Chapter 321

Chapter 321: Self-Proof

“Is the mission over?”

This unexpected answer naturally surprised the members of Zheng Gaoya’s team. They began to involuntarily repeat the question.

“Did another team make some progress? We only have some normal samples collected here, and…”

Zheng Gaoya turned to the shortest member, Extraction:

“Zhang Tong, you still have the metal plaque, right?”

Extraction nodded silently and reached into his pocket to pull out a metal plaque to show Lin Qingliu.

Seeing the bone fragment come out of the already tattered pocket, Lin Qingliu could only nod in agreement.

At this moment, he possessed two completely different perspectives, or it could be said he had two filters.

He merged half of his body with the mycelium, allowing him to see the illusory images that the five in front of him saw, while his other eye retained the view of reality.

At this moment, Lin Qingliu’s brain was processing two different streams of information, much of which could reflect upon one another.

The so-called plaque was a piece of broken bone, and the standard weapon in Zheng Gaoya’s hand was a crooked branch. Their words in reality were merely the movement of mouths and the throating actions, with Lin Qingliu hearing nothing apart from the occasional hoarse sounds.

“Yes, other teams have made groundbreaking advancements, giving us a new understanding of this world.”

Facing the eager gazes of Zheng Gaoya and the others, Lin Qingliu looked around:

“You should also notice that this forest is unusual, so I can’t speak freely here.

“What if this forest is alive? That wouldn’t be good, right?”

“That makes sense; do you need command authority? If you have documents, I can deliver the command to you.”

“No need to be so troublesome; just treat me as a guide. Bringing you back is my mission.”

“Okay, should we leave now or wait until dawn?”

“Let’s wait until dawn; you can rest a bit longer.”

In just a few brief exchanges, Lin Qingliu had gained some trust from Zheng Gaoya.

After receiving the Captain’s order, the other members fell asleep peacefully, leaving only Zheng Gaoya, code-named “Tower,” and Lin Qingliu to keep watch.

“You’ve really worked hard on this mission; those who dare to come out from Hope City are truly the brave ones.”

Lin Qingliu’s praise was heartfelt. Although Zheng Gaoya agreed verbally, he never took his hand off the weapon at his waist.

“Don’t mention it. The achievements of the other teams show they must have faced more dangerous encounters. Our journey may have been dull, but it was still safe.”

“Dull…”

Lin Qingliu seemed to savor the word before casually asking:

“Could I see your adventure log? I’m just curious.”

“Sure.”

This wasn’t a secret; most teams kept their own logs, and the content was rarely confidential. As a fellow superpowered individual, Lin Qingliu could naturally look at it.

So Zheng Gaoya took a notebook from his backpack and flipped it open in the firelight.

“Why does it feel a bit damp?”

He muttered to himself instinctively, not seeking answers from anyone.

“Perhaps the humidity in the forest is quite high?”

Lin Qingliu offered a reasonable explanation.

Zheng Gaoya nodded and casually flipped through a few pages, but his expression gradually turned serious:

“The handwriting inside seems a bit blurred…”

His brows furrowed tightly, instinctively sensing something was amiss.

“This is a normal occurrence after exposure to moisture.”

Lin Qingliu remained calm and composed, as if he had seen such things many times before.

“However, the paper and pens provided by the Exploration Plan are specially made, so this shouldn’t happen.”

Zheng Gaoya didn’t feel the need to explain further to Lin Qingliu; his instincts were already sounding an alarm. He began to glance around, feeling a growing sense of unease.

“Perhaps something is wrong. Do you have any other way to verify?”

Lin Qingliu spoke like a mentor, gently guiding Zheng Gaoya.

“Verify… verify…”

The man’s tone grew urgent, and he instinctively wanted to wake his teammates, but Lin Qingliu stopped him:

“Let them rest. You go and retrieve the items. We’ll do our best to figure this out before dawn; it’ll be better for everyone.”

Zheng Gaoya nodded and walked over to his teammates, gathering their backpacks from beside the sleeping bags and bringing them to the campfire.

He pulled out the signal transmitter, but it wouldn’t open, as if it had been submerged in boiling water for hours.

The other items were in a similar state; the unfinished nutritional paste seemed to have spoiled, transforming from a gooey substance into a liquid.

The Beacons meant for marking special points were also unresponsive, refusing to light up.

Zheng Gaoya, unwilling to give up, tried repeatedly, switching equipment, replacing batteries, and even adjusting his approach.

But all his efforts were futile.

With his left eye, Lin Qingliu watched Zheng Gaoya’s fruitless search, while his right eye observed a decaying corpse stirring the already chaotic, half-rotted matter, occasionally letting out guttural hisses of anger. A pang of sorrow stirred within him.

Human imagination is rooted in reality; faced with branches that wouldn’t react, the filtered and mentally amplified result was that all instruments and tools had become useless.

When one flaw appears in a disguise, the rest begin to unravel like fragments peeling away.

The one who ultimately tore away this disguise was none other than Zheng Gaoya himself, who had noticed the anomalies in his own actions.

The logbook, soaked in murky water, felt damp to the touch, and its sparse records were smeared, further convincing him that the dampness had caused the blurring.

This discovery contradicted his fundamental understanding, revealing a corner of the disguise.

Zheng Gaoya slumped down by the campfire, completely unaware that one of his hands had reached into the nonexistent flames, feeling no burning pain.

He turned to Lin Qingliu, his eyes filled with doubt:

“It seems you anticipated all of this?”

“Mm.”

“Did our mission fail?”

“Mm.”

“How much of what you said is true? How much was just to comfort us?”

For the first time, Lin Qingliu’s expression shifted. He thought for a moment and replied:

“We have indeed gained a new understanding of this world; that is true. I am here to bring you back; that is also true.”