As Qin Xuezhong just opened her eyes, she saw Yu Zhezhong beside her.
Little Yu still looked a bit dazed.
Qin Xuezhong's earlier dramatic actions to break the situation had been quite impressive.
He wasn't sure if he was scared, shocked, or even a bit smitten; in any case, Qin Xuezhong thought his expression was a bit strange.
"You were… so cool just now," Yu Zhezhong finally exclaimed in admiration.
Qin Xuezhong smiled slightly, appearing humble yet actually reveling in her achievement, and replied, "It's nothing; that way is just more fun."
She genuinely thought it was quite enjoyable.
Who wouldn't want to summon countless dragons and interstellar warships with a wave of their hand to clear all obstacles?
What she didn't know was that this display hit Yu Zhezhong right in his weak spot.
As a genius youth burdened with high expectations since childhood, Yu Zhezhong had always been told he bore various responsibilities.
He was meant to contribute to his family, protect the Federation, consider humanity's future, learn to sacrifice, and prioritize the greater good…
But what was the outcome?
He had become a high-level puppet, doing dirty work for the big shots.
His very body was no longer his own.
He could only gain fleeting moments of respite between missions, and even those rare instances of freedom felt like a reward.
This situation made him increasingly despairing.
Until today.
In the enemy's lair, Qin Xuezhong had unreasonably shattered what he perceived to be a very dangerous dream control.
Alongside the shock, there was a sense of relief.
For the first time, he felt he wouldn't have to face these problems alone.
Seeing Qin Xuezhong staring at him in a daze, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Yu Zhezhong shook his head, "Nothing. Let's get out of here."
After saying this, he seemed to regain his motivation.
Qin Xuezhong thought he looked a bit more radiant.
She reached out and placed her hand on Yu Zhezhong's outstretched arm as she got out of bed.
Both were still in the clothes they had on before being kidnapped, and the room was nearly indistinguishable from the scene in the dream.
However, the corridor outside was flashing red and blaring alarms.
Upon seeing Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong emerge from the room, the two guards outside were clearly startled.
Just a moment ago, they had been chatting nervously; now, they immediately raised their guns. "Don't move! Hands on your heads! Face away!"
But it was too late.
Yu Zhezhong was already close enough to them; he quickly threw a cup he had just grabbed, launching it like a cannonball.
The cup hit one guard squarely in the face, causing him to jerk his gun upward and momentarily lose his threat.
As the cup flew out, Yu Zhezhong ducked down, took a swift step, and with a powerful push, he seemed to fly across the ground to the other guard, taking him down.
Yu Zhezhong clasped his hands, seized the gun, and knocked the guard unconscious.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Qin Xuezhong felt as if she had merely blinked, and one guard was down while the other hadn't even lowered his weapon.
Yu Zhezhong quickly, yet with a touch of composure, stood up, twisted the other guard's arm, took the gun, and knocked him out.
Qin Xuezhong watched, as if witnessing a splendid dance.
After handling the two guards, Yu Zhezhong instinctively raised his gun to eliminate them.
However, his attention was caught by the sight of Qin Xuezhong out of the corner of his eye, and he ended up putting the gun away.
This subtle movement did not escape Qin Xuezhong's notice.
She sensed that something had indeed changed within Yu Zhezhong.
According to his memories, he had experienced many dark moments; killing in critical situations had become second nature.
Now, eliminating these two guards was certainly the easiest option.
Yet he hesitated.
Qin Xuezhong found this a bit odd but didn't dwell on it.
Then she watched as Yu Zhezhong carefully unfastened the guards' uniforms, tying them up with a complex knot before dragging them aside.
Once he finished, he grinned mischievously, shot four rounds into each of their limbs, and deliberately rendered them incapable of escape.
He then explained to Qin Xuezhong, "In movies, there are always a few clever people who think they're heroes and try to break free to do something crazy after being tied up…"
Yu Zhezhong put away the gun and concluded, "For their safety, it's better not to give them that chance."
After saying this, he gestured grandly, like a devoted guardian clearing the path for Qin Xuezhong.
Qin Xuezhong smiled reassuringly as she moved forward, linking into the internal network of the place.
She encountered no obstacles; the power that had previously trapped her in the dream seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Seconds later, she had complete control of the entire sea castle's map, including secret rooms.
While reading the data, she also spotted Kai Si and others, who had surprisingly already entered the area.
Thus, she used the black space to actively contact all the members of the Ghost organization present.
---
Meanwhile, Kai Si and his team split into two groups.
One group, led by Xue Zhi Shi, stayed in the large room to protect the victims who were still unconscious.
Kai Si commanded several assault teams to begin exploring this mysterious sea base.
Even though it was built on the sea, the internal space was intricate, and they hadn't gone far before encountering several very dangerous traps.
Kai Si himself nearly got injured.
"Boss, this is the most primitive pressure-triggered trap. The main structure is embedded in the wall, and dismantling it might be a bit tricky."
Kai Si frowned and waved his hand, "Just take it apart! We can't just wait here."
He felt a bit anxious inside.
According to Mu Ting Deng, this bizarre place should have someone capable of using some sort of mental projection to invade everyone's chips.
Before setting out, he had equipped everyone with the highest-level brainwave defense devices, and since arriving here, they hadn't encountered any similar attacks.
