Chapter 110 The Weirdness of City 25, Yu Xing Hopes She’s Overthinking It

Chapter 110: City 25’s Eeriness

Yu Xing hoped she was just imagining things.

After the ordeal, Yu Xing slipped into Zhao Lan’s tent, quietly waiting for the three to awaken.

Night in City 25 was filled with strange sounds. Distant noises resembled wild beasts, while closer by, even stranger sounds emerged—like soil being pushed aside or flowers blooming.

From the moment they entered City 25, the dangers had been relentless.

Mushrooms, bats, and now vines—all within less than a day. Yu Xing seriously doubted their ability to continue.

Outside, people gradually began to stir. Yu Xing smiled to herself, knowing her elixir had worked; after all, its benefits extended beyond mere medicine.

The growing clamor outside finally roused those in the tent.

Zhao Lan was the first to wake. Opening her eyes, she saw a shadowy figure in the dim tent, looking down at her.

"Xingxing, when did you get back?" Zhao Lan asked lazily.

"Xingxing’s back?" Da Ya, still groggy, heard the voice and quickly opened her eyes.

"It’s not even dawn yet," Miao Yuanjin grumbled as she sat up. "Why’s it so noisy outside?"

Seeing their dazed expressions, Yu Xing was surprised. "You really don’t know what happened?"

"What?" Miao Yuanjin looked bewildered. "Did something happen? Did something happen to you?"

It clicked for Yu Xing: all three had been ambushed by the vines in their sleep and hadn’t woken up at all.

Just as she was about to speak, Di Shensi’s voice came from outside the tent. "Yu Xing, Miao Yuanjin, Da Ya—come out, all three of you!"

Bewildered, Miao Yuanjin and Da Ya followed Yu Xing out of the tent. Di Shensi, already fully re-energized, turned to Miao Yuanjin. "Purify everyone."

Then he addressed Da Ya. "We need clean water."

Finally, he motioned to Yu Xing. "You, come with me."

It was clear Di Shensi had something to say to Yu Xing—and coincidentally, she had questions for him too.

The two walked to a secluded corner, where Di Shensi got straight to the point. "How did you wake everyone up?"

Yu Xing’s brow arched. Just as she was about to improvise, Di Shensi added, "I tried. The treatment syringes didn’t work, and only two are missing from the case."

Damn, he’s grilling me the moment he wakes up.

As Yu Xing prepared to speak, Di Shensi suddenly stepped closer and whispered, "Was it Monkey Man who helped?"

Yu Xing’s eyes went wide. Di Shensi lowered his voice further. "You don’t need to hide it anymore. I already know."

He knows? Does he know I’m Monkey Man? Since when?

Yu Xing’s mind raced. If Di Shensi asked how she could wield fire and lightning, how should she answer?

"Monkey Man has been following us," Di Shensi said sharply. "She’s protecting you, isn’t she?"

Yu Xing: "...Huh?"

His words momentarily froze her.

"Monkey Man and Bull Warrior are from the same organization. I looked into it—Bull Warrior was originally in City 7. The moment you left City 7, she left too. Every time you’ve been in danger since, either Bull Warrior or Monkey Man shows up to resolve the crisis."

Di Shensi said coolly, "And this time—why did you leave the convoy? The moment you did, Bull Warrior appeared. When she couldn’t handle the bats, Monkey Man showed up. Are these all coincidences?"

Yu Xing: "..."

She fell silent, unsure how to respond. Of course, they weren’t coincidences—but she hadn’t expected Di Shensi to connect the dots this way.

"Did you join their organization?" Di Shensi asked.

Yu Xing: "Uh..."

"Don’t worry," Di Shensi assured her. "I won’t reveal this organization or your connection to it."

Yu Xing’s mind reeled. She believed Di Shensi wouldn’t betray her—she just didn’t know how to explain.

"Yes," Yu Xing nodded. "That’s right. I joined an organization."

Di Shensi’s expression shifted slightly, as if his theory had been proven.

"Monkey Man and Bull Warrior are protecting me," Yu Xing rubbed her nose. "Sir, please don’t tell anyone. They’re vicious. If they find out I leaked anything, I’m dead meat."

"Of course," Di Shensi said, as if it were only natural. Given how secretive the organization was, such demands were to be expected.

Then he asked a question. "Is Bull Warrior... still alive?"

"Huh? Of course she is," Yu Xing blinked in confusion. Why would he ask that?

Di Shensi exhaled slightly. "What level Divine Chosen is Bull Warrior?"

"Uh..." Bull Warrior used a magic staff—how was Yu Xing supposed to know how that measured against Divine Chosen levels?

"I don’t know," Yu Xing shook her head.

