Chapter 470: Chapter 466: Grave Situation

As the saying goes, the shorter the message, the bigger the deal.

Upon receiving the message, Gu Chen immediately ordered the convoy to halt for ten minutes and await further instructions before departing.

He then rushed over to Xie Ning’s car, Number Nine.

As soon as he boarded, he felt a Spirit Barrier envelop him, continuously scanning him from head to toe.

"Cres, from now on, don’t let so much as a fly in."

"Right!"

Xie Ning activated an electronic screen and began briefing everyone in the car on the information she had just received, focusing on the details about the parasitic Alien Species.

Song You’ai’s eyes widened.

Once her daughter had finished her quick explanation, she asked in shock, "Is... is it the one I know? That Xiao Yu?"

"Yes, it’s her."

Xie Ning paused, then briefly recounted the tangled history between her and Ma Yu on the day of the zombie outbreak.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat as they listened.

Her eldest uncle, Song Youzhi, and her second uncle, Song Youyi, clenched their fists so hard their knuckles cracked.

"How... how could this happen?" Song You’ai practically collapsed onto her seat.

She truly found it hard to imagine that Xiao Yu, who used to be thick as thieves with her daughter, had now morphed into some "parasitic Alien Species."

The term alone was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

"Why did you never tell Mom about this?" Song You’ai said, her tone slightly reproachful.

"If you hadn’t said anything, the next time I saw Ma Yu, I would’ve just thought she was your old classmate."

No matter how much she had pitied the lonely child Ma Yu was, as a mother, her own daughter always came first.

Regardless, for that act alone—pushing her Xiao Ning out the door—she could never forgive the girl.

Even though Ningning said Ma Yu’s actions were somewhat understandable given the circumstances, Song You’ai still refused to forgive her.

Gu Chen’s expression was grave. "Ningning, are you saying that Ma Yu from the Women’s Superpower Team One has been secretly modified by the X Realm?"

"I believe so." Xie Ning nodded. "I’ve already asked Little Spider. She has an X Realm AI Core in her, too."

"00009250. That’s the system designation on Ma Yu."

"Ms. Ning, do you think that Ma Yu realized you scanned her?" Xiao Huang Mao, squeezed in beside Wang Zongxuan, couldn’t help but ask.

"Yeah, if that woman finds out Little Spider exists, won’t she make a move on you first?"

Xie Ning shook her head. "I’ve placed Little Spider in my Space for the time being. She shouldn’t be able to sense it."

"Our spiritual connection..." Xie Ning paused for a moment before continuing calmly, "Unless someone’s spiritual power is several times greater than mine, it’s impossible for them to detect the spiritual link between me and Future."

Ma Yu wasn’t at that level yet. Xie Ning was certain of this.

"In that case, Xiao Gu, Ma Yu must have ulterior motives for infiltrating your official Women’s Superpower Team One."

Gu Chen’s expression was grim as he nodded. "Should we take her into custody preemptively?"

"I suspect Ma Yu isn’t the only parasitic Alien Species."

"Whatever the X Realm’s objective is, they’ve surely planted more than just Ma Yu as a mole in our team. The most urgent task now is to screen everyone one by one and root out all the moles beforehand."

That was why they couldn’t make a move on Ma Yu just yet.

"To avoid tipping our hand, I’ll assign surveillance details first. But the heavy burden of screening everyone one by one will fall to you, Ningning," Gu Chen said, his expression serious.

Xie Ning nodded.

Right now, only Little Spider, who was spiritually connected to her, could detect the presence of Alien Species in the group.

However, scanning a single Alien Species could take five to fifteen minutes. With nearly seven hundred people in the convoy, scanning them one by one would be quite time-consuming, and it was hard to say what other variables might come into play during that time.

"Start by checking the official teams," Gu Chen said, squeezing Xie Ning’s hand. "This is a lot to ask of you, Ningning."

Xie Ning gave a slight nod. "You should discuss possible containment methods with Xiao Lu."

After all, if that "parasitic source" were to detonate, it would be no laughing matter.

According to Little Spider, it could cause mass casualties.

In other words, this parasitic source was likely extremely dangerous to the human body.

As for the specific kind of danger, Xie Ning had never witnessed it herself, so she couldn’t describe it in detail.

With a preliminary plan in place, Gu Chen hurried off.

Ten minutes later, the convoy started moving again. Everything seemed calm on the surface, but a massive storm was brewing just beneath the placid waters.

The lively atmosphere in Car Number Nine had vanished. Everyone sat quietly in their seats.

The enemy was perhaps even stronger than they had imagined. With this realization, almost everyone began to silently cultivate their superpowers again.

Song You’ai and Song Kexin swapped seats to sit beside Xie Ning. Looking at her seriously, Song You’ai said, "Daughter, be honest with me. If this whole thing hadn’t come up today, you still wouldn’t have told us the truth, would you?"

"When the apocalypse started, you escaped from school all by yourself to find me. It must have been so difficult back then!"

Thinking of how she had occasionally held her daughter back at the time, Song You’ai was overcome with shame.

"Mom, I’d long forgotten about that. It was just a small thing. If Ma Yu hadn’t suddenly appeared before me, I honestly wouldn’t have even remembered."

"What do you mean, a small thing?!" Song You’ai retorted, lightly smacking the back of her daughter’s hand.

"That was a life-or-death situation! You were almost pushed out the door to be fed to zombies!"

Xie Ning gave her mother a comforting hug. "Mom, what are you so worried about? I already told you, remember? On the very first day of the apocalypse, I sensed that I’d awakened a small Space Ability."

"Later, when I went to rescue Eldest Uncle, I awakened the Gold Element as well."

"See? What do you call that? It’s called ’heaven helps the worthy,’ right?"

Song You’ai couldn’t help but chuckle at her daughter’s deadpan expression.

She raised a hand and gently tapped her on the head. "Forget ’heaven’s help.’ I just think you’re ridiculously bold."

"We were scared to death back then, you know."

’Come to think of it, her daughter had been acting strangely ever since the apocalypse began.’

’Logically, before the apocalypse, her daughter had been a pampered young lady, the kind of artistic girl who’d never had to lift a finger.’

’So how had she seemed so calm and composed from the very start of the apocalypse, as if she had everything under control?’

Song You’ai quickly shook the bizarre thought from her head and took a quiet breath. ’It doesn’t matter. No matter what, as long as our family is safe, sound, and all together, that’s all that matters.’

’As for the changes and abnormalities in her daughter, maybe it was just as she’d said: heaven helps the worthy?’

’A person of great fortune, as if blessed by the gods... that could very well be describing her daughter!’

Song You’ai squeezed Xie Ning’s hand tightly. "If that parasitic source inside Ma Yu detonates, will the situation spiral out of control? And is it likely to harm other innocent people?"

Xie Ning nodded gravely.

"Then the next time I see her, I’ll hold back and won’t say a word to her!"

’As long as I don’t talk to her, I can probably control the urge to march right up and slap her across the face.’

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