Chapter 46 Fungal Swarm 7: Midnight Raid.

There were quite a few people with brains present who saw through the hidden meaning behind the confrontation just now.

Nanmen Jue truly intended to kill Wei Chongru. Her clothes had been upgraded by the main god, making them impervious to ordinary bullets. She was doing this purely to put pressure on Wei Chongru.

Just as she was about to make her move, Lu Yunxiao spoke up in time, reminding Wei Chongru that if this was all he had to offer, he wouldn't get the better of Nanmen Jue, and at the same time interrupted Nanmen Jue's murderous intent.

However, he dared not count on the latter, and he did not expect that Nanmen Jue would actually let go.

Seeing Nanmen Jue's gaze, Lu Yunxiao smiled and said, "I think everyone has misunderstood. It would be great if there was less bloodshed."

Nanmen Jue didn't say much, glanced at Wei Chongru, took Zhang Zhi's hand and turned around, brazenly exposing his back.

She raised her chin at Guan Junren and Ji Chengying, "You two, come with me."

The two people who were called out were taken aback, but without hesitation, they quickly followed behind Nanmen Jue.

The others exchanged bewildered glances. Deng Erhuai looked at the stunned Wei Chongru and asked, "Shall we continue?"

Wei Chongru gave a wry smile, waved for the men behind him to put down their guns, and looked at Nanmen Jue's retreating figure. "What are they going to do?"

Given Nanmen Jue's fearsome reputation, he almost thought she was going to take the two newcomers to the execution ground. But then he thought, it would be easy for Nanmen Jue to kill him, a purple-named person. Why would she need to hide it to kill two green-named and white-named people?

Deng Erhuai shrugged and followed, saying, "We'll find out when we go take a look."

Wei Chongru paused. They were able to follow Nanmen Jue without any scruples, but he, who had just been threatened in the face by Nanmen Jue, was still apprehensive. However, he really wanted to know what Nanmen Jue was taking people to see. After thinking it over, he had the others start a fire and prepare a nest, while he followed a few reincarnators alone.

Deng Erhuai glanced at him, "Aren't you afraid we'll secretly lure you here and kill you?"

Wei Chongru gave a wry smile again, "Stop teasing me, Mr. Lu is right, there must be some misunderstanding here..."

Before he could finish speaking, Nanmen Jue suddenly turned and glanced at him. He immediately fell silent, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

The scene he had just witnessed left such a deep impression on him that he now felt a slight sense of dread when he saw Nanmen Jue's handsome face.

But Nanmen Jue did nothing; he simply led them through the food street to the cold storage downstairs.

The mountain of parasites appeared before them. Ji Chengying and Guan Junren were caught off guard and screamed in fright, about to turn and run away.

Nanmen Jue grabbed them by the collars, one in each hand, and dragged them right in front of him, like two lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Brother Nanmen! I promise I'll behave and not hold you back, please don't throw me to feed the zombies, Brother Nanmen!" Ji Chengying cried out in fear.

Guan Junren was so frightened that he closed his eyes and his whole body was trembling.

The two of them wailed and howled, not daring to look, but the three veterans behind them saw it clearly.

They exchanged a shocked look.

What is Nanmen Jue doing...? They had guessed a possibility, but they were not sure. In the reincarnation space where everyone was busy taking care of themselves, no one had ever done such a thing before, not even the senior members with orange or gold names.

Nanmen Jue, carrying the two of them, said with a hint of disdain, "There are children here, howling like this, don't you have any dignity?"

Then everyone realized that Zhang Zhi, who should have been the most afraid, was not making a sound. She just silently clung to Nanmen Jue's calf and refused to move an inch.

The two who had screamed awkwardly shut their mouths, tentatively opened their eyes, and almost fainted again when they saw the mountain of corpses very close to them.

Nanmen Jue released them. "Consider this my greeting gift," she said, glancing at Guan Junren, "and a thank-you gift."

Guan Junren trembled and looked at Nanmen Jue in disbelief. Nanmen Jue avoided his gaze, and under the flashing lights, her chin formed a cold, hard line.

"This world is not easy to live in. I interfered with your mission, so consider this my small compensation."

She overheard their conversation in the car and learned that Guan Junren and Ji Chengying's mission was the same as hers: to take Zhang Zhi to the quarantine center.

Perhaps because she was a gold-ranked character, the main god arranged for her to be mostly newcomers in order to balance the power.

Everyone else didn't care; even if she did her job well, those people would still be failures. But these two newbies were innocent, so five thousand points must be very important to them.

We eventually met; it was fate.

