318: A strange creature that turns into an alien!

On the way to Spike Camp, the three were silent, with Fang Nanxi's gaze darting back and forth between the two.

Shen Bei was engrossed in his notebook, reading through it, biting his pen, seemingly wrestling with something.

Fang Nanxi bit her lip. Was he calculating something?

Meanwhile, Zhuang Bifan, carrying a mirror, also pulled out a small mirror to admire his reflection.

How did he manage to walk without looking at the path, yet remain so steady?

These two were freaks!

Normally, those escorting Martial Artists would find topics to chat about to relieve the boredom.

And the Martial Artists still alive now had to transport all the deceased Martial Artists out.

Although life and death are common for those on the path of a Martial Artist, having bodies snatched by Aliens and turned into meat strips... that's a bit inhumane.

Returning to one's roots is the most basic bottom line for human Martial Artists.

The front lines might not advance, but the fallen Martial Artists must be transported back to earth's surface.

But Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan, they just looked at their own things, not even communicating?

Fang Nanxi couldn't hold it in anymore and coughed, "Are you two interested in knowing my purpose for coming to the Catacombs?"

Fang Nanxi intended to reveal her purpose, partly to give herself some leverage, lest she encounter danger on the way and have no one to protect her.

The other reason was that the journey was just too dull; without talking, every second felt as long as an hour.

She had thought her topic would pique Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan's interest, but she had overestimated.

Shen Bei was still wrestling with his notebook, even spreading out a map and pointing at it.

And Zhuang Bifan was even more outrageous, pulling out nose hair scissors from his mirror and starting to trim his nose hair...

After a minute-long silence, Shen Bei spoke without lifting his head, "Fan, Fang Nanxi is talking to you. Are you going to ignore her like a rude man?"

Zhuang Bifan scoffed, "Why don't you respond?"

"I have a girlfriend," Shen Bei said indifferently.

Fang Nanxi: ???

Zhuang Bifan: ...

Zhuang Bifan almost threw up, "Wife-controlled?"

"This is called self-discipline and self-love."

"Bullshit!" Zhuang Bifan retorted, "Weren't you very excited when you saw Ren Qianna back then?"

"Isn't what you're saying complete nonsense!" Shen Bei said with an arrogant, indifferent expression, patting his yawning mouth, slowly, "That was for the golden water pot!"

"Then why were you screaming when I was censoring it?"

Shen Bei's face was flushed with anger, feeling as if someone had pulled down his pants, and he growled in a low voice, "Bai Wei sent you to argue with me, didn't she?"

At this moment, Fang Nanxi put a hand on her forehead, gesturing for them to calm down, "Gentlemen, can we get to the point?"

Shen Bei worked his stiff facial muscles, forcing a smile. He was a man who valued his image and never wanted to lose composure under any circumstances. "Young Miss Fang, please speak. We're listening. However, let's be clear upfront: don't give us any extra trouble. The money you paid is only enough to reach Spike Camp."

So direct... Fang Nanxi was choked for a moment, but she didn't show too much embarrassment. She narrowed her eyes, and her tone relaxed instead, "Actually... I'm here to catch someone."

Hearing this, Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan exchanged glances, both seeing an expression of disbelief in the other's eyes.

Catch someone?

Shen Bei looked Fang Nanxi over. A Third-Rank Martial Artist... two ranks lower than himself.

A Third-Rank coming to catch someone, that was a bit ridiculous.

"If you said you were here for tourism, I might believe it," Zhuang Bifan interjected, continuing, "Catching someone, with your strength, you know..."

Zhuang Bifan's earlier assumption about Fang Nanxi was that she was from a wealthy family, paying to have her experience and gain knowledge in the Catacombs.

He hadn't expected there to be another hidden reason.

Fang Nanxi let out a sigh of unclear meaning, "I really am here to catch someone. The escorts I originally hired weren't just to take me to Spike Camp, but also had the task of catching someone."

"A criminal? That's not your responsibility, is it?" Shen Bei asked curiously.

Fang Nanxi lowered her eyes, "It's embarrassing to say, but it's our Fang Family's private matter. I have an older brother named Fang Han, and he joined... joined the Aliens."

This sentence almost made Shen Bei's mind explode!

A human... joined the Aliens?

Isn't that nonsense!

They were originally two enemy factions; Aliens didn't treat humans as people, and humans would shout to kill Aliens on sight.

They were always hostile the moment they met.

It was possible there was some contact, the Headhunter Tribe did that.

But a complete joining was almost zero.

It was like the Horde and the Alliance, pure arch-enemies, it was impossible to have—

Wait.

It seemed that, damn it, there were also people from the Horde who joined the Alliance, and the Alliance also had defectors to the Horde...

Shen Bei glanced at Zhuang Bifan and asked, "Come on, my Beijing Martial Arts University recommended Martial Artist, tell me, how much of what she said is false?"

Zhuang Bifan's emotions were as stable as ever, "Just think about the Apocalypse Cult."

But Fang Nanxi directly denied it, saying, "My brother isn't with the Apocalypse Cult; he simply, completely joined the Aliens."

Shen Bei stroked his chin.

Besides growing in power, the Apocalypse Cult indeed had one goal: to welcome the Aliens' arrival, reshape the world order, and become rulers.

