Chapter 182 - 181: No Choice

Chapter 182: Chapter 181: No Choice

Feng Ling chose to ignore Ye Zheng’s sensitive pride. She said nonchalantly, "There’s orange, strawberry, and peach. You can have a different flavor each day."

Ye Zheng was silent.

Feng Ling seemed to be offering a choice, but she was actually making it clear there wasn’t one.

Ye Zheng silently removed her mask, twisted the cap off the Jelly, and began to suck on it.

Her hunger was immediately relieved, and some strength returned to her body.

"Baozi will be here in a bit. Before he arrives, let’s figure out what to call you," Feng Ling said. "I can’t call you Ye Zheng in front of him, so we need to think of a name."

"A name..." Ye Zheng’s thoughts drifted. ’I suppose I do need a new name...’

Feng Ling said, "This little Alien Species here is Huangfu Miaomiao. As for you, how about Situ Zhengzheng?"

Feng Ling felt she had a real talent for naming. "We can call you Zhengzheng. It’s from a phrase meaning ’a spine of steel.’ It sounds like your old name, but it’s a different word."

’A different word with the same sound...’ Ye Zheng thought. ’That’s fitting. My soul is the same, but my identity is completely different...’

Feng Ling hadn’t thought that deeply about it; she was simply pleased with herself for working in an idiom, thinking it made her sound cultured.

"If you don’t object, I’ll call you Zhengzheng from now on. You can call me Feng Ling," Feng Ling said, her lips curling into a smile. "If that’s all right, I’ll go get Baozi now."

Ye Zheng put her skull mask back on and replied in a low voice, "Suit yourself..."

Feng Ling left cheerfully.

A short while later, not only did Baozi arrive, but Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing came as well.

Everyone was present.

Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing looked more solemn and wary in comparison.

Baozi, responsible for keeping the situation under control, also looked extremely serious.

Only Feng Ling looked cheerful and lighthearted, pleased that she’d found a breakthrough to the difficult problem.

Feng Ling walked up to Ye Zheng and said with a smile, "Yesterday, we agreed to exchange information. We’ll take turns asking each other questions. I’ll go first."

Ye Zheng felt a warm current enter her heart. The chaotic emotions inside her were soothed, and even the burning pain on her back seemed to have eased considerably.

She cast a surprised glance at Baozi, not expecting Feng Ling to have brought someone so skilled.

Feng Ling asked, "What do you remember about the Alien Species that attacked you?"

"Three Alien Species... A boy in a straw hat, a rather short man, and a very tall woman."

As Ye Zheng recalled the moment of her defeat, a surge of anger, humiliation, and resentment washed over her, and her eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

The obvious emotional fluctuation startled Baozi, who quickly and covertly strengthened his spiritual power.

She said, "My team split into two groups. One stayed behind to protect the others, while the other pursued the Alien Species. I caught up to the short man. Before I could even make a move, his neck suddenly twisted 180 degrees. His face was covered in frozen tears and snot—it was bizarre. And then he opened his mouth and spat out a thin, black, wire-like worm..."

Feng Ling frowned as she listened, a faint sense of familiarity washing over her.

Ye Zheng continued, "I’ve been trained for this kind of thing, so I knew it was most likely a parasite. I killed it without hesitation. But I never expected the Cards inside its body to explode in an instant. There were more than ten in total... and my body absorbed seven or eight of them..."

Ye Zheng paused, took a breath, and then said, "We were wearing recording devices in the Maze. The scene should have been recorded. If you can find my phone, you’ll be able to see exactly what happened."

Ye Zheng’s phone was with Su Yuqing. Given Su Yuqing’s personality, she would have undoubtedly handed the phone over to the General Bureau.

As for the video on the phone, the higher-ups would be the ones to watch and analyze it. Feng Ling wouldn’t get to see it.

"Alright, now it’s your turn to ask me," Feng Ling said. "We’re taking turns."

Ye Zheng asked, "What do you know about the Alien Species that attacked me?"

"Until I see the video, I can’t confirm their identities. However, my guess is that they’re likely from an organization called the Star Association," Feng Ling said. "The Star Association is an organization founded by a group of Alien Species. Their purpose and members are unknown. All I know right now is that the Star Association is systematically killing Maze Administrators, and that among the Star Association’s leadership, there is an Alien Species known as Xing Guang."

Feng Ling paused, then emphasized, "I’m looking for it."

Ye Zheng asked, confused, "Why are they killing Maze Administrators?"

’That’s a second question,’ Feng Ling thought.

However, she still gave a brief answer: "I don’t know. All we know at the moment is that after a Maze Administrator is killed, the Maze they were protecting gradually begins to collapse and decay. This is what we call the pollution-spread phenomenon."

Feng Ling said to Ye Zheng, "I need you to try and remember more about those three Alien Species. Was there anything special about them? For example, the Card Abilities they used, anything they said, or any markings on their bodies. These clues will all help us track them down."

"They... didn’t do anything special..." Ye Zheng trailed off, sinking into her memories.

Her memory hadn’t stopped after she absorbed those Cards...

In fact, in the state between lucidity and chaos, she had continued to hunt the Alien Species, as if by mental inertia.

But then her speed grew slower and slower, her body more and more painful... Multiple legs grew out of her. She couldn’t control them, constantly falling and getting back up.

A vast, white blizzard surrounded her on all sides. She lost her sense of direction.

In the biting wind, she vaguely heard an Alien Species say, "It worked. Should we take the chance to kill her?"

Another Alien Species said, "Why bother? Isn’t it more fun to let them kill each other?"

’...Those Alien Species... they deserve to die!’

’They all deserve to die!’

’I hate them!’

’I hate them so, so much!!!’

Baozi discovered in terror that the Pollution Body before him was radiating resentment like a tidal wave!

He hurriedly used his full strength. Large beads of sweat dripped down his face, and his complexion turned deathly pale!

Even without a warning from Baozi, Feng Ling could see something was wrong with Ye Zheng. Her body was trembling uncontrollably, her jaw was clenched tight, and her eyes were as red as blood.

Feng Ling hesitated, wondering if she should let Ye Zheng rest and ask again another time.

Just then, Ye Zheng’s blood-red eyes stared straight at her. "I remember now... After they saw I had become a Pollution Body, they said something."

Feng Ling frowned. "What did they say?"

"They said, ’Let’s go. Time to find the next one,’" Ye Zheng replied.

Feng Ling fell silent.

After a moment, she said to Ye Zheng, "Get some rest. I’ll let you know when there’s any progress."

Feng Ling didn’t want to agitate Ye Zheng any further. She instructed Baozi to continue helping Ye Zheng calm down, then left the main hall.

Huangfu Miaomiao caught up to her, asking curiously, "What does that mean? Find the next what?"

"Maybe they’re going to find the next Maze," Feng Ling said, her steps faltering slightly as she glanced back at the concrete high-rise behind them. "Or maybe... they’re going to find the next Inspector, like Ye Zheng."