CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 214 [OUTPOST 1]

[[The previous Chapter was 6,000 words, serving as the update for yesterday.]

[This Chapter is 8,000 words, intended for today.]

[I didn’t sleep last night, and wrote it all in one breath, finishing now, so today’s update is released early.]

[So that everyone won’t have to wait tonight, and just in case I get delayed today, it won’t be very late.]

[Lastly, I want to reiterate, please refrain from saying nonsense about only one release per day.]

[Each of my Chapters is equivalent to two or three Chapters for others~~]

「·」

Chapter 214: Outpost Number One

After silently climbing through the window, Chen Nuo slowly closed it, then gently hopped onto the hammock.

In the darkness, he suddenly jumped down again and swiftly moved to the door.

There was a person standing outside the door!

After releasing his spiritual power, Chen Nuo quickly sensed Sato Ryoko standing outside his door.

This woman, however, had stopped at his door and stood silently, not moving or speaking.

A full minute passed!

The two were separated only by a door.

After pondering for a moment, Chen Nuo took a deep breath and suddenly yanked open his room door!

"Ah!"

Sato Ryoko let out a short gasp and was pulled into the room by Chen Nuo!

Surveying the woman, the flesh on her face trembling with nervousness, Chen Nuo frowned and coldly said, "Miss Ryoko, it’s the middle of the night. What are you doing standing at my door?"

Sato Ryoko hung her head as though hesitating.

"Hmm?" Chen Nuo let out a cold snort.

It was then that Sato Ryoko finally raised her head, her face twisted with conflict. "Mr. Harvey, I, I... may I sleep in your room?"

"...Huh?" Chen Nuo was stunned.

What does she mean? Come on, I’m disguised as Harvey! Bigfoot Harvey! Known in the Underground World for being greedy and lecherous, damn it!

"Please, please don’t misunderstand!" Sato Ryoko hurriedly spoke in a low voice, still sounding tense. "I’m just feeling very nervous, a sense of danger. I can’t fall asleep... You’re the only one here who speaks Japanese with me; I don’t trust the others."

"Miss Ryoko, your request is a bit excessive," Chen Nuo shook his head.

"But I think I can trust you." Sato Ryoko’s tone was firm. "I’ve had this Premonition since I was young; I can distinguish who among the people around me is trustworthy."

She paused, and though her voice was distorted from nervousness, she persisted in a low voice, "I feel that you are someone I can trust, Mr. Harvey."

"..."

Such an ability... quite interesting indeed. But... what does this mean?! Does this count as... getting a ’good guy’ card even while wearing a disguise?

"No, I refuse," Chen Nuo said coldly. "I don’t think this is appropriate behavior."

"I can collaborate with you on this mission." Sato Ryoko placed her hand on the doorknob, shaking her head. "You must need a trustworthy partner, right? With this unfamiliar team... and potentially dangerous missions... you need companions! I assure you, you can trust me!"

"...How can you prove it?"

Taking a deep breath, Sato Ryoko said softly, "Fifteen minutes ago, I came to your room... you weren’t there."

Chen Nuo’s expression changed, and he stared intently at the woman.

"I, I mean no harm!" Sato Ryoko quickly added. "And I haven’t told anyone! I was just feeling uneasy alone, so I came looking for you... You just happened to be out... so I..."

Chen Nuo’s gaze flickered. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly smiled, turned, and walked back into the room, then hopped onto the hammock. "You can sleep on the bed tonight."

"...Thank you! Thank you so much! I will definitely prove that I am a trustworthy companion!"

The woman happily lay down on the filthy bed in the room.

Chen Nuo sighed and couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Miss Sato... if you are so timid, why would you take on this kind of mission?"

"...I, I have my reasons."

Chen Nuo did not pursue the matter further. In the dark, however, he posed another question.

"Why do you feel scared? What makes you feel like you’re in danger?"

"That, that Controller," Sato Ryoko answered quietly. "His gaze was strange when he looked at me."

"Strange?" Chen Nuo furrowed his brow.

Surely Bonfrey’s taste isn’t that bad?

"...When he looked at me, it was as if he was looking at... looking at..." Sato Ryoko went on softly, "as if he was looking at food."

