Mountain top, inside the UFO.
Tang Yi held the protective gear that Song Yang had handed to him before he left.
He had no work to do, so he could only wander around in circles in this spacious control room out of boredom.
During the first and second turns, Zhao Mingjing was still sitting in the corner with his head down, not moving.
By the third lap, Zhao Mingjing was already standing in front of the control panel.
Tang Yi was startled.
After coming to his senses, he approached cautiously.
Zhao Mingjing stood there motionless like a ghost, silently, her eyes unclear whether she was looking at the control panel or at the void.
This zombie-like appearance is terrifying.
Tang Yi looked at her for a long time, his face showing uneasiness: "...Auntie, what are you looking at?"
Zhao Mingjing didn't answer.
Tang Yi opened his mouth: "...Auntie?"
There was still no response. Zhao Mingjing just stared at the control panel in front of her, as if in a daze.
Tang Yi looked at her in surprise and doubt, secretly holding the protective gear tightly, hesitated for a moment, and quietly took out the gun from the space bag.
He bit his lip.
At this moment, even though he knew it was abrupt, he still spoke cautiously: "...Auntie, can you, can you prove yourself again?"
After hearing this, Zhao Mingjing finally reacted.
She turned her eyes, her gaze as sharp as a knife, and fell on Tang Yi without any emotion.
Tang Yi shuddered and forcibly stopped the urge to retreat.
He even mustered up the courage to slowly move between Zhao Mingjing and the control panel, gritting his teeth and saying, "...Even though each of us has cut open our bodies to prove our identity, there's no telling how many intact human bones the monster might have grafted onto itself while in disguise..."
He swallowed and stared at Zhao Mingjing nervously.
Zhao Mingjing laughed: "Are you doubting me?"
Tang Yi struggled for a moment and said, "...Actually, I just saw..."
"...Auntie, after you've proven yourself, go rest in the tent for a while. Although Uncle Pei and Brother Deng were watching you, when I passed by you, I saw Uncle Pei and Deng Kai coming back from peeing in the woods... They haven't been watching you for a while..."
Zhao Mingjing's eyes were as dark as a cold abyss. She said slowly, "Since you knew, why didn't you tell us when everyone was here?"
Tang Yi moved his lips.
"Are you embarrassed to say it? Are you afraid to say it? Don't think it's necessary? In such a dangerous copy, a moment of hesitation may lead to death, not to mention a child as young as you. How can you not say it?" Zhao Mingjing's voice was still as gentle as before, but now it had become lifeless.
She suddenly turned around and faced Tang Yi: "So you know?"
Tang Yi was stunned.
Zhao Mingjing asked quietly, "What kind of situation are you facing now?"
Panic appeared in Tang Yi's eyes.
He suddenly raised his gun and pointed it at Zhao Mingjing——
…
Nanshan.
After walking about a kilometer, Xia Jing suddenly stopped.
Deng Kai and Pei Guang were chatting halfway when they saw him stop. They stopped too, looked ahead, and were then shocked.
On the ground of this large forest in front, there are many very obvious traces of impact and rolling!
"What is this?" Deng Kai was dumbfounded. "Is this the trace left by the main monster?"
Xia Jing walked forward, crushed one of the marks with his foot, and said softly: "No, these marks are very sharp in shape, and look more like they were left by an impact."
The dent under Xia Jing's feet was even in the shape of a corner of a hexahedron.
Xia Jingwei thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm afraid the monsters were all staying inside something when they fell... Was it a box? A protective cabin?"
Deng Kai and Pei Guang's eyes quickly turned to him.
The young man stood tall, bent his elbows, and placed his index finger lightly on his chin. Interest flashed in his eyes. "Protection chamber, mechanical aliens... I see. So, it seems that robots are more like uniformly manufactured and boxed objects, or weapons of war?"
"This military UFO may have been intended to transport weapons to some interstellar battlefield. The robot itself may have its own thoughts, but since it's a weapon, a machine, it must at least have been implanted with instructions to initiate planned and organized actions."
"The main monster must also be an alien life form. If it is different from the robot, then the main monster's identity is likely to be..." Xia Jing raised his eyes, thought for a moment, and slowly uttered three words, "Commander."
Deng Kai and Pei Guang were stunned.
Xia Jing slowly walked towards the ground in front.
He looked down and muttered to himself, "The weapon has a protective compartment, but the weapon's protective compartment itself is not very useful as a clue. This clue should have other directional significance when it appears here..."
Xia Jing paused and thought quickly: "I'm afraid that when the commander fell, there was also something protecting him."
"If we find that thing, we'll have a clue to its identity."
"And if we know its identity, we might be able to catch it."
Just by looking at a small corner of the forest, through a moment of thinking, the young man sorted out a complete and informative idea.
Deng Kai and Pei Guang were both deeply silent.
