Chapter 189: Extreme Cold Realm 06

"You go wash your hands in the water right now!" Ye Xi'an said without even thinking.

Awo!

Yi Yang hurriedly lunged to the water's edge, scrubbing his hands vigorously; behind him the beastmen clan was in a melee, and the contrast between the two scenes was absurdly comical.

Ye Xi'an walked over, crouched beside Yi Yang, and continuously watched the glow on Yi Yang's hand with her mental power; it clearly seemed to float on the surface, yet it did not vanish as Yi Yang scrubbed.

Instead, like a living thing, it began to writhe.

Ye Xi'an's heart jumped suddenly.

She focused her mental power onto that light point and actually felt a faint yet tenacious life force.

The little thing seemed to sense Ye Xi'an's mental threat, suddenly changed direction, stopped climbing upward, and turned to burrow into Yi Yang's body.

It pierced Yi Yang's skin and merged into his flesh and blood.

What's happening? Did she see it wrong?

Ye Xi'an's gaze quickly swept over the others again.

Bao Jing, Ji Jiangci, Lin Zhi Jing, even Gu Feng.

Anyone who had touched plants that only grew on the surface, including herself, had palms, garment edges, even strands of hair tinged with the same faint glow to varying degrees.

However, most people, unlike Yi Yang, only had those tiny lives attached to the skin surface, as if trying to penetrate but unable to.

Some, like Yi Yang, had those light points gradually seep into their bodies.

Suddenly she seemed to see the beastmen skin, where the light points had seeped in, start to bulge with undulating flesh knots that quickly vanished.

She was sure she hadn't misread; an inexplicable chill crawled up Ye Xi'an's spine.

Before she could warn anyone.

A piercing alarm blared suddenly across the clearing.

Everyone's wristlights flared simultaneously, and the Light Brain emitted a rapid red alert.

The sharp electronic synth tone was devoid of any emotion.

"Alert—"

"Federation relay: Unknown virus detected in Extreme Cold Realm."

"Danger level: Extremely high."

"Characteristic: Causes drastic cellular morphology changes."

"Mortality rate extremely high—"

"Three females have died; all personnel must remain stationary, do not approach the spatial gate, attempts to return to Zhu Shen Xing are prohibited to prevent bringing the unknown virus back to Zhu Shen Xing."

The fighting males froze instantly, their faces turning deathly pale as terror spread in their eyes.

The females died? And three at once? Even a five‑star difficulty planet has never seen such a thing.

"A virus? Three females dead?" Bao Jing's voice trembled with disbelief.

He instinctively looked at Ye Xi'an, wanting to check her condition, yet fearing he might be carrying the virus himself.

"What is this! Where did this virus suddenly come from?" Ji Jiangci's cyan pupils constricted, clearly also thinking of Ye Xi'an's situation.

He anxiously examined his Light Brain, trying to understand the situation on Zhu Shen Xing.

The more he checked, the more his heart raced.

Previously, a female who had harvested plants during the war and returned to Zhu Shen Xing was detected, upon passing the safety gate, as carrying a high‑risk unknown virus.

Soldiers and researchers stationed at the Mission Center rushed over immediately and isolated the female.

Within ten minutes of isolation, the female suddenly suffered a splitting headache, her skin everywhere began to deform into bulging sores, limbs twisted unnaturally, and finally, in extreme terror, she died violently with a horrifying expression.

Tests showed that the cells of each dead female were abnormally shaped; some even burst apart or proliferated rapidly until they tore the host's body apart.

This virus had never been seen on Zhu Shen Xing, there was no corresponding vaccine; detection had to rely on the Light Brain to check each person for infection, followed by isolation measures.

Lin Zhi Jing's brows knit tightly, a flash of ruthlessness passing through his gray eyes.

Is Zhu Shen Xing going to abandon them, trapping them to die in the Extreme Cold Realm?

He looked at Ye Xi'an: "Xi'an, what color does your Light Brain show for the test result?"

"Green, low infection level, I'm fine," Ye Xi'an whispered, "but Yi Yang—"

She lifted her head, her gaze fixed stubbornly on Yi Yang.

"Yi Yang!" Ye Xi'an shouted.

Yi Yang's face was full of bewilderment and fear; he looked at the hand that had just held the plant, the infection level displayed on his Light Brain, and the continuously flashing glaring red light, and tears instantly welled up.

"Wife... I... am I going to die?" his voice trembled with sobbing.

Ye Xi'an, feeling uneasy and not knowing what to say, could only comfort: "Don't be afraid, you're definitely going to be fine; later we'll still go to Zhu Shen Xing together."

As Ye Xi'an spoke, she tried to wipe Yi Yang's tears, but he quickly dodged.

"Don't touch me, I have the virus," Yi Yang said, becoming increasingly aggrieved, tears streaming down.

Gu Feng stood beside Ye Xi'an, his Light Brain also emitting red light, but he remained silent, watching Ye Xi'an.

His gaze held complex worry and... relief?

It seemed death was not that frightening to him; as long as she was okay, that was all that mattered.

But the other males were not so open‑minded; especially the single males who surged toward the spatial gate, wanting to go back first, since here they'd only keep getting infected, they'd rather take a gamble.

At that moment.

The spatial gate suddenly quivered violently.

A massive energy wave emanated.

Boom!

The spatial gate was ripped open brutally.

Countless soldiers in isolation suits rushed out of the spatial gate.

They brandish energy guns, moving swiftly and coldly.

All the orcs trying to rush into the spatial gate are instantly surrounded.

"Everyone, don't move!"

"Stay where you are and undergo testing!"

The cold command echoes through the cave, sounding somewhat muffled through the protective visor.

The soldiers' presence is powerful and oppressive.

The leading officer strides forward from behind the soldiers, holding a virus‑detecting instrument; his gaze is sharp as a hawk, sweeping over every orc present.

"According to Zhu Shen Xing's highest directive."

"A high‑risk virus has been discovered in the Extreme Cold Realm."

"All individuals who have come into contact with the virus source must undergo testing."

"Those uninfected shall be taken back to Zhu Shen Xing."

"Those infected…"

The officer's voice pauses.

Despairing silence pervades the air.

"Stay where you are."

The soldiers begin to act, roughly separating the crowd, checking each person's Light Brain data, after which the officer steps forward with the instrument to confirm infection.

Orcs who pass the inspection smoothly are escorted by the soldiers into the spatial gate, while those confirmed infected are driven into a nearby cave.

Cries, panics and roars intertwine, the scene descending into chaos.

Ye Xi'an clutches Lin Zhi Jing's hand tightly, her heart lodged in her throat; she wonders if Yi Yang will be alright.

Lin Zhi Jing looks at the hand being held, suddenly asks, "Aren't you afraid I might be infected? How dare you grab my hand."

Ye Xi'an, who had been extremely nervous, is startled and says, "You all are definitely not infected; only Yi Yang…"