Nanmen Jue would never hand Zhang Zhi over to those bases. Even if she hadn't agreed to Zhang Jinghe's request, after realizing Zhang Zhi's special status, she didn't intend to hand her over to human bases whose morality was unclear.

She glanced at their stunned expressions again. "If you want, I'll lead you to kill five thousand. If you don't want to, it's up to you."

After saying that, she led Zhang Zhi to the wall and leaned against it, seemingly completely unconcerned about their choice.

Guan Junren and Ji Chengying looked at each other. After a moment, Guan Junren pulled out a dagger and plunged it into the head of one of the parasites.

Ji Chengying looked helpless. Deng Erhuai stepped forward and handed her a fruit knife as well.

“Sister Deng…” Ji Chengying looked at her helplessly.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Deng Erhuai said gently. "There are quite a few parasites here, so you can accumulate a lot of points at once. Once you leave this place, it won't be easy to get points so easily again."

The distance to Nanmenjue Station was a bit far, and Zhang Zhi couldn't hear what they were saying, so they spoke more clearly.

Ji Chengying said, "But didn't you say before that I need to kill the parasites myself in order to grow up quickly?"

Upon hearing this, Deng Erhuai sighed with mixed feelings, turned around and glanced at Nanmen Jue, who was leaning against the wall with his head down, seemingly completely ignoring him.

“That’s true, and it’s comforting, but the more important truth is that this world is dangerous. There are already so many purple names, and I don’t know if there will be orange and gold names as well. If there are…” Her spirited eyes revealed worry, “…it will definitely get harder and harder later on. You’re a complete newbie, and it’s too easy for you to lose all your points.”

Ji Chengying understood what she meant, and turned to look at Nanmen Jue as well. A tear of gratitude flashed across her face. She gripped the knife and nodded vigorously.

"I see."

She also approached the mountain of corpses.

Deng Erhuai returned to Lu Yunxiao's side. Lu Yunxiao, who had been staring at Nanmen Jue without any attempt to hide it, shook his head in confusion when he saw Deng Erhuai return, his hair, which was tied in a small bun, swaying slightly.

“I don’t understand,” he said.

“If you don’t understand, then don’t bother looking,” Deng Erhuai said. “In any case, what he did makes it impossible for me to match the rumors with reality, and I’d rather believe my own eyes.”

“I trust my feelings,” Lu Yunxiao said. “He’s not a bad person.”

Wei Chongru, standing to the side, had a complex expression in his eyes. "Is this why you're cooperating with him?"

“I didn’t cooperate with him,” Deng Erhuai said. “It would have been great if he had been willing to cooperate with me.”

"What?" Wei Chongru said, "Who is Shan Peng?"

“He killed Shan Peng, but it was indeed Shan Peng who attacked us first.” Deng Erhuai rubbed his forehead, looking troubled. “What’s wrong with your Entropy Embers? Are you like the Ouroboros, accepting just anyone?”

Now she can see that Wei Chongru is different from Shan Peng. Even if he is not trustworthy, he is not the kind of person who would kill without distinguishing right from wrong.

"There were probably too many people. I really don't know him," Wei Chongru said with a wry smile.

The group fell silent, the only sound in the corridor the sharp sound of a weapon piercing a skull. Wei Chongru looked at Nanmen Jue, unable to discern the complex emotions within him.

“I have some information to share about this world,” he suddenly said. “Let’s talk about it when we get up there. Consider it an apology for my abruptness.”

Upon hearing his words, Nanmen Jue raised his head.

These worlds are used in cycles. There is indeed an information sharing mechanism in the reincarnation space, but since it concerns life and death, all information about the apocalypse is very difficult to obtain. Among them, the four major guilds with the most information are undoubtedly the ones with the most people and wealth.

Wei Chongru might actually know something.

So after the two newcomers exhausted themselves killing the huge group of parasites, everyone went upstairs. Nanmen Jue sat in a spot not too far from them, listening openly.

Wei Chongru said, "The mechanical girl is here too, I saw her."

"Mech Girl?"

Apart from Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao, whose expressions changed drastically, no one else, including Nanmen Jue, knew who this person was.

“Mechanical Girl Yu Wanyan…” Deng Erhuai’s expression was solemn.

Guan Junren asked, "Is he a very capable person?"

Lu Yunxiao said, "Nobody knows what level she is. She's a red-named person, but she's really powerful."

Speaking of red names, everyone couldn't help but look back at Nanmen Jue.

Nanmen Jue was sitting cross-legged, and Zhang Zhi was asleep in her arms. She was taking the braids off the little girl's head.

