Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 142 Re-entering the Ark
Li Yelai watched as Benlei's figure gradually disappeared into the mist.

During this time, Mr. Shadow did not make a move, but instead let out a faint and obscure laugh.

Li Yelai knew what He was thinking.

As a four-sense psychic, according to Li Yelai's previous analysis, if Benlei were to be offered as a sacrifice...

Li Yelai will then be able to obtain the fourth mask.

After that, you can find another opportunity to activate the Facebook page and gain a new and powerful ability.

However, Li Yelai hindered Mr. Ying's devouring, which, in Mr. Ying's view, meant that he had given up an opportunity to obtain the mask.

Li Yelai had nothing to regret. Benlei was Li Yelai's comrade-in-arms and a great contributor to humanity's victory over the disaster fog.

How could he become a sacrifice? What blasphemy!
Li Yelai could stand by and watch others become sacrifices because they were all enemies, and had long since lost all human rights. But Benlei was different.
"It seems I still have some control over you," Li Yelai said, looking at the dark figure deep within the mist. "He's my friend, he shouldn't become a sacrifice. If... I later hold a funeral for my colleague, don't interfere, let them go."

Mr. Ying did not respond, it was unclear whether he acquiesced or disdained to respond to Li Yelai's request.

The next second, Li Yelai's consciousness returned to the physical world.

At this moment, he was standing on the grass in the hospital, with a straight, deep scar more than 50 meters long and more than 3 meters deep in front of him.

That was Li Yelai's strongest attack for the funeral procession, Benlei. Faxiang swung the Azure Dragon Halberd, directly splitting the hospital's grass and Benlei in two.

Looking at Benlei's corpse, Li Yelai fell silent.

"You did a great job. He was still smiling before he died. Even if it was just a distorted hallucination, he was still with his teammates." The captain of the Crucible appeared beside Li Yelai at some point and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, saying, "Thank you, Night General. There will be a reward from the authorities."

As she spoke, she handed a small bottle of medicine to Li Yelai: "This is the latest biomass recovery agent. Let it help you recover from your injuries."

Li Yelai silently accepted the potion, hesitated for a few seconds, and then asked, "How should Team Three deal with the Ranger squad?"

“The Ranger squad won’t disappear; it will remain permanently in the three teams’ order of battle,” Forge responded. “New teammates will continue to fight against humanity’s enemies under the Ranger name. He had foreseen this.”

Li Yelai nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Please accept my condolences."

Then, he picked up the Azure Dragon Halberd and turned to leave.

Captain Furnace was left behind, silently watching Thunder being settled by his teammates.

He let out a long sigh: "Should I have just deleted your memory back then? Benlei, you bastard."

Meanwhile, Li Ye returned to the hospital floor. The heavy cavalry had already retrieved his large black umbrella.

"Thank you." Li Yelai put the Azure Dragon Halberd back into the black umbrella and handed the potion he had just received to the heavy cavalry.

He remembered that she had just been injured by Ben Lei's internal energy. As for himself, with the life force of his heart surging, his injuries had already recovered to about 70-80%.

The heavy cavalryman shook his head and said, "Captain Forge already gave me a bottle. Are you alright?"

"Not good, but it's okay." Li Yelai looked somewhat tired. His clothes were torn to shreds, and there were many bloodstains on his skin, making him look quite disheveled.

Upon seeing this, the heavy cavalryman replied in a low voice, "Yesterday, Captain Benlei invited me to join the Rangers."

Yes, the heavy cavalry is also a member of the third squad. It seems that Thunderclap has found a successor.

Benlei, after setting everything up, just packed his bags and left. How true.
Li Ye forced a smile.

"If there's anything I can help with, remember to call me."

The heavy cavalry nodded silently.

The battle between Li Yelai and Benlei did not destroy the hospital, or at least not much.

In the hospital staff bathroom, Li Yelai, covered in blood, stood quietly under the showerhead.

Warm water gently caressed his body, slowly washing away the blood and grime. He closed his eyes, feeling the water gently washing over his body, as if cleansing his inner weariness and pain.

Even though his injuries had healed, he still felt unwell.

Sending his comrade to his own funeral was a shock that was too intense for him.

It made him feel nauseous.

A funeral procession... it's too cruel. What if Cheese, the doll, Yang Chen, or even Li Yunyan were to become twisted?

Can I really withstand this kind of pressure to send them off to their funeral?
Can I really do it?

Li Yelai fell silent as the warm water rinsed him.

