Suddenly, the space above the transmission device twisted, and a purple-black vortex appeared in an instant.

Li Wenxi immediately took out a crossbow from her backpack, aiming at the space distortion.

Meanwhile, Xu Ying reached out and grabbed Li Wenxi’s arm.

If those enforcers appear, with just the two of them, they might not be able to resist.

Although she has some weapons, they’re mostly for self-defense. Faced with the other party’s vanguard, especially without armor, both sides ending up injured would be a good outcome.

So, if someone does appear, she’ll immediately take Li Wenxi away.

Others need to rely on the transmission device to get out from here, but she doesn’t need it.

Moreover, since she’s been here now, returning will be quite convenient; she only needs a thought to come directly.

No need to face them here!

If it really is them, just run!

The purple-black vortex spun for a few seconds, but no one emerged from it.

Seeing that no one was stepping out temporarily, Li Wenxi’s mind became a bit more active.

She quickly surveyed her surroundings and then her eyes lit up, pulling Xu Ying towards a protruding rock at the edge of the space.

"Are we going to hide?" Xu Ying immediately understood Li Wenxi’s intention.

"Of course, if there’s more than one person coming, we might overhear useful information!"

The two quickly ran to some protruding rocks at the edge, hiding behind them. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Then they both poked out half of their heads to look at the slowly rotating purple-black vortex.

Still, no one emerged from it.

"What’s going on?" Li Wenxi asked in confusion, "Why hasn’t anyone come out yet?"

"Wait a bit, perhaps... someone is coming!" Xu Ying whispered excitedly, and both fell silent, staring at the vortex suddenly bursting with purple-black light.

Next, a person stepped out from the purple-black vortex.

Li Wenxi’s eyes widened, nearly screaming in shock.

She hurriedly covered her mouth and ducked back.

Xu Ying’s pupils contracted suddenly, biting her teeth, staring fiercely at the person who walked out.

The person stepping out of the vortex seemed to sense someone watching him and immediately looked towards the rocks where the two were hiding.

Xu Ying also ducked back a second before he looked over.

"A hallucination?" The man muttered in an unfamiliar voice, "Why would someone be here? My nerves have really been too tense recently."

He then stepped onto the transmission device and was swallowed by a mass of purple-black energy, disappearing from sight.

Only then did the two hiding behind the rocks slowly stand up.

The purple-black vortex on the transmission device instantly shrank and disappeared.

"Was that person just now... Wei Bai?" Li Wenxi’s throat moved, "But how could he..."

Xu Ying’s expression could now be described as grim: "He looked much younger, reminiscent of how he used to look."

Exactly.

Li Wenxi’s shock was not only about why Wei Bai appeared here but also her most critical question...

Why did that Wei Bai just now look like he was... at most forty years old?

A... Wei Bai in his prime!

What on earth is going on!

"Was Wei Bai indeed replaced?" Li Wenxi speculated, "And this one who replaced him is actually very young, just surgically altered to resemble Wei Bai! What we saw before was him intentionally pretending to be old!"

The Patriarch of the Wei Family was indeed replaced!

"This guy... this guy!" Xu Ying gritted her teeth, wanting to punch the rock in front of her.

But thinking about the power of her fist possibly shattering the rock and causing significant changes, which would be unfavorable for keeping their actions hidden, she could only resentfully hold back her hand.

"That... Wei Bai is your friend, I know hearing about his troubles makes you sad, but he might not necessarily be dead, maybe he’s just been imprisoned?" Li Wenxi immediately comforted the emotionally unstable Xu Ying.

She didn’t think it strange that Xu Ying, despite being hundreds of years old, still reacted like a child.

After all, to Xu Ying, Wei Bai was someone she’d been friends with just a few days ago.

To suddenly be unsure of a friend’s life and death just days after their last interaction is understandably unsettling.

"... Of course, he’s not dead." Xu Ying’s voice bore a sense of clenched teeth, "He’s not dead because the guy just now was him!"

"Himself?" Li Wenxi was stunned, "You’re saying that was the real Wei Bai...?"

"Yes, that guy wasn’t replaced; he betrayed us!"

Xu Ying felt the urge to kick but managed to restrain herself: "That guy, he actually betrayed us! He clearly knows everything, knows that alien invaders can never be fond of humans, knows that they will slaughter all the humans in the underground world! He must be insane!"

As the cooperative family of Xu Xin and Xu Ying, they had almost disclosed everything to Wei Bai.

The direct descendants of the Wei Family were definitely aware of the harshness of this world and were the least likely to betray them.

Moreover, Wei Bai was an old acquaintance of Xu Ying’s; she knew his character all too well!

Why would this guy betray them!

"Wait wait wait! How do you know that Wei Bai is himself?" Li Wenxi hurriedly asked.