Chapter Seventy-Six: You Pinch Me

Since there was a high likelihood that the central area of the Hive Laboratory contained a certain number of second-order gene originals, he couldn’t possibly let such an opportunity slip by.

With only eight years left until the Galactic Empire fractured, he had to lay his plans carefully. To strengthen himself, every moment must be used; not a single second wasted.

As for the risks involved, he still felt they were within his control.

“But it would be even better if I could bring the Zhang sisters along,” Ji Cheng mused.

First, they could help look after his older sister; these two were rare in that, as ability users, they did not discriminate against ordinary people. Secondly, his identity card had too low a clearance—many passages were off-limits, making entry into the central area troublesome. He’d have to wind through the A section, constantly searching for a way.

Both Zhang Lingfei and Zhang Jing’e possessed blue identity cards.

“Or perhaps I could stir things up—encourage more people to head for the central area, so they can help share the risks?”

He pondered for a while before making up his mind. Rubbing his hands together, he spoke to Shana and Anchan:

“I’ll head back to find my sister now. You two return to the wrist computer.”

After stowing them away, Ji Cheng sprinted back along the path he’d come, his mood light and steps buoyant. Each stride sent dust scattering meters away as his combat boots struck the sand.

...

“You all heard it, didn’t you? This is a terrifying mining zone,” Zhang Lingfei said, face drawn, her long curly hair hanging limp.

She tapped her wrist computer and pulled up information on the “Brain in the Sand,” projecting a light screen into the air.

Luo Rao stared intently at the information for a while before she finally looked up, her beautiful eyes shining.

“So, each room is essentially the cell body of a neuron, and each passage acts as the axon?”

“That’s right.”

“Lingfei, doesn’t this mining zone pair perfectly with the eyeball mining zone outside?”

“Now that you mention it, it does,” Zhang Lingfei replied weakly.

Luo Rao licked her lips, curiosity piqued. “If we imagine the ventilation pipe we entered as the optic nerve of an eye, then this must be... the cerebral cortex?”

She’d majored in biology and psychology at school, so she was sensitive to organ structures—she was the first to realize it.

“Doesn’t that mean we’re in great danger?” Zhang Lingfei’s expression grew even more grim.

“Mm-hmm,” Luo Rao said with a smile.

Zhang Jing’e sat quietly nearby, listening closely to their discussion. She didn’t interject a word; she was interested in advanced machinery and instruments, but her knowledge of mining zones was lacking.

“The information doesn’t seem to include any way to determine our position,” Zhang Lingfei said after carefully reviewing the data again.

High-risk mining zones like the Brain in the Sand were rarely discovered, survival rates were low, so the collected information was far from complete.

“The cerebral cortex is where neural activity is most frequent—just touch it and you’ll know,” Luo Rao said, removing her all-terrain combat gloves. Her pale, soft hands pressed directly to the ground.

“Tingly—there’s really an electric current.”

“Really?” Zhang Jing’e took off her gloves as well, pressing her palms to the floor. Sure enough, she felt waves of tingling sensation. “Luo Rao, you’re amazing.”

“Then we’re doomed, aren’t we?” Zhang Lingfei slumped to the floor. “I want to run away.”

---

The cortex area’s neural activity was intense, and the mental contamination just as dense. If they encountered it again, they might not even know how they died.

With Ji Cheng absent, who would dare risk a three percent chance? Zhang Lingfei saw the situation clearly.

It was simply too dangerous.

“Luo Rao, are you leaving? Maybe we should retreat together.”

“I’ll wait for Ah Cheng to come back,” Luo Rao said, brushing the dust from her hands, smiling.

“Jing’e, let’s go,” Zhang Lingfei signaled to her sister and pressed her earpiece, ready to register their departure.

“I don’t want to leave,” Zhang Jing’e said, shaking her head slightly as she stood behind Luo Rao.

“You don’t want to go?”

Zhang Lingfei’s eyes widened, her lashes curling upwards in disbelief at her sister’s reply.

She had intended for Zhang Jing’e to knock Luo Rao out and drag her away, but now both refused to leave.

Zhang Jing’e’s cheeks reddened, but she insisted, “This might be our only chance.”

The Hive Laboratory had become a high-risk mining zone, and with its already formidable defense system, it would surely be permanently sealed after this. So far, every second-order gene original in Southport New City had come from the Hive. Once sealed, until another site capable of producing second-order originals was found, no first-order ability user in the city would have a chance to advance.

“But the mental contamination is so dangerous,” Zhang Lingfei hesitated. As an ability user, when faced with the hope of advancement, few could withstand the temptation.

An angel seemed to urge her to flee, while a devil whispered that opportunity comes only once.

“But if we follow Ji Cheng...”

If they followed Ji Cheng, the risks of mental contamination would be much lower.

Zhang Lingfei’s mind raced.

Previously, Ji Cheng had managed to cleanse himself from contamination in just a few minutes. If he wasn’t infected or affected by hallucinations, his success rate in clearing mental contamination would be even higher.

If she and Jing’e stayed close to him, their safety would be greatly increased. With luck, they might even find several second-order gene originals!

She had to hold onto him tightly!

“Luo Rao, what if we ask Ji Cheng to take us along?” Zhang Lingfei nervously pointed to herself and Zhang Jing’e. “Would he agree?”

“Lingfei,” Luo Rao smiled, her eyes curving into slits, “I’m not sure. Maybe you could try triggering his protective instinct?”

“Protective instinct?”

Zhang Lingfei was dumbfounded, staring blankly at her. “How... how do I do that?”

She’d spent her whole life training, with no experience in matters of the heart—she was utterly clueless.

Luo Rao looked her up and down. “Just act a bit more fragile.”

“What exactly counts as fragile?”

---

Luo Rao stepped closer, suddenly pinching Zhang Lingfei hard at the waist.

Zhang Lingfei asked, puzzled, “Why are you pinching me?”

“That won’t do,” Luo Rao commented, as if critiquing her. “Now try pinching me.”

Three seconds later.

“Ow, that hurts~” Luo Rao fluttered her watery eyes and whined in a voice so soft it melted into her bones.

Zhang Lingfei was dumbstruck, utterly shocked.

“Lingfei, have you got it?”

“Maybe I should just give up on the second-order gene original.”

...

Ji Cheng’s steps were light as he vaulted over a slab of sandstone embedded in the floor, finally returning to the room from before.

He pushed the door open.

Three pairs of beautiful eyes turned toward him at once.

“Why did it take you so long to come back?”

Ji Cheng shrugged. “Something came up and delayed me a bit. You didn’t run into any trouble, did you?”

It seemed they hadn’t, but he needed to change the subject—after all, he had kept them waiting quite a while.

“No danger,” Luo Rao said, curling up next to him like a kitten, sniffing carefully. “Ah Cheng, you smell like blood.”

Ji Cheng changed the topic. “Did you hear what Brother Zhou said earlier?”

He pointed to his earpiece.

“We heard. He said this is a high-risk mining zone,” Zhang Lingfei replied, conflicted.

Ji Cheng was contemplating his plan and casually asked, “So, what’s your decision? Will you withdraw, or stay and keep searching?”

“Ji Cheng,” Zhang Lingfei slowly walked to his side, took a deep breath, and gazed at his sharply cut jaw, her heart beating faster.

“What is it?”

As if summoning all her courage, she closed her eyes and said dryly:

“Pinch me.”