"Fire in the hole!"
BOOM!!
With a deafening explosion, the gate of the Silver Squad base collapsed under the ferocious might of Ju Fufu's tiger power.
"Now this really is smashed to pieces, Mister Gate. Thank you for your many years of protection."
Yiji clasped her hands together and offered thanks to the shattered door.
Judging by her playful expression, there wasn't an ounce of sincerity in it.
"Alright, let's go!"
Without sparing even a moment of grief for the fallen gate, the Yunkui Summit team—Yiji, Ju Fufu, and Arden—stepped onto what lay ahead: the battlefield.
"Ah, let's move."
Ju Fufu put away Hu Wei and followed behind Yiji together with Arden, winding through the Silver Squad base.
Since the entire base had lost its power supply, elevators and similar facilities were no longer operational. The three could only take detours, discussing their next plan as they walked.
"Given the current situation, Harin and the captain are definitely no longer here. But there should still be clues left in the base's database."
The original purpose of this trip had been to destroy the Silver Squad's research materials—both to prevent the technology from falling into the wrong hands and to erase traces connected to Yiji. With their direction set, the three headed straight for the database.
About half an hour later, they arrived outside the database door.
"Hah... We finally made it."
Yiji let out a relieved sigh.
Sure enough, modern society really couldn't function without electricity. Even with her leading the way, they had wandered around for half an hour, leaving her dizzy. If someone unfamiliar with the Silver Squad base had barged in, they'd probably be trapped here forever.
"Let's go in, Senior Brother Arden, Senior Sister Fufu."
Thinking that news of surviving sisters might be just ahead, Yiji hurriedly pushed open the door and went inside.
Arden and Ju Fufu followed close behind.
"...."
"Hmm..."
Upon entering the database room, Arden realized it was quite different from what he had imagined.
He had expected something like a server room—rows of servers, incomprehensible instruments, computers, and tangled cables. Instead, the cramped room contained only a desk, several filing cabinets, and large amounts of paper scattered across the floor.
There were no computers or servers at all. In fact, the only thing that could even count as an electrical appliance was the ceiling light—and it didn't have power.
Seeing the confusion on both Arden's and Ju Fufu's faces, Yiji explained.
"The Silver Squad's research was classified at a very high level within the military, so most of the data was stored on physical paper. It's safer that way."
As she continued rummaging through the files, Yiji added, "And judging from the current situation, most of the database materials have already been transferred away. I'm afraid we won't find much useful information this time."
Yiji looked a little dejected. After all the effort to get here, the harvest was minimal. Even though she had mentally prepared for this outcome, it was still frustrating.
"It's fine. As long as it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."
As Arden spoke to comfort her, he crouched down and picked up a document lying near his feet.
He only skimmed it briefly, but his expression immediately turned grave.
"What's wrong?"
Yiji poked her head out from the pile of scattered documents. Sensing something off about Arden's expression, she looked toward the file in his hand.
"...."
After just one glance, Yiji was stunned, her face filled with disbelief.
"Captain Anby... is dead?"
"What do you mean, dead?"
Ju Fufu also leaned in. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the glaring red mark on the file: 'Confirmed Deceased'.
"That's impossible—absolutely impossible!"
Even Ju Fufu could sense that something was wrong. Yiji, who had only just recovered a few days ago, felt her resolve waver instantly.
She couldn't believe it—nor did she want to believe it. The all-powerful, peerless, brilliant, breathtaking—the most perfect of all the Silver Squad sisters, Captain Anby... was dead?!
Thunk!
"Ow!"
Just as Yiji's emotions faltered, Arden flicked her forehead, snapping her back to her senses.
"Calm down, Yiji! Anby might not be dead."
As he spoke, Arden shoved the file right up in front of her face and pointed to the latter half.
"Uh..."
Covering her reddened forehead, Yiji looked toward the section Arden indicated.
The latter half of the file read: 'Test Subject No. 0 disobeyed orders, refused to carry out the directive to eliminate Subject No. 11, and subsequently committed suicide. The body has been disposed of.'
"Th-This... disposing of the body—that means she's dead, doesn't it?"
Yiji looked at Arden in confusion.
"I swear, how did you suddenly get so dumb?"
Arden raised his hand again, making a flicking motion.
"!!"
Yiji reflexively dodged. "Don't!"
"Yiji, didn't you tell me before that all members of the Silver Squad possess extremely strong self-healing abilities and special physiques adapted to harsh environments?"
Arden proposed a possibility. "You survived injuries that severe in the Hollow, didn't you? And Anby is far stronger than you—there's no way she wouldn't survive as well."
"But..."
Even with Arden saying so, it was still only a possibility. Yiji remained deeply worried.
"Sigh~"
Arden let out a soft sigh. "How about this—I'll divine a reading for Anby. What do you think?"
"Divination? Then I'll leave it to you, Mas—Master!"
When it came to divination, Arden had inherited the true teachings of Master Yixuan. Yiji trusted him completely.
"Alright. Wait a moment..."
Arden put on a show and cast a divination.
In truth, he knew Anby's situation very clearly—even her whereabouts. But he couldn't exactly say he knew it from game plot, or that just last night he had messaged Nicole to confirm she'd picked up a white-haired girl who was exceptionally good at eating burgers, right?
So, he could only brush it off with "divination" to keep Yiji from doing anything reckless.
The result came quickly.
"See? The hexagram shows that Captain Anby encountered a benefactor—turning danger into safety, misfortune into fortune."
Arden declared with absolute confidence.
What he said had nothing to do with actual divination—but it was the truth.
"The captain... she's alive!"
Hearing this, light burst into Yiji's eyes. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find Captain Anby right now!"
As she spoke, Yiji grabbed Arden, ready to leave the Silver Squad base in search of Captain Anby. But she soon realized she couldn't pull him at all.
"Hm?"
Yiji turned back, looking at Arden in confusion.
"Don't rush. Do you know where they dumped Anby's 'body'? Or which 'benefactor' she ran into?"
"...."
Arden's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Yiji's excitement. Yet the spark of hope wasn't extinguished.
"Then... we can just divine another reading, can't we?"
Do you think divination is omnipotent?
Arden rolled his eyes internally, but he couldn't say that outright.
"Sigh~ What a pity—no."
Arden put on another act of regret and explained solemnly, "The reading I just performed already revealed too much of the heavens' secrets. I need a period of concealment before I can divine anything in detail again... If I force it, I'll be struck by tribulation, you know."