Chapter 195 - 194: Stance

Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Stance

’How did we get back to this topic?’ Feng Ling thought.

She didn’t want to talk about Ye Zheng and Su Yuqing, to avoid agitating Ye Zheng if he overheard.

But the sedative worked quickly. With one injection, the strength drained from Ye Zheng’s arm, and it dropped limply to the floor of the truck.

Although he was still awake, his eyes had clearly lost their focus, as if he were in a daze.

The research institute used a spray-type sedative since it was administered in a sealed observation room. But since Feng Ling didn’t have access to a sealed environment out in the field, Su Yuqing had given her the injectable type.

Beside her, Xu Yiming was still enthusiastically recounting his experiences:

"After Old Su and Ye Zheng found out I had a Card, they both urged me to move as soon as possible. They said that Alien Species specifically target Card Holders like me and told me to get to Yanjing City or Yunhai City quickly, since it’s safer there. So I moved to Yunhai City and lived there for a while. Sigh, the cost of living in a big city is just too high. I don’t have a good education, so I couldn’t find a great job, and my entire monthly salary went to rent... Later, Old Su recommended a forum to me where you could learn a lot about Alien Species. I started spending all my time on it after work and ended up making quite a few friends. Oh, right! That’s actually where I met Liang Jiaqin. He’s from Jinnan City."

"What forum was it?" Huangfu Miaomiao asked.

Feng Ling interjected, "It was probably the Alien Star forum. I used to browse the threads there all the time, too."

Xu Yiming smiled and nodded. "Right. I know you. You’re Dou Sha."

Feng Ling looked at Xu Yiming, stunned. "How do you know that?"

Xu Yiming laughed. "Have you forgotten? You made a post on the Hunter forum once and then copy-pasted the exact same content onto the Alien Star forum. That’s how everyone figured out you were Dou Sha. But don’t worry, only the Hunters know."

(This was mentioned in Chapter 73.)

Feng Ling: "..."

So they knew. Big deal. She had nothing to fear.

Li Qing, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up. "User activity on the Alien Star forum has dropped quite a bit recently. It’s only at about 60% of what it used to be."

"Oh, really..." Xu Yiming said, taken aback for a moment. "I haven’t been on it in a while, either. Lately, I’ve only been on the Hunter forum."

Feng Ling nodded. "I’ve only been on the Hunter forum recently, too."

Li Qing said, "The purpose of a forum is to exchange information. Now that you all have better channels for that, it’s only natural you wouldn’t go back to the old one."

His voice was a bit low, and he sounded a little dejected.

Xu Yiming didn’t know that the man before him had once worked tirelessly to build up the forum, inevitably pouring some of his heart and soul into it.

Xu Yiming said with a sigh, "That’s true. In the first few months after the Alien Species arrived, everyone was panicking. It was total chaos. At a time like that, of course everyone wanted to check out a forum where you could share information about them. When I first got my Card, the forum was the only place I felt any sense of security. It just felt like... there were so many others like me there. It was that comforting feeling of meeting people from back home... Looking back on it now, the people who provided the information must have been those who’d had contact with Alien Species or Cards. Once they qualified as Hunters and went to the Hunter forum, the value of the Alien Star forum naturally plummeted. After all, everyone who could provide real, solid info was gone."

"It’s for the best, actually," Li Qing said in a low voice. "Separating the Hunters from the general population and creating an independent platform for them was an inevitable trend. The Alien Star forum, as an early information exchange site, has already fulfilled its purpose."

Li Qing’s tone struck Xu Yiming as strange.

"You... were on the forum too?" Xu Yiming asked Li Qing uncertainly.

Su Yuqing had told him before that the two people with Feng Ling were both Alien Species.

The thought of an Alien Species browsing human forums made Xu Yiming deeply uncomfortable.

Feng Ling giggled beside them and said, "You’ll never guess who he is. I’ll give you a hint: you’ve read his posts."

"Huh? Who is it?" Xu Yiming’s curiosity was piqued. He looked from Feng Ling to Li Qing. "...I’ve read your posts?"

Li Qing looked a bit awkward.

Feng Ling added with another giggle, "Hint number two: his posts were always either featured or pinned. Almost every newcomer to the forum has read them."

"Holy shit! I know!" Xu Yiming’s eyes flew wide. "You’re the legendary Green Weasel!"

Li Qing opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked down, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into. "...Yeah."

"But... why? Why would you do that?" Xu Yiming was completely bewildered. He stared at Li Qing. "Forgive me for being blunt, but aren’t you an Alien Species? You should be on their side, so why are you helping humans instead?! This—this is just too weird!"

Li Qing said sheepishly, "I’m not on the side of the Alien Species, nor am I on the side of the humans. I just felt that... since humans were forced to participate in this game, they had a right to know the rules. That’s why I provided information to the forum for free. I didn’t actually provide that much, really... Most of it was stuff you all discovered on your own. My job was mostly just to compile and organize it."

Xu Yiming asked dazedly, "So what’s your stance now... Neutral? Are you neutral?"

"My stance now..." Li Qing glanced at Feng Ling beside him. "I’m on Feng Ling’s side."

Feng Ling smiled and nodded, satisfied with his answer.

Huangfu Miaomiao muttered under her breath, "I’m on your side too."

Feng Ling reached out and ruffled Huangfu Miaomiao’s hair, feeling quite pleased.

Seeing how natural Feng Ling’s gesture was, it was clear this wasn’t the first or second time she had done it. Xu Yiming couldn’t help but have mixed feelings.

’Feng Ling gets along way too well with these two Alien Species. As a normal human, I’m going to need some time to get used to this...’ Xu Yiming thought.

HISS... HISS...

The Cat Spider in the back of the truck scuttled over on its eight legs to nuzzle against Feng Ling.

Finding its fur prickly, Feng Ling gave it a couple of perfunctory pats.

The Cat Owl on the other side watched the scene with disdain, lying aloof and motionless in a corner.

At that moment, Xu Yiming felt like he didn’t belong in the truck.

’Maybe I should go sit in the front passenger seat and be a proper standby driver.’

The truck continued on its way.

Before long, a clap of thunder finally erupted from the heavy, brooding clouds. It was followed immediately by fat, pea-sized raindrops that began to hammer down.

The downpour kicked up dust from the road, releasing the faint, earthy smell of wet soil.

Feng Ling glanced out through a modified air vent in the truck’s cargo bay. A curtain of rain blurred the scenery beyond the highway, but she could vaguely make out fields in the distance.

"Terrible weather..." Feng Ling murmured. She pulled her gaze back inside and said to Huangfu Miaomiao, "Check the forecast for Guangshan City tonight."

Huangfu Miaomiao tapped her smart-watch and searched for the information. "Mmm, says here there’s a heavy storm in Guangshan City tonight... Huh? Guangshan City is under martial law."

Feng Ling frowned. "Why the sudden martial law?"