Because everyone was exhausted from fighting the Zerg in the early morning, they didn't get up until almost noon.
After several days of snow, the weather finally cleared up today, and the sunlight seemed even more dazzling against the backdrop of the snow. Ye Qi was immediately struck by the glare of the sun overhead as soon as he stepped outside.
Feeling dizzy, he quickly closed his eyes and tucked the bottle into his coat.
Shao, the young CEO inside the bottle, is still asleep.
This bug seems to love sleeping in even more than CEO Shao himself?
Ye Qi didn't quite understand the Zerg's mindset, so he led CEO Shao to the campfire.
Old Mo's solid wood flooring was indeed very useful. Xiao Lou cleared the snow and lit a fire to boil water.
On a cold day, a cup of hot water is incredibly comforting, especially since you can use it to make instant noodles.
The group ate lunch around the fire.
Ye Qi suddenly thought of a question: "By the way, what do the Zerg eat?"
He took the Mineral Water bottle out of his pocket, pointed at the little CEO Shao lying inside, and said, "There are still eight days until we can clear the secret room. We can't just starve him for eight days, can we? What if he starves to death?"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Lou pressed his temples and said, "Xiao Ye's concerns are valid. We almost overlooked the issue of feeding CEO Shao. But what do the Zerg like to eat? Leaves? Grass? Or... human blood?"
Yu Hanjiang said with a serious expression, "Judging from the setting of this world, they are most likely to love eating human blood. After all, after the Zerg mutate, their eyes become bloodshot, and they stare at humans as if they were food, biting people everywhere. Moreover, the Zerg parasitize through blood."
Ye Qi paused for a moment, then thought about it carefully and realized it made a lot of sense. He said seriously, "That's true, the Zerg like to bite people."
Just then, Shao, the little CEO inside the bottle, suddenly turned over.
Ye Qi immediately widened his eyes and looked at him.
He rolled over, bumped into the side of the Mineral Water bottle, seemed to be jolted awake, and slowly got up.
He climbed up the bottle wall and reached the bottle opening. He tried to open the bottle cap with both hands, but unfortunately, he was too weak, and Ye Qi had already twisted the cap, so he couldn't push it open at all. After two unsuccessful attempts, he had no choice but to slide down the bottle wall.
Ye Qi felt a pang of heartache watching the tiny boy struggle with a mineral water bottle.
He must be furious about being trapped in a bottle, right? But there's nothing Ye Qi can do; he doesn't dare let him out yet.
Xiao Lou carefully observed CEO Shao's movements from the side. After seeing him slide back and sit quietly at the bottom of the bottle, he whispered, "The Zerg's climbing ability is indeed very strong. They can even climb up such a smooth bottle."
Ye Qi, however, was focused on another point: "Is he hungry? He was pushing the bottle cap so hard just now, maybe he was looking for something to eat?"
Xiao Lou couldn't make a judgment either, since no one knew the Zerg's dietary habits.
Ye Qi suddenly activated the scissors card and forcefully stabbed his finger with the sharp scissors. Everyone was shocked: "Xiao Ye, what are you doing?"
The answer was revealed in the next moment.
Ye Qi dripped blood from her finger into the small hole in the bottle cap. One drop of bright red blood fell from the cap. The little CEO Shao, who was sitting at the bottom of the bottle, lit up and quickly got up and ate the blood that Ye Qi fed him.
He ate while licking his lips, seemingly finding Xiao Ye's blood quite delicious.
Everyone: "..."
Ye Qi laughed: "He really likes blood. That makes things easier. I'll just feed him some whenever he's hungry."
Xiao Lou knew that Ye Qi felt guilty because CEO Shao had gotten infected while protecting him, so he personally cut his finger to feed CEO Shao blood. Naturally, no one would compete with Ye Qi for this task, as it would make him feel better.
Xiao Lou walked over, gently patted Ye Qi on the shoulder, and smiled as he took out the contract book to show everyone: " CEO Shao's name is still on it, which proves that our speculation was correct. He is not dead. As long as we successfully complete the game, we can bring him back to the main city world."
