Nest Building

"How did it go? What's the Corruption Value?" Huangfu Miaomiao had watched every change in Feng Ling's expression and already sensed something was wrong. "Were your traits incompatible? Did it go over 20%? Say something!"

Feng Ling hadn't expected to mess up.

Eight consecutive 1% increases had made her careless.

A gambler's mentality really did ruin people.

She awkwardly touched her nose and replied, "It went over by a little."

The instant Huangfu Miaomiao heard that her Corruption Value had exceeded the limit, she jumped several yards away, her face full of terror!

"How do you feel now?" Huangfu Miaomiao stood far away and pressed on warily. "Are you angry, agitated, uneasy, or feeling any other abnormal emotions? How's your heartbeat? Your blood pressure? Do you have auditory or visual hallucinations?"

Feng Ling took responsibility for herself seriously and carefully checked how she felt.

"Nothing feels particularly different." She paused, then said, "Maybe it's because I'm still in a pretty good mood right now. Don't provoke me later."

Huangfu Miaomiao wanted to cry herself to death. How would I dare provoke you? I want to go our separate ways already!

Is it too late to say our partnership is off?!

(T_T) Would that provoke the Boss?

Feng Ling was also rather worried about herself. She remembered Huangfu Miaomiao saying before—

Once the Corruption Value exceeded 20%, there was a risk of losing control.

Above 30%, it became difficult to stay rational, and symptoms like auditory and visual hallucinations would appear.

Above 50%, one was basically a madman, completely impossible to communicate with.

At levels like 60% or 70%, either the body would rot and collapse, or one would die suddenly.

Feng Ling adjusted her mindset quickly. It hasn't reached 30% yet, has it?

There was trouble, of course... She needed to quickly find that Maze, that Idol.

At that moment, the text in her mind changed again—

You are the Source of Life. You are the Mother Nest of the world. You possess a strong body and an endless supply of power. So long as a sliver of vitality remains, you are almost impossible to kill. You can bring new life, and you can bring destruction. Life is your authority.

Feng Ling froze slightly.

Compared to before, this description had gained one more sentence.

"You can bring new life, and you can bring destruction. Life is your authority..."

Feng Ling murmured to herself, feeling lost. Her thoughts seemed shrouded in fog; the information in those words was insufficient for her to immediately understand their true meaning.

Life was her authority?

What did that mean?

But when she saw the Cards floating silently before her, everything suddenly became clear. She understood at once—this was an advanced ability of the Hive!

Just like an innate talent, it would automatically emerge once she reached a certain stage of growth!

For example, spiders spun webs, frogs hibernated, and swallows carried mud. Without needing anyone to teach her, she already knew what to do.

Feng Ling reached out toward a Card, her mind filled with only one thought:

Nest Building!

Beside her, Huangfu Miaomiao was about to be driven mad by Feng Ling. Unable to suppress her terror, she cried, "You're already over 20%, and you're still taking a Card?!!"

The next second, Huangfu Miaomiao stood there dumbfounded.

She watched Feng Ling actually grasp the Card!

The Card did not melt or enter her body. Instead, it slowly flowed and changed in Feng Ling's hand, eventually turning into a Silver Ring!

What was going on???

Feng Ling did not explain. She merely held the ring with total concentration, gripping it continuously.

Only when an eye was branded onto the ring by some force did she finally let out a breath and slip the Silver Ring onto her wrist.

Then, she repeated the process with another Card, turning it into a ring as well and creating another eye upon it.

These two simple actions seemed to have drained a great deal of her strength, because Huangfu Miaomiao noticed that Feng Ling's complexion had changed and sweat had begun to form on her forehead.

She desperately wanted to ask what Feng Ling was doing and what exactly had happened.

The words had just reached her lips when her Virtual Screen suddenly displayed a system message—

Announcement: Hidden Boss Hive has advanced to Sub-adult Form. Danger level unknown. Players, locate the Hive! Eliminate it as soon as possible!

Huangfu Miaomiao was speechless.

The first time she had seen the announcement of a Hidden Boss's birth, she had felt little beyond some fear, because she had thought it had nothing to do with her.

But who could have expected that, at this very moment, she was standing beside an advanced Boss...

Huangfu Miaomiao looked at Feng Ling with extremely complicated feelings.

The Boss's Corruption Value had exceeded the limit. That was awful;

An advanced Boss's Corruption Value exceeding the limit was worse than awful...

She did not even dare imagine who could stop Feng Ling if she went mad.

After nesting twice in succession, Feng Ling slowly exhaled. Her hands hung limply at her sides as she turned and slowly walked out of the cave.

The two rings marked with eye patterns rested on her wrists, occasionally flashing silver in the dark cave.

Feng Ling felt as though she had been starving for three days and three nights.

She grumbled inwardly, Just nesting twice has nearly killed me. I hope the results won't disappoint me.

Huangfu Miaomiao followed Feng Ling from far behind.

At first, she was uneasy and tense. After following her for a while and seeing no signs that Feng Ling was about to go mad, she finally gathered the courage to catch up.

The two left the cave and returned to the surface through the passage that had originally led to the Parking Lot.

Zhou Diao and the Special Forces members had already been sent to the hospital for treatment. Only Su Yuqing remained at the scene, directing the others in their work.

Su Yuqing was surprised when he saw Feng Ling and Huangfu Miaomiao.

Just now, the team members had praised Feng Ling to the skies, describing how formidable she was, how she had turned the tide, and how easily she killed Contaminants, as if peeling potatoes.

So why did Feng Ling now look like she was about to die???

Su Yuqing frowned. Dressed in a crisp uniform, he strode toward Feng Ling.

"Are you all right? Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asked.

Feng Ling shook her head weakly, her voice equally feeble. "I know what you want to say. You need me to cooperate with an investigation so you can write your report, right? But can it wait until after I eat... I'm really hungry right now..."

"..." Su Yuqing hesitated. He really did have a mountain of questions to ask.

Utterly exhausted, Feng Ling leaned against the shorter Huangfu Miaomiao and asked Su Yuqing, "Where's the nearest restaurant?"

Su Yuqing sighed helplessly. "There's a Private Kitchen nearby that's pretty good. I'll drive you there."

Feng Ling parted her lips and slowly uttered two words: "...Hurry up."

She was truly afraid she would starve to death before they got there.

Just how private the Private Kitchen was, Feng Ling did not know.

Because she ate in Su Yuqing's car.

The emergency evacuation in Jiangkou City had drawn a large number of reporters, and the nearby area was crowded with all sorts of people. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Su Yuqing had Feng Ling remain in the car while he packed food from the restaurant and brought it back for her to eat.

Feng Ling ate seven or eight dishes, and during that time, she even asked Huangfu Miaomiao for two bags of small jelly cups. Only then did she gradually recover.

She had not expected the aftereffects of Nest Building to be so severe. As she ate, drowsiness swept over her, and she fell asleep leaning against the car seat.

Inside the car, Su Yuqing and Huangfu Miaomiao stared at each other.

An awkward atmosphere spread silently...

At last, Su Yuqing rubbed his brow, helpless and troubled, and asked, "What exactly is going on with you two?"

Huangfu Miaomiao was on the verge of collapse.

She wanted to find someone to ask too—what exactly was going on now?!