Herta was also quite surprised.
Knowing that Qi Zhimu could fly, how could taking a detour be considered a hassle?
Yet, he had still taken action.
Her eyes flickered for a moment before returning to calm; how could Herta not know Qi Zhimu's tsundere nature by now?
He might be accommodating her.
Even though... she actually didn't care about the lives of those people at all.
Qi Zhimu didn't know what Herta was thinking and blew away non-existent smoke from his fingertips.
"Don't just stand there, keep looking for that damn CT room. I hope there won't be any more surprises next, like a Mutated Zombie suddenly jumping out to disgust us."
With his hands behind his head, Qi Zhimu didn't bother to look at the place he had just cleared out and gestured for Herta to lead the way.
Herta didn't look either.
The people inside wore dark blue uniforms that were tattered, but one could vaguely see they were the standard issue of Azure Star.
Three faces full of terror and stupor faced the door that had been blasted open by the lightning as they saw the two walking past slowly.
When their eyes fell upon that petite figure, their pupils contracted violently.
It wasn't that Qi Zhimu hadn't noticed the strange looks from the guys inside, but he didn't stop, nor did he even turn his head.
As long as they didn't jump out to get in the way, they were no different from a stray dog on the roadside.
But things went contrary to his wishes.
"Herta?!"
Someone shouted in shock, quickly snapping the other two out of their daze, and they subconsciously moved their legs to chase after them.
Just as they were about to get close to those two figures, a bolt of lightning grazed past them, scorching the support pillar beside the corridor black.
"Take one more step toward her without permission, and I will kill you. Brat, I'll give you one minute to explain the situation to them."
Sensing Qi Zhimu stop, Herta pursed her lips and turned her head to look at the three.
Before she could speak, a woman who looked to be about forty years old was the first to ask a question.
"Herta, you... he's a Virtual Substance Lifeform, right? How can you be walking with him? Here..."
Before she could finish, she found her lips stuck tightly together, making it impossible to continue speaking.
"Shut up. She speaks, you listen," Qi Zhimu said with an unfriendly tone.
Herta looked at the three and spoke quickly: "I made a deal with this Mr. Magician. He will help me out of the Labyrinth Zone and send me back to Azure Star."
"This place should be Grizzly City, born from the prototype of the movie 'disorder'. To leave, we can only find the final extraction point."
"In principle, as fellow citizens of Azure Star, we should help each other."
"But principles cannot take effect apart from the current situation. Currently, in these matters, I listen to him."
"That is all I have to say. Good luck to you."
After saying that, Herta withdrew her gaze without hesitation, took Qi Zhimu's hand, and continued forward.
Qi Zhimu was very satisfied with Herta's words and actions, letting the girl lead him along.
However, he could still sense three little Tails hanging far behind them.
Just as he was about to take action, he noticed Herta suddenly picked up her pace.
Qi Zhimu narrowed his eyes slightly, temporarily abandoning the idea of dealing with the tagalongs, and instead said earnestly to Herta:
"You said something just now that I need to remind you is a mistaken thought."
"Mm, tell me."
"Even if those few are of the same race as you and in principle you want to help each other, you still have to consider the time, space, location, and the situation."
"I can distinguish the situation," Herta replied.
Having experienced the warmth and coldness of the world since childhood, she wasn't unable to hear the underlying meaning of these words.
"No, no, no, you've misinterpreted. When I say 'considering the situation', it's not about me."
Qi Zhimu's gaze quietly became profound, as did his tone.
"When many people face a desperate situation, the instinct to survive will override everything, driving them to commit acts they themselves wouldn't believe."
"Since you've watched 'disorder', you should understand that."
Though, she hadn't finished watching the movie.
Most of the time, human nature is the thing that can least withstand testing.
Herta understood.
"That's why at the very beginning, I preferred to take a detour."
She had not misinterpreted Qi Zhimu's meaning.
This time, it was Qi Zhimu's turn to be surprised.
Herta continued: "Finding and calculating the spatial coordinates to save Azure Star is a saturation-style mission."
"Before we left, the Commander-in-Chief indirectly hinted at the mission protocols—if the first half of the mission is completed, the second half's priority is above all else, at any cost."
Qi Zhimu's thoughts turned, and he followed up by asking: "The second half of the mission is to send the data back to Azure Star?"
Herta nodded slightly.
"Yes. Saving them brings no benefit to me, and no benefit to you either."
In the Labyrinth Zone of the Sea of Memory Substance, danger was everywhere.
Even if their ship hadn't crashed, Herta examined her heart and still reached the firm choice that she would not let go of Qi Zhimu.
He was very strong.
So far, everything he said he would do, he did.
There were too many existences in the Labyrinth Zone that could threaten the ship. Losing the ship meant that for ordinary people of Azure Star, there was no difference from being dead; the only difference was when they'd be buried.
Therefore, Herta felt her luck was very, very good to be able to encounter Qi Zhimu.
The powerful him had said that as long as she became his food, he would fulfill her wish.
She had agreed.
Then, Qi Zhimu would lead her out of the depths of the Labyrinth Zone, through the long mists of memory substance connecting to Azure Star, and back to the United Government.
They had an agreement.
The powerful him also had this ability.
To fulfill the long-cherished wish of three generations of her family, Herta deeply understood what it meant to do so at any cost.
After hearing something in Herta's words, Qi Zhimu was dazed for a moment, a faint smile playing on his lips, and he abandoned the thought of taking action.
Let those three bugs die on their own.
The zombies in the Hospital couldn't pose an obstacle to Qi Zhimu.
Finally, they arrived at the place they were looking for.
But seeing the room door wide open, with nothing inside except for two zombies that came running out roaring, both of them frowned in unison.
In the next second, two stomach-turning ice sculptures were added to the scene.
Herta carefully observed the tattered clothing on the zombies, then pulled Qi Zhimu into the CT room.
A thick, foul stench permeated the air inside, but Herta acted as if she didn't smell it and searched carefully.
Soon, she found several sets of skeletal remains.
"...Not good."
"The protagonist didn't kick the bucket, did he?" Qi Zhimu's expression was very unsightly.
Had all their work up until now been for nothing?
Wait—
Qi Zhimu suddenly thought of something.
"Mr. Creditor, I seem to have overlooked an important premise."
Herta had also thought of something and added:
"I didn't confirm the timeline of the world of 'disorder'. Because of the seamless transition from Life-taking Mirror Shadow, I subconsciously assumed the nature of both was the same."
Virtual Substance Lifeforms certainly couldn't remain unchanged; in their respective exclusive lands, they would also be affected by the passage of time.
And the memory substance worlds that bred them had many different natures.
Some would constantly cycle through birth and destruction, some were one-time use, and some were integrated with the passage of time.
Life-taking Mirror Shadow belonged to the type of memory substance world that would self-destruct once the source was eradicated, situated at specific coordinates in the Labyrinth Zone, waiting for some unlucky soul to step in.
And the memory substance world of 'disorder'... most likely aligned with the world that bred Qi Zhimu!
High-intelligence Virtual Substance Lifeforms possessed extremely high autonomous initiative and could leave the world that bred them.
He was a living example.
"...It's my fault for overlooking such common sense."
A look of annoyance appeared on Herta's small face.