This was verified in Wu Jue's case.

But Fang Han wasn't with the Apocalypse Cult; joining the Alien world as a free person was hard to understand.

Wouldn't he still be a walking strip of meat?

Can a dog change its habit of eating shit?

Who knows when an Alien might take a disliking to Fang Han and just kill him.

Could it be that Fang Han also knew the Great Thousand Countenances Technique?

That would be even more impossible.

No human Martial Artist had mastered this technique so far.

They didn't even know how to Cultivate it!

In other words, the Great Thousand Countenances Technique only existed in human legends; no one had seen the specific contents of this technique.

Moreover, most Aliens hadn't seen this technique either; it should be held by a few Aliens and kept secret.

In short, the Great Thousand Countenances Technique was not only unseen by human Martial Artists, but also rarely seen by Aliens.

Shen Bei asked tentatively, "What do you mean by 'purely, completely joined'?"

Fang Nanxi's eyelashes fluttered, "You've hit the nail on the head. According to the information I've obtained, my brother acquired a strange item. As long as he wears it on his face, he can completely transform into an Alien, both in appearance and vital signs, all exactly the same!"

At these words, Shen Bei and Zhuang Bifan's eyes instantly widened.

Both of them were stunned.

There was such a strange item?

That's too abnormal, isn't it?

The two exchanged glances, immediately realizing that the strange item in Fang Han's hands held immense value and potential!

Note, this was a strange item, not the Great Thousand Countenances Technique!

If the book for the Great Thousand Countenances Technique could be destroyed, and the owner refused to talk even if killed, there would be no way.

But a strange item was different.

That could be used right away!

Just like the golden water pot, as long as there was pain, it would spit out banknotes.

If the strange item in Fang Han's hands fell into their hands...

That would be Heaven-Defying!

Instantly, Zhuang Bifan, the drama king, put on a stern face, completely disbelieving, "No... don't joke! I've been in the military for quite some time, and I have the most information about the Catacombs. I've never heard of such a strange item existing."

"Hey, hey, since you brought that up, I wanted to ask something." Shen Bei interjected, holding his notebook and pointing at something on it, "Where in the Catacombs does this golden pattern fruit, described as having a red skin and golden patterns, grow?"

"No, why are you interrupting!" Zhuang Bifan's eyebrows shot up, "I don't have time for you."

"Aren't you the one with the most Catacomb information? You don't know about the golden pattern fruit, you don't know about strange items, what do you even know?"

"The motor for the highway toll gate is broken, why don't you go lift it?"

"He's angry, he's angry." Shen Bei scoffed, then said to Fang Nanxi, "Look, Zhuang Bifan, who calls himself a Catacomb expert, can't keep up the act. Don't tease him with anything about Fang Han's strange item."

Shen Bei knew whether Zhuang Bifan was truly angry or not.

But Fang Nanxi was indeed anxious, "Everything I said is true! Otherwise, why would our Fang Family send me to the Catacombs?"

Shen Bei didn't immediately understand the meaning of Fang Nanxi's words.

But a moment later, he suddenly understood.

He got it.

Fang Han might really be alive!

And to find Fang Han, it truly required Fang Nanxi's authentication.

With a strange item that could completely transform someone into an Alien, who would know which one was Fang Han?

But Fang Nanxi would know!

She had a weakened version of "mind-reading"!

As long as an Alien met her gaze, all information could be instantly read.

Appearance could be disguised, but Fang Han's emotional fluctuations upon seeing Fang Nanxi could not be hidden, directly exposing him!

But then another problem arose: the Catacombs were far, far larger than earth's surface, unimaginably vast.

Even if Fang Nanxi brought enough eye drops and stared until she got red-eye, she couldn't possibly spot Fang Han.

Shen Bei frowned and asked, "Then how do you plan to find Fang Han?"

Fang Nanxi answered directly, "About 30 kilometers outside Spike Camp, there's a Wala Mountain. Someone once saw Fang Han enter that place in human form. I think he should be in the vicinity."

Shen Bei had heard of Wala Mountain.

That was a term he learned when Bai Wei forced Shen Bei to return to Shencheng Martial Arts University to study the Catacomb language.

In fact, according to the Aliens' vocabulary, it meant a place of "chaos," "randomness," "unrestrained freedom."

And translated by humans, it meant "Neutral Ground," "Free Land."

This place wasn't a city or a town.

It was more like a spontaneously formed "marketplace" or "black market."

On specific days, Wala Mountain would gather a group of Aliens and humans for trade.

Those who entered here, according to established rules, temporarily put aside their hatred and exchanged goods.

Of course, there were also instances where disagreements led to fights.

But at the very least, on the surface, it wouldn't be like encountering each other in the wild and immediately drawing swords.

With this information, Shen Bei felt things would be much easier. He then asked, "How do you plan to catch your brother?"

"Once we reach Spike Camp, I'll continue to hire Martial Artists. He is a disgrace to our Fang Family, colluding with Aliens, bringing shame upon us!"

Fang Nanxi let out a long breath, calming her surging emotions as she spoke of her plan.

Shen Bei revealed his pearly white teeth, and seizing the opportunity, he said with a full smile, "Then we can discuss the price."

Fang Nanxi: ???