In the dark, Chen Nuo furrowed his brow.

Food?

「·」

At breakfast the next morning, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but discreetly steal another glance or two at Golden Bird Elisa—very covertly.

Damn, it really isn’t obvious! Was surgery this advanced all those years ago?

However, while Chen Yanluo was enjoying the gossip about others, others were enjoying the gossip about him.

As he was scooping oatmeal into his mouth with a spoon, Vanel came over. He glanced at Sato Ryoko sitting beside Chen Nuo, his gaze clearly peculiar.

"My friend, I heard that Miss Ryoko came out of your room with you this morning."

"..." Chen Nuo paused for a moment, spoon in hand, then continued eating his oatmeal without a word.

This kind of thing can’t be explained away. Chen Nuo couldn’t be bothered to clarify—he was in disguise, anyway. Harvey’s the one who’s lecherous and not picky; what does that have to do with me, Chen Yanluo?

"Alright, I thought your target would be the beautiful Selena," Vanel said, seeming to suppress a smile.

Chen Nuo sighed helplessly. "Being chubby has its advantages. You wouldn’t understand."

Vanel apparently hadn’t come for breakfast but specifically to tease him a bit. After hearing this, he got up to leave, patting Chen Nuo’s shoulder before he went.

"Well, my friend, it seems this journey won’t be lonely for you."

「·」

In a group of seven, there are no secrets. By morning, everyone knew that Sato Ryoko had slept in "Bigfoot" Harvey’s room the previous night.

Apart from Bonfrey, who gave Chen Nuo an astonished look, the others didn’t seem too interested in gossiping.

Originally, this kind of thing was common in the Underground World.

They were all people who walked the edge of danger year-round. When carrying out commissioned tasks, it was inevitable to encounter various hazardous situations.

In such an atmosphere, fueled by hormones and adrenaline, it was easy for sparks to fly between men and women, leading them to pair up temporarily to seek some excitement or fun.

The only thing that might have surprised everyone was that Harvey, the legendary lecher, would actually take an interest in the plain-looking Sato Ryoko.

「·」

The only one with a disdainful expression on her face was, surprisingly, Selena, the hot-bodied captain of the female mercenaries.

Although she said nothing, Chen Nuo could clearly feel the undisguised contempt in Selena’s eyes when they met in the morning.

He didn’t even need to guess what she was thinking. Trash! Couldn’t hit on me yesterday, so you turned around and slept with another woman—and one like *her*... A desperate beast that’ll devour anything!

「·」

At this point in the journey, the good days were essentially over.

Next, they would have to take a boat, exploring deep into the jungle along this tributary of the Amazon.

Flying by helicopter was out of the question—in such a dense tropical rainforest, it was extremely difficult to find a suitable landing spot for a helicopter.

The dense jungles and tropical climate ensured that all plant life here grew very wildly!

Even if they cleared a space by burning the brush to create a temporary airstrip, a heavy rain would soon cause the plants to grow rampantly again in this climate.

"We’ve conducted satellite searches of the area, but there were no findings via satellite. So... since we can’t see anything from tens of thousands of kilometers away in space, the only option is to search with our own eyes on the ground," Vanel’s explanation was agreed upon by everyone.

"The good news is our team will always have communication devices to contact the outside world, and we will also have satellite-provided GPS. Moreover, we have already dispatched a Vanguard to set up the groundwork; we just need to follow the positioning data sent back by the Vanguard. There shouldn’t be any unexpected dangers along the way," Vanel optimistically estimated.

Chen Nuo, however, sighed inwardly.

Damn it. Every movie, TV show, or novel he had ever encountered told him that whenever someone dared to set up such a flag before an expedition, nothing easy awaited them.

"One last piece of news: the Son of the Sun joined us last-minute, so he couldn’t possibly arrive here in time to meet up with us. But no matter, Lord Gomez will meet us directly there in two days when we reach the Vanguard’s Camp Number One."

Chen Nuo listened to Vanel’s announcement within the group without uttering a word.

However... Son of the Sun Gomez... Chen Nuo was quite looking forward to meeting him. After all, though they’d had only limited interactions in his past life, in Chen Nuo’s memory, this veteran Legend among Controllers was a very interesting fellow.

