Chapter 62

“Hey, hey. Hurry up and follow!”

The orange-haired girl with a high ponytail walked at the very front, a large backpack slung over her shoulders. She turned and waved at her teammates. 

“Slow down a bit. Why are you so energetic?”

Roy’s neatly styled blond hair had wilted. He panted as he hurried along.

“Probably because Luqi slept the best last night.”

Pei Xi smiled helplessly. Unlike Luqi, they had not brought waterproof jackets. Their clothes were still damp.

Moisture permeated the aberrant realm. Plants and small animals were everywhere. Mosquitoes had tormented them all night. Fortunately, Luqi had brought insect repellent.

More accurately, Zhao Mei had reminded them, and Luqi had listened. Pei Xi gradually sobered. He had already found the other teammates yesterday. Only Zhao Mei remained missing.

Strangely, he was not overly worried. Zhao Mei had even predicted what supplies were needed here. Her situation was likely better than theirs.

Pei Xi stared at the ground as he drifted to the rear of the group.

Regret surfaced. Perhaps he should have asked about Zhao Mei’s identity when they first met. Even a false answer would have been better than nothing. His mystery unsettled him, and that unease bred guilt.

The black-haired, blue-eyed boy exhaled. Regardless of Zhao Mei’s background, she had helped them. Friends should trust one another.

“People ahead!”

The scouting butterfly returned. Luqi shouted and quickened her pace. Pei Xi refocused and followed. Voices were already audible.

After crossing a small slope, the Cloud Soarers Squad emerged from the forest. A wide clearing lay ahead, filled with civilians and uniformed knights. Several familiar faces stood out.

“This is the necklace I gave my little sister. Thank you…”

The boy said nothing. He crouched beside the sobbing woman, gently patting her back. After she calmed, he whispered something to her.

“Zhao Mei?”

Pei Xi called hesitantly.

The boy turned, revealing a familiar gentle face.

“It is good. Everyone is safe.”

He sighed with quiet emotion and walked over.

“We finally found you. Now our squad is whole again.”

Pei Xi smiled, then noticed Bai Muqing and Yu Tianming among the crowd. If Yu Tianming was here, where was Sykes?

Noticing his confusion, the boy explained,

“Sykes is missing. He appears to be trapped in the red forest to the southeast.”

Shock crossed Pei Xi’s face as the others gathered, disbelief plain in their expressions.

“How could Sykes be trapped? As long as he activates his ability, what could he possibly fail to destroy?”

Roy’s voice carried unmistakable shock.

“According to Yu Tianming, his ability was nullified by a blond girl. Have you encountered her?”

Roy, Kyle, and Luqi exchanged glances. None of them had any recollection of a blond girl.

Only Pei Xi’s expression darkened slightly. He asked, “Was it a girl with disheveled blond hair, wearing a blue uniform?”

When he had once observed this aberrant realm from the outside, he had personally seen a blond girl emerge from it. He had never heard of anyone who could freely enter and leave an aberrant realm. Even though he had only glimpsed her from afar, the sense of danger she radiated had been overwhelming.

The black-haired, green-eyed boy nodded. “It was her. Her purpose is unclear, but she does not appear friendly toward those of us who intruded here.”

Pei Xi pressed on. “Other than Sykes, are the rest of the people who entered still alive?”

“When we passed the red forest, Roy was nearly seized. Who knows how many people it has already devoured.”

Hearing this, Ye Zheng silently thought that Pei Xi and his group truly lived up to their status as the protagonist team. Their luck was remarkable. Not only had they reunited quickly, but they had also avoided both the strangest phenomena and the most dangerous individual in this realm.

She parted her lips, intending to speak, when another voice answered first.

“Other than Sykes, the two academy teams who entered earlier are likely all dead. Most of the survivors in this aberrant realm are gathered here.”

The bespectacled boy spoke with his usual mild demeanor, though an innate arrogance lingered beneath it. Pei Xi noticed at once that Yu Tianming’s glasses were cracked. The flaw made him seem less untouchable, less aloof, and strangely more human.

“You finally made it. Zhao Mei and I have been waiting for you for quite some time.”

Yu Tianming smiled at them, gentle and courteous. Even his tone carried a calm anticipation, which inexplicably unsettled Pei Xi.

From their limited past interactions, Yu Tianming had always appeared the most approachable among the upper-district nobles. Yet beneath that façade, his arrogance had never been concealed from lower-district people like them. He usually spoke to them only to issue commands.

So what had changed? Had this aberrant realm altered him?

The next moment, Pei Xi witnessed something even more disconcerting.

Standing beside Zhao Mei, Yu Tianming asked in a solemn voice, “Zhao Mei, now that everyone you were waiting for has arrived, when do we begin?”

Pei Xi froze.

What exactly had happened while Zhao Mei was missing? If he remembered correctly, Zhao Mei had not even met the royal team before joining their squad. Had they known each other beforehand? And to the extent that Yu Tianming now appeared almost obedient?

The black-haired, green-eyed boy raised a hand lightly. “Yu Tianming, go to the knight order and select a few reliable people. We do not need many.”

Then he turned back. “Pei Xi, come with me. All of you.”

Yu Tianming immediately carried out the instruction. The Cloud Soarers followed Zhao Mei to a secluded corner, confusion written plainly across their young faces.

