41 Collection

◎Cross-federation ground◎

How could she talk about something that she had been struggling with for so long, hesitating, speculating, and feeling anxious for so long so calmly and casually?

Yan Xunzhi was worried she was just hallucinating. She might have been a little hazy from the mental transformation she was doing today. She couldn't help but ask, "...what?"

Kong Wei's tone remained the same as always, "Ning Yue said she couldn't tell I loved you. If I loved you, I would treat you well and do things that would make you feel comfortable. You're afraid of pain, so this will make it less painful."

What she said was very normal. Sentinel Yan looked directly into her eyes and could not see any sign of deception. His mind went blank for a while.

Seriously? Was she really saying that?

Kong Wei was indeed very kind to her, reducing the difficulty of the mission, actively downgrading to the ground, and providing better medical care when returning to the tower...

The details of her life and her habits were very comfortable, as if she had been a worm growing in her stomach for twenty years; she remembered what she liked and disliked - although some of her memories were wrong, and some Yan Xunzhi thought she had completely made up, such as her pain sensitivity was not very keen and she was not very afraid of pain - knowing that she was very curious, he often brought her new things to broaden her horizons, and occasionally used his rank and authority to give her some convenience.

If this is love, then Kong Wei loves her enough.

But love is a feeling.

Many people in the dungeon don’t understand love. Because they are raised together, they are just grown-up screws who don’t need and have never been loved.

But Yan Xunzhi understood. She had been loved before, and knew what love was, so she saw Kong Wei's erratic behavior.

There is a feeling when kissing. It would be fine if Kong Wei was just lying, but she was doing it with love.

However, after separation, the lingering attachment disappeared in an instant, as if when I opened my eyes and saw her clearly, she was no longer her.

Yan Xunzhi wasn't a very perceptive person, someone who could detect the slightest change. On the contrary, she was a bit dull, and often only vaguely felt a sense of discomfort. She could sense that Kong Wei's mind wasn't on her at all, it was just that she had gone too far.

It's not that she doesn't understand love. It's just that there's no love for her, so why say "I love you"?

A corner of the bed sheet was pulled up, and Yan Xunzhi finally responded in a roundabout and somewhat euphemistic way, "Actually... I'm not really afraid of pain."

Pain is a habit underground. Even though, as Ning Yue said, she received a lot of hidden privileges underground, pain is something that everyone has to experience and is never absent.

People with poor adaptability cannot be like salted fish. Salted fish will just lie wherever they are thrown, left to be exposed to the wind and rain until they become moldy and hairy. Finally, they will be washed and hung up to dry.

It is impossible for Yan Xiaosenbing, who is easy-going and takes things as they come, to be afraid of pain. If he is afraid of pain, he will subconsciously avoid it, and to avoid it he will have to turn over.

A salted fish won't turn over even if it falls into a mud pit.

Kong Wei groaned. She saw her pause for a few seconds, as if thinking, "...Is it because of too many experimental injections? But the EV potion should be painful every time it's changed."

Did the first injection change leave an impression on her? She didn't seem to struggle much after officially entering the experiment, just like today...

Still thinking about others.

"Pain is one thing, fear of pain is another." Yan Xunzhi lowered his eyes, his tongue numb and sour. "Crying is fake, I'm lying to you. It's just a subconscious reaction. I've never been afraid of pain."

As he spoke, he couldn't help blinking, and the light of the wick was covered with a layer of mist.

The temperature underground was low, and it felt even colder when she got out of the warm bed. She sniffed to avoid repeating any scenes she didn't want to see.

Kong Wei said "oh".

Her voice was surprisingly full of emotion. Yan Xunzhi looked up at her inexplicably, and saw her eyebrows curved in surprise. For a moment, he forgot the main point of the conversation, "What's there to be happy about?"

"I didn't even know I was torturing you for so long." Kong Wei said frankly, "I didn't have that idea until Ning Yue mentioned it. Luckily, you're not afraid of pain to begin with, so replacing the EV shouldn't be considered torture."

The benefits brought are real - Yan Xunzhi's data far exceeds her level.

Every time she went to the surface, she wore a full set of ground activity suits, so the data only showed that her theoretical survival time was constantly increasing when she was completely offline on the ground and not wearing activity suits.

"..." Yan Xunzhi hesitated to speak.

The truth and lies were mixed together and chewed up and spoken out, making it even more difficult for her already dull nerves to distinguish. I'm afraid even Kong Wei herself didn't know which one was true and which one was false. The way she ran over looked like a joke.

But she still...

How funny.

Kong Wei didn't notice that the topic had already smoothly turned to the next topic in the few seconds of silence. "Are you still sleepy? You can sleep a little longer. We have a mission this afternoon."

Going to the surface? In such a hurry? Yan Xunzhi's thoughts wandered off, or perhaps she subconsciously wanted to avoid thinking about it, "So soon? I just got the new injection."

"Not that fast." Kong Wei said with a smile, "It takes a while to get to North District 2 by subway. If we go there today and rest for a night, we can go to the surface tomorrow morning."

The plan was well-organized. Yan Xunzhi realized that it was "North District 2" instead of "Northwest District 2". "Why did you suddenly run so far?"

"The Northern Military District has discovered traces of underground activity over a large area. They're worried about a shortage of personnel, so they've drawn personnel from the Northwest and Northeast Military Districts. I won the lottery."

“…”

Kong Wei is really lucky.