「·」

On the riverbank, a temporary wharf built for loading cargo had been completed days ago.

Upon arriving, Chen Nuo immediately recognized it as the work of the engineering department.

On the water, a small vessel, clearly a military modification, was docked, surrounded by several propeller hovercrafts.

Looking at this transport, obviously a modified gunboat, Chen Nuo stared at the small-caliber cannon at the bow for a moment, then glanced at the mounted machine gun positions on the boat, his eyebrows lifting subtly.

The ammunition, weapons, equipment, and other supplies had all been loaded into the small gunboat’s cabin.

Most of the mercenaries boarded the hovercrafts to provide escort.

Within the team, several other Ability Users, intrigued, expressed a desire to ride the hovercrafts, as they offered more freedom on the river and a clearer view for sightseeing.

But Chen Nuo boarded the gunboat without hesitation.

Are you kidding me? Experience a sauna on a hovercraft in this stifling rainforest heat? And... looking at those thick cannon muzzles, this steel gunboat felt much more secure.

Sato Ryoko followed Chen Nuo onto the gunboat without hesitation.

To Chen Nuo’s surprise, Golden Bird Elisa jumped onto a hovercraft full of mercenaries by herself.

She chose neither to share a craft with other Ability Users nor to board the gunboat with Chen Nuo and Sato Ryoko.

「·」

In the morning, the fleet slowly made its way along the river, leaving the small village where the camp was located and entering the tropical rainforest of the Amazon basin!

Heading Northeast along the straight course of the river, after no more than half an hour, the trees on both banks grew increasingly dense.

The plants in the tropical rainforest were luxuriant. Chen Nuo leaned on the gunboat’s deck railing, watching with a cool gaze.

Gradually, monkeys began to appear leaping through the trees on the riverbanks. Some, startled by the gunboat’s engines, would dash into the forest, while other, braver ones would squat on tree trunks, coldly watching the fleet pass by on the river.

The small gunboat’s draft was not deep, allowing it to pass smoothly even as the river gradually narrowed.

As the trees on both banks grew taller and more luxuriant, their towering canopies beginning to obscure the sky, the feeling of being deep within the rainforest became increasingly palpable.

It seemed as if even the wind couldn’t be felt here. All around, the faint sounds of insects and birdsong filled the air, though these sounds would abruptly cease when the fleet approached, only to gradually resume as it moved into the distance.

Sato Ryoko was clearly very excited—both nervous and thrilled.

After circling the deck twice, she finally returned to Chen Nuo’s side, leaning on the railing next to him and looking down.

"Mr. Harvey! Look, is that a crocodile?"

Chen Nuo glanced in the direction Sato was pointing and sighed. "That’s just a rotten tree stump soaking in the water."

After a pause, Chen Nuo frowned. "Miss Sato, you’re an Ability User too. Can’t your spiritual power detect these things?"

"..." Sato seemed a bit embarrassed. "I’m sorry. I haven’t been an Ability User for long, and I’m not yet used to constantly sensing my surroundings with my spiritual power."

As she spoke, the woman rummaged in her backpack, pulled out another can of Coke, and offered it to Chen Nuo. "Want some?"

Chen Nuo sighed. "Your backpack isn’t entirely filled with snacks, is it?"

"..."

Alright, judging by her expression, Chen Nuo knew the answer. He really couldn’t understand how the Octopus Monster’s assessment team could have accepted such a rookie.

After entering the rainforest, Chen Nuo had already released his spiritual power—and he wasn’t the only one; the few Ability Users on the hovercrafts had also released their spiritual power.

When experts of the Mentality Series released their spiritual power, the details they could sense about their surroundings were far more comprehensive and acute than what ordinary people could perceive!

Along the way, Chen Nuo even once distinctly sensed a Forest Python, over three meters long, lurking in some shallows... its brownish-green patterned skin blending seamlessly with the environment.

In the evening, as they passed through an area inhabited by crocodiles, Sato Ryoko stood excitedly on deck, pointing towards the shore.

A crocodile lay prone in the shallows by the bank, resembling a dead tree stump.

