Xin Ye felt that every time he listened to Xun Yin speak, he needed a moment of silence to process it.
He turned to Jian Weiwei. "How about we head toward the source of that sound and check it out?"
"Are you worried about your teammates?" Jian Weiwei, who had been acting coquettishly toward the man beside her just a moment ago, suddenly turned cold. "I won't allow it. I told you, this mission is an individual competition. If everyone helps each other, what’s the point of the contest?"
She slowly withdrew the hand that had been reaching for 237’s arm, her fingernails digging into her own palm.
Seeing her sudden change in temperament, Xin Ye frowned. He really wanted to ask the instructor: *Are you okay?*
"She’s not professional enough," the man, who viewed himself strictly as a dedicated worker, answered internally. "I won't waste time on someone who lacks professionalism."
Xin Ye no longer bothered to maintain a respectful facade with Jian Weiwei. His teammates were his bottom line, and besides, he actually outranked her in terms of seniority and experience.
"Instructor, I’ve wanted to say this from the start, but Lian Muyun stopped me." Xin Ye looked at Jian Weiwei with eyes devoid of any unnecessary emotion, as if he were merely looking at a spreadsheet. "I don't like your attitude of treating the lives of temporary employees as disposable."
"For the remainder of the mission, please go your own way, Instructor. I’m going to find my teammates."
Xin Ye only wanted to get away from Jian Weiwei and investigate the situation upstairs. Without finishing the search of the second floor, he grabbed Mirror and headed straight for the upper levels.
***
Xin Ye sent a message to the group chat to regroup. Only Xing Yue and Tang Qiuqiu replied.
**Xin Ye:** Where is everyone? If you can, send your coordinates. Let’s regroup first.
Xing Yue was the first to send her location.
**Xing Yue:** I’m at the Level 9 emergency exit. Just found a young frog in a fire extinguisher cabinet.
**Xing Yue:** You’re leaving the instructor behind?
**Tang Qiuqiu:** (Shared Location) Should we pick a spot to meet, or should I come find you guys?
Xin Ye felt that explaining the situation would be too tedious, so he told them both to stay put while he went to find them.
From the looks of it, the ones who had run into trouble upstairs were either Lian Muyun or Leng Xianye.
The mall was filled with signs for the emergency exits, so Xing Yue’s location wasn't hard to find. However, the constant spiraling ascent within the cramped, off-white stairwell was enough to make anyone feel dizzy.
As Xin Ye reached the landing between the eighth and ninth floors, he heard a voice from above.
"Over here, Captain." Xing Yue leaned halfway over the railing and waved at him.
The discomfort of spending so much time with Jian Weiwei vanished the moment Xin Ye saw his teammate’s face. He felt the profound relief of a college student finally returning home after a long semester.
Seeing that only she and Tang Qiuqiu had replied, Xing Yue had already guessed why Xin Ye was in such a hurry to regroup. She had tried calling Lian Muyun and Leng Xianye twice, but neither had picked up, so she was also anxious to meet up and search for them.
She was more than happy to see her captain escape Jian Weiwei’s clutches and return to the team. After all, she knew that the girl named Jian Weiwei had been mentally unstable for a long time.
Mirror followed silently behind Xin Ye. Just as Xin Ye was about to step onto the platform where Xing Yue stood, Mirror suddenly grabbed the hem of his jacket. "Xin Ye."
Xin Ye stopped. "What is it?"
"...There’s a pitter-patter sound. A mutant."
*Patter, patter, patter...*
It was the sound of a single toad approaching.
Xing Yue grew alert. Her right hand became entwined with Infinite Silk, which she let dangle over the railing toward the floors below. "The young frogs I encountered were all hiding. They only attacked after being found. Have you ever encountered a toad that approached proactively?"
"No," Xin Ye realized the anomaly as well. "A single juvenile shouldn't pose a threat to the two of us. Let it come up and see."
