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He Zhaonian stopped speaking on the Hailou channel. No matter how much they asked for the reason or how many people they tagged, they received no reply.
"What's going on? It's so frustrating!" Tang Yingxue scratched her head.
"That's right. This guy didn't say anything, but anyone with a discerning eye can tell that something bad is going to happen." Guo Pei was also anxious.
"You talk as if you're that good," Tang Yingxue rolled her eyes at him, furious. "Why do you all like to handle it all on your own? To act so cool? I'm really impressed."
Guo Pei defended himself, saying, "I was different. I was dying, and I figured I'd just die on my own, leaving you guys alone. But he was with us, and I was confused. Why couldn't we just talk it over?"
He and He Zhaonian had been sleeping in the same bed for the past few days. Although they had only just met, they really hit it off. Their bedtime chats were full of topics and they were also able to crack jokes. If something had happened, he would have had plenty of time to talk, but not only did he not say a word, he hadn't even given a hint from beginning to end.
Tao Sai was also upset, but now she remained calm and rational enough.
There is no use in being anxious; instead, it interferes with the brain's judgment. Calm thinking is more helpful in unraveling the mystery and finding clues.
Last time in the East China Sea, Tao Sai narrowly escaped a carefully orchestrated encirclement by the Jiange, even annihilating their leader, Xiaolin Xinhe, and injuring the Jiange expert Gao Shanfeng. On paper, the Jiange is no match for the Hailou, so Paradise Island will undoubtedly send additional experts to reinforce them.
The foreigner who attacked He Zhaonian and Shi Jiahui was most likely a master sent by Paradise Island, but his combat effectiveness seemed average, as evidenced by two factors: first, he was defeated by Feng, which, of course, cannot rule out the possibility of a self-torture tactic and a surprise attack; second, their previous incident caused the entire Jiange team to hastily relocate their camp. If they were highly skilled and had sufficient strength, they wouldn't have retreated. Waiting for an opportunity on Xiaosong Island and setting up a pocket formation might have been a better option. Finding such a safe haven isn't easy.
To sum up, after so many rounds of games between the two sides, Tao Sai could feel that Jiange was actually a little afraid of her.
If you don’t have enough hard power, you will naturally have bad thoughts.
But the problem lies here. If Jiange controls Xiao He, shouldn't they take Xiao He as a hostage and make a big show of it on the world channel?
All the members of Jiange were eerily quiet.
However, Tao Sai noticed the [S2 Season] standings and saw that the mission points of several Sword Pavilion members had not changed. If they weren't completing any missions, what were they doing in broad daylight?
The answer is obvious, a bigger conspiracy is brewing.
A face suddenly flashed through Tao Sai's mind, Gao Shanfeng.
Last time here, she helped Hailou a lot by rescuing He Zhaonian and the others from the foreigner. She did not actively attack, but showed goodwill and left a note for Tao Sai with the coordinates of Paradise Island marked on it.
——They are all good deeds.
If she had the idea of betraying Paradise Island, she would have found a way to spread the news when Jiange was plotting something bad. For example, she could have secretly left some clues when Jiange moved camp.
With this thought in mind, Tao Sai quickly jumped out and, using the "gravity slingshot", jumped to the halfway point where he met He Feng last time.
She looked around, finally fixing her eyes on the pile of rocks.
Tang Yingxue and three others also followed. Tao Sai called them over, and the four of them turned over the stones together.
Most of the stones, big and small, were covered with moss. The deeper you turned, the more soil stuck between the stones. You could also find crabs, reptiles, and some amphibians. It didn't look like there was anything hidden there.
It probably wasn't hidden here. Tao Sai patted the sand off his hands and was about to give up when Guo Pei suddenly shouted, "Found it!"
He handed it over, and it was still a note, wrapped in a layer of plastic bag to prevent it from getting wet.
The note was rolled into the thickness of a straw and was probably stuffed into the gap between the stones without moving too much. After it was stuffed in, it was sealed with one or two stones, making it extremely hidden.
Tao Sai unfolded the note and frowned.
There were no words or characters on the paper; it was a picture. To be more precise, it was a comic page with more than a dozen storyboards.
Maybe people in Japan all have a talent for painting, and their drawings are no less impressive than those in comic books.
The comic's content is somewhat cryptic, and deciphering the information above takes time. Tao Sai opened the space wormhole to the seaside town and returned to the courtyard of the two-story building first.
