"You didn't know?" Hearing Firefly's inquiry, Lin Zhenyi froze for a moment. "Because the spirit tide descended again half a month ago."
"What? Half a month ago?"
Firefly was also stunned upon hearing this timing, because she realized something. Whether it was when she arrived in this world as Cipher or when she went to Greenshade Spring as Firefly and learned about the exotic beast tide, it all roughly aligned with this point in time.
"Yes." Seeing that Firefly truly was unaware, Lin Zhenyi began to explain. "Half a month ago, a massive spirit tide appeared again in a desert within the Southern Federation. However, it is said that this spirit tide was not as large as the one from a hundred years ago."
"Plus, because it appeared in a desert, only a small number of people know about this Spiritual Tide Incident."
Having said that, he glanced at Firefly. "You are an S rank mercenary of the Mercenary Association; I thought you would be aware of the situation."
Firefly did not answer. Instead, she stared at the rift before her, lost in thought.
Seeing this, Lin Zhenyi did not disturb her. He began collecting data around the laboratory, hoping to see if there was any information regarding Lu Zhaoran.
While Firefly appeared to be staring blankly at the rift, she was actually calling out to the system in her mind.
System, is my appearance actually related to the Spiritual Tide Incident in this world?
[Unrelated.]
Unrelated? Firefly frowned slightly. Then why is the timing of my appearance so coincidental with the emergence of this new spirit tide?
[Because the spirit tide is an anchor point for travel between two worlds. Since you, the host, appeared out of thin air, it closely resembles the phenomenon of crossing from another world into this one. Therefore, it provides a perfectly reasonable explanation for your appearance.]
Hiss... After hearing the system's statement, Firefly pursed her lips slightly. This explanation does indeed seem quite reasonable.
After reflecting for a moment and finding no flaws, she planned to start searching for clues about Lu Zhaoran along with Lin Zhenyi.
Just as she took a step, her Terminal vibrated. Firefly took it out and found a message sent by Buck:
Hammer Buck: Sam, I just finished questioning those people. They said someone indeed intruded here on the 10th, and they said that person looked exactly like Lu Zhaoran.
Sam: What was the result?
Hammer Buck: Since they said they were just gatekeepers, they don't know where Lu Zhaoran is.
Gatekeepers... Seeing Buck's message, she looked at the researchers currently sleeping on the floor.
"You shouldn't be gatekeepers. I wonder what clues you have."
With that, she grabbed one of the researchers. Immediately, a faint red light emanated from her hand.
"Aaargh... Mmph—"
Under the intense burning, the researcher was instantly jolted awake by the heat, letting out a scream.
But before his scream could last long, a cup of coffee appeared in Firefly's hand, and she poured a bit of it into his mouth.
The moment it was poured in, the researcher's pupils dilated in disbelief. Subsequently, the original scream turned into the sound of vomiting.
"Blegh—Wha... What blegh... is this..."
"Speak. Where did you take this person?"
Without waiting for the researcher to finish vomiting, Firefly forcibly shut his mouth and displayed the photo of Lu Zhaoran in front of him.
"Mmph... Mmmph!!" Pinched so hard he couldn't make a sound, the researcher could only struggle in terror while emitting whimpers.
Seeing this, Firefly withdrew her hand.
"Blegh!" The researcher vomited violently a few more times, his lips trembling. His voice was distorted by fear. "We... we didn't catch her! It... it was her! She was... was sucked into the spirit tide!!"
"Entered the spirit tide?" Firefly's pupils constricted slightly. She looked up at the vortex of energy in the observation room that appeared highly unstable.
"Impossible!" Almost at the same time, Lin Zhenyi, who had overheard the conversation, turned around abruptly and rushed before the researcher in a few strides.
His face was tense and his gaze sharp as he stared at the researcher, his tone carrying clear disbelief.
"With just a group like you, you could force Lu Zhaoran to enter the spirit tide directly?!"
"It's... it's true! She suddenly appeared inside the observation room and was immediately swept away by the spirit tide! They... they all saw it!"
Terrified by Lin Zhenyi's aura, the researcher trembled all over and pointed incoherently at his companions on the floor.
"How is that possible..."
After muttering to himself, he wasted no more words. With a clean and decisive hand-chop, the researcher slumped back onto the ground.
Following that, he walked toward another unconscious person without hesitation. His movements were clearly rough as he woke him up and directly used spatial cutting to open several gashes on the researcher's body.
"Speak! Did you see this person?! Where is she now?" Lin Zhenyi's voice was low and suppressed.
"She went... in! Was swept away... by the spirit tide... truly... blegh..."
The second researcher answered in pain, giving the exact same answer.
Lin Zhenyi's expression became extremely ugly. He walked toward the third researcher in a silent, teeth-gritting rage.
This time, his movements were even faster and his grip even heavier.
Even though the third researcher gave the same answer as the first two, Lin Zhenyi still did not let up on the torment.
"Aaargh! Mercy! I'll talk! Surveillance! There's surveillance!!" As it turned out, under the increasingly brutal torture, the third researcher finally broke down, screaming while covered in tears and snot. "Go look at the surveillance! The surveillance can prove it! She really was sucked in!"
Surveillance! Those words were like a bolt of lightning striking through Lin Zhenyi's chaotic mind.
He released his grip abruptly. Without even sparing another glance at the researcher on the ground, his body shot out like an arrow from a bow. He aimed straight for the surveillance room deep in the corridor, his figure vanishing through the doorway in an instant.
Firefly stood where she was, silently watching the direction in which Lin Zhenyi had disappeared. The air still held the lingering scent of his slightly out-of-control anxiety.
She withdrew her gaze, lowered her head to operate the Terminal, and sent a question to Buck:
Sam: If someone accidentally falls into a spirit tide, what are the consequences?
Hammer Buck: What?! Fall into a spirit tide? Are they crazy?! How could such a thing happen?
Sam: Answer me.
Hammer Buck: ...Understood.
Hammer Buck: Once someone enters a spirit tide, they will never come back. They can basically be declared dead.
Hammer Buck: Although some speculate that entering a spirit tide might just mean entering the world inside that spirit tide, no one has ever actually returned.
Hammer Buck: Speculation without proof remains speculation. Therefore, in everyone's understanding, falling into a spirit tide is equivalent to a declaration of death.
Outright death...
Looking at the message sent by Buck, Firefly also fell into silence.
Then, she directly smashed open the laboratory door with a single punch.
Following that, amidst the surprised and panicked gazes of the researchers, Firefly crossed the corridor and likewise headed in the direction of the surveillance room.