Wei Chongru said, "According to the information, she is at least a purple name, or even possibly an orange name. A vicious orange name living in the same world as us... It's really hard to sleep at night."

"What did she do?" Ji Chengying asked. "I mean, both of them have red names. Is she... is she even more powerful than Brother Nanmen?"

This unexpected question silenced everyone. To put it simply, compared to Nanmen Jue, other red-named individuals didn't seem to have as much of a deterrent effect.

Nanmen Jue, who was being secretly criticized by everyone, was quite interested. "The nickname 'Mechanical Girl' is interesting. How did it come about?"

"She has a tool that can convert carbon-based organisms into silicon-based life forms, which then obey her commands." Deng Erhuai was clearly extremely wary of this person. "No one knows what kind of strange tool it is or how she obtained it. She used it to kill many people and NPCs. It is said that she doesn't even care about missions and only relies on killing to score points."

After she finished speaking, she fell silent again, and everyone's expressions were somewhat strange.

The more you talk about it, the more it sounds like Nanmen Jue?

But Yu Wanyan wasn't so ruthless as to destroy the entire cycle of reincarnation, or rather, she wasn't that powerful.

Nanmen Jue imagined a girl controlling a mechanical army. It was a cool scene, but the girl's coldness and indifference towards human life made her scoff.

The others were unsure of her meaning, and no one dared to speak for a moment. After a long while, Deng Erhuai asked, "Which side is she on mission for?"

Wei Chongru shook his head, "How could I dare to get close? I ran away as soon as I saw her name."

He paused for a moment, then brought up another matter.

Wei Chongru first asked the two newcomers, "How many points have you earned so far?"

Before the two could even look, they both opened the system panel upon hearing this. Guan Junren was about to speak when Nanmen Jue's voice drifted over, interrupting him.

"Just say what you want to say, why ask so many questions?"

Seeing that others were looking at him, Nanmen Jue didn't look up and said, "Newcomers may not understand, but don't some people understand? In this kind of world, don't say anything no matter what others ask."

As she spoke, she glanced at Guan Junren, then looked meaningfully at Wei Chongru, whose face was ashen.

Wei Chongru: No, is this really the number one wanted criminal, the legendary ruthless villain who destroyed the cycle of reincarnation and killed all the reincarnators? He does look quite like him at first glance, but he's acting like a protective father towards these two newcomers with green and white names!

Do these two know her? Or is the legendary wanted criminal actually a kind senior who takes care of newcomers?

Wei Chongru shivered and, under the subtle gazes of the others, cautiously offered a smile.

“You’re right. It’s best to keep such private matters to yourself.” He wanted to get over the topic quickly, so he quickly continued, “I exchanged some information about worlds with the guild before, and coincidentally, there was one for this world. You know, these dungeons don’t have names yet, so it will take some time to determine whether they are named.”

Deng Erhuai nodded. "I also exchanged some information from the guild, but unfortunately none of it was related to fungal spores."

Guan Junren said dejectedly, "It seems I still have to join a major guild. It's too difficult for ordinary people to get any information."

Upon hearing this, Wei Chongru said, "Large guilds... aren't necessarily all good."

“Yeah.” Lu Yunxiao patted Guan Junren on the back. “Improving your own strength and relying on your own efforts is just a matter of course.”

“We already know about the existence of parasites and spore mothers from the background information, but parasites are actually classified into different levels,” Wei Chongru continued. “According to the classification system of this world, parasites can be divided into levels F to A, with the level of danger increasing with each level. The points gained from killing them are also different. I asked them about points just now to confirm this, not to explore anything further…”

As he spoke, he glanced cautiously at Nanmen Jue.

“I see.” Deng Erhuai said thoughtfully. “I’ve noticed that the slower-moving skeletons used to give fifty points for killing one, but I haven’t encountered any others yet.”

Wei Chongru nodded, "That's right, this is the most basic F-level parasite, and it's also the most numerous. It can be found everywhere in this world, and it also has the fewest points. As you move up, the higher the level, the more points you get. When you reach A-level, you can get a thousand points for killing one."

A hush fell over the room. Even Deng Erhuai stared wide-eyed, but compared to the surprise and longing for a thousand points that others felt, her eyes revealed more fear.

She subconsciously glanced back at Nanmen Jue and, seeing that she looked normal, felt somewhat relieved.

The higher the level of the monster, the more points you get. This standard is not only applied to a single world, but is an ironclad rule of the entire reincarnation space. Therefore, the number of points is like a scale. Experienced reincarnators will judge the strength of the monster and whether they can defeat it based on the number of points.

