Don't Be Nervous

"Congratulations, You Li Yuri, you have not been contaminated."

The heavy helmet was removed, and a blinding light flooded the view, but it also swept away the darkness.

You Li squinted, and after his eyes had adjusted, he looked at the person in front of him—this was the person sent from the rear to test for contamination, Huo Ge Ni. He seemed very friendly, with a smile on his face, but that smile seemed out of place with the overall atmosphere of the camp.

After all, broadly speaking, Huo Ge Ni is here to decide life and death.

The fate of this team will be decided.

Once their pollution levels are confirmed to exceed the standards, the consequences are self-evident. Therefore, those who come to test for pollution usually bring an elite team with them. Ostensibly, this is to guard against the various unpredictable dangers in the Contamination Zone, but everyone knows what it's actually for.

But this time, only Huo Ge Ni came.

He seemed completely unconcerned about the team, which was likely to be infected by everyone. He greeted everyone as he entered the camp, always with a friendly smile on his face—he took the least amount of protective measures, as if he wanted everyone to see his teeth when he smiled.

Then, he began to conduct contamination tests on everyone in the team.

The test results were also consistent.

No one was infected.

Everyone is healthy.

You Li, as the team captain, was the last to be tested, and he has now received the same result.

But unlike the other team members, he didn't show any signs of relief, whether crying or laughing. He just looked at the helmet that had just been put on his head. It was a portable pollution detector, a new product from a year ago.

Seeing that You Li's expression didn't change much, Huo Ge Ni let his smile widen and joked easily, "Is it just my imagination, You Li? I seem to sense that you feel quite regretful that you haven't been corrupted."

"Of course not," You Li said. "Nobody wants to be contaminated. I'm just curious."

"What?"

You Li pointed to the portable pollution detector. "Given the pollution we might face, can such an instrument completely detect it?"

"Oh, You Li Yuri, if I may be so bold, you shouldn't doubt technological innovation," Huo Ge Ni said. "You should know that this is the latest model. It can do everything that the older models could do, and it's much more portable. I was able to bring it here by myself, which the other models couldn't do."

Huo Ge Ni's explanation is perfectly valid.

Because the Devil Squad themselves are at the forefront of innovation, all the new technologies are used on them.

Clearly, the same thing will happen this time.

You Li still had doubts, but before he could speak, Huo Ge Ni spoke again, "Of course, you can also do it the old way and let us conduct a second inspection of your team. This time, it can be done the same way as before, or you can use the equipment you trust more. It doesn't matter to me; it's just another trip. However..."

Huo Ge Ni paused, then turned to look at the campsite outside the tent.

"But that wouldn't be as quick; it would take at least a week... Are you sure you want your men to go through another, even longer wait?"

You Li fell silent.

He knew Huo Ge Ni was telling the truth.

Today, he and his team have gone through too much. They have been attacked by pollutants one after another, their comrades have had their heads cut off by Emergency Device, and they themselves may be infected by the pollutants and have to wait for testing and judgment from the rear. Most of the team members are under pressure to the limit.

But all of this changed after Huo Ge Ni arrived.

From receiving the news to arriving here, Huo Ge Ni only took half a day and completed the testing of all team members to let them know that they were not infected.

This undoubtedly gave the team members, who had already hit rock bottom, a huge boost of motivation.

At this point, if You Li, as the team leader, were to tell them that the test results were inaccurate and that they needed to be retested and wait another week, he was unsure whether his team members would completely break down as a result.

Maintaining such extreme emotional fluctuations for a week seems like an insurmountable challenge.

After thinking it over, You Li realized that all he could do was nod.

"I understand," You Li said. "No pollution, no pollution, that's a good thing."

"Yes, everyone is uncontaminated, which is the best news." Huo Ge Ni smiled. "It seems you accept the test results. Please sign here."

Huo Ge Ni handed over the confirmation form that he had prepared beforehand.

This is also part of the process: as long as the team leader doesn't cause any problems, all inspection results need to be reviewed and signed by the team leader.

This wasn't the first time You Li had signed a confirmation form, but this time, looking at the words "test completed and results are correct," he hesitated.

But in the end, he still signed his name on it.

Seeing this, Huo Ge Ni smiled again, "Although it was an accident, the result wasn't too bad. At least it didn't affect more people. Captain You Li, you can relax a bit and have a laugh."

"Sorry, I'm not naturally a smiley person." You Li calmly signed the document and then handed it back to Huo Ge Ni. "Besides, although it wasn't contaminated, I still lost nine team members today, as well as the camp that we've worked so hard on but which has been destroyed. It's hard for me to smile under these circumstances."

"Ah, indeed." Hearing You Li say this, Huo Ge Ni gradually suppressed his smile, then sighed and said, "You are a very responsible commander. Lyra will remember your sacrifices."

You Li nodded, said nothing more, and got up to leave.

To be honest, he didn't like Huo Ge Ni's smile; it made him very uncomfortable.

But before he could even step out of the tent, Huo Ge Ni called out to him, "Excuse me, Captain You Li, when do you and your squad plan to continue your advance?"

You Li froze. "What did you say?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Huo Ge Ni smiled again when he saw that You Li had turned around. "It seems not."

"I don't understand what you mean," You Li said. "What do you mean by 'when do we plan to continue?'"

"It means exactly what it says." Huo Ge Ni looked surprised. "You and your team are not contaminated, shouldn't you continue with your previous work?"

You Li looked into Huo Ge Ni's eyes, unsure whether he genuinely didn't know or was feigning ignorance.

"The Pollutant Outbreak has brought the pollution level of our original camp to the level of the deepest contaminant deposits, the Abyss," You Li said. "And most of our anti-contamination equipment has been destroyed. You want us to go any further?"

