Chapter 43: That’s Right, You Guessed Correctly

After all, they were not familiar with Yu Yan, and no one had the courage to question her directly. In their eyes, Yu Yan was a cold and aloof figure—someone who only cared for her own people and Zhang Quan, and ignored everyone else. Yu Yan, naturally, paid no heed to their opinions. The reason she attributed Fu Zhu’s disappearance to “transformation” was part of her own calculations.

This consideration also explained why she hadn’t rashly let Yun Duo’er treat Zhang Quan’s grandmother. The amount of information their group had revealed in front of Zhang Quan these past days was already substantial: Jin Ling, Xiao Qing, Yun Duo’er’s thunder abilities, Tang Yan and Tang Siqi’s fire abilities, and even her portable space and transformation skills.

Zhang Quan was careless enough, lacking the attentiveness to conceal such details. Any information he possessed would hardly escape Lu Hao’s deliberate probing. Whether Zhang Quan would be friend or foe was still uncertain, but Yu Yan had a premonition that Lu Hao would not be an ally. He was highly likely to become an enemy, and he now held a wealth of information about her.

The mere thought made Yu Yan uneasy, unable to sleep or eat in peace. Yet, to act against Lu Hao based only on suspicion—such a thing was beyond even her hardened heart.

Thus, she deliberately used her transformation skill to hide the spiritual vein marks on herself, Yun Duo’er, and Tang Yan’s foreheads. This could mislead Zhang Quan and the others into thinking that her group were merely lucky and powerful ability-enhanced individuals.

As an ability-enhancer, Yun Duo’er’s thunder abilities were already exposed. Healing and support skills, however, were best kept hidden. The same applied to Yu Yan’s portable space and the little world of plant spirits, which could be conveniently masked by her transformation skill—why not take advantage of it? In fact, if she wanted to save Zhang Quan’s grandmother, she could have given him a couple of fourth-grade Wenjing fruits without exposing her trump cards.

But why should she? Zhang Quan was nothing more than an acquaintance, a stranger met by chance. Yu Yan was willing to share some information about the copy world with him and offer three first-grade Wenjing fruits—that was the maximum kindness she could extend. She had witnessed the story of “gratitude for a cup of rice, resentment for a sack” many times in her previous life.

Sometimes, one’s efforts might not earn another’s gratitude.

“Mom, what are you thinking about?”

Yu Yan shook her head. “Let’s go.”

She didn’t want the shadows of her past life to taint Yun Duo’er’s pure heart.

The sound of the mother and daughter opening the door woke Tang Yan and his daughter, who had been sleeping lightly out of caution. Their belongings were all stored in the Lotus Root Space, so there was little to pack. With a quick wash, they followed behind Yu Yan and her daughter.

“Boss…”

Zhang Quan, sleeping on the sofa, scrambled up with a gulp, rubbing his eyes hard, and followed Yu Yan’s group hesitantly. He wanted to say something, yet didn’t know what. He wished to ask Yu Yan to stay, but knew he had no right. So he could only follow her, lost, until they nearly crossed the boundary of the E-level copy “Fu Zhu Rocky Forest.”

Zhang Quan knew that going further would lead into an A-level copy area. For someone of his strength, entering an A-level copy meant certain death.

“Go back,” Yu Yan said, waving her hand. In the end, she couldn’t bear it. With her gesture, a fourth-grade Wenjing fruit landed in Zhang Quan’s palm. “This fruit can save your grandmother’s life. As for what comes after, that depends on you.”

The spiritual energy in the fourth-grade Wenjing fruit could cure Zhang Quan’s grandmother’s illness. But the lost physical functions—if Yu Yan was correct, her leg bones were broken. Whether from sickness or the hardships of the copy world, perhaps Zhang Quan had failed to care for her adequately. In any case, to restore mobility would require extraordinary fortune; otherwise, it was impossible.

“Thank you, Boss,” Zhang Quan said, clutching the fruit tightly. Although the Wenjing fruit came from the “Fu Zhu Rocky Forest” copy, he knew that with his strength, it was impossible to break through the wild boars guarding the forest anytime soon. And if his grandmother’s illness dragged on, the outcome would be grim.

His gratitude was sincere. Zhang Quan knew that, at present, he had no means to repay Yu Yan. But one day… determination flashed in his eyes.

Yu Yan didn’t look back at the departing Zhang Quan. “Tang Yan, you have two choices now.”

“After the arrival of the copy world, there was first the welfare period, then the adaptation period, and now the rookie period. Once you clear the copy world, an accumulation phase appears. During this time, the copy’s region will manifest as the real world.”

“Once the rookie period ends, the copy world will exist forever and no longer require accumulation.”

“In other words, our familiar Blue Star is being consumed step by step by the copy world. One day, Blue Star will cease to exist.”

“I want to find my family, but I won’t place my hopes on the uncertainty of fate. That means relying on these three stages. Unfortunately, the welfare and adaptation periods are over, and the rookie period lasts only three months—I’ve already wasted several days.”

“Well, perhaps those days weren’t wasted.” Yu Yan paused, then continued, “Without those preparations, my next plan would be impossible to implement.”

Tang Yan seemed to understand, casting a wary glance at the entrance to the A-level copy that had appeared ahead. “Boss, are you planning…?” Memories of the C-level copy “Eagle Grief Ravine,” where he and his daughter had stayed days ago, flashed through his mind.

But what would an A-level copy hold?

Even though he had absorbed and refined the seventh-grade Fire Rhino Blood Crystal, becoming a spiritual vein-enhanced individual with great potential, his actual strength was only third-grade. If he faced a horde of copy monsters above fourth-grade… Just imagining the scene sent chills down his spine.

“You guessed right,” Yu Yan said with a cold smile. “I will traverse each copy, one by one, until I find all my family!”

Her father, mother, younger brother, and sister lived not far from her home in Golden Osmanthus Garden. The straight-line distance was less than ten kilometers. If she ignored the dangers in the copies and pressed forward—

It was very possible to find them within three months.

Previously, Yu Yan had many concerns: afraid of dragging Yun Duo’er down, or that her own strength was insufficient and she would die within a copy.

But seeing Zhang Quan timidly trailing behind her, lost and unsure of the future, Yu Yan suddenly felt enlightened. She had already died once—if she lived again, would she really spend her days in fear, unable to act, dragging her daughter along?

What meaning would such a life hold?

Besides, the high-level copies were not as terrifying as she’d imagined. She wasn’t planning to defeat every monster inside—just to pass through, gain the accumulation period, and find her family as quickly as possible.

There was still plenty of room for maneuver…