't grasp the trend of the situation's development, let alone these fresh‑out‑of‑the‑gate mercenaries.

Luo Jinyou's Aberrant Species status has always been a hurdle they need to find a way to get over.

Even though to them Luo Jinyou remains the person they know, to outsiders it's different; otherwise they wouldn't have resolutely left, pulling out the long‑unused Mercenary Corps name to act together.

Luo Jinyou sat on the sofa with his back straight; beside him, Qi Hengyu sat without any relaxation, though his posture appeared more casual.

Shen Zexi stood by the window, back to them, his blond hair shimmering with a soft halo in the sun.

"... You say, in Ying Duo's eyes, does he have family?" Luo Jinyou asked hesitantly.

The two saw Luo Jinyou remain silent and thought he was worried about how the authorities would treat them, but instead heard him pose this question.

Ying Duo... since the Eternal Silent Abyss, they've only heard vague rumors that might be about him, never having seen him in person.

"Probably, right?" Qi Hengyu scratched his hair, feeling a terrible headache.

"You also retained your self‑awareness after becoming an Aberrant Species; do you think that after you turned into an Aberrant Species you have no family?"

"That's impossible."

Luo Jinyou immediately retorted, but added in his mind: Ying Duo is different.

Actually, he hadn't thought about this at all; it was just when his mind was muddled that he happened to see Yang Yichen, who bore some resemblance to Yang Yixie.

While Luo Jinyou was still hesitating, unsure whether to ask the reason, Yang Yichen had already spoken a step ahead of him.

"You and Xiao Xie... that is, the Ying Duo you refer to, are classmates, right?"

On the ride back with Yang Yichen, Yang Yichen asked him that question.

Because his body is soaked with too much Aberrant Species blood, even if he tries to control it, Mutation factors will contaminate surrounding matter when he's inattentive, so he stays in the cage used for transporting Aberrant Species, while Yang Yichen and the others depart.

Luo Jinyou doesn't find this offensive at all; although he's kept in a cage, those people treat him normally, and a kind woman even gave him a cup of hot cocoa to warm his stomach.

The cuisine of this world... is truly delicious.

After that, Yang Yichen proactively approached him to chat.

"Yes," Luo Jinyou nodded. It's not a secret, but looking at Yang Yichen's increasingly familiar face, he couldn't help but ask another question out of curiosity.

"May I ask, what is your relationship with Ying Duo...?"

"He is my brother."

Luo Jinyou:!!!

Although he had long prepared himself mentally, hearing Yang Yichen state it so bluntly still gave Luo Jinyou a shock.

He immediately looked around in panic, realizing that almost everyone in the vehicle had heard Yang Yichen's words, yet the others acted as if it were commonplace.

Is... is this something you can just say directly?

"It's fine; this matter isn't a secret to us."

Yang Yichen looked at Luo Jinyou's panicked state and laughed outright, seeming to think Luo Jinyou's relationship with Ying Duo is really good.

Yang Yichen nodded inwardly, after all he had heard many outrageous rumors.

Rumors ranged from "Ying Duo, for a classmate with high Mutation Value, voluntarily fled to the Dome" to "Ying Duo was originally a Dome person who betrayed his roommate and took him away."

Now it seems the former is more likely?

Yang Yichen doesn't know the truth, but he knows Yang Yixie.

If "Yang Yixie" also regards Luo Jinyou as a friend, then doing anything for a friend wouldn't be surprising.

If this is proven, perhaps they could, with the authorities, tag his brother with a deeply emotional label?

Of course, Yang Yichen could never know the truth, since the Dome treats Ying Duo as a broom star, eager to wipe clean everything related to him.