Mo Bai briefly explained the situation of the four people.

After listening, Liu Congyi asked in confusion, “Those two people who kept staring at the glass seem mentally unstable, which is indeed dangerous. But what’s wrong with the shouting, ordinary-looking guy and the handsome man? I think being cured of what was thought to be an incurable illness is something worth being happy about. Shouting about it is totally normal. And since when did being handsome, friendly, polite, and smiling become suspicious?”

Mo Bai replied, “You can treat it as intuition. When I look at them, I just feel very uneasy. If you don’t believe me, you can go and talk to them.”

Hearing her say that, Liu Congyi stopped questioning it and muttered, “I’m not cannon fodder in a horror movie. If you think something’s dangerous, why would I go send myself to my death? There are so many test subjects we can ask, so why would I go looking for two suspicious ones?”

Liu Congyi really wanted to regain the initiative. She realized that at some point, Mo Bai had become the backbone of the small team, and she herself was unconsciously following Mo Bai’s instructions.

She wanted to break out of this state, but Mo Bai was like someone holding the back of her neck. Just saying a few words was enough to convince her.

“Your Observation Group title wouldn’t happen to be something like ‘Overlord’s Aura,’ would it?” Liu Congyi asked.

Mo Bai secretly laughed and said, “No. You just think what I say makes sense. Smart people only follow logic. They don’t blindly follow anyone.”

Once she said that, Liu Congyi felt much better. She quietly glanced at Mo Bai and realized that just looking at her filled her with strength.

Even though she knew Mo Bai might just be comforting her, Mo Bai still praised her for being smart. After adjusting her mood, Liu Congyi said, “Then should I go ask them now?”

Mo Bai glanced at the time and said, “No rush. Let’s rest first and wait until the researchers do their noon rounds. Even if we’re not tired, the other test subjects will be. Everyone was just injected with the drug and needs rest. It’s inconvenient to disturb them right now.”

“You’re really considerate, treating NPCs like people,” Liu Congyi said.

Mo Bai replied, “You also need rest.”

Liu Congyi was actually quite tired, so she nodded.

Mo Bai glanced at Sheng Yan, and Sheng Yan hurriedly pushed her wheelchair out of Liu Congyi’s room.

“Go to my room,” Mo Bai said softly.

Back in the room, Mo Bai touched Sheng Yan’s hand and noticed that it was still hot. She asked with concern, “What’s going on with your body temperature? Everyone’s injuries have improved. Did your ability recover?”

“No, but I think it’s close,” Sheng Yan shook his head and continued. “My body is naturally resistant to high temperatures. I can withstand flames below a thousand degrees, so this kind of temperature doesn’t really affect me.”

Hearing that high temperatures wouldn’t harm Sheng Yan’s body, Mo Bai relaxed a little, but a new doubt arose. “High temperature should be a sign that your ability is recovering, but why would your ability recover?”

“Everyone is getting rid of their abnormal states. Isn’t it normal for my ability to recover too?” Sheng Yan said.

Mo Bai shook her head. “No, you’re different from the others. We either had foreign objects invade our bodies or physiological defects. Some people’s problems do seem supernatural, but they can basically be classified within biology and medicine. You’re different. Your problem has nothing to do with biology. You’re bound by rules. No matter how miraculous this drug is, how could it possibly affect rule-based restraints?”

After Mo Bai pointed this out, Sheng Yan also felt that his situation was very special.

He recalled how he felt after using the drug. “After the injection, my body felt awful. I was burning all over, had trouble breathing, and smoke came out when I opened my mouth. It felt like I could breathe fire, but it was like I was wearing a layer of fireproof clothing that pressed the fire under my skin. When I first took the drug, I suspected my body temperature had already exceeded 200 degrees. After half an hour, my temperature dropped. My body felt less uncomfortable, and my temperature went below 100 degrees.”

“It sounds like the drug activated your body’s potential and tried to help you break through your limits by strengthening your ability. But your limits are too strong. In the end, the drug couldn’t help you break them. Your body gradually adapted to the enhancement, which is why the temperature came down,” Mo Bai analyzed.

“So that means my ability still can’t recover,” Sheng Yan said gloomily.

“Even if it hasn’t recovered, I suspect your power was enhanced by the drug. Maybe after I use my ability to optimize the rules for you, the power you can exert will surpass your usual level,” Mo Bai said.