Deng Kai swallowed hard and mumbled, "...This is getting increasingly terrifying. So, should we quickly look for a protective cabin around here?"
Pei Guang was silent for a moment.
He looked at Xia Jing and suddenly took a step forward.
…
Mountain top, inside the UFO.
Tang Yi pointed his gun at Zhao Mingjing, but Zhao Mingjing did not dodge. She even took a step forward, grabbed the barrel of Tang Yi's gun, and pushed it hard against her chest.
In a panic, Zhao Mingjing pulled the trigger herself, and the bullet directly exploded Zhao Mingjing's sternum!
Tang Yi was so frightened that he let go and stepped back repeatedly. Zhao Mingjing's clothes were torn and blood was everywhere.
She was pale and gasping as she tore open her clothes and her wounds, revealing the broken bones inside.
Tang Yi was shaking all over. Zhao Mingjing said in a hoarse voice, "Did you see clearly? I just cut open my arms and legs, and now I'm breaking my ribs. There's no metal or circuitry in my body."
Tang Yi fell to the ground and backed away, tears welling up in his eyes out of fear.
Zhao Mingjing said: "But do you know that if I really was a monster, you would be dead now."
Tang Yi cried and said, "Aunt Zhao, you, you hurry up and get the medical supplies, don't do this..."
Zhao Mingjing pulled the corners of his lips.
She lowered her head, took out the medical spray from her space bag, and sprayed it on her wound. As she sprayed, she whispered: "...Just now, I just didn't know what to do."
She lost her daughter and all motivation.
At that moment just now, Zhao Mingjing really didn't know how she could survive.
When she thought about leaving the copy and leaving Smiley City, and having to witness her daughter's death in the real world again, Zhao Mingjing even felt that it would be good for her to be shot to death here.
She stared at the control panel in a daze, thinking that if there really were aliens in this world, she would like to meet them and ask them why there was such a thing as Smiley City in this world, and what the people who created Smiley City thought of them.
If there weren't this damn place...
If her daughter were still alive...
Zhao Mingjing murmured, "Next time you feel something is wrong, you must tell me, okay?"
She seemed to be admonishing Tang Yi, but also seemed to be saying to herself: "Also, if there is someone you trust the most and love the most among those entering the dungeon with you, then don't separate from her, don't leave her... and don't leave her alone, don't..."
The wound on Zhao Mingjing's chest was healing rapidly. Tang Yi wiped away her tears and calmed down a little.
He said weakly, "Actually, I didn't mention this matter just now because I believed that Uncle Pei and Brother Deng would look after you..."
After all, when he noticed the scene over there, Deng Kai and Pei Guang's eyes were always on the tent.
There is a transparent tape window on the side of the tent, from which you can observe the situation inside the tent at any time.
Zhao Mingjing laughed when she heard this, then said in a hoarse voice, "Indeed, even if they left the tent, I could sense they weren't far away from me and were keeping an eye on me... It was actually Pei Guang who wanted to go to the bathroom. He had wanted to go out alone, but I figured since they could see me through the taped window, it would be better to let Deng Kai go with him. After all, the forest is more dangerous than the tent..."
Tang Yi pursed his lips and nodded.
"I also looked back at them. Deng Kai had been guarding the forest entrance and waved at me when he saw me," Zhao Mingjing whispered. "They are all good people and very responsible."
Tang Yi's thoughts suddenly turned and he suddenly thought of something.
He looked at Zhao Mingjing with wide eyes and asked, "Auntie, then, then Brother Deng has always had his back to Uncle Pei..."
Zhao Mingjing was stunned: "Even if they were all men, Deng Kai would be embarrassed to stare at him directly..."
Having said this, the two of them suddenly fell silent.
…
Nanshan.
Deng Kai only felt a gust of wind blowing past him.
By the time he came to his senses, Pei Guang had already clamped Xia Jing from behind. At the same time, three silver spiders jumped out from the bushes around them and attacked Xia Jing.
Deng Kai was stunned by the sudden change.
After a slight surprise, Xia Jing whispered, "When I went to see Zhao Mingjing...?"
Pei Guang said nothing, his strength was as strong as steel and filled with a cold aura.
In an instant, three huge silver mechanical spiders climbed onto Xia Jing's face, waist and thighs.
Xia Jing couldn't move. The three spiders danced their long legs, intending to pierce Xia Jing's body.
Deng Kai screamed and ran away in fear!
Xia Jing bent his elbow and pushed back with such force that "Pei Guang" instantly let go.
Then Xia Jing pulled out his arm like a snake, bent it, reached back, and grabbed "Pei Guang" by the neck.
The five slender fingers covered the back of "Pei Guang's" neck, and the fingertips were slightly cold.
Pei Guang was startled.
Before he could react, he heard a crisp "click".