“Forgot?”

Chi Zhou toyed with the cigarette he had pinched out, looking rather surprised.

Given how much Xia Ye cared about his younger sister, he didn’t think Xia Ye would forget anything related to her. Besides, Xia Ye had clearly been about to tell him just moments ago.

“Yeah,” Xia Ye said. “I forgot. Just now.”

He was meticulous by nature and didn’t intend to simply let the matter go. Instead, he carefully described what he had felt to Chi Zhou, “When I was about to speak, a white wall suddenly appeared in my mind. I’ve seen it at Xia Zhi’s school, and I remember every detail of it. Xia Zhi’s shadow fell on it, giving me a kind of sacred feeling.”

“But other than that, I don’t remember what happened when I saw Xia Zhi.”

Chi Zhou frowned slightly, idly fiddling with the cigarette. “Episodic amnesia? The military has reported several similar cases before, but they all had gaps in their memories. There are almost no cases like yours, where fragments are still remembered.”

Xia Ye was somewhat surprised.

Judging from what Chi Zhou said, episodic amnesia seemed to be a fairly common occurrence in the military.

But before this, Xia Ye had never heard any rumours about people suddenly losing their memories.

Even in that StarNet gossip group of Lin Kezhi’s, where the message count refreshed at 99+ every second, he had never seen any discussion about anything similar.

“Is it common?” Xia Ye asked.

Chi Zhou nodded. “Yes. Ever since extraterrestrial contamination appeared, the military reports several similar cases almost every month. The Alliance suppressed the information because they were worried about causing panic.”

Xia Ye asked, “Then will there be a problem now that you’ve told me?”

After hearing Lin Kezhi talk about Chi Zhou’s entanglements with the military, Xia Ye had become much more cautious about matters like this.

“You worry about quite a lot.” Chi Zhou tapped the pen in Xia Ye’s shirt pocket with a finger, reminding him, “You’re with the Special Operations Department now. What problem could there be?”

There was a hint of barely perceptible arrogance in his tone. “Our clearance level is much higher than the military’s. We can investigate their affairs whenever we want.”

Chi Zhou rarely showed an expression like this.

Most of the time, he seemed somewhat laid-back. In the Colonel’s office, in the military hospital ward, and in every non-official setting, Chi Zhou gave people the impression that he was careless and unconcerned, as if there wasn’t much he truly cared about.

At other times, Chi Zhou struck one as serious.

Xia Ye could sense that ever since they began carrying out the mission, Chi Zhou had been in control of the entire situation every moment.

Even when he lit a cigarette and asked him what was wrong, that concern carried the steadiness of a team leader.

But when talking about the military in jest, his eyes became especially lively.

Affected by his mood, Xia Ye couldn’t help the corners of his lips from curving upward. “I see. That’s a relief.”

—

As they talked, the rain grew heavier.

Raindrops pelted the ground, splashing up puddles of water, the traces of which reflected a suspicious dark green.

Chi Zhou raised his head and glanced at the sky.

It was three in the morning, yet the night sky was tinged with an eerie red glow.

“Get in the car.” Chi Zhou pulled him along. “This rain isn’t right.”

Xia Ye sat in the car and observed the sky outside through the window.

“This isn’t the Environmental Management Bureau’s sky canopy,” Xia Ye quickly determined. “The system has failed. This is the real sky.”

Since extraterrestrial contamination appeared, the galactic environment had continued to deteriorate. To prevent public panic over phenomena such as two suns appearing in the sky, the Environmental Management Bureau had launched the sky-canopy system, which controlled the seasons in real time.

After the system failed, the entire Tenth District was exposed to the real sky, including this highway.

Chi Zhou nodded. “What’s happening in the Tenth District definitely has something to do with this rain.”

Black rain poured down from the sky, covering everything like layer upon layer of thick ink.

The off-road vehicle’s windshield wipers kept working, yet still couldn’t sweep away all the black rain, only managing to clear a small patch in front of the driver.

Jian Feiyang gradually slowed down. “We can’t keep driving. We can’t see anything.”

The raindrops seemed almost alive, gradually surrounding the last patch of clear visibility and densely covering every window.

Inside the off-road vehicle, only one last source of light remained. A small warm-yellow lamp glowed above their heads, carrying a faint sense of loneliness.

Everyone’s hands moved downward in unison, gripping the handles of the guns hidden beneath their coats.

Chi Zhou’s voice was very low, almost inaudible.

“Turn off the light.”

The small lamp suddenly went out, and the inside of the car fell into darkness.

On the windows, the sticky, thick raindrops seemed to writhe. Through the gaps between them, they could see the sky becoming increasingly blood-red.

The off-road vehicle sat quietly in the middle of the highway, like an isolated island.

—

“There’s someone outside.”

Xia Ye held his breath and listened to the movements outside the car.

Chi Zhou nodded at him, signalling him to expand his Mental Domain.

Jian Feiyang cast a surprised look at him.

Chi Zhou shrugged and answered calmly, “I have a guide now. Of course I can’t steal the guide’s job.”

There wasn’t the slightest trace of nervousness in his voice.

As a Dark Sentinel, Chi Zhou’s Mental Domain was the broadest in the Special Operations Department, far surpassing that of an ordinary guide.

