Chapter 40: Chapter 40 - 34: Hatred and Betrayal

Xue Yinzhou scrutinized her, "You’ve changed a lot these days, like you’re another person."

Shen Tang outwardly calm, felt a surge of panic inside. Xue Yinzhou had been around the original owner for so many years and understood her nature thoroughly. Could he have noticed something?

Shen Tang was just trying to come up with an excuse to sidestep the issue when the man turned away, no longer looking at her, and said blandly, "We’re here."

Shen Tang stepped forward and only then realized it was a cliff ahead.

The dense and vast forest lay beneath the cliff, and the factory’s outline appeared particularly abrupt under the dim sky. The chimney was broken in half, steel bars exposed like fractured bones, many gray-green vines coiled around the copper walls and iron walls, resembling a dying giant beast spread across the forest, the entrance difficult to discern.

"It’s so high, how do we get down?" Shen Tang muttered to herself, turning her head only to be met with the man’s icy and sinister face.

Xue Yinzhou’s face vanished into shadow under the moonlight, his silver-purple eyes stared with amused indifference like a dead thing, a strange smile slowly curled up at the corner of his lips.

The system in her mind suddenly shrieked with a sharp blast.

[Warning! Warning! Male lead Xue Yinzhou’s affinity has plummeted, he has now entered a blackened state!]

Shen Tang’s pupils shrank abruptly, scared and taking off in a sprint, but the thick snake tail instantly confined her within a circle, enveloping her body, bringing her to the edge of the cliff.

Wild winds roared below the cliff, the black soil burying countless white bones.

Xue Yinzhou stood high above, coldly staring at Shen Tang’s ugly and fat face, his heart filled with extreme disgust.

Nothing but lies and deceit, hideous and grotesque.

No matter who she is.

It no longer mattered.

It ends here.

"Shen Tang, go die," he said softly.

As soon as the snake tail loosened, Shen Tang plummeted off the cliff.

[Beep! Fatal danger detected for the host, protection system activated!]

A gentle green glow suddenly enveloped Shen Tang, gathering into a semi-transparent barrier that surrounded her, falling like feathers, allowing her to safely land at the bottom of the cliff.

When the green light dissipated, Shen Tang fell weakly to the ground, her face extremely pale, pupils unfocused—a brush with death that took her a good while to recover from.

That snake beast really went for the kill!

Shen Tang trembled all over, full of fury, "This man wants to kill me, how am I supposed to complete the攻略?Forget it, I’m not doing this攻略任务anymore. Either you change hosts, or you change the攻略对象!"

The system’s voice took a long time to respond.

Shen Tang called out several more times anxiously, still receiving no response.

Could the system have broken down?

Rustling sounds came from around, and dense swarms of insects emerged from the soil, Shen Tang’s face paled in horror, goosebumps rising on her skin.

Thankfully, the system backpack could still be used, she quickly retrieved that bottle of insecticide from it, enthusiastically spraying away!

The sprayed swarm of insects instantly died in droves.

The nearby insect swarm greatly feared the spray’s scent, scattering and fleeing without a trace.

Some Mutant Insect Beasts had left behind gray Crystal Cores after dying.

The system’s voice echoed once more, [Slaying mutant creatures has a chance to yield Crystal Cores, the host’s luck is good, these Crystal Cores can be exchanged for redemption points back at the shelter, or the host could use them herself. Crystal Cores quickly replenish a Beastman’s superpower energy.]

Shen Tang exclaimed in delight, "You’re alive, thank goodness! I called out to you earlier without hearing a response, thought the system was gone."

[The system is bound to the host’s soul, death is not possible, it’s just that energy was depleted before, entering a low-energy consumption state. Please, host, strive to complete tasks so the system can garner more energy to serve you.]

Shen Tang regained some composure, asking the system for help to collect these Crystal Cores into the system backpack, then she continued on her way toward the abandoned factory.

Only a few hundred meters away.

Luckily, she didn’t encounter any large Mutant Species; the mutant Insect Clan had been wiped out by insecticide.

The system backpack contained over three hundred Crystal Cores.

Shen Tang crossed the fence, walked to the factory’s big door where iron was overgrown with vines, the warning sign not far away faded and illegible, dead pollutant corpses lay outside, and a foul stench hung in the air from the blowing breeze, the factory inside eerily silent—it seemed long abandoned.

Shen Tang felt a jolt of concern in her heart, questioning if Lu Xiao and the others were still alive, and if there were any hidden mutant creatures inside the factory.

She first let the system detect the factory’s internal conditions, confirming no danger, then casually picked up a heavy iron bar, banging it against the rusty, mottled factory door.

"Hey, anyone there?"

A hollow echo replied.

The interior of the factory lay in dead silence, the clothes torn, bloodied, Beastmen sprawled in the corners or motionless on the ground. If not for the faint sound of their breathing in the air, one might assume this place to be a giant morgue.

Someone barely heard the sound, crawling off the ground, struggling with a fragile body toward a window outside.

Soon, a light flashed in his dull eyes, delightedly calling out,

"Brothers, look quickly outside, there’s someone knocking on the door..."

"The outside has long been surrounded by pollutants, it’s impossible for anyone to be here. You’re hallucinating from hunger?"

"There’s a person, a living person! I’m not wrong, you guys come look!"

"I, I heard a sound too."

From the shadows emerged more fragile Beastmen, wiping the dust off the window with their palms, seeing a plump female holding a stick banging on the door outside.

How could there be a female stranded here?

Was she seeking shelter?

Just-raised hopes in their minds were dashed again. Unfortunately, they’d been trapped here for half a month, out of ammunition and food—barely surviving themselves, let alone helping anyone else.

But leaving a female outside couldn’t be ignored; she wouldn’t last a night, becoming food for the pollutant species.

After Shen Tang had knocked on the door for ages, the thick iron door finally opened from inside.

"Quick, come in!"

Someone yanked her into the factory, hurriedly shutting the iron door, setting three locks.

"You’re alive, that’s wonderful. I’ve been searching for you," Shen Tang felt a wave of relief seeing the missing team was still alive.

"You’re a Beastman sent by the shelter for support?" The Beastmen sized her up.

But why was she female?

Everyone’s expressions varied, their gaze at Shen Tang held a certain expectation, at least the shelter had been thinking of them, searching for them—they weren’t abandoned!

"The support troops must be coming soon, right? You’re here to tip us off!"

"Thank goodness, I can finally escape this nightmare!"

"The shelter hasn’t forgotten us!"

Seeing the Beastmen’s excited, hopeful eyes, Shen Tang swallowed, deciding to reveal the truth, "No, you’ve been abandoned. The support troops sent by the shelter were attacked and returned on their original path. I ended up here by accident."

Everyone was stupefied, their faces filled with bewildered emptiness.

Shen Tang added, "I need to see your commander."

"Want to see the commander? What’s your relationship with him?" The Beastmen swiftly grew cautious.

Shen Tang replied, "I’m his partner."