The entire surgical process took less than a minute to complete. The insect eggs in Wu Mu's waist and abdomen had been thoroughly removed, along with the root-like white veins and the pus scattered inside his abdominal cavity. Everything was cleaned up.
Even more bizarrely, a scar now marked his belly, yet it had no suture lines. It looked as if it had already healed for three or four months, with no fresh blood seeping out.
Ash stepped forward in a timely manner, taking out a bottle of purified water to help Chu Yin wash the blood off her hands. He also cleaned the Scalpel and wiped Wu Mu's waist and abdomen area with an antiseptic cotton swab.
By now, Wu Mu was gradually regaining control over his body. With Ash's help, he slowly sat up against the wall, relieved at the sight of his abdomen, which looked as if it had never been injured.
"These green specks, dug out from your chest cavity and abdomen along with the larger ones, must also be insect eggs." Ash, half-squatting on the ground, pointed at the scattered rice-grain-like green objects. He continued indifferently to Wu Mu, "These insects don't carry any elements of mysticism. According to the analyzer, they also lack pheromonal components or any other special elements. I suspect they are not for tracking, but for consuming humans. Even if you dug out the larger eggs, these tiny ones would have devoured your organs."
As if to prove his point, the green "rice grains" on the ground burst one by one. Countless tiny insects crawled out from within and scattered in every direction.
However, Wu Mu, who was already prepared, simply lifted a canister-like mini-Flamethrower, pressed the button, and sprayed blue flames at the insects scattered all over the ground.
A CRACKLING AND POPPING sound, like exploding popcorn, rang out continuously. After a brief moment, all the insects excised by the Scalpel shrieked faintly and were burned to ashes, completely wiped out. Not a single one survived.
Unable to help himself, Wu Mu swallowed hard. If not for my Title Skill, Hand Holding Success, which allows me to remember the scent of someone else's perspiration, and if this team of Special Affairs Bureau Mobile Detachment players hadn't also received the same mission, I'd likely be suffering the agony of being devoured by thousands of insects after barely escaping from the Resentful Demon and Gulu Lugu.
"Hey, hey!" Chu Yin, who had just performed an extraordinary surgery and was in a particularly bad mood, waved her hand impatiently in front of the dazed Wu Mu. "We've healed you, so shouldn't you give us an explanation now?"
Wu Mu had no tape to offer her, so he could only recount everything honestly, starting from when he accepted the mission.
This Wu Mu happened to be a Level 11 Lone Wolf player. His laid-back nature didn't take kindly to constraints, so he had not joined the Mobile Detachment. Plus, having grown up in a relative's home that treated him harshly, he hardly had friends or relatives needing official protection. He usually worked as a Bounty Hunter, helping the Special Affairs Bureau solve special cases, earning Game Currency and Special Affairs Bureau Contribution Points, and incidentally maintaining a good relationship with the authorities.
In fact, his overall mission completion rating was just above average. The reason he accepted this mission was because of his friend—the now deceased Si Wenbin—whom he happened to meet on Mid-Autumn night.
The stronger Level 12 player, Si Wenbin, was quite confident in his own abilities. Without a second thought, he accepted the deathmatch mission released by the System. Wu Mu, in a moment of folly, followed Si Wenbin, hoping to cash in on the opportunity, and joined him in the deathmatch.
The outcome, of course, was incredibly tragic.
From the start, the two were located north of Yin City and failed to secure the special item, the Lunar Phase Locator. Afterward, Si Wenbin believed that the essence of the mission lay in hiding and stealth. Since the Lunar Phase Locator had been snatched up by other players, they would need to choose a spot near the center of the barrier and set up an elaborate trap to avoid trouble. Even if players wielding the Lunar Phase Locator came knocking, they could rely on traps to remain undefeated.
Si Wenbin, skilled at setting various malicious traps, had made all the preparations early on. However, he hadn't anticipated that, at this time, the Resentful Demon and Gulu Lugu were under relentless pursuit by the Special Affairs Bureau. To avoid the Mobile Detachment, the Resentful Demon followed the instructions of the Lunar Phase Locator directly, seeking out the nearest players and crashing headlong into Si Wenbin's traps.
After a fierce battle, even though Gulu Lugu suffered severe injuries, the Resentful Demon managed to fight against two enemies, killing Si Wenbin on the spot and capturing Wu Mu. The Resentful Demon then allowed Gulu Lugu to plant insect eggs in him, thereby restraining Wu Mu. The Resentful Demon used him to activate the Ball Technique, causing the pursuing Mobile Detachment to return without success. Xing Hechou was also dispatched by his superiors to Qianhua Road because he failed to find the troublemaking player.
Fortunately, Wu Mu had a lifesaving skill. Taking advantage of the gap while the Resentful Demon was reshaping Gulu Lugu's body, he fled a great distance and escaped. Following the faint scent of sweat in the air, he found two Special Affairs Bureau players and saved himself.
"Maybe it was because they didn't take me seriously at all. They held a long conversation in front of me, in an unknown language." Wu Mu pressed his hand against the somewhat prickling and itching area on his waist and abdomen, and said slowly, "I happened to have a special piece of equipment that granted All Language Mastery, and I successfully decoded their speech."
"What did they say?"
"..." Wu Mu remained silent for a moment as he recalled, then lifted his head and said with a wry smile, "They said, according to ancient scrolls left by the Kuiyang Sect, the true entrance to the Demon Prison will reveal itself at the sixth barrier contraction. And that they would be able to rescue a great being from deep within the Misty Territory."
The Demon Prison... the Kuiyang Sect...
"Those two demons are definitely the players most familiar with the nature of our mission in this event!" Ash suddenly stood up, pacing back and forth. He stated with decisive certainty, "This mission was very likely triggered by them!"
As a member of the Mobile Detachment, Ash naturally knew what had happened above ground. According to documents issued to the agents by the Special Affairs Bureau, the situation in Yin City had become extremely critical. If things worsened, evacuation of the entire city's population would be necessary, possibly even the abandonment of Yin City.
A heavy burden pressed on Ash's shoulders. The urgent priority is to find those two demons before the end of the mission, uncover the true nature of the task, and then, after the mission's end, relay the intelligence to my superiors...
"Shh!" Chu Yin, who was beside him, her expression suddenly changing, gestured with her hands for Ash to keep quiet. She herself turned towards the dark subway tunnel in the Grey-white World, listening attentively.
SWISH—
A barely perceptible breeze was slowly blowing through the tunnel.
This subway station had been abandoned for many years. Although connected to the outside subway system, due to its unique structure, it was very difficult for outside wind to flow in here.
This slight breeze could only reveal one chilling fact.
Enemy attack!