45: Chapter 45 Reappearance and Acrostic Poem

The force of the retracting cable launched Lin Ye right out of the skylight.

He grabbed a protruding rock on the edge, engaged his core, and flipped onto the rocky surface.

The torrential rain outside had stopped, and sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining down.

The air still carried the scent of wet earth after the rain.

From deep within the cave, the faint roars of the Pale Species drifted up.

Lin Ye straightened his body, tilted his head back, and faced the sun.

He spread his arms wide and let out a long howl.

"Ah—! I'm back!"

The sound cut through the jungle, startling a flock of unknown birds perched on the branches into flight.

The Great Xia Live Stream exploded instantly.

[Finally out! My heart has finally stopped... pfft, I mean, it's settled now!]

[3D maneuver battle royale! Flex successful!]

[So epic! This is the kind of stuff a real man should watch!]

[Where are the Western bootlickers? Keep barking, why don't you? Didn't you want Brother Eye to die just now?]

After a brief moment of excitement, Lin Ye quickly reined in his emotions.

"The more pollution one absorbs, the more the Spirit Grid drops."

He gritted his teeth inwardly.

Who knows how many Challengers are still smugly enjoying their increased muscle strength!

He looked down at the cave at his feet.

That ruined island-nation city buried underground, and that fully functional doomsday shelter...

The existence of those things was definitely not some set design created by someone with nothing better to do.

"The Great Catastrophe in three years... Blue Star wouldn't turn into this hellhole, would it?"

Lin Ye's mind buzzed.

No, this intelligence must be sent back home!

But the question is, how?

After the 'Golden Legend' last night, who knows how many eyes are glued to his livestream.

Just say it outright?

That would be equivalent to giving the intelligence away for free to the entire Blue Star.

Those people who dream of Great Xia's demise don't deserve to benefit from this!

Lin Ye rolled his eyes and let his gaze fall on the flat rock surface beneath his feet.

The methods of our ancestors—might as well use them.

He drew his dagger, squatted down, and began carving into the rock.

In less than five minutes, four lines of text gradually took shape.

"pollution and darkness disperse this day,"

"Spirit sparrows fly high to see the morning sun."

"Facing shadows, I breathe out the calamity of life and death,"

"Standing on the peak, I laugh at the vast sky."

Lin Ye blew away the layer of stone dust, looked at his masterpiece, and raised an eyebrow in satisfaction.

The folks in the Great Xia Live Stream were confused, and then the chat went off-topic.

[What the hell? Is Brother Eye... reciting poetry here?]

[Lin Ye's Quatrains》, memorize the whole thing, test tomorrow.]

[So poetic! So poetic! Brother Eye must be feeling inspired after surviving that ordeal!]

[Both scholarly and martial, I give this flex full marks!]

[So the Archaeology Department teaches poetry too? I want to learn that too!]

The Great Xia netizens were having a blast, while the overseas audience watched with jealousy.

[USA: Pretentious! You almost died just now, and now you have the mood to write this nonsense!]

[Island Nation: Great Xia people only know how to play these useless tricks!]

[South Korea: Showboating! Hypocritical, sumnida!]

[Kangaroo Country: Is this Great Xia's survival capability? My god, I'd rather go watch Scott.]

Disaster Prevention Administration, Third Research Group.

Lu Chen stared motionlessly at the four lines of text on the screen.

Something's wrong.

Based on his analysis of Lin Ye's behavioral logic over the past few days, this kid is an extremely pragmatic, sneaky player.

How could he possibly do something this stupid after escaping death?

He must be conveying something.

With a "bang," the door was pushed open.

Director Wei Tiejun strode in and immediately asked, "Did you figure out anything from those four lines of poetry?"

Lu Chen didn't respond.

He picked up his notebook and flipped through it continuously.

Flip, flip, flip!

Until he stopped at a certain page.

On that page, there were two words circled in red.

"pollution", "Spirit Grid".

A flash of inspiration struck Lu Chen.

He turned and slammed the notebook down in front of Director Wei Tiejun.

He pointed his index finger at the screen and tapped on the first character of each line.

"pollution, Spirit, Opposition, Stand!"

"It's an acrostic poem."

A flash of fanaticism glinted behind Lu Chen's glasses:

"He is warning us that pollution and Spirit Grid are in opposition!"

Director Wei Tiejun knitted his brows: "You mean, the more pollution one absorbs, the lower the Spirit Grid value becomes?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the analysts froze in place, a chill running down their spines simultaneously.

"This is just a guess; we need to find a free test subject to verify it."

After Lu Chen finished speaking, he turned and snapped his fingers at an analyst not far away.

"Cut to the footage of Scott from the USA. Put his first day of landing on the left, and his current livestream on the right."

The analyst operated quickly, splitting the large screen in two.

On the left was the recording of Scott landing on the first day.

He was cautious at every step, probing the strength of enemies before engaging, his tactical movements crisp and clean—definitely the caliber of an ace special forces soldier.

On the right was the current livestream.

He was holding a dripping steel bar, walking down the road of ruins just like that, without even the most basic vigilance or caution.

And the place on his leg that had been scratched yesterday had already closed up and scabbed over today.

"Look at the right."

Lu Chen said coldly:

"According to normal logic, after being besieged and injured yesterday, he should be more cautious today, but look at his current state."

On the screen, Scott smashed a lunging Pale Species with one strike of his rod.

Black blood splattered on his face; not only did he not feel disgusted, but his face even showed an expression of enjoyment.

"This is no longer arrogance or pride, but mania."

"His reason has already been affected; his Spirit Grid value must have fallen below a certain threshold."

Director Wei Tiejun stared at the comparison screen with a serious expression, saying nothing.

While Lu Chen continued:

"Recall the dazed expression Lin Ye had when he woke up this morning."

"I conclude that this was the first time his Spirit Grid decreased, but the magnitude was small."

"He noticed this rule, so he passed it to us through this poem!"

Zhou Jianping spoke up: "Then this intelligence... should we..."

"Keep it confidential."

Director Wei Tiejun interrupted him directly.

He straightened up again, put his hands behind his back, and scanned everyone in the laboratory.

"Everyone sign a confidentiality agreement! Whoever dares to leak even half a word will be treated as guilty of treason!"

"Those foreign devils have never wanted us to do well; they dream of Great Xia's death every day!"

"If we release the news now, they will only bite back, saying Great Xia is engaging in conspiracy theories and spreading panic!"

He sneered.

"Those who are not of our kin will always have different hearts!"

"Let them continue their revelry."

"In this world today, Great Xia is only responsible for its own people."

Lin Ye looked around.

This was the hilly area in the center of this Level 2 Floating Island.

"The highest value of this damn island has already been squeezed dry."

"Continuing to waste time here is just a waste of time."

Next target, Level 3 Floating Island.

Lin Ye tightened his backpack, carried his fire axe, and walked down along the ridge of the hills.

Ten minutes later, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A relatively flat, open area appeared before his eyes.

Lin Ye was just about to continue forward.

"Roar—!!!"

A wild roar suddenly exploded from the jungle opposite him.

Lin Ye's muscles tensed, and he gripped his fire axe tightly.

This sound... it was too damn familiar.

A familiar figure slowly stepped out of the woods.

Its thick limbs stepped on the muddy ground, and a pair of beastly eyes locked onto the figure in front.

"..."

Lin Ye's mouth twitched, and his molars ground together, making a clicking sound.

"Damn it! Why is this guy so persistent like a ghost..."

That death trap that had been forcibly interrupted by the flood and the land subsidence.

Today, God has continued it for him exactly as it was!