Chen Nuo glanced at it, then turned and walked back into the cockpit.

Vanel had already taken off his shirt and was wearing just a vest, revealing his solid muscles, yet he was still sweating profusely.

This guy from Bear Country could handle the cold but was especially sensitive to the heat; even his nose was glistening with sweat—but that didn’t stop him from drinking.

"What’s wrong? Not accompanying your new little sweetheart to enjoy the scenery anymore?" Vanel chuckled.

Chen Nuo walked over, sat beside Vanel, and then casually lit a cigarette.

"Tell me the truth," Chen Nuo said evenly. "Exploring that place, how many people did you lose?"

"..."

"It’s simple. If that place is so important to you, when you first found traces of it, if you could have handled it yourselves, you definitely would have! You must have experienced a bitter failure before being forced to recruit Ability Users."

Chen Nuo’s tone was calm. "So, what kind of dangers will we actually face this time?"

Vanel was silent for a while before he slowly said, "If I said I don’t know, would you believe that answer, my friend?"

"...What do you mean?"

"We sent out two expeditions into this river region, both times hiring mercenaries at high cost. But both attempts failed."

"Then you must have at least gotten some information."

"...Regrettably, no," Vanel shook his head. "Both times, it was the same situation. Our people were searching in the rainforest, and during the process, they encountered no danger or abnormal situations... But at a certain point, contact was suddenly lost, and then... they could never be found again."

Chen Nuo frowned.

He thought for a moment. "The locations where the two expeditions went missing, where are they?"

"That’s what’s strange," Vanel said with a bitter smile. "When the first expedition disappeared, although we were very disappointed, we also believed they must have been close to the target. The place where the expedition went missing must have been very close to that ruin! But unfortunately... the place where the second expedition disappeared was completely different from the first."

Chen Nuo frowned. "Your second expedition team, they should have first searched the location where the first team went missing, right?"

"Of course. Unfortunately, they found nothing there. Then they could only head deeper into the rainforest... and then, they disappeared at a location at least two hundred kilometers away from where the first expedition team went missing."

Speaking of this, Vanel sighed helplessly. "There’s no way around it. This rainforest... it’s too vast."

It was indeed vast.

The official data for the area of the Amazon tropical rainforest is 7 million square kilometers.

To put it into perspective, the land area of Huaxia is roughly 9.6 million square kilometers.

This rainforest was a full two-thirds the size of Huaxia’s territory.

"So, what exactly is in that place? Don’t tell me it’s some treasure... your organization isn’t short on money."

"...That place, perhaps it holds an answer," Vanel said cryptically.

An answer? Chen Nuo sneered inwardly.

「·」

Chen Nuo’s suspicion about the Octopus Monster organization was actually very clear: he suspected these guys had always been searching for the alien Mother!

During the encounter with the alien Mother in Japan, the information Chen Nuo received was that when the alien Mother arrived on Earth, it released a batch of Seeds!

The original hope was for these Seeds to find and activate the Mother, to rebuild civilization...

But something unexpected happened, and that batch of Seeds mysteriously disappeared!

Chen Nuo strongly suspected that this Octopus Monster organization was connected to those "Seeds"!

「·」

At dusk, the flotilla chose a shallow beach area to stop.

A squad of fully armed mercenaries went ashore first and conducted a brief safety sweep.

Chen Nuo had been standing on deck, watching with cool detachment, but soon he heard a burst of gunfire.

The intense gunfire lasted only a short while before stopping.

Vanel quickly contacted the shore via the ship’s intercom.

"It’s nothing, just a small incident," Vanel later explained to Chen Nuo with a smile.

It was indeed a minor incident.

The mercenary squad that went ashore for the safety sweep had encountered a crocodile inhabiting the area. After being disturbed, the crocodile adopted an aggressive posture, prompting the soldiers to open fire.

However, there were no casualties.

Half an hour later, the entire team disembarked to set up camp.

Not far from the campsite, Chen Nuo saw the crocodile’s carcass—riddled with bullet holes.

"Lucky for us, when they spotted it, the creature was still quite a distance from our men. If it had been any closer, there might have been casualties," Vanel remarked casually as he walked past Chen Nuo.