Di Shensi let it drop. Instead, he asked, "How can I join this organization? What are the requirements?"

Yu Xing stared at him. Di Shensi’s green eyes held a spark of hope.

Wait—he actually wants in?

What organization is there for him to join?

Yu Xing panicked internally. Hesitating, she offered, "There are conditions, of course."

"What are they?" Di Shensi unconsciously began taking stock of himself.

He believed he wasn’t unqualified—young yet already close to a Level 4 Divine Chosen. His military rank wasn’t low either. Were it not for his stubbornness in working outside the walls, he’d already hold a mid-to-high-ranking position.

His only flaw was his origins—he was also a defective person. But if Yu Xing, in a similar situation, could join, why couldn’t he?

As his thoughts raced, Yu Xing blurted, "One condition is... the organization only accepts women as full members."

Di Shensi looked up, confused. "Women?"

"Right," Yu Xing decided to dash his hopes with an impossible condition. "Only women."

Di Shensi’s jaw went slack—this threw him.

The question burst out of him, "Why?" "Beats me," Yu Xing shrugged. "I asked, but they wouldn’t tell me."

In short, just blame everything on the non-existent organization.

Di Shensi couldn't help but frown. If they only accepted female members—what was he supposed to do? Get gender reassignment surgery?

But surgery would only change outward appearance, not chromosomes. What if they didn’t go by looks?

By the time the two returned to the camp, Zhao Lan and the other two members had already learned from the soldiers what had happened earlier.

After Di Shensi left to find Yu Xing, the exploration team made camp on the spot. Everything proceeded as usual—once night fell, some went to sleep while others stood watch.

Then, vines began creeping in silently. At first, they emerged from all directions, and the night watch recognized them as the same type of vine they’d seen before—harmless.

So they cut the vines and tossed them out of the camp. But after being cut, the vines released a cloyingly sweet fragrance. At first, no one paid it much mind, but soon, the night watch began experiencing dizziness and numbness.

Some had brought antidote syringes, but the injections turned out to be useless.

They tried waking those who were asleep, only to find some couldn’t be roused at all. Others woke up but were helpless against the vines.

Cutting them only made more vines grow, giving off even more of that scent. Burning them would kill those entangled as well. In just moments, everyone was affected. By the time Di Shensi returned, he found everyone unconscious.

"The fruit from the vines," Di Shensi asked. "Did anyone examine them?"

"Fruit?" Shen Tanrong shook his head. "The vines in the camp didn’t bear any fruit."

Di Shensi frowned. After the crisis passed, three more team members had disappeared from the exploration team—and earlier, he’d seen the vines produce three fruits.

So, was there one fruit per person taken?

He couldn’t help but recall the first time they’d encountered these vines yesterday—back then, the vines had borne many fruits.

"Fruit?" Yu Xing thought, *I still have one in my storage ring!* She couldn’t help but ask, "What about the fruit?"

Di Shensi found these vines utterly bizarre, so he told everyone about the infants he’d discovered inside the fruits earlier.

After hearing this, everyone felt chills. Plants could give birth to babies?

Though contaminants were always weird, this was beyond anything they'd seen.

People instinctively fear things that resemble them but aren’t human. It’s said that in ancient times, there was a creature very similar to humans—it would blend in using its human-like appearance and then hunt them. So this fear of similar species is deeply ingrained in human genes.

The others were merely spooked after the fact, but Yu Xing was genuinely terrified—because she still had one in her storage ring!

"Star," Zhao Lan gently patted Yu Xing’s back. "You're white as a sheet. Don’t worry, the vines are gone now."

Yu Xing thought, *How can I not be scared? What if that thing takes root and sprouts inside my storage ring? Wouldn’t that wreck it?*

Yu Xing was miserable, but she couldn’t say a word.

After this crisis, no one could get any sleep now.

While everyone was still agitated, Yu Xing returned alone to her tent. Lying inside, she had a growing sense of unease. She’d known City 25 would be very dangerous, but the threats here seemed to share a disturbing pattern.

Mushrooms, bats, vines…

She realized all three contaminants had some connection to humans. The mushrooms fused with human hosts—those three soldiers had completely turned into human-mushroom hybrids but still retained their consciousness and could speak.

The bats had human heads, and the vines, after consuming people, bore fruits containing infants.

It was too eerie…

Yu Xing had experienced plenty of contamination events, from City 7 to outside the Wall, but none were as bizarre as City 25’s contaminants.

She wasn’t the type to overthink, but these things kept haunting her thoughts.

She’d come here looking for clues about her brother…

How could her brother possibly be connected to such a horrifying place?

Miao Yuanjin’s information must have been wrong. Yu Xing still had the compass for locating people, so she decided to find a chance to leave the team and use it again.