Chapter 96 The Corrupted Xie Qingheng
Crocodile Island is named for being surrounded by crocodiles. When Shan Ran passed by, she saw these crocodiles with a strange, shimmering green light in their eyes.
It's like a predator eyeing its prey, or like someone in a high position looking down on someone in a lower position.
Most of them look quite strange.
Some crocodiles have deformed bodies, with abnormally large limbs, horns on their heads, and scales as sharp as blades...
Some crocodiles have very unique colors, like blue or red...
Shan Ran even saw a crocodile with a round head, without a long, pointed snout, but rather like a human head.
A face that resembles a human but is not, a body that resembles a crocodile.
It's something that only existed in old ghost stories.
I've only ever heard of Zoan-type ability users temporarily growing crocodile faces, never of an animal's body parts turning into a human's.
This is very unusual.
Shan Ran couldn't help but think of the laboratory deep in the mountains.
The three major families can conduct experiments on the transfer of superpowers, and perhaps they also conduct other unknown experiments.
The car wasn't going fast; it was moving slowly. Roman drove leisurely while recounting the conversation they had just had.
An exciting party.
beast.
people.
Shan Ran thought of the Colosseum.
She turned to look at Yu Yuan beside her, wanting to exchange glances, but saw that he was looking at her with the same blatantly flirtatious expression.
"Oh, dear Mary, what are you looking at?"
Shan Ran quickly turned her head away, no longer looking at him.
I miss the days when I had a great understanding with Rhine.
Shan Ran didn't take her phone out of her spatial storage. Just to be on the safe side, she put her usual phone into her spatial storage when the security check started.
After all, there was a powerful digital information ability user in District 5 last time. Before figuring out the Solomon family's trump cards, Shan Ran has to be careful.
Meanwhile, at the outpost at the end of the bridge on the island, a man was sitting at a desk.
With her eyes closed, she supported her forehead with one hand and held a pen in the other, scribbling and drawing on the paper.
Another car slowly crossed the bridge and drove towards the island.
Hacking, keyword searching....
Four people, four mobile phones, two of which have anti-intrusion programs, but the level is not high, only D level.
No errors were found after searching for the keywords.
Passage is permitted.
After the car passed, the woman twirled a pen in her left hand and pressed her temple with her right.
A man stepped forward from behind, placed his hands on the woman's head, and gently massaged it.
"Sister Tao, is this comfortable?"
The woman sighed contentedly and nodded gently.
Another person squeezed in, not to be outdone: "Sister Tao, you've really worked so hard! Sister Tao is the pillar of support; we really can't do without you!"
Those who hadn't gotten close also praised from the side: "Thanks to Sister Tao's B-grade digital information ability, we were able to stay so safe. There are only a handful of B-grade ability users in the world, and digital information ability users are even rarer. Our Sister Tao is one of the rarest of the rare, a top-tier powerhouse!"
Sister Peach chuckled. She enjoyed the flattery from these people, but she couldn't be careless when working for the Solomon family.
She patted a hand on her shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright, stop being so glib. Just say these things to Sister Tao, don't go around telling others. No one else is as kind as me."
The people behind seemed to suddenly realize something, their bodies stiffened, and they all fell silent.
"Don't be so afraid. After the experiment is successful, there will be more and more high-level experts. As long as you listen to me, I can find a way to get you some medicine."
Upon hearing this, the silence behind them seemed to break, immediately shattering the stillness and becoming noisy once again.
"Sister Peach is the best! Even without the potion, it's okay, I just want to be with Sister Peach~"
"Another car is coming. Should we talk to Stone and the others and ask them to hold back the vehicles at the dock and not let them through so quickly?"
"Exactly! Their checks are so simple. They just check faces and abilities, and it's over quickly. Unlike our Sister Tao, this is a technical job; people with low abilities can't do it!"
A group of people chattered and laughed, trying to please Sister Tao and making her very happy.
She smiled, but in her heart she was planning to use her points to exchange for another vial of potion in a while, hoping to further enhance her superpower.
Having power is great; so many people are eager to curry favor with her.
——
Shan Ran, holding her new phone, sent a simple message to Rhine using her new account.
"arrive."
"Okay, be careful." The other party only replied with a few simple words, but it made me feel very reassured.
The vehicle drove to a parking lot arranged for foreign guests, and then the group got out of the car.
The sight before him made Roman exclaim in admiration.
The towering walls firmly protect Crocodile Island, which is a magnificent and luxurious estate with buildings stretching as far as the eye can see, like a mountain range.
There were even plants in the empty courtyard.
The land was black and filled with deathly energy; these plants were clearly created by plant-based ability users.
Flowers from different seasons are blooming together at this time, and there are even a few lush trees!
These are things that ordinary plant-based ability users cannot do.
