Chapter 49: No Need to Get Too Into the Act
The scene below was too shocking. On the cliff wall, hundreds of Sentinels stared with unblinking eyes. Once everything had settled, they quickly made their way down.
The Sentinels responsible for medical logistics carried portable treatment devices.
“Young Master.”
Seeing his master simply watching in silence without saying a word, Shi Yi called out.
Chi Che withdrew his gaze and let out a soft, self-mocking laugh.
“After playing this role for so long, I’ve grown a bit tired of this costume today.”
In a moment of crisis, watching others from a high vantage point as they turned the tide and won all the favor—for some reason, it left a sour taste in his mouth.
When did he become so competitive?
“Young Master means… now…”
Chi Che walked slowly downward, suppressing the strange stirrings in his heart after only a moment.
“The time has not yet come.”
…
Amidst the ruins, Hei Mi ran toward Qi Ye, her voice urgent.
“Commander, your back!”
Qi Ye stood up.
“It’s no hindrance.”
Though his tone was casual, Chi Wan still saw the large pools of blood at his feet.
He took off his coat. The material of the clothing was practically stuck to his flesh. As he turned slightly, his bloodied and mangled back came into Chi Wan’s view.
A large portion of the flesh on his back was practically shredded. Debris and dust were embedded in the gore, so deep that bone was visible.
A group of medical Sentinels rushed over; some urgently helped him clean the wounds, while others quickly powered on the portable treatment devices.
“Commander, there are countless snake holes around us. I can faintly sense energy fluctuations inside; there must be more Polluted Entities.”
Qi Ye: “Mhm. Take a team and scout first.”
Hei Mi tightened her grip on her firearm and looked around.
“Many of these high-level Polluted Entities like to hoard treasures. There must be good things in those snake holes. I’ll go first; Commander, please focus on healing.”
The Sentinels split into small teams and set out one by one.
Shi Liu brought two Ability Sentinels over to thank Qi Ye for saving their lives, then prepared to enter the snake hole from the other side to explore.
Among the crowd, Chi Che turned around, his gaze locking onto Chi Wan, who was helping by Qi Ye’s side. He raised his voice slightly:
“Does Guide Chi Wan want to come with us?”
Though his voice was lazy and weary, it was also exceptionally clear and pleasant to the ear.
This call not only caught Chi Wan’s attention but also caused Qi Ye’s gaze to narrow slightly.
Chi Wan looked at Chi Che in the crowd to her front-left, then back at Qi Ye behind her on the right.
Both were looking at her.
[I sense quite a few Ability Stones in the direction of Chi Che and the others. Host, go for it!]
Although Ability Stones cannot carry Ability Elements like Crystals do, they are laden with energy just like Crystals.
The difference between the two is that Crystals require the energy within to be extracted before a Sentinel can absorb it, whereas Ability Stones can be absorbed directly.
This stored energy can replenish and increase a Sentinel’s energy value.
However, for Sentinels whose energy values are already balanced with their Mental Power, the increase is minimal. Tens of thousands of Ability Stones might only yield a negligible improvement.
But for Chi Wan, it was different!
Her Mental Power was SSS-rank, but her energy value was only C-rank. Both Ability Stones and Crystals were extremely important to her.
With the System’s prompt, Chi Wan made her choice immediately.
“Alright.”
She walked toward Chi Che’s team.
Her back as she walked away was carefree and without the slightest hesitation. Qi Ye lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions within.
Her choice also fit the 50% probability he had preset, but seeing her leave without looking back still left a bitter taste in his heart. Even his wounds seemed to hurt a bit more.
Chi Che’s mood, however, brightened. He shifted his body slightly, shielding her in a perfectly measured gesture.
“Let’s set out.”
The environment inside the snake hole was deep and dark, with winding and twisting paths.
After a fork in the road, the crowd split again into several waves.
Chi Wan followed Chi Che, Shi Liu, Shi San, and Shi Yi into the largest snake hole.
The way was extremely clear; they didn’t encounter any Polluted Entities. Not long after venturing deep, a large amount of supplies appeared under the searchlights.
These snakes really did hide supplies in the caves. Chi Wan looked through them one by one. There was even quite a bit of rotted food mixed with a large amount of Star Coins, ores, mechanical components, and so on.
And in that corner, a pile of deep blue Ability Stones was particularly eye-catching.
Looking at those Ability Stones, her eyes sparkled.
The keen Chi Che noticed her excited little gaze immediately and simply chuckled.
“Guide Chi Wan, feel free to pick. We aren’t lacking in these.”
