Chapter 13: New Abilities

In theory, Li Shuang's abilities could be limitless. Of course, that depended on her access to high-grade biological tissues for replication. Perhaps this was the true reason she had joined the Defense Bureau’s exploration team—only within the Radiant Ruins could she guarantee her own strength would keep growing. Even though she was still just a D-rank ordinary member now, as long as the opportunity arose, Li Shuang could evolve.

Having grasped the gist of the situation, Ye Mi’s mood was exceptionally good. Li Shuang’s unique nature gave her yet another chance to infiltrate the inner workings of the Defense Bureau. Now, the line of spies within the Bureau would flourish and multiply without end. The thought made Ye Mi laugh out loud.

Three hours later.

Ye Mi sat cross-legged on the soft bed in the camp’s living quarters, her fingers tapping lightly on her knee. In front of her appeared a semi-transparent window—a newly developed ability that allowed her to monitor the state of those parasitized by her silver bodies at any time, much like a surveillance camera.

This all began when Ye Mi last left the forest. First, she commanded the Rust Tide swarm to hide near the camp; the antlered butcher was concealed in Sector Two, lying in wait; Li Shuang, on the other hand, feigned having narrowly survived an attack and was now rushing back to the Defense Bureau outpost. All these moves were the result of her phased operations.

But soon, Ye Mi found her mental energy was still being heavily drained, since every action of the silver bodies depended on her conscious will. She quickly realized this would not do. Previously, when her main body was inside the Defense Bureau, it was mostly in standby mode, so Ye Mi hadn’t noticed this shortcoming of the silver bodies.

There was still much weighing on Ye Mi: forging alliances with the Gray Fox Gang, exploring the Radiant Ruins, and leveraging Li Shuang to infiltrate the Bureau—all crucial tasks. Often, several things had to be managed simultaneously. In such situations, her mind could easily be pushed to the brink of collapse; she needed a plan.

With a sudden flash of inspiration, Ye Mi decided to tackle the issue at its root. Since the silver bodies’ actions depended on her thoughts, could she pre-input commands, letting them control their hosts directly? Like writing code to keep a program running in the background.

After all, back in her company days, this was precisely her line of work.

Once she began to think of the silver bodies in this way, she gave it a try—and to her surprise, it worked flawlessly!

In the viewing window, Li Shuang was limping toward the gates of the Defense Bureau’s Exploration Division’s temporary encampment, her face drawn with terror and exhaustion. Her uniform was tattered, streaked with blood and mud, her arm hung at an odd angle, and her face bore several shocking abrasions—all of them genuine, courtesy of a few kicks from the antlered butcher, and convincing enough to be beyond doubt.

“Much easier,” Ye Mi remarked with satisfaction, feeling her mental strain ease considerably. Her taut mind finally began to relax. It was just like gaming: a person couldn’t split their focus to play three or four first-person 3D games at once, but they could watch three or four video windows at the same time. Ye Mi could place Li Shuang’s perspective in a small window at the lower right of her vision, enjoying the convenience of running things in the background—no need to actively control, yet always aware of the situation.

On screen, Li Shuang’s return had already alarmed the exploration department. The head of the division—whom Ye Mi had once met as a holographic representative—instantly appeared before Li Shuang. His name was Lin Zhan. The man, just past forty, was like a drawn sword; the scar between his brows lent him a ruthless air, and his piercing gaze swept over Li Shuang.

“Report in detail,” Lin Zhan’s voice was as rough as sandpaper.

Li Shuang handed over the combat recording taken from her high-ponytailed teammate just before departure. The footage was neither too little nor too much, ending precisely as Li Shuang was kicked through the air, while the last teammate was struck down by the antlered butcher’s blade. Ye Mi had already checked this in advance.

Li Shuang slumped weakly against the chair, giving a halting account. When she mentioned the antlered butcher, her body visibly trembled. “It... it was too fast... the captain didn’t even have time to react...”

“Squad Eighteen... I’m the only one left...”

Her voice was hoarse, eyes rimmed red.

Lin Zhan listened, brows knitted, his fingers flying over his recorder. The holographic display expanded: the antlered butcher’s shadow flashed through the trees like a specter, the captain’s head flying high. The footage jolted violently—then showed the high-ponytailed teammate and Li Shuang herself being struck, Li Shuang kicked away, and finally, the last teammate impaled through the chest by the blade.

“You were lucky,” Lin Zhan said with an unreadable look. Li Shuang didn’t respond.

As a veteran who’d long dealt with the monsters of the Radiant Ruins, he could tell at a glance that the footage was legitimate. That speed and power were exactly what a C+-class creature should possess.

Five useless weaklings, he thought to himself.

He hadn’t expected Squad Eighteen to take down the antlered butcher—but he hadn’t thought they’d fail to even penetrate the forest’s depths.

As for their lives, their loss? That was not Lin Zhan’s concern.

Still dissatisfied, he pressed on. “When you woke up after fainting, you didn’t proceed deeper into the forest?”

Li Shuang’s breath caught, but she quickly composed herself. “I...”

He barely treated her as human. Her fleeing in terror, saving herself, was only natural—but Lin Zhan seemed to expect her to keep exploring for the Bureau.

“Still so exploitative, Defense Bureau,” Ye Mi watched the scene, arching a brow. Her face showed neither anger nor any other emotion, but there was a trace of killing intent in her eyes.

“I didn’t dare...” Li Shuang’s voice trailed off, until she collapsed unconscious in the chair, her injuries still fresh.

The waiting medics immediately rushed forward to examine her.

Seeing this, Lin Zhan turned to his adjutant. “Assemble a new exploration team at once. Within twenty-four hours, formulate a plan to enter the forest’s depths.”

Then, he stared at Li Shuang’s pale face for a few seconds, lost in thought. Perhaps because she had brought back valuable intelligence, he refrained from making things difficult for her.

“Let her rest for a few days,” Lin Zhan said, shutting off the hologram, his voice echoing through the room. “Once Squad Eighteen is reformed, have her join as vice captain.”

The scene fell silent.

Ye Mi stretched lazily, ready to proceed with her next plan without a moment’s pause. At the thought, she let out a soft laugh, her long lashes fluttering, her tone unreadable. “I really am a model worker.”