Sheng Yan’s expression lit up. “I’m already at peak Beginner-9. If I improve any further, that’s intermediate level!”

“If you can exert intermediate-level strength, our chances will be much better,” Mo Bai said. Even though she talked about better odds, her expression was very heavy, as if she didn’t truly think so.

Seeing Mo Bai frown, Sheng Yan subconsciously reached out and pressed his finger to her tightly furrowed brow.

“Hot,” Mo Bai said as she brushed his hand away.

“Why are you frowning? Isn’t the situation pretty good? You figured out so much, and my ability might even improve. As long as my ability can recover, even if we can’t clear the instance, I’m confident we’ll be among the 30% who will survive,” Sheng Yan was very confident in his abilities and said optimistically.

Mo Bai, however, said, “I feel very uneasy.”

“What’s there to be uneasy about? You Observation Group people are just prone to—”

Sheng Yan almost blurted out his usual impression of the Observation Group, but when he saw Mo Bai’s calm eyes, he quickly covered his mouth.

He was usually a flamboyant person. Even when Sheng Lei was alive, it was hard to control him. Yet when he met Mo Bai, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, unconsciously lowering his voice and thinking before he spoke.

Mo Bai didn’t blame Sheng Yan. She smiled and said, “I think I roughly know why Mo Xiangyou sealed your ability.”

“Wasn’t it because he’s a bad person?” Sheng Yan said.

Mo Bai said, “Mo Xiangyou is indeed extreme, but he knew Sheng Lei, and Sheng Lei died in an instance. I guess he feels a sense of guilt toward you.”

When Mo Bai first met Mo Xiangyou, he had mockingly called himself a bad person and even used Sheng Yan as an example. That was also the first time Mo Bai heard Sheng Yan’s full name. She felt that if Mo Xiangyou was truly bad to the core and had no guilt at all, he wouldn’t mention Sheng Yan in that tone.

Mo Xiangyou disliked Sheng Yan, but that dislike didn’t cancel out his guilt.

“I think when you met Mo Xiangyou, it must have been like this.”

Mo Bai stood up, grabbed Sheng Yan by the collar, stepped on the wheelchair, and viciously mimicked Sheng Yan’s expression. “Mo Xiangyou! You bastard! Did you get my brother killed? You weakling Observation Group trash! There's no way you could've survived on your own. You must’ve pushed your teammates to their deaths and survived by stepping on their corpses, right? Mo Xiangyou, tell me how my brother died! You dare do evil things, but don’t dare say it? Are you even a man? Oh right, you barely count as one anyway, you useless Observation Group pretty boy—”

“Stop, stop,” Sheng Yan said, raising both hands in surrender.

Mo Bai’s imitation wasn’t completely accurate, but it was pretty close.

Sheng Yan realized that even when someone as beautiful as Mo Bai spoke with that expression and tone, it was still unbearable to look at. He didn’t dare imagine what kind of mindset Mo Xiangyou had been in when facing him back then.

Mo Bai let go of Sheng Yan and sat back down in her wheelchair. Her brows and eyes returned to their previous calm expression as she said, “Sheng Yan, I don’t care what your personality is like in private, but in this instance, please hold back and don’t offend anyone. This instance is very dangerous. I want to unite all possible forces to clear it.”

That was also why Mo Bai didn’t offend Mao Juncai while simultaneously appeasing Liu Congyi.

Mo Bai could accept them no matter what personality flaws they had, as long as they weren’t player killers like the Asura Field.

“Why are you so uneasy?” Sheng Yan asked, puzzled. “I think this instance is pretty okay. There aren’t many rules, the researchers aren’t that strong, and the only dangerous drug can even improve our physiques. Even if the next batch of drugs might have bad effects, we have serum. I think this instance is quite free.”

“I actually prefer instances with more rules,” Mo Bai said. “The more rules and restrictions there are, the more it shows that the instance boss is afraid of players and has to use domain abilities to limit our actions. Instances with fewer rules and fewer constraints are what make me uneasy. I have a feeling that this instance doesn’t take us seriously at all. It only needs us to cooperate with the research. Other than that, it doesn’t care what we do.”

People would lock a tiger in a cage, but they wouldn’t pay attention to the ants at their feet.

A tiger posed a threat to human life, while ants were insignificant. Only when ants affected people’s lives would humans pick up insecticide and lightly spray it, wiping out the entire colony.

