"Bai Ye, how are you feeling?"
Hearing Jin Sha's voice, Bai Ye snapped back to reality, pushing aside thoughts of the distress signal. "You try getting hit, then you'll know how I feel!" he grumbled, baring his teeth.
He cursed, flicking a talismant to release a warm mist, treating his injuries.
"It's okay, it's okay, I have something good for healing," Jin Sha quickly produced a green-spotted fruit. "Eat this, and you'll be fine."
Bai Ye warily scanned the fruit with his holographic interface. It was indeed for healing, a 'Great Tree Fruit,' capable of restoring half of any injury.
A godsend!
Bai Ye looked at Jin Sha like she was the Virgin Mary, so incredibly kind. He felt like a scoundrel, judging a gentleman with a villain's heart. Though, if faced with a similar situation again, Bai Ye would still scan the information first.
Lost in thought, Bai Ye bit into the fruit, finishing it in a few bites.
It was quite sweet, he had to admit!
Coupled with the healing effect of the warm mist and the Great Tree Fruit, Bai Ye felt significantly better. A warmth spread through him, and the pain clearly subsided.
After resting on the ground for a short while, Bai Ye gritted his teeth and stood up. "Let's go, we need to leave here immediately."
The end of the forbidden zone did not mean the end of the danger.
In fact, the conclusion of each forbidden zone was often accompanied by the arrival of danger.
Some 'scheming individuals' would immediately begin hunting, searching for those weakened by injury to kill them.
The reason, of course, was simple: to obtain fragments of the God Stone.
Of course, currently, not many people had formed this concept, and even fewer had the idea of withdrawing immediately after a forbidden zone ended.
However, for Bai Ye, this habit had been ingrained from his previous life.
Jin Sha nodded, helping Bai Ye to his feet, and the two began to move through the snowfield.
Bai Ye's original intention was to return to the supernatural zone by following the snowfield, a journey of only two to three days. However, what Bai Ye didn't expect was that around dawn on the second day, a zone boundary appeared before them.
Looking at the boundary, Bai Ye glanced at Jin Sha. "Do you know which zone this is?"
Jin Sha shook her head. "Not really. When I came to the glacier, I came from much further west."
Bai Ye nodded.
It was normal to get lost in a glacial snowfield, as there were no landmarks. While the outcome was slightly beyond his expectations, it wasn't necessarily bad.
After Bai Ye and Jin Sha crossed the zone boundary, a vast forest appeared before them.
"Huh?" Bai Ye looked around. "Fantasy Zone?"
It was a forest that looked incredibly magical.
Bai Ye saw trees as small as his thumb, mushrooms as tall as five or six meters, like small huts. The branches of one tree spiraled, forming a huge disc at the top. Another tree was covered in a mirror-like sheen, flickering with iridescent three-colored light.
The fantastical colors made Bai Ye feel as if he had stepped into a fantasy zone.
Jin Sha asked, "What do we do now? Continue moving forward?"
"No need. It's enough to leave the glacier zone," Bai Ye replied. "We'll explore the surroundings, check if the environment is safe, find a place that's not too far from the zone boundary but is sufficiently hidden and overlooks it, and then rest for three to five days to recover from our injuries."
Bai Ye actually still had chocolate energy bars that could instantly restore any injury.
However, his body, modified by the T-virus, possessed strong regenerative abilities. So, even though the blow from the Alien Queen had injured him significantly, in three to five days, combined with the continuous treatment from the warm mist, he would be able to fight normally again, even if not fully healed.
Since it wasn't a fatal or difficult-to-heal injury, Bai Ye decided not to waste the chocolate energy bars.
Jin Sha nodded from the side. "I'll let my beast explore."
Jin Sha released a rat-like beast the size of her head. "Little Rattata, go explore the surroundings and see if there's any danger."
Beasts of burden could be quite useful sometimes, helping with many tasks.
After about fifteen minutes, Little Rattata returned, reporting no danger. It also helped them find a non-toxic, giant mushroom to serve as a temporary resting place. The ground was dry, and the mushroom cap provided shelter from the wind and rain. It was quite good.
Bai Ye sat on the ground and said to Jin Sha, "You can leave first. I can handle things from here on."
Jin Sha thought for a moment. "I don't know where to go for now, so I'll stay with you for a couple of days until your injuries heal."
Bai Ye nodded, then took out a retractable net ball. After a moment's thought, he reluctantly switched to his Zangetsu (斬魄刀) and tossed it to Jin Sha.
Jin Sha fumbled to catch the Zanpakuto. "What's this for?"
Bai Ye replied, "It's yours. To repay you for the fruit."
"Ah?" Jin Sha was taken aback, then quickly waved her hands. "No, no."
"I'm not being polite, I just don't like owing people favors," Bai Ye grinned. "That way, when the time comes that I need to kill you, I won't hold back."
Jin Sha was stunned again. "Don't joke like that."
"Do you think I'm joking?" Bai Ye pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket, placed a cigarette in his mouth, and continued, "Take my advice, put away that kindness. In the World Battlefield, such things are useless. Here, it's either you kill others, or others kill you. There are no companions. The moment you step onto the World Battlefield, you have no companions."
Bai Ye recalled some past events. In his previous life, he had also been naive, believing that they could all work together to leave this damned place.
And then...
They died. Bai Ye lived.
Bai Ye killed them!
Jin Sha fell silent for a moment. "I know."
Bai Ye smiled faintly. "I can see that."
Jin Sha wasn't foolish. Bai Ye could tell from some details. Although she had a kind side, her actions showed vigilance.
When they rode the snowmobile together, Jin Sha had a dagger hidden in her sleeve. When they walked together towards the scientific research team's base, Jin Sha only moved closer when releasing her beast. Otherwise, she maintained a distance that allowed for escape or counterattack. Even when supporting the injured Bai Ye,多多冰 (Duo Duo Bing) always floated between them.
In fact, Bai Ye could understand Jin Sha's mindset, as he had gone through a similar period in his previous life.
She had understood what kind of place the World Battlefield was, yet hadn't let go of the kindness in her heart, caught in a state of internal conflict and struggle.
However, as long as one lived, one would eventually become cruel.
...