Yuan Mu wanted to charge into the swarm of the insectoid race as well, but helplessly realized he simply could not break through.
He gritted his teeth, fighting while keeping an eye on Cheng Li’s situation. Already missing both legs, his combat ability had been greatly reduced. The moment his attention wavered, the insectoid race seized the opening. Sharp claws pierced straight through his abdomen.
Yuan Mu let out a muffled groan and slashed at the claw with his cutting blade, but the claw moved even faster, withdrawing first.
Blood poured nonstop from his abdomen, yet Yuan Mu acted as though nothing had happened. He continued fighting, continued splitting his focus toward the figure not far away.
“Watch out for its spiritual power!” Yuan Mu suddenly shouted.
The instant the words left his mouth, a burst of agonizing pain exploded inside Cheng Li’s head, nearly forcing her to her knees.
This insectoid could actually use psychic attacks!
Cheng Li’s heart sank straight to the bottom.
This time, they were truly finished!
Her head had already been throbbing with pain, and now the insectoid race’s mental blade stabbed into it again, completely robbing Cheng Li of any ability to fight back.
That was the terrifying part of psychic attacks: killing without a trace.
Cheng Li truly collapsed to her knees. Her entire body convulsed. She could no longer lift the cutting blade, nor could she use her ability to control the Blue Key Stone dagger.
At another’s mercy, helpless as meat on the chopping block. That was the perfect description of her current state.
Not far away, Yuan Mu, who had been watching her the entire time, felt his soul split apart in terror. Bloody tears streamed from his eyes.
“Cheng Li——”
He roared, screamed, grief-stricken beyond measure. At that very moment, the mental sea Cheng Li had painstakingly transformed into a vibrant world full of birdsong, blossoms, and life suddenly collapsed into endless darkness. A vast torrent of spiritual power erupted outward from him, spreading in every direction with him at the center. Everywhere it swept through, the insectoid race let out shrill screams before collapsing lifelessly to the ground in the next instant.
Even the Level Three insectoid was no exception.
Uncle Zhao, Hu Li, and the others blacked out instantly as well, blood streaming from their eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Whether they lived or died was unknown.
The officer who had just stepped onto the elevator platform suddenly frowned.
“A sentinel’s mental sea has gone berserk.”
“And the disturbance isn’t small either. The level’s probably above S-rank,” another person said.
“Should we go take a look?” someone asked.
His companion rolled his eyes. “A mental sea riot from a sentinel above S-rank? Go over there for what, to throw our lives away? Have the A-rank guides and doctors prepare themselves. The moment it settles down, begin rescue operations immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Yuan Mu’s spiritual power burst forth, Cheng Li was the only conscious person present.
That spiritual force avoided her, then curled around her instead.
Cheng Li felt as though something had gently brushed across her face, though it also seemed like it might have been nothing more than an illusion.
An inexplicable sense of loss welled up inside her, as if something important were drifting farther and farther away from her. Her instincts screamed that if she did not seize it now, she would lose it forever.
Even though she still did not know what it was.
Cheng Li became anxious, frightened, deeply uneasy.
She abruptly sat upright and struggled to her feet, scanning her surroundings. Then she saw Yuan Mu sitting where he was, hands braced against the ground, blood tears staining the corners of his eyes as he stared unblinkingly in her direction.
She froze.
Without the slightest hesitation, she threw herself toward Yuan Mu.
Stumbling and nearly falling apart, she collapsed in front of him. Ignoring the pain, she grabbed his hand. “Yuan Mu, are… are you okay?”
Yuan Mu opened his mouth, and blood immediately spilled from between his lips. “Cheng… Li…”
“Where are you hurt? I’ll bandage your wounds.” Cheng Li’s voice trembled violently, her entire body shaking just as hard.
Yuan Mu struggled to curl his lips into a faint smile. “Too late now, Cheng Li…”
After saying that, the light in his eyes gradually faded away until nothing remained but emptiness.
Yuan Mu…
Cheng Li called his name, but her voice was so soft even she could not hear it herself.
Her hand pressed against his neck, where the warmth was rapidly disappearing.