Before long, a grayish-green mutant toad hopped onto the eighth floor. It climbed a few more steps and stopped on the mid-level landing. It croaked at the two of them a few times before finally spitting out two watch faces.
When Xin Ye and Xing Yue saw the watch faces, corroded and stained with fluid, their expressions shifted instantly.
Leng Xianye and Lian Muyun had grown up together. Though they bickered and acted like they couldn't stand each other, their bond was undeniable. They both had the letter "L"—representing their respective surnames—engraved on the edges of their multi-function watches as a sort of matching set. The two watch faces the toad had spat out both bore a blurred "L" on their rims.
Their current situation was likely dire. They might even be...
Xin Ye fought to push the worst-case scenarios out of his mind, forcing himself to stay calm.
Xing Yue’s Infinite Silk twitched, creeping toward the toad’s legs, ready to shred it at a moment's notice.
But Xin Ye signaled for her to wait. The fact that the mutant had spat out the watches suggested it recognized them as companions of the intruders. There might be other information or a deal to be made.
Sure enough, seeing that Xin Ye and Xing Yue hadn't attacked, the mutant toad began hopping further upstairs.
Xing Yue retracted her silk and turned to Xin Ye. "Regardless, let's follow it. But what about Qiuqiu?"
"Tell him to meet us on the upper floors," Xin Ye said, not daring to lower his guard as he kept his eyes fixed on the mutant’s every move. "Tell him that Lian Muyun and Leng Xianye have likely met with disaster. If he happens to run into them on his way, we can breathe a sigh of relief. For now, let's see what this mutant is up to."
Xing Yue nodded. "Understood."
***
Tang Qiuqiu had chosen to enter the mall through the underground garage.
To be honest, walking alone into the vast, abandoned parking lot had been terrifying. It was pitch black without any lights, and he had only managed to cross the entire area by clinging to his desire to redeem himself for past mistakes.
*If only the Captain could see how brave I am, walking through a parking lot all by myself,* he couldn't help but think.
The entrance connecting the parking lot to the mall was sealed by a rusted iron rolling shutter. Tang Qiuqiu had expected it to be a struggle, but the center was so badly corroded that he managed to push a large hole through it and crawl inside.
Ignoring the embarrassment of accidentally landing face-first on the floor, the process had been quite smooth.
He thought he would enter the mall directly after passing the shutter, but instead, he found himself in a massive supply warehouse. After checking a map on a pillar, he realized he had taken a wrong turn. However, unwilling to risk another face-plant by crawling back out, Tang Qiuqiu decided to make the best of it and search the warehouse.
The underground warehouse had two levels, with stairs on both the north and south sides.
Tang Qiuqiu started his search on the second basement level (B2). Most mall warehouses used metal shelving, but this place used low-quality wooden racks. Even with a layer of paint, they couldn't mask the stench of rot emanating from within. After years of abandonment, these racks were so decayed they crumbled at a touch.
Oh, and there were some ugly mushrooms growing on them.
He manifested his cat claws, intending only to nudge a lid off a rotten cardboard box to see what was inside, but the rack collapsed with a loud *thud*.
Tang Qiuqiu: "..." *What do you do when a shelf frames you for a crime and there are no witnesses around?* He was panicking.
Most of what remained in the boxes were plastic products. Boxes that once held tissues or expired food had been tampered with, leaving only scraps. Wherever Tang Qiuqiu searched, the racks collapsed. Since he wasn't finding anything anyway, he decided to move up a floor, feeling like he was on the verge of tears.
As soon as he stepped onto the stairs, his nose twitched. Using the keen sense of smell granted by his feline transformation ability, he picked up an unusual scent.
There were mutants upstairs. Lots and lots of them.
Insects? But didn't the mission briefing say the building was infested with Surinam toads?
His cat ears and tail appeared simultaneously as the faint sound of buzzing reached his ears. Tang Qiuqiu muffled his footsteps to the absolute minimum and crept upstairs.