It would take at least a D-level tree to create such a tall tree.
A D-rank powerhouse would be a high-ranking member or even a base commander elsewhere, but here, they can only plant trees for the Solomon family.
What a huge difference!
However, this also demonstrates the immense power of the Solomon family.
Roman, wearing Crocs, walked around looking around with wide eyes, praising everything he saw, finding everything beautiful and exquisite.
"Tsk tsk, big families are really something. Look at this house, look at this yard, they really know how to enjoy life. I've never been to a place like this before the apocalypse, but now I can!"
Nia was a little reserved, but it was also the first time she had seen such beautiful buildings and courtyards, so she couldn't help but widen her eyes and look around.
Yu Yuan looked disdainful, scoffed, and whispered to Shan Ran, "Look at these guys, they know how to enjoy themselves even in the apocalypse. The people below make money for them, and they just live like gods here."
Shan Ran remained expressionless and calm: "Shh, keep your voice down, walls have ears."
Two people, alone and concealing their identities, entered the enemy camp, which was tantamount to trespassing into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. They had to be extremely careful.
Although Yu Yuan usually seemed unreliable, he could tell what was important and what was urgent at this moment. He pursed his lips, nodded, and said nothing more.
The group was assigned to a building overlooking the lake, which was located in a corner of the manor and quite a distance from the main building.
All visitors to the base were accommodated here.
Although it's in a corner, this building has six floors, each with a large area and many rooms.
The waiter who led them around explained things as they walked.
"You are in Building 4, and your rooms are on the third floor. Here is your room key; please keep it safe."
The group was assigned to three rooms, with Shan Ran and Yu Yuan each having their own.
Roman and Nia are a couple, and their three rooms are adjacent.
"Dining is on the first floor of Building 1, which is a buffet restaurant that is open all day without a break."
After your meal, if you'd like some entertainment or relaxation, you can continue upstairs. Just ask the waiters if you need anything.
When does the formal party start?
The waiter looked at the red-haired girl who had asked the question, bowed, and said, "Dear lady, the party starts tomorrow at four o'clock in the afternoon."
"Where is it located? Is it also in Building 1?"
"No, it's in Building 8."
"Building No. 8? I didn't see Building No. 8 when I came here."
The waiter, with a polite smile, did not directly answer Shan Ran's question: "Miss, someone will take your team with you then."
After leading the group to the room door, the waiter withdrew.
Roman took the room key for room 303, Yu Yuan stayed in room 304, and Shan Ran stayed in room 305.
The conditions at the base weren't great, so Roman opened the door and eagerly pulled Nia inside, wanting to take a nice hot bath.
"Contact me if anything happens!" he said, then hurriedly closed the door.
Yu Yuan wanted to say something, but Shan Ran stopped him with a look, and then the two went into their own rooms.
Shan Ran used her special ability to check it out.
There are three cameras inside the house: one facing inwards from the front door, one by the bedside, and one on the balcony. Fortunately, there are none in the bathroom.
It's not a lot, and there are several blind spots that can't be captured, but it's already a very safe approach to cover the entire room in general.
The Solomon family appeared to be welcoming guests with open doors, but in reality, they had carefully laid a trap.
Shan Ran washed up, then lay down on the bed, stretched, and quickly fell asleep.
Inside a closed room, there were countless surveillance screens, and six people sat in front of them, watching the screens in sections.
One of them yawned, rubbed his eyes, and muttered, "How come there are so many rooms? Should we get a few more people to check?"
"There have been a lot of people coming these past few days, and people from other departments are also very busy. Keep a close eye on them. No matter how hard it is, you can only watch for eight hours, and then you can change shifts."
"Yes, sir!"
There was a screen divided into three areas, with the time and corresponding room number—305—in the upper left corner.
The girl inside was fast asleep in bed, and the person in front of the screen glanced at her and then looked away.
At this moment, images flashed through Shan Ran's mind, exactly the same as those on the display screen.
She infiltrated the nearby surveillance cameras, searching room by room.
She actually found Xie Huaimin.
It seems the other party arrived earlier than them.
He sat quietly on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed, doing nothing, his whole body like a statue, completely still.
Shan Ran checked the camera.
If she hadn't carefully checked and found nothing wrong, she would have suspected that the other party had used still images just to hide the surveillance footage.
Shan Ran kept an eye on Xie Huaimin, and when she got bored, she would go out and check other cameras.
Some people are scrolling through their phones in their rooms, waiting idly;
Some people were doing unspeakable things inside the room, including Roman. They seemed very satisfied with the room and kept rolling around without stopping.
Some people gathered together to chat, and Shanran took the opportunity to linger for a while, where she could overhear some useful information.
When I came back to check on him, Xie Huaimin was still motionless.
He had already become quite strange when he left the Second Continent a few years ago.