As her link sentry, Yan Xunzhi sincerely felt that when it came to matters of luck, Officer Kong should have just knocked her out of bed and given her the job...

The unlucky ones who were also drawn included Sang Wanyin and Ning Yue... Yan Xunzhi met them in the assembly area in the afternoon. He greeted them enthusiastically on the surface, but couldn't help complaining in his heart.

Are these people so unlucky? Is this a shady operation or are there really some shady people involved?

When they gathered, they changed zones, moving from North Zone 2 to South Zone 1, directly across the dungeon. Yan Xunzhi was a little confused. How could the Earth move so fast?

Ning Yue said, "Of course they are not from the same batch! The ones found in the southern area have a higher priority. Since they haven't been dispatched yet, they were handed over directly."

The priority is given by the federal government, based on a comprehensive assessment. It may not necessarily be a higher level or a greater risk factor. It may also be due to special abilities or some experimental requirements... In short, everything is subject to federal arrangements.

The subway was moving at the same speed as always. Without a reference point, and since South District 1 was so far away, the passage of time felt very slow.

Not only did they depart, but there were also other people going to the ground or returning and getting on and off at different stations. They were of all kinds, and the initial letters on their nameplates were also different.

But this group was almost entirely S-rank, with a few A-ranks scattered around. The recruits from other stations knew exactly where to gather. Yan Xunzhi, like a lone chicken among a flock of cranes, stood out in this section of the train.

He had brought a deck of cards with him to pass the time. Yan Xunzhi felt his pocket and sat quietly.

It looked like there was no chance of a fight. She wasn't thick-skinned enough to remain calm and entertain herself in this situation.

The time was long, and everyone chatted in groups of three or four. Yan Xunzhi was also introduced to other sentries, expanding his social circle.

Ever since Ning Yue pointed out her good looks, she couldn't help but pay more attention during communication. Sure enough, she noticed that some S-level senators were too ambitious and even A-level senators were a little unable to deal with them. However, when they saw her, they raised the corners of their mouths and softened their tone slightly.

Yet this expression has little substance.

A sense of subtlety arose in Yan Xunzhi's heart.

It was hard for her to describe the feeling; it was like a dog social, with owners bringing their pets. While she wasn't a special breed or had any special abilities—just an ordinary dog—her sleek fur and beautiful appearance earned her praise, with everyone glancing at her with approval, saying, "You have a beautiful dog!"

Of course there is some exaggeration, and some self-deprecation, but Yan Xunzhi probably has this experience every time he and Kong Wei get involved in upper-class circles.

Before, I just didn’t think of myself as a pretty dog, and I thought everyone would praise me for the sake of my owner.

After the socializing was over, Kong Wei let go of the rope and let her do activities with Ning Yue and Sang Wanyin, but no one knew where she went.

Yan Xunzhi was happy and at ease. Perhaps because Ning Yue had never been her instructor, her intimidation wasn't as strong as Officer Kong's, and Sang Wanyin was about the same age as her, and they were both experimental subjects, she had more respect for them than the fear she had felt when she first met Kong Wei.

Besides, after what happened this morning... she still felt a little uncomfortable, so it would be good to stay away for a while, giving her some time to smooth things over.

I didn’t expect that the northwest is so far away from the south district, and the subway journey takes so long... Yan Xunzhi is hungry.

She didn't participate in training today, but her body has long since adapted to the exertion of training. She still pressed her chest against her back on time, and her hands and feet were weak and powerless.

It was probably mealtime, and the military district had very regular meals, so the sentries around him gradually took out nutritional supplements like potions.

Yan Xunzhi closed his eyes in pain, silently muttering in his heart, "Go away, hungry ghost, I haven't trained, I'm not hungry..."

"What are you doing?"

Ning Yue had already taken out a bag and was ready to start eating. Seeing that the little sentry next to him not only had no intention of eating, but was even ready to enter a state of meditation, he asked, "Aren't you hungry?"

Yan Xunzhi opened his eyes with a look of pain on his face, "Don't ask... I didn't bring it!"

Ning Yue laughed heartily. "You're bound to get hungry the first time you take a long-distance ride. Why didn't Kong Wei remind you?"

Yan Xunzhi shrugged, "Maybe she thought I knew."

Sang Wanyin, who had already filled her stomach, poked her head over. "You didn't bring any food?" She lowered her head and dug into her pocket. "It just so happens that I brought extra. Let me look for it. But I only brought one extra bottle."

When the bottle of nutrient solution was handed over, Sang Wanyin shone as brightly as a god descending from heaven.

Arriving at the South District and gathering, Yan Xunzhi saw at a glance that over fifty S-class sentries were ready for battle. Adding the original South District personnel, the total number of people on the surface this time was a staggering eighty or ninety.

Seeing so many S-level sentinels for the first time, Yan Xunzhi couldn't help but feel nervous, "This time we're on the ground..."

It wasn't her who had faced the Earth directly last time, but the fear of being lost and dying on the ground seemed to come back to her now, vividly before her eyes again.

It was said that no one who encountered it was unharmed, and half of the reinforcements were killed or wounded. She was lucky last time... Yan Xunzhi knew that her luck had always been good, but she couldn't always pray to God for good luck...

【Author’s words】

Pickled Fish: Thank you baby Sang Wanyin for sending a bottle of nutritional medicine. Double-click the like button to give you extra benefits. Good luck and blessing. Don’t miss it if you pass by.