Yao Yao smoothed the hair at her temples, then turned her head to look at Wang Zhan, her gaze tender.
"I can’t tell you what’s in that map."
Yao Yao glanced at the personal terminal in Wang Zhan’s hand.
Wang Zhan understood. It must be because this personal terminal is always connected to the rear. One careless move and their conversation could be eavesdropped on, leading to a lot of trouble.
Yao Yao continued, her tone somewhat solemn, "But I can tell you it’s very dangerous. It involves many things, and many people want it, especially the original organization. Just after you left, I already killed three minions of the original organization, all Martial Generals."
"As for why I’m here..." Yao Yao said softly. "That’s because someone doesn’t want this item to fall into the hands of the original organization. Also, I’m very worried about you and don’t want anything to happen to you, so I specially applied to be here."
A warmth filled Wang Zhan’s heart.
Yao Yao was Yao Yao; no matter what she did, he was the one in her heart.
At this moment, he recalled the scene where Yao Yao had blocked Yuan Shisan for him and almost died. He was overcome with an aching pity and tenderness for her.
He didn’t ask any more questions for the moment. Some things were safer if he didn’t know about them, and besides, he didn’t currently have the capability to deal with them.
He simply took Yao Yao’s small hand and sat by the Pool. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel⟡fire.net
"Then we’ll just sit here for a while. By the way, when are you leaving?"
Yao Yao, her heart now calm, wasn’t shy. She let Wang Zhan hold her hand without reservation, as though her long-held dream had finally come true.
She had been chasing, chasing all along, and finally, she had caught up to Wang Zhan’s shadow. For the first time, she stood before him, by his side, with ample confidence.
So, she said with a radiant smile that revealed a small, crescent shap, "I’ll leave after you deliver the map to General Qin Guanglu."
Wang Zhan calculated, hmm, although he didn’t know how far the human encampment to the east was, seven or eight, or perhaps eight or nine days should be sufficient.
Having her accompany him meant he wouldn’t be bored on the journey, and there would be someone to take care of his food and drink.
Even having such a guardian goddess by his side would make it effortless to improve his extreme attributes. This made him very happy.
「The original organization.」
No one knew the specific location of its headquarters.
However, a building dozens of stories high did leave an impression on many. Every floor within it bustled with activity, as vast quantities of resources poured in from the outside world like an incessant torrent.
These resources then passed through the hands of Gene Potion researchers, floor by floor, transforming into various experimental Gene Potions.
Some were sent to the original organization’s experimental bases in the wilderness. Others quietly flowed into Black markets within Safe Zones everywhere. This served both to collect vast funds for the original organization and to build its network of contacts.
Take the test subject Yuan Shijiu (Yao Yao), for example. She seemingly entered a Martial Arts School, but in reality, she walked right into the original organization’s line of sight, becoming one of the next batch of experimental subjects—lucky or otherwise.
Yet, this colossus, an abyssal crocodile constantly lurking deep beneath the human populace, had some of its prominent figures—men who were supposed to be calm and inscrutable—erupt in fury. This was all because Yao Yao, who rarely made a move, had, upon acting, ruthlessly destroyed three Martial General level experts with fierce methods.
In an office, a portly, balding middle-aged man was in a furious rage.
He was continuously sweeping the furnishings in his office to the floor, smashing a large area to pieces. Even wooden tables and chairs had their legs smashed and were strewn about, as he roared continuously.
"Losers! Losers! You’re all losers!"
"The Organization spent so many resources, painstakingly promoting you to these positions! And yet, you can’t even stop a little girl who’s only undergone two genetic experiments? What use are all of you?!"
The sounds of smashing and crashing continued. Evidently, more furnishings met an unfortunate end, becoming collateral damage until the room was an utter wreck.
After venting for nearly an hour, he finally calmed his turbulent emotions. His face expressionless, he straightened his clothes, then pushed open the door and walked into the adjacent secretary’s office.
He spoke to a young woman with a graceful figure, captivating features, and dressed in OL attire.
"Notify Yuan Shisan. Tell him to stop bothering with those disgusting, hideous beasts for now. Right now, immediately, I want him to appear in the Oceania Region, find that boy, and bring me the map! No matter what, it cannot fall into Qin Guanglu’s hands!"
"Yes!" The young woman stood up to answer, her well-rounded figure on full display.
The man caught sight of this, a peculiar glint flashed in his eyes, and he quietly closed the door to the secretary’s room.
Immediately reading the mood, the secretary approached and knelt before the portly, balding man.
After a good while, the man let out a deep sigh, his eyebrows furrowing as he said, "Yuan Shisan, that loser. If he messes up this simple task again, I’ll personally apply to have him sent back for ’reconditioning’."
These words made the secretary’s body tremble.
The man looked down at her. He saw she had completely shut out all distractions, focusing solely on her task with intense effort.
