All my teammates online are my girlfriends

I've always been completely defenseless against these kinds of scary scenes and atmospheres!

Before Ying Ziyan could say anything, a large hand suddenly grabbed hers, freezing her in place.

Feeling the warmth from her hands, Ying Ziyan's heart gradually quickened, and a faint blush slowly rose on her cheeks.

It seems... I'm not afraid anymore.

As for Chen Xiao, who was following behind, his eyes were fixed on the two people's clasped hands, and his nerves were tingling at this moment.

Doing this in front of yourselves, you guys are really brave!

Seeing her visibly darkened expression, Qi Xi hesitated for a moment before finally extending her small hand to Chen Xiao.

"If you're scared, you can hold my hand."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao glanced at her sideways, wondering who was afraid.

I just crawled all the way out of here, how could I be scared?!

Feeling her strange gaze, Qi Xi smiled awkwardly, swallowed nervously, and then gripped her clothes tightly.

Even though I participated in the game design, I still couldn't help but feel timid about certain things.

As Lin Qiu and the others slowly entered the small building, they were immediately greeted by an unpleasant, thick, and pungent smell of blood, making the air seem somewhat sticky and stuffy.

There were no lights inside, and at night the entire building resembled a ferocious beast with its jaws wide open, silently swallowing Lin Qiu and the others.

"The first floor had the most corpses, almost all of them had been disemboweled and their bones dug out."

As Chen Xiao spoke, he pushed open the door to the room next to him. The bloody drawing that came into view made Ying Ziyan and Qi Xi furious, and they almost fainted.

"Won't Chen Xiao feel bad after seeing this?"

Suppressing the nausea and vomiting in her stomach, Qi Xi couldn't help but ask.

“My dad is a criminal police officer. I’ve seen similar situations several times with him, so I have a certain ability to adapt.”

Chen Xiao explained without changing his expression, and since he had previously thought that this was set up from the beginning, he felt even less emotional.

Seeing that the guy's expression was normal, Qi Xi's lips twitched, and she began to mourn for Yun Mo.

This woman is clearly Yunmo's formidable rival!

Did you see the murder weapon when that guy was arrested?

"Yes, but I've already smashed it. What's more concerning is that when I first saw that guy, his eyes were glowing green, but the green light disappeared after he was dragged out."

Chen Xiao looked around and said, "But we didn't find any other living people in the building at the time."

Could it be that the murderer also learned some kind of skill?

"A green glow in your eyes?"

Qi Xi murmured to herself, then wrote the message down in her notebook and simultaneously sent the information to the company.

It seems we need to investigate this carefully, otherwise, if something goes wrong during the initial integration after breaking down the wall, the trouble could be huge!

"I don't recall many skills that feature green light in the eyes, like 'Elven Gaze,' 'Will of the Living,' or 'Wooden Transformation'..."

"That's not a skill we designed."

Qi Xi's eyes narrowed as she looked at the information her employees had written in her notebook.

Automatic evolution of side quests?

"Click——"

Just as Qi Xi was deep in thought, a soft sound suddenly rang out from upstairs without warning, instantly making all four of them tense up.

"Oh!"

Chen Xiao stepped on the floor, ready to smash through the ceiling and leap upstairs, while Lin Qiu's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

A crimson electric drill flickered in the dimly lit room, and three figures leaped up almost simultaneously, pinning the drill firmly to the dark figure in the center.

Lin Qiu's true form had his hands clasped together, and thick branches suddenly grew out of the floor, imprisoning the dark figure in the very center like a prison.

"boom!!!"

The entire building trembled violently. As the firelight illuminated the living room, the dark figure in the center still did not reveal its true form, standing motionless in the center of the firelight.

Even the three clones from before didn't feel like they were attacking a physical entity; they were just empty projections.

"Oh!"

Before Lin Qiu could continue his attack, Chen Xiao also pierced through the ceiling and landed beside him, his eyes fixed on the dark figure.

"who?"

"I'm not sure, but something's not right. That thing doesn't have a physical form, so be careful."

"projection?"

Chen Xiao frowned, as if he had noticed something. He suddenly darted out, drew his sword, and glared fiercely at the shadowy figure.

The moment the blade touched the shadow, it slowly dissipated like mist, as if it had never existed.

"Tsk——"

Chen Xiao clicked his tongue in slight displeasure, but still withdrew his hand.

On the other hand, Lin Qiu stood motionless in place, surrounded by an unusual blue light that pulsed slowly like breathing.

After a moment of silence, Lin Qiu spoke again—

"No, there's nothing unusual nearby, I can't find anything. Ziyan, is there anything strange downstairs?"

"Nothing has changed downstairs, and there's no one passing by on the street outside."

"Qi Xi, is there any news from your end?"

"We're getting a lead. The Shadow of Slaves is a rebellious cult active in Saint Naran, focused on activities like evil rituals, but this shouldn't be their area of ​​operation."

Qi Xi bit her lip, feeling increasingly uneasy.