The team also had hired local native guides.

As the soldiers in the camp began preparing dinner, using solid fuel to start fires, Chen Nuo noticed a dark-skinned, slender local guide already kneeling beside the crocodile’s carcass.

The fellow had taken out a knife and was strenuously cutting away at the crocodile meat.

Some passing mercenaries, finding it curious and interesting, stopped to watch for a while. One, seeing that the guide’s knife wasn’t sharp enough and he was struggling, even offered his own military knife for the guide to use.

The result was that at dinnertime, a large chunk of fresh crocodile meat was thrown into the stew pot.

Chen Nuo wouldn’t eat such a thing.

Creatures living in freshwater, especially crocodiles from places like the tropical rainforest, are teeming with all sorts of parasites, many of which cannot be killed even by boiling.

Crocodiles are a favorite host for parasites.

Chen Nuo certainly didn’t want to contract a parasitic disease just for a moment’s indulgence. Besides, crocodile meat wasn’t even tasty.

Of course, some weren’t bothered by these concerns.

Chen Nuo saw several mercenaries happily sharing the cooked crocodile meat.

Sato Ryoko, who was always curious about food, was clearly intrigued, but since Chen Nuo wasn’t eating it, she cautiously refused the crocodile meat offered by some mercenaries.

Quietly eating her heated individual rations and soup made from dehydrated vegetables, Sato Ryoko couldn’t help but sigh. She rummaged through her bag, took out a packet of dried fish snacks, ate a few herself, and then carefully offered some to Chen Nuo.

These mercenaries clearly possessed professional wilderness survival skills.

The area around this temporary campsite had been thoroughly cleared by them, and they had sprayed insect and snake repellent everywhere.

After all, in the tropical rainforest, poisonous insects and snakes were often more deadly than creatures like crocodiles.

When it was time to sleep, Chen Nuo didn’t stay in the camp. Instead, he chose to return to the gunboat and sleep in the cabin.

All his Ability User companions made the same choice.

Although the cabin wasn’t very well-ventilated, it felt much safer than sleeping in the damp rainforest, never knowing when some snake or insect might crawl out.

In the middle of the night, looking at Sato Ryoko sleeping soundly not far from him, clutching a sleeping bag, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.

Actually, starting tonight, the other Ability Users in the team wouldn’t truly sleep. Anyway, for Ability Users, even those who weren’t from the Mentality Series, their spiritual power far exceeded that of ordinary people. Going two or three days without sleep wouldn’t affect their actions at all. They just needed to find time to close their eyes and recuperate occasionally.

In the ship’s cabin, only an emergency light emitted a faint glow.

Chen Nuo closed his eyes for a while, but suddenly, as if sensing something, he opened them. He saw Professor Yunker, lying in a corner not far away, quietly staring at him in the darkness.

Chen Nuo frowned and met his gaze.

After their eyes met, the old man didn’t seem flustered. Instead, he calmly held Chen Nuo’s gaze for a moment before slowly looking away and closing his eyes.

How strange...

Chen Nuo pondered for a moment. Then, he found it somewhat amusing.

Of the seven Ability Users in this cabin, apart from Sato Ryoko, the other six, including himself, weren’t actually asleep. They were all just pretending!

「·」

The night passed peacefully and quietly.

In the morning, the mercenaries began to tidy up the camp, then boarded the ship to continue their journey.

The second day’s travel quickly became tedious.

Even Sato Ryoko, who had initially been enthusiastic and interested in observing the scenery from the deck on the first day, found her interest waning by the second.

After all, everywhere in the rainforest looked much the same; after a day of it, one would naturally grow weary of the view.

Moreover, the temperature here was becoming increasingly oppressive. Actually, the heat was secondary; it was primarily the high humidity that made the air feel so stifling.

Everyone’s clothes were soaked with sweat, and they constantly drank water to rehydrate.

At this time, however, Selena became the focus of everyone’s attention.

This athletic and fiery female mercenary wore a tight, elastic tank top. After her clothes became soaked with sweat, they clung tightly to her skin, making her appear even more provocative.

But this woman was a mercenary, after all, and seemed utterly indifferent to this level of exposure.

