"I have no intention of harming him," the one-armed man explained. "I just want him to understand—if his prophetic ability is S-rank, then I strongly suggest he stays here and does not participate in our plan with the Anran Squad.
"Prophecy-type players are too valuable. They don't need to risk their lives for game rewards—the government will take care of them no matter what."
"Yeah, Old Zhao is actually a good guy," Wang Zichen added, introducing him to Mu Chenyi and Chen Wan'er. "He's the brain of our squad. He has two A-rank skills—one is Top-tier Hacker, and the other is Master Biologist."
"The first time he participated in an apocalypse instance, it just happened to be a Doomsday-level AI uprising. And guess what? He drew the perfect counter-skill—Top-tier Hacker."
"It was basically the best possible matchup. Thanks to that skill, Old Zhao survived that hellish instance. And since first-time players get enhanced rewards, he directly obtained a second A-rank skill—Master Biologist."
Wang Zichen gestured toward the numerous flasks and test tubes around them.
"So yeah, Old Zhao isn't just a hacking genius—he's also a top-tier biologist!"
Mu Chenyi and Chen Wan'er exchanged surprised glances.
Meanwhile, the one-armed man remained completely indifferent. His face betrayed no trace of pride.
"Now, back to what I was saying," Old Zhao continued. "After analyzing these monsters' behavior through surveillance, I noticed something interesting."
He activated the surveillance feed and zoomed in on a specific scene.
The three of them gathered around.
On the screen, a small pond appeared—its surface was littered with the floating corpses of numerous goldfish.
"This is the lake in Forest Park. Normally, this pond has a designated caretaker who feeds the fish, so there is no reason for so many goldfish to suddenly die like this."
After saying this, Old Zhao switched to another video feed.
"Now, watch this…"
The screen displayed a man with a frozen, artificial smile riding a bicycle past the lake.
However, the moment he approached the water, something odd happened.
His expression changed.
For just a split second, the eerie, unnatural grin wavered—then he suddenly veered away, deliberately avoiding the lake as if it were something terrifying.
Mu Chenyi narrowed his eyes.
"Is he a player?" he asked.
"No."
Old Zhao pulled up the man's personal information and displayed it on the screen.
"His name is Li Si. He's just an ordinary office worker. In real life, he passes by this lake every day on his way to work. Sometimes, he even stops to feed the fish."
"But in this apocalypse instance—he avoided the lake like the plague. And for a brief moment, he even lost control over his fake smile."
Hearing this, Wang Zichen couldn't hold back any longer.
"Alright, Old Zhao, enough with the suspense!" he urged. "Just tell us—what the hell did you find out?"
"Patience. Keep watching."
Old Zhao pulled up even more footage.
In the following scenes, numerous other "humans"—who were actually disguised monsters— all displayed the exact same reaction.
Whenever they approached the lake, their expressions would briefly shift, revealing a flicker of revulsion.
Then, without exception, they all deliberately distanced themselves from the water.
"Fatty Wang, do you remember the boss we encountered in the Heavenly Tree Treasure instance?" the one-armed man asked, turning to Wang Zichen.
"Of course, I remember! That damn reward got stolen by a bunch of bastards!" Wang Zichen gritted his teeth in anger at the memory.
"Then, do you recall how we managed to defeat that boss?"
Wang Zichen furrowed his brows, recalling the events.
"We were one of the last groups to climb the tree because we got held up by some monsters on the ground. But, ironically, that delay ended up being a blessing—we discovered the weapon that could kill the final boss."
"Exactly," the one-armed man nodded. "And according to the official explanation, every known Plague-level and Disaster-level apocalypse always has a method to resolve it."
He pointed to the lake on the surveillance screen.
"Which is why I believe this lake contains the weapon we need to deal with these green-furred monsters!"
"Or more specifically, a weapon to kill the final boss of this instance!"
"I've already shared this information with the Anran Squad, and we've agreed to move in together at night to retrieve the weapon. Whether or not we get the ultimate reward depends on who the true mastermind is—the mayor or his son!"
Saying this, he lifted his head confidently, an aura of determination radiating from him.
Good. But soon enough, I'll be the one making discoveries.
As Mu Chenyi silently observed, he agreed with this assessment.
"Our plan is simple," the one-armed man continued.
"We head to the lake, retrieve the weapon, then regroup with the Anran Squad. From there, we hunt down the mayor and his son—take out these two bosses—and claim the full Disaster-level reward."
After explaining his strategy, he turned toward Mu Chenyi.
"You're a rare prophecy-type player. So, I strongly advise you stay here in this fortress. Trust me, this place isn't some shabby underground hideout like Fatty Wang's—even if those green-furred monsters attack for a full thirty days, they won't break in."
"Alright, then I'll stay here."
This was the answer given by the Future Body.
Hearing Future Body's decision, the observing Mu Chenyi wasn't surprised.
Without a revival token, plus the one-armed man's assurance, it was highly likely he would choose to stay.
Everyone else had revival tokens—even if they failed, they would only lose one and still have room for error. But he didn't.
If he failed, it was a dead end.
"Then it's settled," the one-armed man confirmed. "We'll rest for now and move out at 1 AM."
He then explained, "These monsters have resting patterns similar to humans—they all go to sleep at night. That gives us a better window to execute the plan. If we get spotted, it'll be big trouble."
With the plan finalized, the one-armed man arranged resting areas for all three of them.
Mu Chenyi's perspective followed Future Body, watching as he entered a room and eventually fell asleep.
Then, time blurred.
"Wake up! Wake up!"
A hurried voice rang out, snapping Future Body out of his slumber.
It was Wang Zichen, and his voice was filled with urgency.
"Get up right now! We're surrounded by those damn monsters!"
"What?!"
Instantly wide awake, Future Body sat up and demanded, "What do you mean surrounded? What happened?!"
"Just follow me, you'll see!"
Wang Zichen led Mu Chenyi down several floors, all the way to the lowest level of Lao Zhao's fortress.
The monitoring room was located at the very bottom, and inside, Lao Zhao stood in front of the surveillance screens, his expression grim.
The surveillance system covered all four sides of the fortress, a total of sixteen camera feeds.
And what made it truly horrifying—
Every single feed was filled with green-furred monsters.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of these creatures had fully transformed into their monstrous forms.
Countless bulging eyeballs had popped out of their sockets, and they all stared directly into the cameras, locking eyes with the team inside.
They had discovered the surveillance system, but instead of destroying the cameras, they deliberately made sure they were seen.
The one-armed man narrowed his eyes, his tone ice-cold.
"They're taunting us."