The layout of B1 was essentially the same as B2, filled with rotting wooden racks. However, the decay here was even more severe. On the second row of racks, Tang Qiuqiu spotted the first cluster of mutated carpenter moths. These wood-eating insects had begun to develop distinct insectoid features.
He vaguely realized something was wrong and continued checking the rows. The further back he went, the more insects he found: termites, carpenter moths, powderpost beetles... and several other mutated species he couldn't name. They were incessantly devouring the wooden racks and anything edible on them. The sight of their squirming, crowded bodies made the cat-boy feel nauseous.
When he saw the second-to-last row of racks—or rather, the insect nest—he finally couldn't take it anymore. He planned to rush back to B2 and crawl through the hole to find another door.
*So what if I fall on my face again? There's nothing to be afraid of.*
Thoughts are beautiful, but reality isn't necessarily cruel—it’s just enough to make one’s vision go dark. By the third time Tang Qiuqiu circled the racks only to end up back where he started, a look of utter bewilderment appeared in his eyes.
During his first mission near the Seventh Branch, he had found Leng Xianye immediately amidst the battlefield ruins. At the Asylum, White Lion had always led the way. Being constantly accompanied had made Tang Qiuqiu forget one crucial thing: he was a cat with a terrible sense of direction.
Of all the times for his directional dyslexia to flare up, it had to be now.
Tang Qiuqiu couldn't find a map, and after several more laps through the insect-infested racks, he still couldn't find the stairs he had come up from. Just as he was about to endure the disgust and search for a way through the insect nest, his ears caught a different sound.
...It sounded like a person?
He transformed into a cat, hid in a corner, and pricked up his ears to listen intently.
"...So this is the underground warehouse? Fairly easy to find. I knew it. Since the Surinam toad chose this place to hatch its young, there must be enough food here for it to eat."
"Why would a mall use wooden racks? Were they just waiting for an infestation? Well, they certainly have one now."
Tang Qiuqiu involuntarily held his breath.
He recognized that voice. It was their team’s instructor.
"I thought that Esper who became captain over Xing Yue and Leng Xianye despite being D-rank would have some real tricks up his sleeve. Turns out he’s just another idealist who believes in 'teamwork.' 237, I’m so disappointed."
"Since he’s disappointed me so much, he deserves to suffer a little, right?"
the cat’s eyes widened as he crept two steps closer to the source of the sound.
While Jian Weiwei was examining the wooden racks beside her, Number 237 glanced toward Tang Qiuqiu’s direction and quickly looked away. Seeing that Jian Weiwei hadn't noticed the boy, he breathed a silent sigh of relief and echoed, "Yes."
Jian Weiwei nodded, satisfied with his answer.
"I was thinking... if I lure these insects out, I could start a riot in the mall. But these wooden racks look so delicious, don't they? Tell me, is there anything even more delicious to a mutant?"
237 already understood his master’s meaning. He didn't speak; he simply extended his hand.
Jian Weiwei gripped 237’s left wrist with her left hand. In her right, she held the dagger that Mirror had cleaned and returned to her. She tapped his cheek twice with the flat of the blade, then ruthlessly slashed his wrist.
As beads of blood welled from the wound, the mutated insects on the racks stopped focusing on their current food. Instead, they began to restlessly flutter the mutated wings on their backs.
The girl released the wrist she had squeezed red and took two steps back.
"I’m leaving now, boyfriend."
"Farewell, Number 237 doggy."
*After all, isn't the ideal boyfriend just a submissive dog?*
***
**Glossary**
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 不断丝 | Infinite Silk | Xing Yue’s weapon/ability; a durable, versatile thread. |
| 木蠹虫 | Carpenter moth | A type of wood-boring insect, mutated in this context. |
| 粉蠹虫 | Powderpost beetle | Another type of wood-boring insect mentioned in the warehouse. |
| 异能者 | Esper | A person with supernatural abilities (standard term for the genre). |