Indeed, as a mercenary, if one were still concerned about such things, surviving in the barracks would be impossible.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, a sudden downpour arrived.

Typical of the tropical rainforest climate, the heavy rain came without warning, fast and fierce.

The downpour was so intense that the large raindrops even caused a faint stinging sensation as they hit one’s skin.

The rain formed such a dense curtain in the air that it was almost impossible to see through.

However, such heavy rain, though it came quickly, also departed quickly.

In less than twenty minutes, the rain stopped. Then, the coolness in the air left by the deluge quickly evaporated under the sun, and the atmosphere became oppressively hot and humid once more.

Selena’s already short hair was drenched by the rain, plastered to her scalp. She merely took a towel and coldly wiped it.

As she turned, her pert buttocks and toned, firm waist formed an exceptionally beautiful curve.

Chen Nuo noticed that among the people on the ship staring at her, the one whose eyes shone the brightest was, shockingly...

The Golden Bird.

Damn, what a pervert... Chen Nuo complained inwardly.

「·」

An hour later, just as Vanel announced they were about to reach Camp One—the camp prepared by the Vanguard team that had gone ahead—another rainstorm struck.

This rain was less intense than the previous one, but it lasted longer.

In the rain, the flotilla pulled ashore. The mercenaries jumped off the boats, assembled on the bank, and began clearing the area to establish a safe zone.

Then, everyone disembarked.

Half the mercenaries remained to unload supplies and equipment from the boats, while the others proceeded on foot into the rainforest. Following the location details from their contact with the Vanguard an hour earlier, they headed towards Camp One, also known as Outpost Number One.

「·」

Walking through the jungle, they wore specialized jungle gear, with boots and pants tightly secured to prevent snakes and insects from crawling in—though this kind of attire was exceptionally stifling.

Chen Nuo suspected he might end up with Hong Kong foot from this by the time he returned.

Fortunately, the outpost wasn’t very far from the riverbank. After walking for about half an hour through the jungle, they saw a cleared area with tents...

However, Vanel’s expression grew increasingly grim!

When the mercenaries at the front, who were clearing the path, called out loudly but received no response and then entered the camp...

"Something’s wrong," Vanel said quickly, gritting his teeth. "When camping in the rainforest, they’re all experienced soldiers; they wouldn’t fail to post sentries. And... we’ve been unable to contact them for an hour. I initially thought the heavy rain was affecting the signal..."

It’s often said that the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen.

Upon entering the camp...

"Where is everyone?! Where are the people who were here?!" Selena, at the front of the group, let out an uncharacteristic roar of fury!

Vanel, teeth clenched and silent, quickly rushed to the front.

The camp was quite spacious.

Clearly, the Vanguard had worked very hard. They had cleared a sufficiently large area and installed communication equipment in a waterproof tent; the antenna was also well-erected. When Chen Nuo and the others arrived, all the equipment was intact and undamaged.

There were enough tents in the camp for thirty people, with more spares piled up in a waterproof tent designated as a warehouse.

Food, supplies, tools, provisions—all were untouched!

Yet, perplexingly, there wasn’t a single person in the camp!

The twenty mercenaries of the Vanguard, twenty well-trained, experienced soldiers from the Mercenary Corps, had all vanished!

"No signs of a struggle in the camp! Everything is intact! No signs of destruction!"

"The surrounding area has also been inspected; the vegetation is undisturbed, no signs of damage, no signs of a struggle."

"Last communication was one hour and forty-four minutes ago."

"Firearms and ammunition are also intact; we even found several guns in the tents."

"All supplies listed on the inventory are present; nothing is missing."

One by one, the reports from the checks were relayed to Selena.

The leopardess-like woman’s expression grew increasingly grim, her heaving chest seeming to suppress an unventable rage.

"Could it be... they left sometime before we arrived? Perhaps they discovered something and went to investigate?"

"Impossible! Even if they found something that required a party to explore, they would at least leave people to guard the camp! That’s basic common sense and protocol!" Selena gritted her teeth. "My men would never do something so foolish!"

"But there are no signs of an attack or any struggle in the camp. It looks like..." Vanel sighed and continued, "It looks as if everyone here... just walked away on their own..."