Upon seeing the three bold and elegant characters " Shao Qingge " on the contract book, Ye Qi's eyes instantly welled up with tears: "That's great! CEO Shao is still here after all!"
The others also showed joy on their faces; this was truly rare good news.
A day passed quickly, and Shao Qingge's eight-hour transformation was almost over. Ye Qi looked at the little guy sleeping in the bottle and said with some difficulty, "He might attack us after he turns back. My musical instrument card can't control him for too long. What should we do?"
Xiao Lou looked to Yu Hanjiang for his opinion, and the latter said, "Leave it to me."
Liu Qiao prompted: " Thumbelina " The card transformation effect lasts for 5 minutes, everyone get ready.
Ye Qi nodded, staring intently at the countdown.
With 10 seconds left on the countdown, he opened the Mineral Water bottle, gently poured out CEO Shao, placed it back on an open space, and then quickly stepped back a few paces.
CEO Shao, who is the size of a thumb, is so small that no one can see him clearly.
But the next moment, the transformation ended, and a man over 1.85 meters tall suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
Ye Qi immediately used the musical instrument card to subdue him.
The man narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Ye Qi, and said with a smile, "Little Ye, what are you doing?"
Ye Qi was startled and asked in a trembling voice, "You...you know me?"
Yu Hanjiang frowned slightly and immediately flew behind Shao Qingge. With lightning speed, he used the white silk cloth conjured by the white silk card to bind Shao Qingge's hands and legs.
Yu Hanjiang specializes in catching criminals, so his skills in binding people are naturally very professional. He tied a tight knot that Shao Qingge couldn't break free of, no matter how strong he was. In this way, even if he regained the Zerg's attack power, he wouldn't be able to attack his teammates.
Ye Qi's 3-second control ended, and Yu Hanjiang also tied up the person in just 3 seconds.
Shao Qingge smiled and looked at him: " Captain Yu's skills are still so nimble. I've returned to normal now, so there's no need to be so wary of me, right? Those Zerg were in my mind, trying to invade my consciousness, but I've already assimilated them with my self-awareness."
His tone and that ambiguous smile were exactly the same as Shao Qingge's usual self.
Qu Wanyue couldn't help but wonder, and whispered to Long Sen, "Is what he said believable?"
Long Sen shuddered and said, "I don't know... The advanced Zerg's camouflage techniques are all incredibly advanced. If a Zerg were speaking right now, they would be the Zerg's Oscar-winning actor."
Xiao Lou whispered in Ye Qi's ear, " Telepathic Connection."
Ye Qi nodded and asked through the Telepathic Connection, " CEO Shao, is that you speaking?"
However, the Telepathic Connection channel did not respond.
Ye Qi, unwilling to give up, continued to ask, "Is everything you just said true?"
The question seemed to have vanished without a trace, leaving his mind blank and a sense of emptiness in his heart. Ye Qi felt a lump in his throat and reported to Xiao Lou, "He's not CEO Shao, there was no response."
Xiao Lou: "..."
That's such a convincing act. They actually quoted Xiao Lou's reasoning: that the Zerg and human consciousness would fight for control of the body. The Zerg's words were half true and half false; if they didn't have Qin Guan as a trump card, they would have almost been fooled.
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "Of course we believe you, but no one knows if the Zerg will take back control of your body, so for everyone's safety, we'll have to ask CEO Shao to make do for now."
Shao Qingge: "..."
Don't fall for it!
He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Ye Qi, saying, "Little Ye, don't even you believe me?"
Ye Qi roared angrily, "Shut up! Don't control his body to say such things, you're not him at all!"
Realizing his plot had been exposed, Shao Qingge's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot!
He stared at Ye Qi, almost as if he wanted to bore a hole through her face.
Ye Qi was so frightened by those blood-red eyes that he took a step back. Shao Qingge began to struggle, but he couldn't break free of the tight knot that Yu Hanjiang had tied him up. After a moment, he gave up, glanced at everyone, and said indifferently, "Anyway, you won't kill Shao Qingge, so I'll just wait for my chance. When it's late at night and everyone takes a bite, that would be so delicious."
