Guo Yun: Plays Ye Shunguang, teammate Ye Shiyuan

The first rays of dawn struggled to penetrate the ever-present haze of dust and ethereal particles that hung over Wildfire Town, sparingly casting their light upon the dilapidated streets.

Ye Shunguang woke up almost at the same time as this ray of light.

She didn't wake up naturally; she was just startled by a voice that suddenly appeared in her mind.

[System notification: Communication and visual obstruction in the studio area for the Dragon Kingdom team has been lifted.]

[Note: Due to maintenance and to prevent premature information leaks, the Dragon Kingdom team's live stream was blocked.]

[Warning: This adjustment does not affect the status of other participating country channels. To reiterate, bullet screen interaction must follow established rules (featured, status permitted, proactively checked, or country-level reminders).]

The notification tone was cold and clear, echoing in my consciousness.

Ye Shunguang opened his eyes and saw a mottled ceiling and a slightly swaying plastic sheet temporarily covering the leak.

The living room was quiet; Chen Jianjun was still fast asleep on the sofa, emitting soft snores.

Zhou Liming lay slumped over the table, his head resting on his arm, with a notebook spread out beside him filled with dense formulas and speculations;

Ye Jianguo sat in a chair by the window, his back straight, his eyes closed as he rested, but Ye Shunguang knew that he must have woken up earlier than him.

The block has been lifted.

This means that hundreds of millions of viewers in China can see and hear them directly again at this moment.

Although the conversations may still be filtered or interfered with when they involve critical intelligence, at least the visuals and basic ambient sound are back.

Almost the instant the notification tone ended, extremely tiny, translucent specks of light began to appear at the edge of Ye Shunguang's field of vision. These specks of light quickly converged and stretched, forming streams of rapidly scrolling text.

The handwriting is clear, but the transparency is high, so it does not obstruct the view of reality too much.

"The footage is back! We can finally see Sister Ye! I didn't sleep well all night because I was worried!"

"It's dawn? They're in... a dilapidated house? The conditions look terrible."

"Sister Ye looks even paler than yesterday. Did you not get enough rest?"

"Is that Zhou Liming slumped over the table? His notebook is full of...is he analyzing the physical rules of this world? He's working so hard."

Soon, as more people woke up in the morning and flooded into the live stream, the number of comments began to grow exponentially, and emotions became even more turbulent, like a flood bursting its banks.

"Ye Shunguang!! Lord Xu Shou! Look at me! Look at me! Everyone, look at me! I'm announcing something: I'm Ye Shunguang's dog! (Waves frantically)"

"Don't have a barbershop upstairs here. @YeShunguang'sDog"

"I'm back from the US livestream! I heard that Voidhunter can single-handedly destroy the Void?! Is it true?! Someone pinch me!"

"One person can form an army! Sister Ye, please show us! We want to see the true strength of the Void Hunter!"

"The Dragon Kingdom will surely prevail! Following Boss Xu Shou, our Dragon Kingdom is invincible!"

"The other team members also worked hard, please be careful! You are all heroes!"

"Um... what's that 'Praise Meeting' marked on the map? It doesn't look like a good thing, like they're up to something."

The comments were varied, ranging from pure cheers and encouragement to expressions of shock and a desire to verify the "Virtual Hunter" strength they had heard about from the US channel the previous night, as well as curiosity and wariness about the unknown "Praise Meeting".

Information flows in like a tide, and even after the system's "selection" filtering, which retains only the most representative or informational parts, it still seems somewhat noisy.

Ye Shunguang frowned slightly. With a thought, the brightness of the scrolling text at the edge of his vision decreased, making it more transparent and barely affecting his vision.

She adapted quickly; after all, she wasn't completely cut off from online information in her original world.

The experience of "live stream comments" projected directly onto the visual nerves is indeed novel.

In just one day, it is obviously impossible for someone with a mature worldview and fixed cognitive patterns to fully adapt to such advanced and direct "brain-based interconnection" technology.

The feeling was like having a radio station in your head that was always whispering and could never be completely turned off.

