Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

As dawn approached, the members of Black Wind Stronghold all laid out their beds to rest and recharge, but no one on Lang Taosha's side could sleep.

...Except for Sheng Xiao, who was beaten so badly that his computer shut down.

Xun Zhou had just followed Yin Canglang's instructions and injected him with healing and energy potions. He was now sitting with his three teammates, and the four of them sighed in unison.

"What a waste of that good stuff," Liang Tianci complained in a low voice. "The captain is almost driven crazy. If you ask me, it would be better to just let Yi Zanglan kill him and get rid of him in the end."

"You think I don't want to kill him?" Xun Zhou sneered. "But that guy is pretty good with a gun, so keeping him alive is still useful. Besides, there's a special reward for everyone surviving this round."

"Do we have any hope of all of us surviving?" Mu Qiuzhu asked quietly. "Judging from Yi Zanglan's attitude, it's very likely that this game isn't over yet, and he's already going to start a massacre against us."

"She probably won't. This time it's because Sheng Xiao went too far. She's warning us that as long as we're sincere, she won't go so far as to kill us."

"Actually, I felt your attitude towards Yi Zanglan was quite subtle last round." Mu Qiuxue gazed at Xun Zhou thoughtfully. "You were the first among us to officially face her. What exactly happened back then, and what kind of person do you think she is?"

"To be honest, I can't see through her." Recalling the situation in the last game, Xun Zhou frowned and shook his head. "I can only say that she is a very open and honest gentleman, but she is also ruthless. So we'd better maintain a certain level of respect for Black Wind Stronghold, otherwise the consequences will be like what just happened, and we will lose face for our own team."

Mu Qiuzhu sighed, clearly very annoyed, and glanced at Liang Tianci beside her.

"Hey, you were with the captain and observed Yi Zanglan for the entire game, right? What's your opinion?"

"What can I say? I worked diligently with the brother and sister from Black Wind Stronghold on the mission. I rode the bicycle, apologized, got the supplies, and even had my hair pulled. Anyway, I didn't provoke Yi Zanglan or cause any trouble for the captain."

"...Is that what I asked?"

"Which one are you asking about? You'd better not ask anything, and drop that arrogant attitude, lest Yi Zanglan finishes teaching Sheng Xiao a lesson and then comes after you." Liang Tianci's tone was slightly impatient. "You saw the captain's match, didn't you? Yi Zanglan entered the game in ghost form. Do you understand what that means? Do I need to teach you?"

"..."

Mu Qiuzhu understood, of course, that being able to enter the game in ghost form most likely meant some kind of side effect of her personal skill.

Such severe and unusual side effects likely indicate that Yi Zanglan's skills are abnormally overpowered.

It's clear that Yi Zanglan cherishes her teammates. If you really anger her, what if she uses this skill in this game?

She said she would prioritize eliminating Langtaosha, and this was not just a casual threat; she genuinely had the ability to do so.

"...Sigh." Mu Qiuzhu propped her forehead up, looking like she was on the verge of death. "Anyway, we can just be polite, right? Everyone should be careful from now on and get along well with those guys from Black Wind Stronghold. Let's make sure nothing goes wrong and Yi Zanglan blames us for everything."

Mu Qiuxue suddenly raised a finger, gave a serious "shh" sound, and then pointed behind her.

Not far away, Yi Zanglan, with a piece of chocolate dangling from his mouth, strolled leisurely towards them, his hands in his pockets.

All four fell silent.

"Everyone, I'm just passing by. Continue your conversation." Yi Zanglan walked towards the factory gate without looking to either side, casually adding, "Also, I'm a fair and just person. I settle scores with those I have, and I never hold grudges against others."

"..."

* * * * * *

As dawn broke, the hazy light pierced through the thick gray fog, illuminating the ravaged city of Leyton.

Yin Canglang sat on the steps, smoking one cigarette after another.

The cigarettes were taken from the group of men in black at Hodge Station, but she found that nicotine no longer worked on her; it neither numbed her senses nor relieved her emotions.

Unfortunately, those sedatives couldn't be brought into the facility.

Extreme anxiety and unease intensified with the flickering flame between her fingers, almost burning her to ashes.

...suddenly, a light footstep sound came from behind.

"Get out!" she snapped, mistaking him for one of her teammates, without turning around. "Don't get in my way!"

Silence fell for a while.

Until a familiar, gentle female voice, with a half-smile, rang out above her head.

"Captain Yin, you're all over the place, do you own this factory?"

Reason returned to his mind, and Yin Canglang looked up abruptly, only to find Yi Canglan looking down at him. He was stunned.

"...You're still awake?"

"I'm not sleepy yet, I'll sleep when I'm sleepy."

"Aren't you going to watch over your teammates?"