Everyone: "..."
It's really annoying that the Zerg are controlling CEO Shao's body and saying these things.
However, it is true that everyone is reluctant to hurt CEO Shao.
So Yu Hanjiang made a wise decision—he crumpled the remaining white silk into a ball, decisively stuffed it into Shao Qingge's mouth, and coldly said, "You can be quiet now. Don't even think about biting people if you don't have a mouth."
Shao Qingge, whose mouth was stuffed: "..."
Everyone was both amused and exasperated; Captain Yu really knew how to handle things!
Ye Qi's face was grim, probably because the insectoids were controlling CEO Shao's body and speaking, which he found extremely offensive. CEO Shao was the only CEO in the world, how could his body be controlled by a bunch of insects? Ye Qi really wanted to drive these insects out of CEO Shao's body.
However, unless the Zerg actively leave the Infected's body, it is impossible to drive them away.
If other Zerg are nearby, they might merge with and upgrade Shao Qingge. In that case, Shao Qingge's consciousness might not be preserved. All we can do now is protect CEO Shao and keep him under control to prevent the Zerg from taking advantage of the situation.
Nothing happened all day, until midnight, when everyone simultaneously refreshed the message pop-up window—
Spade 8 Secret Chamber Doomsday Escape, Day 6, 00:00 AM
[ Number of Challenger players remaining: 178]
Ye Qi said, "Another 20 died, which means the Zerg army failed to slaughter the Challengers, and many teams survived."
Xiao Lou nodded and said, "After all, teams that can reach Spade 8 are not weak. The college team of Distant Place Association has a lot of good cards. If it weren't for a captain like Cheng Ziyang, the team would be even stronger."
Old Mo said, " I have a feeling that the Luoying Pavilion team and the Eternal Kingdom team we ran into at the supermarket are still alive. The elite teams of these two major guilds are very strong, but I don't know why Eternal Kingdom suddenly sent Spade 8? They always follow the principle of'since we're here, we might as well make the best of it,' and they live one day at a time in Card World without ever taking any risks."
Thinking of the Bearded Uncle team he encountered in the supermarket, Xiao Lou was also puzzled: "I don't know where they went, but with their abilities, it shouldn't be too difficult for them to survive until now."
Yu Hanjiang looked around and said, "The Zerg haven't found us. Since this place is relatively safe, we can stay for another day to see how things go. This place is very open, so even if we are surrounded by the Zerg, we will still have time to escape."
Everyone wondered, "It's so open; if we're surrounded by the Zerg, how will we escape?"
Xiao Lou smiled slightly and said, " Li Qingzhao, you've wandered into the depths of the lotus blossoms. Set a marker in the Secret Room World, and the whole group will teleport to the marker's location. Don't forget, we still have this trump card."
Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this— Li Qingzhao's "Stumbling into the Lotus Blossom's Depths" was a divine skill for navigating mazes. If one encountered a dead end in a maze, they could directly return to the maze's starting point. In other worlds, a marker could be set, allowing the entire group to teleport to the marker set five minutes prior.
Xiao Lou said, "If we are really surrounded by the Zerg army, as long as one person can use their Lightness Skill to fly out and set a marker, we can teleport as a group. It's even more flexible than Tao Yuanming's The Peach Blossom Spring."
Peach Blossoms
Yuanji needs to release a Peach Blossom Spring in advance. Since no one can predict the timing and location of the Zerg encirclement, it's uncertain when and where the Peach Blossom Spring will open.
However, "stumbling into the depths of the lotus flowers" is different. The marker is only valid for 5 minutes. Once surrounded by the Zerg, as long as one person escapes to place a marker, and everyone holds on for 5 minutes, they can instantly teleport to the location marked 5 minutes ago.
We're quite confident we can withstand the Zerg's attack for 5 minutes.
Professor Xiao and Captain Yu were so thoughtful; no wonder they calmly pitched their tents in the snow.
That night, everyone went to bed separately.
Yu Hanjiang untied the white silk binding Shao Qingge, and Liu Qiao shrank Shao Qingge to the size of a thumb and put her into a bottle.
