As Ye Feng left Qi Ban Xian's place, the sky was already close to dusk.
"Big brother, you're back~"
Not far from the military Hummer, Ye Feng heard Xiao Xiao's delighted voice.
"Xiao Xiao, what's going on?"
Seeing the people lying on the ground, unconscious, next to the military Hummer, Ye Feng was a little confused.
"While you were gone, a bunch of people came to bother us~"
"I just knocked them all out~"
Before Xiao Xiao could answer, a pleasant female voice rang out.
"You... Ling Xi?"
Ye Feng, following the sound, was a little unsure.
Although the voice was Ling Xi's, her face was nothing like Ling Xi's; she looked like a middle-aged woman.
"It's a long story, let's talk in the car~"
The other party shrugged and turned to walk towards the Hummer.
"This..."
Seeing Xiao Xiao get into the car with the middle-aged woman, Ye Feng quickly followed.
"Little guy~"
The familiar voice sounded again, and with a flash of light, the middle-aged woman's appearance instantly reverted to her previous exquisite beauty.
"Your veil is so strange? Can it change your appearance freely?"
Ye Feng was quite surprised, looking at the semi-transparent veil in Ling Xi's hand.
He remembered that when he first met Ling Xi, she was wearing this veil, and her appearance had changed, but not into the middle-aged woman from just now.
"Yes~"
"It's called Illusion Face. I obtained it by chance in an ancient ruin!"
...
Soon, night fell.
Ye Feng drove the car away, found a suitable spot, and prepared dinner and provisions for the night.
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly.
Because he noticed that after it got dark, none of the tents had any lights on, nor was there any candlelight or similar illumination.
"Big brother, it's so dark, why aren't they lighting lamps or fires?"
"There are many monsters in the dark!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao, who had turned on the solar-powered lamp and hung it inside the Hummer, walked over.
She had clearly noticed this as well and was somewhat puzzled.
"Tsk tsk~ Another bunch of idiotic newbies!"
"Lighting up at the Firefly Outpost, what a waste of resources!"
"Yeah, look at that brightness, it's even electric lights! What a joke!"
"Damn it, have all the good chests been picked up by these morons?"
"Shush, don't talk nonsense, those few people came through the sulfuric acid rain route, they're tough characters!"
...
At this time, discussions could be heard from near a few tents not far from Ye Feng and the two others.
Although they had deliberately lowered their voices, Ye Feng's hearing was now extraordinary, and he heard them clearly.
Ye Feng couldn't help but wonder, "At this Firefly Outpost, is light not needed at night? Are there no monsters here?"
"Who?"
Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps approaching caught Ye Feng's attention.
He spun around sharply towards the source of the sound, a Glock 18 already in his hand.
"Mr. Ye, it's me!"
The person who arrived was Li Bao. Hearing Ye Feng's words, he immediately stopped.
"What is it?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly, his expression not much relaxed.
Li Bao clearly knew that approaching rashly in the dark was inappropriate.
He didn't advance further but stood in place and said to Ye Feng, "Mr. Ye, at night, the Firefly Outpost is filled with fireflies. You really don't need to turn on electric lights; this can save resources!"
"Fireflies?"
As Ye Feng was pondering, the entire camp area began to flicker with scattered small lights; they were indeed fireflies.
More and more fireflies appeared, their pulsating lights enveloping the entire outpost, eventually making the whole camp look quite bright.
And Ye Feng could now clearly see Li Bao, who was about 10 meters away...
"Mr. Ye, this is the origin of the name Firefly Outpost!"
"Here, at night, you generally don't need to worry about monsters... These glowing fireflies are also why many explorers choose to rest here!"
Li Bao briefly explained to Ye Feng and then turned to return to his own camp.
"Big brother, so beautiful~!"
"It's like the stars have been pulled close to us~"
Looking at the large number of flashing lights before him, Xiao Xiao exclaimed with genuine admiration.
"Mmm!~"
Ye Feng nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
Tonight, the clouds were thick, the moonlight was weak, and the stars were almost invisible.
So, these twinkling fireflies indeed looked like stars placed beside them, creating a breathtaking scene.
...
After a sumptuous dinner,
Ye Feng turned off the solar-powered lamp and lay on the soft grass outside the Hummer, quietly admiring the fireflies that glittered like countless stars.
The modern city where Ye Feng had lived before had been over-developed, and its natural environment had been heavily damaged.
Even natural forests were rare, mostly consisting of poorly constructed artificial woodlands... At night, there was light pollution and the noise of square dancing, which was irritating...
Being able to quietly watch the fireflies now, and feeling the gentle breeze, Ye Feng felt an extraordinary sense of peace and serenity...
Ling Xi sat next to Ye Feng, and Xiao Xiao lay down like him. Both of them were clearly in good spirits!
After all, they used to sleep under incandescent lights most of the time.
"Hey, kid, I want to discuss something with you. I'll give you two bread slices if you let that woman accompany... Ah!~..."
Suddenly, a piercing voice rang out.
However, before the voice could finish, it turned into a scream.
Ye Feng did a quick sit-up, instantly getting off the ground, grabbing the speaker, and throwing him a long distance.
Seeing this, those who had been walking towards Ye Feng quickly retreated.
...
The next day,
Ye Feng, Ling Xi, and Xiao Xiao explored the Firefly Outpost, gathering information and preparing to purchase some supplies.
"Little guy, what's wrong?"
Seeing Ye Feng glance in her direction from time to time, Ling Xi asked.
"Uh... nothing..."
Ye Feng scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward.
Because Ling Xi was wearing the Illusion Face veil again, disguised as a middle-aged woman, it looked strange.
"Little guy, how about I take off the Illusion Face?"
"As long as you don't find it troublesome!"
Ling Xi clearly sensed something and chuckled lightly.
"Let's forget it!"
Ye Feng shook his head.
Even when Ling Xi disguised herself as a middle-aged woman, a group of people came to chat her up, and some even brazenly proposed transactions with Ye Feng.
If she reverted to her original appearance, Ye Feng would probably be unable to do anything and would be constantly fending them off.
Although he wasn't afraid, too many flies could annoy even a tiger!
"Rumble rumble!~"
At this moment, the dense roar of engines came from afar.
Ye Feng turned his head and saw a team of explorers.
Unlike other explorer teams, the off-road vehicles in this team had no discernible logos.
However, judging from the external structure of the vehicles and the powerful roar of their engines, it was clear that these off-road vehicles were all high-performance ones.
"It's the Bloodhand Butcher convoy!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man's voice reached Ye Feng's ears, with a clear tone of apprehension.
...