72: Section 72

Penny glanced at him. "Is being together even possible on the Lighthouse?"

"Then if one day the three great laws no longer exist on the Lighthouse, would you still want to be with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to know if you still have feelings for him."

"Don't you know what's in my heart?" Penny suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Jing Yuan stopped, dazed for a second.

Women are such emotional creatures; even on a battlefield, her emotions flared up out of nowhere.

Suddenly, Jing Yuan also sensed something was wrong.

"Wait a minute!" Jing Yuan said to Penny. "Don't get emotional! Calm down! Don't think about anything!"

"What's wrong?"

"Were you feeling emotional just now?"

"Yes!" Penny turned around. "I've clearly said it before, yet you're still questioning me today!"

"I'm not! It's just that the conversation led there..."

Jing Yuan didn't know how to express himself.

"I once sought an answer from Donnie, but he wasn't nearly as brave as you, so I've abandoned all fantasies about him!" Penny looked at Jing Yuan with an angry expression.

"I understand! Just don't be angry for now!"

Jing Yuan had an ominous premonition, so he released a Mental Power scan.

Sure enough, he detected the presence of Phage Beasts in the distance, and there were many of them.

After his Mental Force reached the second stage, Jing Yuan's perception of presence had become much clearer.

Through his Mental Power perception, he seemed to be able to sense the movements of the Phage Beasts.

They were originally in a dormant state, but suddenly they seemed to have been awakened by something.

Jing Yuan looked at Penny in front of him and said hurriedly, "Don't be angry, relax, stay calm!"

Seeing Jing Yuan's serious face, Penny couldn't bring herself to stay angry with him at a time like this.

"What's wrong? Did you discover Phage Beasts?"

Jing Yuan nodded.

Penny raised her rifle and looked around, but saw no movement at all.

"Penny, I need to tell you something. You must remain calm."

"What is it?"

"I suspect our emotional fluctuations cause our life source essence to emit a special scent, and this scent attracts Phage Beasts. There's a way to keep our life source essence in a hidden state, but I haven't found it yet. My simple theory is that controlling your emotions should make the scent emitted by the life source essence less intense. So, you absolutely must not have any more emotional fluctuations."

Penny was shocked to hear this. However, as a Wasteland Hunters Team Member who had been through many battles, she quickly understood.

"What kind of emotions are you talking about?"

"They say it's love, but I think it's more than that; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness should all count."

"Love?"

When Jing Yuan mentioned this, with Penny's intelligence, she easily linked it to the anti-human three great laws on the Lighthouse.

"Yes! For example, right now, you absolutely must not think about liking me! Don't be angry either, and don't have large emotional fluctuations."

"Mm." Penny nodded seriously, then once she realized what he said, she instinctively slapped Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan was about to turn his head back, but stopped.

He and Penny had been walking toward Area A, but Jing Yuan didn't keep his Mental Power scan active continuously; instead, he scanned every once in a while.

And this time, he discovered a large number of Phage Beasts again.

"Go! We're heading back!"

Jing Yuan and Penny returned to Area C where the main force was, and saw Jeff pacing back and forth with an anxious look.

Jing Yuan hurried up and asked, "Jeff, what's wrong?"

"The signal is being jammed, I can't contact Marc!"

"Is there any commotion inside?"

"Not long after Marc and the others went in, sounds came from inside the spaceship, but I don't know the specifics."

Jing Yuan tried to recall the original plot, but since so much time had passed, he only remembered the gist and many details were fuzzy.

Fortunately, Jing Yuan had special abilities. With a sweep of his Mental Power combined with the previously scouted map information, he quickly made a judgment.

"Jeff, lead the team to the Area B entrance to meet Marc."

"Why Area B?"

"That's the furthest point from the Phage Beasts!"

Jeff looked puzzled. How do you know it's the furthest from the Phage Beasts?

However, the Wasteland Hunters had a clear hierarchy. Although Jing Yuan was young, he was the Deputy Captain; once he gave an order, Jeff had to execute it.

In the gap while Jeff hesitated, Jing Yuan had already suited up in his gravity body armor.

He then said, "Once you contact Marc, tell him to rendezvous at the Area B entrance! Then pre-heat the gravity bodies and get the heavy weapons ready!"

"Ah!" Jeff hesitated for a moment.

Jing Yuan's arrangements made it seem as if the Phage Beasts were already next door and about to rush over.

But Jeff looked around and saw no movement at all.

"This is an order, do as I say!" Jing Yuan commanded directly in his capacity as Deputy Captain.

"Yes!"

Jing Yuan walked over to Penny again and said, "Stay with the main force. If the Phage Beasts attack, fire a signal flare into the air!"

"Okay."

"Remember, if you encounter danger, hide first! Also, stay away from Donnie!"

Hearing the last sentence, Penny's brow furrowed, but she asked, "What about you?"

"There's a swarm of Phage Beasts in Area A. I'll go ahead to block them and ensure you can retreat smoothly later!"

Jing Yuan had killed quite a few Phage Beasts already, so Penny didn't question his arrangements.

After giving Penny her instructions, Jing Yuan drove his gravity body away.

Even without knowing the original plot or having Mental Force, one could know there were Phage Beasts nearby just based on the early reconnaissance data.

The Phage Beasts would definitely appear; it was just a matter of when.

Ordinary life source essence scents would also attract Phage Beasts.

When Wasteland Hunters performed collection missions on The Surface, they were essentially gambling on luck.

Jing Yuan controlled the gravity body to climb a small hill, from where he could look down upon Area A, which was the bow of the spaceship.

This sight gave Jing Yuan a sudden jolt of fear.

In the valley at the bow of the spaceship, there was a dense swarm of Phage Beasts.

At the moment, most of the Phage Beasts were resting and hadn't woken up yet.

On the other side within Jing Yuan's line of sight, there was also a massive Phage Beast.

Jing Yuan opened the communication channel: "Captain! Captain Marc!"

"Copy! Jing Yuan, what's the situation?"

"What's the situation on your end?"

"The path we came in through collapsed, we're looking for another exit."

"Captain, you need to hurry! A swarm of Phage Beasts has gathered at Area A of the spaceship, but they haven't noticed us yet. You need to move fast and evacuate before they wake up."

"Understood!"

Jing Yuan stood on the high ground observing the terrain. Through a combination of visual and Mental Power observation, he discovered more details.

There were many damaged holes around the spaceship, and the Phage Beasts could easily enter the interior through these openings.

He looked at the nearby bulging mountain terrain and the spaceship wreckage, and a plan instantly formed.

"Erica, can you hear me?"

"I hear you."

"Erica, bring a few missiles and come support me!"

"Ah! Have you encountered Phage Beasts?"

"I've discovered them. Hurry up."

"Okay!"