He knew the handlers' predicament: facing calamity, protecting the megacity, yet also searching for a balance between madness and distortion.

Otherwise, it would be like a thunderbolt.

Benlei's psychological defenses were shattered by guilt and longing, leading to his complete distortion. He was very close to his teammates and could not bear the consequences of their sacrifice.

Only after truly facing all of this did Li Yelai realize the terrifying weight of it all.

No wonder some processors are exceptionally cold to their teammates, even using taboo objects to isolate their emotions. It's because they fear developing excessive emotions, which could lead to their own distortion.

Should I become like them? Cut off all contact with the outside world and shut down my inner self?

Li Yelai sighed.

I don't know what to do.

It wasn't until he heard a sound coming from outside that Li Yelai came to his senses, dried himself off, changed his clothes, and walked out of the bathroom.

Li Yelai was drying his wet hair when he looked up and saw a snowman doll sitting on a seat in the corridor by the door.

The doll is holding up a sign that reads: "Are you feeling better? (；へ：)"
Li Yelai was somewhat taken aback: "A doll? What brings you here?"

[I came with the rest of the team, are you alright? (╯﹏╰)b] After learning that Li Ye had fought with Ben Lei and successfully buried him, the doll was so worried that it jumped onto the logistics team's convoy.

Li Yelai nodded slightly: "It's alright, but I feel a little sad."

The doll got up and approached Li Yelai, standing on tiptoe and reaching out its round, chubby hands to stroke Li Yelai's wet head.

"It's alright now, you helped Benlei." A girl's deep, comforting voice came from inside the doll's head: "Don't think of yourself as killing him, you saved him."

Whether it was the girl's gentle voice or her tender caress, Li Yelai did feel a little better.

After seeing Benlei off, Li Yelai dared not think about whether he would encounter such a situation again.

But now, looking at the doll in front of him who was worried about its own, he had an epiphany.

The girl gently comforted Li Yelai, fearing that he might fall into some kind of psychological problem.

Li Yelai was worried about his friends, and his friends were also worried about him.

Nobody wants to encounter this situation.

However, psionicists cannot completely eradicate distortion. Failure to advance, the occurrence of tragedy, or the eruption of certain obsessions can all potentially cause psionicists to become distorted.

This is the destiny of psychics who gain power. If something were to happen to Li Yelai, would anyone be corrupted because of him?

Looking at the doll in front of him, Li Yelai didn't want to know; he wanted to avoid this situation.

Benlei is twisted by tragedy. If he had enough power, could he protect everything as much as possible?
If that's the case, then tragedies won't happen, and things won't be distorted as a result.

'I may not be able to save everyone, but at least I won't let others be distorted because of me,' Li Yelai murmured to himself.

At this moment, Li Yelai's Well of Souls rapidly expanded.

After a bloody battle with Benlei, his psionic well had already been expanded considerably.

Now, it has achieved another breakthrough.

Nighttime, inside a room at the Jing Family Manor.

Jing Jing received the intelligence submitted by the Jing family members.

"That bastard actually..."

Jing Jing was somewhat taken aback when she saw the intelligence report.

The intelligence indicates that Night will bury a twisted four-sense psychic.

This was hard for Jing Jing to believe. How could a three-sense psychic possibly bury a twisted four-sense sufferer?
Both sides are official agents, possessing psionic weapons, potions, and even forbidden enhancements.

The difference between the third and fourth levels of awakening is undeniable. Unless one is a genius with preferential treatment in terms of resources, very few psionicists can successfully fight opponents of a higher level.

But after calming down, she dismissed the possibility: "Did he suppress the victims with his teammates?"

In her view, this was the only possibility. Facing a single victim, having several handlers rush in simultaneously was the best option. This would minimize casualties.

"I don't know, the authorities haven't revealed anything. But what I've heard seems to be that Night Slayer suppressed the victims alone, and the other handlers didn't get involved."

Jing Jing frowned. Did Ye Jiang really have this kind of strength? Or was it just a lucky, pyrrhic victory? It didn't make sense.
Perhaps the victims have completely lost their rationality, greatly reducing their fighting strength?

However, after learning this information, Jing Jing's evaluation of Li Yelai was slightly higher.

Even if there are various reasons, his ability to suppress a fourth-level ape is still admirable.

"Although she's a lowly person, she still has the blood of the Jing family flowing through her veins," Jing Jing thought to herself.