Nanmen Jue was also considering this question. She thought of the radiation monsters in the first world. A low-level monster was worth 100 points, which was indeed stronger than these slow-moving F-level parasites. According to this rule, how strong would an A-level parasite that could get 1,000 points be?

Nanmen Jue tilts its head; will it be stronger than the Tyrant Bird?

During her more than two hundred days of training, the Tyrannosaurus Rex wasn't the strongest monster she encountered, but it was the strongest she had ever faced in reality. Unfortunately, she was so emotionally shaken after killing the Tyrannosaurus Rex that she didn't want to check how many points she had earned, otherwise she could have compared them.

Thinking this, Wei Chongru also looked over, "I don't know just how strong a monster with a thousand points is; that requires someone who has killed such a strong monster to explain..."

His meaning was quite clear, but Nanmen Jue pretended not to understand. Wei Chongru pursed his lips, not daring to ask her directly. He coughed awkwardly and his expression turned serious.

"But the dangers of this world are not limited to that. Above Class A, there is a Class S that exists independently of the other parasites!"

"What?"

Everyone gasped, even the complete newcomers were shocked.

Newcomers aren't stupid. A mission only earns 5,000 points, while an A-level parasite can earn 1,000. So how many points can an even higher-level S-level parasite earn, and how powerful and dangerous is it?

Upon hearing this, Nanmen Jue also raised his head, his eyes revealing deep thought.

“Or rather, it’s no longer a parasite; the world has named it the ‘mother tree,’” Wei Chongru said.

What is its relationship with the spore mother?

Everyone looked up; it was Nanmen Jue who had asked the question.

“The mother tree is the anchor point left by the spore mother in the world.” Wei Chongru dared not refuse to answer her question. “If the spore mother wants to devour the world, the mother tree is equivalent to the strategic base it sets up. It can extend the hyphae and assimilate all living things in the entire region into parasites. No matter whether they are animals or plants, no one can escape it.”

Nanmen Jue suddenly chuckled, and everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes were cold, and she simply repeated in a low voice, "Anchor point."

The group exchanged bewildered glances and had no choice but to return to the topic at hand.

“That church…” Ji Chengying said in fear.

Deng Erhuai nodded heavily, "It seems there is a mother tree around the church. Luckily, we didn't run into it."

Wei Chongru was taken aback. "You went into the occupied area before?"

"Our spawn point is in the occupied zone," Guan Junren said with a wry smile.

Wei Chongru looked at them sympathetically, then at Nanmen Jue, wanting to ask but not daring to speak. Ji Chengying saw his hesitation and took the initiative to say, "Brother Nanmen opened his eyes in the church with us and was buried in a coffin."

"Well, like this," Wei Chongru said with an awkward laugh.

Deng Erhuai looked at him inquisitively, "And you, what is your status now? And you're bringing so many people with you. Judging from their attire, they don't seem to be soldiers from the quarantine facility. Are they from the other two bases?"

“None of them,” Wei Chongru scratched his head and looked back at the natives who were some distance away from them. “I, uh, woke up in a rather special place, in short, not in any of the three major bases.”

How special is it?

Nanmen Jue spoke up again at this moment, which surprised everyone except Wei Chongru.

Nanmen Jue didn't care about their identities or mission objectives, and she hadn't asked them before, but she pressed Wei Chongru for an explanation.

"I don't have to ask others, but I must ask the people of Entropy Ash." Nanmen Jue said in a calm tone, "Your people are digging bigger and bigger pits for me, one after another. I get annoyed just looking at you."

Wei Chongru swallowed hard, inwardly blaming Shan Peng and the Entropy members who had previously set a trap for Nanmen Jue.

Guan Junren's eyes lit up, and he stammered, "So... then... in the previous world, you killed people because they provoked you first, right?"

Nanmen Jue's gaze darkened. The name Entropy Ash inevitably pulled her back to the first world, linking it to Zhu Wenjie's name.

And then there's Xu Yang of Ouroboros, who was in cahoots with her. The pain and hatred he brought her were unforgettable. Even though half a year had passed in her life, the thought of those who had passed away still felt like a giant hand gripping her heart.

How could she forget the humiliation and hatred she felt, having killed so many people, including three important people to her, and almost killed her as well?

Deng Erhuai and Wei Chongru were startled; they felt as if Nanmen Jue's breathing trembled slightly. Was it just their imagination?

But when they looked over, Nanmen Jue's expression remained the same, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Nanmen Jue did not answer Guan Junren, but stared at Wei Chongru.