Seeing Sheng Yan’s doubtful expression, Mo Bai added, “Liu Congyi and the others exhausted every possible method but still couldn’t cure their problems. That proves that at least in Peach Blossom Land, players and the system couldn’t solve this issue. Yet this instance casually produced a mass-produced drug that cured them. That means the instance’s strength far exceeds our imagination.”

“But this is still just a B-rank instance,” Sheng Yan said.

“You’re right. I hope I’m overthinking it,” Mo Bai said. “Give me that card.”

Mo Bai only had three item slots. After equipping two A-rank cards, she only had space left for the ‘Wind-Fire Wheelchair,’ so most of the cards they chose were kept by Sheng Yan.

Sheng Yan took out the card Mo Bai needed. Mo Bai glanced at it, then handed it back to him.

Using the drug and overworking her brain left Mo Bai somewhat exhausted.

After confirming that Sheng Yan’s body was fine, she let him return to his room.

After Sheng Yan left, the intelligent robot delivered lunch.

Looking at the single boxed meal, Mo Bai worried she wouldn’t be full.

To her surprise, the nutritional meal had an effect similar to the system’s 300-point meals. It contained a huge amount of energy, and she immediately felt full after eating.

Mo Bai knew how big her appetite was.

She didn’t know whether the institute prepared lunch according to each individual’s physique or if it was standardized.

If it was personalized, where did the institute get everyone’s data? Was it related to the blood drawn by the mechanical arm at the end of the session?

And if it was standardized, did everyone’s appetite increase this much after using the drug?

Mo Bai couldn’t figure it out for the moment.

She locked the door, closed her eyes, and slept for a while.

At two in the afternoon, when the researchers made their rounds, Mo Bai jolted awake from a dream of desperately searching for water.

She got up and drank two large cups of water, but she was still unbearably thirsty. Her throat felt like it was on fire.

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and a voice sounded. “Routine check.”

It was the voice of the researcher she had chosen.

The room’s equipment was voice-controlled. Mo Bai first used her wristband to send a message to Liu Congyi and Sheng Yan. Then she took out a pair of white gloves and carefully put them on. After finishing all that, she said, “Open the door.”

The door opened automatically, and the ordinary-looking researcher walked in, holding a cup of orange-colored juice.

After he entered, the door closed automatically.

“At this time, you should be thirsty. Drink it,” the researcher said as he placed the juice on the table.

Mo Bai instinctively felt there was something wrong with the juice, but her throat felt like it was burning, and the juice inexplicably attracted her.

She picked it up and drank it without hesitation.

The cool juice slid down her throat with a refreshing chill, and only then did Mo Bai escape her dehydrated state.

She subconsciously touched the injected site on her neck. The cool sensation entering her body felt very similar to the feeling of the drug flowing into her blood.

“What is this? It’s incredibly thirst-quenching,” Mo Bai asked, her voice full of ignorance and curiosity.

The researcher’s calm, emotionless eyes swept over her face as he answered flatly, “Healthy fruit and vegetable juice. Rich in vitamin C. Clears heat and reduces internal fire.”

“The institute even knows traditional Chinese medicine?” Mo Bai said.

“It’s all modern medicine. We respect science,” the researcher said. “Now answer a few questions and cooperate.”

“Okay,” Mo Bai said.

Researcher: “In the few hours after returning to your room, did you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Mo Bai: “Other than being extremely thirsty just now, I didn’t feel uncomfortable. Does getting hungry more easily count?”

Researcher: “It does. Can your legs still not walk? Why are you still in a wheelchair?”

Mo Bai: “I can walk now. I’m just not used to it yet and still prefer the wheelchair. I’ll gradually do rehabilitation later.”

The researcher wrote down her answers, then he put down the pen and said, “Let me check your leg recovery.”

Mo Bai thought he wanted her to stand up and walk, but instead the researcher reached out and pressed his hand onto her leg.

Mo Bai grabbed his wrist and squeezed hard, stopping him from touching her.

The researcher raised an eyebrow slightly and insisted on touching her leg.

As a player with extremely strong arm strength and high investment in physical stats, Mo Bai’s grip strength was not weaker than that of a Combat Group player. After injecting the drug, her physical abilities had been further enhanced, and her arm strength had reached an astonishing level.

Even so, she couldn’t stop the researcher.

As his hand slowly moved downward, veins bulged on Mo Bai’s forehead from the exertion. Yet she still smiled sweetly and said, “How about switching to a female researcher instead? We should pay attention to the subject’s gender too, right?”