However, the most terrifying danger is that which has yet to occur.
You can't predict when it will happen, how it will happen, or even how to prepare—this situation is the most troublesome.
Thus, Kai Si hoped to quickly gain control of the situation to prevent any accidents.
At that moment, a message suddenly popped up on his chip interface.
—From the black space.
---
All the assault team members stood frozen like wooden figures.
After the black space had been silent for so long, this was the first time they received a message from inside.
And it was from the Ghost himself.
The message contained not a single word, just a complete, detailed holographic map.
Every hidden space, passage, and corresponding code was clearly marked, including the ways to disable traps in each location.
Everyone exchanged glances, seeing a flicker of relief in each other's eyes.
The Ghost was indeed here!
On the map, they could even see the locations of all the team members.
They could see the dots representing themselves, the position of the Ghost, and… many people in the castle running towards a location on the lowest level.
Seeing this, they all understood: that place was the endpoint to resolve this matter.
"Alright!" Kai Si exclaimed, invigorated. "With the Boss's map, we all know what to do. Let's move out!"
"Yes!" the others responded in unison.
Meanwhile, Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong were also heading downward.
She noticed that many people were running downwards.
She speculated that below might be an escape route or a counter-attack mechanism.
Thus, she used her consciousness to lock onto all the data nodes she could access before slowly making her way down.
Below was a massive passage filled with panicked faces.
A large portion of the people wore white coats, some were in black vests, and others donned simple work uniforms.
It seemed that within this doomsday castle, the division of labor was quite clear.
In the center of this crowd stood a group of golden-haired, blue-eyed individuals with features from the New World.
There were both men and women, dressed in flamboyant clothing.
The most eye-catching was a man in a white suit standing in the middle.
Upon seeing Qin Xuezhong and Yu Zhezhong approach, the bodyguards beside the man trembled and raised their guns.
Yu Zhezhong immediately stepped forward, positioning himself protectively behind Qin Xuezhong.
Qin Xuezhong scoffed lightly, placing her left hand on Yu Zhezhong's shoulder to calm him, while her right hand waved gently.
—All the armed individuals across from them suddenly burst with electricity and collapsed.
Their weapons clattered to the ground.
Such a magical display caused some people on the other side to faint right onto the floor.
—For Qin Xuezhong, this was an effortless feat. She discovered that none of these individuals had firewalls installed on their chips or devices; she only needed to amplify her intrusion signal through the castle's network equipment to easily control everyone.
It felt like being back home.
The middle-aged man at the forefront stammered, "Who… exactly are you?"
He had recognized that the person in front of him was the latest experimental subject captured by his subordinates.
He never expected to catch such a terrifying woman.
Qin Xuezhong mocked, "You captured me? Don't you know who I am? And now that I'm in control, shouldn't you be the one answering my question? Who are you?"
Upon hearing this, the man seemed to muster some courage.
He straightened his chest and replied, "I am David Langford, the current head of the Langford family!"
Facing the man's tone, Qin Xuezhong remained expressionless. "What are you doing here?"
"Breeding the next generation of new humans!" David Langford's face turned even redder as he pointed at Qin Xuezhong. "You! You've disrupted our work. Do you know what a grave mistake you've made?"
Qin Xuezhong frowned, a hint of anger hidden between her brows as she asked, "Breeding? New humans? If the next generation of humanity can only survive through kidnapping, it would be better to just go extinct."
"You people! You don't understand! Only the most excellent women, combined with the perfect genes of the Langford family… and my perfect genes can give birth to the smartest, most capable children!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, his expression twisting.
"Look, my child was able to deceive such a powerful person and trap you in a dream. If we can proceed to the next step…"
Just as David Langford was saying this, Kai Si and the others arrived.
To Mr. Langford's surprise, these fierce invaders, upon reaching this point, didn't raise their guns like before but instead displayed expressions of shock, even seeming a bit dazed.
He thought his speech had moved them.
But Kai Si and the others were thinking—does this guy have a death wish? How dare he talk about breeding and other nonsense in front of Qin Xuezhong, in front of the Ghost?
Qin Xuezhong actually smiled.
She asked, "What's the benefit of giving birth to new humans?"
David Langford thought Qin Xuezhong was taking him seriously and became even more animated. "You see, the environment is deteriorating, average lifespans are dropping drastically, and humanity is in crisis. Only with stronger new humans can we continue to survive…"
"Are you saying that without your plan, humanity will face extinction?"
"Yes!"
Langford wanted to say more, but a few light laughs interrupted him from behind.
Kai Si's mercenaries, who lived a life on the edge and lacked discipline, couldn't hold back their laughter upon hearing Langford's nonsense.
—What nonsense! Your New World is still in turmoil, and you dare come to the Eastern Continent to shamelessly claim to save the world?
Such an attempt to disguise crime with a sense of righteousness was more disgusting than the crime itself.
Qin Xuezhong chose not to say anything further.
She raised her gun and shot a round of buckshot directly at David Langford.
The middle-aged man was instantly left bloodied and crumpled to the ground by the powerful impact.
Everyone was taken aback.
No one expected the Ghost to be so decisive, eliminating Langford in such a straightforward manner.
Qin Xuezhong coldly stated, "Alright, now you've lost your chance. But I think humanity won't go extinct."