Stepping out of the spatial vortex, Guo Pei took the note and volunteered, "Boss, leave the decryption to me. I have the skill [Absolute Concentration], which allows me to fully utilize my brainpower. I deciphered their chat conversation that way last time, no big deal."
Tao Sai didn't say anything or turn around. Guo Pei was wondering and followed her gaze towards the second-floor balcony.
He was about to shout out in excitement, but Tang Yingxue quickly covered his mouth.
There was movement upstairs, the sound of people.
Without any hesitation, Tao Sait quickly took out the T7 pistol, pulled the slide, and loaded the bullet.
After this period of training, the three people from Hailou were also able to draw their guns swiftly, enter combat status in a second, and be ready to act at any time.
Tao Sai calmly made a gesture, indicating that Shi Jiahui should stay in the yard to provide support, while Tang Yingxue and Guo Pei would attack from the stairs. Tang Yingxue would remain invisible, while she herself would directly climb up to the second-floor balcony from the yard.
Then he made an attacking gesture, and the four people started at the same time, each doing their own job and acting separately.
The "gravity slingshot" composed of [gravity adaptive] + [tempered] that she had practiced countless times in the illusion was used just like walking normally. Tao Sai took off into the air with ease, grabbed the balcony railing, and used her powerful arm strength to shoot herself out like an arrow.
Tao Sai glided in the air, his eyes locked on the target wearing a light blue T-shirt in the room. His eyes, the crosshairs and the target were in a straight line, and his thumb on the trigger was about to fall.
The trigger had been pulled one-third of the way down when Tao Sai released the pressure of his thumb, rolled on the living room floor, and stood up.
At this time, the invisible Tang Yingxue and Guo Pei also rushed up from the corridor. The two of them ran towards the room with guns in hand. After seeing each other's faces clearly, they shouted at the same time.
"Congratulations, Zhao Nian!"
“Brother!”
He Zhaonian was startled. After seeing the people, he touched his heart and said, "You scared me to death!"
He was tidying up the quilt in the room. He had been sleeping in the same bed with Guo Pei these days, but this guy was careless and never folded the quilt after getting up. He was the same way when he got out of bed as when he slept at night.
He rushed to the bathroom early this morning and didn't have time to clean up. Sure enough, when he came back, the bed was a mess like a doghouse.
"He Zhaonian, is it really you?" Tang Yingxue lifted her invisibility and stared at him with a face full of suspicion.
"Yes, I am." He Zhaonian spread his hands in confusion, "Are you stupid? You don't even recognize me."
Guo Pei also didn't believe it, so he walked over and pulled him to look left and right, trying to find any flaws. But no matter how carefully he looked, there was no flaw in his appearance, it was exactly the same.
And there was nothing wrong with his living habits. After being his roommate for a few days, he knew very well that He Zhaonian had a little mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Coming back to fold the quilt in the middle of the day was indeed something he could do.
Shi Jiahui, who was guarding in the yard, heard the noise and climbed up the stairs. When she saw the people in the room, her eyes widened.
"Wait a minute." Shi Jiahui pointed at him and said, "Let me ask you, what's my daughter's name?"
"Manman." He Zhaonian blurted out, and then couldn't help but feel funny, "No, do you suspect I'm fake?"
Even though his answer was perfect, no one in the room believed it.
Guo Pei pulled Tang Yingxue and Shi Jiahui aside, asking them to keep a safe distance from this person. Then he said seriously, "I'm going to ask you a few questions. Please answer them as quickly as possible. Who were the ministers of the imperial clan during the late Eastern Han Dynasty?"
"Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, and Liu Yan's son Liu Zhang...Liu Bei counts too." He Zhaonian answered seriously.
Guo Pei pressed the issue, "Are Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu cousins?"
He Zhaonian said: "No, they are brothers, half brothers from the same father. They are Yuan Shu's second legitimate son and Yuan Shao's eldest illegitimate son."
Guo Pei slowed down, unable to get his attention, and looked at Tao Sai at the door. "Boss, there shouldn't be any problem. I just discussed these knowledge points with him last night."
"You are speaking on the alliance channel now, say whatever you want." Tao Sai leaned against the door and said lightly.
There are all kinds of skills in "Insect Tide Online". If there is a skill that can imitate others perfectly, and can also read other people's memories to make it look real, but the player's identity is unique, this is a good way to test it.
Hearing this, He Zhaonian's eyes suddenly became vague for a moment, and his new remarks indeed appeared in the alliance channel.
