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

Holy crap...that looks awesome!

Leng Ruolan looked at the golden light, reached her hand inside, and then pulled it out.

hold.

"Um?"

It's surprisingly light.

I pulled it all out to take a look.

Leng Ruolan's pupils dilated in shock once again.

The hilt of the sword is a blood-red color, like a bloodthirsty evil, or a seductive demon.

The sword's blade, a vibrant, lush green, symbolizes boundless vitality; each movement evokes a sense of life in full bloom.

What the hell is the difference between this thing and those cheap plastic toys you buy outside elementary schools for 3 yuan a bunch?!

Next to it, put a picture of the father's father. What's his name?

Dude, I'm quitting this forbidden area. How about I just set up a stall tomorrow and make a fortune?!

This amused Leng Ruolan.

Can you please give me something that can save my life?

Don't you even see what's going on?! Are you an intern in this forbidden area?!

She grabbed the knife and slammed it to the ground.

"Crack!"

The earth trembled the instant the blade touched the ground!

[Congratulations to Chinese players Leng Ruolan and Ou Yun for successfully killing the mutated wild boar!]

[Triggered 10,000x Deployment: Mutant Wild Boars!]

【…】

[Congratulations to Chinese players Leng Ruolan and Ou Yun for successfully defeating the mutated ferocious tiger!]

[Triggered 10,000x Deployment: Mutant Ferocious Tiger!]

【…】

[Congratulations to Chinese players Leng Ruolan and Ou Yun for successfully defeating the mutated super gorilla!]

[Triggering a 10,000x increase in deployment: Mutant Super Gorilla!]

Leng Ruolan: ...

He silently put the knife away.

Then I looked at Ou Yun, who was lying on the ground beside me, convulsing and foaming at the corners of his mouth:

"Big brother! Big brother, wake up! Ahhhhh!"

Under the moonlight, the short-haired, two-legged beauty let out a wail that was completely contrary to her appearance.

She yelled and pressed hard on Ou Yun's chest—though she didn't know if it would work.

But it's alright—

"Hiccup—"

As Ou Yun was smoking, a strange cry suddenly came from his throat.

It's like the wonderful sound a person makes when they burp after eating but are suddenly punched in the back—

Suddenly they stopped drawing lottery tickets for Europe.

The purple lines faded from his face at a visible speed.

It retreated to its neck, then to its shoulders, then to its arms, and finally retracted entirely into the small hole on its wrist that had been struck by the light filament.

"Smack!"

A tiny purple nose rolled out of it and then vanished at the speed of light.

The skin around the small hole bulged slightly, then healed quickly without leaving a scar.

Leng Ruolan was stunned again, the second half of her wail caught in her throat, "Uh—huh?"

Ou Yun suddenly sat up, panting heavily.

"Haa—haa—"

"You...you..."

Leng Ruolan stared at him as if she had discovered an alien species.

"You're alright?!"

Ou Yun looked down at his arm.

The skin is smooth, without any lines or abnormalities.

He moved his fingers; they were normal.

I rotated my wrist.

That's normal. Clenching your fist tightly is also normal.

"It seems... everything's alright now?"

He touched his chest somewhat blankly—then pulled out a palm-sized piece of metal from his collar.

Heart protector.

A fine purple line, as thin as a hair, appeared on the surface of the heart-protecting mirror.

The patterns flowed slowly across the mirror surface, eventually seeping into the mirror's texture and disappearing.

Leng Ruolan took one look and exclaimed, "Wow! It's the Heart-Protecting Mirror mentioned in Chapter 171!"

"Damn... thank goodness we have this."

Ou Yun tucked the breastplate back into his collar and let out a long sigh of relief.

He's a dog now.

Even in this forbidden area, they still want to trick him?

He thought I had completely shaken off the "unlucky guy" persona, but it turns out it still won't let him go!

It's always the same! It's always the same!

Every time I think I'm on my luck, I turn around and hit him with a club!

Gan!

Seeing that he was even cursing, Leng Ruolan figured that nothing serious had happened, and then she let out a long sigh.

"Brother, I almost thought I was going to have to collect your corpse."

Ou Yun was currently experiencing a thrilling sense of relief, having narrowly escaped death. Haha, he said nonchalantly, "It's okay, the creature that will collect my corpse hasn't been born yet—"

Leng Ruolan slapped him, covering his mouth: "Stop setting up any more flags!!!"

"..."

*

The two looked at the purple particles on the ground that had lost their luster.

The one that had just emitted the light filament has shattered into powder, and the others have dimmed, so they no longer seem to pose any danger.

"Take these back to Chen Hao for research."

Don't waste what Ou Yun said.

"The source of Mike's mutation is definitely related to these crystals, as well as the pillar in the canyon he mentioned."

He carefully swept the remaining purple particles into a small cloth bag, and Leng Ruolan checked several times to make sure they wouldn't suddenly explode into anything again—before throwing them into his spatial ring.

"Oh right, and this too."

Leng Ruolan handed the worthless knife to Ou Yun with a blank expression.

"Let's put it into the spatial ring too."

"?"

Ou Yun looked at the eye-catching knife with disgust. "What is this thing?"

Leng Ruolan gave a forced smile, "Good stuff from the Golden Legendary Box."

"??"

Ou Yun scratched his head, "I thought you picked it up from the roadside..."

"Don't underestimate this thing."

Leng Ruolan gave a wicked smile, raised her knife, glanced around—and then flicked it with a whoosh!

The knife, emitting an eerie red and green glow, spun and flew into the nearby forest.

Then it spun back like a boomerang, returning perfectly to Leng Ruolan's hand.

Next came the announcement of the nation's fate:

[Congratulations to Chinese players Leng Ruolan and Ou Yun for successfully defeating the mutated gorilla!]

[Triggered a 10,000x increase in deployment: Mutant Gorilla!]

【…】

[Congratulations to Chinese players Leng Ruolan and Ou Yun for successfully defeating the mutated gorilla!]

[Triggered a 10,000x increase in deployment: Mutant Gorilla!]

【…】

Ou Yun: Wow, he looks so handsome?

Leng Ruolan said no, "You can chop it up however you want, I'm just demonstrating for you—"

After saying that, she suddenly paused.

Wait a minute, why didn't she just cut him down? Why did she have to show off in front of her older brother? Was she possessed by something?

"..."

When Ou Yun saw that she suddenly stopped talking, he thought it was because she was reluctant to part with her.

"Captain Leng, since this knife deals so much damage, you can have it. It'll be more useful in your hands than mine..."

"Uh... I don't use just any knife."

"Oh ho, you've got a picky one."

As she spoke, Ou Yun put the knife back into her spatial ring—she could give it back to her if she needed it anyway, it was the same thing.

But just as he sheathed his knife, he turned his head and saw a steel monster suddenly standing in front of him—

"A helicopter...?"

Ou Yun rubbed his eyes, looking a little bewildered.

What, is he still living in a dream world? Is all of this an illusion?

"Captain Leng, this is..."

Leng Ruolan gave an awkward laugh, "It's an emergency..."