‘No. You can’t die!’
Overwhelming despair engulfed Cheng Li, and from it emerged a mad, terrifying thought.
Back in the apocalypse, ordinary humans trapped in desperate situations had devoured zombie crystal cores in hopes of breaking through and awakening abilities, gambling for a chance to survive.
Could she do the same?
Cheng Li looked toward the crystal core at her forehead, now nearly the size of a soybean. Gritting her teeth, she ruthlessly split it in half!
“Ahhh——”
Pain!
Cheng Li’s entire body convulsed violently. She shook uncontrollably, nearly crushing her teeth from clenching them so hard.
Enduring unbearable agony, she extracted half of the crystal core and sent it into Yuan Mu’s mental sea.
For some reason, she suddenly understood.
The place she had entered twice in her sleep had not been a dream at all, but Yuan Mu’s mental sea.
She knew where it was. She could enter and leave freely, even alter it however she wished…
Was it because she was on the verge of differentiating into a guide?
The half crystal core entered Yuan Mu’s mental sea. Cheng Li stared tensely at his face, one hand pressed against his chest.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds…
Finally, at the tenth second, the heart beneath her palm began beating once more.
Cheng Li let out a breath of relief, her whole body going limp as she collapsed onto the ground.
Her eyes stared blankly at the stone ceiling overhead. The pain in her consciousness sea dragged on endlessly, and her ability level had plummeted directly from Level Two back to its most primitive state. She was not even Level One anymore.
And it was not only her consciousness sea that hurt. Her heart ached as well.
Time slowly passed.
Her emotions and body gradually calmed down. Thinking back to the almost deranged version of herself from moments earlier, she frowned in reflection.
Had her feelings for Yuan Mu already become that deep?
She had witnessed countless separations and deaths in the apocalypse. So why had she completely lost control when it came to Yuan Mu?
Splitting a crystal core… that was no different from gambling with her life.
She had only known Yuan Mu for two months. Why had she been willing to go so far for him? Had she fallen in love with him?
No.
Cheng Li was certain of it. She had not fallen in love with Yuan Mu.
At least, not yet.
Then why?
Cheng Li could not figure it out.
She sat up and looked at Yuan Mu’s face. A trace of wariness surfaced in her eyes, along with a faint killing intent.
He was far too much like a siren capable of bewitching hearts.
Especially hers.
Perhaps… she should eliminate this hidden danger once and for all.
But the moment she remembered the way he had looked when she was in danger, grief-stricken beyond reason, risking his life to save her until bloody tears streamed from his eyes, her resolve softened again.
Just treat it as repaying his life-saving grace, Cheng Li told herself.
Footsteps sounded from not far away. Cheng Li immediately made a decision. She absorbed the Blue Key Stone into her body, then closed her eyes and collapsed onto the ground.
“So many insectoids died. This mental sea riot definitely wasn’t ordinary.”
“Wasn’t it said to be S-rank, maybe even above S-rank? At that level, the destructive power speaks for itself.”
“Where’s the person?”
“One, two, three, four, five, six. Six people total. Guess which one it was?”
“Why even guess? It’s obvious at a glance. Haven’t you seen enough cases of mental sea riots already? Tsk tsk… and it’s actually a cripple. That’s unexpected.”
“Have the military doctors and guides arrived yet?”
“They’re here, they’re here!” someone hurried over while shouting.
Exhausted beyond measure, Cheng Li finally could not hold on any longer.
She completely lost consciousness.
Cheng Li only slept for a single day before waking up the next morning.
The moment she opened her eyes, she realized she was lying naked in a pool of green liquid. If she was not mistaken, she was currently inside a treatment pod.
As soon as she woke up, a female nurse opened the treatment pod and said to her, “There are clothes beside you. Brand new. You can put them on.”
Cheng Li sat up. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The nurse flashed her a brilliant smile. “The cost of your clothes and treatment has already been covered using the insectoid corpses your husband killed. You don’t have any objections, right?”
Cheng Li: “……..No.”
She knew perfectly well it was forced buying and selling, but she had no other choice.