“The number of researchers is limited. Everyone is busy. There’s no extra researcher to spare for you. Why didn’t you choose a female researcher in the first place? I just want to confirm your muscle recovery. Please don’t waste my time,” the researcher said coldly.

“I’m just shy,” Mo Bai said with a harmless smile, while her palm tightened around his wrist with enough force to crush bone.

At that moment, her free hand’s wristband flashed twice. There were replies from Liu Congyi and Sheng Yan.

When the researcher knocked, Mo Bai had sent both of them the same message: “Has the researcher done the room check yet? What’s the process? Did anything feel suspicious? Reply in text, not voice.”

She raised her wrist and quickly glanced at their messages.

Sheng Yan replied, “He came by and asked a few normal questions. Nothing special.”

Liu Congyi said, “He finished the check. He gave me a cup of fruit and vegetable juice, listened to my lungs with a stethoscope, and asked a few simple questions. I didn’t notice anything suspicious. But his face was too ordinary that I almost didn’t recognize him. Does that count?”

Mo Bai stared at the researcher’s face. It was so plain that it had almost no memorable features. Even someone like her, who was good at remembering facial characteristics, couldn’t tell whether his face was any different from before.

She closed her eyes, trying to sketch his appearance in her mind, but realized she couldn’t remember what he looked like at all.

It was as if his face couldn’t leave an impression on people’s minds.

She recalled the appearances of the other researchers. She couldn’t remember all of them clearly, but she could recall the outlines of the ones she’d seen, except for this ordinary-faced one.

“So strong, and you still have time to check your wristband and close your eyes?” the researcher said, raising an eyebrow. He flipped his hand and locked Mo Bai’s hand instead with an unimaginable amount of strength.

Mo Bai was certain that even a B-rank monster like the Enhanced Mutant didn’t have this kind of strength.

Her free hand opened into a knife-hand and chopped toward the researcher’s wrist.

The researcher scoffed and raised his other hand to block, but just as he was about to make contact, he immediately let go and dodged the strike.

Freed, Mo Bai flipped her right hand lightly. Wearing the white glove, she slashed upward toward the researcher’s face.

The researcher leaned his head back, narrowly avoiding the strike. The white glove brushed past the tip of his nose.

In that instant, Mo Bai saw the researcher’s face change.

She saw a rather handsome face, and his expression was no longer stiff but carried a hint of cynicism.

That face only appeared for a moment. The next second, it reverted to the ordinary one.

The researcher leapt backward, widening the distance between them. His expression didn’t change much, but his eyes grew far more serious.

“An A-rank item with spatial-type attack?” the researcher asked warily while staring at Mo Bai’s gloves.

Before the researcher entered, Mo Bai already put on the Spatial Blade gloves that she obtained in the castle instance. She wasn’t sure if the researcher would harm her, but being prepared was always better.

“You’re a player. One of the two investigators from the second batch who went missing,” Mo Bai stated confidently. “This isn’t your real face. You must be wearing a face-altering item, and its rank isn’t low. You recognized this as an A-rank spatial item before even touching the Spatial Blade, which proves you’re very familiar with A-rank items. You’re not an ordinary beginner-level player.”

The researcher patted his wrist and found a tear in his sleeve. Although he had dodged in time, his clothing had still been cut by Mo Bai’s Spatial Blade.

“Very cautious, and your analytical ability is strong enough,” the researcher said approvingly.

There was a condescending praise in his tone that made Mo Bai extremely uncomfortable.

“Wasn’t it you who deliberately raised my suspicions and provoked me into attacking? You chose me,” Mo Bai said. “Our group of five was quite conspicuous. If you already guessed we were players from the start, why did you choose me?”

When the researcher questioned Liu Congyi, he didn’t show anything special, which meant that he didn’t want to draw her attention. His target from the beginning was Mo Bai.

“I’ve been observing you all along. You’re the core of the five-player team. You recovered the fastest after the injection, seized the chance to observe other subjects, and you’re sharp and perceptive. You can also quickly integrate a team with conflicting members. You’re exactly the helper I need.” the researcher replied. “Besides, I’m also very curious about why you chose me as your researcher?”

“I guess I was lucky,” Mo Bai said.

She didn’t mention the Phantom Butterfly.

“That's even better. Luck is also part of strength, and I need your luck,” the researcher said. “What’s your name, what level are you, and what’s your ability?”

