The Brand Yu Xing Gave Zhao Yijiu

Libraries and archives in the apocalypse are the most precious places, because when humanity is on the verge of extinction, only these places can preserve the evidence of humanity's existence and await the discovery of another intelligent civilization.

Yu Xing's primary objective upon arriving at Base 51 was also this place.

For him now, infiltrating the base was a piece of cake. Zhao Yijiu could move through shadows with great agility, while he himself could use the curse to easily hack the surveillance cameras, change the guards' perceptions, and swagger in.

But doing so would still leave too much room for suspicion. Not to mention the Lingren in the base, even for the other strategists in the base, the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar and strange person would be enough to make them wary and investigate.

Therefore, Yu Xing still chose to let Zhao Yijiu lead him through the shadows. It was already dark, and Zhao Yijiu's mobility had a great deal of room to maneuver.

They successfully entered the archives. Although Yu Xing had come to find Carlos, he remembered that Carlos could switch places with the paper figures within a certain range. He estimated that they would be close to safety once they entered the base. If Carlos needed a safe place, they could be moved here at any time, provided that Carlos was free.

If he had already been captured by the Lingren, Yu Xing should be even less eager to go find him, as that would only excite the Lingren more.

Looking at the overflowing file shelves, Yu Xing turned to the assistant, Jiu, and said, "Go back into the shadows and search around. Go to the base's dormitory area. If Carlos is still free, he'll definitely be there."

Because of her high mobility, Zhao Yijiu had already foreseen the outcome of her errand-running.

He said "Oh," turned around and was about to leave, without even asking what Yu Xing was going to do there.

Yu Xing took the initiative and grabbed his clothes. "Why are you running away so fast? I haven't finished talking yet."

Zhao Yijiu: "... You say."

"Carlos told you before that the base's medical equipment can detect whether there are any residual viral factors in the human body. I'm very interested in this, so I plan to look for the medical records. This deduction will take a long time, but it must have its main storyline. It's impossible for you to stay here until the end of the apocalypse. The main storyline must be in this base," Yu Xing said.

Zhao Yijiu had already relayed the useful information that Carlos had mentioned over the past few days to Yu Xing in the most concise way.

"These high-level worlds always become more dangerous the longer they drag on. Starting the main storyline as soon as possible is the right choice. I'll look through this first. Use this time to find Carlos. If you can't find him, investigate the entire base's structure again. If you find him, check his condition and then come back to tell me." Yu Xing spoke, the black patterns on his hand suddenly appeared. Fine black patterns condensed into the image of a large tree, with roots extending all the way into his arm, hidden by his clothes.

The moment Zhao Yijiu saw these patterns, he felt his breath catch in his throat and his whole body tremble with fear. Even though Yu Xing was only using the power of the curse and not targeting him, he could still feel a bone-chilling pressure from these patterns.

Since seeing Yu Xing again, Yu Xing has only used the Black Mist. Zhao Yijiu never expected that when the Black Mist condenses into patterns, it would be so many times more terrifying.

"What are you going to do?" Seeing Yu Xing approaching her, Zhao Yijiu felt a sense of confusion and unease.

"Don't be afraid, I'll just brand you." Yu Xing smiled, somewhat teasingly sensing Zhao Yijiu's tension. "What's there to be nervous about? I'm not going to do anything to you."

He reached out and pulled up the sacrificial hairband on Zhao Yijiu's forehead, brushed away the stray hairs, and then placed his palm on Zhao Yijiu's brow.

Zhao Yijiu: "Hmm, I wasn't nervous." He was simply struck by the powerful force, which was unavoidable.

He felt the chill and the danger that made his heart pound. He instinctively wanted to retreat and defend himself, but when he saw Yu Xing's smiling face, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly remained rooted to the spot.

Yu Xing wouldn't hurt him; he simply had an instinctive fear of this power, just like how humans subconsciously stay away from wild beasts and sharp objects—it's a habit etched into their DNA.

His brow was growing increasingly icy.

At this moment Yu Xing's palm seemed to transform into a piece of blue stone just taken out of the refrigerator. The black lines surged with the breath, and even a tiny bit of it could turn into a thick fog in the air, so thick that Zhao Yijiu couldn't see her fingers. When it touched her skin, she would feel an urge to tremble.

It turns out that Yu Xing has become so strong after a year apart.

He himself had reached the level of despair, yet he was still suppressed by Yu Xing when she truly revealed her abilities. So, what level should Yu Xing be considered?

Zhao Yijiu, feeling somewhat confused after being touched, sensed wisps of a curse seeping into his skin and rampaging through his mind.

However, relatively speaking, these curses were very mild, and should be completely under Yu Xing's control, bypassing his mind and forming a strange... encirclement within his body?

"Does it hurt?" This was the first time Yu Xing had done this. He had sorted out all his current abilities in the hotel, but he hadn't practiced them all, so he didn't know if it would cause any pain.

He can only guarantee safety, not the experience.

Zhao Yijiu paused for a moment, her voice trembling slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. "It doesn't hurt, I just feel like my life is threatened."

His trembling came not only from himself, but also from the vengeful spirit within his consciousness.

He knew Yu Xing wouldn't harm him, so no matter how terrifying Yu Xing's power was, he could quickly assess his own safety. However, the vengeful spirit didn't trust Yu Xing as much, and felt like it was trembling like a sieve inside its soul.

Pshaw, so arrogant all the time, but when it really comes down to it, he's a coward.

While adapting to Yu Xing's curse power, Zhao Yijiu also mentally mocked the vengeful ghost within her.

The vengeful spirit was almost going berserk. Was he cowardly? He was just afraid of his soul being scattered! He was sound asleep when suddenly a force powerful enough to strangle him was released, waking him up. How could he not tremble?

However, if this force were to kill him, Zhao Yijiu's mental state would definitely suffer as well, and they would both die. Therefore, the vengeful spirit was quite certain that it would be alright, so it hid deep within its consciousness, secretly spying.

Hearing Zhao Yijiu say this, Yu Xing felt relieved. He continued to use the curse to inscribe the tree-shaped pattern on his hand from his perspective, the roots of which extended outwards and gradually spread to Zhao Yijiu's forehead, forming a tangled and strange pattern mark.

After completing the final stroke, Yu Xing lowered his hand. The intricate black lines lingered on Zhao Yijiu's forehead for two seconds before disappearing beneath the skin.

Even with Yu Xing's current strength, she felt a little weak.

"This is my mark. I sealed a portion of the source of the curse power within it. When you encounter danger, the mark will act as an absolute protection and indicate your location to me. I can use this mark to teleport to your side," Yu Xing explained the reason for doing so.

Clearly, this thing was mainly used to protect against Lingren.