Have you ever dated anyone?

The confusion on Mu Yi's face was so obvious that Feng Zhengqing raked a hand through his messy hair and slowly offered an explanation.

"The members of the institute understand the effects of the nuclear blast calamity more deeply and thoroughly than anyone else."

"We know better than anyone just how impossible the disaster humanity faces is to fight."

"The more thoroughly we understand it, the more hopeless we become."

"Sometimes, we can't help wondering whether humanity really has any reason to keep struggling."

At that point, Feng Zhengqing abruptly changed tack and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Ah... I didn't sleep last night, so my head's a little foggy. I'm talking too much nonsense."

"Just take it with a grain of salt."

Despite what he said, none of those present treated his words as nonsense.

Every member of Team 404 looked grim. As members of the Hunting Team who had the most contact with the outside world, they strongly agreed with Feng Zhengqing.

They knew all too well that no matter how impregnable the Safe Base before them was, no matter how prosperous the city, it was merely a place where humanity could numb itself with temporary comfort.

The world outside was changing every moment. Secondary evolutions among all kinds of Variants were becoming increasingly frequent, and the nuclear blast calamity's effects on the planet were steadily worsening.

If they failed to find an effective means of containing it soon, sooner or later, humanity...

The mood suddenly chilled. Mu Yi, the only one not caught up in it, glanced left and right and wisely kept quiet.

Only when the mangled corpse ahead was gathered up and carried away by the disposal specialists did the oppressive atmosphere finally break.

Feng Zhengqing took out his access card again and exhaled. "All right, let's head up."

They entered the research building's elevator one after another.

When the elevator doors clicked shut, they formed a natural barrier, shutting everything that had just happened outside.

The members of Team 404 and Feng Zhengqing began chatting as though nothing had happened, occasionally ribbing one another, looking no different than usual.

Mu Yi folded his arms and listened to their banter. His lips curled slightly, but he offered no comment.

A few seconds later, a chime announced their arrival, and the elevator doors slowly opened again.

Still chatting and laughing, the group stepped out and turned into Feng Zhengqing's lab.

As soon as Mu Yi entered, he made himself clear. "Let's get this straight first. Today is just a physical. No DNA copying or whatever."

It was only the second day of his deal with Zhong Xuezhi. If they successfully copied his DNA too soon, he was afraid Zhong Xuezhi would renege.

Although Feng Zhengqing was eager to make progress with his research, he knew he couldn't force Mu Yi to cooperate.

So he smiled and said, "Of course. We'll proceed once you're fully ready."

Then he turned back to Zhong Xuezhi and asked, "Where's the hallucinogenic mushroom?"

Zhong Xuezhi took off the backpack he had been carrying and pulled out the box containing the hallucinogenic mushroom.

Feng Zhengqing took it with some urgency, opened the lid for a glance, then immediately closed it again. A goofy smile spread across his face. "Hehe, so beautiful..."

Zhong Xuezhi clicked his tongue in distaste. "You look like a total creep every time you get like this."

Feng Zhengqing ignored him, hugging the black box as he lost himself in bliss.

Zhong Xuezhi shook his head and tapped his Identity Bracelet to submit the mission.

Given the choice between a group mission and a squad mission, he chose the latter without hesitation.

Then he quickly filled in Team 404's information and cheerfully tapped the submit button.

When the mission-complete screen popped up, Zhong Xuezhi let out a long breath.

Ah, that felt good.

He grinned wickedly at the projected screen without a sound, and Mu Yi leaned over in curiosity.

After looking it over, Mu Yi asked, "Do you get rewards every time you complete a mission?"

"Of course." Zhong Xuezhi was in a good mood, and his tone was much lighter as he answered. "The Alliance assigns rewards according to the difficulty of the mission you complete."

"Whoever completes the mission can choose whichever they need most: weapons, armor, rare materials, medicine, or gold coins."

After listening, Mu Yi remarked, "They've made it like a real-life game."

"Now that you mention it, it really is."

Zhong Xuezhi smiled and nudged Mu Yi toward the lab's inner room, urging, "Let's get your physical done first."

Mu Yi followed him into the examination room, where Feng Zhengqing's assistant thoroughly scanned him with various instruments.

Then the assistant ran another test, focusing on fluctuations in his mental value.

After all that fuss, Mu Yi's results naturally showed that he was in excellent shape and healthy in every respect. His mental stability reading was beyond reproach, too.

Holding the examination report, Zhong Xuezhi studied it for a while before he couldn't resist asking quietly, "Did you detect any energy fluctuations inside him?"

The examination assistant looked bewildered and replied just as quietly, "Huh? Isn't the subject... an ordinary person?"

Ordinary people didn't even have energy cores. Where would energy fluctuations come from? The instruments had shown no response at all when scanning him.

Zhong Xuezhi rubbed his chin for a moment, then said, "Never mind. Thanks for your hard work."

If even the research institute's instruments couldn't detect Mu Yi's Mutant traits, nothing else stood a chance.

It seemed Mu Yi really didn't have an energy core.

But without an energy core, how did Mu Yi, a human, store energy?

Thoughts spun through his mind, but he couldn't make sense of any of it.

Meanwhile, the subject of his speculation sat across from him, holding up his injured arm for a medical worker to change the dressing.

Seeing Zhong Xuezhi frowning over his examination report, Mu Yi called out, "What, did they find something wrong with me?"

Zhong Xuezhi came back to his senses and answered, "No. You're perfectly healthy."

Then he added, "Once they finish changing your dressing, I'll take you to get a Temporary Identity Bracelet."

Since the personnel registration office was some distance from the research institute, Zhong Xuezhi dismissed the squad first, letting the four others head home.

Afterward, he took Mu Yi onto the subway alone.

They boarded during the evening rush hour, so there were far more passengers than on their previous ride.

They found a spot near a corner to stand, but before long, Mu Yi noticed quite a few people sneaking glances at them.

Most were women, clustered into several small groups of different ages. Each group huddled in a circle, whispering as they stole glances.

Mu Yi caught scattered words like "Snow God," "like," "who's the other one," and "handsome."

He smiled and stretched out a leg to tap the toe of Zhong Xuezhi's shoe. "You're pretty popular."

Zhong Xuezhi folded his arms, taking no pride in it, and replied quietly, "It's a pain. People stare wherever I go."

Mu Yi considered that, then nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it would be."

From his tone, Zhong Xuezhi knew he could relate.

It made sense. Mu Yi was tall and well-built, with handsome features and a carefree air about him that was very appealing to young women.

At that thought, Zhong Xuezhi couldn't contain his curiosity. He leaned closer and asked, "Hey, Mu Yi, have you ever dated anyone?"

He really couldn't imagine what someone like this little lunatic would be like in a relationship.

Mu Yi gave a cold scoff, his expression tinged with disdain. "Why would I bother with that?"

"It's fucking stupid, and it's no fun."

Zhong Xuezhi burst out laughing. "That answer is pretty in character for you."

Mu Yi raised his eyes. "What character?"

Zhong Xuezhi pressed his lips together in a smile. "Heh... nothing." Saying it would only get him into trouble again.

[Hehe~ One of you sweethearts happened to ask me this yesterday, so let me clarify: both leads are virgins, and this is the first love for both of them!]