He ran over nervously and checked his photo; only after confirming it was fine did he glare fiercely at the four of them.
"What are you doing! Are you trying to hurt someone?"
"Hurt someone?"
Wen Xiang Yuan was confused; he had just arrived, so how could they have hurt anyone?
"Who knows if something would happen to me if you made my photo disappear."
Luo Jiyun's attitude toward Wen Xiang Yuan was even worse, lacking the gentle tone most men used when speaking to her.
This was the time when scavengers usually returned from eating to rest, and Luo Jiyun's loud voice quickly attracted a crowd.
"The four of you are acting suspiciously here. Who knows what you're up to!"
Nan Yue and the others didn't want to say much and were about to leave, but Luo Jiyun grabbed them and wouldn't let go.
If Nan Yue remembered correctly, he was one of the scavengers who hadn't been resting well.
His already haggard face looked even worse now, dark and sallow. Deep, heavy dark circles hung under his eyes, his lips were cracked and dry, and his mind was in a state of manic agitation due to sleep deprivation.
"You think you can just run away after doing something bad? In your dreams!"
Zhu Xi Ning couldn't stand it anymore. She pried Luo Jiyun's hand off Wen Xiang Yuan. "Why do you keep grabbing our Wenwen? Trying to take liberties? A toad like you dreaming of swan meat."
"We just thought your photo looked a bit strange. What did you see us do? Which eye saw us doing anything bad?"
"Did you just graduate from the academy? Don't you know how to conduct an exploration? Does running your mouth and framing people help you survive?"
"Fine, we're not leaving now. Unless you explain exactly what 'bad thing' you saw us do, don't even think about letting this go."
Zhu Xi Ning spoke quickly and clearly, her logic far superior to Luo Jiyun's baseless accusations.
Furthermore, everyone had a strong impression of Nan Yue's group. Regardless of whether they were good or bad, they were certainly powerful, and no one wanted to be the first to offend them.
In contrast, Luo Jiyun had been acting neurotic since the first day. It was a wonder he had even survived yesterday's exploration.
Moreover, he was sweating constantly from nerves, his hair damp and plastered to his forehead. He looked greasy and disheveled, making a poor impression on everyone.
"You... you said there's something wrong with my photo!"
Zhu Xi Ning sneered. "Can't you see for yourself? Everyone else's photos are clear, but yours is covered in heavy ink stains. It's only natural for us to find it strange."
"We're here for an exploration to find every possible clue, not to sit around jumping at shadows."
Luo Jiyun's attention was drawn to his own photo. His pupils twitched violently as he pressed himself almost flush against the doorplate.
"How... how did my photo end up like this!"
"It wasn't like that before?"
Hearing Nan Yue's question, Luo Jiyun ignored the previous unpleasantness and shook his head frantically.
"No, no! I checked it specifically when I first arrived. There were no ink stains then."
"Did someone smear it on?"
Luo Jiyun rubbed at it desperately with his hands, trying to wipe the ink away, but it was useless.
His thumb remained clean, leaving no trace of ink behind, which proved the quality of the photo was excellent.
But it also meant it was unlikely to be a printing issue.
"How could this happen..."
Luo Jiyun slumped, his previous bitterness replaced by a pitiful air.
No one felt sorry for him; everyone was busy checking their own photos.
The others whose photos also had ink stains began to panic.
"Mine has them too."
"So does mine!"
Hearing that others were in the same boat, Luo Jiyun rushed over to check, but when he realized his ink stains were the closest to the face, he began to break down.
"Why... why do I have the most ink?"
"Everyone, calm down."
Nan Yue frowned. "We don't know what the ink stains represent yet. Don't panic."
Xie Rui, whose photo also had ink stains, snapped back out of fear.
"Of course you aren't panicking; your photo is perfectly clean."
When people realize they've become 'special' in a place like this, they tend to panic, especially since being special here was rarely a good thing.
After two days of mentally draining missions and a lack of proper rest, most of the scavengers' psychological values were becoming unstable.
Nan Yue looked at Gu Xiang Kai with some helplessness, and he immediately punched the wall.
He held back his strength, but the blow still left fine cracks in the wall.
"Shut up."
He faithfully played the role of the ruthless enforcer beside the boss.
The crowd went silent.
Though they were panicked, they hadn't lost their minds entirely.
"Did all of you successfully complete both missions?"
Under the pressure of physical force, everyone became very cooperative.
"We all passed."
Luo Jiyun bit his nails. "Passed, passed. Last night I was helping Joseph fish, but after I saw that thing... I... I ran away."
Gu Xiang Kai was speechless. "You actually ran?"
Luo Jiyun nodded. "Yeah... the thing didn't chase me, and Joseph didn't say anything either..."
The others were at a loss for words. To think someone could pass like that.
However, as they questioned everyone, it turned out there was nothing particularly unique about the people with ink stains.
Although Luo Jiyun had run away, he had initially helped Joseph load the harpoon guns.
According to Bi Danyuan, her roommate Zhou Meifei had been so terrified that she didn't help at all, hiding in the cabin from start to finish.
Bi Danyuan spoke with visible irritation; the difficulty of the hunt was scaled for two people.
Zhou Meifei's refusal to do anything had only increased the pressure on her.
Zhou Meifei kept her head down and said nothing; when it came to staying alive, nothing else mattered.
Yet, Zhou Meifei's photo was clean, without a single ink stain.
How strange...
Nan Yue asked if those with stains felt any physical discomfort or if they had encountered anyone unusual.
Whether they were telling the truth or not, they all denied it.
"Then we probably won't figure out the cause for now. Don't worry too much and just focus on the missions."
Nan Yue said this because even if her own photo had ink stains, she would be able to ignore it and focus on the task until she understood what it truly meant.
Many scavengers could do the same.
But the individuals here clearly could not.
Even though they knew that worrying wouldn't help, the thought that they were different and that the photo might represent something ominous left them unable to sit still.
"Strange, what exactly is the purpose of these ink stains?"
While the crowd was whispering, Jiang Siyan opened his door and saw the group gathered in the hallway.
Upon hearing about the photos, he showed no reaction, not even bothering to check if his own photo had ink stains.
Nan Yue noticed he looked well-rested, though he seemed somewhat gloomy.
This gloom wasn't due to the mission; in fact, Nan Yue suspected this mission was far too easy for him.
Last night's exploration was a mental attack, which was no different from a free pass for someone like Jiang Siyan, who had healing-type abilities—specifically, the ability to heal mental stability.
Rate on N.U.