Ye Qi brought the shrunken CEO Shao back to the tent and fed him some blood as a midnight snack.
After shrinking, his appetite also decreased. It seemed that CEO Shao could be full after being fed a few drops of blood. While feeding him, Ye Qi whispered in his mind, " Captain Yu tied you up for a day. Your wrists are all red. They must hurt a lot, right?"
After midnight, the Telepathic Connection was interrupted. Although Ye Qi knew the other party would not respond, she still tried her best to communicate with him.
Ye Qi continued joking in his mind, "You promised to come back to reality and introduce me to a record company. How am I supposed to survive without you as my sugar daddy? Right? So you have to take good care of yourself."
My mind was completely silent.
Ye Qi talked on and on for a long time, starting with how she loved music when she was a child, then talking about how she gave up the college entrance exam in middle school to take the art exam, how she managed to get into the Music Conservatory, and how she participated in singing competitions...
When CEO Shao didn't respond, he just kept talking to himself.
He didn't know how much time had passed when a deep, gentle voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Xiao Ye."
Ye Qi was suddenly stunned, thinking he was hallucinating.
But the next moment, the voice said again, "Don't be afraid, it's me."
Ye Qi's eyes suddenly welled up with tears—this was no illusion, it really was CEO Shao's voice this time!
The Telepathic Connection channel has been reconnected once again, and CEO Shao is still conscious!
Shao Qingge said, "Just think of it as my internet connection being bad, and I keep getting disconnected. I can't guarantee when I'll be able to talk to you. The Zerg's consciousness is too strong, and it's difficult for me to control my body. Tell Professor Xiao that Zerg parasitism isn't that simple. If a human's will is strong enough, they can assimilate the Zerg. But if a human who has assimilated the Zerg wants to lead the Zerg to exterminate humanity, that would be truly terrifying. Such a human would essentially retain human intelligence and consciousness, but also gain the abilities of the Zerg."
Ye Qi was stunned.
In other words, after humans assimilate the Zerg, they can choose to continue living as humans, or simply lead their Zerg friends to exterminate the humans.
Retaining human intelligence and possessing the powerful abilities of the Zerg, a malicious individual who assimilates the Zerg could become a boss among them. For example, wouldn't it be even easier for someone with antisocial tendencies to kill after assimilating into the Zerg?
Ye Qi couldn't help but feel terrified.
The next moment, Shao Qingge said, "There's one more thing."
Ye Qi immediately replied seriously, "Yes, go ahead, I'm listening!"
Shao Qingge's voice suddenly became extremely gentle: "Don't keep looking for me in your mind, repeatedly getting disappointed. It will break my heart. Once I regain consciousness, I will take the initiative to find you."
Ye Qi paused, looking at the tiny CEO Shao inside the bottle.
After being shrunk, his features were almost indistinguishable, but Ye Qi seemed to feel his gentle gaze directed at her. Ye Qi's heart warmed, and she took the little CEO Shao out of the bottle, held him in her hands, gently patted his head, and said, "I know!"
Shao Qingge: "..."
After shrinking, looking at Ye Qi's face is like looking at a wall...
However, this allows you to see Ye Qi's long eyelashes and clear eyes more clearly.
Shao Qingge smiled slightly and said, "Let me go back, lest it suddenly control me and bite you."
Ye Qi nodded, turned around and found a pillowcase. He quickly cut two pieces of cloth with scissors and made a miniature pillow and blanket for the young CEO Shao. He handed it to Shao Qingge and said, "If you get cold in the bottle, cover yourself with the blanket and sleep!"
Shao Qingge looked at the pillow and blanket that Ye Qi had made for him by hand and was both amused and exasperated.
Actually, he wasn't cold at all, because Ye Qi would keep the bottle close to his chest when he slept, protecting it carefully.
Ye Qi's body temperature would be transferred through the bottle, making the bottle where Shao Qingge slept seem to have a natural heater.
During his most difficult time after being infected, the boy protected him as if he were a precious treasure.
He thought that when he returned to reality, he would definitely protect the other person in the same way and not let anyone hurt the boy.