Even Luqi, usually carefree and slow to catch on, sensed something was amiss. He blurted out, “Zhao Mei, do you know Yu Tianming? You really are some young master from the upper district, aren’t you?”

The boy dressed in black smiled modestly. “I am not a young master from the upper district. On that point, I am not deceiving you.”

“As for Yu Tianming, I only met him today. We exchanged ideas. He found my perspective more suitable for the current situation and decided to assist.”

Roy could not restrain himself. “That man does not seem like someone who can be persuaded just by talking.”

“Is that so?” the boy replied lightly. “I find him rather easy to persuade.”

He brushed past the topic and continued, his expression turning serious. “We must head deep into the red forest. Whether it is Sykes or the core of the aberrant realm, both are there. The longer we delay, the worse it will become. This aberrant realm is expanding rapidly.”

“After all, it is the Blood Flower from back then.”

His soft sigh landed heavily.

Pei Xi’s back stiffened. His blue eyes trembled as he stared at the boy. “You said… the Blood Flower?”

The boy nodded and relayed what Yu Tianming had told him. Shock spread across every face. None of them had imagined that the Blood Flower, which once cast such a massive shadow over the empire and especially the lower district, would descend again.

Ye Zheng glanced sideways. Pei Xi had turned away, his expression hidden. Only the tight line of his jaw betrayed him.

Silence lingered until Pei Xi finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “You said you already have a plan. Tell us.”

“Ah, that plan.”

Ye Zheng lowered her head, resting her fist against her chin in thought.

“We rely on the sincere bonds and strength of the Cloud Soarers, charge into the red forest, stay vigilant against the blond girl, locate Sykes, and destroy the aberrant realm.”

【No way. I actually thought you had a brilliant strategy.】

The system raised its volume in disbelief.

Ye Zheng responded calmly in her mind. “It is enough. As long as the Cloud Soarers shout about friendship and charge forward, the author will make them win. Readers like that kind of thing.”

Her teammates stared at her in stunned silence.

The black-haired, green-eyed boy smiled helplessly, though there was a faint glint of cunning beneath it.

“We know too little about this aberrant realm. Only by going deeper can we uncover its core. Finding Sykes will greatly improve our chances. No matter what, he is a powerhouse that appears only once every five hundred years.”

“Compared to the man-eating branches, the blond girl is the greater threat. I have clashed with her before. She can nullify abilities, but that power has limits. We simply lack the information to identify her weakness.”

As Pei Xi listened, the tension in his brow slowly eased. “Zhao Mei is right. The only option is to gather information through direct confrontation and then destroy this Blood Flower.”

The others nodded. If Zhao Mei said this was the only way, then there truly was no alternative. After all, when they had ignored Zhao Mei yesterday, they had suffered greatly. Even now, the discomfort lingered.

Moreover, even Yu Tianming had chosen to follow him. In truth, everyone here seemed content to let Zhao Mei take command.

“As expected of Zhao Mei. So smart!”

Luqi hopped over and bumped his head against the boy’s shoulder. “Just stay close to us this time. You always lag behind.”

Kyle scratched his head. “So when do we set out?”

Pei Xi listened to their lively chatter and felt an inexplicable dissonance. He struggled to define the boy before him, who always smiled gently and spoke softly.

When Zhao Mei lifted his green eyes and smiled at him, Pei Xi felt momentarily disoriented. It was as if the world had shifted without warning, as though he alone had been pulled out of a familiar story and forced to watch as the protagonist was quietly replaced.

No one else seemed to notice.

The sensation was even more unsettling than hearing about the Blood Flower. His heart felt as though unseen hands were kneading it relentlessly. A bitter taste filled his mouth. Something was wrong. He just did not know what.

【Warning. Character foundation instability detected. Initiating role consciousness correction.】

Ye Zheng’s eyelid twitched as red warning text flashed before her eyes.

This time, there was no pain.

Her gaze shifted to Pei Xi. His black hair obscured his face, but his shoulders trembled faintly.

“Pei Xi, are you feeling unwell?”

Concern turned toward him immediately.

After a long pause, Pei Xi straightened and smiled reassuringly, though he still looked pale. “It is nothing. I suddenly felt dizzy.”

Ye Zheng stared at him for a long moment, then looked away.

Interesting. The warning had not been directed at her. As his teammates crowded around him, Pei Xi felt weak and unreal, his chest aching faintly.

Suddenly, a hand supported his back. He turned and met Zhao Mei’s concerned green eyes.

“Do not push yourself. We are all here.”

Pain surged again, then faded as warmth spread through his back. His thoughts settled. The unease dissolved.

He touched his chest and exhaled. “Thank you, Zhao Mei. I feel much better.”

“Saying thank you creates distance. We are friends who support each other, aren’t we?”

Their smiles met. Soon, Pei Xi forgot his earlier weakness entirely.

Ye Zheng withdrew her hand unnoticed. A faint trace of water lingered on her fingertip.

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳  

Authors Note  

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻  

Jinjiang*, how could you end it on a cliffhanger like this……

[T/N- I'm not 100% sure but this probably reference to JJWXC (yep the chinese webnovel platform 晋江文学城 or Jinjiang Literature City in case literal translation)]