Chapter 177: Tangled in Trifles

"Qin Yu, I really don't know about this. I only found that kind of symbol in my memory, but as for where it appeared, when it appeared, or what it means, I have no idea at all," Murong Yi said with a somewhat troubled expression.

Qin Yu frowned, feeling that this matter was too bizarre. She thought for a moment and asked, "Then can you roughly know the meaning behind that kind of symbol?"

"I don't know. But I think Nangong should know something about it. We can ask him when we get back to City S," Murong Yi said after pondering for a moment.

Hearing Murong Yi say this, Qin Yu could only nod helplessly, turned her head, and asked Ouyang Jue, "Ouyang, have you ever seen similar symbols?"

Ouyang Jue shook his head and said, "No. Xiao Yi has lived longer than me, so what she mentioned must have happened before I was born."

Hearing this, Qin Yu felt an indescribable strangeness. She looked at Murong Yi's delicate and pretty face and suddenly asked out of curiosity, "Murong, how old are you?"

Murong's face stiffened, and she said coldly, "My business is done, so we'll be leaving first. Qin Yu, get some good rest."

Qin Yu was momentarily stunned and murmured a response of agreement, thinking to herself that age truly is the ultimate secret for female creatures, even when it comes to a drought demon!

Murong Yi and Ouyang Jue soon left, leaving Qin Yu alone to silently vent her thoughts.

After the two of them left, Qin Yu felt she had nothing to do, and since she couldn't enter her dimensional space right now, she simply fell asleep on the bed. In her dreams, she seemed to see some strange symbols floating before her eyes. Those symbols were extremely close to her, so close that it felt as if they were about to crush down upon her.

Qin Yu breathed heavily, the oppressive feeling making her feel as though her world would be destroyed in the very next second.

Qin Yu bolted awake from the dream, sitting up and gasping for breath as she looked blankly ahead. She tried to recall the characters from the dream, only to find that she couldn't remember them no matter how hard she tried.

Qin Yu got up and walked over to sit in a nearby chair. Sweat had soaked her clothes, yet she didn't feel hot at all. She used her supernatural ability to condense a bit of water and drank it, which finally made her feel a little better.

Thinking of the oppression in the dream, Qin Yu knitted her brows tightly. She never dreamed without reason; could that dream be related to her current condition? Qin Yu pondered this question.

In the end, her thoughts yielded no answers, but after this episode, she no longer dared to fall asleep.

By now, twilight had descended. Qin Yu walked over to the window and happened to catch the afterglow of the setting sun. As the rosy clouds scattered across the horizon, their blushing hue made Qin Yu unconsciously lost in admiration.

"Knock, knock" sounds pulled Qin Yu back to reality from the beautiful scenery. Qin Yu walked over and opened the door, not at all surprised to see Zhao Juan standing outside.

As soon as Zhao Juan saw Qin Yu, she quickly walked over, linked her arm through Qin Yu's, rubbed against her gently, and said affectionately, "Xiao Yu, let's go get dinner."

Qin Yu nodded repeatedly, allowing Zhao Juan to lead her away.

Upon reaching the dining table, she saw the rest of the team, which of course also included Hu Ke and Feng Fei. Yet, strangely enough, scanning all around, she could not find Li Yang anywhere.

Qin Yu took note of this in her mind. This dinner was provided by the people of the City S base, and while it didn't look very appetizing, Qin Yu knew this was probably the best they had to offer.

The group finished their meal in a quiet atmosphere. Just as Qin Yu was preparing to leave, Feng Fei walked up to her and glared fiercely, her eyes filled with undisguised hatred.

Qin Yu turned a blind eye. Using fatigue as an excuse, she bid farewell to Zhao Juan and the others, intending to return to her room to check on her dimensional space.

Little did she expect that today was truly full of trials and tribulations. While she had managed to say goodbye to Zhao Juan, she didn't manage to avoid the presence of others—such as Hu Ke, who was standing right before her eyes at this moment.

Hu Ke blocked her halfway down the corridor, staring fixedly at Qin Yu. With his back to the light, Qin Yu couldn't make out the expression on his face.

"Qin Yu, I want to talk to you," Hu Ke said.

Qin Yu nodded and let him follow her back to her room. Inside the room, Qin Yu sat on one side while Hu Ke sat opposite her.

"I suppose you already know what this mission is about, don't you?" Hu Ke asked with certainty.

Qin Yu nodded and then asked, "So what if I know? Given the current situation, we can't act rashly either."

"Indeed, but that's not what I came to talk to you about," Hu Ke replied.

Now it was Qin Yu's turn to be surprised. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh? Then what is it?"

"It's about that little white worm that bit you the other day." Hu Ke stared at Qin Yu, trying to glean the answer he wanted from her face.

But what kind of person was Qin Yu? She had long since learned to keep her expression completely blank. Hearing Hu Ke bring this up, she amusedly asked, "Team Leader Hu, what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Qin Yu, Feng Fei told me that little white worm belongs to her, and that you used sorcery to make the worm bite her, which is why she blurted out in panic that the little white worm was yours," Hu Ke said.

Qin Yu found this even more laughable. Where was the logic in this statement? Whatever Feng Fei said was the absolute truth? How utterly ridiculous. Were the higher-ups of the City S base really this foolish?

Lowering her head slightly and toying with a cup in one hand, Qin Yu replied indifferently, "That little white worm tried to suck my blood, so I killed it."

Hu Ke frowned, his eyes full of undisguised disgust toward Qin Yu. Just as Fei-er had said, this Qin Yu would use this as an excuse to swallow the little white worm all by herself.

He snorted coldly, "Qin Yu, I never expected you to be such a person. I advise you to return the little white worm to Feng Fei, or else you'll suffer the consequences!"

Qin Yu didn't even bother to look at Hu Ke anymore. She said calmly, "In that case, I'll just wait for whatever tricks you all have up your sleeves. As for the little white worm you mentioned, I genuinely don't have it." *Though I do have the Five-Elements Gu worms,* Qin Yu thought to herself with a hidden smile.

Seeing that Qin Yu was completely impervious to reason, Hu Ke stood up, shot her a vicious glare, and then left.

Qin Yu looked at the open door and stopped twirling the cup in her hand. It seemed Hu Ke had been completely bewitched by Feng Fei. She wondered how the others were doing; if those people also backed Feng Fei, things might genuinely become a bit troublesome.

Thinking of Zhang Yang, he had acted very strangely throughout this entire journey, not even speaking to her once. Could there be some hidden story behind him? Moreover, she remembered that Zhang Yang's sworn brother should have reached the third tier as well, so why was Zhang Yang the only one who came on this mission?

Could this mission not be as simple as it seemed? Did this City S hide some kind of secret? She knew full well that Feng Fei had formidable figures standing behind her—as could be seen from the attitude of the research institute last time.

It seemed she needed to observe more carefully. Tomorrow, she would take a stroll around the base to see if she could uncover anything. Tonight... well, she'd better go check out her dimensional space first.