107: Is being a simp fun?

Several people passing by were shocked by this sudden scene; the next moment, they screamed in terror and scattered in all directions.

One woman reacted a bit too slowly and was targeted by the Ancient Centipede, which lunged forward to bite her.

At that critical moment, Ai Yue flashed forward to block the centipede and kicked it three meters away.

The Ancient Centipede crawled up from the ground, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced toward Ai Yue. Ai Yue drew her military knife, preparing to meet it and carve out its transparent stone.

Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out: "Watch your back!"

Ai Yue reflexively dodged to the side, only to see another centipede crawling out of the hole at some unknown time, attempting a sneak attack.

Thanks to the woman's warning, Ai Yue was able to dodge in time.

The attacking centipede slammed hard into the one pouncing from the opposite side. The two Ancient Centipedes became entangled in a heap and crashed heavily to the ground.

Only then did Ai Yue have a moment to look at the woman she had saved—who was curled up in fear yet had still warned her—and gave her a grin before charging at the two centipedes.

Ai Yue pummeled the centipedes with great force, venting the frustration she had felt from Cheng Siyu. Finding an opening, she finished off the two Ancient Centipedes with a few slashes and carved out the transparent stones from beneath their black armor.

The combat power of these two Ancient Centipedes was indeed a bit stronger than those she had encountered before, but for Ai Yue, they didn't pose much of a threat.

Ai Yue tossed the transparent stones in her hand and examined them closely. She found that the size and appearance of the two pieces hadn't changed, but they were slightly heavier.

“Miss, thank you for saving me. If it weren't for you, I definitely would have been eaten,” the rescued girl said, running to her side with a face full of gratitude.

“No need for thanks. You just warned me and let me dodge the centipede in time, so I should thank you too,” Ai Yue said with a wave of her hand, not making a big deal out of it.

“Regardless, thank you. My name is Yan Yu. What's yours?”

“My name is Ai Yue.” Ai Yue smiled at her, tucked away the transparent stones, and left.

“Ai Yue? So cool! And her name sounds so nice! Ai Yue, Ai Yue? Wait, is she the one my brother mentioned—the Ai Yue that Miss Xitian hates?” Yan Yu scratched her head and muttered to herself.

“But she's really amazing. She looks so cute and yet she's so powerful! I've decided: I, Yan Yu, am no longer a fan of Cheng Siyu. I'm going to be a fan of the cool, badass, approachable, and incredibly reassuring Ai Yue...” Yan Yu murmured excitedly to herself.

“Yan Yu? Why are you here? You're not hurt, are you?”

At that moment, the Safety Tower rescue team arrived on the scene, led by Yan Li, who served under Gu Xiheng.

“Brother, you're here? I'm fine, I didn't get a single scratch.” Seeing her brother leading the team, Yan Yu happily grabbed his arm and spoke with a grin.

“Why aren't you staying underground doing your research? What are you doing up here? Don't you know how dangerous it is on the surface now? Only the underground lab is safe. Go back quickly and don't come up unless necessary, understood?” Yan Li scolded with a face full of concern.

“Oh, I know. Why have you become so nagging? By the way, Brother, you'll never guess who just saved me,” Yan Yu said mysteriously.

Yan Li didn't want to guess, but he patiently asked, “Who?”

“Ai Yue!”

“It's her? Tell me the details.”

Yan Yu recounted Ai Yue's heroic figure with much exaggeration, her eyes filled with admiration!

Yan Li nodded. “Miss Ai Yue is indeed very powerful, but she is a very cold person. I didn't expect her to save you!”

“What do you mean? How could Ai Yue be cold? She's very warm; she even smiled at me,” Yan Yu retorted unhappily.

Seeing Yan Yu's attitude, Yan Li couldn't help but say with a headache, “You haven't gone and started idolizing Ai Yue now, have you?”

“Hehe, yeah, that's right! She's a role model for us women.”

“Hasn't the person you've always idolized been Miss Siyu? Why the change?”

“Brother, you don't understand. Cheng Siyu is too cold. Talking to her is like talking to a statue on an iceberg; it chills me to the bone. Besides, she never looks down at common mortals like us. Ai Yue is better—strong, beautiful, and she smiled at me!” Yan Yu said with a serious face.

Yan Li didn't understand her nonsense and simply urged, “Yan Yu, stay away from Ai Yue in the future. Miss Xitian doesn't like her, and Miss Siyu doesn't like her either...”

“Brother, if you want to be a simp, I won't stop you, but with Gu Xitian's eldest-miss temper, she won't give you a second look. If anyone needs to stay away, it's you staying away from Gu Xitian,” Yan Yu said bluntly.

“Yan Yu! How can you talk to your brother like that!”

“Am I wrong? What, does the truth hurt? Our family isn't exactly lacking; why do you follow her every command like a servant?

Last time, you saved a child, and they gave you a few cans of meat as a thank-you. As your sister, I wanted to try some to remember what it used to taste like. What did you do?

You couldn't bear to part with them for me and scurried off to give them all to Gu Xitian. Hah... tell me, did she appreciate it? Did she say a single thank you? No, right!” The more Yan Yu spoke, the angrier she got. Examples like this were countless since they were young, and bringing them up filled her with resentment.

“Yan Yu... I, I... sigh, you don't understand!” Yan Li said with a pained expression.

“I don't understand? I really don't! I don't understand why you give so willingly and recklessly without asking for anything in return. Tell me, are you a big idiot?

I'm done talking to you; the more I talk, the angrier I get. I'm going back underground. You... you can just think about it yourself!” Yan Yu scolded Yan Li with a look of disappointment, then turned and walked away in a huff without looking back.

Left where he stood, Yan Li lowered his head to hide the complex emotions in his eyes. He didn't snap out of it until someone called his name, shaking his head before throwing himself back into work.

Returning home, Ai Yue entered her space with the newly acquired transparent stones.

Instantly, the house within the space vibrated, expanding by a visible sliver.

Ai Yue now had a better idea of what to do. It seemed the next step was to continue upgrading the house. She wondered if it would only be finished once it became a villa. Once the house was upgraded, would she be able to bring people in and out of the space?

Ai Yue decided to wander around the base every day. If she were lucky enough to run into an Ancient Centipede coming out, she could kill it and collect its transparent stone.

As for outside the base, Ai Yue had no plans to go there for the time being. Going out rashly would only mean throwing her life away.

“Sister, things have exploded outside!” As soon as Ai Yue came out of the space, she heard Ye Rui shouting frantically.

“Exploded? What exploded?”

“There are Ancient Centipedes everywhere outside! If you didn't come out soon, the base would be overrun by them!” Ye Rui grabbed Ai Yue's sleeve, looking extremely nervous.

“What?” She had only been in the space for a moment; how could things have turned out like this the moment she came out?

She quickly looked outside and found that as far as the eye could see, there were deep holes everywhere, with endless streams of Ancient Centipedes crawling out.