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Chapter 355 Truly Deserving of His Title

Xia Xinyan activated her abilities almost reflexively, swinging her tail behind her, and only after feeling something get sliced in half did she quickly retreat several paces to look back.

Then she discovered she had cut through a piece of wood.

Ling Mo had heard the voice just moments ago as well, but before he could react, Xia Xinyan had already dealt with the situation. He let out a sigh of relief, “What the hell is this?”

He had clearly heard a human voice, but now he was staring at a branch?

Most importantly, none of the four of them had noticed the existence of this branch?

Realizing this made the chubby guy’s skin crawl: “What the f*ck… Is this place really okay? Are we in reality and not in a dungeon?”

Xia Xinyan frowned slightly and examined the branch for a while, trying to recall the village incident from her past life.

At that moment, she suddenly regretted not paying more attention to important matters back then; now she felt completely lost.

After a moment, she shook her head: “This is just an ordinary branch; I didn’t sense any odd aura on it.”

She then added, “It could be an illusion; it’s best to be cautious.”

The chubby guy’s expression shifted as he was about to say something when an emotionless voice suddenly echoed from their intercom: “Help me… help me… help…”

His expression grew even graver: “This place definitely has huge problems, right?!”

But then Lin Nan’s voice came through the intercom: “It’s Zhao Hong, the member of the scouting group who went missing before. We’ve pinpointed his location; he’s in the direction of our lights. Let’s head over to that team and check it out together.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Xinyan and the others noticed a small light in the distance flickering in their direction.

Ling Mo also responded by flashing back.

Xia Xinyan opened the communication and replied, “This is us; we just ran into some trouble—there might be something like an illusion here, so everyone should be on guard.”

“Okay, got it?” Morning Light responded, “Remember to report any abnormal phenomena immediately. Ling Mo, just wait there for a moment; we’re coming over soon.”

Thankfully, the mountain village path was fairly easy to navigate, and it didn’t take long for Lin Nan and the others to find them. They exchanged some basic intel—Ling Mo’s team had only noticed being brushed against like that, while Lin Nan’s team found that all the villagers had vanished without a trace.

For ability users, breaking through the old wooden doors in the countryside was a piece of cake. However, once they entered, they discovered all the houses were empty; all the villagers had disappeared.

“I’m really starting to think there’s something off about this place,” the chubby guy rubbed his arms, his tone dripping with reluctance. “Can’t we do something normal for once?”

Bai Yu shot him a sidelong glance: “Hey, remember? We’re still live streaming.”

The live streaming device had now turned into a floating camera controlled by Bai Yu, which spared the chubby guy some unnecessary trouble.

But more trouble was certainly brewing—like how he just gave the chubby guy’s face an extended close-up.

Ling Mo noticed.

But he said nothing.

“Got it, I’ve alerted the others to keep an eye out.” Lin Nan hadn’t noticed their little antics, his mind solely focused on the task at hand. “Let’s head over to that location; maybe we’ll uncover something.”

“Though I really don’t think it’s the police officer you know,” the chubby guy added.

Hearing that voice on the intercom had given him the creeps; both the tone and the content felt like a huge problem.

Of course, the others weren’t oblivious either; they couldn’t have missed such an obvious issue. But the key was that they didn’t have any leads, so even if they knew it was a trap, they had to check it out.

After all, in some ways, it was still a clue.

Even if it was provided by monsters.

Lin Nan’s pinpointed location was in a field not far from them… well, it wasn’t quite a field; it was closer to the woods, with grass almost a person’s height, making it impossible to see any human figures—even a super-bright flashlight lost its advantage in such conditions.

However, as they cautiously approached that location, Xia Xinyan keenly noticed a figure vaguely shimmering among the swaying grass.

She immediately whispered, “There’s someone inside, be careful.”

Ling Mo squinted and looked in that direction.

He couldn’t see.

…He had to admit that the catgirl’s vision was indeed superior to his as a purebred human.

“I’ll go take a look.” After pondering for two seconds, Xia Xinyan gestured for the others to wait there and moved ahead toward that spot.

The woods were right beside them; if they all went over, there might be unforeseen circumstances. Leaving a few people in this relatively open field felt like the safer option.

Besides, her speed was the fastest among them, so even if she encountered trouble, she was confident in retreating.

But while she was confident, Ling Mo wasn’t— or rather, he was reluctant.

He quickly caught up with Xia Xinyan: “I’ll go with you.”

Xia Xinyan shot him a glance but said nothing.

For some reason, she always felt like this guy treated her as a child.

As if he never quite trusted her in whatever she was doing.

That didn’t particularly annoy her, after all; he was concerned for her well-being.

It was just… sometimes it could be a bit bothersome.

“Xinyan, put on your battle armor; be careful, there might be danger ahead.” After walking a few steps, Ling Mo quietly reminded her.

Xia Xinyan pursed her lips slightly and silently pressed the battle armor core Ling Mo had given her against her chest. Almost simultaneously, the core quickly fractured and extended, transforming within seconds into a silver light armor that covered her entire body.

It matched nicely with the white outfit she had on underneath.

Behind her, Ling Mo nodded in satisfaction—manifesting this set of battle armor not only provided protection for Xinyan but also satisfied his craving for Xinyan’s outfit change play. It was a win-win; he truly was deserving of his title.

He planned to use any excuse in the future to give Xinyan new styles of battle armor whenever possible.

On the other side, Xia Xinyan was now close to the grass and glanced over, her figure becoming increasingly clear.

Ling Mo noticed the figure too and suppressed his thoughts, getting in position with a manifested stance. He usually wanted to toss a couple of bombs over but held back.

Let’s see first if it’s a missing person or not.

Though given the current situation, it was highly unlikely…

—The figure in the grass stepped out.

Everyone finally got a clear look at him.

He was wearing the Ability Bureau’s outfit, probably around thirty, looking weary but devoid of expression.

He stood there, locking eyes with Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan for a moment.

Then suddenly, he asked, “Do I look like a human to you?”