She looked at Ye Jianguo. The old captain also opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the void, clearly having also received the system's notification and the floating text.

His face was expressionless, but he nodded almost imperceptibly to indicate that he understood.

His years of military service have given him a strong ability to deal with any emergencies and information disclosure. At this moment, maintaining composure and not sending anxiety signals to domestic audiences is his top priority.

He didn't even bother to adjust the display settings of the bullet comments, letting the information flow sweep across the edge of his field of vision, only extracting the useful parts. Ye Shunguang secretly admired this kind of composure.

Chen Jianjun was awakened by the increasing ambient noise that persisted even after the system filtered it out—a buzzing sensation that arose directly from the depths of his consciousness, not through his ears.

He frowned, propped himself up, his eyes filled with the bewilderment of just waking up and a rapidly growing vigilance, his hand instinctively reaching for the rifle beside him.

"What's that sound..." he murmured, then saw the knowing looks on Ye Shunguang and Ye Jianguo's faces, as well as the faint glimmer at the edge of his vision.

"Wow, that's pretty convenient. No need to look at my phone anymore," he muttered to himself, then closed his eyes again for a while.

Zhou Liming yawned and immediately understood the situation. He hadn't slept all night, and if it weren't for the sudden sound and the flash of light before his eyes, he wouldn't have realized it was dawn.

"The shield has been lifted," Ye Shunguang said softly, as if to confirm for the two who were not yet fully awake.

"Hmm." Ye Jianguo stood up, stretched his stiff neck, and his joints cracked slightly. "As expected. Our previous actions and the intelligence we gathered may have triggered some kind of 'phased display' mechanism in the system."

"That's good. It lets the people back home know that we're still alive, taking action, and solving problems." His voice was steady, carrying a reassuring quality that could put his teammates at ease.

His sharp gaze swept over the group, his tone turning serious: "According to last night's plan, today we need to finalize the cooperation with Zhe, and then we'll likely be entering this 'Void' for the first time. You can read the comments, but remember, it's just one source of information. Don't let it distract you, especially during battle. Selectively receive useful intelligence, such as supplementary information about this world's background, analysis of monster weaknesses, or summaries of other countries' players' activities."

Meaningless cheers and speculation can be ignored. Our primary task is survival and exploration, not performance.

"Understood." Chen Jianjun and Zhou Liming nodded simultaneously, their expressions turning serious.

Chen Jianjun subconsciously glanced at the edge of his field of vision again, where faint streams of text were also passing by. He frowned even more, clearly not used to this feeling of "screens scrolling through his mind".

As a sniper, he needs absolute focus and a calm mind, and this external information injection makes him instinctively feel repulsed.

He tried to treat it as a negligible background, just as Ye Jianguo suggested, but he still needed time to digest the initial novelty and information shock.

Zhou Liming, on the other hand, displayed a curiosity quite different from that of a researcher. He tried to concentrate on "reading" a few bullet comments, his eyes flashing rapidly, as if he was processing the information flow with extremely high efficiency.

He even muttered to himself, "The information transmission efficiency is very high, with almost zero latency... How is this achieved directly, bypassing conventional neural brain-computer interfaces? Interesting..."

Ye Shunguang turned his attention back to the barrage of comments.

She needs to know what the domestic audience has heard from the United States, and to what extent they understand her identity as a "virtual hunter." This is related to the degree of power that may need to be shown in subsequent operations, as well as the subtle instructions or reminders that the domestic command may convey through the barrage comments.

Soon, some carefully selected, information-rich comments caught her attention:

"For those viewers who haven't switched servers, here's firsthand intelligence from the US: the highest honor in New Elidu, the 'Virtual Hunter,' is evaluated based on 'single-handedly handling or even eliminating a standard-sized Void Disaster!' These are direct words from Officer Rei at Scott's outpost, so their credibility is quite high!"

"So Sister Ye's benchmark for strength is... single-handedly destroying the Void? We drew the ultimate trump card at the start?! What kind of godlike luck is this?!"

