Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

Ou Yun chuckled, stopped chirping the cricket at the mung bean, and briefly repeated what Mike had said about the real world.

After hearing this, Leng Ruolan didn't show any surprise on her face. She simply stroked her chin calmly and said, "It's an exaggeration, but it's not unreasonable when you think about it. The total number of our daily investment of ten thousand times—"

Before Leng Ruolan could even finish her sentence, the notice from the forbidden area arrived:

[Congratulations to Ou Yun, Leng Ruolan, and Chen Hao from the Dragon Kingdom for defeating the mutated bone boar using contracted creatures!]

[Triggered 10,000x Drop Rate: Mutant Bone Boar!]

【…】

"Mutant bone pigs... I haven't heard of them for a few days."

"It should be the white fox, right? That guy pretended to be chased by the mutated bone boar to try and get me, but I saw through his act."

"It's most likely a white fox—but brother, you're being a bit narcissistic."

Leng Ruolan chuckled, "There are a lot of bone boars in the Hyena Queen's territory, otherwise why would the Hyena Queen establish her territory there?"

"Oh……"

The two sat side by side on the bench, watching the moonlight stream down from the skylight, spreading out a long, silvery-white rectangle on the floor.

"What about the last one? Should we deal with it?"

Leng Ruolan slightly turned her head and nodded in the direction of the stone house.

"No need," Ou Yun said. "Let him discover it himself."

Leng Ruolan glanced at him sideways, a wicked smile curving her lips. "Big brother, I've discovered that you can be quite wicked sometimes."

"How dare you talk like that? I call this a psychological tactic."

"Yes, yes, yes, psychological tactics."

Leng Ruolan stood up and confiscated a bottle of wine that Ou Yun had just taken out of his spatial ring.

"I'm going back to sleep now. I have to inspect the newly discovered mineral vein tomorrow."

"Why did you take my wine if you're just going to leave!"

"What, can't I drink?"

Leng Ruolan turned around and took a few steps toward the stairs, then stopped.

"By the way, I think I still need to ask clearly—that beautiful Chinese man, are you ultimately planning to keep him or let him go?"

Ou Yun remained silent.

After a while, he finally spoke, "Go to sleep, Captain Leng."

*

late at night.

Mike sat on the bed in the stone house, staring intently at the communicator.

His message on the screen still received no response.

Thirty-seven minutes.

He sat there, staring for a full thirty-seven minutes.

The light from his tactical watch cast a bluish shadow on his face, making his expression look particularly gloomy.

He has confirmed it.

Sarah and James, it's not a bad signal, it's not a wrong channel.

They are gone.

Was it because of an attack by a mutated beast?

No... If it was because of the attack by the mutated beast, Sarah would have made a decisive retreat if she couldn't guarantee a 100% victory—it's impossible that she didn't even have a chance to send a message to herself.

Having spent so many days and nights in the forbidden area, he knew Sarah's command habits very well: everything was about playing it safe, and her only goal was to survive.

It wasn't because of an attack by a mutated beast. It wasn't because of a natural disaster. It wasn't because of an accident.

That leaves only one reason.

It's because of his plan.

—No, it's because of him.

He insisted on breaking through the Dragon Kingdom's camp from the front.

He confidently asserted that the tactic of infiltrating from within was absolutely feasible.

He volunteered to be the vanguard.

He told Sarah and James, "The risks are manageable, and the odds of winning are very high."

And now, Sarah and James are dead.

He is still alive.

He even took a damn shower, ate two big meals, and drank a bottle of vodka.

He was dressed in clean clothes, his wounds were well bandaged, and he even sat on the watchtower with the enemy and chatted for a long time.

"Fuck..."

Mike covered his face with his hands, his body beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

He finally realized how ridiculous he was in front of that man.

He thought he was an undercover agent, but he was just a clown he invited to drink and relieve his boredom.

He thought he had hidden it well, but the other party had already seen through everything.

He thought his plan was foolproof, but the other party's response had already been laid out before the plan even began.

With a lynx and a knife, he silently eliminated his two teammates.

He didn't even do it himself.

Meanwhile, he was still on the watchtower, drinking, chatting, and pouring his heart out to Ou Yun.

He revealed everything he knew—the situation in the real world, the predicaments of other countries, the anxieties of their own America, all the intelligence.

He told everything.

Like meeting an old friend after a long separation.

I've told you everything.

"Fuck...Fuck! Fuck!!"

Mike punched his temple hard.

Once, twice, three times.

It doesn't hurt enough.

It doesn't hurt at all.

He wanted nothing more than to smash his head against the stone wall, but he knew that would be useless.

Pain changes nothing.

His teammates won't come back, his plans have collapsed, and everything he's done has failed.

The most ironic thing is that he can't bring himself to hate Europe.

He didn't even know how to hate him.

The man never lied to him from beginning to end.

He said he would let him leave peacefully; he hadn't hurt him, interrogated him, or abused him.

He even fed him good food for two days, gave him medicine, and gave him alcohol.

His only attack was his honesty.

He laid all his honesty on the table, letting Mike discover it for himself.

He doesn't even deserve to be mocked.

Mike's fists slowly loosened, and his hands hung limply on his knees.

He looked up at the window. The moonlight was still bright, the campfire was still crackling, and the big cat named Nanbei was still lying in the center of the square, its tail swishing slowly.

His plan failed.

His teammates were all dead.

He became a useless person.

A good-for-nothing who is dressed in clean clothes, well-fed and watered, and whose wounds are properly bandaged.

He didn't know what to do next.

He only knew one thing—that man named Ou Yun had never taken him seriously from the very beginning.

It's not contempt, it's something far more terrifying.

He didn't care at all, just like someone who sees an ant at their feet; if they're in a good mood, they'll give it a grain of rice, and if they're in a bad mood, they'll stomp on it.

The ant, meanwhile, was still trying to wave its antennae, as if it were negotiating with humans.

Mike suddenly laughed.

It wasn't a bitter smile, nor was it self-deprecation; it was a utterly hysterical laugh born from utter despair.

"Hahahahaha—"

He laughed so hard he bent over, tears seeping through his fingers.

The communicator slipped to the ground, its pale blue screen flickering a few times, like a firefly that had burned out.

He laughed until he was done, wiped away his tears, picked up his tactical watch, and placed it next to his pillow. He lay back down on the wooden bed, pulled the covers up, and closed his eyes.

tomorrow.

He will leave here tomorrow.

He had to find his teammates... even if all that was left were corpses, he had to find them.