Why did you provoke me?

Xiao Wen did not refuse. Everyone who entered the alien battlefield understood the benefits of having a map: not only would they be able to move faster, but they would also be safer.

Old Chen sat there drinking water from his teacup, his brows furrowed.

Xiao Wen knew what was troubling him. If Yu Meng hadn't been willing to help them back then, they might not have been as good as Lao Chen. After all, they still had a leader, so they still had some cohesion.

"Everything will be alright." Du Wenhe stood up and walked out. Now that he knew Qingyuan and the others' whereabouts, he naturally had to make arrangements for people to prepare to enter the alien battlefield.

Old Chen leaned closer to Xiao Wen and asked in a low voice, "Have you found the person you told me about before?"

Xiao Wen patted him on the shoulder, "You've already seen it."

Old Chen's eyes slowly widened, and he slowly sat up straight. After a long while, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Did my behavior offend her back then?"

Xiao Wen shook his head. "Probably not. She's not the type to hold grudges. You heard it yourself later; she didn't hide it from you when she talked about the special abilities of the withered branch."

"Yes, yes, you're right. She didn't try to hide it from me back then." Old Chen let out a long sigh. "Luckily, I wasn't too stubborn."

Xiao Wen looked at him and said, "This kind of alien is very special, but you also know that everything has a limited quantity. If too many people know about it, we will get less."

Old Chen nodded, "Of course I know about this. Don't worry, I know what to do."

Xiao Wen nodded. "If you have something special you could give her, she likes new and interesting things."

"Thanks, bro."

Xiao Wen stood up. "You haven't slept all night, take a rest first. I have to go and get some things done."

Old Chen stood up and saw the man to the door. "I'll go check on that kid first. If he's alright, I can relax."

Du Wenhe sat in his tent. When Xiao Wen entered, he glanced up but didn't say anything.

"I was just thinking about it myself. What do you think we'll do with Qingyuan's alien form even if we find her?" Du Wenhe said with a bitter face.

Xiao Wen sat on a wooden stump. "That little box that attracts the withered branch monster was given to me by Qingyuan. Only she knows what's inside. It's a golden opportunity, and we have to get it." There was no hesitation or room for negotiation in his tone.

"If we can't save her life, will she reveal this secret?" Du Wenhe was uncertain. "We also don't know if Yu Meng has the ability to save her."

Xiao Wen shook his head. "Even if she could save them, she might not do it. Saving them would bring a whole host of trouble. The example of the Black Spore Xenomorph is right in front of us; she won't make the same mistake."

"Sigh, it feels like there are walls everywhere we go!" Neither of them spoke. This problem is unsolved!

Yan Lei and Captain Tian came in together. "Did Old Chen from the Seventh Base say where the person is?" Yan Lei's voice was somewhat urgent.

Qingyuan had watched him grow up. His affection for Qingyuan was second only to that for his mother. "Give me the address, I'll handle this finding."

Captain Tian didn't speak, and sat silently on the bed.

Du Wenhe looked at Yan Lei and asked, "After you find her, what do you plan to do? Will you help her remove the alien, or will you bring her out?"

Yan Lei opened his mouth, then ran his hand through his hair. "So what do you suggest we do? Are we just going to stand by and watch?"

Captain Tian looked at Du Wenhe and said softly, "Why don't we go ask Yu Meng?"

Xiao Wen's face was full of disapproval. "Do you want to bring him to Yu Meng, or have Yu Meng go with Yan Lei to that alien battlefield?"

Captain Tian shut up; he couldn't do either of those things.

Yan Lei paced back and forth on the ground in frustration. "Aunt Qing treats me like her own son. I can't just stand by and watch. Brothers, help me think of a solution."

No one spoke. If they had a solution, they would have acted already; they wouldn't be sitting here staring at each other.

Yan Lei looked at this person and then back at that person, but they all had their heads down and no one paid him any attention.

Yan Lei stomped his foot hard. "I'm going out for a walk."

No one tried to stop them. They were just as frustrated, but they had no way to vent their frustration.

Yan Lei stepped out of the tent. He stood there, looking around. As if possessed, he walked towards Yu Meng's place.

He remembered that time they had been parasitized by the black spore alien. According to the rules, they were not allowed to enter the base. However, Xu Jie told them with a guarantee that someone in the base could remove their aliens. After all, no one wanted to die, so even though they knew it was against the rules, they pretended to be confused and went back to the base.

Yu Meng didn't say anything and simply took out the alien. They thought it was a simple matter. It wasn't until later, when Yu Meng went home to recuperate and handed over the management of the base to Nangong Tianshou, that they realized the damage the alien had done to Meng.

He knew he owed Yu Meng an apology. From that incident, he also knew Yu Meng was a decisive person; she didn't concern herself with matters outside her authority, and once she left, the base was no longer her concern. He didn't know what promise Xiao Wen had made that made her willing to come to the rescue.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the entrance of Yu Meng's tent.

"Fourth Sister, it seems like Mother's birthday is coming up soon. Let's go back early." Niannian's clear voice came from inside.

"Hmm, I'm just thinking about what to buy for Mom."

"If we buy too much stuff, Mom will definitely scold us. Fourth sister, we have it so hard. Even if we have money, we don't dare to spend it recklessly."

"How come I didn't know you had money?" Yu Meng's voice held a hint of amusement. "When did you start saving money behind my back?"

"Didn't my fourth sister tell me that not a single bone-drawing artist is short of money?"

"That's a bone-drawing artist with a certain social standing. Look, don't we look alike?"

"Oh, yeah. We're the poorest bone artists." Nian Nian sighed like a little adult. "Wait, no, they haven't even paid us yet, we came here to provide rescue!"

Yan Lei put his foot down again, turned around and left. He'd been so caught up in Lao Chen and Qingyuan's affairs that he'd completely forgotten about something so important.

If Yu Meng thinks they are deliberately delaying, then they will be in big trouble in the future. If something like this happens again, Yu Meng will definitely not come to save them again.

"Fourth Sister, the person's gone. How was my performance?" Niannian whispered in Yu Meng's ear.

Yu Meng gave a thumbs up, "Very good."

"Hmph, when they needed us, they were all nice to us and made grand promises. But once the matter was resolved, they didn't say a word, not even a messenger. Next time, we'll ask for payment first and then do the work."

Yan Lei returned to Du Wenhe's tent. The others remained, all looking at Yan Lei.

"Brother Xiao, what price did you agree on when you hired Yu Meng? We haven't paid yet."