"Don't be too optimistic, upstairs. That's the 'standard scale,' and supposedly just the 'minimum threshold' for obtaining the title. But regardless, that skill level far surpasses that of ordinary competitors; it's a league-leading advantage!"

"No wonder Sister Ye was so calm and composed when facing the monsters; she was originally one of the world's top combat forces! Now it all makes sense!"

"While competitors from other countries are still struggling to survive in the wilderness, risking their lives for a sip of clean water, our competitors are already local legends... This difference is enough to make our neighbors cry!"

"There must be more than just Sister Ye among the Void Hunters, right? I wonder what the others are like, since the original text seems to use the word 'everyone.' And if there really is only one, how busy must they be?"

Looking at these comments, Ye Shunguang understood.

Sure enough, the deterrent power of the Void Hunt seems to have spread through the channels of the United States.

She subtly shifted her focus again, turning off the real-time display of most of the comments, leaving only a very faint, almost invisible brightness indicator to remind herself that the information flow was still ongoing.

The urgent task is not to dwell on the feedback from the bullet comments, but to take action—to take the next step in this perilous world.

……

They could barely manage a simple wash using the small amount of water stored in the house. The four of them shared the last of the compressed dry rations they had brought, as well as the osmanthus cake that Zhou Liming had provided, which was still soft and sweet as ever and had originally been brought by Ye Shunguang.

The food container's preservation technology impressed Chen Jianjun, who couldn't help but marvel and mutter, "The quality of Chinese manufacturing is unparalleled."

In this apocalyptic environment, being able to eat a bite of a familiar, unchanging snack from one's hometown is undoubtedly a great comfort.

Next came the most important step before departure—checking the equipment. The atmosphere became solemn once again.

"The three of us bought mid-level protective suits, do you need them?" Ye Jianguo casually mentioned, his hands still busy, filling the last magazine of his assault rifle, pulling back the bolt, and checking the gas port and chamber, his movements meticulous.

The gun gleamed with a cold, reassuring metallic sheen in the morning light streaming through the broken window. He carried a bulging tactical backpack, containing spare ammunition, a first-aid kit, rope, a water bottle, and a small amount of high-energy rations.

"Just buy more anti-corrosion agents," Ye Shunguang replied.

Chen Jianjun knelt on the ground, took his sniper rifle out of its holster, and performed a final maintenance check.

Zhou Liming quickly and efficiently packed his technical backpack.

Ye Shunguang stood quietly by the window, his gaze fixed on the gray street outside.

She gently stroked the sword at her waist; the cool touch from her fingertips calmed her somewhat chaotic mind.

She could clearly feel the connection between her consciousness and the sword box; the space within that small area seemed ready to expand at any moment, emitting sharpness.

This power is her greatest source of confidence at this moment, but it also makes her feel a little heavy—the responsibility corresponding to this power and the mystery behind it are equally profound.

"Let's go." Ye Jianguo's deep voice rang out, bringing the brief rest to a close.

……

When I arrived at Zhe's place again, it was already broad daylight.

When he knocked on the door, Zhe's appearance surprised Ye Shunguang slightly.

Just one night later, the boy's face still showed signs of fatigue, and because he hadn't slept all night, the dark circles under his eyes were even more pronounced, as if they had been painted with the deepest ink.

But his entire mental state had undergone a dramatic change. The near-dead despair and numbness of yesterday had vanished from his dark green eyes, replaced by a completely different kind of flame burning within them.

It was a gleam that blended extreme eagerness, sharp focus, and a resolute determination. His mind was clearly in a strange state of heightened excitement, like a bowstring stretched to its limit, or a precision instrument being recharged with energy.

"You've arrived." Zhe's voice was a little hoarse, a result of staying up late and speaking for long periods of time, but he spoke quickly, with an urgent tone that brooked no interruption. "I adjusted Fairy's search parameters and concentrated computing power to scan the area within 30 kilometers of Wildfire Town for all areas with historical records of abnormal spatial fluctuations, especially brief high harmonic signals."

