Chapter 106: Outpost Base
"I feel like you're thinking something bad, so no."
Little Red refused outright.
"I wasn't."
Lin Ye gazed at Little Red with sincere eyes. If he could use cheats, nobody would want to struggle desperately.
"Still no. Because my connection to that side is tighter. Borrowing our power would bring you no good. Of course, if you encounter an enemy you cannot overcome, then connect to the divine seat. At worst, we'll all fall into the Abyss together."
Little Red said with a serious expression.
"I understand."
Lin Ye didn't say more. He didn't actually need Little Red's help that much. If she had agreed to help, he would have needed to seriously reconsider things.
"You should go. After your dangerous operations, this church will become extremely dangerous in the future. You'd better not approach this church again."
Little Red opened the confession booth door. The church interior was now flooded with red liquid that originated from the other side of the confession booth. Organs composed of flesh and blood grew rapidly in the liquid like blooming flowers, maturing and blossoming before falling back into the liquid.
Little Red glanced at the liquid, which parted like a living creature to both sides, revealing a path from the confession booth to the church entrance.
"Then I'm leaving."
Lin Ye exited the church. Behind him, the church had turned dark red, its damaged sections replaced by aberrant flesh.
After leaving the church, the black threads within Lin Ye's body grew restless, and the peripheral vision monster began slowly approaching his back.
Lin Ye ignored them. As long as they didn't cause trouble before the simulation ended, it was fine.
Running downward a while longer, Lin Ye finally reached the outpost.
The outpost was a simple structure embedded in the slope, less than a hundred square meters.
There were no protective facilities around the building, yet it remained completely intact.
Opening the base door, the interior resembled someone's private residence more than a military base, filled with highly personalized private items.
A half-person-high single penguin sofa, cute animal magnets covering the refrigerator door, carefully arranged bookshelves stuffed with various novels and manga, a soft large bed piled high with plush toys...
"......"
Lin Ye silently lifted the pull-door leading to the basement and descended along the stairs.
The basement was unlit. Lin Ye's mental energy seemed restricted somehow, unable to perceive information outside his body.
In the darkness, the slowly growing black threads within Lin Ye's body suddenly revolted, tearing apart half his body. The peripheral vision monster abruptly closed in, instantly pressing against Lin Ye's back.
Death approached, but Lin Ye didn't give up struggling. He activated all the runes within his body, pushed off with his feet, leaped over the stairs in two steps, and landed on the basement floor.
Now unable to gather information through mental energy, Lin Ye could only search for the light switch. Since it wasn't on the first floor, it was likely near the stairs.
Lin Ye felt along the wall near the stairs and soon found a switch.
Pressing the switch, light illuminated the basement.
Once the lights turned on, the black threads stabilized, and the peripheral vision monster's movements slowed.
Lin Ye's condition was poor now—half his body replaced by black threads that had taken root in his organs, with most of his internal organs exposed to air.
The peripheral vision monster pressed even closer against his back, just one step away from his body.
Lin Ye controlled the black threads to support his body and retracted his organs and the threads. He didn't particularly care about his appearance, but he also shouldn't approach this place's owner in such a state.
A little girl with golden hair curled up deep in the basement, hugging her knees. She now looked at Lin Ye with terror filling her face.
"Hello, I'm Vincent, D-Class personnel from the organization. The organization sent me to investigate the situation here. May I ask what happened?"
Lin Ye didn't approach her. Although his mental energy restrictions lifted after the lights came on, and she registered as just a normal human child in his perception, a normal person appearing in such a place was inherently abnormal.
"Did big brother come to help Alice?"
The girl's voice was soft and fragile, making people instinctively want to sacrifice everything for her.
"No, I'm just here to investigate. And obviously, I need help more right now. Alice, can you help me?"
Lin Ye revealed his devastated right side, speaking with a pained, tearful voice.
"That could be possible, but you'll have to play a game with me. If you win, I'll help you."
Alice instantly changed expressions, going from weak and helpless to excited and eager in a quarter of a second.
"What game? What do I pay if I lose?"
Lin Ye was no slouch either, his mask of pain vanishing instantly as he gazed at Alice with pleasure.
"A very simple classic game."
Alice produced a revolver and spun its cylinder, emitting crisp clicking sounds.
"I like classics."
Lin Ye sat opposite Alice and reached out to take the revolver.
"The rules are simple..."
"Shh."
Lin Ye interrupted Alice, holding the gun with his left hand. The pistol brushed past his thigh as the cylinder spun violently.
Before the spinning stopped, Lin Ye already pressed the muzzle against his temple.
No spiritual energy shield deployed—even if he had, it might not have worked... and he felt he wouldn't die.
Lin Ye slowly but firmly pulled the trigger five times in succession, with the bullet only rotating into firing position on the final shot.
"I won."
"No, you haven't fired yet."
Alice moved Lin Ye's left hand, aiming the muzzle at her own forehead.
"No, I've already won. I did nothing, fired five times without dying. Who do you think rigged it? So your purpose in this game wasn't to kill me, but to make me shoot and kill you. I won't shoot to kill you, therefore I won."
Lin Ye released the revolver, carefully watching Alice's facial expressions. He needed Alice to tell him how to resolve the situation here without killing her.
"...You won. As expected of the organization's elite—such injuries don't affect your thinking. To show respect, I'll watch you die miserably. By the way, your expression when you fired just now was really handsome."
Instead of getting angry, Alice applauded and cheered for Lin Ye. Though she was the organization's enemy, she had to admit the organization was the righteous side with many people worthy of respect.
"I suggest you kill me. Because as long as I'm alive, there's possibility for a comeback."
His injuries were manageable, but the peripheral vision monster was almost raising its hand. Lin Ye hoped to obtain more information before death.
"You want to transfer those messy things to me? They wouldn't be interested in this body—otherwise she wouldn't have been locked here alone. Don't you think the organization is cruel? Locking a little girl who understands nothing in a place like this."
Alice greatly enjoyed conversing with Lin Ye. The game wasn't over yet; Lin Ye hadn't given up struggling.
"Very cruel. If she wasn't voluntary, I'll find someone to go back and have words with the organization."
Lin Ye thought of the organization higher-up who sent him here—that person should be someone he could reason with.