"They're all resting well, I don't need to watch over them." Yi Canglan casually sat down next to them, glancing at the cigarette in Yin Canglang's hand. "Still smoking? Such an unhealthy habit, you should quit as soon as possible."

Yin Canglang sneered: "You don't smoke now?"

"I don't smoke."

"Are we still going to drink?"

"Oh, I don't drink it often, just a little bit occasionally."

Yin Canglang stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette, expressionlessly brushing the ash from the corner of his clothes: "Lying. Looks like you drink often, a lot."

Yi Zanglan didn't care that she had been exposed. She casually said, "Don't worry about the details. I'm here to talk to you about serious business."

"you say."

"Has the golden retriever surnamed Sheng's alertness level changed?"

Yin Canglang had guessed that she would bring this up, and immediately nodded in reply: "Yes, it has dropped to almost 50%. I have already injected him with energy potions."

"How's his mental strength?"

"...about the same as me."

Although it was expected, Yi Zanglan was still speechless when he heard the answer with his own ears.

Is this a grand gathering of D-level mental power?

She gently beckoned Yin Canglang closer with her finger, then lowered her voice and asked, "Which of his talent levels is higher?"

"It's an injury, an S-."

So close, yet so far, that Yin Canglang was momentarily dazed. She paused for a long time before belatedly realizing what had happened.

"...Do you believe the virus infection is related to the player's talent level?"

"To be precise, it was influenced by a variety of factors," Yi Zanglan said. "As the mission progressed, I was infected by the air in Layton City, which was one aspect; I was seriously injured along the way, which accelerated the infection process, which was another aspect; similarly, the lower one's mental strength, the easier it is for one's level of alertness to drop."

Yin Canglang fell into deep thought: "Talent rating doesn't affect the infection progress, but the infection type, right? I'm really impressed. Just now, Sheng Xiao was out of his mind, talking nonsense, and crying horribly. I guess he's infected with the Mourning Virus."

"Yes, Lingye is also infected with the sorrow virus."

However, the two were treated very differently. Sheng Xiao was not fortunate enough to be comforted by his captain. He was directly kicked unconscious by Yin Canglang twice.

Yi Zanglan calmly summarized: "Based on previous information, Joy Infected have high agility, Anger Infected have strong attack power, and Sorrow Infected have high damage resistance. Just now, Ling Ye told me that Fear Infected can cause players to have very strong illusions. I wonder which talent level it will be linked to."

Mental power is used to influence the progress of infection, so we'll exclude it for now.

This allows us to determine which of the player's talents, besides mental strength, is the highest, and thus the player will be prioritized for being targeted by the corresponding infection virus.

The Joy Virus corresponds to Agility, the Anger Virus to Attack Power, the Sorrow Virus to Damage Reduction, and the Fear Virus…

That can only correspond to either insight or luck.

"As for insight..." Yin Canglang stared at Yi Zanglan, hesitating to speak, "You're quite dangerous, I can't even imagine."

"Then stop imagining it. Let's get some sleep before the new mission is announced."

Seeing that Yi Zanglan had finished speaking about important matters and was about to leave, Yin Canglang subconsciously grabbed the other's hand, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly let go.

"...Zang Lan".

The next second, Yi Zanglan stopped and looked down to meet her gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"What happened tonight was entirely Sheng Xiao's fault, and I apologize on his behalf," Yin Canglang said in a low voice. "Perhaps my decision to facilitate this cooperative match was indeed hasty and unwise, but at least... I guarantee that the same thing will not happen again until the end of this round."

"Oh," Yi Zanglan responded calmly, "I'm not blaming you."

"……Yeah?"

"Yes, it wasn't your fault, nor was it our fault for cooperating." Yi Zanglan thought for a moment and then added, "Of course, if I had to say something, you were a little wrong too—can you please stop leading the team so arbitrarily in the future? Just by looking at their wicked behavior, I can tell that you let them run wild when you're in a good mood, and start fighting when you're in a bad mood. You've never taught them any rules, which is why you've managed to produce such a group of extremists."

This is the absolute truth, and Yin Canglang couldn't refute it.

She remained silent for a long time before suddenly speaking: "I am indeed not a qualified captain, just like I am not a qualified leader of the organization. In fact, I always felt that you were the one who should have become Raven's successor."

"Nobody wants to be Raven's successor," Yi Zanglan sighed, clearly unwilling to continue the topic. "I understand, you don't like it either."

But fate had already pushed them this far, and they had no choice.

"Captain Yin, let's look forward."

Is this how you advise someone?

"What's wrong with my attitude?"

Yin Canglang suddenly stood up, facing Yi Canglan with red eyes, and gritted her teeth as she spoke fiercely.

"If you want to persuade me to look forward, then don't treat this collaboration as just a competition. Search your conscience and think about why I can't look forward."

"I'm not some damned Captain Yin. Whether it was ten years ago or ten years later, you should... call me Ah Lang!"