His eyes were gloomy, and his whole aura grew increasingly somber, making Shan Ran feel uncomfortable.
After the apocalypse, the dark aura surrounding him only intensified, becoming quite evident even through the screen.
It's a perfect match for his dark powers.
After jumping back once more, Xie Huaimin finally moved.
He was on the phone.
He opened his eyes; his pupils were unusually dark and occupied a large area of his eyeballs.
Some dark-type ability users do experience such changes, but Shanran always felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the surveillance footage was of very high quality, and Shanran could still hear the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Master, the young master is not feeling well."
"Well, if they're not dead, we don't need to worry about them."
"...However, the young master is in great pain, and if this continues, the pollution will only get worse."
Xie Huaimin thought for a moment before speaking: "Let's stop for now and observe for a while."
"Yes, sir."
"Just send the photos and results directly."
"Yes, sir, the young master keeps calling Miss Shanran's name."
Xie Huaimin sneered: "It's not that I don't want to help him, but I sent him a message using his phone, and Shan Ran didn't reply. She doesn't care whether he lives or dies. Yeah, just tell him that, say it to him several times a day. Let him know that Shan Ran doesn't want him anymore."
The Solomon family also wanted Shan Ran to come, but Xie Qingheng was useless; Shan Ran wouldn't come for him.
"He hasn't been locked up long enough, allowing him to still have these thoughts. Don't stop the medication; continue giving him injections."
"..." There was silence on the other end of the phone. She hadn't expected her husband to be so fickle. One moment he said it wasn't necessary, and the next he said to continue.
In the end, I decided to continue with the injection and then hung up the phone.
Xie Huaimin threw down his phone, stood up, and wandered aimlessly around the room. His eyes were blank, and his expression was a half-smile.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "They're all forcing me, they're all forcing me, you all should die, you all deserve to die..."
His voice rose and fell, sometimes gripping his hair tightly, sometimes bursting into laughter, his face displaying a manic expression.
Shan Ran frowned as she looked around the room, realizing that Xie Huaimin's mental state had deteriorated.
She didn't care about Xie Huaimin's health at all; she only cared about Xie Qingheng.
I don't know what kind of needle they were talking about, but that needle caused Xie Qingheng a lot of pain.
And the pollution is getting worse. What kind of pollution?
Contamination caused by crystal nuclei?
Shan Ran was completely confused and didn't know the specifics.
She must rescue Xie Qingheng as soon as possible.
In the evening, Shanran and a few others went to Building No. 1 for dinner.
Along the way, Shan Ran and Yu Yuan deliberately lagged behind Roman.
Taking advantage of the absence of surveillance, she told Yu Yuan Xie Huaimin's room number and asked him to enter Xie Huaimin's dream that night to find out the current location of the Xie family and where Xie Qingheng was being held.
"If we find out tonight, shall we leave tomorrow?"
It wouldn't be difficult for Shan Ran to leave; she could teleport into the air and fly away quickly. However, how Yu Yuan would leave was the problem.
Unless she takes him flying directly.
However, this way, you can't teleport a distance instantly. You can only take off directly from the balcony of the room. Two people would be too conspicuous and would definitely be noticed by Solomon, which could cause a lot of trouble later.
"It's alright, you can leave quietly first. We'll pretend we don't know why you disappeared. Anyway, you're just a nobody in a small base, so they probably won't care."
Shan Ran frowned slightly. She had thought it would take a lot of effort to find Xie Huaimin, but she hadn't expected things to progress so quickly.
But Yu Yuan came in with her, and if she just left him like this, she didn't know how much danger he would face later.
Moreover...
Shan Ran quietly looked around.
The island was heavily guarded, with supernatural crocodiles surrounding it. The areas they passed through were brightly lit, but in places where the light couldn't reach, an unseen darkness was brewing.
Shan Ran guessed that the party to be held the day after tomorrow was likely to be another animal fighting performance.
She hated the Colosseum and harbored an irreconcilable hatred for those behind it.
She has now penetrated deep inside, and no one else knows of her arrival; she has already gained the upper hand.
Or how about we just go for the big one?
But could she and Yu Yuan, who wasn't very strong in attack, do it alone?
She was torn between her inner conflict and her own indecision, and that's how she made her way to Building No. 1.
At this time, the restaurant on the first floor was already crowded with people dining.
This is a buffet style; you can take what you need from the table.
All the guests who came to the restaurant were invited guests; there wasn't a single person from Solomon's or Mikhail's family.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration appeared on the mountain.
She asked, "Has everyone we invited arrived today?"
Roman, stuffing something into his mouth, replied indistinctly, "We're all here. We're considered late. The guys at the dock said that the people queuing with us were the last batch, and there's no one else after us."
Shan Ran's pupils suddenly contracted as if she had just realized something.
