Why did you provoke me?

When everyone had left, Niannian held Yu Meng's hand and whispered, "Fourth Sister, this alien has the second most energy. Little Gray is stuffed."

"You need to be careful with your abilities outside. Don't let anyone else know about them except me." Niannian's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'll stay by Fourth Sister's side and not go anywhere else."

The two sat on the bed. Yu Meng took the alien she had just retrieved from her small backpack and handed it to Niannian. "See if you can peel off its skin?"

Niannian's eyes lit up. She placed the alien in her palm and then covered it with her other hand. Her technique was initially taught by her mother, then Xiujie taught her some, and after coming to the Yu family, Dali taught her some more. Therefore, she didn't learn a single method. Later, when she followed Yu Meng, she was even more unrestrained and free from any rules or regulations.

Niannian liked this feeling, so she developed her own unique technique based on her own feelings.

"Fourth Sister, if we were here, our lines would improve very quickly, and we would become stronger and stronger."

Looking at her excited little face, Yu Meng asked, "Don't you think the conditions here are very harsh?"

"A little, but we can become stronger here. Didn't you say that the most reliable person is yourself? Now that we have this opportunity, are we going to give it up just because life is tough?"

"My daughter Niannian has really grown up and has her own ideas. I was just asking her. Actually, it's already very good. At least someone is taking care of those trivial things for us, so we can improve ourselves without any worries."

"Fourth Sister, you think the same way I do, right?"

Yu Meng nodded. "Opportunities are few, and opportunities to become stronger are even fewer. We have no reason to give up."

Niannian stood up happily and jumped around joyfully in the middle of the tent.

After Xiao Wen and Captain Tian settled the people in, they sat down and listened carefully to Old Chen recount their ordeal.

"We arrived three days ago. The person we just rescued is Peng Fei, the only son of the leader of the Seventh Base. He has a fiancée who is a film maker, but because of the disbandment of the Seventh Base, his father no longer has any real power."

Therefore, the girl wanted to break off the engagement, but the two young people had a good relationship and disagreed. The girl's family directly stated that the only reason they agreed to the marriage was because their daughter was supposed to enter the Seventh Base and become a Bone Painter, which was now impossible, and they felt that Peng Fei was not good enough for their daughter.

The girl kept crying in front of Peng Fei, saying she loved him and didn't want to break up, but she couldn't change her parents' decision and asked Peng Fei to think of a solution.

Xiao Wen frowned deeply. "What does this have to do with him parasitizing the alien?"

Captain Tian smiled and said, "Is he planning to parasitize the alien himself and then let that girl practice?"

Old Chen nodded silently, "That's what I thought too. But we couldn't stop Peng Fei; he insisted on coming in."

"These kinds of aliens only live very deep inside. How did you manage to go so far? Did someone chase you?" Xiao Wen immediately followed up with, "Didn't you have a bone painter with you?"

Old Chen looked grim. "The base has disbanded. The base's bone artists have been poached by various powerful forces with high salaries, and the rest were trapped in the alien battlefield during the rescue operation. We have no ability to rescue them."

"Do you know which battlefield they're trapped on?" Du Wenhe's voice was a little excited. Xiao Wen's eyes were also fixed on him.

Old Chen looked at them and nodded. "What's the use of knowing? Can you save them?"

"We have something to ask Qingyuan, but we can't find her," Xiao Wen said with a beaming smile.

"You've been to the battlefield very close to the Fourth Base, haven't you?" Old Chen picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Of course we've been there, more than once, but we just couldn't find them. We've been to other battlefields too, with the same result." Xiao Wen stared at Old Chen. "This time, we'll cover the cost of Teacher Yu's intervention in exchange for this information, how about that?"

Old Chen shook his head. "This information is free. After all, without you, Peng Fei would have been dead for sure, and we would have had no face to go back and see our old leader. Therefore, Teacher Yu not only saved Peng Fei, but also saved all of us."

Xiao Wen stopped insisting. Knowing about Qingyuan was a great joy; the box with the strange, withered branch was given to him by Qingyuan. If they could rescue Qingyuan, it would be a treasure trove. Their confidence would also be greatly strengthened.

Another point is that Yu Meng and Qing Yuan have a very good relationship. That way, they'll have another bone-drawing master. As for whether they can be saved, how will they know if they don't try?

Looking at them, Old Chen said, "I never expected you would go to such lengths for a bone painter."

He sighed, "The Bone Painters of the Seventh Base left without the slightest hesitation, and we feel we have done right by them, but alas, we couldn't keep a single one!"

Xiao Wen couldn't comment on the Seventh Base's affairs. Old Chen was sighing, and Xiao Wen didn't press for the things he wanted to know. He could only say, "The bone painters at our base were all trained by Grandma. They are influenced by her to some extent. And, to be honest, Brother Chen, we really do give them a lot."

"It's not easy for anyone. We've given quite a bit, but not a single one of them has a conscience."

Xiao Wen had no way to respond to that.

Du Wenhe picked up the thread, "Only we know the hardships here. This Teacher Yu isn't from our base; she just has some connection with Grandma. We begged her, and she reluctantly agreed to protect us for a while. That's why we're trying to find the bone-drawing artists at our base to see if they can spare one or two of us because we've helped them."

"It's difficult. Last time our people went in, it was practically a refugee camp. They lacked food and clothing, and couldn't even guarantee the most basic necessities, let alone the fact that they were parasitized by aliens. Even if you find them, would you dare to make contact?"

Old Chen kept rambling on and on, without mentioning the specific location. Yan Lei, who had a rather impatient temper, couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. "You guys keep talking. I'll go check on Peng Fei. If things aren't going well, he can stay here a few more days."

"Wait, I'll go too. This is the first time someone infected with a heart-shaped worm alien has been saved; it's a historic achievement." Captain Tian stood up and said as he walked.

"No need to rush. My men are with Peng Fei. If anything happens, someone will come and let me know."

"Go check it out. After all, it's in our area, and it wouldn't be good if something went wrong." Yan Lei didn't say anything and strode out. Captain Tian didn't stop either, walking out while saying something.

Xiao Wen looked at Old Chen and said, "You seem to have some issues with that kid."

With fewer people around, Old Chen no longer needed to pretend. He was quite familiar with Xiao Wen, and also knew Du Wenhe. "I'm so angry at that kid. Tell me, how can he be so naive?"

Du Wenhe patted him on the shoulder, "You've really had a hard time."

"Let's get down to business. The battlefield closest to the Fourth Base has two entrances. I don't know what the relationship is like among you guys, but if you can leave a good impression on the Bone Painter, I'm willing to give this opportunity to a brother I trust."

Du Wenhe patted Old Chen's arm again, "Thanks. If you ever have any difficulties in the future, just let us know, and we'll definitely help if we can."

Xiao Wen nodded in agreement, "If you hadn't told us, we really wouldn't have known. So how did you find out?"

Old Chen shook his head. "Peng Fei was running around and we found it by accident, but I was the only one who went back quietly. Now we can't get in or out of there. If you want to go, I can draw you a simple map. You can go in from the front and go around to the other side, but it's very dangerous."