As the alienation accelerates, I originally thought of using my own settings to influence the other side in order to reduce the danger, but I always feel that the other side is also starting to influence my side in return.

We need to inform that old woman!

200 - Ominous signs from the neighboring area

"Dudu-"

A sweet, soft cry suddenly rang out from inside the room, breaking the silence.

Tang Feilin, who was picking out fruit, paused for a moment, then picked up her phone with some confusion and glanced at it. The caller ID clearly showed that it was Qi Xi, that little girl.

"Hello? What's up in the middle of the night?"

"I have new information and sent it to your email. Take a look; the problem is quite serious."

"I see."

Tang Feilin tilted her head, holding her phone between her fingers, and opened her laptop, which was lying on the floor.

Looking at the information sent by Qi Xi, his originally calm face gradually became serious.

"Have you finished reading?"

"Yes, it's more serious than expected."

Tang Feilin's heart sank as she stared intently at the bloody, mangled photo on the screen.

Although this situation was anticipated, it still sent a shiver down my spine when it actually happened.

If a corresponding entity were to form on the other side of the wall and come over, the level of threat would be enormous.

"What are you going to do?"

"I will contact the defense department to make preparations. They are already arranging experiments on them."

"Will the Defense Section...go to Mount Taixu all then?"

"It depends on the situation, but for now, it's necessary to take him to see a doctor."

Tang Feilin's eyes flickered. There was still no latest news about the experiment at the research institute, and she didn't know how it was progressing.

As the mutation process accelerates, the tasks become increasingly demanding...

After receiving the news, Qi Xi didn't say anything more and hung up the phone to return to the game.

"So, any news?"

Lin Qiu, who was lying on the sofa, couldn't help but ask. Ying Ziyan, who had been dozing off with her head on his lap, also perked up and looked over.

"Someone has already taken charge of handling it. It's a bit unexpected that the AI ​​would evolve like this automatically. We will make adjustments and let adventurers handle these events more often."

Qi Xi explained in a serious tone that it was best to deal with such entities as soon as possible before they were affected and formed on the other side of the wall.

But at the same time, maintaining a good balance is quite tricky...

"Will there be many similar missions in the future? These kinds of missions are a bit too exciting for Ziyan and the others, and the risks are quite high, you see..."

"Alright, alright, the bounty will be increased."

Qi Xi rolled her eyes at the guy, annoyed. It was normal to increase the bounty to give players some motivation to solve these problems.

Hopefully, those guys will put in a better effort, which will ease the pressure on the defense department.

"By the way, remember to stay home as much as possible except for going to school lately. It's not very safe outside, so please be careful and stay safe."

Not forgetting the important matter, Qi Xi quickly reminded him.

Although no incidents threatening personal safety have been discovered yet, it's still better to be cautious.

Lin Qiu nodded thoughtfully, but the image of a certain person in a white coat still subconsciously surfaced in his mind.

Does that person... know Qi Xi as well?

Where is Chen Xiao?

"She's already offline. She has things to do with her friends tomorrow, so she can't stay up too late."

"Oh - if there's nothing else, I'll log off now. I have other things to do at the company."

"Alright, see you online tomorrow."

"Ah."

Qi Xi waved her hand, didn't linger, gave Ying Ziyan a meaningful look, and then disappeared from the spot.

When only Ying Ziyan and Lin Qiu were left in the room, the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat strange.

Lin Qiu stared blankly at Ying Ziyan's still sleepy profile. Just as he was about to say something, she awkwardly turned her head away and continued to rest her head on her lap.

Slightly embarrassed, Lin Qiu scratched his face, hesitated for a moment, and then tentatively placed his hand on her arm, quickly asking casually—

"Hey Ziyan, when you left today, did you notice anything strange about my neighbor's house?"

"Your neighbor?"

Ying Ziyan slightly opened her eyes, staring at the room in front of her, trying hard to recall the scene before she left.

Was there anything wrong at that time?

"I was too busy chatting with Yunmo and the others to remember much, but I think I saw a really tall orange tree with oranges as big as pomelos..."

At this point, Ying Ziyan's tone suddenly faltered, and the image in her mind froze on those oranges.

Am I seeing things? Do oranges normally grow that big?! And is it even orange season now?!

Noticing Ying Ziyan's bewildered expression, Lin Qiu's uneasy premonition grew stronger.

As expected, a problem arose...

"Is your neighbor researching some weird chemical fertilizers? Could they be harmful to people?"

Ying Ziyan asked nervously, "Lin Qiu's family also has little Qianhui. She's still young and has a weak immune system. It would be bad if something happened to her."

"After you left, a bunch of strange people came next door to deal with that orange tree. They said the environment is going to change a lot recently, and they want us to go out as little as possible."

"Environmental change?"

"That's their explanation, but I'm not entirely sure what happened. It's best to be careful. Ziyan, you run a bar, so you have a lot of customers. You could also try to find out what's going on."