She had just searched the entire Building 4, but hadn't seen a single member of the Shan family.
Every branch of the Shan family received an invitation, and since they had decided to cling to Solomon's coattails, they would all be there.
With so many people, how could not a single one be in the room?
Noticing that Shan Ran was acting strangely, Yu Yuan leaned closer and whispered, "What's wrong?"
Shan Ran looked solemn, shook his head, and said nothing.
After dinner, Roman and Nia held hands, eager to go upstairs to play.
Yu Yuan originally intended to leave directly, assuming that Shan Ran felt the same way, but he didn't expect that she would also want to go up and play.
So the four of them went upstairs together.
A waiter was waiting at the top of the stairs leading to the second floor. After asking for their room number, he led the way, explaining the entertainment options on each floor as they walked.
The second and third floors are for gambling, and the fourth floor is a dance floor with a variety of performances, not limited to striptease, etc.
There are special medicines on the fifth floor that can be eaten or injected, and that will make people feel intoxicated and unable to stop.
There is an outdoor swimming pool on the sixth floor. You need to hand over all electronic devices before entering because many people inside are not wearing clothes.
Shan Ran and Yu Yuan exchanged a glance.
Yu Yuan muttered under his breath, "The people here are really good at this."
Shan Ran nodded expressionlessly.
Arriving at the second and third floors, the style is different from the simple style of the first floor. The decoration here is magnificent and glittering, luxurious everywhere, and every detail reveals the words "I am rich".
In such an atmosphere, it's easy to not take the chips seriously and spend them recklessly.
If you lose too much, you can either pay it back with crystal cores or resources. If you have nothing, you can use people to pay off your debts.
If there are people at home, sell your family; if there are no people at home, sell yourself.
Not long after Shan Ran and the others arrived, they saw someone at a table not far away, crying loudly after losing and kneeling down begging for mercy.
Finally, it was dragged away.
Roman and Nia were initially drawn in by the lively atmosphere and wanted to have some fun playing a few rounds, but they were scared off by the scene and backed out.
The waiter leading them, still wearing a polite smile, explained, “Gentlemen, there’s no need to worry. This man attended the last party and lost everything, even mortgaging his wife and children. He dared to come again this time and lost again. We had no choice but to ask him to go down and discuss the repayment arrangements.”
The waiter spoke very tactfully, and only Roman and Nia, who were unaware of the truth, were fooled. After hearing this, they felt much better and were eager to try it again, wanting to go to the table.
They've all been through the apocalypse for a long time, so they're not timid.
After greeting Shan Ran, Roman pulled Nia to sit down at the card table.
Shan Ran didn't let the waiter continue to lead her around, but instead wandered around inside alone with Yu Yuan.
She seemed interested in the place, but she was actually looking for someone.
As she walked, Shanran paused, looked around, frowned slightly, and lowered her head in thought.
"Mary, what's wrong?" Yu Yuan asked, puzzled.
Shanran sensed a prying gaze, faint yet perceptible to her keen senses.
But the environment here is too complicated, with many people and a lot of cameras, so it's really hard to tell where the feeling of being spied on comes from.
She shook her head to indicate that she was fine.
Regardless of whether it was a misperception or not, Shanran became alert. She pretended to be a first-time visitor, occasionally sitting in an empty seat to play, so as not to look too out of place.
However, she lost most of the time, but Shan Ran didn't care. She didn't want to hack into the surveillance to see other people's cards, nor did she want to use spatial teleportation to change cards. There was no need to expose her own trump cards, and she didn't care about these crystal cores at all.
But Yu Yuan was unhappy. He knew this all too well and couldn't bear to see Shan Ran lose so much, so he pushed her aside and sat down at the card table himself.
The result was an even more crushing defeat.
He clutched his head and screamed, "No! Impossible!!!"
Shan Ran glanced at the bald man sitting diagonally opposite her. This man kept winning, something was off.
But given the Solomon family's power, it's impossible for them not to detect if someone cheats.
At this moment, someone nearby, who had lost so much he was furious, suddenly stood up and pointed angrily at the bald man: "Does he have spatial abilities? He definitely switched cards! I don't believe he can keep winning. Are you just going to let someone cheat like this?"
The bald man being accused sat calmly in his seat, his hands outstretched, looking completely unconcerned: "If you're not comfortable with this, then come and search me, or have someone stand next to me and keep an eye on me to see if I'm cheating."
Brother, if you can't handle losing, don't play. Otherwise, you'll just make a fool of yourself here.
The first person to speak was a fat man in his thirties or forties. He seemed to be doing well after the apocalypse, but he lost all his wealth in one night. How could he not be anxious?
"Who the hell is your brother? I'm going to search you!"
Security personnel noticed the situation and came over to maintain order, stopping those who tried to pull the other side.
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