During previous reconnaissance missions, Chi Zhou had always handled everything himself and never needed them to step in.

But now, they had Xia Ye.

Both were SSS-class, and a guide’s domain was naturally broader than a sentinel’s.

The [Codename XII] mission wasn’t particularly high-level. Chi Zhou had brought Xia Ye along in the first place partly to let him practice.

Xia Ye’s Mental Domain expanded outward with the off-road vehicle at its centre, almost enveloping the entire highway.

After a moment, Xia Ye called out several coordinates and said quietly, “There are nearly a hundred people on the highway. They’re coming toward us.”

Chi Zhou asked, “What kind of people? Can you see clearly?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Chi Zhou reminded him, “Contract the domain; focus on the details.”

Xia Ye nodded. His Mental Domain slowly contracted, and his field of vision gradually became clearer.

Through the translucent lines, he could ‘see’ those people.

“They’re mutated residents, just like the ones in the pictures,” Xia Ye described. “Most of them are in the early stages of the disease, with only tender shoots growing from their hands. The few closest to us…have already almost turned into trees.”

“Are they all ordinary people?” Chi Zhou asked.

Xia Ye said, “I haven’t detected any sentinels or guides.”

“Good. Xia Ye, maintain the domain.” Chi Zhou released his grip on his gun. “Everyone else, get your spirit animals ready.”

Jian Feiyang asked, “We’re not going out?”

“Not going out. They’re all ordinary people. Would it be appropriate for us to go out?”

Xia Ye didn’t need any explanation. He already understood what Chi Zhou meant.

The purpose of [Codename XII] was to resolve the extraterrestrial contamination in Longgu Town, not to slaughter all the contaminated residents.

They couldn’t attack the ‘people’ outside.

—

Ying Jiawei’s spirit animal was a cunning snake. It was the first to enter the rain, weaving nimbly through the crowd.

“They can’t see the spirit animal,” Ying Jiawei’s snake reported back. “But they’re scratching at our car doors.”

Chi Zhou leaned back against his seat, his tone relaxed. “Looks like they’re pretty hungry.”

Jian Feiyang glared at him, hugging his own spirit animal tightly and refusing to let go. “With you saying that, how am I supposed to dare let my little raccoon out?”

His little raccoon had a harmless-looking face and was currently baring its teeth at Chi Zhou.

“You’ve been doing this for so many years. How are you still such a coward?”

Chi Zhou waved at him, signalling him to hurry up and release the little raccoon.

“What kind of senior are you? Look at Xia Ye. He got the hang of it right away on his first time.”

Jian Feiyang glanced outside. Xia Ye’s snow leopard stood in front of the off-road vehicle, its forepaw pressed to the ground in a typical battle stance as it confronted the human-faced trees approaching them.

It looked majestic and imposing, complementing the black dragon roaring in midair.

Jian Feiyang couldn’t help muttering, “With a senior like you, it’d be hard for him not to get the hang of it.”

Chi Zhou reached under the seat and pulled out a bag, distributing the weapons inside to everyone.

“Spirit animals can hold them back, but there will always be some who break through. According to Alliance regulations, when dealing with ordinary residents, we can only take action at the very last moment.”

Fang Shike, known for his fiery temper, couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “Here we go again. They’re practically a tree already, and we’re still not allowed to take action.”

Xia Ye looked toward Chi Zhou.

Chi Zhou gave him a slight shake of his head.

…Chi Zhou also felt helpless about this regulation.

It was only because of certain reasons that he had continued to abide by it.

Xia Ye silently picked up a dagger from the bag and gripped it in his palm.

—

The sound of fingernails scratching against the car door rang out, harsh and grating.

Ying Jiawei asked, “Boss, do we make a move?”

Chi Zhou made a stopping gesture. “The sun is coming out.”

Jian Feiyang was confused. “They’re not zombies. What does the sun have to do with it?”

Xia Ye had been paying close attention to the movements outside. “Something about them doesn’t look right.”

At five in the morning, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared on the horizon.

Through the eyes of his snow leopard, Xia Ye saw a bizarre scene. Those who had nearly turned into trees all turned around in unison, facing the direction of the sun.

The black rain that had covered the car windows for the entire night gradually became murky and began to let light through, as though some strange kind of time reversal were taking place.

The sticky black rain lost its weight, turning into streams of dark water that flowed down the windows.

The view from the off-road vehicle slowly became clear, and the Longgu Town highway finally appeared before them.

Jian Feiyang’s scalp went numb as he stared at the scene outside and muttered, “Th-that… what is that…”

A tree wearing a long white dress was leaning against their window, grinning at them.

The meaning behind that smile was complicated, like the final cry of someone in a daze.

The creature, part tree and part human, stretched its arms toward the sky and stiffly knelt toward the sun.

Its tongue had already turned into woody fibres and could no longer make complete sounds. Only a reverent, muffled moaning came from its throat.

Sunlight spilt evenly across the scene, coating everything in a layer of gold.

“Quite a spectacle,” Chi Zhou said with interest. “I haven’t seen such a distinctive contamination law in a long time.”

The muffled moaning came from all directions, surrounding the entire off-road vehicle and making their heads swim.

Ying Jiawei tightened her grip on her gun. “What are they doing?”

Xia Ye stared fixedly at those people, his voice cold.

“Worshipping.”

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