Chapter 87

a night passed. it must be said, the money spent on this was well worth it. especially for a mission location this remote from zion city, being able to restore mental energy during the ride was essential. --- the next day still half-asleep, yi chen suddenly felt a sharp, piercing sensation from within his body, as if plants were drilling through him. he abruptly sat up. after waking, the feeling didn’t subside; instead, it intensified. some plant seedlings even began sprouting from his pores, as if issuing a warning. jin was still asleep, one long leg draped over the other. drool seeped from the gaps of his mask. yi chen tried his best not to disturb his rest. he moved to the front of the carriage, opened the window, and asked the coachman in the iron mask: “excuse me, have we entered the territory of jose valley?” “we just arrived a minute ago. can you sense something abnormal here?” “yes… the plants here feel very unusual.” “hmm, even the sound of the horses’ hooves hitting the ground has changed. i hope you can resolve the situation quickly. if it worsens, we’ll need high-ranking gentlemen from the organization to intervene. in about half an hour, we’ll reach the black eye outpost. you can start preparing to disembark now.” “thank you.” returning to his bed, yi chen sat cross-legged and began regulating the plants within his body, suppressing the discomfort. not long after, the carriage turned onto a steep, concealed mountain road, climbing to the top of a hill. this hill was in the southwestern part of jose valley. from its cliffside, one could overlook the forest and catch a glimpse of the event site—shepherd village. at the top of the cliff stood six black tents marked with organizational insignias. in the center was a six-meter-tall black obelisk, sculpted at the top with an eye symbol, possibly the origin of the [black eye outpost] name. the final stretch of road leading to the base was heavily obstructed with metal barricades, forcing the carriage to stop prematurely. --- “jin, we’re here.” awakening, jin skillfully slurped back the drool hanging from his mouth, adjusted the mask, and slowly sat up cross-legged, stretching lazily. he showed no hint of pre-mission tension, looking completely nonchalant. “so, we’re here already? i definitely stayed up too late last night… i’d love to sleep another half-day.” he tied a skull-patterned necktie over his red floral shirt, donned slacks and casual leather shoes, and threw on a strikingly colorful floral suit. as jin stepped out of the carriage and noticed the lack of direct access to the base, his temper flared. “we still have to walk this far? what useless idiots. they’ve been stationed here for ages, and instead of solving anything, they’ve just set up all this junk to waste our time.” perhaps still groggy from sleep, jin lashed out at the nearest metal barricade with a kick. the several-hundred-kilogram barricade was sent flying, the impact point caving in severely as it tumbled down the hillside. yi chen was startled. ‘jin’s strength is comparable to dagobert’s! his physique looks similar to mine, and his legs don’t even show signs of training—yet he possesses such power. is it because he controls his body differently?’ just then, little grape’s voice resonated in his mind: *“it’s not just body control. after all, william can control his body too! that kick just now… i sensed a faint energy explosion. i suspect this human can produce controlled explosions within her flesh, giving her bursts of immense power. her mastery over her body, especially in terms of combat, is leagues ahead of yours! such extraordinary humans are rare. you should become good friends with her.”* little grape’s excitement grew, almost drooling with anticipation. it even seemed like if yi chen were to die accidentally, little grape might run off to jin and start calling jin “sister.” with the barricade destroyed, a small team of stationed gentlemen rushed over. the team leader, holding a two-headed dog as a pet, approached. the dog barked fiercely the moment it saw yi chen. who would have thought that this behavior would anger little grape? an eyeball appeared on its shoulder, and the dog immediately tucked its tail and hid behind its owner. the leading gentleman, sporting a small mustache and dressed in a standard brown morning suit, immediately recognized yi chen and jin, as well as their purpose for being here. a trace of helplessness—and even self-doubt—appeared on his face. “are you the reinforcements sent by gethsemane? we haven’t even reported the difficulties we’re facing here… has the delay been too long?” yi chen took a step forward, bowed, and said, “that’s correct. we were entrusted by instructor bailey to assist in handling the issues related to shepherd village and the new life church.” “william, this is my friend, jin.” “i’m wilmer, the temporary leader of the black eye outpost. follow me.” the other party didn’t mention the destruction of the barricade. even though yi chen and jin looked to be only in their twenties, wilmer showed no prejudice. instead, he was filled with reverence for gethsemane. as they entered the outpost, gentlemen living in the tents poked their heads out, curiously observing the young reinforcements sent by gethsemane. many of them had dark circles under their eyes, looked exhausted, and some were even wrapped in bandages. the entire outpost was devoid of vitality, exuding a silent sense of despair. wilmer led the two to a cliff and pointed to the central forest of the jose valley. “that’s the area we need to investigate. it’s practically a natural fortress, and it’s growing and expanding every day.” yi chen and jin followed his gesture, gazing at the forest. in the forest’s center, a circular wall of densely packed trees had formed, enclosing the inner area where shepherd village was located. this area accounted for about one-fifth of the entire forest. the top of the enclosed region was also covered by dense foliage, completely obscuring the view of its interior. moreover, the tree-wall structure forming the blockade continued to expand outward. the thickness of the tree walls had already reached a terrifying several hundred meters. if the root cause of this pathogenic growth wasn’t eradicated soon, it would eventually engulf the entire jose valley. however, yi chen’s expression remained unchanged. this kind of blockade structure, related to plants, shouldn’t be too difficult for him to handle. “please tell us in detail about your progress over this period, and also provide us with shepherd village’s ‘rules.’” “our progress has been poor, and we have very little useful investigative data. even with the ‘eye tower’ in place, we haven’t been able to gather any information about the interior. i’m considering that if you two cannot make any effective progress within three days, i’ll arrange for a group to return to zion and request support from the higher-ranking gentlemen.” these words triggered jin’s temper, and he retorted immediately: “don’t compare the two of us with you useless people. if you have no valuable information, just say so—stop wasting our time.” surprisingly, jin’s words didn’t anger wilmer. it seemed that, to some extent, this temporary leader had already acknowledged his incompetence in this matter. “i prepared the investigation data yesterday, along with the village’s rules, in a file folder. you can take it directly. i only have one request. if you manage to enter the blockade zone, please look for two missing gentleman teams and try to bring them back.” yi chen stepped in front of jin to block him, responding amicably: “understood. we’ll do our best to locate the missing teams and, if possible, bring them back.” “thank you.” when handing over the file, wilmer deliberately lowered his voice and whispered to yi chen, “do you need us to provide an investigation team to enter the forest with you?” yi chen smiled and replied: seaʀᴄh thё novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. “if you have the capacity and confidence, you can choose to conduct a synchronized investigation with us. however, based on the number of gentlemen at this outpost and their current state, it’s better for you to stay here. as you mentioned earlier, if we don’t send back any valuable information within three days, report the situation here to zion.” as they left the outpost, yi chen intentionally patted the temporary leader’s shoulder firmly twice. "midnight tonight—let’s go!"