Inside her space, the Mutated Rat King, Bai, held the heart-shaped stone with dazed eyes and a foolish, infatuated expression. Its tail, propped on the ground, swayed and flicked from time to time.

He looked like he was high on something.

Gu Xi estimated the time, and with a flick of her hand, the heart-shaped stone in Bai’s arms flew into her palm. But the little rat seemed completely unaware, still swaying its tail foolishly and grinning like an idiot.

Gu Xi glanced at it, her gaze falling to the small stone in her hand.

To be honest, this stone and her own looked completely different, whether in size and shape or in texture and color.

But it was a good thing they were different.

—Li Ming had said that when she was just a newborn, she had held her little stone and licked it for days.

’If her little stone had a similar effect to this one...’

Gu Xi glanced again at the dizzy, silly little rat beside her and felt incredibly fortunate. Thankfully, when Li Ming found her back then, she wasn’t a drooling baby who just foolishly clutched a stone.

’But why does the effect of this little stone feel different from what 027 said?’

At the thought of 027, Gu Xi frowned slightly.

When Yun Ye appeared nearby, 027 had become extremely agitated, even trying to break out of her space.

Gu Xi had probed with a few questions at the time. He had reacted with intense anger. ’Was he so agitated because he wanted to get revenge on Yun Ye?’

But Gu Xi’s intuition told her something was wrong.

’The 027 of today can clearly no longer be considered human. How could he still seek revenge for a past in which he was one?’

An ordinary person might not have thought anything was amiss.

But Gu Xi was different. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Because she had... seen too many similar situations.

For instance, she thought of the High-level Zombies she had encountered in the past. Even after becoming Zombie Kings and clearly, gradually regaining their memories and consciousness, they wouldn’t seek revenge on their mortal enemies from their human lives.

But the look in someone’s eyes when they want to kill a person can’t be hidden.

When Yun Ye possessed Zhou Yue, 027 had clearly erupted with intense killing intent, though it was fleeting and vanished quickly.

But who was Gu Xi?

She was the Blood-colored Asura, forged step-by-step through slaughter.

You could say that Gu Xi grew up amidst blood and slaughter. Her perception of killing intent was unmatched.

Of course, 027 couldn’t fool her either.

He didn’t hate Yun Ye, but he truly wanted to kill him.

’But why?’

Gu Xi was very detached when it came to feelings. Whether it was love or hate, it was as if she were born lacking such intense emotions.

But fortunately, she had a good teacher.

Li Ming had told her when she was very young that there might be a thousand reasons to kill, but they could all be boiled down to just a few categories:

For hatred, for personal gain, under orders, or to silence someone...

Of course, that excluded psychopaths who killed for sport.

was clearly not that kind of psychopath, and given his situation, it was unlikely he was acting on anyone’s orders.

After ruling out hatred...

Gu Xi suddenly recalled that when she first met Yun Ye, he couldn’t speak either. But back then, his eyes had looked no different from a normal person’s.

But 027... 027 couldn’t speak now either, and his eyes... never mind comparing them to Yun Ye’s originally handsome peach-blossom eyes, they couldn’t even compare to the ones Yun Ye had when he possessed Zhou Yue.

’Looked at this way, 027’s current state is more like... an incomplete evolution?’

’So, 027 wants to kill Yun Ye... for the sake of evolution?’

’Then Yun Ye must have something that 027 needs to evolve. Or maybe it’s some kind of energy?’

’What could it be?’

’If that thing (or energy) can make 027 evolve, would it affect other creatures too?’

Gu Xi lowered her gaze, lost in thought.

’I need to find a chance to discuss this with Li Ming.’

Nearby, Zhou Jinyu and the others watched as she remained silent. Her head was slightly bowed as she nonchalantly wiped the scimitar in her hands. The blade would occasionally catch the light, casting an intimidating gleam that made everyone’s hair stand on end. They all felt a pervasive sense of unease.

It couldn’t be helped. Even after so many years, the reputation of the Blood-colored Asura was enough to strike fear into their hearts.

Yang Xi, on the other hand, was a different story. Although she knew who Gu Xi was, she had never personally witnessed her in action back then. Adding to that was Gu Xi’s current face, so pale and delicate she looked like she couldn’t take care of herself...

’She looks like a strong gust of wind could knock her over. She doesn’t seem that dangerous.’

Yang Xi instantly grew much bolder.

She looked over at Gu Xi and frowned slightly. "What do you guys think she’s trying to do? Drawing her blade without saying a word?"

Fine, she drew her blade. But then she doesn’t even make a move, just puts on this show of nonchalantly wiping it?

’This stupid woman, if she’s looking to die, why drag me into it?’ Tang You suppressed his annoyance, frowned, and reminded her in a low voice, "You should talk less."

’Does she have any idea who the Blood-colored Asura is? Does she really think she can’t be heard from this distance?’

If she ended up angering her... Tang You silently shuffled a step to the side, then another, putting some distance between himself and Yang Xi.

Yang Xi: "..."

’What the hell kind of men are these?’

’Wimp!’

’Coward!’

’And to think I was considering grudgingly accepting him if this plan succeeded, as a contribution to the alliance between our two factions. I can’t believe it...’

Yang Xi shot Tang You a cold smirk.

’That woman Ye Xin might be annoying, but she was right about one thing: you can’t rely on any of these men.’

’Looks like I’ll have to rely on myself...’

Yang Xi took a deep breath. Just as she was about to step toward Gu Xi, she saw Zhou Jinyu had already walked up to her.

"Miss Gu, there is a matter I need to trouble you with."

Zhou Jinyu pointed to the Hibernation Chambers that the staff were counting over there, his tone sincere. "The Space Ability user our research institute sent this time can’t transport all these Hibernation Chambers in one go. As the saying goes, it’s best not to trouble two different people for the same task, so I’m afraid we’ll have to bother you with this, Miss Gu."

Hearing him start with the word "our," the others standing by couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. ’These scholars are always so cunning...’

"Alright." Gu Xi looked up, meeting Zhou Jinyu’s eyes directly. "But I don’t plan on returning to the Central Base anytime soon." ’The priority right now is still finding Yun Ye as soon as possible.’

027’s reaction to Yun Ye had given her a very bad feeling.

Everyone was taken aback to hear her say she wasn’t planning on returning to the Central Base. They probably never expected Gu Xi to just announce her plans so openly.

Zhou Jinyu’s expression, however, remained unchanged. "It’s already a great help that you’re willing to transport the items back to A City Base, Miss Gu. Mr. Chen has already contacted the Central Base, and they will send large transport planes over..."

Gu Xi raised an eyebrow at him. Many people had told her that Zhou Jinyu was a man of a hundred schemes, always speaking with hidden intentions. He would never point out that this was Chen’s arrangement for no reason.

Zhou Jinyu pushed up the cool frames of his glasses on the bridge of his nose and continued, "However, with the situation at the Central Base right now..."

He sighed as if helpless, then frowned slightly before letting out another soft sigh. "Thankfully, both Mr. Chen and Mr. Ye are in City A at the moment. Otherwise, given the current situation, our research institute’s work would truly be impossible to carry out..."

Hearing this, Gu Xi finally understood Zhou Jinyu’s hidden meaning...