Mo Bai was almost amused by his arrogance. She said, “Before asking others, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first? That’s basic courtesy.”

The researcher replied, “I’m from the second batch of investigators. I have more information than you, and my ability is stronger than yours. You should cooperate with me.”

Mo Bai loosely clenched her hand, recalling the sensation when the Spatial Blade cut through the barrier on the researcher’s face. Combined with his knowledge, his arrogance, and the special nature of mutation-level instances, a bold guess formed in her mind.

The guess was so absurd that even she found it hard to believe.

But even if she guessed wrong, it didn’t matter. It was just bluffing, so she wouldn’t get hurt for trying.

Confident in her thick skin and ability to handle embarrassment, Mo Bai boldly said, “Is that so? But I’m smarter than you.”

“You’re really narcissistic. Is that an Observation Group trait?” the researcher said.

Mo Bai replied, “At least you know nothing about me, while I know that you’re an advanced-level player.”

Shock flashed in the researcher’s eyes as he exclaimed, “How did you know?”

His voice even cracked!

Mo Bai was also shocked. Such a wild guess was actually correct.

She had only thought that since the second batch of investigators had been wiped out, the two who went missing must be special. This man survived in the dungeon for so long, could alter his appearance, and possessed a terrifying strength that was far beyond that of a normal beginner player. Thus, he was possibly an intermediate one.

But even Mo Xiangyou, an intermediate player, didn’t carry such a strong sense of superior arrogance as the researcher.

At the same time, Mo Bai recalled the information Mo Xiangyou had passed to her. News about mutation-level instances came from the Neverland, a gathering place for advanced-level elite players.

The entire Peach Blossom Land trading market had no information about mutation-level instances, yet an intermediate player could buy them from Neverland.

Did that mean Neverland also placed great importance on mutated-level instances?

Considering that this instance might evolve into S-rank, Mo Bai boldly guessed that advanced-level players, who dealt with S-rank instances, might have sent people ahead to gather information before this instance completely mutated.

Advanced-level players had more and stranger items. Perhaps even items that allowed them to disguise themselves as beginner players.

The strongest evidence for this guess was the researcher's exceptional appearance.

Judging from his attitude toward Observation Group players, he was clearly a Combat Group player. The low-level Combat Group players Mo Bai had seen were all average-looking. But that fleeting glimpse of his true face showed remarkably high attractiveness that was second only to the Observation Group members. It was rare for Combat Group players to have such looks.

Unless he had leveled up many times, gradually increasing his appearance stat through the natural bonuses from leveling. From Beginner-1 to Advanced-level, that would be at least 20 level-ups, so at least a 20-point increase in appearance. Even someone with a low starting value could become good-looking.

All these doubts led Mo Bai to boldly try her luck, thinking that it wouldn't hurt to guess wrong. Unexpectedly, her guess was correct!

“You’re from Neverland,” Mo Bai said with even more certainty.

The researcher exclaimed in shock, “Are you a prophecy-or deduction-type ability user?”

Mo Bai didn’t answer him. Instead, she pressed on, taking advantage of his momentary loss of composure. “What will this B-rank instance ultimately evolve into that makes Neverland take it so seriously?”

The researcher answered reflexively, “Ultra-Star rank. You even know about instance upgrades?”

“What is Ultra-Star rank?” Mo Bai was completely confused by the unfamiliar term.

She had only heard of C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, and S-rank, and she thought S-rank was the highest.

“Ultra-Star rank is—” The researcher realized that under Mo Bai’s rapid questioning, he had been tricked into revealing a lot of information, while he still knew nothing about her. He snapped back to his senses and stopped mid-sentence.

But Mo Bai, having gained the upper hand, wasn’t about to let him off. She maneuvered her wheelchair forward at Wind-Fire Wheel speed, forcing him into a corner. She slammed a hand against the wall, stared at him with steel-like resolve, and said, “You don’t want an Ultra-Star instance to be born either, do you? You’ve been lurking in this instance alone for so long, and I’m the only one who can help you. You should trust me and tell me everything!”

Researcher: “……”

Damn it! When did his position completely switch with this beginner player?

 

 

 

Author's Note:

Mo Bai: Main System, when are you going to change my title to "Overlord’s Aura"?

Main System: In your dreams!

Mo Bai: Fine, don't change it then. The effect's pretty much the same anyway.

Main System: ...

—

See you all tomorrow!