After Zhou Yue finished reading the file, he was just about to find someone from the research team to ask about the Mutated Rat King when someone lifted the door curtain and walked in.

It was Mr. Tian from the research team.

"Mr. Zhou." Mr. Tian walked over and greeted him with a smile, but her attitude was a bit strange.

"What are you doing here?" Zhou Yue frowned slightly, but Mr. Tian walked over to the opposite side and sat down without being asked.

She picked up something from the nearby lab bench and fiddled with it, gesturing with her eyes for Zhou Yue to sit as well. "Don’t worry, I used a little trick when I came in. No one will know I came to see you privately."

Zhou Yue sighed. Regardless of his true thoughts, he said earnestly, "Mr. Tian, your current position is very important. You shouldn’t be taking such risks..."

’Zhao Qingxiao is a Level 9 Mental Ability User. This young miss can’t possibly think her petty tricks can deceive a Level 9 Mental Ability User, can she?’

’Naive and foolish.’

’No wonder she’s being used as cannon fodder...’

"Is that so?" After hearing him out, Mr. Tian’s expression suddenly changed. She slammed the object in her hand onto the lab bench and snorted coldly. "If my position is so important, then why didn’t I see anyone trying to save me during those days I was strung up on that mutated willow tree?"

Inwardly, Zhou Yue was very impatient with this self-important, connected person. It was one thing to be unintelligent, but she also lacked any self-awareness.

But now was not the time to burn bridges.

"Mr. Tian, you’ve truly misunderstood." Suppressing his annoyance, Zhou Yue walked to Mr. Tian’s side. "We didn’t act at the time because we knew Gu Xi wouldn’t really harm you..." ’Besides, they had actually made a move once back then.’

’Unfortunately, it ended in failure, and Gu Xi even got a hold of some leverage... At that point, the higher-ups knew that Gu Xi must have discovered something and was using them as bait.’

’Under those circumstances, of course the higher-ups wouldn’t act again.’

’Moreover, that person sent word afterward, forbidding them from making another move...’

"Mr. Tian, Mr. Zheng is your brother-in-law. You know full well what the situation is at the Central Base... Things are difficult here in City A, too. And since that person gave the order, there was nothing we could do..."

Zhou Yue wore an expression of difficulty and helplessness.

’With a personality like this... it really isn’t easy to coax this little miss and get her to keep charging into the fray.’

’No wonder Mrs. Zheng would rather... risk marital discord to secure this mission for her own younger sister, claiming such an important person couldn’t be trusted to an outsider.’

’But in reality...’

But these were the leaders’ family matters. As a mere logistics director for the City A base, it wasn’t his place to get involved.

Zhou Yue patiently coaxed Mr. Tian with a few more kind words.

Mr. Tian’s expression remained sour. She sneered inwardly. ’No matter how extravagantly Mr. Zhou talks, she knew one thing very clearly... What a wonderful sister she had.’

’But it doesn’t matter. She still held a trump card that no one knew about.’

Mr. Tian looked up at Zhou Yue. "Mr. Zhou, as far as I know, the Gu Family has also been frequently contacting Gu Xi lately. Furthermore, Zhou Jinyu and Li Xiao both came to City A because of this." ’It’s just that one is operating in the open, and the other in the shadows.’

Zhou Yue was taken aback. "The Gu Family?" ’Base Commander Gu has been almost completely sidelined by Mr. Zheng recently. Why would the Gu Family make a move on the City A connection at a time like this? Aren’t they afraid... of angering that person?’

’After all, Gu Xi... is the one that person specifically requested.’

’Foolish.’

Mr. Tian cursed inwardly before reminding him, "Gu Yumin and the Gu Family are not necessarily of one mind! And Zhou Jinyu has yet to show her face since arriving in City A. Don’t you find that suspicious?"

"Also, don’t forget, Gu Xi’s surname is also Gu." Finally, she added meaningfully.

No one knew what Zhou Yue was thinking after hearing this, but on the surface, he looked stunned and said, "That must be a coincidence..."

’A coincidence?’ Mr. Tian thought. ’Even if it is just a coincidence, I have to make it seem real. Otherwise, wouldn’t my dear sister—who’s such good friends with Ms. Liu—have gone to all that trouble for nothing?’

’Besides, from what she knew, this might not be a coincidence at all.’

’Although the apocalypse erupted suddenly back then and the overall situation was too chaotic, causing the truth of many events to be buried, it’s not as if no clues were left behind.’

Zhou Yue gave Mr. Tian a deep look but said nothing.

Mr. Tian, however, toyed with the lab equipment in her hands and casually dropped another bombshell: "As for the Special Service Team, you can forget about them. From what I know, Ye Junhan seems to have... developed feelings for Gu Xi."

Before she could finish, Zhou Yue shot to his feet, a shocked look on his face. "You’re saying, Ye Junhan..." ’Impossible. Ye Junhan was one of the last six people from the G Plan back then.’

’And as far as he knew, each of the six chosen children had something implanted in their bodies... In short, anyone could be disobedient, but not Ye Junhan. It was absolutely impossible.’

Mr. Tian stood up and gave him a deep look. "You should know who Gu Xi is..."

She started walking out. As she passed Zhou Yue, she paused briefly and lowered her voice. "No one has ever known what the Blood-colored Asura’s true skill is, or what her limits are, right?"

After Mr. Tian left, the expression on Zhou Yue’s face was inscrutable. After a long moment, he knew he couldn’t delay.

He reached behind his back and pulled a silver needle, as fine as an ox hair, from the base of his skull.

A silent spatial ripple spread out noiselessly.

A moment later, the look in Zhou Yue’s eyes changed completely.

"Ye Junhan, how dare you..." Zhou Yue murmured, his expression dark and unreadable.

’How dare you... covet my person!’

「Meanwhile, in a small camp a few miles away」

A strong fluctuation suddenly emanated from within Gu Xi’s personal space.

Ever since she had locked the man from the swamp—the one who claimed to be the sole survivor from that batch of Hibernation Chambers—into her space last night, he had remained very calm.

But now... why had his reaction suddenly become so violent?

Gu Xi seemed to sense something and looked up towards the edge of the forest.

To be honest, although the man’s skill came from the same source as hers, she didn’t fully believe his words. Gu Xi was even skeptical about his identity as the sole survivor from the Hibernation Chambers below.

Although the man had no reaction to the name "Yun Ye," who could guarantee that Yun Ye was always Yun Ye, even before he became known as such?

For some reason, Gu Xi just had a strange feeling that Yun Ye... he must have come from this swamp. And the man she met last night probably had some special relationship with Yun Ye.

But time was tight last night. By the time her skill successfully advanced, it was almost dawn. To keep her companions on the surface from worrying, she could only lock the man in her space for the time being.

Gu Xi had originally planned to interrogate him in detail after contacting Li Ming and the others. After all, she wasn’t particularly skilled at interrogation, whereas Li Ming was the professional in that area.

But now, the unusual fluctuation in her space made Gu Xi’s heart stir.

The man who had willingly let her lock him in her space was now reacting so violently. ’Could it be...’