236: wake

"Setting up a stall?"

Ye Chen repeated, seemingly conducting a quick weighted assessment of the word.

After a moment, he gently pushed up his glasses and said, "Your abilities, used for setting up a street stall, are a tremendous waste of civilized resources."

His tone remained calm, yet carried a self-evident judgment.

"The cooperation model can adopt a high-standard employment system. The project team I am responsible for will pay far more than your stall earnings, including but not limited to huge funds, access to rare ingredients, and a certain degree of special privileges."

"We need your abilities, Lu Chuan. This is not a discussion, it is a notification. Of course, you can choose to refuse—"

Ye Chen did not finish, but the unspoken meaning, like the earlier phrase "pointing a gun at your head," clearly permeated the small space of the command vehicle.

Lu Chuan looked at the overly young "senior" in front of him. The other's words had no emotional fluctuations, yet carried an absolute rationality that saw and controlled everything, making his own small cleverness and probing seem particularly pale.

He remained silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Sorry, I need to set up a stall 5 days a week, and the location is random. This is non-negotiable."

Ye Chen finally placed the tablet on the table, then quietly looked at Lu Chuan without speaking.

Lu Chuan also met his gaze without backing down an inch.

Finally, Ye Chen lowered his head and picked up the tablet to read again.

"Alright, specific details will be handled by someone who will liaise with you. Now, you may leave."

The conversation ended cleanly and decisively.

Lu Chuan took a deep look at Ye Chen, then turned and exited the command vehicle.

Outside the vehicle, the sunlight pierced through the smoke, slightly dazzling.

A new path seemed to unfold beneath his feet, but whether ahead lay deeper, unfathomable mist or a broader world, remained unknown...

He Jingrui had a beautiful dream.

In the dream, relying on the Fifteen-Style Overlapping Fist Shadow he finally comprehended and broke through with, he led his comrades to break through the beast's defense perimeter, and with a final punch, he shattered the enormous Mother Nest, successfully rescuing the crisis-stricken Demon City.

Returning from the war, he became a well-deserved hero, receiving endless cheers and accolades.

What made him even happier was that Lu Chuan cooked delicious food for him twenty-four hours a day.

However, just as he was feasting, he was kicked off the dining table, and the person then sat down to enjoy his food.

He was instantly furious, but when that person turned around, it was his Old Dean, whom he hadn't seen in a long time...

"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."

He Jingrui suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily, his chest heaving like bellows.

Everything in the dream was rapidly fading, and soon he couldn't remember some of the details.

He Jingrui struggled to sit up, a slippery, sticky sensation all around him.

With a soft "plop," he seemed to have broken through a layer of elastic membrane.

A gooey, gelatinous liquid with a strange, sweet, pungent smell enveloped him.

He looked down blankly at his hands and chest.

His skin was smooth, even showing a newborn pinkness. The terrifying wounds left by the bloody battle, the cracked skin, the bone-deep gashes—all had vanished.

It was as if that tragic sacrifice was just a nightmare.

But the sense of power emanating from deep within his body, far grander and more condensed than before, and the searing pain in his memory that burned everything, told him with undeniable clarity—

That was not a dream.

He Jingrui looked around blankly and found himself in an oval, slightly pulsating "flesh eggshell."

The inner wall of the eggshell was translucent flesh, emitting a soft biological glow, and broken membranes still adhered to it.

Through this translucent barrier, he could vaguely see that outside was a much larger space, where similar oval flesh eggs hung or stood like fruits, densely packed, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Each flesh egg pulsated slightly, as if life was gestating within.

Where was this?

Could it be a beast's hatchery?

How did he end up here?

And his injuries had recovered?

Intense doubt and unease drove him.

He cautiously pulled apart the broken eggshell, and more viscous liquid gushed out.

He struggled to stand up from it, his naked body covered in slippery liquid, standing in this warm, constantly wriggling fleshy chamber.

Under his feet was a soft and elastic "ground," which sank slightly when he stepped on it.

He looked at the nearest intact flesh egg, hesitated for a moment, then walked over and peered in.

Through the translucent fleshy wall, he vaguely saw what appeared to be a... human figure immersed in liquid inside?

He Jingrui's heart tightened suddenly, and a ridiculous and horrifying premonition surged within him.

He quickly leaned closer to look carefully.

Inside the eggshell, a figure was curled up, eyes tightly closed, expression peaceful, a faint smile even playing on his lips, as if he was immersed in a blissful dream.

But that face, those faintly visible fragments of combat uniform...

"Old Chen?!"

He Jingrui exclaimed in a low voice.

This was a member of the Li Ren (Sharp Blade) Squad. He had personally seen this squad member, in order to block a flank gap, roar and pounce on a centipede-like beast that spewed acid, plunging his dagger into its compound eye, only to be trapped by several smaller beasts.

How could he be here?

And... he looked completely unharmed?

He Jingrui retreated in disbelief, bumping into another flesh egg.

He turned sharply to look at this new flesh egg.

Inside the egg, another demolitions expert from the War Wolf Squad, also had a peaceful expression, and at the site of his fatal wounds, flesh sprouts seemed to be subtly wriggling and healing.

He Jingrui's mouth hung open in disbelief, then his eyes welled up.

The other man had pulled the pins of the last few high-explosive grenades on him, rolling into the densest part of the beast horde, clearing a path for his comrades...

"Wait!"

He Jingrui's heart suddenly tightened.

Then he ran like mad through the chamber, approaching one flesh egg after another, peering inside through the translucent fleshy wall.

Ban Yangming! Li Xing!

And all the other comrades who had sacrificed themselves heroically!

They were all here! They weren't dead!

In his ecstasy, He Jingrui's eyes grew even redder.

But soon, as he looked at the countless "eggs" stretching out, he suddenly realized something.

Then a chilling sensation surged through him.

This... No, by all accounts, they, including himself, should have already died.

So why were they appearing inside these eggs, and their injuries had even healed?

What was going on?

Could it be... A bad conjecture suddenly surfaced in He Jingrui's mind.

If this was a beast's conspiracy, if they wanted to turn the fallen heroes into their puppets, their weapons...