Nan Yue carefully flipped through the genealogy and was surprised to find that the Zhou family's descendants weren't actually very numerous. Although every legal wife had left behind an heir, many of those children had no descendants of their own.
This meant they either hadn't married or hadn't lived to see adulthood.
Judging by the Zhou family's wealth and power, the first possibility could be ruled out.
That left only one explanation: a large number of these children had died young, perhaps even before reaching maturity.
From the bullet comments and the Zhou family ancestral hall, the family had previously seemed to have a flourishing lineage with complex roots.
While that wasn't technically wrong, the number of people was far too low for a family that had endured for hundreds of years across three dynasties.
Nan Yue bit her lip slightly. If Wen Xiang Yuan were here, she would surely have been able to discern even more.
Nan Yue forced her thoughts back to the mission, trying not to dwell on why Wen Xiang Yuan had suddenly vanished.
"Let's go."
Since they couldn't discuss things with outsiders present, Nan Yue took the genealogy and headed out.
As she passed Wang Yue, the man, who had been quiet until then, suddenly lunged to snatch the genealogy from her.
Nan Yue hadn't expected Wang Yue to be able to reach her from that distance, but a closer look revealed he was using an awakened ability.
His arm had elongated.
It was quite a useful skill for theft.
Was he trying to catch her off guard?
Unfortunately for him, Nan Yue was always prepared. She caught his reaching hand with ease and twisted his wrist.
Snap.
"Ahhh!!"
Wang Yue cried out in pain, but Nan Yue ignored them and turned to leave.
As Jiang Siyan walked past, he said softly, "It's just a dislocation. You just need to pop it back in. They taught us this at the academy, so there's no need to scream so pathetically, right?"
A sweat-drenched Wang Yue: "..."
In truth, holding onto the genealogy didn't mean much to Nan Yue anymore. She simply didn't want to give it to someone like Wang Yue.
Once outside, she noticed the yellow-haired guy had followed them out, looking weak, pitiful, and helpless.
After a moment's thought, Nan Yue tossed the genealogy back to him.
The yellow-haired guy clutched the genealogy as if it were a hot potato. "This... I don't, I don't want it. I'm useless."
Nan Yue said, "I don't plan on protecting you, so I suggest you use this to negotiate protection from someone else."
"Of course, there's a risk involved. Regardless, you're the one who found it. I've finished reading it, so it's up to you to decide how to handle it."
Nan Yue nodded to him. "Thank you."
A light rain was falling as the yellow-haired guy watched the four of them walk away. Feeling like crying but having no tears, he looked around before ducking into a side room.
"Wen Xiang Yuan is missing?"
Upon hearing the news, both Zhu Xi Ning and Jiang Siyan found it hard to accept.
For Zhu Xi Ning, it was emotional. For Jiang Siyan, it was logical.
"Wenwen will be okay, right? Dammit, I can't see her future."
Zhu Xi Ning's voice was muffled by her Ant God mask, and she looked quite dejected.
"If Wen Xiang Yuan is... then that's certainly a possibility."
Jiang Siyan frowned, his confusion no less than the others'.
Nan Yue knew what he meant. Their suspicions about Wen Xiang Yuan's identity hadn't been shared publicly. Only the two of them had mentioned it once, and even then, it had been heavily veiled.
The theory was that Wen Xiang Yuan might be an NPC.
If she were an NPC, she would indeed be forcibly pulled back whenever the mission world required it.
But this raised a problem: the core logic of the Scavenger Training Academy and the Scavenger Project was flawed.
The mission worlds weren't unsalvageable post-pollution entities, and the NPCs within them weren't just phantoms or lingering grievances waiting to be purged.
Wen Xiang Yuan was flesh and blood. She could cry, laugh, and sacrifice herself for the team.
Nan Yue could accept that such a person was an NPC, but she couldn't accept that such a person was considered polluted and destined only for elimination.
"Let's focus on the mission first. We'll find a way once we're out."
"Wenwen is so special. She'll be fine."
As the backbone of the team, Nan Yue knew she couldn't afford to panic.
Because she remained composed, the other three managed to stay relatively calm as well.
"What are your current tips at?"
The three of them checked their screens. Nan Yue had 3,400 in tips, Jiang Siyan had 1,700, Gu Xiang Kai had 1,300, and Zhu Xi Ning had 1,900.
"I've finished my second round. I should be able to leave after one more at most."
However, Nan Yue's expression didn't lighten. "Based on our team's situation, we can meet the mission requirements in three or four rounds of streaming. Averaging in the abilities of other scavengers, it should take about five rounds."
"That means this mission has a time limit of about five days."
Gu Xiang Kai understood. "So you're saying if we can't get out after five rounds of streaming, we won't survive."
Zhu Xi Ning added, "And the difficulty should spike on the third day. A-Nan's second round of streaming was already very dangerous."
At that point, Zhu Xi Ning gave Nan Yue a complicated look.
"...I almost forgot. Are you still carrying that..."
Nan Yue nodded nonchalantly. "It's not heavy."
Zhu Xi Ning: "...Is that the point?"
Jiang Siyan chuckled nearby. The more time he spent with Nan Yue, the more interesting he found her.
As the four of them pooled their information, Zhu Xi Ning nudged Jiang Siyan with her elbow. "Old Jiang, you're up."
Jiang Siyan picked up his phone and greeted the camera. "Where else would the viewers like to see?"
They were all very goal-oriented and didn't want to waste this opportunity for guided clues.
Bullet comments popped up one after another. Jiang Siyan's expression remained unchanged as he read the various strange requests.
"You want to see the Thousand Buddha Ceiling? Sure thing."
The Thousand Buddha Ceiling consisted of statues carved into the main hall using the suspension sculpture technique. In the outside world, it would have been a cultural relic worthy of the highest protection.
However, ever since Nan Yue had seen one of the Smiling Bodhisattvas turn its head, the danger of that place was no less than anywhere else.
After a moment's thought, Nan Yue decided to go with Jiang Siyan.
Although Jiang Siyan had Top 9 strength, in her mind, he was still a healer with low life force and support abilities.
Such a person was quite fragile. Though he had ways to protect himself, Nan Yue feared that one day he might reach his psychological value and seek his own end.
That wouldn't do.
She had worked hard to recruit such a powerful healer.
Noticing Nan Yue following him, Jiang Siyan's lips curled into a smile, a warm and reassuring feeling spreading through his heart.
Was this what it felt like to be valued and protected?
...It felt pretty good.
The two of them walked back to the main hall. Nan Yue used her flashlight to help him with the lighting, but the Smiling Bodhisattva was still missing from the ceiling.
Although the bullet comments called it the Thousand Buddha Ceiling, Nan Yue could see at a glance that there were likely more than ten thousand statues there.
The Zhou residence was massive to begin with, and these palm-sized statues were packed so tightly together that saying there were ten thousand was a gross understatement.
Rate on N.U.