“...It’s an underground bar.” Wei Chongru had no choice but to answer. “It’s quite well-connected. On the surface it’s a bar, but in reality it also deals in arms and human trafficking. I came out this time...to look for goods.”

Such things are common in the apocalypse. Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao just frowned, while Guan Junren and Ji Chengying showed incredulous expressions, and Ji Chengying was filled with righteous indignation.

"Looking for...how do we look for someone? What kind of people do we look for?"

Wei Chongru didn't want to answer. Nanmen Jue glanced over and said reluctantly, "Supplies, children, good-looking male and female survivors... that's all there is to it. In every world, humans want pretty much the same things."

"In every world?" Ji Chengying's voice rose, even attracting the attention of the indigenous people not far away. "Do these things happen in every reincarnation?"

Deng Erhuai patted her, "Keep your voice down."

Zhang Zhi was woken up and opened her eyes groggily. Nanmen Jue gently stroked her head and said, "It's okay, go back to sleep."

The little girl tilted her head in her arms and fell asleep again.

Ji Chengying lowered her voice, still anxiously asking Wei Chongru, "You wouldn't do that, would you? I mean, we're just playing these roles, we don't need to actually do it—"

Wei Chongru looked at her with mixed feelings, his eyes filled with curiosity, nostalgia, mockery, and sighs. He turned to Deng Erhuai and asked, "Does your Iron Drill even accept newcomers?"

Ji Chengying was stunned. Deng Erhuai nodded, "As long as she is a woman, we will accept her."

“This is like taking care of kids for free,” Wei Chongru sighed. “Who in this space would want to take care of these newcomers… They change or die before we can even teach them anything, it’s all a waste of effort. Your Iron Drill’s boss is such a good man.”

His words contained too much, and Ji Chengying fell silent. She looked at Deng Erhuai and the other two, then turned back to look at Nanmen Jue, her face pale.

Judging from her condition, Nanmen Jue thought she had just woken up.

Well, this innocent and naive girl finally opened her eyes under the protection of these experienced individuals and stepped into the true apocalypse.

The girl's bewildered expression was so pitiful that Guan Junren couldn't help but whisper to comfort her, "He's not a red name. Even if he tries to find someone, it'll probably be an NPC. It's okay."

Before the words were even finished, a chilling aura suddenly arose from the side, causing even the relatively insensitive newcomer to shiver and look to the side in astonishment.

Guan Junren met Nanmen Jue's gaze.

Her face was expressionless, her phoenix eyes extremely cold. She had never looked at him with such an expression before, which made Guan Junren panic.

What did he say wrong? Right, Nanmen Jue seems to have been saying that NPCs are real people, she definitely doesn't like his statement!

Guan Junren panicked and tried to find an explanation, but Nanmen Jue had already turned his gaze away, and Guan Junren felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He couldn't describe the look in Nanmen Jue's eyes; it seemed to be disappointment, yet also mockery. He inexplicably felt that this expression wasn't directed at him, but he desperately didn't want to see that look on Nanmen Jue's face.

He stared blankly at the indigenous people gathered not far away, some sitting and some lying down. Their expressions were all different, their voices were all unique, some were laughing and some were worried, and there were also people sneaking glances in their direction.

It looks so real, is it really just a fictional program?

The firelight gradually cooled down in the night, and the night grew deeper. Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao discussed the night watch arrangements. Although Wei Chongru said that they had more people here and the night watch could be left to them, the two just smiled.

The people on night watch are these people.

Ji Chengying was comforted by Guan Junren's reasoning, but they had traversed many more worlds, and the reincarnators would cause trouble, not just the NPCs.

Deng Erhuai knew that he and Ji Chengying, two women, were actually more dangerous in the eyes of the reincarnators, so he dared not be careless.

Suddenly, Lu Yunxiao, who was on night watch, noticed something and saw Wei Chongru stand up and tiptoe towards Nanmen Jue and Zhang Zhi.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, silently watching Wei Chongru's actions.

Nanmen Jue leaned against the wall, one long leg bent and her eyes closed, while Zhang Zhi curled up beside her, fast asleep.

Wei Chongru cautiously approached, wanting to see Zhang Zhi's face, but as soon as he bent down, he suddenly met a pair of clear and deep phoenix eyes.

Nanmen Jue stared at him coldly without making a move. Wei Chongru broke out in a cold sweat and, under the unrestrained killing intent, he collapsed to the ground.

Nanmen Jue didn't sleep at all; she didn't trust them even a little bit!