This place used to be a semi-open valley, but now, the path he came by is gone, and it has become a completely closed valley.

He froze for a moment, then softly uttered a single word: "Damn it!"

*

While Mu Guang was trapped in the valley with no way to call for help, Ye Nianzhen and the others were leisurely strolling through the market at the desolate smoke base.

As mentioned before, the Wasteland Base has a large number of people coming and going. They travel between various survivor bases, taking on some mercenary tasks or making a living by buying rare goods.

This market is where they usually set up their stalls. Besides the most common meats and edible plants, there are also some magic crystals or other valuable items that can be exchanged and sold within the base.

As for sending Qin Qiu to investigate those people with ulterior motives, Ye Nianzhen wasn't too worried, because with Qin Qiu's strength, most people wouldn't be able to harm him.

Just then, Qin Qiu arrived carrying a person wearing a black cloak and a hood.

He threw the person directly in front of Ye Nianzhen, making a loud noise as he hit the ground, attracting curious glances from those around him.

The person who was thrown to the ground had his hood fall off due to the impact, allowing Ye Nianzhen to see his face clearly... it was Su Mo.

However... there are some subtle differences. He doesn't have the shrewd and calculating air in Su Mo's eyes, nor does he wear glasses, and upon closer inspection, his features are not as delicate as Su Mo's.

However, Ye Nianzhen still decided to test the waters: "Su Mo, is that you? You've gotten so sluggish after all these months?"

The person who was thrown to the ground did not react in any special way when he heard this. He was even more confused about the name "Su Mo". He tried to get up from the ground, but Qin Qiu kicked him back to the ground from behind.

He gritted his teeth, gave up on getting up, raised his head to look up at Ye Nianzhen, and said indignantly, "You don't remember me? I have a very deep impression of you! Holy Maiden of the Beast Clan!"

Ye Nianzhen finally realized that this person was indeed not Su Mo, but should be someone connected to the beast race.

Then she carefully searched her memory and indeed matched this person with a blurry figure in her memory. The reason she was able to recall this was because she saw this person's eyebrows and eyes and thought they looked a bit like Su Mo.

Ye Nianzhen frowned and asked him, "Were you a member of the caravan that traded with the beast tribe back then? Since you are human, what impact would the beast tribe's rumors that I am a saintess have on you?"

The man spat on the ground, his voice tinged with resentment and bitterness: "Have you forgotten the tribe that questioned your status as a saintess and drove you out? The beastman girl who claimed to be the saintess? She's my girlfriend!"

Ye Nianzhen tried hard to recall, but she hadn't taken the so-called saintess's words to heart, so her memory of the related matters was vague. Then she remembered that there seemed to be such a thing, but what did it have to do with this man?

Seeing Ye Nianzhen's puzzled and indifferent expression, the man became even angrier. He shouted, "I arranged to meet her in that cave. She said she heard the prophecy stone say something to her, and she believes she is definitely the Holy Maiden of the Beast Clan, not some unknown human like you. I agree with that, but the other tribes all believe you are the Holy Maiden. Why? And those powerful Beast Clan warriors around you, they all followed you. Why?"

Yeh Nian-zhen: "???"

This person's words are incoherent. So, does he mean that he thinks the beast girl is the true saintess, while Ye Nianzhen is unworthy of the title but enjoys all the benefits, and he's resentful of that girl? So, he's trying to cause trouble for her?

Moreover, Mu Guang casually mentioned that the girl's disappearance was due to a date, but it turned out to be true!

But Ye Nianzhen remembered that the girl had fainted in front of the cave and was quite cold. Why was that?

Ye Nianzhen had some questions, so she asked the man. He hesitated, but finally confessed under Ye Nianzhen's threat of force: "We were mutually attracted and agreed to be together, but she felt she was a saint and couldn't be with a mortal, so she rejected me. I was a little unhappy, so I left her in that cave. I don't know much about the rest, but later the tribe wouldn't let me near them. It must have been at her behest..."

As he spoke, his tone grew increasingly dejected, and his voice grew softer and softer, making him look rather pitiful.

Ye Nianzhen was speechless. So this guy was someone who failed to win a girl's heart. The girl didn't like him anymore, so he thought it was all because of this "saintly woman" nonsense. Since he couldn't get an explanation from the girl, he took his anger out on Ye Nianzhen!

Ye Nianzhen was speechless for a moment.

But she had another question: "Have you been following us the whole time? Are you that persistent?"

The man shook his head and said, "I came here to do business. Because I always went to the beastman tribe and didn't follow the caravan properly, the caravan kicked me out, so I had to go it alone..."

Ye Nianzhen: "..."

My child, come home. With your perseverance, you will succeed in anything.

It seems this was just a misunderstanding, with no external forces involved and no trace of Su Mo manipulating things behind the scenes.

Because... these things are all too childish! If it were Su Mo, he wouldn't do something so laughable.

Ye Nianzhen then realized that not only had the system mysteriously disappeared, but in this reincarnation, even the things about the original female lead and her group had vanished without a trace.

Aside from what others had told them about the Eastern Base being attacked by a zombie horde, there was no other information about Su Mo and his villainous group in this world.

Even the person in front of her who looks similar to Su Mo doesn't actually have any similar traits to Su Mo. This similarity is more like a message from the world, that is... there is no Su Mo here, no Su Yue, or any other people who originally had a deep hatred for Ye Nianzhen.

Ye Nianzhen felt a little dizzy.

All of this is too fake.

Just then, a familiar electrical sound suddenly flashed through Ye Nianzhen's mind.

This had happened before, but the static was always fleeting, faint like a hallucination.

But this time was different. The static became more and more obvious, and finally turned into a hazy, indistinct voice, as if separated by a layer of worlds or by layers of mountains: "Host!"

(End of this chapter)