Jinshan City, suburbs.

The noise of the airplane propeller swept across the sky, landing on a low building in the suburbs.

With a "crack," two figures broke through pine trees and fell into the forest.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Kou Beiyue rolled among the fallen leaves, curled up, his face twisted as he coughed violently.

Xiao Yuan hurried up, alarmed, and ran to Kou Beiyue's side to check on him, her heart sinking.

Kou Beiyue's pulse was weak, his heartbeat was slow, and his organs were rapidly failing. Previously, he had relied on the blood bank stored in the Insect惑之妖's (Insect of Bewitchment) exclusive weapon to activate a berserk ability to temporarily suppress the illness.

Now that the blood essence had been almost entirely consumed by the germs, the disease had once again invaded his body.

Xiao Yuan quickly opened her inventory, took out a small black jar, grabbed two fat, white silkworm chrysalises from it, and stuffed them into Kou Beiyue's mouth, urgently saying, "Swallow them."

Kou Beiyue's consciousness was already blurred. Hearing Xiao Yuan's voice, he instinctively made a swallowing motion. With the two chrysalises down, his breathing became even, and his heartbeat returned to normal. But not long after, Kou Beiyue began to breathe rapidly again, and his heartbeat became erratic. The nature of the chrysalises and the life source liquid was the same – to provide enormous vitality, specifically for repairing injuries. But germs were not injuries. Although providing enormous vitality could temporarily save a dying person, it would also provide nourishment for the germs, treating only the symptoms and not the root cause.

What was needed to treat the germs was medicine!

Among the various professions, only Wood妖 (Wood Sprite) and Scholar could concoct medicinal pills.

Xiao Yuan's heart sank. According to Kou Beiyue's current condition, he wouldn't last an hour. Should she go to Songhai?

No, Yuanshi's current situation was unpredictable. Given the official's planning ability, they might have already arranged manpower in Songhai, just waiting for her to walk into the trap.

Returning to the hotel – Wu Hen Da Shi (Grandmaster No Trace) hadn't responded to her request for help, indicating that he was isolated from reality. The hotel's location had long been exposed. Returning to the hotel would also be walking into a trap.

As thoughts flashed through her mind, she, in her Bee Maiden form, pulled out a cell phone from Kou Beiyue's pocket. She had left her cell phone in the bedroom.

Skillfully unlocking the phone with a fingerprint, she opened the chat group. She pursed her lips and sent a message in the Dan Team group: "Kou Beiyue: I am Xiao Yuan. We were attacked by the officials. Liang Chen and Tong Tong sacrificed themselves."

While sending the second half of the sentence, Xiao Yuan felt a burst of pain in her heart.

"Kou Beiyue: Beiyue has contracted the Rain Master's Plague Transformation. His life is in danger. I need medicine that can cure the disease. I need everyone's help."

After sending the message, she waited with guilt for the information to flood the group.

Aunt Fang had always treated Tong Tong like a granddaughter. If she knew that Tong Tong had returned to The Way of the Extraordinary, she would be devastated.

Yang Bo, who had dedicated half his life to teaching, would definitely not be able to withstand such a blow. She hoped he could bear it.

Lin Chong must be facing this tragic event with a strong stress reaction, often making extreme and irrational behavior.

Xiao Yuan thought, thinking, getting no response for a long time, which made her feel a strong sense of unease and doubt.

The official ambush, the failure to ask Wu Hen Da Shi for help, the small group with no one responding, the lost members – the more Xiao Yuan thought about it, the more wrong things seemed, the more terrified she became, and her whole body trembled slightly.

A soft sigh came: "The flowers have faded in spring, too hasty, helplessly, the cold rain comes in the morning, the wind comes in the evening. Forget powder tears, let’s be drunk together, when we can meet again? It is the nature of life to regret the water running to the east."

Xiao Yuan was greatly startled, looking around, but saw no one. Until the last sentence, "It is the nature of life to regret the water running to the east" was spoken, she finally saw the uninvited guest. It was a man wearing a light blue suit and slim-fitting pants.

Wearing a large black brimmed hat, he was facing away from her, with his head lowered at a forty-five-degree angle to the right. His right hand was pinching the brim of the hat, and the tip of his right toe was raised, with his knees slightly bent.

He was imitating a famous Western superstar. From this angle, Xiao Yuan could see half of his face, covered by a silver mask.

"I don't like your expressions, vigilant and containing hostility. A man like me who leads the trend should receive cheers and applause." The masked man's voice was like chanting, profound and meaningful.

Xiao Yuan's whole body tensed up, protecting Kou Beiyue, her black gemstone-like compound eyes staring fixedly at the man, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Don't be so hostile. I'm here to help you." The man grabbed a porcelain bottle from the void and threw it far away, "This is my sincerity."

The porcelain bottle accurately fell at Xiao Yuan's feet.

Xiao Yuan ignored it, staring at him coldly.

The man said: "His condition is worse than I imagined. Although he is away from the source of infection, the germs have absorbed the power of Bloodthirsty Berserk and become stronger. There is a panacea in the bottle, one pill a day, and he will be fine in three days."

Only then did Xiao Yuan turn her gaze to the bottle, coldly saying, "Who are you, what is your purpose?"

"I am a chess player, you are my new chess piece. Of course, a chess player has to protect his chess pieces," the masked man said frankly.

Xiao Yuan thought for a few seconds, picked up the porcelain bottle, poured out a dark brown pill that exuded a medicinal fragrance, and stuffed it into Kou Beiyue's mouth.

Kou Beiyue's body was already in very bad shape. She had no choice. Anyway, the result couldn't be worse. After taking the pill, Kou Beiyue's thread-like breathing immediately stabilized, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Xiao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the mysterious man, "Chess piece? What do I need to do?"

The man took out a charm engraved with peculiar spells from his pocket, "Open the altar at the right time and pray to Wu Hen Da Shi."

"Wu Hen Da Shi!" Xiao Yuan stared at the man's back, eagerly asking, "What exactly happened? Can you tell me?"

She had already realized that tonight's encounter was not as simple as she had imagined.

"Wu Hen Da Shi is impacting the demigod realm, infringing on the interests of too many people, and even touching the taboo of a certain force in The Way of the Extraordinary. He is finished."

The masked man sighed, "The members of your team, except for you and this kid, have all returned to The Way of the Extraordinary."

Xiao Yuan's mind "boomed," as if struck by lightning, and her face instantly turned pale.

The news came too suddenly, like a sharp knife inserted into her chest, bringing excruciating pain.

She didn't want to believe it, but Wu Hen Da Shi's silence and the lack of response in the small group were telling her that it was all true.