If this lowly creature were to demonstrate a higher value once again, it wouldn't be impossible for him to be recognized as a member of the family.

On the other side, Jing Lin, who had also received the news, sighed softly.

"What's wrong?" the old man asked.

“A hero was corrupted, and Night General sent him away,” Jing Lin replied. He didn’t know much about Ben Lei, but he knew he was a hero. Ben Lei and his team had played an indispensable role in humanity’s victory over the Calamity Mist.

“That’s what psychics are like, power and risk go hand in hand. I hope Night General will grow after this incident.” The old man murmured, “Jing Lin, although you have grown a lot, you still need to learn more from Night General.”

Jing Lin looked at the old man with a puzzled expression, thinking to himself, "Grandpa, you're so biased! I'm the one who's your grandson!"

The next day, early in the morning, Li Yelai arrived at the safe house in the new city district with large bags and small packages.

Today is the day of the Ark Gathering.

As Li Ye entered the safe house, he saw Captain Yin Huo, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Thank you for your help with the Thunderclap matter," Yin Huo said, then raised an eyebrow: "You're going to get your fourth awakening?"

Li Yelai nodded: "Yes."

"That's fast, just over two months?" Yin Huo laughed. "Your advancement speed is almost catching up with Little Mad King. Although I don't trust her because of the curse, her advancement speed is indeed terrifying."

Little Mad King? Li Yelai nodded slightly. A girl who put a lot of pressure on him. It is said that if it weren't for the Mad King suppressing her, she would be preparing to break through to the seventh awakening now.

However, Li Yelai has only been a Level Three Awakening cultivator for a little over two months.

He fought bloody battles in the fog of disaster, and his Well of Souls expanded rapidly. Coupled with the events of yesterday's Thunderclap, he quickly approached the threshold of the Fourth Awakening.

In less than half a month, he will be able to break through to the fourth level of perception. If Cheese were still in the giant city, he would probably be making all sorts of boastful remarks about how he managed to surpass others.

However, Li Yelai still hasn't solved the problem of the magic potion.

Therefore, he brought a lot of crimson sap and some extraordinary materials today, intending to trade them inside the Ark.

Yin Huo had no objection to this and said, "We have already reached a cooperation agreement with the three branches of the Jing family. You will cover each other inside the Ark. There is no need to worry too much. The only problem is the one who holds the book."

The one who holds the book is a mysterious prophet.

Although there were significant errors in the prophecy regarding the outcome of the calamity fog, it did indeed foretell the arrival of the 71st calamity fog and chaos.

As for whether it's accurate or not, well, it is!

"I'm not sure if we'll see the book carriers at this gathering," Li Yelai replied. "If we do, how should I approach them?"

“Don’t make contact with him first,” Yin Huo said. “However, if he really can foresee the future, your identity as a mole would have been discovered long ago. Either he’s deliberately concealing your identity, or he can only see prophecies of certain major events. In this case, don’t rashly make contact with him.”

Yin Huo then continued, "Originally, the official plan was to prepare another Thunderstrike Dragon Steed for you, but unfortunately, the beast tide in the Doomsday Forest made hunting more difficult. In addition, our inventory has been severely depleted. Therefore, we are currently unable to provide you with the corpse of a Thunderstrike Dragon Steed."

“I know,” Li Yelai replied. “I understand.”

"But we can't let you suffer a loss, so you can use the Zerg materials we provide to try trading for the corpses of other extraordinary creatures on the Ark. Then find Black Umbrella to refine them," Yin Huo said.

"Okay, thank you so much." Li Yelai was pleasantly surprised.

The mount provided him with a significant boost, and if he could trade it within the Ark, it would indeed save him a lot of trouble.

After making some preparations, Li Yelai changed into a suit, put on a bronze mask, and went to the basement of the safe house.

In the basement, the captured golden-armored creature was still hanging in the nutrient tank, unable to live or die.

Previously, the authorities had taken him to another location, where he was not eaten by the swarm.

Moreover, the authorities have recently acquired a large amount of pure biomass.

This makes it difficult for Jin Jia to die even if he wants to.

Li Yelai glanced at the golden armor and then stopped paying attention, instead carefully taking the ticket.

There were a lot of supplies on the tables and chairs around him.

Li Yelai sat in his seat.

Under the operator's control, the 'Golden Armor' inside the nutrient tank pointed a finger.

Li Yelai then felt that long-lost feeling of weightlessness, and a white light appeared in front of him.

Two months later, he re-entered the Ark.

(End of this chapter)