Chi Wan was about to say she’d buy one for 1,000 Star Coins, but then she remembered he wasn’t short on money.
Then she wouldn’t be polite!
She ran straight to the Ability Stones and began absorbing the energy directly.
Sensing her energy magnetic field, the pile of stones released wisps of deep blue energy light that rose up and merged into her palm.
[Host, you’ve reached Grade B!]
Chi Wan was delighted, feeling the more robust energy within her body.
“You guys continue scouting the path for her. I’m going below to take a look.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Chi Wan followed Shi Liu and the other two as they continued exploring.
This snake path was simply brimming with resources to an incredible degree.
She went along crazily absorbing Ability Stones, her energy value soaring upward.
[Almost about to break through again, Host!]
After exploring for a full half-hour, the group finally reached the end.
They only occasionally encountered a few small Polluted Entities along the way, which were easily dealt with by Shi Liu and the others.
The next second, the cave walls vibrated slightly. Though it wasn’t clear, Chi Wan still heard the roar of a Polluted Entity coming from below.
For a moment, she forgot that Chi Che was an invisible big shot and simply looked at Shi Liu and the others.
“That’s a very loud roar from a Polluted Entity. Is your Young Master okay?”
Asked this by her, the originally relaxed Shi Liu suddenly realized he should be worried.
“Young Master is down there. Quick, go find Young Master!”
Shi Yi also put on a look of urgency and scurried off toward the lower level.
Shi Si froze for a moment, as if he hadn’t reacted yet.
Meeting Shi Liu’s accusatory gaze, he finally let out an “Ah” and followed after them.
Watching their exquisite acting, Chi Wan finally realized something.
If she didn’t know the truth, she would only think they weren’t attentive enough to their master.
But now, she just wanted to say that the brother named Shi Si could really use some work on his acting skills.
Having nothing better to do, she followed them down.
There were several snake paths leading downward.
[The one on the far left, Host! The best things must be there!]
Chi Wan pulled out the long blade at her waist. Her small face was firm and courageous as she walked down without hesitation.
But as she went deeper, she found there wasn’t a single Polluted Entity in the snake path, only occasional black puddles of soft, rotten matter on the ground that had no discernible shape.
“Quite brave. Why didn’t you let Shi Liu protect you?”
Chi Che’s relaxed and pleasant voice drifted from the end of the snake path far away.
Hearing his voice, Chi Wan quickened her pace. Under the swaying searchlight, she ran to the end of the path and saw a massive snake den.
The space in the den was not small. Chi Che stood quietly in the center, looking toward the collapsed rock wall ahead.
As Chi Wan walked forward, she followed his gaze downward. Beneath the rock wall, black blood flowed like a river.
“This place…?”
“It collapsed.”
“Mhm?”
“A collapse occurred.”
As he spoke, he reached out a hand to stop Chi Wan from stepping further.
Chi Wan looked at him, puzzled.
She saw him lower his eyes to look at her seriously, speaking as if it were a grave matter:
“There are Polluted Entities. Be careful.”
Chi Wan immediately raised her long blade, taking a combat stance. Her soft, delicate voice deepened a bit.
“Where?!”
Under the searchlight, she carefully scanned the area beneath the rubble ahead.
Only black blood.
Excessively fresh black blood.
No matter how she looked at it, it seemed more like a Polluted Entity he had just killed.
As for how he managed to cause such a large-scale collapse, Chi Wan was puzzled; she didn’t know his Ability or energy value.
“You have to protect me.”
The voice above her pulled Chi Wan’s thoughts back.
She looked up at him. In the peripheral light of the searchlight, he looked down at her, his dark eyes deep and hard to read. His lips were slightly pale, giving him the sickly look of an ordinary person who couldn’t last long under the pollution mist.
He was acting even more real than the truth.
Chi Wan played along: “Fine.”
“Look, the Polluted Entity is coming.”
He pointed toward a corner. Chi Wan’s heart tightened as she quickly looked in that direction.
She saw… a small mutated mouse.
The mutated mouse ran toward the two of them, squeaking “Squeak, squeak, squeak” without any fear of death!
Chi Wan was just about to step forward and slash it when she felt Chi Che’s tall frame duck behind her.
She silently closed her eyes.
There really was no need to get too into the act.
Even if you were an ordinary person, you could stomp a small Polluted Entity like this to death with a single shoe given how tall you are!
Translator’s Note:
- “Shi Yi,” “Shi Liu,” etc., are numerical names meaning Eleven, Sixteen, and so on. It’s common for subordinates in these novels to be named by their rank or order. Happy reading!
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