He stepped aside to let the four people quickly enter the room, then closed the door behind him, cutting off their view. On the worktable, the holographic topographic map had been unfolded again, more detailed than last night, with at least seven or eight locations marked by striking, pulsating red dots, along with some speculative paths connected by dotted lines.

"Here, in the deep tunnels of an old mine; and here, in the underground storage of an abandoned ore refinery," Zhe's finger rapidly tapped in the air, zooming in on the corresponding locations on the map to reveal more subtle terrain undulations and the outlines of remaining man-made structures. "The spatial structure readings at these locations are extremely unstable, showing signs of periodically opening small, transient spatial rifts. The fluctuation patterns... are very similar, as if caused by the same technology or phenomenon." His analysis was professional and calm, the data readily available to him.

He paused, then swiped his finger across the map, bringing up another layer of overlay information—areas marked with dark red blocks. "I compared the reports provided by Miss Caesar regarding the frequency and intensity of unusual activity involving the skeletons over the past three months. I found that areas with high-frequency attacks, especially those involving skeletons of 'Antimony' level or higher, highly overlap with these areas of spatial instability, with a correlation coefficient exceeding 0.85. This cannot be a coincidence."

He whirled around, his gaze fixed intently on Ye Shunguang's face, the flames in his eyes burning even brighter: "I suspect that's not just a naturally formed entrance to the void, but very likely a crucial point in that 'Praise Gathering' event! They may have exploited, or even artificially created, these weak points in the space!"

His voice trembled with excitement. "They must have their reasons for doing this. Please, if you get inside, find any...any clues that might be related to my sister, even just the slightest unusual trace, a piece of clothing, a special mark...please collect them as much as possible, or send them back to me in real time via Bombuies."

Zhe's analysis demonstrates his professional competence as a top rope craftsman.

Overnight, he seemed to have forcibly transformed himself from the grieving brother on the verge of collapse back into the calm and sharp technical expert.

Although her subsequent words inevitably revealed her deep concern for her younger sister, it was much better than the state of being completely devastated yesterday.

Hope, even the faintest glimmer of hope, is enough to make a person stand up again.

"I need to confirm that we can safely enter and exit in that environment and maintain effective contact with you," Ye Shunguang said succinctly, getting straight to the point.

Although she knew Phaethon's abilities, given that only a portion of the equipment he described had been salvaged, she still needed to confirm whether it truly retained the same power as depicted in the story.

"Of course! That's my job!" Zhe immediately replied, as if he had prepared the answer beforehand. He strode to the workbench and picked up Bomb—Ies—who had been quietly waiting on the charging dock.

At this moment, in the slightly brighter light, Ies' full appearance was clearly displayed before everyone's eyes.

This little guy doesn't resemble a traditional machine at all; instead, it's more like a meticulously crafted, bouncy doll.

Its overall shape is that of a round rabbit, with a soft sheen under the light, and it looks and feels great to the touch.

It has a pair of distinctive long ears standing upright on its head, which sway gently with its movements, making it look exceptionally lively.

Its limbs are short and sturdy, with almost no visible joints, yet it moves with extraordinary agility, hopping and jumping around, making you want to reach out and pet it.

The large, bright eyes are displayed on the screen, and the bouncy, agile body looks very cute.

"Wow! So cute!"

"Mommy! I want this!"

"Wow! Ies, you're like a sweet and soft little cake!"

"What? This is a machine?" Zhou Liming's surprise was almost overflowing, but his years of professional training made him cover his mouth after saying "What?!" and not say the rest of the sentence... After all, it was not good to expose their embarrassment of not knowing anything.

"Is this your bangbu? It's so cute." Although Ye Shunguang had seen what Ies looked like in the game, the game and reality are different. After all, you can actually touch the latter.

"Yes...yes...it's so cute, completely different from any of the abandoned ones I've ever encountered before." Zhou Liming seized the opportunity to back down, while giving Ye Shunguang a grateful look.

Ye Shunguang: ?