[Three Feet of Life (Lv4)]: Hello
The moment the news came out, the people in the room basically put their concerns aside.
"Where have you been? We're so worried. Let's beat you!" Tang Yingxue picked up the pillow on the bed and threw it at him.
Guo Pei was not to be outdone. He picked up the pillow that bounced off He Zhaonian's head and kept hitting him on the head.
He Zhaonian was running around the room with his head in his hands, begging for mercy. "It's unfair, it's unfair, listen to me first! Wait, listen to me first! Stop hitting me! Listen to me!"
"Okay, let's hear what you say." Guo Pei and Tang Yingxue stopped, standing on either side, ready to continue beating him up at any time.
He Zhaonian breathed a sigh of relief and put the collar of his T-shirt that Tang Yingxue had pulled below his shoulders back in place, only to find that the collar had been pulled much wider.
He said slowly, "It's like this. Today is my birthday, and I thought we should have a good meal. We've been drinking nutrient solution these past few days and haven't eaten anything, so I thought of making something delicious. I wanted to give you a surprise, so I didn't tell you."
He paused and continued, "I found that [diffusion] is really useful. I just diffused it into seawater and fished in the sea. I had a great harvest! The prawns and squid are all in the kitchen downstairs. We can have a big seafood feast today!"
When Guo Pei heard this, he couldn't help swallowing.
After drinking the nutrient solution for several days, he became very greedy. In his life, he cares most about eating, drinking and having fun, especially food.
He took a step forward and patted He Zhaonian's shoulder, saying, "Good brother, you're amazing!"
Tang Yingxue snorted dismissively, "Speechless."
Shi Jiahui observed the atmosphere. She usually kept her mouth shut, but now she had to mediate. "Xiao He, you've really made us anxious. As an apology, you have to deal with the seafood by yourself. None of us will help you."
"No problem, I'll take care of it." He Zhaonian readily agreed. "How are you going to eat it? Grilled?"
Tao Sai at the door suddenly raised his voice: "Don't think about eating yet. We've wasted too much time today. Training can't be delayed."
As soon as he finished speaking, before anyone could react, in a flash, Tao Sai raised the T7 pistol in his hand, took aim, and pulled the trigger. His movements were smooth and seamless, without any hesitation.
Flames burst out from the muzzle of the gun, and the bullet shot out instantly, hitting He Zhaonian right on the head.
There was a bang, and the gunshot came later, echoing in the room.
He Zhaonian, who was shot, fell backwards with fear in his eyes. His hands and feet began to twitch and he kept struggling on the floor.
The blood did not stop flowing and soon formed a pool. He struggled for about a minute, then his body stiffened and he stopped moving.
The next second, the illusion shattered with him as the center, returning to the previous scene, and he was standing in the same place intact.
He was stunned for a second.
Tao Sai looked a little dissatisfied. "Why are you all so absent-minded today? Forget it, we won't train anymore. We'll train tomorrow. Let's go do the mission first."
Guo Pei, Tang Yingxue, and Shi Jiahui all sensed something from Tao Sai's words. They may not have guessed the specific reason, but they understood that there must be something fishy.
Tao Sai stood up nonchalantly and left the room, leaving a message: "It's still the same old rules. Grab the simplest missions and don't go too far away. Everyone helps each other. If there is anything, communicate in time on the alliance channel."
In fact, she had already made up her mind.
Everything about a person can be imitated, including voice, appearance, living habits, speaking style, and even memories can be retrieved. If completely controlled, it is not difficult to force the controlled person to speak in the alliance channel.
But there is one thing that is very difficult to imitate. The fear of death and the panic in the heart are difficult to imitate because they are the human body's instinctive reaction.
He Zhaonian, Tang Yingxue and a few others have been suffering from Tao Sai's torture in the illusion for some time. They have to "die" dozens or even hundreds of times every day, experiencing various ways of death over and over again.
The illusion was incredibly realistic, the scenes barely distinguishable from reality, and the pain felt in it was no different from real life. They had died countless times in the illusion, and while they couldn't say they were completely prepared for death, they had already developed a certain level of resilience, particularly the ability to remain calm in the face of death.
But this He Zhaonian imitator's instinctive reaction when facing death betrayed him.
He might have known in advance, through accessing He Zhaonian's memories, that they would conduct this type of illusion training daily, but even with his mental preparation, he was still frightened when Tao Sai pulled the illusion and fired without warning. Physical instincts were the last thing on your mind.
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