"The new equipment will arrive soon," Huo Ge Ni said. "You don't need to worry about that."

"... Have you already developed armor capable of resisting the corruption of the abyss?"

"Of course not, it's still the same as before," Huo Ge Ni smiled. "But we believe that's enough, because the Abyss hasn't moved, and the pollution you're facing isn't as high as you think."

You Li was surprised that Huo Ge Ni would say such a thing, which made his tone gradually become angry. "Why do you dare to make such a conclusion?"

"It's very simple." Huo Ge Ni slowly showed You Li the confirmation form he had signed less than a minute ago, the ink still wet, and said, "Captain You Li, you and your team suffered such a thing, yet there isn't a trace of contamination in your bodies. Isn't that the biggest evidence?"

Upon hearing this, You Li was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.

But the unchanging smile on Huo Ge Ni's face made him realize that he hadn't misheard, so his expression instantly darkened and a murderous aura surged in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" You Li stared intently at Huo Ge Ni. "You're saying we haven't been contaminated just so we can continue the mission?"

"No, no, Captain You Li, you've got the cause and effect wrong," Huo Ge Ni said. "It's because we didn't detect any contamination on you that we were able to conclude that the contamination concentration wasn't that high, and thus hoped that you could continue the mission... Ah, it shouldn't be hoped anymore, it's an order, Captain You Li."

"Whose orders?"

"Are you kidding me?" Huo Ge Ni put the confirmation aside and pulled out another order from his pocket. "Who else could command the Devil Squad?"

You Li immediately took the order from Huo Ge Ni.

When he saw the familiar seal on the order, his expression first turned astonished, and then gradually became ugly.

"Any more questions, Captain You Li?"

You Li took a deep breath.

He knew that from the moment the order was presented, he had no way to refuse.

Even if he hadn't signed the confirmation form, he couldn't refuse.

Because this is... the highest order.

Once the command is rejected.

He, too, will become a rebel.

But why did it turn out like this?

Although there was nothing wrong with the process, You Li felt a strong sense of unease and dissatisfaction.

Why is that?

You Li looked up at Huo Ge Ni and asked, "What exactly are you looking for if we go deeper? A more concentrated source oil, or the Purification Source Crystal that Xiaoxing lost?"

These were the only two he could think of.

But Huo Ge Ni shook his head and chuckled, saying, "No, neither, Captain You Li. What you're looking for is a special box... or, a chunk of meat, mainly a chunk of meat. It might be in a box, or it might not."

"What chunks of meat?" You Li frowned slightly.

Huo Ge Ni slowly stuck out his tongue, which was covered in white spots.

"This kind of chunk of meat."

"Bang".

Ju was pushed against the wall once again.

Her small, malnourished body crashed into the hard wall, causing her face to contort in pain. But she endured the pain without uttering a sound, still looking down on the boys surrounding her with an expression that belied her age.

One of them was the chubby boy who was ambushed by her Timed Egg Bomb yesterday.

The fat boy's expression was ferocious. Seeing that Ju still dared to look at him, he slapped her across the face.

"Look, look! You still dare to look?! You really don't know how to write the word 'death,' do you?"

Just as Ju was about to make a move after being hit, her hands were held down by the other two boys before she could do anything.

"You're not planning to pull out some weird contraption to trick me again, are you?" the fat boy said. "Do you think I'm stupid? You're going to use the same trick on me twice?"

Ju pouted.

Actually, she didn't have any better solutions.

Logically speaking, she rarely ends up like this.

Normally, if she were harassed, she would stay up all night developing new self-defense tools, like the Timed Egg Bomb she made yesterday, so that she wouldn't suffer any losses.

However, a special situation occurred last night.

Jie La Er's arrival left her with no time to deal with these things, and she had even forgotten that such a group of people existed.

Otherwise, she would at least create a "reflective armor" so that those who attacked her would also suffer.

Instead of being completely helpless like we are now.

Even if you can't fight back, you can still talk back.

So Ju continued to look at the fat boy with disdain.

"Why are you so angry?" Her gaze shifted downwards. "Could it be that yesterday's egg-bursting attempt really succeeded? Hmm... I won't be able to be a father anymore?"

Ju's reaction naturally made the fat boy's expression even more distorted. "You brat, you really don't know what's good for you."

Then he began to direct the others.

"You, go and keep watch outside the alley. If the patrol team finds any skeletons, warn us."

"You, cover her mouth."

"As for me..." the fat boy pulled a sharp metal piece from his pocket, "I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget... what do you think about carving 'I was wrong' on her face?"

"Brother, brother, how about we carve 'Daughter of a Sinner'?" another henchman shouted. "Or just carve 'Traitor' directly, so everyone knows what kind of person she really is."

"That's right!" the chubby boy exclaimed, clapping his hands. "There's nothing better than this."

Then he looked at the orange.

"What do you think? I don't think you have any objections, after all, you were a traitor, a sinner against Lyra!"

Ju didn't speak, but continued to look at him calmly, her eyes revealing little emotion.

But this did not make the fat boy show mercy. He slowly pressed the blade against Ju's face, and just as he was about to exert force, he suddenly saw a huge shadow appear in front of him.

Someone was standing behind him.

However, before he could turn around, he felt a pain in the back of his head and immediately fainted.

The remaining thugs were in the same situation; one of them had just turned around when he bumped into a bulging sack.

Then, with a muffled thud, he collapsed.

Ju was thus saved.

She looked at the newcomer with some surprise.

"Don't be nervous," Jie La Er said. "I'm here to return the money."

... Pay back the money?

Ju lowered her head.

Looking at the money pouch in Jie La Er's hand... it was still dripping blood.

I'm stuck on my game, so I'll just try to get four thousand copies today.