Good! Being a little dull is a good thing; being too smart is just asking for trouble.
For some unknown reason, he suddenly thought of Yuan Shijiu (Yao Yao). His eyes filled with malice, a fierce grin spreading across his face.
「Death Forest, by a small pool.」
After a brief rest, Wang Zhan and Yao Yao took advantage of the remaining daylight and hastily resumed their journey, hoping to find a quiet shelter before dark.
However, even after Wang Zhan had killed two or three intermediate Soldier-level beasts, he was still empty-handed.
Not only did his status panel show no new attribute increases, but there was also no safe cave to be found.
"Let’s go a bit further," Yao Yao comforted. "Even if we can’t find a place, you should be safe with me around."
After a series of genetic experiments, her strength had advanced rapidly to the Martial General level.
Although Death Forest was the Frontline Battlefield between humans and beasts in Oceania, teeming with various types of beasts, she wasn’t particularly worried about many of them daring to provoke her.
But Wang Zhan immediately shook his head. "No! Even if you can defeat a Martial General, two fists are no match for four hands. What if two General-level beasts appear simultaneously? Are you going to stand by and watch me walk to my death?"
Wang Zhan knew Yao Yao would definitely not ignore him.
Similarly, Yao Yao also knew that Wang Zhan would absolutely not want her to intervene and endanger herself again.
Of course, if such a scene were to happen again, Yao Yao would still unhesitatingly stand in front of Wang Zhan.
Even if it meant death, she would never let anyone harm him!
Yao Yao thought, Definitely not.
Wang Zhan looked at Death Forest and made up his mind.
"Here’s the plan: I’ll use my mental energy to scout ahead and see if I can find an upper-class Soldier-level beast, then we’ll perform a ’dove in magpie’s nest’. During this time, you’ll be responsible for guarding me, to prevent me from being killed by some wandering lower Soldier-level beast if my stamina gives out," Wang Zhan said jokingly.
Yao Yao thought for a moment and found the idea feasible, but still whispered, "Don’t worry, I’m here! If your stamina fails, just stop. I have plenty of Mixed Essence Pills here for you to recover your energy."
Wang Zhan smiled confidently. "Rest assured."
He immediately focused his mind. His mental energy, its coverage range now five times greater since his advancement, was roused once more.
This was the first time Wang Zhan had so seriously utilized his mental energy. Unsure how long he could sustain it, he had specifically warned Yao Yao.
After all, the feeling of vulnerability after his mental energy was completely depleted was not to be underestimated; it was like a maddening hunger.
More importantly, in Death Forest, exhaustion meant the plan would spin out of control and he would lose all combat capability—a perilous situation.
Gradually, a complete image of everything within a radius of seven to eight hundred meters began to form in Wang Zhan’s mind.
As time passed, the two pressed onward. After covering several miles, though they hadn’t found any upper-class Soldier-level beasts, Wang Zhan had encountered many unique beast species native to Death Forest.
Among them were intermediate Soldier-level beasts with formidable physical defenses but whose venom was even more terrifying, striking fear into anyone who heard of it. There were also lower Soldier-level beasts that preferred to gather and hunt in packs.
He also sensed some General-level beasts with such overwhelming auras that upon merely detecting their presence, Wang Zhan would immediately lead Yao Yao in a hasty retreat.
It wasn’t that they couldn’t defeat them; primarily, there was no benefit in fighting them.
Finally, half an hour later, Wang Zhan, his face somewhat pale, showed a hint of joy. He immediately retracted his mental energy and pointed towards a direction slightly to the east.
"There’s a cave in the cliff face over there, occupied by an upper-class Soldier-level beast. As long as we take it, we’ll have a place to stay for the night."
Yao Yao said little. She just shook her head gently, retrieved several bottles of Mixed Essence Pills from her wristwatch, and pressed them into Wang Zhan’s hand.
"You should recover your strength first. Otherwise, if a real fight breaks out, I might not be able to look out for you."
Looking at Yao Yao, whose eyes were filled with concern, Wang Zhan’s heart softened. He knew this was her excuse; she simply wanted to care for him.
Subsequently, he sat cross-legged on the ground, swallowed the Mixed Essence Pills, and after absorbing their medicinal power for half an hour, he was finally fully recovered.
The cave in the cliff was occupied by a serpentine upper-class Soldier-level beast. It had forelegs but no hind limbs, and its head was flat—clearly not something to be trifled with.
The only good news was that it possessed no Talent skills.
Fortunately, with Yao Yao taking action, success was swift and decisive; she expertly and efficiently depleted the beast’s stamina. When it was time for the final blow, Wang Zhan stepped forward, shouting, "Release that demon! Let me handle it!"
With this all-or-nothing strike, the Liyun Blade plunged deep into the skull of the upper-class Soldier-level beast.
Second-level Warrior, achieved!